Rebuilding Family History Uncovers Appalachian Past

Please join me on this grueling journey through the past of Western Virginia 1600s to present

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Growing up in Charleston, West Virginia with my maternal Grandmother Helen raising me in the after-school hours before parents arrived, I learned a great bit of the customs of my ancestors. See, somewhere along the way my Grandmother learned that we have Cherokee/Cheraw blood running through us. I would later find out that many of the people native to Appalachia are descended from a mix of Scots/Irish and native Ohio Valley Americans.

There are many people today who are uncovering these truths in hidden family bibles and family histories that they are proving through records, DNA analysis, or otherwise. You see, I would later learn that according to the law of Virginia in 1657: “Indian children confided to any person for education or instruction in the Christian religion or for learning English shall not be assigned or transferred and such Indian children shall be free at the age of 25 years of age.” (Fred B Lambert Collection; Special Collections; Marshall University) Many people registered as “white” who were anything but that color/race for the census… which ultimately had the goal of trying to track down and catalog those brothers and sisters of color released from slavery.

If you like, join me on this quest to find the roots of my ancestors in the Ohio Valley region of Appalachian. There will be many photos and stories along the path.

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