Nancy (maybe Mary) "Mercy" Martin Strickland was born about 1807 to Mary Dixon Martin and James Martin, Sr. near Ash Branch in Bulloch County, Georgia. She had more than a dozen siblings and half siblings. Her mother was an Indian, today identified as Lumbee, and her father was also probably an Indian. On January 1, 1827, Mercy married the son of her older sister Treacy Martin Strickland, her nephew John Strickland, Sr. The marriage license was issued in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia, but the marriage took place in Bulloch County. They had four children, James Martin Strickland (buried in Thomas Cemetery in Brantley County, Georgia), Mary Ann Strickland Bennett (buried at Upper Black Creek Cemetery in Bulloch County, Georgia), Ellen Ophelia Strickland Clanton Harvey (buried at Little Creek Cemetery in Bryan County, Georgia), and Henry Strickland (buried in High Bluff Cemetery in Brantley County, Georgia). Then on September 11, 1843, at about age 36, Mercy died in childbirth and was buried with her stillborn child in her arms in Ash Branch Cemetery in Bryan County, Georgia next to her father. (Her mother had moved to Florida to live with son Emanuel Henry Martin and is probably buried at Indian Lake Cemetery in Marion County, Florida.) More than a year later, on November 6, 1844, Mercy's husband remarried, to Lydia Thompson Strickland, and they moved on to what is now Brantley County, Georgia.
According to the late John Wise, Mercy's Native American line goes back to the Coree Indians who lived on the Atlantic coast along the Virginia/North Carolina border. Both Martin and Strickland are surnames common among Carolina Indians. By the late 17th century, the Coree population had declined due to disease and war. During the Tuscarora War, some of the surviving Coree fled south seeking refuge among the Cheraw Indians. Later some surviving Cheraws, remnants of other Indian groups, whites, and African Americans became the basis of the contemporary Lumbee Indians.
There are a variety of reasons Native American (American Indian) ancestry may not show up in a person’s DNA. One obvious reason is that a person may never have had any Native American ancestors. There are, however, other reasons. For most Americans with Native American ancestors, that ancestry is five or more generations back. In fact it can be so far back in a family tree that it does not show up in DNA tests. Also, most ancestry testing companies use only a small sample of Native American groups (often less than half a dozen tribes) as a reference for testing, and many of those sample groups are from South, rather than North, America. (My own case is a good example of how inaccurate genetics testing companies can be when it comes to Native American ancestry. Three different companies have estimated my Indian ancestry as none, a trace, and 9%.) Another important point about Native American DNA ancestry should be made. Anthropologist Mary Helms created the term “colonial Indian tribes” in the 1960s to refer to societies which originated as recognizable entities only as a direct result of colonial policies. Colonial tribes are often a racially mixed people that over time became identified more with their Indian ancestry rather than their African or white ancestry. These groups are culturally Indian while ultimately having little, if any, Indian DNA. Colonial tribes include groups as diverse as the Miskito Indians of eastern Nicaragua (whom Helms studied); various Amazon tribes in Brazil; the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina; the Black Seminoles of Oklahoma, Mexico, and the Bahamas; and many others. The term colonial tribe attempts to get at the idea that someone can be culturally something (Native American, for example) without being biologically something. So, for all of the above reasons, it should not be surprising that someone with, for example, a Lumbee Indian ancestor would not necessarily test as having significant or any Native American DNA.
Thanks to Mercy's descendant, the late John Wise, for so much of this information, and thanks to "Ann" for creating this site. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions. If a closer relative than I would like to manage this burial site, please let me know.
According to the late John Wise, Mercy's Native American line goes back to the Coree Indians who lived on the Atlantic coast along the Virginia/North Carolina border. Both Martin and Strickland are surnames common among Carolina Indians. By the late 17th century, the Coree population had declined due to disease and war. During the Tuscarora War, some of the surviving Coree fled south seeking refuge among the Cheraw Indians. Later some surviving Cheraws, remnants of other Indian groups, whites, and African Americans became the basis of the contemporary Lumbee Indians.
There are a variety of reasons Native American (American Indian) ancestry may not show up in a person’s DNA. One obvious reason is that a person may never have had any Native American ancestors. There are, however, other reasons. For most Americans with Native American ancestors, that ancestry is five or more generations back. In fact it can be so far back in a family tree that it does not show up in DNA tests. Also, most ancestry testing companies use only a small sample of Native American groups (often less than half a dozen tribes) as a reference for testing, and many of those sample groups are from South, rather than North, America. (My own case is a good example of how inaccurate genetics testing companies can be when it comes to Native American ancestry. Three different companies have estimated my Indian ancestry as none, a trace, and 9%.) Another important point about Native American DNA ancestry should be made. Anthropologist Mary Helms created the term “colonial Indian tribes” in the 1960s to refer to societies which originated as recognizable entities only as a direct result of colonial policies. Colonial tribes are often a racially mixed people that over time became identified more with their Indian ancestry rather than their African or white ancestry. These groups are culturally Indian while ultimately having little, if any, Indian DNA. Colonial tribes include groups as diverse as the Miskito Indians of eastern Nicaragua (whom Helms studied); various Amazon tribes in Brazil; the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina; the Black Seminoles of Oklahoma, Mexico, and the Bahamas; and many others. The term colonial tribe attempts to get at the idea that someone can be culturally something (Native American, for example) without being biologically something. So, for all of the above reasons, it should not be surprising that someone with, for example, a Lumbee Indian ancestor would not necessarily test as having significant or any Native American DNA.
Thanks to Mercy's descendant, the late John Wise, for so much of this information, and thanks to "Ann" for creating this site. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions. If a closer relative than I would like to manage this burial site, please let me know.
Nancy (maybe Mary) "Mercy" Martin Strickland was born about 1807 to Mary Dixon Martin and James Martin, Sr. near Ash Branch in Bulloch County, Georgia. She had more than a dozen siblings and half siblings. Her mother was an Indian, today identified as Lumbee, and her father was also probably an Indian. On January 1, 1827, Mercy married the son of her older sister Treacy Martin Strickland, her nephew John Strickland, Sr. The marriage license was issued in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia, but the marriage took place in Bulloch County. They had four children, James Martin Strickland (buried in Thomas Cemetery in Brantley County, Georgia), Mary Ann Strickland Bennett (buried at Upper Black Creek Cemetery in Bulloch County, Georgia), Ellen Ophelia Strickland Clanton Harvey (buried at Little Creek Cemetery in Bryan County, Georgia), and Henry Strickland (buried in High Bluff Cemetery in Brantley County, Georgia). Then on September 11, 1843, at about age 36, Mercy died in childbirth and was buried with her stillborn child in her arms in Ash Branch Cemetery in Bryan County, Georgia next to her father. (Her mother had moved to Florida to live with son Emanuel Henry Martin and is probably buried at Indian Lake Cemetery in Marion County, Florida.) More than a year later, on November 6, 1844, Mercy's husband remarried, to Lydia Thompson Strickland, and they moved on to what is now Brantley County, Georgia.
According to the late John Wise, Mercy's Native American line goes back to the Coree Indians who lived on the Atlantic coast along the Virginia/North Carolina border. Both Martin and Strickland are surnames common among Carolina Indians. By the late 17th century, the Coree population had declined due to disease and war. During the Tuscarora War, some of the surviving Coree fled south seeking refuge among the Cheraw Indians. Later some surviving Cheraws, remnants of other Indian groups, whites, and African Americans became the basis of the contemporary Lumbee Indians.
There are a variety of reasons Native American (American Indian) ancestry may not show up in a person’s DNA. One obvious reason is that a person may never have had any Native American ancestors. There are, however, other reasons. For most Americans with Native American ancestors, that ancestry is five or more generations back. In fact it can be so far back in a family tree that it does not show up in DNA tests. Also, most ancestry testing companies use only a small sample of Native American groups (often less than half a dozen tribes) as a reference for testing, and many of those sample groups are from South, rather than North, America. (My own case is a good example of how inaccurate genetics testing companies can be when it comes to Native American ancestry. Three different companies have estimated my Indian ancestry as none, a trace, and 9%.) Another important point about Native American DNA ancestry should be made. Anthropologist Mary Helms created the term “colonial Indian tribes” in the 1960s to refer to societies which originated as recognizable entities only as a direct result of colonial policies. Colonial tribes are often a racially mixed people that over time became identified more with their Indian ancestry rather than their African or white ancestry. These groups are culturally Indian while ultimately having little, if any, Indian DNA. Colonial tribes include groups as diverse as the Miskito Indians of eastern Nicaragua (whom Helms studied); various Amazon tribes in Brazil; the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina; the Black Seminoles of Oklahoma, Mexico, and the Bahamas; and many others. The term colonial tribe attempts to get at the idea that someone can be culturally something (Native American, for example) without being biologically something. So, for all of the above reasons, it should not be surprising that someone with, for example, a Lumbee Indian ancestor would not necessarily test as having significant or any Native American DNA.
Thanks to Mercy's descendant, the late John Wise, for so much of this information, and thanks to "Ann" for creating this site. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions. If a closer relative than I would like to manage this burial site, please let me know.
According to the late John Wise, Mercy's Native American line goes back to the Coree Indians who lived on the Atlantic coast along the Virginia/North Carolina border. Both Martin and Strickland are surnames common among Carolina Indians. By the late 17th century, the Coree population had declined due to disease and war. During the Tuscarora War, some of the surviving Coree fled south seeking refuge among the Cheraw Indians. Later some surviving Cheraws, remnants of other Indian groups, whites, and African Americans became the basis of the contemporary Lumbee Indians.
There are a variety of reasons Native American (American Indian) ancestry may not show up in a person’s DNA. One obvious reason is that a person may never have had any Native American ancestors. There are, however, other reasons. For most Americans with Native American ancestors, that ancestry is five or more generations back. In fact it can be so far back in a family tree that it does not show up in DNA tests. Also, most ancestry testing companies use only a small sample of Native American groups (often less than half a dozen tribes) as a reference for testing, and many of those sample groups are from South, rather than North, America. (My own case is a good example of how inaccurate genetics testing companies can be when it comes to Native American ancestry. Three different companies have estimated my Indian ancestry as none, a trace, and 9%.) Another important point about Native American DNA ancestry should be made. Anthropologist Mary Helms created the term “colonial Indian tribes” in the 1960s to refer to societies which originated as recognizable entities only as a direct result of colonial policies. Colonial tribes are often a racially mixed people that over time became identified more with their Indian ancestry rather than their African or white ancestry. These groups are culturally Indian while ultimately having little, if any, Indian DNA. Colonial tribes include groups as diverse as the Miskito Indians of eastern Nicaragua (whom Helms studied); various Amazon tribes in Brazil; the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina; the Black Seminoles of Oklahoma, Mexico, and the Bahamas; and many others. The term colonial tribe attempts to get at the idea that someone can be culturally something (Native American, for example) without being biologically something. So, for all of the above reasons, it should not be surprising that someone with, for example, a Lumbee Indian ancestor would not necessarily test as having significant or any Native American DNA.
Thanks to Mercy's descendant, the late John Wise, for so much of this information, and thanks to "Ann" for creating this site. Any errors, however, are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions. If a closer relative than I would like to manage this burial site, please let me know.
Family Members
Siblings
See more Strickland or Martin memorials in:
- Ash Branch Baptist Church Cemetery Strickland or Martin
- Bulloch County Strickland or Martin
- Georgia Strickland or Martin
- USA Strickland or Martin
- Find a Grave Strickland or Martin
