Mary Henderson Askew
07-14-2001, 04:44 PM
A cousin has recently told me he remembers our great-grandmother, Mary Ann "Annie" (Morrow) Walker telling him that she was full-blood Blackfeet. Until recently, I only knew of the Montana Blackfeet -- a Nation I understood was a sub-group of the Teton Sioux -- so was a little skeptical of this. However, having discovered this site and forum today, I am encouraged that his memory and her assertion are likely correct and it may now be possible to find out something about her family! Thank you!
Another cousin said that Annie's mother was a Bowman and that the family lived in an area called "Little Dixie." I had assumed this was the area of that name in IT/OK because some others of the family also lived in IT/OK but I have since learned there was/is also an area by that name in Missouri and that many "stepped off" the Trail of Tears in parts of Missouri, settled there, adopted 'white ways' and so were no longer 'counted' as Indian.
Annie married Alford McCoy "Bud" Walker on 13 Jul 1891 in Van Zandt Co., TX. I don't know her father's name or when her family came there. Bud was born in Marshal (Harrison) TX; his father, A.T. Walker, was born in 1839 in MS but HIS father, Richard Henry Walker, was born in 1804 in TN or KY; Richard's father was William but don't know where or when he was born. I suspect this family has Cherokee ancestry as well, possibly from a woman named McCoy who may have been one of Alford McCoy's ancestors, but have nothing solid.
On the other side of the blanket, my mother always said we were Choctaw from her mother's side. The family research other cousins have done indicates Grandmother's father's father was full-blood Cherokee. This line is Brannan and they ended up in Van Zandt County too, by way of GA>AL>MS but from TN/KY before that. Grandmother's father was James Clarence Brannan, b 27 Mar 1837 in AL; his father was (I think) Stephen D. Brannan (b abt 1813 in GA or TN). Stephen was married to Priscilla whose maiden name may have been White, also possibly Cherokee.
What makes me think the connections are there:
1. Mother's assertion (Choctaw)
2. Mary Ann's assertion (Blackfeet)
3. Appearance and pictures of Mother and both her Brannan and Walker kin
4. Many family names on Cherokee Rolls (don't have access to lists or rolls for other tribes)
5. Recurrence of Indian names among neighbors on censuses in KY, AL, MS, and TX
6. Does my 'gut' count?
It seems likely that these families lived near each other, associated together, and moved around together, if not at the same time, eventually met up at the same places.
To summarize the names in Mother's blood line: Walker, Morrow, Bowman, Brannan, White, Maxey, Slaughter, and Wilder. Some of the inlaws and side-lines: Furrh, Munn, Freeman, Kelley, Grant, Kamman, Askew, Stone, Lewis, Haney, Harron, Moore, Boren, Parker, and Black.
Sorry to be so long winded but hope some of this story may ring a bell somewhere. I'll appreciate any assistance and am happy to share the info I have.
Another cousin said that Annie's mother was a Bowman and that the family lived in an area called "Little Dixie." I had assumed this was the area of that name in IT/OK because some others of the family also lived in IT/OK but I have since learned there was/is also an area by that name in Missouri and that many "stepped off" the Trail of Tears in parts of Missouri, settled there, adopted 'white ways' and so were no longer 'counted' as Indian.
Annie married Alford McCoy "Bud" Walker on 13 Jul 1891 in Van Zandt Co., TX. I don't know her father's name or when her family came there. Bud was born in Marshal (Harrison) TX; his father, A.T. Walker, was born in 1839 in MS but HIS father, Richard Henry Walker, was born in 1804 in TN or KY; Richard's father was William but don't know where or when he was born. I suspect this family has Cherokee ancestry as well, possibly from a woman named McCoy who may have been one of Alford McCoy's ancestors, but have nothing solid.
On the other side of the blanket, my mother always said we were Choctaw from her mother's side. The family research other cousins have done indicates Grandmother's father's father was full-blood Cherokee. This line is Brannan and they ended up in Van Zandt County too, by way of GA>AL>MS but from TN/KY before that. Grandmother's father was James Clarence Brannan, b 27 Mar 1837 in AL; his father was (I think) Stephen D. Brannan (b abt 1813 in GA or TN). Stephen was married to Priscilla whose maiden name may have been White, also possibly Cherokee.
What makes me think the connections are there:
1. Mother's assertion (Choctaw)
2. Mary Ann's assertion (Blackfeet)
3. Appearance and pictures of Mother and both her Brannan and Walker kin
4. Many family names on Cherokee Rolls (don't have access to lists or rolls for other tribes)
5. Recurrence of Indian names among neighbors on censuses in KY, AL, MS, and TX
6. Does my 'gut' count?
It seems likely that these families lived near each other, associated together, and moved around together, if not at the same time, eventually met up at the same places.
To summarize the names in Mother's blood line: Walker, Morrow, Bowman, Brannan, White, Maxey, Slaughter, and Wilder. Some of the inlaws and side-lines: Furrh, Munn, Freeman, Kelley, Grant, Kamman, Askew, Stone, Lewis, Haney, Harron, Moore, Boren, Parker, and Black.
Sorry to be so long winded but hope some of this story may ring a bell somewhere. I'll appreciate any assistance and am happy to share the info I have.