Our Indian Heritage |
It has been said by older family members that we are part Indian. My father once told me this story when I was about fifteen years old. At that time I asked him what tribe and he said he could not remember, but he thought the name stated with the letter 'P'. Other family members thought that we might be Ojibwe/Chippewa or Potawatomi. Over the last several years I have spent a considerable amount of time in tracing our family roots. Not necessarily in trying to determine if we were part Indian, but to determine who and where our ancestors came from. In the process of my search of various records, I have managed to trace all my direct lines back to New York. Although there are mistakes in some of those public records, I am fairly confident in my findings. Some of the surnames that I have been researching are Haight, Allen, Nay, Baker, Sheldon, and Linson. Linson has proved to be the most difficult. After contacting other family members pertaining to our Indian heritage, I was told that Hannah (Walker) Linson (my 3rd great grandmother) was part Indian. Hannah was born about 1816 and married Asa W. Linson. Asa was born about 1814 in New York and died Dec 20, 1889, Fairplains Twp., Montcalm Co., Michigan. I have yet to be able to find when Hannah died or where she was buried. It is very possible that Hannah remarried after Asa’s death, thereby changing her last name. According to census records Hannah was also born in New York, along with two of their children. What does this mean about the ‘old family story’ of being part Ojibwe/Chippewa or Potawatomi? Since Ojibwe/Chippewa or Potawatomi moved to the great lakes area in the 1500s, I personally doubt that there is any connection with these tribes. In 1850, prior to moving to Michigan, Asa and Hannah lived in Fairfield Township, Dekalb Co., Indiana. I believe they moved there sometime after 1840, as they were not listed in the 1840 Indiana census. The 1850 census spelt their name as Lindson. The 1860 and 1870 Michigan Census also list the birthplace of Hannah as being New York, again casting doubt as to any Ojibwe/Chippewa or Potawatomi heritage. Records in Montcalm Co., where they lived, also spelt their name as Lenson. Could our old family story about our Indian heritage be true? If what my father told me many years ago is true, then maybe Hannah was Poosepatuck. This tribe was in the eastern part of New York ( Long Island) area. But then again, maybe the story is like so many others that are passed down from generation to generation; Just an Old Family Story!
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