NBC recently started a new series called "Who Do You Think You Are?" where they follow celebrities on their personal journeys to discover their ancestry. I love this concept, not because I really care who their ancestors are or where they came from, but for the seed it is planting in its viewers. Hopefully this was be the start of the newest Hollywood fad that fans will be quick to emulate.I have a personal testimony of genealogy. I've had it pretty easy because most of the work for me has already been done. My greatest joy and pride of my ancestry is growing up knowing that I am a bonafide Creek Indian Princess. That's right, that lovely lady in the picture above was Sehoy I, Princess of the Wind Clan, one, if not the most powerful Creek clan at that time. She is my so-many greats-grandmother.
Not only am I a real princess, but later down the line her granddaughter, Sehoy III gave birth to one of the most historically famous Creek Indians, William Weatherford a.k.a "Red Eagle". Red Eagle was crucial in the peace making between the Creek Nation and General Andrew Jackson, whom befriended him and spared Red Eagle's life. And he is my Uncle.
It's pretty awesome being related to Native American royalty, not only that, but KNOWING it is even better. If my genealogy wasn't done I may have never known this. I really hope that this show lights a fire under peoples rears to get them moving on finding out their own ancestry. Who knows what you might find. Maybe....royalty??? You'll never know unless you start looking!
6 comments:
Mine has pretty much been accomplished, but Kit's needs work. I don't really know how to go about it....
Incredible knowing who you are! I love the impact that can have on us!
Wow! That is so fun to know that you have royalty in your blood.
Hey I wonder if you are related to Cyrus. He is a Weatherford from South Carolina.
I'm also a descendant of Sophia Sehoy the II(who married Benjamin Durant and daughter of Lachland McGillivray who "married" Sehoy I)through Norman L. Durant who was my grandpa's, Adrian Jackson Durant Jr, grandfather, and Evie Walter Durnant his aunt. Red Eagel was Sophia's uncle and her brother Alexander McGillivray, or Cheif Red Shoes, leading along side Red Eagle during the Creek Indian War in 1812. This drawing is based on verbal accounts of what Sehoy I looked like. Her family made up the Wind Clan of the Upper Creek Nation that now is Lower Alabama. They were recognized as a clan of holy or wisemen, although the women also played a significant role for their people as well. It should also be noted that what we understand to be royal is not recognized by Native Americans so her title as "queen" or "princess" is a bit of a misnomer (but utterly delightful all the same!)
I have, in the last year and a half, finally found the "Indian Princess" that has been a part of the family lore that I had heard all my life. No one knew who she was or when she lived only that she existed.
My mother had done extensive research driving around and rummaging through archives but only managed to go back XXX generations before she gave up working on the tree she had created. I took her notes and started an internet search and, much to my astonishment, have followed our line back to Roman Empire.
I am directly descended from Sehoy and Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand as follows
10.Sehoy II Hatali Marchand
9.Sophia McGillivrey
8.Rachael Durant
7.Alexander Brashear
6.Emiline Jane Brashear
5.Rosalie Adelia Smith
4.Mary Antonette Crist
3.Herbert Leon Callahan Sr.
2.Madeline Callahan
1.Ron Martin
for brevity and format I have omitted spouse names
I am also a direct descendant of Sehoy I, so we must be cousins!
Me--Martha Kay Bolton
O.T.Bolton*
Doctor Weatherford Bolton*
Ella E. Kimbrough
Martha Weatherford
John D. Weatherford
Sehoy III
Sehoy II
Sehoy I - My 6th Great Grandmother
*My father and his two brothers and two sisters only had initials.
*Doctor is his actual name.
Love the image!
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