POST 3: "Dangit Man, I've Told Everybody I Was Part Cherokee....."

Dangit, Man, I've told everybody I was part Cherokee since I was a kid.  Now I find out I'm not?
Somebody please find some Cherokee blood in my line so I dont' have to tell everybody that I was "mistaken"! I guess this is the price you pay for digging up bones! OK, I am going to let this go now and I'm going to move on.  Dangit!

I'm happy to report a very positive turn of events this past week. I met a cousin I didn't know. I think we determined we were "half-second cousins????". I was on Ancestry.com last weekend and this past Monday, I got a messsage that said, "You are my relative! My grandfather was General Jackson Sutton. He had a brother named Dallas. His father was Mitchell Sutton. My mother still lives in Dillsboro!" So,it turns out that our grandfathers were half brothers! The two of us have messaged each other all week. Even though we have never met, her mom grew up with my dad and the rest of my aunts and uncles. Her mom told her that she used to play with my aunts "when they lived on Dick's Creek." Turns out, her mom had done some work with a geneaologist in the area but had "put the geneaology bug to rest" some time ago. Friday, my newly found cousin was emailing me all morning with new tips and records.. She said her mom was "on fire"again and pulling out all kinds of records that I, in turn, was immediately sending to my case manager at Progeneaologists. And my case manager was rapidly replying, "very interesting!" and "WOW!" Dangit!

With my parents and all of the aunts and uncles gone, I'm excited to have found two more cousins (the mom and her daughter) who are also interested in our heritage plus the mom has heard the old stories! I have a first cousin in Dillsboro and we have always been very close. We are in the same boat in the way that all of the elders we knew and their recollections and stories are gone. So, it's terrific to meet a Sutton I didn't know and that her mom is also interested in this project and has been active in our family history. It's just too cool. Dangit!

 
I'm fairly certain..., no....let me correct that.....I am certain that this posting pace will not continue. I had several years of questions and frustrations over the many twists and turns in the family history I had learned as a boy. But as I've gotten all of that backlog out of my system, things will slow down now and the posts won't be as frequent. I will post as news arrives and I will post after each monthly consult with my case manager. I appreciate all of the comments and encouragement and even the occassional "are you crazy" but the bus is moving now so I'm on board for the duration. If any of you Sutton's are out there, let me hear from you! Again, I am only journaling my path here. I know many have spent hours and years digging into John Sutton's past and for that I am truly humbled and thankful. Without you, we would be nowhere! If an organization like Progeneaologists can add or deepen our understanding of our ancestor, John Sutton, then why not see where that road takes us? Dangit!

Next Time: I Miss My Aunt Effies's Cornbread!

POST 2: John's Not The Problem.....

Ok.....second post:   The truth is, John’s not the problem. Aggie is the problem. Who’s Aggie, you ask? She’s John’s wife….. or at least one of them. Now don’t panic….we’re not Mormon!!   You see, for the earlier generations of Suttons,  Aggie Lossiah was the one and only Mrs. John Sutton.  If you Google Aggie Lossiah, you will get a page full of references of her relation to John Sutton. But.... there is mounting evidence that Aggie was one of several possible Mrs. John Suttons and therefore some of his descendants may be remiss in calling Aggie our 4th great grandmother. This is especially likely if you are descended from William as I am. He was likely John's first born. I have read posts that support the hypothesis that Aggie was the last of John’s wives and that the prodigy listed in genealogy trees as his kids may be (1) the children of other wives or (2)may have even been John’s grandchildren. Take a break and breathe deeply here….my head swims on all of this as well.
  

While we’re regaining our equilibrium, I think it only fair to make the following disclaimer. I am not, nor ever have been, or ever will be a detective which is evidenced by the fact that I folded and gave up my own search and instead gave good money to someone else to do it for me. However, there are  folks within the Sutton family who have done research for years and it is because of their hard work that the trail to the truth is possible. So, if you’re reading this, just know that this is the story of my journey and I am grateful for your efforts. What I have read on various message boards makes me acutely aware of the years that some people have put into the history of this family. I am in awe of that ability, perseverance and dedication. And.... make no mistake about it, I am taking my journey because of the questions you’ve asked me to consider with your research. I have to acknowledge one person that is referenced on many message boards and who, I believe, is considered by the vast majority to be the expert on the John Sutton family. Although I have never spoken with this person, he is the one person who I believe keeps the rest of us digging and looking for the truth. I won’t mention his name because I haven’t spoken to him or asked his permission but I just want to say thanks for your volumes of work and I hope you’ll take the phone call from the genealogist I hired because I told her you are da man! 

Now back to our “problem child”…..Aggie Lossiah. One of the few common agreements is that Aggie was a full blooded Cherokee. In an excerpt from a letter written by John in 1777, he says, “ George Washington told me to go home from Valley Forge. I told him I was going back to the mountains and marry an Indian..."   There are Ancestry.com hints that indicate the marriage to Aggie could have been in Virginia. In 1775, John would have been 35.  Given the times in colonial America, he could have married earlier and it is likely the previous wives died. On any account, it appears that all we know is that Agggie  lived and married John. To my knowledge, there’s no record of where she’s buried so looking back, I probably should have called this post, “Where’s Aggie?”  Although I’m sure Aggie Lossiah will be in and out of our journey, I can't help but feel like we've lost Aggie and that, my friends, is a shame...... There weren't  death certificates or marriage licenses in 1777 colonial America. Just the handing down of stories from generation to generation.  As I pointed out earlier, if you Google "Aggie Lossiah", the name most associated with her is John Sutton......and we've lost her.


Next Time: "Dangit Man, I've Told Everybody I Was Part Cherokee....."

The Beginning.....He Did What.????

So, my fourth Great Grandfather died at 100 years old jumping a horse....yeah, I know what you're thinking but it's documented as the cause of death in the county courthouse. The thing is, he jumped a split rail fence flat footed just minutes before. John Sutton was the old man's name, and he was born April 2, 1732 somewhere in jolly old England and died in 1832 in the beautiful mountains of Jackson County, North Carolina.  I still wonder if he and the boys were "drinking the corn" that fateful day or was he just in that great of shape at 100 years old, but be what it may, following is the text of this tale from a booklet written in 1965 by one Mary Sutton Painter.

"I have talked to alot of people and heard a lot of stories. One of the most interesting stories I heard was about how John Sutton died. Charlotte Page and Dory Poley were with me at the time the story was told, and we stood where the incident was supposed to have happened. The story goes something like this: One day in 1832, John was standing just below his house with some other men, when one of them said that John could jump the rail fence in front of them flat footed. Well, he did jump it flat footed. About that time someone rode up on an old plug horse. Someone in the crowd said I'll bet Uncle John can jump that horse. Well, he just backed up about two steps and jumped the horse. When he hit the ground, he was dead. The Jackson County Court House lists his death as happening just as I have said.John lived to be 100 years or older. He was married to a full-blooded Cherokee named Aggie Lossiah. John came from England and I have a map of England in my possession.The first Sutton family reunion of Jimmie Sutton's descendants was held at Millie Sutton's house in 1965. Eighty five of his descendants were present.

Millie Painter from her 1965 History of the
John Sutton Family

May God Bless YouMillie Sutton Painter"

Now, with a story like that you naturally want to know more about this man of the frontier, right?  But from there, the road forks many ways with several different ideas and some credible research (not by me) suggesting that the life of John Sutton is not necessarily as we were told. So, after four years of  poking around on my own,  I hired a professional genealogist to tow me outta the ditch. I am not a patient man and I don't like to see my lifelong childhood ideas about where I came from suddenly turned on it's ear.  Pray for us Suttons....there's alot of questions that need to be answered. The group I hired produced the TV series "Who Do You Think You Are?" so I am hoping I'll have a better idea of who I am in about six months. The goal is to get some answers and to separate the fact from the folklore although I gotta tell you, the folklore is much more fun!

Before I go further and I'm sure you couldn't tell, but I've never written a blog or anything else before now and I don't know the rules.  I will try my best not to slander or embarrass my family, friends or anyone else who's name may appear in this journal but if I should offend, it is unintended and I pray you'll not sue. I'll even do my best to keep my politics to myself!! I just want to record this journey and whatever it finds...... and know at the end, that I learned something..... whether it is about  myself or of life. Buckle up! 

Next Time: John's not the problem.....