Help me find roots

[Sharon]

Hi all,

Several yrs ago I started researching my mom's family in the mts of NC. In the 1850 census, this family was designated "mulatto". Trying to make sense of that, and having old pictures of some of these people that would suggest that the 1850 definition of the term might be different than today's understanding of the word, I wanted to make sense of it all. Chance led me to the Melungeon idea. Imagine my surprise when I found my Dad's 4th great gf mentioned! (Jesse Bowling) My Dad was from Ky. And to make things more interesting, in my research I also found that my husband and I were related (3rd cousins once removed). New research has led me to suspect I have Saponi ancestry. I descend from Nathan and Lucresa "Cresy" Gibson. Nathan is listed FPC in the 1800 Burke Co., NC census. Cresy was from Va. They settled, finally, in Macon Co., NC, along with a large population of Guys. This is the same Guy family who petitioned the Govt in the 1870s to be allowed to live among the Choctaws.
Anyone familiar with any of this?? Thanks, Sharon

[Bill Childs]

Hi, Sharon. Welcome,
You've climbed the "north slope" in record time.
I'm not certain we can provide more clarity in the time frame of Jesse Bowling or Nathan & Lucretia (Lucresa/Creasy) Gibson, but we can try. What information have you found that you would share?
Bill

[Sharon]

I'm glad to share anything that might help anyone in his/her quest. My great-grandmother always claimed to be "black dutch," that 19th century term people used to disguise the fact that they weren't white, scots-irish. Granny would get VERY offended when anyone suggested she looked Indian. Since her family was living in the NC mountains during the Removal, I think it was self-preservation that led to denial of heritage. After a few generations, no one was left to remember the truth.

Some of My Families of Interest: Gibson/Gipson; Barger; Bowling; Mathis; Anders; Robinson; Elders; Franklin; Higdon; Inman; Pennington; McIntosh; Ingram; Johnson; Head; and Anderson.
These are all either Western NC or Southeastern KY families.

I was quite active with my family history up until three years ago when I moved away from the mountains. I'm eager to get started again and want to share info in the hopes of making connections.

Thanks!