I know a decent amount but am lost once I hit Liza Cannon. I was told she was a Cherokee princess. This is what I know for a blood line.
Liza Cannon married James French
Noah French (Liza/James child) Married Kittie McNally
Elmer Cummings married Kittie French
Bob Swainston married Marion Cummings
Fred Swainston married Alice Seeley
Scott Swainston is my father and my name is Brett Swainston.
This line of descent is correct from Noah French to his parents Liza Cannon and James French. However, Liza was not Cherokee at all, let alone a “princess” (FYI, there is no royalty in Cherokee society).
She descended from early White settlers that had moved into Indiana Territory right as it was first opened to White settlement, in the early 1800s. Her grandfather, James Cannon, was a soldier during the Revolutionary War. He was assigned to secure the South Carolina frontier, skirmishing with Cherokees. He was also stationed at a fort (Smith’s Station) where Cherokee prisoners were being held.
You can find Liza in a marriage certificate from 1859, in Martin County, Indiana. She is found in numerous subsequent census records married to James French; and more importantly, she is found in the household of her parents (Joseph and Mary Clements) in the 1850 Census, Martin County, IN.
Joseph Cannon and Mary Clements were married in Martin County, in 1828.
These family lines are extremely well traced. There is no Cherokee ancestry along any of these lineages. Eliza was from standard early colonial settler stock. See the links below.
Indiana Marriage Certificate:
Name James W French
Spouse Name Eliza Cannon
Marriage Date 26 Apr 1859
Marriage County Martin
Household Members
Name Age
Eliza Cannon
James W French
1860 Census:
Name Eliza E French
Age 17
Birth Year abt 1843
Gender Female
Birth Place Indiana
Home in 1860 Perry, Martin, Indiana
Post Office Loogootee
Family Number 355
Household Members
James French 21
Eliza E French 17
Jonathan French 4/12
1870 Census:
Name Eliza Franch
Age in 1870 27
Birth Year abt 1843
Birthplace Indiana
Home in 1870 Brown, Martin, Indiana
Race White
Gender Female
Post Office Dyes Post Office
Household Members
Name Age
James W Franch 31
Eliza Franch 27
Johnathan Franch 10
Mary E Franch 8
George Franch 6
Julia A Franch 4
Isaac Franch 2
1850 Census:
Name Elizabeth Canon
Age 7
Birth Year abt 1843
Birthplace Indiana
Home in 1850 Perry, Martin, Indiana
Gender Female
Family Number 161
Household Members
Name Age
Joseph Canon 44
Mary Canon 37
John Canon 17
Julian Canon 16
Jemima Canon 14
Basil Canon 13
Mary E Canon 9
Rachel Canon 8
Elizabeth Canon 7
Joseph Canon 6
Emily Canon 5
Nancy Canon 4
Wm Canon 2
Isaac Canon 0
Indiana Marriage Certificate:
Name: Joseph Cannon
Spouse Name: Polly Clements
Marriage Date: 26 Jun 1828
Marriage County: Martin County
Grave for Joseph Cannon (also see links to spouse and father James):
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=CAN&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=17&GScntry=4&GSsr=2241&GRid=88926574&
Cannon Family History:
http://webpages.charter.net/bighealey/document.html
Clements Family History:
http://webpages.charter.net/bighealey/clements.html
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