Buzzard of PA/WV - Indian (Blackfoot) rumors

[Courtney]

Anyone else on here, by chance, have Buzzards from PA in to WV? I was browsing the archives of Rootsweb's VIRGINIA-INDIAN-SURNAMES list a few days ago and saw an old exchange about possible Indian blood in my Buzzard line. That started me doing some other nosing around, and a search on the Ancestry.com Buzzard board as well as the GenForum Buzzard board pulled up a whole bunch of queries about Indian ancestry in the Buzzards of PA, mostly from Westmoreland County. Mine went through a different part of PA (Bucks, Berks, Lancaster, York counties), but many researchers believe that the families are connected. Mine eventually migrated down into what is now Pendleton Co, WV and settled along the south branch of the Potomac before continuing down into what is now Pocahontas Co, WV.

The Indian stories particularly interested me... my Buzzards are on my Dad's side, who I've always believed to be mostly PA Dutch w/ some Scots-Irish - nothing whatsoever to arouse suspicion of mixed ancestry. All my investigations into mixed families have been through my Mom's side. But what intrigued me about the Buzzard native ancestry stories I was reading was the fact that my g-grandfather Harmon Isaac Shinaberry, whose mother was a Buzzard, had VERY Indian features. I saw pictures of both him and his mother "Jerushy" Buzzard Shinaberry when I was a kid, and I thought they were Indians. They had dark skin and hair, high cheekbones, "hawk" noses... I actually have double descent from the Buzzards through my Paw-Paw Shinaberry - both his mother and his grandmother were Buzzards by birth. I wish my family still had that photo of Jerusha Buzzard Shinaberry - it was in a Buzzard genealogy book my grandparents had, and it seems to have disappeared after my grandparents' death when I was still a kid. But I have posted some Buzzard family photos on my family photos website, so you can see what I'm talking about:

http://web.qx.net/trobert/family_photos.htm#harmon

If there is Indian in my Buzzard line, I am at a loss to say where, since the lines are all "impeccably" German both in name and pedigree. So maybe this is barking up the wrong tree for me, but I have always wondered where those features came from.

Some of the Buzzard tales about Indian ancestry in PA claim Cherokee, but others claim Blackfoot as the source.

Can anyone shed some light on this matter?

-Courtney

[Bill Childs]

Courtney,
With a "Harmon" Shinnaberry, they aren't impechably Dutch/Scots-Irish. Elisha Harmon was a notable Long-Hunter of W.Pa who probably had a wife/wives in the outback, and it is averred the COLLINS Indians may have carried the HARMON surname before they "became" COLLINS. Follow the Harmon/Harman/Herman line. If you run into a COOK & HARMON connection anywhere in the early 1700s in Penn., please let us ALL know ! :)

[Brenda Collins Dillon]

Courtney,

Welcome to the forum. I doubt if I can be of much help but thought I would mention something and let you take it from there. Another member of this forum and me have a William Taylor line out of NJ/Va/WV . When I first started doing research nobody in the family would talk to be about my gggrandma Catherine Taylor. I couldn't understand why everybdoy was so closed mouthed which made me more courious than ever. I dug through census records, tried to find marriage records and births of all her children. When I was last home I spent some quality time with my great uncle Clarence Collins. He told me that gggrandma Catherine had at least 8 children and NO husband. He said that people looked down on her because she had all those kids. I ask if he knew who the children belonged to and here is the story I got from him:

Catherine was mixed Indian blood and in those days anybody with Indian blood in WV was treated worse than many blacks. She was involved with two brothers, Henry Buzzard Donaldson and brother James Donaldson. James was what most people referred to as "slow"/ "easily lead" but a hard worker. Old Henry (I found three marriages for but none of them to my ggrandma Catherine.) was a married man keeping two households going at once. ( found a deed where Henry for a $ deeded over 10 acres of land to Catherine Taylor for her use and the use of her children. Also found in her daughter's bible (my g grandma) a
page that listed all the children of Catherine fathered by Henry B. Donaldson) Uncle Clarence said that brother James was sent to live in the house with Catherine so it would look like James was the father.

Anyway, I haven't done any work in this line for a long time. It is hard when there is so many lies and secrets. That middle name BUZZARD had to come from somewhere.

Catherine Taylor was born 1835 Greenbrier Co. Va. daughter of Stephen and Melinda WILLIAMS Taylor . Stephen was the son of Eli and Margaret WOODS Taylor ( Eli ran the fist flatboat ferry over the Greenbrier River) Eli was the son of War of 1812 Daniel Taylor who was used for scouting and spying at the frontier Fort Defiance. Daniel was the son of William and Senor Taylor.



GGrandma Fidella D. Donellson , d/o Catherine Taylor
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=439&highlight=I+remember+Grandma+Fidella

[Brenda Collins Dillon]

Courtney,

I recieved an email from a first cousin of mine with a picture of her late husband. She lost Phil in January. I emailed her back and ask what his nationality was because he lookes very much native american. His surname RING.

Here is what Jean had to say:

Phil's GreatGrandfather came from Germany and the name there was "Rinch". Probably in the US they changed it to Ring. His Grandmother was from Berkley Springs and the name was BUZZARD and I never knew how long they had been in this country, so there could be some Indian there. On his Mother's side they came from Scotland but I never knew how long they had been in this country and there could be some Indian there too.

The Buzzard's in connection with my Donellson came from Nicholas/greenbrier Co. of West Virginia but Berkley Springs is in Berkley Co. which borders Nicholas Co. If you give me your email address I can send you a copy of that picture so you can see for yourself what Phil looked like. I have tried posting pictures to the forum before and for some reason it does not work.

Brenda

[Linda]

How are you doing, Brenda? Isn't today the day you were supposed to have surgery?

As for the pictures, I have a size limit in place. If they won't upload it's probably becuase the file size is too big. There isn't any way for me to modify them once they get input into the database, and I want to be frugal about how much webspace we take up. If anybody can't input a pictures themselves, send it to me and I'll compress it and then upload.

Just FYI, if you figure out how to set the resolution on an image, make it 72 dpi, no more than 5 in. wide. That should bring the file size down to what it needs to be.

[Brenda Collins Dillon]

Linda, Was suppose to have the surgery yesterday. Went to the doctor Monday and signed the papers for the surgery and he insisted on a third ultra -sound. The mass is still there....not going anywhere. Then he tells me that he would like me to go into Boston to Brigam and Woman( it's a great hospital) and see a specialist he knowes for a second opinion. I agreed but they couldn't get me in til Thursday...(today). My daughter, who is my transportation came home yesterday "I feel like crap" . She has the flu and has spent all night and all day on the pot with her head in a bucket. I called and canceled the appointment but they said can't reschuele it til May. I BLEW !! :(

I don't know what to do..I am ready to say forget everything and tell all doctors to _________!! I guess it is just not meant to be.

As for the picture. I will send it to you to see what you think. I was suprised when Jean told me he came from the Buzzard line out of Beckley Co. WV. That seems to be a hot spot. Wonder why or what is there that attracted folks to settle?

[Bill Childs]

Courtney,
Shinaberry:
I didn't see Ruby Elizabeth (married Oakey MULLENS) on your list of Harmon & Bessie's children - do you have her and descendants?
Buzzard/Bussard:
Two of Margaret Jerusha's sisters married COLLINS:
(that's enough to cause rumors today - lots of Mullens & Collins relatives on this forum.)
Eleanor Irene (b.abt.1867) m'd 3) _?_ COLLINS b.abt.1850.
Ivetta S. A. (b.abt.1870) m'd Charles Peter COLLINS.
Bill