Most of my brick wall women were simply not recorded. They were, however, English / Irish / Scots / German / Dutch / French; in other words, of European origin.
Eventually mtDNA studies will prove it out. If you need “rules of thumb” and / or “flags for NA”, perhaps we can come up with a list so we’re not spinning wheels or chasing chimera?
I’ve been able to chase up “family stories” of Native American origin and they’ve all turned up false so far. But examining where / how the legend originated has in fact proven productive.
For Cherokee in the Lawson’s for instance we found a rejected claim in the early 1900s. Drury Lawson Descendants said he was a child of Wur-Teh, making him a half brother to Bob “the Benge” and also to Sequoyah. Seems pretty unlikely to me - these were rather famous people with known families - but that in fact means they were “names to grab.” And the “cousin grapevine” propagated the claim throughout all the Lawson branches ...
Tennessee families seem particularly susceptible to these claims (geographic proximity?). However in looking at the life & times of my people, it becomes clear that they were in fact “bitter enemies.”
The early Virginia tribes pretty much died out. The clues I would look for would be “Indian trader,” but my understanding is that the children stayed with the mother & her people, and likely were simply absorbed into the tribe. I do have one un related Lawson who took his son into “the business,” they were traders / interpreters with the Creek. No known surviving descent.
Another possibility would be Indian servants / slaves, that’s what comes to mind for a prestigious family like Lightfoot. Born 1628 in England however suggests “not this profile.”
