Where does the native american come in,on my great-grandmothers side?

Question

Her name is Esther Lucille Courney.I have many pictures of her,and she looks full-blooded native american(or at least half),but her family tree shows no native american ancesters at all.I have seen a picture of her mother,and she looks white.My grandmother does not know how much indian blood she has,but she knows she has indian blood.Maybe you can solve the puzzle.If you can solve it you will get best answer.Thank you for you're help.

Look at the family tree to solve it on: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=jeff_james77&id=I04438

Answer 1

Is there also a photo of her father?

Have you also looked into the possibility that she might have even been adopted?

Answer 2

Yes I agree partly with jay, you need to look past written records

Answer 3

Respectfully.. but emphatically.. I completely disagree with the statement that photos and oral history are more reliable than documents.

It has been proven over and over, by numerous researchers.. that family traditions are OFTEN nothing more than what persons wanted to believe, and good research often proves beyond a doubt that the stories were not factual.

I will agree that written records may not always show that someone was Native american, when they were. That does not translate into photos being more accurate. The only thing that it "proves" is that the records don't agree with the family tradition or appearance.

In looking at the family tree which is posted, the immediate thing that is clear.. is that it offers NO documentation at all, or indication of how the info is arrived at.  The only way to evaluate any genealogy, is to know (1) which records were used? and (2) what records were NOT searched? There are lines that have gaps. Flat out.. any time I see a "tree" posted online, without sources. I am extremely skeptical.

The bottom line "proof" would be DNA testing, which will show if there is.. or isn't.. Native ancestry. It will not show you which ancestor. You STILL need to have valid documentation to back it up.

Answer 4

I looked on the indian census of 1860 Creek Nation, Arkansas and found a Leonard Courtney and a Charles Powell.

I also put in the name Sabra Powell in the index and there were 3 matches.  I don't have an account with this portion of the Ancestry.com website but I would recommend that you join for the two week free trial so that you can research this.  The website is:

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/ce...

Answer 5

Wendy is absolutely correct.  Family trees on any website  whether it is a free or one you have to pay to subscribe have errors.  The trees are submitted by subscribers(folks like you and me) and mostly not documented or poorly documented.  You frequently will see different information on the same people form different subscribers. Then you will see repeatedly the same info from different subscribers on the same people, but that is no guarantee at all it is correct. A lot of people copy without verifying.

The information can be useful as clues as to where to get the documentation.

Answer 6

Maybe the problem of pinpointing the closest Native american ancestor is because the records did not state on birth or death or marriage certificates that the person is in fact Native american.

There are the same problems with Aboriginal australian research,

being not stated as aboriginal on records even though it is well known that the families are aboriginal. It was due to a similar

course of assimilation of natives by the governments of the time. Do not trust records 100% they do not give the full picture and are not  a reliable way of proving ancestry. Photos are the best way of proving your ancestry and also oral history, that is history that is spoken of through the family from one generation to the other. In Australia if you have one aboriginal ancestor then you are recognised as being aboriginal even if you do not have dark skin.Especially if you identify and follow cultural aspects of were you descend from.

More on this subject. although I respect the opinions of wendy and others, I disagree and am in no doubt that records do not hold all clues to ancestry. It is a belief passed down through generations of indigenous peoples that oral history is a very cultural and accurate way of learning about ancestors. The paperwork is helpful for birth/marraige/death certificates etc. but that is all. This is why historians the world over do not get the full picture and never will.