The Cousins to the rescue

The next message came while gazing at a sight in great contrast to and far removed from LaWoods...to share with you narratives from the descendants of those we seek. 

~~~Maybe you can add to their story?~~~

We asked The Cousins to share their knowledge. They stepped up to the plate and pitched in with the weeding.  The replies were much more than anticipated and each piece of information tramples a weed along the path. 

The question posed to The Cousins on Ancestry.com.

"Do you know of any African American/European connections in your family? My family surnames include Brumfield, Dyson, Williams, and Wilson, all from Tangipahoa and/or Washington Parishes, Louisiana in 1870. Could be they lived in MS or surrounding states prior to 1870."
Depending on the reply, a follow-up question asked if their ancestors owned slaves. 

~~~~~~~~~~

1)  "Yes I've found some European connections. Peter Johnson who was my grandfather's biological father was from New Orleans and his father Charles Johnson was from Switzerland. Mary Engener Johnson, Charles wife was born in Pru; Deu a city in Germany. My grandmother, Alberta Willis, was my grandfathers wife. Her great, great, great grandfather was a slave named Ceasar who arrived in New Orleans from Senegal, West Africa in 1802. He was born in 1776. His slave owner was Dr. John Sappington and Cesar was a slave at Prairie Park Plantation, Saline County, Missouri. Cesar died in Louisiana in 1850. My immediate family surnames are Johnson, Ceasar, Willis. Most of the family reside in Lake Charles, Louisiana and across parish lines." 

2)  "...My ancestors who lived in Louisiana were in East Feliciana Parish leading up to the time you mentioned. Also, I had ancestors living in Pontotoc Co., MS, Bibb, Shelby, and Henry Co., AL, various SC, NC, VA, and GA counties... At this point, it looks like Amite Co., MS and counties in Eastern LA might be likely places. Splane (Splan,Splann), Vick, and Cooper are names that pop to mind and the time period for my ancestors there would be post Revolutionary War until 1831."

3)  "My great-grandfather worked on a plantation in LA where I believe he was the "overseer" of slaves. It's always possible that he fathered a child/children with one, but I haven't found any evidence of that. He came from England in 1849 but later moved to Kansas where he was anti-slavery. I don't know how to investigate this possibility.  His name was Thomas J. Marrion. He immigrated to New Orleans and then moved to Amite county (parish?). He worked on a plantation owned by a man last name Butler."

4)  "The only ancestor that moved to Missouri was John Nix, born 1825 in Tennessee(I think) & died 1892 in Ridgeley Platt, Missouri. I have no connection to LA.  My Ancestry.com DNA shows less than 1% Ivory Coast/Ghana. I also had a DNA test done with DNA Tribes that showed less than 1% African American.

There are three stories regarding my Bagley line:
(# 1 and # 2 are rumors picked up on Ancestry)

1. A Bagley female in Virginia had an African American child named Frank Bagley. Her father built her a house on his farm & she raised the child there.

2. A Bagley female didn't want to marry the man chosen for her & had an African American child & "ran off to Georgia."

3. Freedman's Bank Records 1865-1871 show an account for Eliza Frances Spencer. Her mother is shown as Elizabeth Bagley, her husband as Charles Spencer, & her children as Junius, White, & Killian. Census records show Eliza Frances Bagly in home with Elizabeth. (unexplained - Eliza Frances Bagley was white and perhaps her husband, Charles Spencer, was African American)."
 

5)  "DNA is a strange thing, my ggg grandma was Cherokee, her son would then be half, he and his wife were my gg grandparents he was half cherokee and we believe his wife was mixed something not sure what, and my great grandparents were native american looking and some of their sibings were dark to medium so pale skinned all from the same parents...My dad has family in Georgia, Marshville North Carolina and Florida. My moms family were all in the Rutherford North Carolina, Virginia, Shelby NC, (mountain folk) on her moms side and I am not sure on her fathers side yet.. still working on him.

 My ggg grandmother was banned by her tribe for marrying a white man and stripped of her Native name. Her parents and siblings would never discuss their Indian roots because it was too taboo.

My mom went to Durban South Africa and saw her grandfather's last name on street names and buildings. Hardin was his last name, but I don't know where it originated; they were thought to be Native American because he could mix herbs to heal sickness and wounds and he could "draw fire out and stop blood" I know that sounds nuts but he used to read a certain scripture, pray and repeat the scripture and pray till a burn would go away, or the blood from a nasty cut would stop. He was from Rutherford or McDowell NC area. I spoke to Freeman Owle, a Cherokee Nation historian trying to find my ancestry and he said his father and uncle could do the same, and of course these were gifts from God.

On my mom's side, her dad was a Pennington, but I lose track after Donnie Pennington; however I found a tree full of Pennington that I believe are related just can't find the connecting link. In their tree their ggg grandfather had slaves.  I don't know yet if that set of Pennington's is related to mine.

We both have ancestors in Virginia, that is where my ggg grandmother was, the Cherokee that married my ggg grandfather. His son moved from Virginia to NC and married my gg grandma the one we think is somehow mixed but don't know if she is Indian or African mixed. They are the ones that had kids ranging from medium brown to olive to pale kids, with native American features.  My great grandmother was Rena Gaddy and ggrandfather was Robert Clyde Little. I notice next to one of his census records there were a lot of African Americans last named Little.  My dad's mom was Betty Lou Little, from Marshville, Union County NC.

My ggg grandfather was Henry Wesley Sprouse, he married Mary Jane Shepherd, My 3rd cousin on that side said his grandfather told him that our ggg grandma was Cherokee. Henry and Mary had my gg grandfather Charles Wesley Sprouse... they had a lot of kids, but one in particular they named Pocahontas, which is a good indication the story was true, because how many white folk in the 1800's would name their kid Pocahontas? given the racial issues back then...

Union Grove Baptist Church in Marshville NC is where my great grands and all are burried.

 Henry Wesley Sprouse was a very wealthy business owner in Virginia, Sprouse Corner in Virginia was his land. Charles Wesley Sprouse, his son, and Charles' wife Mary J. Cristy Sprouse are my gg grandparents, and their kids were the ones that came out mixed looking.  My grandma said her favorite uncle was uncle Mon (Monroe), and that Uncle Mon was black, however, she didn't know if they were African or Indan... My great grandma, Esmer Alice Sprouse Hardin, and their brother, Willie Kay Sprouse,.. as they aged they looked more and more Indian and that nose, omg!

If you are related to me by them it would make sense because Henry Wesley and Mary J. Shepherd were my 3rd great grandparents."

6)  "I looked at the matches but could not figure out the connection between us, unless you have a Mary Briggs from Virginia born 1723-1783 who was W.J's 4th great grandmother. We also never had any ancestors that we know of in Louisiana or Mississippi. Most of our ancestors were in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas.  My grandmother who was a Yarbrough, her family owned slaves.  I know they had a plantation, and they moved it from North Carolina to Alabama.  My grandmother was born in Alabama.  Her father was a confederate in the Civil War.  They migrated to Texas when my grandmother was 12 years old."

7)  "Wow - it's so interesting that Ancestry thinks that they are 95% certain that we are 4th cousins. As far as I know - I don't have any African American ethnicity. My DNA results were like 94% Great Britain (British Isles, Scandinavia, Ireland), so that leads me to believe that we must be related thru one of your (our) Caucasian relatives. My father's family (Flenniken, Jimmerson, Armstrong) were from Lousiana in that time frame. It's also possible that our common white male ancestor's name wasn't given to your relative, but genetics don't lie, do they? So I have no doubt that we are indeed related. Thank you for getting in touch. I will do some research on the names you provided and if I found out anything, I'll let you know."

8)  "Not to my knowledge but it doesn't mean I don't have any!
My maternal line is VERY southeastern USA. Essentially, many lines came from UK pre-War of Independence; a few were Quakers well before 1730. My Goodall line was est. 1730 in Greene Co., VA--outside Shenandoah; my Phelps line before then, and the other English, Scots/Irish groups migrated to (Goodall/Cox) TN (Wilson Co., and (Ferguson/Inman GG's) Jefferson/Sevier Co., TN) before the Goodall/Phelps 4th GG went to Marion, Williamson Co., IL., and on to Indian Territory (OK).
DNA is truly puzzling and fascinating.
If we are connected it will be on my maternal line. Considering my southern roots here, its entirely plausible.
Here's something to also consider.
My maternal grandfather's pedigree is unknown. His name was Jack Foster. My mother was born in OK. We understand that her birthfather was "Native American" but, this is not showing up readily in our DNA! We know (from research) who many of the part/Native American "brides" were in our 5th-6th GGM area, however, we also know that "blended" DNA took place and in the Cherokee Nation, DNA is VERY Euro-haplo type oriented (lots of Scots-Irish married early --even before 1700). Also, the Melungeon people of W. VA, TN, KY or tri-racial are possible too. Have you researched this group? Recommend doing so. Native American/ Euro/ some African American pedigrees here. Lots of speculation about early Portuguese or even Turkish or "Conservos" (hidden Spanish Jews) in the mountains to escape religious persecution.
The Wilson line (one of my not yet determined) connections shows up in Sevier Co., TN and is in the Melungeon line. I am actually getting matches as 3rd cousins from "Caucasion" WIlsons out of KY.
All this said, DNA doesn't lie. Our big surprise (but not really) was the Iberian DNA that is showing up; I have 5%, brother 8% I think, and my mother (Wanda) has 12 or 13%. This MUST be the birthfather's line!
My mother was beautiful. She didn't look Creole (aka LA line) but, she did look like a blended Euro/Spanish, maybe even "Jewish" woman movie star. High cheek bones (so do I), dark almond chestnut brown eyes (all her cousins were blue eyed/fair ---I have green hazel), fair skinned, has the Asian eye-fold common with some Native American's, etc. (so do I), the shovel back teeth (I do too), and I have the Anatolian bump on the back of my skull.
…I think, that my maternal grandfather must have been Iberian/Irish blend, possibly other Continental, and I am not disputing the Melungeon thing either.

 Looks like you connected on my brother's line…
Our paternal line is Anglo/Irish, German/Prussian --mostly arrival 1840's to Connellsville, Fayette Co., PA (on Whiteley line), and Chicago area, IL on (Kirchhoff/Franzen line).
The Wilson thing really intrigues me. I keep getting WIlson hints out of IL/TN or KY.
I also do not know my paternal great grandmother (Ella Price Whiteley--Anglo/irish) is pedigree.

The Ameri-Indian is too far back to show up readily. No African showed up.
Okay, so it's got to be the Iberian Penn. thing! ALso, we were raised in Methodist Church (Protestant) but as said earlier, line shows Quaker, French Huguenot (McTier & Goddard), ME, and that elusive Euro DNA than shows up as 2%.”

9)  "I don't know of any African American connection. Most of my ancestors came from Eastern Europe and Ireland. They settled in Mass, and North Carolina. Some did marry into the Chickasaw tribe but didn't get on the rolls. One of my ancestors shares the same name as a lady who fought to stay in the tribe in 1906, but that person wasn't related to me, birthdates too far off.
My mom's side of the family got here from Poland in 1906 and stayed in Massachusetts. Dad's relatives were in North Carolina and according to the 1860, 1870, and 1880 Census data, they were sharecroppers, so too poor to be able to buy any slaves. The census said they could read, write and cipher so I don't know why they didn't make something of themselves. I guess they were happy being sharecroppers. They left North Carolina area in the 1880's and moved to Arkansas."

10)  "I am not aware of any African American connections in my family as none of the places listed in your DNA match ours except the trace Great Britain, Ireland, and Finland. The name Wilson we think belongs to a full blood Cherokee, but we have never been able to establish that for sure. But no Native American shows up in my DNA and we know that it is on both sides of the family. ????? It was not uncommon for the Indians to take in run away slaves and intermarry, so maybe that could be a connection. Our Wilson came from Clay City, Indiana.
My mother's family comes from Germany, Ireland and Norway, and my Dad's family mostly from Great Britain and Ireland. Dad's family came out of North Carolina then to TN and landed in Texas. His mother's family were in MS and later came to OK. Their name was Smith and I haven't been able to trace this family except to my G-G grandfather and we aren't sure that this is correct. Two brothers left MS because they thought they had killed a man. (Turns out they didn't) I have always thought that Smith might be an alias. They were always very closed lipped about their family. My mother did much of the research when people who knew about this were alive. She was never able to get much information. If I were guessing I would say the Smith is probably the connection. Maybe they got someone pregnant and left? A true mystery.
On my father's side, two Caudle brothers came from England and settled in North Carolina. Some did own slaves. As you know it was common for the men to have children by the slave women. Some Candle's stayed in Scurry County North Carolina, I think, and my branch came to Texas. I have never studied it, but it seems I remember seeing some slave list under the name Caudle. I don't really remember. Might be worth a look. Check Earth Co Tx. Also, there are Caudles in Orange and Wilkes Co."