Wayne Co KY Cherokees

[Shari]

There has been a great amount of interest in learning whether or not SHERRILLS passed on Cherokee DNA to descendants. This is probably true in some cases depending on which Sherrill ancestor a person may have had. I was trying to figure this out for myself with no success in my “Do I Have Cherokee ancestry?” posts in 2015. My mother’s Cherokee DNA was ranked 25 out of 50 World Population Matches.

I’ve just read the DNA Consultants’ Blog report, “Cherokee Unlike Other Indians,” May 28, 2018, profiling Dorene Soiret’s Cherokee Ancestry and describing Phase III of DNA Consultants’ Cherokee DNA Studies Project.

What struck me was, “Adkins . . . is a family heavily intermarried with the pioneer Coopers, Blevinses and Burkes from Wayne County, Kentucky…”

WAYNE COUNTY, KENTUCKY was the home of my great…grandmother 
“UNKNOWN” who married JAMES LOYD, son of RACHEL SHERRILL and NICHOLAS LOYD. UNKNOWN was RACHEL’S daughter-in-law.

For years I had suspected RACHEL SHERRILL as being the source of my mother’s Cherokee DNA, but after reading the DNA Consultants’ Blog report, I believe there is a good chance that great…grandmother “UNKNOWN” may have been the source since she lived in Wayne County, Kentucky from at least 1805 through about 1818. UNKNOWN and JAMES LOYD’S first child was our ancestor NANCY LOYD b. 1806 in Wayne County, Kentucky.

Did my great…grandmother NANCY LOYD pass on her mother “UNKNOWN’S” Cherokee DNA to us? Could my great…grandmother “UNKNOWN” have been related to the Coopers, Blevinses and Burkes in Wayne County, Kentucky, associated with Cherokee Indians? I will probably never know.

[emmdee2]

I don't know where mine originated, and I somehow have the US Cherokee Enrolled at #1 on my top 50. I have a lot of family members showing as born in Kentucky but not Wayne but rather Barren, Clark, Estill, Fayette, Green and Montgomery Counties, some no listing exactly where. I have a dead end her name Sarah Sallie Haskett in the line that is supposed to be native and on mom's side. Born in 1805 in KY and died before she was 40 in Illinois. The only Cooper is dad's side and traces back to England through Canada/Wisconsin.

I had Florida Native as my #5 and another company's test points to me being Muskogean from Florida. I have not found any Florida family yet, but all is pointing to the Southeastern tribes ... also Lumbee shows up on Native Fingerprint and the other test. I do have some family came through NC.

True for me may never figure it out either, still searching and learning.


Marcia

[Shari]

Marcia, you have some interesting ancestors to research. Having #1 Cherokee DNA will certainly spur you on to doing family research on your lines. Just to give you a little perspective, I spent several years trying to find my Hispanic ancestor (to the best of my knowledge) who ranked (out of 50 WPM) #2 and #3 - Columbian and Mexican. There are no Hispanic names in my ancestry.com tree.

I miscalculated by thinking this ancestor was within two or three generations. Instead, he lived in the 1600s in New Amsterdam! So, just recently, after endless researching (and thanks to Teresa Yates' recent clue in the Hispanic posts), I found him.

My #1 match is Russia - Chukchi. I don't know who this is unless it is the Hispanic male's spouse.

Anyway, best of luck finding your #1 Cherokee and others!

Shari

[Shari]

P.S. Marcia, I don’t want to imply that just because my #2 and #3 match MAY have lived in the 1600s, that this would apply to your #1 as well. This all guesswork unless you are an expert (which I am not.) I’m sure there are many variables to situations where this would not be true. But as you research, be prepared to be surprised! I certainly have been. My Fingerprint Plus test has greatly “opened up my world” having to do with ancestors.

Shari

[dpyates]

Shari, Chukchi (North Asian, Siberian) is a substitute result for Native American.

[James]

Shari, a lot of people in and around Wayne County believe they have Cherokee anscestors, but "experts" will argue that the Cherokee were never there. This is a subject I have studied for several years. It's good to read your post.

[Shari]

Thanks for your reply, James.

My Great…grandmother Unknown b. Abt 1790 who married James Loyd (b. 1785-89 in Washington Co VA-Greene Co TN) might have been a descendant of Cherokees, not full-blooded, just like the Coopers, Blevinses and Burkes in Wayne County, Kentucky.

This is another quote from the blog entry in my post above:
“The Adkins family in America exhibits a familiar pattern of trading and land development on the Southern frontier, intermarriage with the Cherokee Indians and Crypto-Jewish or Melungeon connections. In these respects, their history echoes that of the Coopers, Blevinses, Walkers, Gists, Troxells, Adairs and others in genealogical literature. The genetics of their Indian marriage partners forms the main interest of Cherokee DNA Studies.”

Again, I will probably never know if Great…grandmother Unknown was the source of Mom’s Cherokee DNA. The same for Rachel Sherrill, Unknown’s mother-in-law.

[cyberwtr]

Hi, all.

This is Dorene, the name mentioned in the original string regarding the blog post "Cherokee, Unlike Other Indians." Have you tried building your tree on Ancestry in order to gather documents, photos, stories, etc.? You don't have to take a DNA test in order to build a tree there.
There are so many family photos that others are uploading from their earlier generations. The ancestors, at least in my family tree of Adkins, Franklin, Jarrell, Dameron, Damron and other surnames located there, very obviously have Native American heritage. There is also another story about my journey under the "News Archeives" tab on DNA Consultants' website entitled "Cherokee Study Closed." There's a lot of great information contained there too.

The web address for that article is: https://dnaconsultants.com/news/cherokee-study-closed/

Hope this helps

Dorene

[Shari]

Thanks so much, Dorene, for all of the suggestions for further study. I do have a tree in ancestry.com and I'll get back to it and search it as you've suggested. Your family history in the posts is quite interesting. Great that you now know about your Cherokee ancestors. The rest of us can hope for similar findings!

[cyberwtr]

Hi, Shari

I have also found other aspects of my Native American heritage, not just the Cherokee . So far I have found Cherokee, Shawnee, Powhatan, Algonquian and I'm learning probably some Choctaw too!