Our Somers Family Heritage

Editor's Note: While I cannot definitively state our Native American Heritage as Cherokee, I am certain we are from an Eastern Tribe that experienced injustice due to racial discrimination and persecution. Our ancestors hid their NA heritage; family stories were told to me by my father that we had ancestors on the Trail of Tears and that a set of twin boys were orphaned and adopted by a white family. I have no reason to doubt this as being true. So, while our tribe may be  a mystery, let's never forget this tragic history in order to honor those who suffered and to do all we can to resist such future evil. - AW -------------------------------------------------------------- Map of United States Indian Removal , 1830-1835. Oklahoma is depicted in light yellow-green. ( Wikipedia ) U.S. Army Rounds Up Cherokees, 1838 Posted at NC - Natural and Cultural Resources : On June 12, 1838, Gen. Winfield Scott ordered troops to begin rounding up Cherokee Indians for internment at

Editor's Note: Our branch of the Somers family tree has native American ancestors, and while I haven't found documented proof of which ancestor (or ancestors) were native, the legend is it was of the Cherokee tribe. My father and grandfather tell the story of twin Cherokee boys on the Trail of Tears being orphaned and adopted by white settlers. Grandma Somers told me we were Blackfoot - not Cherokee. So, while I haven't found the trail of paper to prove our family story, I suspect there is an element of truth and our branch has Native American blood. Please be blessed by reading this bit of Christian His-Story regarding Presbyterian missionaries and the Cherokee as posted at This Day In Presbyterian History : An Injustice Which Found No Excuse  Related here is a brief account of Presbyterian missions among the Cherokee and Choctaw Indians, just prior to and immediately following the grave injustice of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Removal Act resulted in