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Hello,
I am new to the site and am interested in asking if anyone has any information about an ancestor who may have been Native.
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Using information from family members about a possible Native ancestor that is compelling but also limited, I am researching an ancestor named Martha/Patsey Boyette (frequently spelled “Boyt,” “Boyett,” or “Boyte” in records).
Martha Boyette was born around 1800 and likely died during the 1860s, living mostly in Nansemond County, VA and Gates County, NC. Martha Boyette’s last name became “Boyette” through a marriage to Thomas S. Boyette during the 1810s or 1820s. Thomas S. Boyette was likely white and died around 1840, and I have been so far unable to find Martha Boyette’s last name prior to marriage.
It appears that Thomas S. Boyette was located with other Boyette relatives in the areas of “South Quay,” “Kingsale,” and “Somerton Creek” in southwest Nansemond County prior to marriage with Martha Boyette. I recently found a link to a blog mentioned on this site that discussed a significant Meherrin presence in the specific areas listed above during the early 1700s. Although I am researching an ancestor who lived during the 1800s, I am wondering if it is possible that there continued to be a Native presence in the 1800s in these areas where Thomas S. Boyette and other relatives were located and where Thomas S. Boyette may have met Martha Boyette.
In census records, Martha Boyette is listed as being unable to read or write and appears to have had very little money. In all records that I have found so far, Martha Boyette is listed as “white.” However, if this ancestor was Native, it appears that it was common to find some Native people listed this way in records at this time.
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While there are many land records for Thomas S. Boyette’s relatives in southwest Nansemond County, I have so far found no land records specifically for Thomas S. Boyette. After Thomas S. Boyette died around 1840, there are also few land records for Martha Boyette. However, the few property records that I have found for Martha Boyette are from 1854 until 1861 for 10 acres of land located 6 miles south of the Nansemond County courthouse. This distance suggests that this land was located in or around the area of Skeetertown, a community that I have found mentioned on this site and elsewhere as a place where there was a significant Native presence during the nineteenth century. A note in these records suggests that the land may have been given to Martha Boyette rather than sold (there is more important information about this record that I hope to post about in another post).
Aside from these land records in the area of Skeetertown, Martha Boyette is recorded in census records as residing in the area of Holy Neck in Nansemond County, as well as Gates County, NC.
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Martha/Patsey Boyette has not been widely researched and is found in very few tree graphs on websites such as Ancestry. However, one main goal of my research is to locate Martha Boyette’s last name prior to marriage in the 1810s or 1820s. Has anyone seen this particular ancestor in their research or have any ideas about what Martha Boyette’s last name might have been? Also, does anyone have any sources of information about places in Nansemond County such as Skeetertown, Holy Neck, and Somerton Creek?
Thank you for adding me into the forum and I appreciate any information that anyone may offer.
Welcome to the site. I have an ancestor I believe was Native who later generations had genealogists check on. She is documented, according to them, as having been born in three different European locations. So, yes, 19th-century families went to great lengths to extinguish any proof that they were Native. People did not have to prove that you were mixed blooded, all they had to do was gossip that you weren’t thoroughly white, and it was enough to be kicked into the ‘white trash can.’
Why do you suspect this lady had Native blood? Family stories?
Yes. Some of the information I first heard about this was when my grandmother simply said to me, “My great-grandmother/great-great-grandmother was a full-blooded Indian.” This statement was vague and one piece of this statement is likely false, as it is likely that this possible Native ancestor would have had ancestors who had been marrying white people. However, I found out much more recently that my grandmother had a very old photograph who is said to be the person who was being spoken about.
The photograph was described as a Native woman with hair tied in a knot with a feather, photographed with a patterned fabric or blanket. The person in the photo was described as older, with slightly graying hair, and as “middle” skin-toned. The portrait was described as “sepia-toned” with a blank backdrop, appearing as though it was taken in a studio. The photograph is said to have been printed on or placed on a cardboard-like material, which often seems to be an indication that an old photo was from a studio.
I’m not sure what to make about the information given about the photo. If the person in the photo is one of the ancestors that I am researching, then the person in the photo would likely have to have been considered by some as more white-passing. Also, if this photo is of one of these ancestors, then would this ancestor have decided to commemorate Native ancestry through this photo while also, as you mentioned, attempting to erase or hide this ancestry?
When considering the statement that my grandmother made and while searching the records available for a potential ancestor, the area of the records involving Martha/Patsey Boyette seemed different to me than other records that I found. In addition, Martha/Patsey Boyette or a child named Mary Ann Boykins Chapman (Mary Ann Boyette) would be one of the specific relations that my grandmother alluded to (Martha Boyette as “great-great-grandmother” and Mary Ann Boykins Chapman as “great-grandmother”). Considering the description of the age of the photo, it sounds as though this photo could have been taken at the time either of these relatives were alive.
A parent of mine said that they first saw the photo in recent years, when my grandmother simply said something to them like “this is a relative of mine” and then showed them the photograph. My grandfather has also reported seeing the photo, and each relative gave a somewhat similar description. My grandmother died in recent years, so I can only contact other relatives to find out what they have heard. In addition, the photo is currently lost and has not been found in recent years.
I did both an internal search here on ‘Boyette,’ and on Google for “Saponitown Boyette” and you seem to be the only person here to use that name. You might want to check out some of the Articles under the tab by that name in the navbar above. Have you gotten up with some of the Native groups and tribes in Nansemond?
It does not seem to be a name that is often associated with Native people in the area. However, finding Martha/Patsey Boyette’s last name prior to marriage may give a much greater sense of this ancestor’s possible Native ancestry, and I haven’t found this name yet.
I haven’t contacted Native groups or tribes in the area yet, but I will soon. Perhaps they will have access to records and information that I have not been able to find.
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