by A couple weeks ago an envelope arrived from a new-found great second cousin. (She is a niece of my 2nd-Great Grandfather, so I will say great second cousin.) In the envelope were some copies of family photos, newspaper clippings, a funeral card and several pages of handwritten “family notes”. My cousin related that her mother, when she was elderly, took some time to write out the family notes.
On the pages were the names of her grandparents and their children. I knew that my great grandparents had seven children, from the 1900 census. The 1900 census also recorded that only two of the seven were still living. However, only the names of 3 of them appeared on earlier censuses. I concluded that the other children died during infancy and most were not alive during census years. Well, here in my great Aunt’s handwriting was confirmation that “3 babies died in infancy”.
The notes also contained information about the movements of the family, and included my great-great grandparent’s movements to Ohio and Wisconsin. Most of the information was already corroborated by other sources, so I knew the notes were accurate.
On the last page of the notes was an odd entry about “Indian blood” being in the Garrison side of the family. I asked my great second cousin about the entry and she said her mother never mentioned such a thing. She did add that the family traveled west, from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, in the 1850s and that her grandmother (my great grandmother) had collected many arrowheads during the trip.
There is some Indian blood in the Garrison Side. Mohawk tribe.
The claim of Mohawk blood, so far, is not substantiated. In fact, I can say that it has almost been proven wrong. Almost. The problem is, that there is no time reference for when the “Indian blood” entered our family. I know who my ancestors were, on the Garrison side, back to about 1800. Prior to 1800 is a total mystery.
There is also another possibility. At the time my family moved west, my Great Grandmother would have been a young girl. Perhaps she was told stories of Indians and, whether true or not, was told the tale of Mohawk blood.
Prior to getting these notes, this tale was unknown to me. However, the possibility now exists. Its not likely that any information will be uncovered that confirms this claim. Eventually, DNA testing for genealogical purposes will be standard and the Garrison descendants will know if the story is true.
