Where would I begin an ancestry search, my children are supposedly direct descendants of Chief Cornstalk?

Question

My husbands grandmother stated that she was a direct descendent of the Shawnee Chief, Cornstalk, It was rumored that her great great great grandmother was one of his white brides. Her maidenname was Duffey... I would like to start researching this but do not have a clue as to where to even begin, any suggestions

Answer 1

The best way to start is with yourself.  Write down your name and all your vital information.  Next move on to your parents, their names, date of birth, (death if they have passed on), location of birth, marriage date, if they served in the military.  If they are still alive, talk with them.  Ask them about their parents or if they know anything about their grandparents.  Write down any information.  

Do the same thing on your husbands side.  

You can look under census records to help find locations of where people lived, what they did for a living, how many kids they had and their names.  

Look into Ancestry.com or Cyndislist.org for more information into your search.  

Also, libraries and historical socities are another great place to find information.  And libraries usually have free subscriptions to Ancestry.com.

Answer 2

It's not in any of his published biographies, but I would start by contacting the West Virginia State Archives. They have complete records on Chief Cornstalk and should be able to tell you if the legend of a white woman named Duffey marrying the Chief is true.

http://www.mywestvirginiagenealogy.com/i...

http://www.wvculture.org/history/notewv/...

You can also touch base on the Cornstalk Family Genealogy site where there seems to be a good assortment of people with quite a bit of documentation on Cornstalk and his descendents. http://genforum.genealogy.com/cornstalk/