Researching Blue Ridge Cherokees
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Blue Ridge Mountain People

In faded thought and mind people have often heard their elders and long passed ancestors speak of a time when their people were among the tribe called the Cherokee. For people whose roots are found in the hills and Valleys of the Blue Ridge and surrounding areas, this type of family lore and legend has its roots deep in the ancestral history of America. In researching folks of this lineage there is no more solid foundation for these type of stories than those of families in places like North Carolina, Southwestern Virginia and areas that have been long forgotten as the homeland of the Tsalagi. When listening to family stories, and old songs and ditties that have been passed down, there is the unmistakable influence of the mixing of cultures in song, dance and stories. There is also the ever-present reminder of this type of heritage in food and old beliefs and family practices that have remained constant for hundreds of years. From poke salad & grandmother's lambsquarter to corn beans and squash who some call the three sisters, some traditions survive and transcend modern culture. These things are an always-present reminder of one's heritage. When Scotch-Irish folks first settled areas of what were once traditional Tsalagi lands, a unique type of culture began to emerge that was the direct result of the intermarriage between the Indians and these new European arrivals. It is important to understand that the folks inhabiting the hollers and hill tops in cabins often shared the same sort of discrimination by more mainstream American Culture that was also directed towards native people.

People whom have been persecuted for ethnic identity or other cultural things often find themselves sharing their respective cultures with others who too have been persecuted and despised by others who felt themselves to be more pure than those of mixed heritage.

While there are no specifics in regards to mixed blood heritages, there are some ways to learn to identify probable lineages based on truthful historical relations that have been known to exist for centuries.

This is particularly true in the Ozarks. Many of the mixed blood families will find their roots originating in areas like North Carolina in areas that even today are considered remote where people still live in cabins on creeks still making shine.

Many of the Appalachian people are well known to be of mixed-blood ancestry, and with all of the noise made about enrolled members and roll numbers and other means of identifying citizenship, sometimes simple basic truths are left to the wayside in the blizzard of propaganda thrown around concerning the topic.

The mindset of many Americans today seems to be that if you are not enrolled, then you are not of Indian lineage. Why this has taken place is subject to many opinions, however it is mostly based on ignorance and a lack of understanding by people who don't know which end is up.

When you consider that tribes went out of their way to intermarry with whites, which indeed was a very traditional thing done among many. You soon come to realize that the hills are literally filled with grandmothers and grandfathers who could no more deny being mixed-blood any more than they could deny the air they breathe.

The simple facts are is that there is no tribe in America who does not have descendants who are assimilated into Anglo-American Culture, this does not mean they are not related, and it does not necessarily mean they are un-traditional, what it means is that there is a dominant culture responsible for much confusion.

Many people just don't realize what has been a part of America since its earliest days, and many have become numb to the signs that appear now and again.

Will the Circle be Unbroken? Some folks just don't get it do they? :o)

Many families seek to find their Indian ancestors on rolls here and there, and that is wonderful. However, many traditional people seek to find their relatives through traditional ways, not often understood, nor considered very often by the genealogical community.

Many people whose ancestors came from the area do indeed have their roots found in the tribes that frequented the area. Many original settlers in what was considered the frontier of those times indeed married people of these various groups, and oftentimes this information is only found in family bibles or the memories of the old ones.

The Tsalagi - probably more than any other group - made a conscience effort to marry their sons and daughters to prominent whites for the purpose of securing trade and diplomatic relations. Literally all tribes did these things, however the Ani-Yun_Wiya was not opposed to such an ideal, simply because they had traditional beliefs that did not discriminate as some do in today's modern era.

If one was considered to be honorable, they were eligible to marry into the tribe. It is just that simple. Head warriors often married their daughters to prominent military men with local militias and other officers of the white government.

Many of the Indian Agents married daughters of headmen such as Joseph Martin who was the Virginia Indian Agent, and in Arkansas it was rumored that Peter Cornstalk married one of his children to one of the descendants of Jacob Wolf who was the agent in charge.

There are just too many instances of this sort of cultural exchange to go into great detail, so let's suffice it to say that it was very common in the earliest colonial days. And for those who have heard rumors of this sort of ancestry, this is a very likely scenario that is way back in the family history, perhaps prior to the United States even being established as may be found in my own family who intermarried with both the Delaware and Powhatan.

The facts are that you will not find most of the descendants of these people enrolled, simply because many lived a life outside of the culture. Yet these people did indeed retain many of their ancestral ways in such things like music, song & dance and the wonderful stories passed down through the years.

In order to learn more about this culture, let's learn a little about the region where they lived, and a little about the people who first came to the area while the Tsalagi still possessed their traditional lands.

Many of the original settlers were Scotch-Irish Immigrants who soon began trading with the natives and sharing their cultures with one another.

These folks sometimes wore similar clothing and began to adopt Indian ways of hunting and gardening, while sharing their own provisions with the natives and vice versa.

The Tsalagi being amazed at the similarities between these folks and themselves with their traditions of music and dance soon led to numerous family ties which over a short time the natives then began to embrace even these people's culture into their own. :o)

Much of the music from the hills strongly reflect these traditions, and it was soon that the Tsalagi began learning of Jesus Christ through the strong and ever present faith exhibited by these folks who clung unto their beliefs while faced with even the most hard circumstances.

This in turn was soon reflected in the culture of those people who became Christian and who desired as a result of their faith to join and fellowship with local congregations of churches in the hills and learning the ways of their new found friends and relations.

The Tsalagi had learned to respect these strong people and even though on occasion they fought fierce battles once in a while, this did not diminish the respect for those brave individuals who was greatly respected for their bravery and fighting skills.

Soon the heads of families began giving their daughters to these hard fighting men, knowing that their children would have the best of both worlds and vice versa.

Many of us are the descendants of both peoples, many Scotch-Irish do indeed have Tsalagi roots, and this is simply an undeniable fact for many families.

You will not find these good honest folks on tribal rolls or census records, but you will find them at bluegrass festivals and other traditional events such as frontier days and other such occasions.

If you listen carefully enough, you might just learn something not seen on the outside at first glance.

In fact in many traditional stories passed down through the years have said that when the Scotch-Irish folks began coming into the Blue Ridge Mountains they apparently were astounded to be met by natives who had spoken to them in words they could understand that belonged to the Gaelic Tongue.

While this story seems somewhat strange, it is probably more of an indication of how similar many parts of their respective cultures closely resembled each other. The Tsalagi for instance held fast to a strict clan system.

This part of their culture was very easily understood by the folks living in the hills, who everyone knows is very clannish by nature.

Many mixed people today have Celtic surnames as a result of extensive relations with the Scotch-Irish people.

Many of my ancestors were among the Tsalagi of North Carolina and they lived in the area and became among the very first settlers in places like Ashe County, Wataga and other settlements.

The musical traditions passed down to me through my family are those same versions of songs that are identical to the music that originated in this particular region.

When I listen to old folk tunes that I heard my grandfather sing, I soon realize that the traditions passed to him from his fiddle-playing daddy are those songs that have their origins in the area.

My Weaver family has proven to be one of the first families to legally move West of the Crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, these folks began living in these places as early as 1778 while this land was still very much in the possession of the Tsalagi.

The Weavers were living in the area that became known as the Cut Laurel Gap, which became very famous for the making of moonshine over the years. When the first surveys of this region took place in 1799, the survey crew stayed at my ancestor's cabin for a few days prior to conducting their survey of the lands recently ceded by the tribe.

This land cession resulted in settlement west of the mountains and soon these new arrivals began extensive interactions with the natives in things like trade and other such commerce.

There was an extensive trail system through the region that remained in use all through the colonial area, and these routes are recorded along with villages in old maps of the region.

It is also interesting to note that many of the North Carolina Militia that fought against the Tsalagi in several important battles, also were known to have enlisted people of native lineage in their rosters as research has shown in many families.

Among the things shared between the people was the knowledge of the proper uses of Medicinal Plants & Herbs.

Of all the traditions passed down through the years, probably there is no greater tradition that has passed down through the years than the Folk Music which has seen a new revival in recent years under the title of Bluegrass.

Much of this ancient music is really old ballads and songs sung by folks who lived in the remotest places. People who have lived their lives listening to this beautiful high lonesome sound of the ancient hills can often tell you exactly where a certain tune came from just from a few notes on a fiddle or a short little ditty on the Banjo.

There are perhaps no greater gatherings I have been to over the years than those Old Time Fiddler events and the Bluegrass Festivals. I grew up going every year to the Darrington Bluegrass Festival at the foot of Mt. Whitehorse along the Sauk River in Washington State.

This festival held in July is world-renowned for the fantastic music that is played there in the beautiful Cascades where the numerous Tarheel Picnics are the meeting places of long lost kinfolks from Appalachia.

My Daddy and I would go into the camps in the back woods and get acquainted with the real musicians, you know... the ones that only play for family. After a few sips of coffee with a something little extra added for flavor out of a crock jug, soon you got to hear the real music, the songs played in the hills that never make it on stage by reason of being too sacred to share with outsiders. :o)

Genealogy is one of those things that demand good records, if you can temper that with knowledge, then you will be okay.

I have heard it said that the apple sometimes doesn't fall from the tree. There is some truth to this ideal, as I have spent the great majority of my life roaming the hills and forests and listening to tunes probably much in the same way as my own ancestors.

I was never too awful concerned about my direct ancestors not being found on this and that roll, I have never been ignorant about my family heritage. I was constantly reminded through the beautiful sounds that was passed down to me that made sure I was always aware of just where I could find my kin and who they are.

Anytime I have questions about my heritage; I just open my ears and listen. I have a pretty good idea who my people are; as they share the same heritage that I myself have lived all my life.

The apple don't fall far from the tree, and the Good Lord above has graced me with the ability to reach out to my people through years and years of memories and stories of traditions that I honor and respect.

Mountain People & Cherokees... Somehow that almost reminds me of some songs I have heard, and if not, it sure has a sweet ring to it anyhow!

The Tsalagi called the hills Sah-ka-na-ga, which means The Great Blue Hills of God.

Someday there will be a great reunion indeed, and I look forward to that blessed day!


There'll be shouting on the hills of glory
Shouting on the hills shouting on the hills
There'll be shouting on the hills of glory
There'll be shouting on the hills of God


Oh what a blessed reunion
Oh what a blessed reunion
When will we gather over yonder
There'll be shouting on the hills of God


Now's the time to make a reservation
Now's the time to make a reservation
So stop and make your reservation
There'll be shouting on the hills of God

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