According to court papers filed with the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, Powhatan was one-quarter Cherokee, but recent DNA tests of his descendants reveal 0% Native American heritage. During the 1780s and 1790s, an era when many Virginia families despised Indians, Powhatan's parents used famous Indian names for at least two of their sons. It is difficult to tell the motivation for John and Frances' usage of Native American names for their sons, unless they named Powhatan after the county in which they were married. This name usage does not appear to reflect any Native American heritage. All evidence indicates that Powhatan Boatright had exclusively European ancestry.
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