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Hi, was wondering if anyone could help me with a little problem, Were Reservations ever Given in the 1750’s to Individual people? My Ancestor, Thomas Hilton/Helton and John Gowen (probably Goins) were given 825 acres there on Terrible Creek, Northern end of Halifax county I believe.. And I don’t know HOW they got it.. We have Y- DNA tested 20 Of Thomas Hilton and his Brother/Son Beecham Hiltons DNA.. and it is always Q1A3A.. Pure male native american.. Their descendants moved down into Burke/Rowan/Stokes Counties NC about 1775-80.
We always heard we were Cherokee. But Im wondering if we are Really Saponi?? Can anyone out there Help??? Thank You,
Jack
The reservation system is something that is a part of the Unites States government, which didn’t exist in 1750. What does the document say? They were granted the land? I don’t know all the particulars about how the Colonial government went about granting land, what the requirements were, but it’s not unusual to find purely Native people nonetheless taking title to land in the Colonial style. We all know about the Civilized Tribes, but they actually weren’t the first to assimilate into the Colonial economy and carve a niche for themselves. I’ve heard of some Native men who became slave-owning, prosperous landowners. The Cherokee had quite a few families like that, but they weren’t the only ones, and likely something like that was going on with your ancestors. It could be your Ancestors were granted the land because they paid for it. I’d really like to know what that grant says. It might be telling us why so many Saponi descendants settled in Halifax county — because some prosperous people were able to get legal title to a chunk of it.
I found it in this book, ” Property Lines from an Old Survey Book Halifax county Va 1741-1901.”
I have been reading alot on line, and it seems Some VA tribes, were given land Long before the US gov’t was around. The Pamunkeys and Mattaponi’s were given “reservation land”. 825 acres is quite a lot, so I was wondering if it were for a tribe or a community of Native americans..
From all I have been told there were no cherokee in halifax VA.
Can you cut and paste the entry, or is there a url to it? I’d like to see what it says.
No Saponi have any treaty rights that I’m aware of, unless somebody’s looking to interpret some old treaties in a novel way. They had a six mile radius of land set aside for them by Spotswood ca. 1713 at Fort Christanna, Brunswick County near Lawrenceville. Soldiers were there to protect from raids by other tribes, but they left around 1720 I believe. The Saponi stuck around for like a decade then everyone scattered, with the official band going to the Cayuga, who adopted them. I think that’s about as official a land grant as there ever was.
It could be that those two were claiming land that was used in a tribal sense, and going about it in a way that fit within the colonial government’s system. Tracking down who owned the land subsequently may tell something. Perhaps the land got divied up more and granted to more people in that tribal group, and that evolved into the present day enclave of the Haliwa Saponi.
Im sorry, I got it the old fashioned way. From the book!! Its up at the Mcclung Museum in Knoxville, but i’m sure every historical society in VA has one. I know Thomas Hiltons DNA is Native, and I’m Pretty sure John Gowens was either an Indian or Melungeon. I never saw a land grant that big for any military service, That was why I was questioning it. I will look and see Whom they sold it too, or who took it further down the line.
Are there any documented Saponi DNA projects going on that you know of?? Im curious as I can guarantee there were no Indians named Hilton Here when the first settlers came over!!!
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