Watson Roots

My grandmothers:  Vennie and Vivian

My grandmother Vennie was always a bit of a mystery having been raised in foster care.  She was 14 when she married my grandfather and the marriage license says she was an orphan which wasn’t quite true.  Her father had died from a horse accident but her mother was living in Farmington in an insane asylum. 

She had no known family since her brother had died young.  In 1976, I started researching genealogy to find more information about Vennie.  But, it wasn’t until the past two years that I’ve discovered her heritage through DNA.

Her maiden name was Watson, a Scottish surname.  When I asked what Grandma’s heritage was, Mother just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Scottish and Indian”.  Knowing the family was from Appalachia, I assumed Cherokee.  I had unravelled the mystery of Grandma’s mother, but her father, G. W.,  remained a mystery until a year or two ago.  With DNA on Ancestry.com, I could search surnames but Watson was a name on Grandma’s AND Grandpa’s side. I had hundreds of people to contact and didn’t have much information about G. W.

Finally it occurred to me to consult those who shared the most DNA and had the Watson family name (Grandpa’s Watson was several generations further back).  I found a woman, Cheryl, whose ancestor was from Cape  Girardeau, Missouri which was promising.  Cheryl’s ancestor was Melvinia “Vinnie” Watson and her parents were Arthur and Manurva Watson. I’d known that Grandma’s name was originally Louvenia Minerva Watson or “Vennie”.   I had found Grandma’s grandparents since Cheryl’s ancestor was Grandma's aunt. 

That information allowed me to trace my ancestry back to David Solomon Collins and Thompsy Posen who lived in Virginia in the late 1700’s.  I decided to google them.   What I found answered a lot of questions my DNA had raised:  where did the Native American and African come in? My DNA showed that I descended from at least one slave but it was in such a small amount, it had to have been from Colonial America.

David Solomon Collins was Melungeon:  a derogatory name for people who were tri-racial (African, Native American and European) living in Virginia and North Carolina.  Often Melungeons lived in their own communities since they didn’t really “fit in”.  But, it’s important to emphasize they were not slaves although descended from slaves.  My family, early on, passed for white—I cannot find any reference to any of them being “mulatto”.

This is where some knowledge of Colonial American history is important. 

"Interracial relationships, common-law marriages and marriages occurred since the earliest colonial years, especially before slavery hardened as a racial caste associated with people of African descent in the British colonies. Virginia and other English colonies passed laws in the 17th century that gave children the social status of their mother, according to the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, regardless of the father's race or citizenship”.   

While the mixed race children of an African mother were slaves, the mixed race children of a European mother were free.  So, I descend from a European mother who was probably an Indentured Servant who lived with the household slaves.  I may never know who David Solomon Collins parents or grandparents were—records with names for indentured servants and slaves are not good.  And, some think that the family name Collins was adopted by David and his siblings.

I do know the names of some of my Native American ancestors from my grandmother Vivian's family because they were considered “royalty”, but I don’t know who the Watson-Collins Native Americans were.  With the label “Melungeon” I know they were partly Native American.  David Solomon Collins lived in eastern Virginia which is not Cherokee, but has several other Native tribes including Pamunkey.

One interesting side-note.  David Solomon Collins had 10 children.

Aaron William Collins d. 1855 Twin Bridges, Douglas County, Missouri

Elvira Collins Lawson d. 1855 Hawkins, Tennessee

Eleanor Collins Bull d. 1870, Douglas County, Missouri

Margaret Collins Dodson d. 1870, White County, Tennessee (my 4 great grandmother)

David Collins d. 1844 North Carolina

Nancy Collins Collins d.1850, Grainger Co. Tennessee

Levi Collins d. 1860 Falling Springs, Oregon County, Missouri

Isaiah Cuppy Collins d. 1888 Dora, Ozark County, Missouri

Solomon “old Sol” Collins d. 1882, Douglas Count , Missouri

Hiram John Collins d. 1857 Morgan County, Indiana

Five out of 10 settled in the Ozark area of Missouri with 50 children among them. Today, there are 60.000 people that live in the region (3 counties)  they settled in—I’m probably related to many  of them. . . .

The Dyers

 posted Feb. 9, 2014 on ancestry.com by lpwalsh1 with some editing by jmorgan 2021

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Seybert

From account by Andrea Dalen Larrivee, Descendant of early settler, Roger Dyer

 

            Roger Dyer was a middle-aged man when he moved with his wife, Hannah, and five children from Lancaster County, PA to the Moorefield area. He and his son, William, purchased 1,160 acres on the South Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River in 1747. The family moved onto the land in 1748 and were some of the first permanent settlers in the area. His three daughters, Hannah, Hester and Sarah, subsequently married men who owned or bought adjacent property. By the year 1758, four of Roger Dyer's children were married, and he had seven grandchildren. They were prosperous by the standards of the day, but life would have been quite difficult as their land was on the westernmost edge of the settled colonies. Native American tribes wandered freely in the area, hunting and trading. The settlers had to make a long, arduous journey over the Shenandoah to get to their markets and seat of government. 

The settlers' relations with the Indians who used this area were fairly cordial until about 1754. The French and Indian War had begun in 1753, and the Shawnee, one of the primary tribes in the area, were influenced by their Ohio kinsmen to be loyal to the French cause. This was understandable. The French used the areas they controlled in a way that didn't threaten the Indian way of life. They hunted and trapped, traded with the natives and often took Indian wives. The English, however, were true settlers. They bought the land, cleared and fenced it, built homes and settlements, and drove the game and the Indians farther west. Because of Indian raids in areas to the northwest, George Washington ordered that two forts be built on the upper South Branch. Fort Upper Tract and Fort Seybert were built in 1757. Fort Seybert (named for Jacob Seybert, who had moved to the area in 1753 and had been commissioned in 1757 as the first captain of militia in that section) was close to the Dyer family settlement.

 

            On April 27, 1758, many of the men and probably some of the women and children from the area left for a journey over the Shenandoah Mountain. The people who remained were staying at the fort, probably due to their vulnerability. They were no doubt aware of troubles in other areas with Indians who were sometimes accompanied by French. The morning of April 28 was foggy. Sarah Dyer Hawes, who had been widowed for about three years, and a boy named Wallace, who may have been an indentured servant, were outside the fort on their way to milk or to shear some sheep. Two Shawnee braves accosted them. Sarah attempted to stab one of the men with her sheep shears. During the scuffle Sarah pushed the brave over an embankment. The remaining Indian found the situation very funny, and in the midst of the laughter, Sarah and Wallace returned to the fort. 

William Dyer went out on that same morning to hunt. Not far from the fort, he was shot by the Shawnee and became the first casualty of that day. Nicholas Seybert, son of Jacob, heard the shots and fired at the Indians, hitting one brave who was the only Indian casualty. Killbuck, the Shawnee chief who was leading this group, spoke English and decided to negotiate with the settlers. He proposed to the settlers that they surrender. He guaranteed that there would be no blood shed and that, as his captives, the settlers would be well treated. Otherwise, everyone would be killed. Jacob Seybert, speaking for the settlers, agreed to Killbuck's proposal despite some dissension, notably by his son, Nicholas. Nicholas tried to shoot Killbuck, but his father disrupted his aim and the ball landed at Killbuck's feet. 

If the shot had met its mark, the events of the day may have been very different. Contrary to his word, Killbuck and his warriors moved the settlers to an area uphill from the fort where they were separated into two groups: those who would live as captives and those who would die. Among those who were to die were Sarah Dyer Hawes, James Dyer and Roger Dyer. Sarah saw her father hit in the mouth by a tomahawk, knocking out some of his teeth, and she fainted. This may have saved her life. For whatever reason, she was spared. James Dyer, who was 14 years old, managed to escape and tried to outrun his captors. Although he was recaptured, the Indians were impressed by his athletic prowess and spared his life as well. The doomed prisoners were made to sit on a log. An Indian stood behind each person, and on a command from Killbuck, the prisoners were murdered and scalped. 

Sarah and James along with nine other captives were forced to accompany the Shawnee, leaving 17 dead behind. They walked over the South Fork Mountain on that day. Along the way an infant who was crying was killed and left hanging in the forked branched of a dogwood tree. Their first night was spent at Greenawalt Gap near present day Kline. The second night was spent at Seneca. From there they journeyed to a Shawnee village near what is now Chilecothe, OH. James remained in captivity for two years. During that time he was often pitted against new captives in foot races called "running the gauntlet." Two racers would run between lines of Indians who hit them with sticks and whooped loudly in an effort to make the racers run more swiftly. The loser of the race was often killed. For the most part, however, the Shawnee treated their captives relatively well. The purpose of keeping captives was not to have slave labor but to acquire new tribe members, so the captives were encouraged to integrate into Indian life. James became a trusted tribe member and was allowed to hunt and go on trading trips. 

On one such trip to Fort Duquesne (present day Pittsburgh, PA), he managed to allude his captors and slip into a cabin. A woman inside hid him under a pile of furs. The Shawnee searched for him, removing some of the furs as they looked through the cabin, but James wasn't discovered. He made his way to Lancaster County, PA, where he spent some time with family friends. Eventually he returned to the Fort Seybert area. Sarah was a captive for a longer time, probably about five years. James rescued her some years after he had made his escape. He returned to Ohio and found the camp where Sarah was. Hiding near a spring, he made contact with Sarah when she came to get water. They made arrangements to escape that night. Sarah gathered her few belongings, among them a spoon made of buffalo horn, which is still owned by her descendants. She and James rode away on horses James had brought, and they returned to the South Branch. 

Sarah had a daughter, Hannah, who was only two or three years old when her mother was captured. When Sarah returned, Hannah was terrified of her because of her Indian dress and mannerisms and her tanned skin. James and Sarah continued to live in what is now Pendleton County. Sarah married Robert Davis, had seven more children and lived on a farm near Brandywine, which is still owned by their descendants. James married three times and had a total of 16 children. The above story was written by Andrea Dalen Larrivee, g,g,g,g,great granddaughter of Roger Dyer.

Roger is my 8 great grandfather and William is my 7 great grandfather.

 

Death of Roger and William Dyer at Seybert's Fort

 

Fort Seybert Massacre

Extracted from Chronicles of Border Warfare by Alexander Scott Withers, edited and annotated by Reuben God Thwaites (1895)

On the south fork of the South Branch of Potomac, in, what is now, the county of Pendleton, was the fort of Capt. Sivert.* In this fort, the inhabitants of what was then called the "Upper Tract," all sought shelter from the tempest of savage ferocity; and at the time the Indians appeared before it, there were contained within its walls between thirty and forty persons of both sexes and of different ages. Among them was Mr. Dyer, (the father of Col. Dyer now of Pendleton) and his family. On the morning of the fatal day, Col. Dyer and his sister left the fort for the accomplishment of some object, and although no Indians had been seen there for some time, yet did they not proceed far, before they came in view of a party of forty or fifty Shawanees, going directly towards the fort. Alarmed for their own safety, as well as for the safety of their friends, the brother and sister endeavored by a hasty flight to reach the gate and gain admittance into the garrison; but before they could effect this, they were overtaken and made captives.

The Indians rushed immediately to the fort and commenced a furious assault on it. Capt. Sivert prevailed, (not without much opposition,) on the besieged, to forbear firing 'till he should endeavor to negotiate with, and buy off the enemy. With this view, and under the protection of a flag he went out, and soon succeeded in making the wished for arrangement. When he returned, the gates were thrown open, and the enemy admitted.

No sooner had the money and other articles, stipulated to be given, been handed over to the Indians, than a most bloody tragedy was begun to be acted. Arranging the inmates of the fort, in two rows, with a space of about ten feet between them, two Indians were selected; who taking each his station at the head of a row, with their tomahawks most cruelly murdered almost every white person in the fort; some few, whom caprice or some other cause, induced them to spare, were carried into captivity, - such articles as could be well carried away were taken off by the Indians; the remainder was consumed, with the fort, by fire.

The course pursued by Capt. Sivert, has been supposed to have been dictated by timidity and an ill founded apprehension of danger from the attack. It is certain that strong opposition was made to it by many; and it has been said that his own son raised his rifle to shoot him, when he ordered the gates to be thrown open; and was only prevented from executing his purpose, by the interference of some near to him. Capt. Sivert was also supported by many, in the plan which he proposed to rid the fort of its assailants: it was known to be weak, and incapable of withstanding a vigorous onset; and its garrison was illy supplied with the munitions of war. Experience might have taught them, however, the futility of any measure of security, founded in a reliance on Indian faith, in time of hostility; and in deep and bitter anguish, they were made to feel its realization in the present instance.

*Seybert's Fort was situated on the South Fork, twelve miles northeast of Franklin, in Pendleton County. At the time of this invasion, there was a fort located on the South Branch, garrisoned by Capt. James Dunlap and a company of rangers from Augusta county. Preston's Register states, that on the 27th of April, 1758, the fort at which Capt. Dunlap was stationed, was attacked and captured, the captain and twenty-two others killed; and, the next day, the same party, no doubt, attacked Seybert's Fort, killing Capt. Seybert and sixteen others, while twenty-four others were missing. Washington at the time, placed the number as "about sixty persons killed and missing."

A gazette account, published at Williamsburg, May 5th ensuing, says: "The Indians lately took and burnt two forts, where were stationed one of our ranging companies, forty of whom were killed and scalped, and Lieut. Dunlap and nineteen missing."

Kercheval's History of the Valley gives some further particulars: That Seybert's Fort was taken by surprise; that ten of the thirty persons occupying it, were bound, taken outside; the others were placed on a log and tomahawked. James Dyer, a lad of fourteen, was spared, taken first to Logstown, and then to Chillicothe, and retained a year and ten months, when as one of an Indian party he visited Fort Pitt, and managed to evade his associates while there, and finally reached the settlements in Pennsylvania, and two years later returned to the South Fork. It is added by the same historian, as another tradition, that after the fort had been invested two days, and two of the Indians had been killed, the garrison agreed to surrender on condition of their lives being spared, which was solemnly promised. That when the gate was opened, the Indians rushed in with demoniac yells, the whites fled, but were retaken, except one person; the massacre then took place, and ten were carried off into captivity.

Still another tradition preserved by Kercheval, says the noted Delaware chief, Killbuck, led the Indians. Seybert's son, a lad of fifteen, exhibited great bravery in the defense of the fort. Killbuck called out to Capt. Seybert, in English, to surrender, and their lives should be spared; when young Seybert at this instant, aimed his loaded gun at the chief, and the father seized it, and took it from him, saying they could not successfully defend the place, and to save their lives should surrender, confiding in Killbuck's assurances. Capt. Seybert was among the first of those sacrificed. Young Seybert was among the prisoners, and told the chief how near he came to killing him. " You young rascal," laughingly replied Killbuck, "if you had killed me, you would have saved the fort, for had I fallen, my warriors would have immediately fled, and given up the siege in despair." - L. C. D.

Fort Seybert Massacre Grave, Pendleton County, West Virginia, USA

Image and information pulled from findagrave.com: "William was not in the Fort but caught outside and killed by Killbuck and his men. When the others were buried, William was buried in the same mass grave. William was married to Margaret Heitt and had two children, John and Roger. After William's death, Margaret Heitt Dyer married a John Craven(s). John Craven(s) was appointed guardien of Roger and John in 1759." "Roger Dyer owned land in Lancaster PA. He purchased the land in 1727. He moved his family from PA. to VA around 1747. He and his family moved to the South Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac. Roger leased land beginning in Nov. of 1747. In the spring of 1758 raiding parties of Shawnese were spotted in the area. Many of the inhabitants went to Seybert's Fort for safety. In late April, the Shawnee raiding party attacked another fort, killing all of the residents. They then went to Seybert's Fort and surrounded it. After a short fight, Capt. Seybert made an agreement with Killbuck, the Shawnee leader, that all would be spared. Upon the surrender Killbuck went back on his word and killed many of the people of the fort. It is believed that Hannah Smith Dyer, Rogers wife, managed to hide in the woods with some children, or she was off visiting family it is unknown as to where she was during the attack. Roger was killed and James the youngest son was taken by the Shawnese as a captive. "

Mary Richardson

Mary Richardson originally shared this on 13 Feb 2013

Among the dead were my ancestors Roger Dyer and his son William Dyer.  William Dyer (1728-1758) had a son John Dyer (1757-1812).  His son was William Dyer (1780-1835) who married Gracie McKee (1782-1815) whose grandmother Jane Logan McKee was also killed in a Shawnee attack.Click here about that attack.

Their daughter Nancy Dyer was my 4th great grandmother.  Her daughter was Ally Vaughn whose daughter Mary Ann Pullam was my great-great grandmother.  Her daughter Macy Williams had James Wesley Wicker, my grandfather.  My mother was Alice Louise Wicker Long.  It's a sad history but I also descended from Native Americans also killed in battle.