{"id":8953,"date":"2014-11-24T11:00:38","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=8953"},"modified":"2022-10-20T16:30:55","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T20:30:55","slug":"native-american-genealogy-research-tips-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/native-american-genealogy-research-tips-resources.html","title":{"rendered":"Native American Genealogy: Research Tips & Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Mary\u00a0Harrell-Sesniak describes a special collection of Native American newspapers, and other online resources to help with your Native American family history research. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.
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One of the challenging quests for family historians is researching indigenous American ancestry.<\/p>\n

\"painting<\/a>
Painting: Seneca Chief Cornplanter, by F. Bartoli, 1796. Source: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It would be a genealogist\u2019s dream come true to find documentation in court houses, churches or within tribal records\u2014but alas, that\u2019s often not possible. And when you do find documentation of Native American ancestry<\/a>, it may be confusing or inaccurate, as shown in the following examples.<\/p>\n

The Name \u201cRefused to Answer\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This discovery came about while researching census records of South Florida. Members of local Native American tribes were asked for their family members\u2019 names. Some, fearing the intent of the census taker, refused to answer\u2014and as a result, \u201cRefused to Answer\u201d was entered as their name.<\/p>\n

Nicknames<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then there are descriptive nicknames bestowed by non-Native American friends and acquaintances. In all likelihood, they were created in order to overcome hard to pronounce names or complicated spellings.<\/p>\n

Ever hear of John Abeel or John O\u2019Bail? These were two appellations given to a Seneca chief known as Cornplanter, but that wasn\u2019t his real birth name. Cornplanter is reportedly a translation of his tribal name, spelled in a variety of ways including\u00a0Gar-Yan-Wah-Gah or Gai\u00e4nt\u2019wak.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Commercial Advertiser (New York, New York), 4 March 1837, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Legends May Not Be Legends<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever hear the expression \u201cto lie like Sam Hyde (or Hide)\u201d? Thought to be a legendary character, Sam was supposedly a Native American chief in New England whose stories grew to the size of an exaggerated \u201cfish\u201d or tall tale. Every time they were exchanged, the claims grew, including in this report from 1806 about an amazingly large squash that was \u201cnothing to Sam Hyde\u2019s Water-Melon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Portsmouth Oracle (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 8 November 1806, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Newspapers, you\u2019ve got to love them! Not only do they repeat regional folklore and legendary tales, but they also serve to disprove them. Take, for example, Sam Hyde\u2019s Wikipedia article<\/a>, which has a number of inaccuracies. Part of this e-piece reports:<\/p>\n

Sam Hide (or Hyde) is a historic or apocryphal character in the folklore of New England, used in the folk saying “to lie like Sam Hide.” There is no record of the death of a Sam Hide in the records of Dedham, Massachusetts, though he is said to have died in 1732…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Should we be surprised that his official death was not recorded in town records? No, because as a member of a tribe, he could not have been considered an official resident. However, GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> prove that Hyde was not the figment of someone\u2019s imagination. He was real, and he died on 5 January 1732 in Dedham.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Boston Gazette (Boston, Massachusetts), 17 January 1732, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Federal Archives and Records Center<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can also find newspaper articles about resources for researching Native American ancestry, such as this article about the Federal Archives and Records Center<\/a> at Fort Worth, Texas.<\/p>\n

This interesting historical news article reports a wealth of information, including:<\/p>\n

The 27,000 cubic feet of permanent records are kept in a huge warehouse building six football fields long, and on row after row of stacks stretching 13 shelves high. They include federal court records from a five-state region, along with documents relating to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the 60 tribes the government moved through Oklahoma at one time or another.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"article<\/a>
Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), 22 March 1981, page 180<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Native American Newspaper Research<\/strong><\/p>\n

So how can historical newspapers guide you along the elusive path of researching Native American Roots?<\/p>\n

As seen in the above examples, there is information found in newspapers of general interest, particularly for the better known Indians. In addition, we are pleased to report that GenealogyBank is actively building its collection of Native American newspapers.<\/p>\n

Currently, these newspaper titles are available:<\/p>\n