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Chief Black Fox

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HI. I am trying to verify my family history. According to the family tree we have Chief Black Fox had a daughter, Lucy Black Fox Boland. She married a Jonathan Dagley and they had Joseph Dagley, possibly more children. It goes on down the line to Carrie Dagley, my great great grandmother. I am trying to check to see if this information is valid. What i want to know is was Lucy BlackFox Boland Chief Black Fox daughter. Also did she marry Jonathan Dagley? Any help would be much appreciated! Thank you

Comments

  1. This is a fabrication, with the story becoming more elaborate and entrenched over the generations.

    It basically goes back to a few Dagley family members that submitted questionable or even spurious Eastern Cherokee applications in the early 1900s. They claimed various connections to uncles or cousins that they said were recognized or enrolled (they were not), and who ultimately descended from Lucy Bolan/d. These applications were all rejected. However, more modern researchers and descendants are latching onto disparate claims and misrepresented content and streamlining the mythology (which was either based on attempted fraud and conspiracy or simply questionable lore). In other words, it has now evolved to a “known fact” that Lucy Boland was Cherokee. This has skewed pretty much all of the trees found on the web for this particular lineage. Oddly, in the applications, the Dagleys claimed Lucy was the daughter, or granddaughter, of Chief John Ross. Somewhere along the way, the lore shifted, and now Lucy is said to be a daughter of “Chief Black Fox.”

    Here is some context and more specific examples from their original application packets.

    Joseph Dagley (living in Illinois), was rejected with the following notation:

    “Applicant claims through father Joseph Dagley. He was not enrolled in 1835 nor ‘51. The grandfather Elias Dagley also was not enrolled at any time. It is claimed the great-grand mother was Lucy Bolan the grand child of Chief John Ross. This seems inconsistent. There is nothing to show this connection. Lucy Bolan nor her mother were ever enrolled. The ancestors were not parties to the treaties, probably didn’t live in Cherokee domain. Proof insufficient.”

    Several depositions state that Alvis Dagley was known to be a Cherokee, and they try to link to him based on his perceived status. A typical lineage was given as follows: “son of Elias Dagley, grandson of Jonathan Dagley and Lucy Boland, daughter of Annie Bolan who was a daughter of Chief John Ross.”

    Another application states the following:

    “Alvis Dagley. Father Elias Dagley. Grandfather Jonathan Dagley. Great Grandfather, who married Lucy Bolan a daughter of Annie Bolan a near relative of Chief John Ross. Some say a daughter.”

    “Alvis G. Dagley was known to be of Indian blood of the Cherokee Indians through the intermarriage of the relatives of Chief John Ross of the Cherokees.”

    Allen R. Dagley’s application states the following:
    “Q: By what right do you claim to share? If you claim through more than one relative living in 1851, set forth each claim separately: By Cherokee Indian Blood. Alias Dagley my father’s double cousin was a Cherokee Indian By Blood and was enrolled in 1835. “

    Here is the problem though. We know for a fact that the Dagley line came originally from Pennsylvania. They moved into Rowan County, NC about 1770. Jonathan received a land grant in Rowan in 1797, and the birth of the children and various records show the family lived consistently in that area for several decades. Jonathan and Lucy Bolan/d would have been married sometime around the Revolutionary War. Interestingly, the Dagleys were neighbors of the Boone family (of Daniel Boone notoriety) in that location. By early 1800s, Jonathan and Lucy moved to what is now Anderson County, TN. The applications even give Lucy’s mother’s name: Annie Bolan/d. She is not named as a Cherokee or Native American.

    It is also important to understand that the Dagleys had moved into Rowan County, which was not part of Cherokee territory. Jonathan met a woman with an Anglo surname (the same as her mother). This does not seem to fit the claimed scenario – that she was a daughter of a Cherokee chief. How did she get to that location, living far from the tribal community? The family was also listed as White in all records, no members of the family were ever enumerated in tribal rolls (or, lived near or in tribal lands). The descendants themselves claimed Lucy was the daughter of Chief John Ross in their own testimony. That is false. There is no reason to believe she was the daughter of Chief Black Fox.

    There were probably a number of Cherokee men with the name Black Fox. But, a chief is a different matter altogether. It restricts the pool of ancestors dramatically. The principle chief of the tribe with that name was active in the late 1700s and early 1800s. This individual was born about 1746. So, unless he was a father of Lucy at about age 13, this would not seem to be a legitimate link.

    Something very interesting is that the name Boland is not all that common, or that spelling isn’t anyway. For example, a query on the 1790 Federal census (using Ancestry.com) will bring back only 8 results. At that time, 2 Boland households were found in Vermont, 1 in Maryland, 1 in Massachusetts, 2 in South Carolina, 1 in Pennsylvania…and one in Rowan County, a James Boland, listed as entry 287. 127 entries later, there is James Dagley listed. 167 entries from this James Dagley is listed a Jonathan Dagley. It could be a coincidence, but it is still a rather striking one.

    1790 ROWAN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA FEDERAL CENSUS
    BOLAND, James 2 0 3 0 0 entry 287
    DAGLEY, James 1 3 2 0 0 entry 414
    DAGLEY, Jonathan 1 2 2 0 0 entry 577

    Column Codes:
    1 — Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families
    2 — Free white males under 16 years
    3 — Free white females including heads of families
    4 — All other free persons
    5 — Slaves

    http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/rowan/census/1790/1790.txt

    Or, for even further context, we can do a quick review of this surname spelling and get a sense for the numbers. Here are all the “Bolands” that pop up on an early US Federal Census query, from 1790 to 1840. Of course this has a margin of error and some family units could be missed, but, it gives us a ballpark figure anyway.

    1840 Federal Census 72
    1830 Federal Census 39
    1820 Federal Census 30
    1810 Federal Census 9
    1800 Federal Census 9
    1790 Federal Census 8

    I would posit that the Bolan/d connection might be dramatically less romantic (than a Cherokee Chief father). It was likely the name of Lucy’s father, not named in order to obscure parentage and allow for Dagley descendants to claim she was the daughter of “Chief John Ross.” Another possibility is that she was illegitimate and this Anglo name came from her mother. Also, it is very likely that the name might be spelled in various ways – such as Bolan, Bolin, maybe even Boling depending on how a name is pronounced and heard by an enumerator or someone creating a record.

    The major problem with this claim is that glaring inconsistencies are ignored, as are demonstrably false statements on Eastern Cherokee applications submitted by descendants of this couple. Why would Lucy be given her mother’s surname in such a fashion? The family claimed she was the daughter of John Ross in their original Eastern Cherokee applications. Wouldn’t she acquire his surname if her parentage was acknowledged? And if she was illegitimate, what are the chances that a White woman had a relationship with a Cherokee man in the 1740s-early 1750s and then produced a mixed-blood daughter who didn’t live in Cherokee communities during her own lifetime. She somehow found her way over to Rowan County as a young woman, to marry a White guy from Pennsylvania? That would be rather unusual. If there was some Native ancestry along her lines, it has yet to be proven. And the evidence from her own life clearly shows she did not have recognized affiliation with the Cherokee population.

    • I honestly think there is something fishy with this. Maybe she was born Cherokee or whatever type of Indian but was raised completely white because it was not popular to be of known Indian heritage at that time. Trail or tears, etc. a lot of native Americans were claimed as black Irishand taken in by white families.

    • This is what I have in my files for Black Foxes family===Ollie Mollie Attakullakulla, Pai…
      wife

      Nancy Nunhyi Cooper (Black Fox)
      daughter

      Rachel Cline (Black Fox)
      daughter

      Elizabeth Looney (Black Fox)
      daughter

      Sister of Gi-Go-Ne-Li (daughter …
      wife

      Elizabeth Ah Ne Wa Kee “Dolly” B…
      wife

      Sarah Ann Swift Running Deer Bau…
      daughter

      Grand “Chippewa” Priber
      wife

      Mother of Looney Daughter Chippewa
      daughter

      Melba?
      wife

      Mary Ann Davis (Black)
      daughter

      Black Fox Enoli Is this correct in your paper work?

      • This is what I am trying to figure out. What is the source to connect Sarah Ann Running Deer Blackfox to Chief Enola? Could it just be a side branch or some family with the same name? Sarah Ann is my 4th great grandmother, but I am not seeing any sources showing her parentage. Just her spouse and children. Ancestry.com does claim that my DNA matches, but that doesn’t tell me of her parentage.

      • What documentation do you have to support it? Mary Ann Black (Davis) was very definitely my 5th g-gm — DNA matches with other descendants of her daughters prove it — but I have zero corroborated evidence of who her parents were — other than perhaps wishful thinking that Chief Black Fox was her father.

      • Hi Deedle, I have been doing my family research and study now for over 6 1/2 years and still going, not only it has become a great interest and hobby of mine that I had discovered about me ever since I started my genealogy journey, but I started researching and studying my family genealogy, because I never knew the truth of my identity and who I am as a Cherokee man. Anyways, I immediately recognized all of the names that you have listed and I also had noticed that you have Nancy Nunhyi Cooper (Black Fox) as a daughter, which matches up with genealogical recorded documentations, as Nancy Blackfox is my 3rd Great Grandmother and this also matches to Nancy being the daughter of War Chief, Enoli Blackfox. But genealogy discoveries and findings has her mother as Melba Attakullakulla. Now, through my researching, studying, reading and discoveries on my father’s side, Even though my father is Richard Bearpaw II, which he took his biological birth surname from his mother. This is my father’s family through the Watt’s family line back to their original family surname, that was forcefully changed from Blackfox to Watts. Me, ThunderHawk (b. 1981). My father, Richard Bearpaw II (b. 1935) in Cherokee co., Oklahoma (probably Tahlequah). My Paternal Grandfather, Richard Watts (b. 1895) in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now, Muskogee, Muskogee co., Oklahoma. My Paternal Great Grandfather, Jacob Zachariah Watts/Blackfox, Jr. (b. 1853) in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (now, Muskogee, Muskogee co., Oklahoma. My Paternal 2nd Great Grandfather, Jacob Zachariah Blackfox/Brown (b. Circa 1800) in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory and for my Paternal 3rd Great Grandparents, War Chief, Tecumseh Straight Tail (1768-1813) and is half Shawnee/half Muskogee (Creek) man and Nancy Nunhyi Cooper (Black Fox) (1790-1870) and is full blood Cherokee woman.

        • Hi,

          I am not sure if you still read replies from here. I am trying to do some research to find my ancestors listed on the rolls and to prove my Cherokee heritage. In all this research, I came across your reply here which has caught my attention. Nancy Nunhyi Cooper (Black Fox) is my 5th great grandmother on my father’s maternal side. She had a daughter named Nancy Cooper (1803-1880) who had a son named Peter Burk. who had a son named William Burk, who had a son named Lindsey Burk who had a daughter (my grandma) named Billie Burk. Do you know if Nancy Black Fox is listed on any of the rolls? Do you have any suggestions for me?

    • I did a couple of searches for Lucy Boland Blackfox on MyHeritage.com, which is a family genealogy website and this is what I have found. Now, mind you, if you see anything like a Cherokee princess/Queen, don’t pay any attention to it, just like our Cherokee Tribal Nation and all of the other different American Indigenous Tribal Nations across Native Americas, we never had any such European Royal titles in our Nations, although there were at least three to a very few different Nations who had Kings, like the Aztecs of Mexico and Mayan Snake Kings of Guatemala and the Inca Kings of Peru. Did you know that through Melba’s mother, Ollie Attakullakulla, we are direct blood descendants of the Mayan Snake Kings of Guatemala through both of her parents, who are full blood Mayans?

      Jonathan Dagley and Lucy Boland Blackfox

      Lucy Boland Dagley* (born Blackfox*(Cherokee Indian Princess))
      In MyHeritage Family Trees
      Save this record to your family tree
      Save record
      Lucy Boland Dagley* (born Blackfox*(Cherokee Indian Princess))
      Save this record to your family tree
      Save record

      Name Lucy Boland Dagley* (born Blackfox*(Cherokee Indian Princess))
      Birth 1759
      Death 1830
      Family members
      Husband Jonathan Dagley*
      1755 – ?
      Children Joseph Dagley
      1785 – 1836

      Stokeley Dagley
      1805 – 1870

      Elias Dagley
      1815 – 1830

      Jonathan Dagley
      1800 – 1879

      Sarah Dagley
      1805 – 1887

      Dagley
      Source

      jamieson Web Site
      Updated on Mar 5 2022 (2 months ago)2,535 profiles in one family tree
      View full profile in this site

      Doreen Adams Rice
      Site manager
      Contact Doreen Adams

  2. Thank you for your answer! I have been wondering about this for awhile. So now my question is if the Lucy boland who married Jonathan Dagley was not the daughter of chief Blackfox or chief Jon Ross then WHO was she? Her mothers name being Annie who were HER people ?

      • These are very good questions.

        It can sometimes represent lore that a family had inherited in the early 1900s, and members thought it would be worth a shot to put in a “Cherokee” application. What did they have to lose, ya know? This was in spite of having misinformation or details that were skewed. Perhaps they only had very vague notion that someone was supposed to be – or “said to be” – Native American in the family tree. And they sort of filled in the blanks, or latched onto “Cherokee,” because that was a more well-known tribe. For example, I have seen where families that descended from very distant east coast Algonquin ancestors (e.g. former Powhatan Confederacy tribes) passed on the lore that they were part-Indian, and it morphed into “Cherokee” at some point, and the real links were forgotten or obscured. So, when they put in for Eastern Cherokee settlement claims or Dawes Roll, they weren’t necessarily lying.

        However, another scenario was a sort of conspiracy and usually involved lower class/poor White families trying to put in fraudulent applications in hopes of receiving money or land by claiming this “blood.” In these cases, you’ll see details that the family members tried to claim although there can be some variaton on the “cover story.” And it doesn’t jive with known genealogy, family connections and affiliation to the tribe (e.g. found in Cherokee territory or on various rolls). The applications were easily rejected because they were totally groundless or bogus/fraudulent.

        But, interestingly, in these cases, it is harder for many modern descendants of these potentially “sketchy” ancestors to internalize that they were involved in something nefarious. There is a psychological component that tends to make people think their ancestors were inherently good, or weren’t specifically “lying.” I suppose this is part of our human nature and sense of personal identity. So, they’ll try to rationalize the applications in ways that might given their ancestors a way out, or paint them in a better light. Often, they’ll posit that there was some grain of truth for claming the blood. They assume the probably thought they had it, or there is some blood in there…somewhere…on “some line.” In other words, they even internalize the lore and perpetuate it themselves.

        The hallmark of this kind of phenomenon is that modern descendants will continue looking for the “blood” and expanding the lore, creating more details about supposed lineages. They dealve into areas that are well outside the bounds of good genealogical practices. The quest is to illustrate that there is some truth to the story, and “Why would they lie about that??” With the advent of internet genealogy, well…it is a blessing and a curse. We have more access to sources of information and sharing capabilities. But, it also tends to generate a lot more misinformation that tends to stick around longer, or get repeated. All it takes is one person typing out questionable claims or presenting information as “fact” and it can be adopted by everyone trying to break through their “brick walls” or fill in the blanks (or, specifally prove the “Indian blood” claims).

        If I had to theorize about this case, using more reasonable methods and logic, I would say that this Lucy Boland recieved a name from her mother and she was either illegitimate, or her father was a Boland and he was left unnamed in order to fill in the appliation with a supposed “Cherokee” father. In other words, her real father had to be stripped from the tree and replaced to match the cover story. That is why only the mother was mentioned. The fact that they gave a standard Anglo name at such an early date is quite telling. Based on the location as well, I’d posit there is no Cherokee connection. What are the odds that a White woman had a child with a Cherokee man, and ended up in Rowan County, NC at that time period? It would be highly unusual. And the fact that the mother and daughter were not found affiliated with the tribe during their lifetimes is also a consideration. If there was Indian ancestry along this line, I would expect it was more remote and coming from eastern seaboard tribal roots. I mentioned in the previous response about the Boland family living in Rowan County at the same time period. I think that is a more reasonable lead to explore. I would also expand it out to alternative spellings, such as Bolin, and even Boling. However, I would not give any credence to these particular applications. Consider, we are talking about a few applications that this family put in around 1900 and even at that time the claim was basically a grandmother was said to be the daughter, or grandaughter of John Ross (a known figure) or, “my father’s cousin/uncle was said to be a recognized Cherokee.” (when they were not). They are highly spurious. It really strikes me as an attempt to cash in by making false claims.

    • Hello Emkay 🙂 Lucy Boland was the Mother of my great great Grandmother Ollie Emeline Dagley married (James) she is not mentioned in any Ancestory or Geneaology pages online . I can tell you what I know and what I have been told if you send me a email. derian.mueller@web.de ❤

          • My Great,great grandma Ollie E.Dagley is the daughter of Joseph Dagley born in Anderson TN. We were always Told our great grandma is American Indian. I wish I would have met her but I was 3 when she died. My Aunt’s and Sister knows more …Just hope this “mystery” would finally be solved wierd seeing my Ancestor’s name’s being so disrespected throughout the Web 😐 I would offer any helpto clear this up so it can rest. Anyway we should be all writing our own book/ legacy and be proud of what we accomplish in life whatever ethnicity I honor my family and my Ancestor’s ❤ And if they didn’t want “the truth” to come out maybe there were important reason’s for it ? Looking forward to hearing from you soon 😊

          • No I didn’t, hard to see because I have to use my phone. I didn’t receive them though so I’ll send you the email address again its Ekking1@gmail.com. Hopefully they will go through this time. Excited to find out more about this mystery!

    • Hi Emkay1201,

      After seeing your question that you had asked about Lucy Boland, so, I did a couple of searches for you on MyHeritage.com, which is a family genealogy website and this is what I have found. Now, mind you, if you see anything like a Cherokee princess/Queen, don’t pay any attention to it, just like our Cherokee Tribal Nation and all of the other different American Indigenous Tribal Nations across Native Americas, we never had any such European Royal titles in our Nations, although there were at least three to a very few different Nations who had Kings, like the Aztecs of Mexico and Mayan Snake Kings of Guatemala and the Inca Kings of Peru. Did you know that through Melba’s mother, Ollie Attakullakulla, we are direct blood descendants of the Mayan Snake Kings of Guatemala through both of her parents, who are full blood Mayans?

      Jonathan Dagley and Lucy Boland Blackfox

      Lucy Boland Dagley* (born Blackfox*(Cherokee Indian Princess))
      In MyHeritage Family Trees
      Save this record to your family tree
      Save record
      Lucy Boland Dagley* (born Blackfox*(Cherokee Indian Princess))
      Save this record to your family tree
      Save record

      Name Lucy Boland Dagley* (born Blackfox*(Cherokee Indian Princess))
      Birth 1759
      Death 1830
      Family members
      Husband Jonathan Dagley*
      1755 – ?
      Children Joseph Dagley
      1785 – 1836

      Stokeley Dagley
      1805 – 1870

      Elias Dagley
      1815 – 1830

      Jonathan Dagley
      1800 – 1879

      Sarah Dagley
      1805 – 1887

      Dagley
      Source

      jamieson Web Site
      Updated on Mar 5 2022 (2 months ago)2,535 profiles in one family tree
      View full profile in this site

      Doreen Adams Rice
      Site manager
      Contact Doreen Adams

  3. Trying to comment back to Ollie Dee, but the way this website set up it’s not compatible with phone. Anyway though no I did not receive those emails maybe you can send them again? Yes, I agree it is frustrating to see e name disrespected. We are related then through my grandmothers side we’re the dagley s as well and Ollie dagley would be the connection. Maybe asking your aunts sister would help! Let me know what you find out and hopefully we can get the prOblem with the email worked out! Looking forward to hearing from you,
    Emily king

  4. what does it mean if i found my grandfathers parents on the heritage website and one of the parents parents blood card was listed with name is quantum blood 1/32 and beside it in the notes it says “See Cherokee by Blood Minor Card 2466”. I looked it up and it took me directly to Enola Blackfox 58 M Full 6293 Cherokee
    by Blood Card 2466
    Elsie Blackfox 57 F Full 6294 Cherokee
    by Blood Card 2466

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