My multi great grandfather was the son of Agerton Willis and his Cherokee (Lumbee?) slave, Sara. Joseph may be the one represented in the “Patriot” movie fighting with Frances Marion character.
He came to Christ during the Whitfield revivals and headed west from South Carolina. He is recorded as the “Apostle to the Opelloussas.” First Baptist preacher west of the Mississippi. He is claimed by the Blacks, since he is recorded as mulatto, which under French law only signified mixed blood.
Joseph’s mother was named Sara and his father was Agerton Willis. He was technically a slave and had to have legislative authority to inherit.
I guess my question is about Sara and any knowledge of her and slavery of Cherokee. Some family stories refer to her as Lumbee. Thanks for any help!
Since your post is from 2015, you have probably already found your answer. I, too, have research this in an attempt to learn if Joseph’s mother was Lumbee or Cherokee. I have not found any documentation as to which she is but I think a Randy Willis internet post gave me the answer I needed. He said that Rev Joseph Willis self reported that his mother was Cherokee. Randy is the foremost genealogy researcher on Rev Joseph Willis. Unfortnuently, it has been a couple of months since I read the article where Randy discusses Joseph’s racial background and have forgotten which record Jospesh self-reported his mother as being Cherokee, but I do remember being statisfied with the explanation to conclude that his mother is most likely Cherokee rather than Lumbee.