Dear Shannon,
Thank you for your comment and please don’t believe everything you read online. You have to do the leg work yourself. Many mistakes were made in our family histories. So many people have the same name, they intermarried into the same families and its was so easy to get them confused. With that said, I’m also unclear as to which surname you’re asking about.
People read newspaper clippings and old family papers, when trust me, I’ve read some myself that I laughed so hard, I almost cried. One article, had a man’s dad’s name wrong, where he was from, what his dad did for a living, etc. Since I knew the man for over 30 years, I had no problem picking out the mistakes, but other reads would assume it was accurate since it was an obituary. I can only assume that the person that giving the information was brain damaged or smoking crack. I really have no idea, but was shocked that the newspaper would print such stupidity without checking some of the facts. Those mistakes were never corrected.
I personally spent once entire month trying to sort out 3 men named Jerry with the same Surname all 3 born within months of each other, in the same small town. That was hard work since one person who’d you think would have known, was really wrong. It happens, I’ve made a few really big mistakes myself. It can get bad quick, and the paperwork is usually all messed up, as well, so you have to check and recheck all of your facts.
The Craft/Back/Howard line is no stranger to that. As you can see from my blog, people still argue over it today. Once you get so far up the tree, its even more difficult. You’d think that with a name like Kenzilla – Canzilla – Canzaley – Canzellia – Canzalia, I have that many on my tree and one Cansada, it would be so easy to trace, but its just not so.
I do have a Preston Howard (1810-1885) [my 5th great grand uncle] on my tree. He was the son of James & Elizabeth Green. He married Sarah “Sally” McDaniel.
Name:
Sally Mcdaniel
Spouse:
Preston Howard
Birth:
1812 in KY
Marriage:
1835 in KY
But to be honest, I haven’t done any more work on this line.
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William H. Craft
Birth 4 Mar 1824 in Floyd County, Kentucky, USA
Death 18 Nov 1913 in Morgan County, Kentucky, USA
Was believed to have had an illegitimate son, Arthur McDaniel (1845-1930) with Elizabeth McDaniel (1825-1895). It happens. She later married William Benjamin Carpenter (1804-1898) and had one son Harrison Carpenter from Elliott, Kentucky. The problem here is there were two William Craft’s in 1850 about the same age, twenties, in Breathitt, Ky, both married to a wife Rhoda and have 2 different sets of children, but both having a daughter named Sarah, so somebody messed up somewhere. Not to mention the William Craft, same age, living in Johnson, Kentucky. That would be tough for anyone to try and separate.
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Now, as for their Cherokee heritage or a Native American background, I really have no idea about the McDaniel’s. If they had been born on the reservation they’d have a card. If they were born to Native American descendants living off the reservation, they would only have their parents version of the accounts. You can check with the local reservations to see what they have on your line. Then check land documents, If they bought land they had to disclose their heritage.Yes, many lied on that as well, but its a start. For the most part, you have to rely on what your Parents and Grandparents told you and go from there.
I know this was no help, but since I don’t have any additional research on this family or families, advice is the best that I can offer.
Good luck and thanks for your comment,
Sheila Jean Adkins Metcalf