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Cherokee Heritage of Polly Smith

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My great grandmother was Cherokee. She was marked to an Irish Preacher named Findley Roark. They lived in Red Bird Clay County Kentucky in 1930. She had 6 children. My grandmother Minerva 17, Mary 12, Burley 10, Matilda 8, Gilbert 6 and Fannie 3. I would like some information on her Cherokee heritage.

Comments

  1. Polly Smith Roark was not Cherokee. Her lines trace back to colonial (Anglo) roots, with ancestors coming in from eastern Carolina and VA settlements, pushing into Kentucy. They received standard land grants, and were early White settlers. Here is an overview of her tree going back to great-grandparents (some were apparently cousins with the same Smith surname):

    Polly Smith b. 1860s KY married Finley Roark.

    Parents:
    Isaac Smith b. abt 1831 KY
    Lucinda Morgan b. abt 1833 KY

    Grandparents:
    William Morgan b. 1801 SC
    Nancy Sergent b. 1807 Patrick Co. VA
    Milton B Smith b. 1816 Clay Co., KY
    Sally Ann Smith b. 1818 Clay Co. KY *Smith cousins

    Great Grandparents:
    Zachariah Morgan b. 1776
    Mary Holt b. 1779
    Abraham Sergent b. 1777 NC
    Elizabeth Hodge b. 1774 Caswell NC
    Benjamin Smith b. 1780 NC
    Celia Hall b. 1790
    William Smith 1784 Burke Co. NC
    Keziah LNU

    She can be found on the 1880 Census, living in Leslie Co. KY, with her parents Isaac and Lucinda Smith. Her birth year fluctuates on various records, but on this one in particular, it is given as 1864. The family was found in Clay County, KY in the 1870 Census.

    Isaac Smith was listed as having been born about 1835 in KY. His parents were listed as KY/KY place of birth as well. Lucinda Morgan Smith was born about the same year, also in KY (parents also listed with KY place of birth).

    Here is their marriage certificate info:

    Name:Isaac Smith
    Age: 22
    Est. Birth Year: abt 1835
    Birth Location: Clay
    Residence: Clay
    Spouse Name: Lucinda Morgan
    Spouse Age:23
    Spouse Birth Location: Clay
    Spouse Residence: Clay
    Marriage Date: 1 Jun 1857
    Marriage Location: Clay
    County of Record: Clay

    Grave and info can be found here:

    http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=116828775&ref=acom

    Morgan line info:
    http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/KYHARLAN/2006-10/1162060154

    http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/b/u/r/Nathaniel-Burney/BOOK-0001/0003-0027.html

    Excerpt:
    “Zachariah Morgan (1775-1841) and his wife, Mary “Polly” Holt (1778-1858), left South Carolina shortly after 1800.They migrated with their family into Harlan County, Kentucky, and settled for a while near an area there called Point Pleasant, along what was called Morgan Creek (now Collier Creek).The Morgan family’s stay in Harlan County was short-lived.At some point between 1810 and 1815, Zachariah packed up all he owned and moved his growing family north into what is now Leslie County, Kentucky.The Morgans became the first settlers on Tug Point, near the mouth of Muncy’s Creek in the Middle Fork area of the Kentucky River.This area is a few miles south of the town of Hyden.”

    William Morgan grave:
    http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=43046566&ref=acom

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