Commentaries by Cynthia

I grew up hearing that my great-great Grandmother from my mother’s side of the family was a Cherokee Indian.

I also grew up hearing that a famous explorer was an ancestor from my dad’s side of the family. His name was William and he had a son, John. They were both killed in an attack by the Cherokees. In their honor, a river, gorge, and waterfall in North Carolina still carries their last name.

After hearing these stories, I often wondered what my ancestors would think of my parent’s marriage. After all, her side of the family actually killed two well-known members of his family. Wouldn’t this create some type of conflict – all the bad blood of the past somehow impacting later generations?

Well, apparently, I don’t have to wonder about this anymore. Over the weekend, I learned through my big sister - who had conducted research on our family tree - that the Native American Grandmother in our lineage was not from the Cherokee tribe, after all. She was part of the Catawba Indians, a tribe that originated out of South Carolina, their tribal name meaning "People of the river."

While I was glad to learn that one side of my family did not kill the other, I realized that I knew nothing about the smaller tribe known as the Catawba Indians. So, in the name of genealogy and family heritage, it seems I have some homework to do.