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| 1618 painting of Pocahontas in English dress, Powhatan Indian |
Elizabeth Basse, Nansemond Indian 1618-1676, my eight times great grandmother, born in Virginia Colony...aka Powhatan confederation of tribes.
A link here to read a bit about her from a genealogist.
And I went exploring further and found this wonderful site..."Descendants of the Great Dismal - The History of the Nansemond Indian Tribal Association." This article is great in bringing the history of the Nansemond Tribe into current day.
But I'm interested more in Elizabeth Basse. She was married to John Basse, according to his "Prayer Book" which is still owned by the Nansemond Tribe of Virginia. Look at this post to remind you of the details of his life. They married Aug 14, 1638.
She is also known as Kesiah Tucker, which is not the way the Nansemond Tribe chooses to remember her.
Some records give her father's name as Chief (or Elder) Robin Pattanochus (of the Nansemond Indian Nation) born in 1590 died Dec 4, 1676. No records give her mother's name, but Ancestry says she was probably born around 1595 and also died Dec 4, 1676.
Chief Robin Pattanochus' father was Peter Great Nansemond Wanaton-Tucker. There are many Ancestry trees with conflicting information.
Elizabeth Basse, a Nansemond Indian, and John Basse (raised for some of his childhood by Nansemond Indians) apparently had 8 children. Since she was baptized, I think she wanted to join the Christian English culture and be part of her husband's traditions. However I'm pretty sure she was not welcome, nor were her children, into Virginia's very bigoted civilization. They were part of a separate and new culture, the natives who had tried to leave their own traditional ways and take on those of the dominant English style culture.
They must have benefited from some of the English traditions, as well as those of the Indians who knew the terrain and weather patterns from having lived in the Virginia low county for generations.
The above page is from North America, Family Hitories, 1500-2000 as a quote from 500 years of Wittel and related families.
Their son, Richard was to become my 7th great grandfather.
Sharing with Sepia Saturday this week.
But I'm interested more in Elizabeth Basse. She was married to John Basse, according to his "Prayer Book" which is still owned by the Nansemond Tribe of Virginia. Look at this post to remind you of the details of his life. They married Aug 14, 1638.
She is also known as Kesiah Tucker, which is not the way the Nansemond Tribe chooses to remember her.
Some records give her father's name as Chief (or Elder) Robin Pattanochus (of the Nansemond Indian Nation) born in 1590 died Dec 4, 1676. No records give her mother's name, but Ancestry says she was probably born around 1595 and also died Dec 4, 1676.
Chief Robin Pattanochus' father was Peter Great Nansemond Wanaton-Tucker. There are many Ancestry trees with conflicting information.
Elizabeth Basse, a Nansemond Indian, and John Basse (raised for some of his childhood by Nansemond Indians) apparently had 8 children. Since she was baptized, I think she wanted to join the Christian English culture and be part of her husband's traditions. However I'm pretty sure she was not welcome, nor were her children, into Virginia's very bigoted civilization. They were part of a separate and new culture, the natives who had tried to leave their own traditional ways and take on those of the dominant English style culture.
They must have benefited from some of the English traditions, as well as those of the Indians who knew the terrain and weather patterns from having lived in the Virginia low county for generations.
The above page is from North America, Family Hitories, 1500-2000 as a quote from 500 years of Wittel and related families.
Their son, Richard was to become my 7th great grandfather.
Sharing with Sepia Saturday this week.
What an interesting post. Researching in this early time period must be a challenge, so I congratulate you on what you have been able to put together about this line of the family. I was particularly taken with the photo of Sarah Jane Bass in one of your links. She looks so strong and proud, possibly much like your ancestor Elizabeth Basse/Kesiah Tucker.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Molly...I imagine there were many beautiful women throughout the years.
DeleteTracing family connections so far back certainly requires a real system of taxonomy to keep the names and dates straight. I know the Hampton Roads area well having lived on both sides of the James River and paddled a canoe in the Great Dismal Swamp. I've often wondered if the first English settlers ever imagined the terrible trouble caused by their importation of African slaves and subjugation of the native Virginians.
ReplyDeleteOh Mike, you may be right, since some of the documents that survived declared that no slavery should be practiced. But on the other hand, many tribes of indigenous peoples made slaves of captives from their raids.
DeleteWow! How wonderful to be able to trace your ancestry back that far. This is the second time in 72 hours that I have heard about Native American history. I went to a screening of a documentary about Ursula K Le Guin on Friday and discovered that her father was an anthropologist and recorded much of the disappearing songs and words of particular tribes. AL Kroeber. I had not heard of the phrase "the great dismal" before. Always so much to learn.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed finding as much as I have about the Native Americans I may be related to. I dare say with our culture's sad discrimination, many of my ancestors hid their native relationships.
DeleteYou've done a splendid job tracing your family history back in time! How exciting and fun for you to discover your interesting roots through your 7th great grandfather!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gail. I enjoy learning more all the time, so will probably have more to share by next year!
DeleteI would be interested to know if any Native American dna showed up when you tested, if you did. And if so, how much. I would imagine so far back it would be a very small amount.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear from you, and it gave me a chance to see I hadn't replied yet to any of the previous comments. Oops. No, the DNA test didn't show even 1% of Native American blood. I wonder if my cousins (also great grandchildren of Bette Bass Rogers) had any that showed on their tests.
DeleteThis post was an exciting find. Elizabeth Basse is a great grandmother of mine. However, it is believed that we are not truly related to John Basse, so I am curious if you tell me what the 24, next to William Bass' name is noted for. He would be a great grandfather, that we are trying to identify the actual father for.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff! John and Keziah are my 8th grands. My line is below. Thanks for the hard work you’ve done!
ReplyDeleteJohn Basse (1616-1699) + Keziah Elizabeth Tucker (1665)
Richard Bass (1656-1722) + Mary Burwell (1674-1722)
Richard Bass (1701-1791) + Elizabet Smith (1722-1795)
Andrew Bass (1768-1850) + Rebecca Pate (1775-1851)
Willis Bass (1810-1865) + Eliza Jane Tew (1815-1860)
Louisa Bass (1838-1909) + John Gilley (1847-1926) (Settled in SE Alabama where I currently reside and was born). John is my paternal 3rd great grandad)
These are my ancestors as well. It's nice to see the story oaid out so plainly.
ReplyDeleteIt has been proven through Bass DNA that William 1654's father was not John Basse but his mother was Elizabeth. William's DNA is from the A Haplogroup (Y-DNA). John's DNA and all previous ancestors of John's are from the DNA R Haplogroup. William's DNA is ancient and comes from Subsahara Africa. A is the oldest of all Y-DNA haplogroups. It originated in Sub-Saharan Africa over 140,000 years ago and possily as much as 340,000 years ago if we include haplogroup A00. William's is A31 and from a small area in Senegambia. It has never been found in any other place. It is an African haplogrop not Spanish. William lived his life as an Indian. Read the files and documents of the facebook page Bass DNA.
ReplyDeleteCould you post the BASS DNA link here please
Delete