GOWEN RESEARCH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER

[Diana Fields, Bookseller]

Tracy,

I came across this website today. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gowenrf/nl199111.htm
I didn't know if you were familiar with this group or not.
There is some good Melungeon info there.

Diana

[Tracy Hutchison]

Very familiar with the Gowen Papers.  Some were removed from the files.  There are some errors in some of the research.  One person was thought to have made up the facts when he could not find the actually paper trail.

 

But don't get me wrong, there are some awesone records within the papers.  You just have to sort them out.

 

Part of the reason why my blog is a collection of facts with sources with no or little commentary.  I let each person jump to their own conclusion.

--
Tracy Hutchison
Gerrardstown, WV
Visit my website: The Lumbee Indians, The Lost Colony of Roanoke and the Goins Family at:
http://thutchison10.googlepages.com
Visit my blog at:
http://lumbeeindiansandgoinsfamily.blogspot.com

[Diana Fields, Bookseller]

 

I kinda figured you were.  I found it while getting sidetracked with the Spanish accounts from 1562.

I would love to read a the translations of Juan Pardo and Bander's journals.

Some account of them can be found at:

http://appalachiansummit.tripod.com/1566%20Pardo.htm

 

Sorting fact from fiction is indeed the challenge.

I was just telling Mickey yesterday how frustrating it is to see so much erroneous information posted on-line.

Weeding through all the misinformation that is perpetuated over and over again by researchers who don't

bother to verify sources.  It takes up so much time.

 

Big problem is that many of the documented "sources" ie. pre-internet published family histories are wrong.

This is why I don't have any of my genealogical information posted on-line.

 

I don't consider the census to be an accurate account of genetic relationships, as many families were formed from orphan adoptions, step-family mergers and indentured persons.  And as census takers were paid by the head, they seldom even ventured up the holler to get information.  Many times they simply asked the closest neighbor, "Who lives on up the road?"

 

I am not at the point of gathering copies of court documents for my own family yet.

I am still just gathering clues.  I hope to plan a historical document search vacation when I am ready.

 

As I study the life of Gideon, I am finding numerous accounts of his life that have been

written from a variety of perspectives.  The Presbyterians have one story, the Cherokee historians

tell a different tale and the political view can be skewed either way depending on the agenda at hand.

And I am searching for the truth, which may never be found.

 

Some say he brought religion to the Indians.

Some say he owned and operated a whiskey distillery.

Some say he sold whiskey to the Indians.

Some say he was an agent for the Kentucky Temperance Society.

 

This is just an example of the contradictions I am finding.

Of course, all could be true, if he were to turn out to be a true capitalist.

 

For example, as per your document on the laws of the time, Gideon, being a clergyman, would be exempt from taxes.

As the owner of a distillery, he would need labor to grow corn.

As an educator to the Indians, he would be training the labor he needed.

Selling whiskey to the Indians would be profitable.

Being part of the Temperance movement would not only disguise his involvement,

but the guilt created by preaching the evils of drinking would create more converts,

which would mean more donations to the church.

Plus, if prohibition came, it would drive up the price of the whiskey, which would increase profits.

 

Sounds like capitalism at its finest.

 

Diana

www.dianasbooks.com

Diana's Books

307 Main Street

Narrows, VA 24124

540-726-7578

www.vahistoryexplorer.blogspot.com

[Tracy Hutchison]

You ought to post those remarks to your group board.  Very interesting conversation could come from it from somone else looking for Gideon.