Nancy Ann ‘Nannie’ Blythe

Nancy was a Cherokee woman

Biography

Nancy was born in the Cherokee Nation (East) about 1793, the daughter of Richard Fields and Jennie Buffington, both Cherokee. She married William Blythe, a white man, on October 15, 1809. [1]They were the parents of eleven children, John Blythe, Martha (Jennie), William, Elizabeth, Mary, Elijah, James, Absalom, Nancy, Sarah and Joseph Riley. [2] In 1817 William took a reservation "on the South side of Tennessee [river]," where the family operated a ferry, in right of his wife. [3]

The family appears on the 1835 Cherokee census living on the Tennessee River, enumerated as six "quarter bloods," all read English; 13 slaves; one white intermarriage; a farm and one farmer. Two weavers and three spinners. They owned a mill and two ferry boats. [4]

It is unclear why the family was enumerated in McDonald County, Missouri, along with some of their married children in 1850. McDonald bordered the Delaware District of the Cherokee Nation and they were likely included in error. Son James stated on his Dawes application that he had lived in the Cherokee Nation "all his life" (although the family actually emigrated when he was about 16) [5] [6]

Children

Elijah Blyth 1850 Male 21 White 1829 Tennessee 337
Caroline Blyth 1850 Female 16 White 1834 Tennessee 337
William Blyth 1850 Male 60 White 1790 South Carolina 338
Nancy Blyth 1850 Female 52 White 1798 Tennessee 338
Riley Blyth 1850 Male 13 White 1837 Tennessee 338
Sarah J Blyth 1850 Female 12 White 1838 Tennessee 338
Andrew J Tucker 1850 Male 30 White 1820 Tennessee 339
Mary Tucker 1850 Female 27 White 1823 Arkansas 339
Martin J Tucker 1850 Male 8 White 1842 Arkansas 339
John S Tucker 1850 Male 4 White 1846 Arkansas 339
William T Tucker 1850 Male 2 White 1848 Tennessee 339
A E Blyth 1850 Male 23 White 1827 Tennessee 340
Mary Blyth 1850 Female 17 White 1833 Illinois 340
William J Blyth 1850 Male 0 White 1850 Missouri 34
Most of the Trail of Tears detachments crossed the Tennessee River at Blythe's Ferry, and the family emigrated when they were forced to sell their remaining property. They settled in the Delaware district in the Cherokee Nation where William died in 1856. [7]

In 1851 Nancy "Nannie" Blythe and her three youngest children are listed on the Drennan Roll living in the Delaware District. Daughters Mary and Nancy and son William and their families follow.

Group 917
Nancy Blythe
Sarah Jane Blythe
Joseph Riley Blythe
Elijah Blythe
Group 918 - Mary Tucker and family
Group 919 - Nancy Henry and family
Group 910 - William Blythe, Jr and family
[8]

According to daughter Nancy Blythe Bean, Nancy died in 1861. Her burial location is unknown.

Sources

1. ↑ "Tennessee State Marriage Index, 1780-2002," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VN64-MF2 : 4 December 2014), William Blyth and Nancy Fields, 15 Oct 1809; from "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2008); citing p. , Rhea, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
2. ↑ Starr, Emmet. History of the Cherokee Indians. Oklahoma Yesterday Publications edition, Tulsa, OK. 1979. p. 320. Digitized edition at Starr
3. ↑ Hampton, David K. transcriber “Cherokee Reservees” Baker Publishing Co., Oklahoma City, OK 1979. p. 1
4. ↑ 1835 Cherokee Census, transcription published by the Oklahoma Chapter, Trail of Tears Association, Park Hill, OK. 2002. Original records: National Archives and Records Administration, Microfilm publication T496, Census Roll, 1835, of Cherokee Indians East of the Mississippi with Index. p. 3
5. ↑ The National Archives at Fort Worth; Fort Worth, Texas; Enrollment Cards, 1898-1914; NAI Number: 251747; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; Record Group Number: 75, Cherokee by Blood, Card #4204
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZX-W7H : 29 October 2019), Elijah Blyth, McDonald county, McDonald, Missouri, United States; citing family 337, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
7. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration, Eastern Cherokee Applications of the Court of Claims. Application #5003, daughter Nancy A. Bean (on Drennan Roll as Nancy Henry)
8. ↑ The National Archives at Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Record Group Number: 75; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793-1999; NARA Series Number: 7RA-01; NARA Series Title: Drennan Roll Delaware District, p. 252, digitized at Ancestry.com

See also:

National Archives and Records Administration, Eastern Cherokee Applications of the Court of Claims. Application #707, James Blythe
Pat Hicks Brigance, Blythe, Volume 1 : ISBN 0-9619971-1-7 ; 1994;; 94-94262
Hampton, David K., Cherokee Mixed-Bloods, 2005.

Source: The WikiTree Native American Project @ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fields-986