Everything but the kitchen sink.

Okay, let’s do a quick wrap-up here…

The PARK family has descendency ties to Robert E. Lee; his ancestor who was George Washington’s wife (maiden name CUSTIS); PARK/PARKE/PARKS descendants are connected to the Burchfields — the Burchfields via the Park line (somewhere) are kin to the Gustafsson/Justice family originally from Sweden; and how did I get here (this time)?

Tracing the Davis-Smathers connection of Aunt Betty Davis (married – Jack Abernathy) — trying to learn about her father’s family.

The other point of interest is the ties to a Cherokee Chief Oowahooskie (various spellings found). His ‘wife’ had been captured from a white settlement/group when she was about six years old. They had three sons; she and the sons were later released — they lived as white men, and were land-holders. This made for Cherokee heritage claims with US courts unsuccessful — but the Indian connection seems valid from research/sources found online, now.

There is also a connection between the PARK family and a CHANDLER line in Georgia…will follow this up later.

Another connection exist between the DAVIS line and the CARPENTER (ZIMMERMAN) families from North Carolina — this warrants further research, since my mother and my father’s ancestral line include connection to the CARPENTER (ZIMMERMAN) lines from the Carolinas.

NO direct Patey/PATE/PATTY connections — but have found AYERS/AYRES, PAYNE, and McClellan connections in the Carolina regions (where my husbands family were from)…The PAYNE connection may link up with the TEAGUE, SPEER, PERRY, OWEN or other related families who later migrated to NE Alabama (near Ft. Payne).

With the research from the past three days — “We are all kin” has more meaning then is previously did, for me.

Each friend I have helped with their family tree research, I have also found something that fit with prior research for my own complicated ancestral lines.

Are your ancestors included in this tangle of kinfolks?

Contact me with a bit of your grandparents vital statics (dates, location, family members) — I will see what I can find.

– Cathy Ann Abernathy

weavercat@gmail.com

Sephardic Jews have lived in the state for more than 300 years,(*) (*) (*) especially in and around Charleston (*). Until about 1830, South Carolina had the largest population of Jews in North America. Many of South Carolina’s Jews have assimilated into Christian society, shrinking Judaism down to less than 1% of the total religious makeup. In addition, Roman Catholicism is growing in South Carolina due to immigration from the North.

[...much MORE]

via South Carolina: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article.

Intrigued with tracing my family lineage online, I was startled one night to stumble upon a supressed chapter of American founders, and for better or for worse, to discover the key to my lifelong struggle with a series of symptoms that had long mystified my doctors.

An amazing new history is emerging of a Mediterranean people, sometimes referred to as Melungeons, who settled American in the 1500′s long before the Northern Europeans first arrived. (The Arabic origin of the name Melungeon–”Melun-Jinn”–means one who has been abandoned by God–a cursed soul.) No, this tale does not begin with the early New Mexican settlers, but begins with a Southeastern lineage that has spread throughout the United States, and the rare and potentially decimating genetic disease traced to these colorful people.

Even more intriguing, this disease parallels some of the symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and Diabetes. It also includes a group of other symptoms regularly ignored or misdiagnosed by physicians: acute chest pain, pleuritis, appendicitis-like attacks, arthritis–particularly of the feet, ankles, knees and hips, and the symptom for which it is named, a recurring high fever that lasts three to four days and dissipates. The name of this insidious genetic “misspelling” is Familial Meditteranean Fever (FMF). If your family story featured an ancestor called “Black Dutch,” “Black Scot,” or Cherokee, listen up.

Ironically, the story of the Melungeon people has been broken not by the US press, but by the BBC correspondent Richard Lister. He was astonished to find the streets of the Appalachian village he visited filled with Melungeon descendants who “would not look our of place on the Turkish coast with their dark olive skin ad straight black hair.”

Sir Francis Drake brought many of these Portuguese, Armenian, and Ottoman Turks to America after he freed them from the Spanish in 1587. Genetic studies now also indicate Jewish lineage in the Melungeon people as the Portuguese Jews were fleeing persecution.

I suspect Drake was relived to deliver this human cargo and avoid whatever strange malady these people suffered. In an era of mysterious plagues, a shipload of people running high fevers would have terrified any captain.

[...Much MORE]

via Home Page.

COMMON MELUNGEON SURNAMES

Adams, Adkins, Allen, Allmond, Ashworth, Barker, Barnes, Bass, Bean, Beckler, Belcher, Bedgood, Bell, Bennet, Berry, Beverly, Biggs, Blankenship, Bolen, Bolling, Bolton, Boone, Bolin/Bowlin, Boulder, Bunch, Bullion, Burton, Butler, Butters, Buxton, Byrd, Campbell, Carrico, Carter, Casteel, Caudill, Chapman, Chavis/Chavises, Clark, Cloud, Coal/Cole, Coffey,Collins/Colins, Coleman, Coles, Colley, Collier, Collins, Collinsworth, Colyer, Cooper, Corman, Counts, Cox, Coxe, Criel, Croston, Crow, Cumba/Cumbo/ Cumbow/ Curry, Custalow, Dalton, Dare, Davis, Denham, Delp, Dennis, Dial, Dooley, Dorton, Doyle,Driggers, Dula, Dye, Dyess, Ely, Epps, Evans, Fields, Freeman, French, Gallagher, Gann, Garland, Gibson/Gipson, Goen/Goings, Goodman, Gorvens, Gowan/Gowins, Graham, Greene, Gwinn, Hale, Hall, Hammon(d), Harmon, Harris, Harvie/Harvey, Hawkes, Hendricks/Hendrix, Hill, Hillman, Hogge, Holmes, Hopkins, Howe, Hyatt, Jackson, James, Johnson, Jones, Keith(e), Kennedy, Kiser, Langston, Laie, Lawson, Locklear, Lopes, Lowry, Lucas, Maddox, Maggard, Major, Male, Malone(y), Marion, Marsh, Martin, Mayle, Minard, Miner/Minor, Mizer, Moore, Morley, Moseley, Mozingo, Mullins/Melon, Nash, Nelson, Newman, Niccans, Nichols, Noel, Norris, Orr, Osborn(e), Oxendine, Page, Paine , Patterson, Perkins, Perry, Phelps, Phipps, Prinders, Polly, Powell, Powers, Pritchard, Pruitt, Ramey/Remy, Rasnick, Reaves/Reeves, Revels, Rice, Richardson, Riddle, Rivers, Roberson, Robertson, Robinson, Russell, Sammons, Sampson, Sawyer, Scott, Sexton, Shavis, Shephard/Shepherd, Short(t), Sizemore, Smiling, Smith, Stallard, Stanley, Steel, Stevens, Stewart, Strothers, Sweatt/Swett, Swindall, Tally, Tacket, Taylor, Thompson, Tipton, Tolliver, Tuppance, Turner, Vanover, Vicars/Viccars, Vickers, Ware, Watts, Weaver, White, Whited, Wilkins, Williams(on), Willis, Wilson, Wisby, Wise, Wood, Wright, Wyatt, Wynn.

[...MORE]

via Home Page.

There are many mundane attractions from mountains to the sea, naturally. That can also be said about other states. However, South Carolina is a world of discovery. It’s home to a variety of magnificent gardens that attract visitors from all over the world. The multi-colored azaleas and a plethora of flowering, fragrant species slumber beneath the moss-draped cypress trees of the Lowcountry. They are heaven-sent, pictures of beauty exquisitely framed by the black, still waters around them. Colorful flowers create impressions that linger long after visitors have flown away. Our own Festival of Flowers is a testament to that beauty.

*

History, to be sure, is integral to the state’s rich heritage. From revolutionary times to today, the state’s lineage is evident. It’s the march of time in review, a reminder of who we are. From Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter, to Star Fort at Ninety Six. From the Mars Bluff Confederate Navy site on the Great Pee Dee River, to the John C. Calhoun Home on the Clemson University campus, to the South Caroliniana Library on the USC campus, history is a consummate teacher. It gives us insights into how the past impacts the present and prepares us to face the future.

Think about Cokesbury College and old Sheldon Church near Yemassee. Native American names reflect the lives and times that have had a lasting influence on this state, the South and the nation.

Historic Abbeville is a jewel. Add Camden, Kings Mountain and on and on and on. There’s a wealth of knowledge, not only for visitors, but especially for our own. There are the obvious signs of history all around. There also are many reminders of our past that we might miss if we don’t pay attention. There are markers along roadsides that point the way to and highlight the significance of many sites tucked away, often in secluded areas. All are worth exploring. They help explain lifetimes long forgotten.

Other cultures provide glimpses into our past that also define who we are. What could be more informational and colorful than Gullah life on the state’s sea islands? It harkens back to West Africa, complete with stories, customs, music, dress and foods.

via Index Journal | Greenwood, SC | Our View > Behind The News.

A collection of records and links for those researching their Creek – Muskogee Indian ancestors.

via Creek Indian Researcher – records and links.

Southeastern United States Indians, Traders, Commissioners, Agents, Interpreters, and Others Involved in Indian Affairs

-A Bibliography-

via IndianTradeBiblio.

Cooper, Yates, Choctaw, Cherokee and Sephardic in Ga.-Tenn.-Ala. (from DNAconsultants.com)

via RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project: Cooper, Yates, Choctaw, Cherokee and Sephardic in Ga.-Tenn.-Ala. (from DNAconsultants.com).