Native American

The list of items below have been tagged as part of the Native American historical collection here at AccessGenealogy.

1896 St. Regis Indians Census

Census of the St. Regis Tribe of Indians of New York Agency, New York taken by Alexander Solomon, Chief, for J. R. Jewell, United States Indian Agent June 1896.

Oliver Racine, Blackfeet Tribe

Picture shows Oliver and two of his children at his home.

Allottee No. – 524Age – 42Degree – ½Status – Fee Pat.Family – 7 Children Home on Badger Creek near Old Agency. Forty horses, seven cattle, no chickens. Has twenty acres wheat, eight acres oats, garden. Family in good health. Date of survey ———- May 11, 1921 Oliver Racine is a patent in fee Indian and lives on one of his children’s allotments near the day school. He was formerly married to Miss Belle Alvares of the Fort Peck reservation. They have seven children. These people were recently divorced and his wife, Belle, is married to a young Indian boy by … Read more

Native Americans of the Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

An Exclusive to AccessGenealogy: The following series of articles takes a look at the early Native Americans of the Shenandoah Valley region. Who peopled the area before European contact? How did these Native American’s influence the early events of American history? What archeological evidence remains of these people’s? Part one looks at a couple of unusual clues to the identity of early Shenandoah Valley residents. In part two the history of the Shenandoah Valley after the arrival of Europeans is summarized in order to understand why the Native American history has been largely forgotten. Part three explores the pre-European past of the Shenandoah Valley. Part four looks at many of the early European eyewitness accounts of the Shenandoah Valley and it’s peoples. Part five reviews the professional archaeological studies carried out in the Shenandoah Valley in recent years.

The Archaeological Evidence in Shenandoah Valley

Native American artifacts are frequently found in the Seven Bends area of the Shenandoah River between Woodstock and Strasburg, VA.  However, mounds and earthworks are mostly concentrated in the bends near the outlet of Toms Brook at Maurertown, VA.  The mounds were fairly prominent when settlers first arrived, but after 250 years of plowing, they generally can only be found in aerial photographs. Paleo-Indian Period Warren County During the 1990s, the Thunderbird Archaeological District was surveyed and partially excavated. Thunderbird consists of three sites that were occupied or utilized during the Paleo-Indian and Early Archaic Periods. It was the first … Read more

Eyewitness Accounts to Early Indian Settlements in Shenandoah Valley

Rudes Hill Mound

According to English maps and books of the late 1500s, Sir Francis Drake landed on the coast of Virginia, near the mouth of the James River in 1577. He named the region Virginia in honor of Queen Elizabeth I then explored the Chesapeake Bay for a few weeks. He then led a part of his fleet’s crewmen on horseback and foot along the James River for 10 days until they reached the summit of a mountain, where they could see a vast valley, covered in grasslands and fields. Drake’s memoir states that this valley was densely populated by agricultural Indians, … Read more

Muskogean Mound Builders

Along the North Fork of the Shenandoah are the fertile bottomlands that made the valley famous. Between Strasburg, Woodstock and New Market, VA the river snakes its way through rich alluvial soils. Here, there is archival and unstudied archaeological evidence that an advanced Native American culture once existed in the Shenandoah Valley. Because of the lack of archaeological studies of Mississippian type sites in the Shenandoah Valley, the discussion on this period must remain highly speculative. Native American platform mounds still exist in Virginia. They will be discussed within Part Four. It should be noted that the Shenandoah Valley is … Read more

Archaic Period

Archaic Period (7,000 BC – 1000 BC) The early part of this cultural period was characterized by warm, dry conditions. Sandy deserts existing in the coastal plain of the Carolinas, but probably, the landscape in the Shenandoah Valley would have been similar to that of eastern Colorado today. Ocean levels were continually rising because of melting glaciers and ice caps in the northern latitudes. By around 5000 BC, western Virginia’s climate was fairly close to what occurs today. After the concurrent die-off of many large mammals and warming of western Virginia, herds of three ruminant species, deer, bison and elk, … Read more

Woodland Period

Early Woodland Period (1000 BC – 200 BC) In the Mid-Atlantic region, the Early Woodland Period is believed to have been a continuation of Late Archaic traditions. Native peoples slowly became more sophisticated in adapting to their environment. Population slowly increased. There were steadily more trade contacts between regions. An important trade route connecting the North Georgia Mountains and Tennessee River Valley with the Potomac River Valley passed through the Shenandoah Valley. It intersected major east-west trade routes at Harpers Ferry, WV and Roanoke, VA, where the James River passes through the Blue Ridge Mountains. At least as early as … Read more

Paleo-Indian Period

Most of the Shenandoah Valley is part of the Ridge and Valley Province that extends from southeastern New York to northwest of Atlanta, GA. The eastern flank of the valley is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains that extend from eastern Pennsylvania to northern suburbs of Atlanta, GA. The Blue Ridge Mountains are composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The southern end of the Shenandoah Valley contains also igneous rock outcrops, known as “mow hills” that are the remnants of ancient volcanoes. Most of the valley is underlain by sedimentary or metamorphic rocks that were originally sedimentary. Early Paleo-Indian Period … Read more

Exploration and Settlement of the Shenandoah Valley

Farrer 1650 map of the colonies of Virginia and Maryland

The Shenandoah Valley, first explored by Johann Lederer and his associates in 1670, holds a rich history shaped by early exploration, settlement, and conflict. Following Lederer’s journey, which reached as far west as present-day Strasburg, VA, the region saw further exploration by Colonel Cadwallader Jones in 1673 and George Ritter in 1705. In 1719, Thomas Fairfax inherited the Northern Neck proprietary estate, managing it as a feudal manor and significantly influencing the area’s development. Germanic and other European settlers, recruited by Fairfax’s agents, began shaping the valley’s landscape with intensive farming practices. Native American presence in the valley persisted until the mid-18th century, with peaceful coexistence giving way to displacement during the French and Indian War. The departure of Native Americans by 1754 marked a pivotal shift in the valley’s demographic and cultural composition.

The Rickohockens’ Role in Native American Slavery

During the Third Powhatan War (1644-1646) warriors of the Rickohocken tribe, living near the headwaters of the James River, formed an alliance with Powhatan. They massacred all whites that they encountered as they marched down the James Valley. Over 500 white settlers were killed by the Native alliance. The Rickohockens probably would have destroyed the capital in Jamestown had not they run out of arrows. The colonists counter-attacked with firearms and steel weapons. The Rickohockens sued for peace. In order to keep the Rickohockens from attacking the English colonists again, Royal Governor William Berkeley, began making trade contracts with them … Read more

The Southern Longleaf Pine Tree

The 160 mile long Shenandoah Valley is located in northwestern Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Ten counties are located in this famous valley. They are (south to north) Rockbridge, Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Warren, Frederick and Clarke Counties in Virginia, plus Berkeley and Jefferson Counties in West Virginia. The main Shenandoah River is formed by the North Fork of the Shenandoah and South Fork of the Shenandoah that join in Front Royal, VA. They are created by tributaries in the central mountains of Virginia. The Shenandoah River and all its tributaries flow northeastward through the Great Appalachian … Read more

The Fort Loudon Skeletons

When Fort Loudon was being built in 1755 a reported Indian Cemetery was unearthed with adult skeletons of 7 feet in height. Who were these skeletons of?

Slave Narrative of James Calhart James

Person Interviewed: James Calhart James Location: Baltimore, Maryland Place of Residence: 2460 Druid Hill Ave., Baltimore, MD Reference: Personal interview with James Calhart James, ex-slave, at his home, 2460 Druid Hill Ave., Baltimore. “My father’s name was Franklin Pearce Randolph of Virginia, a descendant of the Randolphs of Virginia who migrated to South Carolina and located near Fort Sumter, the fort that was surrendered to the Confederates in 1851 or the beginning of the Civil War. My mother’s name was Lottie Virginia James, daughter of an Indian and a slave woman, born on the Rapidan River in Virginia about 1823 … Read more

Slave Narrative of “Parson” Rezin Williams

Interviewer: Stansbury Person Interviewed: Rezin (Parson) Williams Date of Interview: September 18 and 24, 1937 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Date of Birth: March 11, 1822 Age: 116 Place of Residence: 2610 Pierpont Street, Mount Winans, Baltimore, MD References: Baltimore Morning Sun, December 10, 1928. Registration Books of Board of Election Supervisors Baltimore Court House. Personal interviews with “Parson” Rezin Williams, on Thursday afternoon, September 18 and 24, 1937, at his home, 2610 Pierpont Street, Mount Winans, Baltimore, Md. Oldest living Negro Civil War veteran; now 116 years old. Oldest registered voter in Maryland and said to be the oldest “freeman” in … Read more

In the Land of Burnt Out Fires

In the Land of Burnt Out Fires A Tragedy of the Far NorthwestBy Dr. BradyThe most costly war in which the United States ever engaged, considering the number of opponents, occurred in the winter of 1872-73 in the lava-beds of Oregon. Fifty Modoc Indians, under the leadership of one Kientpoos – commonly known as Captain Jack, held that pedregal against overwhelming numbers of regular soldiers upon whom they inflicted defeat after defeat with little loss to themselves. They were not captured until treachery had played its maleficent part. To understand this tremendous drama a knowledge of the first act is … Read more