The Blood Is Strong

We had such a good time at the Maine Celtic Celebration this past weekend! We had a great audience for our workshops; no, wait, we had an awesome audience. Despite a backdrop of lightning, wind and pelting rain, our Scottish genealogy enthusiasts showed a devotion and persistence that you just don’t see everyday. Our blood is strong, indeed.

Our thanks to all who attended. We enjoyed meeting all of you and despite the weather, we all had a really good time.

As promised, the presentation outline (”The Blood Is Strong”) and handouts are available online here and at the website of the Maine Ulster-Scots Project.

Our thanks also to Donna Hughes and Dave Dow, the major forces responsible for the success of this event. Well done! We look forward to doing this again next year.

Slainte, Dianne

Maine Celtic Celebration

Cherokee Scots Featured Maine Author To Lecture At Maine Celtic Celebratio… July, 2008 @ 1888PressRelease.com

Cherokee-Scot Surnames

Here are some of the people I am researching.  If you recognize any of them, leave a comment or shoot me an email and let’s compare notes.

1. (Etta) Florence Stallcup Reece Heatherly - born approximately 1892 in North Carolina or Oklahoma Indian Territory.  (Family tradition says North Carolina, the US Census of 1900 says Oklahoma IT)
2. William Harrison Reece - born approximately 1875 North Carolina, son of Burton Reece and Lurana Elizabeth Rhodes.
3. James Kidd - born about 1846 in Georgia (Married A. Panther)
4. John Holland - born about 1735   (Birthplace could be GA, SC, VA.  He married Martha Weeks).
5. Sarah Catherine Kidd Stallcup - (aka Sallie Kate) born about1878 North Carolina
6. Andrew Strain - (possibly Streughan) born about 1750, Antrim, Northern Ireland, died about 1826, Rowan County, NC
7. Catherine (Katie) Foreman - born 1785, Cherokee Nation East, Tennessee, died 1845, Stillwell, OK IT. 
8. James (Jim) Bigby - born about 1778 in Tennessee, died 1855, Flint District, IT, Cherokee Nation.  (cousin of the Vann and Hicks families)
9. John Stewart Young - born about 1711 in England or Scotland, emigrated to America between 1730 and 1734, buried in Rock Creek Parish cemetery, Georgetown, Maryland.
10. Martha/Mary Stuart - (wife of John Stewart Young) born about 1713 in Londonderry, Ireland. Date of death is unknown, but she is buried in Rock Creek Parish cemetery, Georgetown, Maryland.

Following the Paths of My Cherokee-Scots Ancestors

I’ve been researching my family history for about ten years.  At first I was happy just to successfully trace back to both sets of great-grandparents.  Then I found their parents, and their parents, and their siblings and cousins, and then another generation and…well, you get the picture.  I was out of control.  I was on a research bender of epic proportions.  I collected names, dates of births, deaths, marriages, graduations, jail terms (yes, I’ve got some of those people), maps, census abstracts, and anything else I could get my hands on.  I didn’t take too much time to read these items, I just collected them.

The problem was that I had huge amounts of information and no organization.  That had to change, and quickly. 

I gave each family its own file and then  constructed a preliminary family tree.  It was during this part of the process that I noticed something.  The names.  Stuart, Henderson, Montgomery, MacWhirter, Lendrum, Foreman, Taylor, Kidd, Stalcup, Panther, Gourd.  Sure, there were some German and English folks scattered here and there but mostly, and by mostly I mean almost all, of the names were Scottish and Cherokee.

Well, how interesting is that?  Very.  It was in that moment that my research distilled into the specific focus on discovering everything I can about the Cherokee-Scots of North Carolina.  And to share what I find.  A great many people living in North Carolina today can claim both Cherokee and Scottish ancestry. 

My hope for this blog is to foster knowledge and discussion of the Cherokee-Scots diaspora.  Both of these peoples experienced oppressions and betrayals that forced them from their homes and sent them on treacherous journeys where they were lost, sometimes reviled, and died far from the homes of their hearts.

I hope you will tell your stories, too.

Slainte, Dianne