Thomas Lithfuss Orlefus Creebeck

A Cherokee, Thomas married Betty Helton a white women and took her last name when they married. He became Thomas (The Indian) Helton. https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/helton/3600/

Other Children of Thomas Hilton were:

• Thomas Hilton Caldwell NC
• Rooshia Hilton married NA Hooker family, Stokes Co. NC
• Lucinda Hilton married Rev. War John Mabe Stokes Co. NC
• Jeremiah Hilton Caldwell Co.NC
• Malinda Hilton Caldwell Co. NC (her son's Andrew J. Helton's family is the main photo attached and here is his profile under the Older Malinda https://www.geni.com/people/Andrew-Helton/6000000177680771821?through=6000000177680739821)
• Jesse Hilton Caldwell Co. NC
• Beecham Hilton married Winkler Caldwell Co. NC
• Eliphas Hilton married twice Caldwell Co. NC
• Solomon Hilton NC
• Moses Hilton NC
• Abraham Hilton 1743 Henry Co. VA to Lumpkin Co. GA
• Peter Hilton Buncombe NC, McMinn Co. TN, Carrolltown GA

Source Proof: https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Helton?iframe=yresults &

Source DNA proof: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Helton-775 &

source:http://www.thomaslegion.net/cherokeeindiansandtheamericancivilwar.html

Thomas Lithfuss Orlefus Creebeck was born about 1730 at Terrible Creek, Halifax County, Virginia. He was a full blood Cherokee Indian. He married Betty Helton, daughter of Beecham Helton of North Carolina. He took Betty Helton’s last name and became known as Thomas Lithfuss Orlefus Creebeck Helton. Thomas Helton was a 3rd Great Grand Father of Suzie Pickering. Our oral family tradition has always said that Suzie Pickering was part Cherokee Indian. If one could look Indian, Suzie Pickering did as an old woman. We can see Indian characteristics in some of our Pickering cousins. Thomas’ Grandsons, our Helton cousins, with the Helton last name have tested positive for Native American gene, the DNA marker for Cherokee Q1A3. This gene is passed on from Father to Son and can be traced back hundreds of generations. Thomas died in Burke County, N.C. in 1840. There is a male age of 100 and upwards in the household of Jesse Helton on the 1840 Burke Co., N.C. Census, the only Helton in Burke Co. and this more than likely is Thomas Helton, our Cherokee ancestor.

Further the name "Peter" runs in the family and not certain which side this naming convention comes from exactly but perhaps from Betty Heltons' side.

"Young Chicken" as he was known. https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn83020866/1828-0...

His parents are attached in many family tree's as Skayagustuegwo Fivekiller and Tame Doe of around 1710. While I have personally found proof that Fivekiller was an actual Indian, it would be helpful if people looked into who Thomas Heltons parents were to substantiate this claim. Logically, if you are an Indian of Cherokee descent then you would of naturally had to have had a relationship to the Indian people and the Chief of the Cherokee tribe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_Q-M3

https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-018-0622-4

https://dna-explained.com/2014/06/25/big-y-dna-results-divide-and-u...

Took his wife’s last name

Notes

July 2018

It appears there were at least two Thomas Heltons in North Carolina. I found a story on Ancestry that refers to a Thomas Helton b. 1724 Virginia who moved to Rowan County VA. I found a Thomas Helton with a family of five there on the 1790 census. It's possible the Thomas in Burke is a son of the Thomas in Rowan, but I don't see any documentation. That story says descendants applied for the Eastern Cherokee payment and were rejected, but I found no applications for anyone named Helton.

Thomas Helton in the 1800 U.S. Census in Burke, NC; he is in the 26-44 range; wife is in the 16-24 range

1810 census appears to be the same family in Burke, husband still in 26-44 group, wife now also in 26-44

1820 Thomas is now over 45, wife 26-44

1830, not named but a man 50-59 and a woman 30-39 are listed in the family of "Lifus" (Eliphus) Helton, so may be him.

This would place Thomas' birth between 1766-1774, not 1730.

I see nothing that would connect him to the Cherokee Nation; Burke County was well outside of the Cherokee Nation, everyone is on the U.S. Census and white, and there is no one named 'Helton' on the 1835 Cherokee census. He clearly did not live from 1730 to 1840.

Native American Helton/Hilton

By michael helton January 02, 2014 at 01:52:46

For all of us Helton/Hilton researchers out there just a note to say there are two sets of Helton families. Some have argued through the years about the spelling but it really did change through the years and I have found both in our family.

Native American connection is just that. A connection through the male linage all the way back to the people that lived in the US before European people visited here. Our ancestors were here for hundreds of years before they were visited by the Spaniards and English. Evidence is the many lines of Helton/Hiltons now tested through their DNA. What this means is that somewhere along the line they took the Helton name and claimed it for their own. This is a big family but all the evidence points back to one Helton that started all of the NA descendants. In other words all of us that tested NA came from the same parent. So Far.

The most certain we can go on our line is that of Thomas Hilton b.1724 in VA. He appears in Lunenburg, Patrick County VA and then moved into the area of Rowan NC. We think on the Dan River area. Two of his daughters married into the Mabe and Hooker families. Abraham Helton, b.abt 1743 fought in Rev. War served with George Washington at Valley Forge at the Schuylkill, married into the Owl family near Morganton NC on Hanging Dog Creek and eventually made his way into Georgia. One of the first references we have is him hauling deer skins in Georgia. Evidently work for one of the factories of the US government to the Cherokee. We believe he came from NC down into the Fannin County area at Wilscot. Helton falls and Larkin gap are named from his family members.

In 1821 Abraham won land in the Georgia Land Lottery. It was later taken away from him because he was an Indian. Abraham died in 1843 Lumpkin Georgia and was buried in the Mt Pisgah cemetery. He and wife Katie Owl are buried at the Frogtown winery.

There are several Helton/Hilton Cherokee application filed with Guion Miller in 1906. All were rejected but lend much information on this family. A lot of the family remained in Caldwell NC. Peter Hilton, brother to Abraham, a fellow soldier of the Revolutionary War was in McMinn TN. Then into the Carrolltown, Georgia where he died at 100 years of age. Some of the descendants did make it out West with the Cherokee. Daniel Smith Hilton went from Mouse Creek TN in 1829 and Ruth Hilton Matoy went from Conasauga in 1834. Her trip was highlighted by Historian Grant Foreman in a book on Cherokee Removal Chapter 20 called a Tragic Migration. Lt Harris describes how Cholera killed one half of the travelers on this journey. Ruth's testimony is footnoted in this chapter. Sister Sally Helton also married into the Matoy Cherokee line. We suspect that more Hiltons were in the Cherokee Nation but have not found all the information needed yet. Yes, these are documented several times from the National Archives.

References

1. WikiTree contributors, "Thomas Helton (abt.1724-bef.1769)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Helton-774 : accessed 02 June 2024).