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The following are land transfers between Nottoway Indians and white settlers. These land transfers are taken from Southampton County, Virginia; Deed Book #1 (1749 to 1753).
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/southampton/deeds/deedbk1.txt
DEED PAGE … SELLER … PURCHASER
Pages 48 to 51 Nottoway Indians John Browne
Pages 53-57 Nottoway Indians William Andrews
Pages 57-60 Nottoway Indians Benjamin Vasser
Pages 60-63 Nottoway Indians Peter Butts
Pages 98-102 Nottoway Indians Joseph Gray
Pages 98-102 Nottoway Indians Thomas Jarrell
Pages 102-106 Nottoway Indians Joseph Gray
Pages 102-106 Nottoway Indians Thomas Jarrell
Pages 102-106 Nottoway Indians Thomas Westbrook
Pages 131-134 Nottoway Indians John Fort
Pages 135-137 Nottoway Indians Simon Turner
Pages 144-147 Nottoway Indians Richard Kirby Jr
Pages 206-209 Nottoway Indians William Barnes
Pages 210-213 Nottoway Indians Joshua Pretlow
Pages 230-232 Nottoway Indians Ethelred Taylor
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? acres (purchased from the NOTTOWAY INDIANS on 17 Feb 1745), S:
BENJAMIN (signed) EXUM, W: no witnesses
————————
330 acres on the west side of Alsamosuck Swamp adj. WILLIAM SANEBY
(bought from NOTTOWAY INDIANS on 24 Nov 1735), S: WILLIAM (signed)
SAUREY and ELIZABETH (+) SAUREY, W: no witnesses
————————
80 acres on the south side of the Nottoway River adj. the east side of
Cox Branch, WILLIAM EDWARDS, decd., and the NOTTOWAY INDIANS (patent to
sd. RICHARD on 11 Jan 1731), S: RICHARD (signed) VICK SR, W: SAMUEL
(signed) BLOW, JACOB (signed) VICK, and RICHARD (signed) VICK
————————
? acres (sold from NOTTOWAY INDIANS to WILLIAM DAVIS on 5 Jun 1738 who
sold it to sd. BENJAMIN), S: BENJAMIN (signed) SIMMONS and ELIZABETH
(signed) SIMMONS, W: WILLIAM (signed) SIMMONS, BENJAMIN (signed) ELLIS,
and WILLIAM (signed) JARRELL
————————
400 acres on the east side of Alsamotsach Swamp adj. NOTTOWAY INDIANS
(sd. BENJAMIN SIMMONS bought from NOTTOWAY INDIANS on 7 Aug 1735), S:
BENJAMIN (signed) SIMMONS and ELIZABETH (signed) SIMMONS, W: no witnesses
————————
? acres (being a deed from the NOTTOWAY INDIANS to WILLIAM DAVIS on 5
Jun 1738), S: ARTHUR (signed) WILLIAMS, W: CHARLES (signed) BRIGGS and
ARTHUR (signed) ARRINGTON
————————
Pages 302-303: JONAS MATTHEWS and wife ANN to JOSEPH MATTHEWS dated 21 Aug 1750
100 acres adj. the NOTTOWAY INDIANS, S: JONAS (“X”) MATTHEWS and ANN (A)
MATTHEWS, W: GEORGE (backwards C) STEPHENSON, JOHN (circle with X in
middle) SMITH, and EDWARD (ED) MATTHEWS
————————
(circa May, 1752) 100 acres adj. NOTTOWAY INDIANS, S: JOSEPH (M) MATTHEWS and ELIZABETH
(+) MATTHEWS, W: JACOB (signed) VICK, JOHN (signed) BROWNING, and
STEPHEN (signed) POPE
————————
? acres (received in the will of THOMAS COCKE in Apr 1750 having 925
acres, patented by WILLIAM COCKE in 1706, some given to THOMAS COCKE
from NOTTOWAY INDIANS in 1735, THOMAS EDWARDS patent assigned to THOMAS
COCKE in 1731), S: THOMAS (signed) COCKE, W: no witnesses
————————
Pages 432-435: ETHELRED TAYLOR to son WILLIAM TAYLOR dated 14 Dec 1752
1. one water grist mill called Buckhorn Mill (mill purchased by sd.
ETHELRED from JOHN SIMMONS, THOMAS JARRELL SR, and THOMAS JARRELL JR on
17 Nov 1739?)
1. 665 acres on the south side of the Nottoway River on Buckhorn
Swamp adj. Long Branch, Cabin Branch, the low grounds of the Nottoway
River, and Posson Branch (365 acres purchased by sd. ETHELRED from the
NOTTOWAY INDIANS on 28 Mar 1740S: ETHELRED (signed) TAYLOR, W: no witnesses
————————
Pages 470-472: RAYMOND ENNIS to HOWELL EDMUNDS dated 5 Mar 1753
150 acres on the south side of the Nottoway River, east side of Blunts
Swamp, and NOTTOWAY INDIANS, S: RAYMOND (signed) ENNIS, W: no witnesses
————————
Pages 495-496: JOHN EXUM of Edgecombe County to BENJAMIN EXUM dated 20 Nov 1752
320 acres (from NOTTOWAY INDIANS to sd. JOHN on 5 Jun 1738), S: JOHN
(signed) EXUM, W: SAMUEL (signed) BLOW, MICHAEL (signed) BLOW, and
BENJAMIN (signed) VASSER
————————
Pages 502-503: ROBERT BAILEY to DRURY DAVIS dated 9 Aug 1743 (sic)
100 acres adj. THOMAS DAVIS, SAMUEL BLOW, and Long Branch (part of 250
acres to sd. ROBERT from the NOTTOWAY INDIANS), S: ROBERT (signed)
BAILEY, W: SAMUEL (signed) BLOW, WILLIAM (signed) SIMMONS, and SYLVANUS
(signed) STOKES
============================
COMMENTS: I give a great deal of weight to proximity. I think it’s valid to assume that if you live nearby someone, you’re apt to have social relationships. Thus, although it’s not the hard documentation that I’d prefer, I nevertheless think that close proximity to known Indians, combined with an oral tradition that an ancestor was Indian, and that a surname is shared between both the two groups, is a powerful indication that more than coincidence is at work.
It’s frustrating to be soooo close, and yet not be able to prove the linkage. Such is the case with my SIMMONS line.
The Nottoways were cousins to the Tuscarora and spoke an Iroquoian dialect. They lived originally on the Nottoway River, in southeast Virginia. (The Nottoway River and the Merherrin River join, right below the VA/NC line, to become the Chowan River. In turn, the Roanoke River meets the Chowan River at the mouth of the Chowan.) Later, the remaining Nottoway Indians joined the Tuscarora on their reservation in Bertie County, NC along the Roanoke River.
Now, my ggg grandfather, James Simmons, b. circa 1795, said that his grandfather was Indian, and came from Roanoke. So, what do I make of the fact that white Simmons were buying land from Nottoway Indians approximately 50 years/two generations priorto my ggg grandfather’s birth? What conclusions, if any, can I draw? Is this more than coincidence? Is this proof? I wish I knew the answer.
Here’s an pretty good article on the Nottoway.
http://www.independentmessenger.com/archives/001203nottoway.shtml
This is from the end of that article:
The remains of more than 100 Indians believed to be Nottoway were removed from a dig and taken to Washington, D.C., as property of the federal government.
A member of the Nansemond tribe, Oliver Perry, petitioned for repatriation of the remains.
The government, however, denied his petition, citing that the Nottoway no longer existed as a tribe.
What I’m wondering is, why do they have to prove that a Nansemond tribe still exists and they belong to it? Don’t they just have to prove that there is reasonable evidence that those are their family members, so that they can be allowed to properly re-bury them?
I mean, if somebody came and dug up my Great Grandpa Sievers, it should be enough that I demonstrate reasonably that he is a family member for common decency to prevail and I be allowed to re-bury him. Whether or not there’s question that he may have been a wetback from Germany* and not a U.S. Citizen should have nothing to do with it. There’d be no issue that I had to hunt down his naturalization papers before I was allowed to come collect his bones.
Weird legalities here, I’d say. I wish somebody who knows about the legalities involved could answer why this argument could not be used.
_________________
* For awhile he was, literally a wetback, he was a merchant marine whose ship floundered in the Great Lakes. He bailed out and never looked back. He was naturalized the year my grandfather was born. Bet Great Grandma dragged him down there by the ear!
The site mentioned in the article is 44SN22- the “Hand Site”. I worked on the artifact evaluation for this site several years ago.
It’s a wonderful late woodland / early contact site, full of ceramics, stone and bone tools, as well as trade goods like a pair of shears, mounted nails, and glass beads. It is however, a Nottoway site, not Nansemond. The way the law works, if you partition the gov’t to repatraite remains, you must be able to show lineage. in oliver’s case, the christian nancemond could not show cause because it went in direct conflict with their tribal origins – ie: their historic claims in Suffolk. While there are good sources to show nancemond and nottoway interaction in late 16 through 1800s this site predates those interminglings. hence, the tribal boundaries were still intact and the nottoway were “mandoag” to the nansemonds, “enemys”. now whether perry could have pushed for nottoway descendants amongst his people, and in turn available repatraiation is unclear. im sure it was discussed, but not very well documented for the gov’t interests. there are both nottoway interests in meherrin and nansemond, as well as nancemond and meherrin with each other, but all of that seems to be undercover and not often mentioned. i think the govt looks for cohesive transitions, and the nansemond have fought hard to be nansemond – not nottoway. perrys work has been extensive and he has thankfully helped rebury many algonquian ancestors.
The very first post on the deeds of the Nottoway to various persons between 1749-1753 list a sale to Joshua Pretlow and Ethelred Taylor.
Robert Allen sold land to Joshua Pretlow and William Allen to Ethelred Taylor at the same time.
And the very last deed listed in the above post shows Sylvanus Stokes signing.
Sylvanus Stokes married Cecillia or Cecilia Walker…she is sister to Elizabeth Walker Allen. Sylvanus is a name carried down through the Walker and Stokes lines. I wonder what Sylvanus has to do with the Nottaway deeds?
Sylvanus and Cecilia’s children:
Phaedra (Phoebe) stokes married John BELL..had children Zadock Bell, Elizabeth Bell, Sylvanus Bell and John born 1-9-1747/48.
John BELL husband of Phoebe, born abt. 1696 Va. married Hannah Stokes.
Brothers Burrell, Benjamin (married
Martha Wynne)..
Balaam Bell
James married Mildred Robinson
Hannah, Mary and Ann.
Father of John Bell is John Bell married to Ann BENNETT. John born 1668 James city Va. Father of Ann Bennett is Richard. Wife unknown.
Another child of Cecillia Walker and Sylvanus Stokes is Sherard Young Stokes..married Susannah Rives Pettipool in Lunenburg co Va.
Other children of Cecillia and Sylvanus
Marcus, Sylvanus, Drury, Micajah, Susannah married a Freeman and then a Green.
Lexia (Lydia) Stokes.
Elizabeth Stokes born 20 Aug 1740 marries a Knight. ..Anyway, what would the connection of Sylvanus Stokes be to the Nottoway? Sue J
Here is a more complete listing of the land transfers in Southampton co..formed from Isle of Wight in 1749.
So many familiar names here.
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/southampton/deeds/deedbk1.txt
Sue J
Hey Coharie Roy,
I meant to apologize for placing that link that you had already placed at the beginning of this thread….
IF I had been paying attention…..oops
Here is another good article with a map that was on here before. But I didn’t think all of these names were printed..the maps are at the bottom of article..
Saj
http://www.ken-lindsay.com/virgmaps.htm
Sue,
According to the map the Blackwater Swamp is in this area, right?
Wonder if Cindy has seen this thread…. Williams, Green, & Butts…. Did you notice the Richard Atkinson on the map? Rountree in EASTERN SHORE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND notes an Indian by that name, referencing Accomack County deeds, wills, & court orders 1678-82; 284. She lists him as ?Occohannock.
Brenda
This doesn’t look too close to Accomack County, though…..
This gets into areas that are really blurry to me. I know these groups intermingled and moved a lot, but exactly how much????
Brenda
Brenda:
What thread should I notice? This one? I did read it. Is it because of the Green name? I did not recognize too many of the names on the maps as being part of my lines, although I have one Allen in PA who marries into a branch line. Am I missing something I should be looking at? I skimmed the link and looked at the maps.
I know that there appear to be two Green lines on this forum, mine and the one that Dan Akin comes from which I think is connected to the Saponi Greens in southern VA. I don’t know if that line connects to my Greens, although I have found some of the Butts whose lines go south rather than on to OH.
Techteach
Oops, Brenda, now I see what you mean as I am scrolling to the top of the page. I see the Butts. Wonder how I missed it. Now I have to go back and read (or reread?) it.
A couple of us think that Butts is the source of the NA in my Green line.
Techteach
Originally posted by saj
Hey Coharie Roy,
I meant to apologize for placing that link that you had already placed at the beginning of this thread….
IF I had been paying attention…..oops
Here is another good article with a map that was on here before. But I didn’t think all of these names were printed..the maps are at the bottom of article..
Saj
Cindy, I see William Willams, too. Middle map, Edward Green…
“A lot of Quakers and mixed breeds here.”
Well, those are all the names that a distant cousin of the group lists as leaving WVA for OH together in her book. She wrote a book on finding hidden NA and is a Green/Butt/Huston descendent.
And not the first time that Quakers were involved either.
I misread the items at first and thought it was giving me the first mention of a tribe other than the Blackfoot Cherokee of family legend. The other nearest thing I ever read is a mention of a Butt near the WVA group being held prisoner during the Revolution in the Shawnee camp in Ohio “with the Mocans,” who I assume were Monacans who I assume must have fought the Shawnee part of the Rev. This cousin is sure that the Butt/Green line were Shawnee; she pointed out a couple of Shawnee towns near Buttstown.
Techteach
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