tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193206024924903477.post2338054812212245646..comments2024-01-12T18:29:00.527-06:00Comments on Thoughts from Polly's Granddaughter: 10 Things I Learned in 2012Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193206024924903477.post-29705762456726138102013-01-03T00:24:13.719-06:002013-01-03T00:24:13.719-06:00Thank you so much, Twila, for this well-thought-ou...Thank you so much, Twila, for this well-thought-out essay. Like many other people, I've seen & heard much of what you described in your 2012 observations. It is a hard thing to put your face, your heart, and your convictions out on the front line. Fervor makes the difference, though. I feel sadness for indigenous Nations as history sickeningly repeats itself. All that has been learned over the past one hundred-plus years could have - should have - been used to great advantage by tribal leaders and the people who look to them for wisdom and respectful leadership. But I don't see this happening enough today. Statistics don't lie, nor do all of the "photo ops" between indigenous and non-indigenous politicians. Thank you for keeping truth center stage with the spotlights shining brightly. If we are able to keep our books, journals, genealogy records, and other memorabilia out of the hands of ill-intending globalization strategists, then our progeny might be able to see what went wrong. They will need your work, Twila, to help lead them back to the right path. Blessings ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193206024924903477.post-25158217462321919152013-01-02T13:51:16.984-06:002013-01-02T13:51:16.984-06:00Hi Twila,
I am so glad a friend of mine recommende...Hi Twila,<br />I am so glad a friend of mine recommended your website to me. I very much enjoy reading your columns via-email every day. You are a literal gold mine of information on the Cherokee people and I think you should write a book! I also appreciate your list of fake Cherokee organizations. I only wish I could have found your website earlier, before being bilked out of $500 by a fraudulent, self-proclaimed, "Cherokee genealogist and historian" calling herself "Dee Gacher" two years ago!<br /> I have been trying to trace an ancestor of mine who I have always thought to be a Cherokee.<br />The story that I was told concerning this ancestor, whom I believe to be a fourth or fifth generation grandfather on my maternal grandfather's side of the family, was that he was a Cherokee living out West and was thrown out of his tribe because he had murdered someone. The details of the crime itself are sketchy, but I guess it could have also been an act of self-defense. Anyway, he was going to be hung for the crime, but somehow escaped his fate and fled back East. He eventually settled in southeastern Pennsylvania where he married into a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) family. I believe this man's name might have been Benjamin Smith. His daughter, Caroline Smith, who was born in either 1849 or 1850, married my great-great-grandfather, William Yard, in 1870. Their son, my great-grandfather, Matthew Florida Yard, was born in 1877. His son, Louis Voute Yard, born in 1913, was my grandfather. <br /> I have few other clues to go on. I did find a Benjamin Smith listed on the 1850 US Census living in Schuylkill County Pennsylvania living with his wife, and baby daughter, Caroline, in a German immigrant community called East Brunswick. Benjamin was listed as a "railroad laborer". Another key to solving this mystery seems to involve a man named Henry Voute, a Dutch-born resident of Schuylkill County who worked as a station agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad there for many years. My grandfather's middle name was "Voute". My great-grandmother told my mother that her father was named after this man, Henry Voute, whom she described as a "very special friend" of the family. Although this is my own surmising of events, I believe that this Mr. Voute, who was fairly prominent in his community, befriended Benjamin Smith and sought to help him by getting him a job on the railroad. I have also looked at the Indian rolls for his name and there are a few Benjamin Smiths, but being that he was a fugitive from justice I am not sure if any of them could be him. I suppose this might also be one of the reasons why my great-grandfather, Matthew Yard, who looked far more white than Indian, changed his middle name on his 1914 US Military Registration card from "Florida" to "Frederick" to allay any suspicion towards his racial heritage. The prejudice against "non-whites" or "coloreds" was outrageous in that time.<br />I am wondering if you might know of anyone or of an organization that could help me trace this ancestor who I believe to be Benjamin Smith. My grandfather's sister was the family historian who found out the information on him back in the 1950's. However, my cousin, who is her daughter, refuses to divulge any information she might have about our Indian ancestry. I am not sure why she feels this way. I am hoping to find out the truth about this elusive ancestor on my own and I would very much appreciate any advice or information you might be able to provide to me.<br /> Thank you!Bluestocking Redneckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942351783967706739noreply@blogger.com