I Went Searching For an Indian and Found I Was a Dutchman

I Went Searching for an Indian and Found I Was a Dutchman.
I've always been interested in history so when my Uncle Wayne gave me some information about our family roots I had to begin changing the way I've always thought about where I came from. We had always been told, "there's Indian blood in our ancestry, we just haven't been able to prove it". I have been surprised to learn that while searching for an Indian link, I found a Dutchman. Now I'm not saying there may not be some Indian blood somewhere but the prospect looks dimmer the more I find out.
I also have had some general prejudices about folks back east, especially areas like Ohio (I grew up in the Woody Hayes era and couldn't stand Ohio State). What a surprise (and God ordained I believe) to find we arrived in Ohio in the early 1800s, my ancestor fought in an Ohio Regiment in the Civil War, and came to Kansas afterwards. That, and some visits to Ohio, has adjusted my thinking.
And the other reason why-to keep communication between the far flung members of my family and encourage them to drop a note so we can keep in touch with the details of their lives. We miss too much by not being there in the day to day workings of life. So, leave a post for all of us.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The Disappearing Indian in our Past

From when I was a little boy, the story has swirled around our family that we had some Indian blood in our lineage.  If you look at a picture of Grandpa Earl or Grandpa George, you would think so. Usually the story revolves around the fact that Grandpa George's wife, Lousippi (Steele) was the source of such blood.   I've been asked many times by members of the family if I've found the link yet and I'm afraid I might have.  There is none.
I know, I know, how could that be wrong?  There is a possibility (although slight) that there is some Indian blood but it would be very difficult to prove and of such a small percentage as to be insignificant.  Grandma Lousippi cam from the union of Thomas A. Steele and Emmaline Anderson.  Her father Thomas was born Chester County, Pennsylvania and his father was born in Pennsylvania as well (I've found no record of his mother's birthplace).   Emmaline was born in Greene County Pennsylvania and her parents were born in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Lousippi and all of her siblings were born in Illinois and Iowa and all died in Oklahoma.  It's obvious from the data that they migrated from the east along a similar but slightly more northern course than did George's family.
Earl Bartlow

It is POSSIBLE (but very slight) that someone intermarried with a person of Indian blood but from the birth history and names (Anderson, Steele, Brown, Wells, and so forth) it appears not.  One must remember that many of the Indian tribes we think of as inhabitants of Kansas and Oklahoma were once inhabitants of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and so forth.  So it's possible.  I think the possibility of us being of Cherokee or any of the tribes from the south is almost nil.
Well, not to bust your bubble, and I hope not too disappointing, but history is what it is and we are what we are.  Above all though, we can be sure of one thing: We can all be children of the King through the shed blood of His Son, our Saviour, who we celebrate this month.
Merry Christmas to you all, Indians and Dutchmen alike.

2 comments:

  1. Wow!! What a great site you created :)
    I will definitely be checking in to see what people are saying.

    By the way....we kind of added an extra day to the family reunion. Our reservations are for 7/15-7/18. We just made reservations for our family at Disneyland (ok...a mile from Disneyland). I will be sending out more information regarding the site I used through our credit union to make our reservations. We are planning on leaving from Capitola/Santa Cruz on 7/18 and driving to LA. We will go to Disneyland on 7/19, 7/20, 7/21 and head back home on 7/22 (Friday). We are bringing our 3 oldest grandchildren (Kyla-6, Zachariah-4, and Makenna-3). Ramona is staying with us. Hope everyone has a blessed Christmas.

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  2. Way to burst my bubble Rocky! LOL. Maybe the Indian came from Grandma Rachel's side? Hmmm, might be something to put your detective hat back on and go investigate. Plus, it will give you something to do for the new year. LOL. Love ya!

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