Catawba Migration in Early 1800s

Red Metis wrote: Hi Everyone,

I’ve been meaning to post this for the longest!! Anyone looking for Catawba ancestors? I found a site “Native American Records Relating to South Carolina”.

http://sciway3.net/clark/freemoors/NativeAmericans.html

The discussions/queries are on the right side of the page but the Catawba migration to Florida is on the left side of the page. I tracked this page down looking for my own Brown ancestors who moved to NW Florida back in the 1800s from Virginia. Please take a look! If you have family that up and left, well, this source may help explain what happened.

Andrea

Hi Red Metis, Thanks for the link to the sciway website. I saw within the artical by Steven Pony Hill about migration Patterns of the Saponi, Catawba and other Eastern Siouan Tribes and I beleive that I have a connection within my family through the Rawlinson Surname. From Studying migration patterns of various families that were considered “free persons of color” or “other free”, I have come to believe that my Rawlinson family are descendants of the Saponi. My family migrated from Virginia to N.C.(Granville Co Area) to S.C.(Richland and Sumter Co Area) and then to GA and North FL. From my research I know that the Griffins and Rawlinsons along with other surnames associated with the Saponi and other Eastern Siouan Indians like the Bunchs, Jeffries, Harris, Chavis and Jacobs were listed in the 1750 tax lists of Granville Co. N.C. as “other free” or “free persons of Color”. These families, with others, migrated from the Granville Co. area to the Richland Co. S.C. area. In this area, there WAS a Large commnity of “other free” or “free persons of color”. In 1810 there were 10 Rawlinson/Rollinson families listed a “Other Free”. Also in this same area in 1810 there are several other families all living near each other listed as “Other Free” which are surnames that are associated with the Saponi, Catawba, Lumbee and Other Eastern Siouan Indians which included: Griffin, Jeffries, Harris, Evans, Scott, Jacobs, Chavis and Sweat. In a tax document from 1822 of Richland District, S.C., a list of free people of color delinquent in the personal tax expected of them included the names, Harris, Oxendine, Wilson, Locklier, Sweat, Gibson, Jacobs, Chavis, Simmons and Jones all names that are associated with Eastern Siouan Indians. All these families and others made up this Large “Free Person of Color” or “Other Free” Community in Richland Co. S.C. From my research of these families and their migration patterns, I am almost certain that they were descendants of the Saponi, Catawba and other Eastern Siouan Tribes. Thanks Again.