Benjamin Holcomb(e)

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matthewramey1_1 originally shared this on 08 Jun 2011

Benjamin Holcomb/e, (son of Zachariah, Granville Co., NC,)b. about 1760, had a Cherokee wife, Sarah Nicholson. Nicholson was of colonist and Indain decent whose family was from the present Monroe Co., TN area; formally Cherokee Nation area. Her father was Issac Nicholson, a full blood, who lived amoung the Cherokee and spoke their language. His father is unknown, and supposed that he used an Indian name. It is not known why Issac used a non-Indian name. All benefits to decendants that applied for benefits were denied as neither Issac nor Sarah had their name on an official roll. Sarah's husband, Benjamin Holcomb/e, worked amoung the Indians and served the milita in their removal on the "Trail of Tears". Per oral family tradition, most of Sarah's decendants hid in the mountains to avoid removal. However, some did go to OK. Land records show that Sarah's Indian relatives transferred their land into white, by marriage, relatives' name before the removal to avoid having land confiscated. Housed in the Federal Archives Building, Atlanta, GA, are ALL petitions filed with the Court of Claims for benefits of Cherokee(not sure about other tribes) descendants. I suggest you look into this treasure for your ancestors' application as, even if they were denied benefits, it will list the applicant, back to the qualifing ancestor! Example of my ancestor's application: "Claim # 17,775, James A. Holcomb>Joshua T. Holcomb>Sarah (Nicholson)Holcomb>Issac Nicholson (full blood Cherokee)"