Family Oral Tradition and History

Hello out there, all of you fellow sojourners. I have spent many years getting to this point and so many times ending on a dead end street. Many of you know that frustration. What do we know? All of our family came out of Red Bank-High Plains area in Halifax County, Va. One tradition says we are Cherokee-Muskegeon from the West ? My ggGrandfather was supposed to be known as the “Shell Man” and some of the family says he was shaman. His name eventually changed to Shelman or Shellman for English. One of my cousins grandson was named Shelman for this ancestor My great grandfather was marked B when his family was enumerated in 1900 census. The family was so involved in their community(living in Mecklenburg County now) in church and school although carrying many NA traits and Grandaddy Fitts carried the mail on horseback as well as farming and making wooden coffins that this local community just counted them as their own. The enumerator had then marked over the B a W. Interesting as Grandma Amelia Ann was very dark as were all the children and they were marked W. This Mr. Overby was from that community and I believe this is how they escaped being marked B or M. We know Native Americans were living in Halifax County, Va. even in the 40’s by accounts of cousins relating going there to visit and staying with “Indian” kinfolk. Does any of this touch base with anyone. Some names from early 1800’s: Glasscock,Elliott,Hite,Fitts,Smith, and possibly Ross. Ed