I thought I'd share this information on the family's ethnicity. I have three sources for this info:
1) From a Facebook discussion 4/6/21:
On my son's paternal grandmother's side, his 5th great aunt Temperance Leaman / Leeman married Benjamin Cooper from a known Melungeon family, a son of Cornelius Cooper and Mary Rebecca Pettycobb.
So we're wondering if the Ransom / Leaman (Leeman) lines Benjamin married into were also Melungeon. ???
2 Comments
(name hidden for privacy)
So first of all, wavewavewavewave shout out to my Cooper family ❣️
I can’t say authoritatively, but here’s the data I’m using:
• Benjamin and Temperance’s kids histories (geography, marriages,) show that they were at least thought of as Cherokee, which would indicate most likely that Temperance was unless she was adopted in (to the Cherokee tribe).
• If Temperance was only white, their marriage would have been illegal.
• Leeman and Simon are both Jewish names, which would also tip the scales strongly toward multiethnic heritage.
• I’m currently listening to an essay on the Jewish influence in Melungeon families by one of our Cooper relatives. (It’s in the book, Ancestors and Enemies, compiled by Starnes and Yates.) The author speaks of quite a bit of Jewish tradition and heritage in the Melungeon Cooper family specifically.
• We think of Melungeon families as beginning right around this same time period. There are a lot of families of multiethnic origin that crisscross into the Core Melungeon families, and Coopers are among them. So while the Benjamin and Temperance didn’t live in Hancock or Hawkins, they are certainly part of our fabric, IMO.
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Debbie Gambrell - 4/6/21
So let me make sure I understand the rest of it. Temperance has traditionally been considered Cherokee by birth and the Leeman family has Jewish ancestry? Is the correct take-away?
· Reply · 12m ·
(name hidden for privacey)
Debbie Gambrell I can’t guarantee correctness (ever! LOL!) but that is my deduction.
2) So, more recently I purchased this book: Ancestors and Enemies by Donald Yates, available on Amazon and on the DNA Consultants website. To my surprise, Temperance Leeman is mentioned in the book and gave more info on the family. I coincidentally had been in email communication with the author Donald Yates' wife Teresa Yates about another matter and I asked her about the reference to Temperance. Another surprise, Mr. Yates responded to my questions himself. He said the Leeman family was a crypto-Jewish family of Spanish Jew origins in France who fled due to religious persecution and once in America, they did indeed take Cherokee wives and were part of that early Melungeon ancestry. This makes so much sense, given my son's DNA results.
3) This link further discusses the Jewish connections:
https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/leeman/116/
It is all a bit sketchy because these folks were obviously moving around a lot before some branches came to America, making it challenging to identify the farther back ancestors. But the same info keeps being repeated - on the link just shared, by the founder of DNA Consultants / author Donald Yates, and even by a descendant of the Leeman / Cooper Melungeon family. Different sources, very similar information, not to mention my son's DNA.
Just thought other relatives would find the info enlightening.
