Amanda Oxendine

My Notes: In my research, I have run across some important information that has been posted on the internet. This information conserns itself with the Oxendines and the Lumbee Indians who lived in the North Carolina and South Carolina areas. Also, in another post I found reference to a group of people living along the PeeDee River in North and South Carolina. They were called "Melungeons" a local designation for a small peculiar race. "Their own claim to be Portuguese is more generally known. Their original site is on the Pedee river in South and North Carolina . They were once especially strong in Georgetown and Darlington districts of the latter." I am posting this information on my website in order to provide information that might help future researchers identify the Georgetown Shoemakes, and to help understand the intermarrying of the Shoemakes with the American Indians. Some of the Shoemakes who appeared in Bledsoe County Tennessee apparently intermarried with the Indians because they were listed on the Federal census as being Mulattos.

Charles Pickett Oxendine
Lumbee American Indians

The Following Information was obtained from the Internet:
"I have at least two Charles Oxendine lines I'm tracing in Tennessee but I'm not sure yet how this one links in. This came from CarterHistory.net and I'm writing to find out more."

Charles Pickett Oxendine was born around 1805 in South Carolina, making him most likely related to the Archibald Clan. Our hope is that Charles P Oxendine is the son of David Oxendine, son of Cood Oxendine. But this is a tenuous link right now.

Charles was part of this family group:

Charles P Oxendine, b ~1805, SC; married Martha Shumate
Levi Oxendine, b 1808; married ?? Shumate
Dicey Ann Oxendine, b 1809, SC; married William Ivey
Delilah Oxendine, b ?; married Lewis Bolton
Susan Oxendine, b ? ; married James Shumate

By the 1830s Charles Pickett was in Tennessee. The Archibald group was also in Tennessee, and all were there with the David Oxendine Group. He died in California.

MARTHA SHUMATE (UNKNOWN) was born Abt. 1804 in SC.
She married CHARLES PICKETT OXENDINE Abt. 1830. He was born Abt. 1805 in SC.

More About MARTHA SHUMATE:
Nationality: Cherokee

More About CHARLES OXENDINE and MARTHA SHUMATE:
Marriage: Abt. 1830

Children of MARTHA SHUMATE and CHARLES OXENDINE are:
---i.THOMAS OXENDINE, b. Abt. 1832, TN.
---ii.EDNUE OXENDINE, b. Abt. 1836, TN.
---iii.LEVI CALEB OXENDINE, b. Abt. 1837, AL;
---iv.JANE OXENDINE, b. Abt. 1841, AL.
---v.DIANA OXENDINE, b. Abt. 1843, AR.
---vi.MARTHA OXENDINE, b. Abt. 1845, AR.

LEVI CALEB OXENDINE
m. VIANA "NORMA" POPE, Bet. 1874 - 1885;
b. Abt. 1856, AR; d. Bef. May 1895.

Charles' Sister, Dicey Ann
Dicey Ann Oxendine was born in 1809 in SC. She went to TN abt 1829, married William Ivey/Ivy. She had twin children, Mahalia Jane (female) and Meridith Ely (male), on May 3, 1831. Dicey was in the Bledsoe County area of TN. In 1840 she was in MO, and in 1850 she was in AR. She had a different husband and last name in each place. She came to CA in 1861 and died there.

I know that Melvina, Meredith Ely's daughter, went to Oklahoma at some time to visit with Archibald's family, but I don't know the connection. Also, a picture of Meredith and his wife Elizabeth was found in (young) Archibald's Bible, according to Marilyn Ramey, an Archibald descendent.

Sandye Supplied the Above Notes

Charles' Brother, Levi
Sandy says that Levi also married a Shumate girl.

In Civil War records, I found that: "Private Levi Oxendine, was present for duty Oct. 1st, 1861 at Camp Myers, Tennessee, having been mustered in July 30th 1861 by A.B. Hardcastle and designated as a free Negro, age 53."If he was 53 in 1861, he was born in 1808.

Main Page for Oxendine Research

Cood Oxendine ~1750
David Oxendine ~1775
Wilson Oxendine ~1818
Elizabeth Oxendine ~1839

Sitemap of All Research on Oxendines

_______________________________________________

February 5th of 1889 Swan Burnett read his piece “A Note on the Melungeons” before the Society of American Anthropologists. It also was printed in the Boston Traveler and appeared five days later in the Atlanta Constitution. The Boston Traveler is likely where Will Allen Dromgoole first read about these ‘strange people. Burnett’s article was published in October of 1889, Vol. 11, pp 347-349, "American Anthropologist Magazine."

After appearing in the Atlanta Constitution in February a Mr. Laurence C. Johnson wrote to the editor on March 11, 1889 with the history of the ‘Melungeons’ as he knew it. This appeared prior to Dromgoole. Mr. Johnson was not selling newspapers, writing an article or selling a book. It appears he was simply responding to the article by Swan Burnett and telling an honest account of the Melungeons, as he knew it. I believe this story is an important one in the way that it is told.

~Joanne Pezzullo~

Atlanta Constitution
March 11, 1899
The Melungeons

Meridian, Miss.,
March 11– Editors Constitution

Near a month ago an article appeared in The CONSTITUTION named Melungeons. I laid it aside in order to correspond with the writer, but the paper got destroyed and the name and address had not been noticed with care, and are forgotten. Excuse me then for addressing him through the same medium.

His name Melungeons is a local designation for this small peculiar race. Their own claim to be Portuguese is more generally known. Their original site is on the Pedee river in South and North Carolina . They were once especially strong in Georgetown and Darlington districts of the latter. Though called Portuguese – this does not indicate their true origin. I have no doubt local traditions, and the records still to be found in the Charleston library will give the true account. As dimly recollected, for I never made search with a purpose in view, it was thus in the primary colonial times of the Carolinas, Winyaw Bay was the best and most frequented harbor on the coast, and Georgetown more accessible, was more of a c ommercial town than old Charlestown., to that port British cruisers sometimes brought prizes.

Among these once was a Balce Rover, [*see below] which was sold for the distribution of the proceeds as prize money. The crew consisting mostly of Moors, with a sprinkling of Arabs and negroes, were turned ashore free. Their complexion and religion prevented immediate absorption by the white race, and they found wives among Indians, negroes and cast off white women at a time when many of these last were sold by immigrant ships for their passage money. They became a peculiar people. They were the free people of color of the Pedee region so true to Marion during our revolutionary struggle and no other race in America retained such traditionary hatred of the British.

Your correspondent [whose name I am sorry to have forgotten] having a taste for ethnological studies will confer a favor upon that branch of early post-colonial record and legislative proceedings of South Carolina. He will find it sustained by the appearance of these people if he can find a few pure specimens–their physical structure, their hair, their teeth, and general features, though every trace of their Moslem religion and north African dialect may have long been lost.

Very respectfully,

Laurence C. Johnson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The newspaper was hard to read and 'Balce Rover' may not be the correct spelling.

If anyone has an idea where to find these records or what 'Balce Rover' is, please email me.
JoannePezzullo@aol.com