Three Sisters or, What can I do for you, Grandson?

I don't talk about my First Nation ancestors very often. When I was growing up, that part of our tree wasn't...valued.

The Cherokee People are described here by William Bartram:

...Their complexion is a reddish brown or copper colour;

One of my mother's sisters had that marvelously beautiful complexion. All eight of the siblings who lived to adulthood were slightly more dark complexioned than my grandmother who had the fair complexion of the Northern Europeans (that I inherited from her and from my father's side). That has led them to postulate that the First Nation blood from family legend came from my grandfather's side, the Lambs, the first of whom came to Alabama in 1798.

I'll be doggoned if I can sort out which Lamb though. *happy sigh* This sort of challenge is why I love genealogy.

I imagine most any family line that's been on this side of the Pond for as many years as we have will contain at least a few ancestral lines illustrating the melting-pot aspect of American culture. My maternal grandmother Mayo's line came over from England sometime before1650 landing in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Our William Mayo, father of Valentine and his sister Sarah, was born in 1650. We're descended from Valentine's son James Mayo Sr. My great-grandmother Mary Alice Fisher who married Walter Steele Patton Mayo, was descended from Johann Adam Fischer, the Silesian Black Forest Baron von Fischerbach. The Fisher line came over, according to family legend, at the invitation of William Penn as part of his Holy Experiment. They were not Quakers but Roman Catholics. Still sorting out that legend too.

Anecdotally, Baron von Fischerbach's son Adam was said to have received the invitation, but that seems unlikely due to the fact that William Penn was stricken with a paralysis and deprived of his memory in 1708 and suffered a stroke in 1712, and Adam Fisher was not born until 1710. Perhaps his father the Baron received the invitation, but there is no evidence to support this. Just my thoughts.

My father's side has more specific tribal information. "Black John" Daniel Swindle, b. 1780 no DOD known, was said to have been Cherokee. That would have made his mother, Elizabeth Utz, the Cherokee connection but there's some information that she may have been German. Was Black John adopted perhaps? *another happy sigh* I love genealogy challenges...

As the birthdates and physical features speak, it seems like the Lamb First Nation connection may be closer to me now.

This time of year, the woods call to me through my First Nation ancestors. One thing my ex (whose maternal grandmother was full Cherokee) and I shared was love of the woods. He and I would drive to Cherokee, North Carolina, every year about now for time alone in the woods. I know how he's feeling about now. Scroll down a little ways in the Wiki article above about the Cherokee People to the photograph of the older man named Swimmer, put eyeglasses on him, and that could be my ex. :) No idea if they're actually related.

Anyhow...

No trip into the deep green, red, and gold places of the earth for me this year. I've got a new vegetarian recipe though, my version of the Three Sisters corn, squash, and beans. It isn't authentic in that it calls for olive oil (lack of fats in native First Nation diets was a serious health issue) but it's simple, delicious and will give you three servings of vegetables at one whack if you have it as a meal-in-itself. Have a nice piece of cheese and some grapes for dessert.

Check here for the recipe, posted on my other blog Sparkling With Crystals.

I felt like I should explain why I often refer to the Earth as my Mother. My Christian readers have wondered, hopefully. :) My natural mother frequently looks to the land to provide what she needs for free--always has, and she taught us to as well. Referring to the Earth as my Mother is not a non-Christian thing for me but rather an ancestral nod. I AM is my Father and He created the Earth. What a sign of His true love to have given to us such a wonderful planet that can give us what we need, for free.

Like many people, I'm an odd mishmash of cultures, sometimes clashing cultures. I cherish my ancestry and will research it until I can find no other "he married...she married..." to trace.

So sit down, Grandson or Granddaughter, have some of the Three Sisters hot from the stove, and tell me what I can do for you?