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The SSA claims that its members descend from "such historically documented family lines as: Cajials, Morice, Nepton, Obomsawin, Philippe, Portneuf, St. Francis, Toxus, and Wawanolett" (SSA 2000.00-00 cab). The surnames Cajials, Mortice, Philippe, St. Francis, and Toxus do not appear on any historical document in the current record identifying Abenakl or other Indian individuals associated with a historical Abenaki. Specifically, none of these five surnames appear on the mid-18th century register of Fort Saint-Frederic (Roy 1946, 268-312), on the 1765 Robertson Lease (Robertson 1765.05.28), or on the censuses or pay list for St. Francis (Odanak) Indians in Canada (Recensetnent du Villages 1873; Recensement du Villages 1875; Indian Distribution Pay List 1893.04.14), and there is no reference in the record of any female Abenakis marrying individuals with these surnames. An individual named Joseph Poorneuf is identified in 1751 as a St. Francis Indian on the register of Fort Saint-Frederic (Roy 1946, 303), but none of the petitioner's current members claim descent from this person. Individuals named Joseph Abomsawin [Obomsawin] and Marian Pooneuf [Portneuf] appear on the 1765 Robertson Lease, as names of the persons (presumed Abenakl Indians) leasing land to James Robertson at Missisquol, but there is no evidence in the current record showing that any of the petitioner's current members descend from these individuals. Numerous individuals, both male and female, with the surnames Abomsawin, Portneuf, and Wawanolett are found on the 1873 and 1875 censuses and the 1893 pay list for St. Francis (Odanak) Indians in Canada and 8 of the petitioner's current members claim descent from Simon Obomsawin (1850 Odanak, Quebec aft. 1930), who is likely the same person as "Simon Obomsawin fils" who is listed on these three documents, although the evidence to support this claimed descent is tenuous. This "Simon Obomsawin fils" may have had Portneuf and Wawanolett ancestors; however, none of the petitioners's current members document descent from Poorneuf or Wawanolett ancestors separately from the Obomsawln family line. Jean Charles Nepton (1831 Massachusetts-aft. 1877), claimed ancestor of 16 of the petitioner's current members, is recorded on a census (taken in about 1870) of Chicoutimi County, Quebec, Canada, as an Abenakl Indian from" Massachusetts, but there is no evidence in the current record indicating that this Nepton ancestors was either a Missisquoi Abenakl or a Western Abenakl or that lie ever resided in Vermont or in the area of Missisquoi.The petitioner has not demonstrated descent from Abenakis named at Fort Saint-Frederic or in the 1765 Robertson lease and, thus, has not demonstrated descent from the historical tribe, assuming the persons named on these lists were part of a historical Western Abenaki tribe residing at Missisquoi in the mid-18th century. At this time, with the exceptions noted above, the petitioner has not shown descent from any documented Abenakl individuals.
The petitioner names 20 individuals as "primary" ancestors (112.) from whom it claims all members descend, and who it claims are descendants of the historical Missisquol Abenakl tribe. Although these are the only ancestors named by the SSA in its petition documents, some members listed on its current (2005b) membership list are not linked to these ancestors in the group's 2005 genealogical database. (113.) These 20 ancestors include the following: 114
FOOTNOTES:
112. As stated earlier, when referring to any of the 20 ancestors claimed by the petitioner to be original "Missisquoi Abenakl" progenitors, the designation "primary" ancestors or "primary" ancestral lines will be used.
113. That is, they were either not entered in the 2005 FTMTM database or were in the 2005 FTMTM database but were not connected to any of the ancestral
families lines.
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Sarah (Morits) Barrett/Barratt (1806 Vermont-aft. 1856) -- married abt. 1827 to Samuel Barratt ( 1800 England-aft. 1856); 10 children all born in Vermont between 1827 and 1856' petitions documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is 1806 individuals birth of Sarah (Morits) Barrett, the "primary" ancestor (see Appendix A); 71 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;George W. Melrose ( 1872 Swanton, Vermont-1931 Vermont) - - married 1889 (in Swanton, Vermont) to Mary Jane Campbell (1872-1897); 4 children all born in Vermont between 1889 and 1897; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is 1872 birth of George W. Belrose, the "primary" ancestor (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 19 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent front ancestor;
Margaret (Gibeau) Cheney (1906 Lacolle, Quebec-1927 Swanton, Vermont) – married 1924 (in Swanton, Vermont) to Giles Gilbert Cheney (1895 Dickenson Center, New York-1945 Swanton, Vermont); 2 children, one born in 1926 in Swanton; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is marriage of Margaret Gibeau and Giles Gilbert Cheney in 1924 in Swanton (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 5 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Jos. [Joseph] Colomb (abt. 1775 Quebec-aft. 1822) – spouse unknown; 3 children all born in Quebec (116.) between 1802 and 1822 (two sons buried in St. Mary's Catholic cemetery in Swanton, Vermont); petitioner claims first presence in Vermont for this family is the birth of the eldest son in 1802 (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 215 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Louis Desmarais/Demar (I 830 Quebec- -aft. 1857) – married abt.1857 to Marie Belisle (abt.1843 Quebec-aft. 1857); one child born in 1857 in Vermont; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of child in 1857 (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 94 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Louis Gardner (18 1 0-aft. 1835) – married abt.1835 to Mary Spabin (I 815-aft. 1835); one child, born about 1835, birthplace unknown, petitioner claims first presence in Vermont for this family is in 1830s (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 90 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Eli Adelard Hakey/Ethier (1868 Spencer, Massachusetts-1952 Swanton,Vermont) –married 1891 to Delia Martell (1875 Swanton, Vermont-1962 Swanton, Vermont); 10 children born between 1893 and 1914, all probably born in Swanton, Vermont; petition
FOOTNOTES:
114. Very little of the genealogical information about these individuals and their descendants provided by the petitioner in the SSA 2005 FTMTM genealogical database is supported by documentation submitted by the petitioner or the State.
115. The number of descendants (current members) given for all "primary" ancestors will be more than the total number of current members because numerous members claim descent from more than one "primary" ancestor.
116. The two eldest sons, Lewis S. Colombo (betw. 1802 and 1808-1887) and Regis Richard Colomb (1808-1866), may have been born in Vermont.
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documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for tills family is marriage of Eli Adelard Hakey and Della Martell in 1891 (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 207 individuals oil the group's currant 20051) membership list claim descent from this ancestor;Antoine Edward Hance/Hains (1816 St. Mathias, Quebec-1911 St. Albans, Vermont) to Caesarie Sarah Calcagno (1813-1899 Swanton, Vermont); (117.) 9 children born between 1843 and 1868, the first 4 and the 8th born in Quebec (St. Jean and St. Gregoire), the 5th through the 7th and the last born in Vermont (Swanton?); petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of 5th child in Swanton in 1854 (SSA 2005, FTC) (see Appendix A); 23 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Flavien Fabian Napoleon Hoague (1830 Quebec-aft. 1883) – married 1855 (in St. Rosalie, Quebec) to Adelle May Billings Belair/Bellaire (1831 Quebec-aft. 1878); 12 children born between 1856 and 1878, 5 of first 7 born in Quebec (St. Dominique and St. Hyacinthe), last 5 born in Vermont (one in Swanton); petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of 8th child in 1870 (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 218 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from ancestor;
Charles Lafrance (1838 Canada-1882 Vermont) – married abt. 1855 to Mary Berard/Barnes (1835 Phillipsburg, Quebec-191 1 Highgate, Vermont); 12 children born between abt. 1855 and 1873, first 5 and 9th children born in Quebec (Henryville and Bedford), 6th through 8th and last 3 children born in Vermont (Highgate); petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of 6th child in Highgate in about 1867-68 (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 49 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Peter Cayie Medor (1814 St. Regis, Quebec-1890 Swanton, Vermont) – married 1833 (in St. Regis, Quebec) to Marguerite Julia St. Pitied (1814 St. Regis, Quebec-1883 Swanton, Vermont); 6 children born between 1832 and 1853, 4 of first 5 born in Vermont (Swanton), last child born in New York; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of first child in Swanton' 19 in 1832 (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 49 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
John F. Morits (I 790-aft. 1827) – married abt. 1815 to Elizabeth Salisbury (bef. 1803- aft. 1827); 3 children born between 1816 and 1827, the first born in Quebec, the last 2 born in Vermont (Highgate); petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of 2nd child in abt. 1830 (see Appendix A); 60 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Jean Charles Nepton (1831 Massachusetts-aft. 1877) – married 1851 (in St. Urbane, Quebec) to Josephine Girard (1835 Quebec-aft.1877); 10 children born in Quebec
FOOTNOTES:
117. This individual was buried in St. Mary's Catholic cemetery in Swanton, Vermont (Ledoux 1993.08.00).
118. Third child may have been born in St. Regis, Quebec, in 1834.
119. First documentation of Vermont residence on U. S. census is birth year of
son in 1845 (1870 census).
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between 1853 and 1877 (Lac St. Jean); no documented presence in Vermont, only in Massachusetts and Canada (see Appendix A); 16 Individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor; (120.)Simon Obomsawin/Obumsawin ( 1850 Odanak, Quebec-aft. 1930) married 1878 (111 Odanak, Canada) to Celine (maiden name Unknown) (bet'. 1807 Odanak, Quebec bef. 1910), 7(?) children borne between 1879 and 1886 all born in Quebec; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is 1907, attested to by a daughter of Simeon & Celine (Day 1948.07.00-1962.11.1, 3, 4), but the first documentation of residence is Simon Obonisawin's enumeration on the 1910 U. S. census in Charlotte, Vermont (U. S. Census, 1910) (see Appendix A); 8 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Theodore Amable [C.?] Ouimette (1799 St. Armand, Quebec aft. 1872) – married 1845 (in St. Georges, Quebec) to Louisa Sweeney (1822 Quebec-aft. 1872); 5 children all born in Quebec (St. Armand) between 1849 and 1872; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is marriage of second child in Swanton, Vermont, in 1878 (SSA 2005, FTM), (see Appendix A); 27 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Charles Henry Partlow (1839 Alburg, Vermont-1913 Highgate, Vermont) – married 1864 (in Rouses Point, Clinton, New York) to Sophie Blair/Blain (1847-aft. 1885); 9 children born between 1869 and 1885, 3rd and 5th children born in NY, 7th child born in Quebec; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of Charles Henry Partlow, the "primary" ancestor, in 1839 in Alburg, Grand Isle, Vermont (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); (121.) 84 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Antoine Bellipe Phillips (abt. 1787 Quebec-1885 South Burlington, Vermont) – married abt. 1834 to Catherine Cadalre (1820 Quebec-aft. 1848) 6 children born between 1834 and 1848, first 2, 4th and 6th children born in Quebec, 5th child born in Highgate, Vermont; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of 5th child in 1846 in Highgate (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 166 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
Peter Richard/Richards (1814 St. Albans Bay, Vermont-1880) – married abt. 1855 to Genifer Laporte (?-?) 3 children born between 1855 and 1868, birthplaces unknown, petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of Peter Richards, the "primary" ancestor, in 1814 in St. Albans Bay (SSA 2005, FTM) (see
FOOTNOTES:
120. Transcriptions of Canadian documents submitted by the petitioner in a member file indicate that Jean Charles Nepton was Abenaki. However, until copies of the original records are provided by the petitioner, his Indian ancestry cannot be confirmed. Also, although the transcriptions indicate he was Abenaki, they do not specify whether he was Western Abenaki or Eastern Abenaki and they to not indicate that he was a member or descendant of any Abenaki group from Missisquoi. The petitioner is encouraged to submit further information in the form of original documents to clarify Nepton's ancestry.
121. A Civil War pension record for Charles H. Partlow of Alburgh, Vermont, married to Sophia Partlow, was located by OFA. It does not identify Charles Partlow as an Indian.
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Appendix A); 38 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership from this list claim descent from this ancestor;Michel St. Francis/Francois (bef. 1811 Canada-1863 Swanton, Vermont) --spouse unknown, 1 child, birth date and birthplaces unknown, petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of grandson in 1841 in Vermont (see Appendix A); 138 individuals on the group's current 2005b memberships list claim descent from this ancestor;
Hippolyte D. St. Laurent ( 1780 Quebec-1860 Swanton, Vermont) – married abt. 1808 to Elizabeth Lafrance (1788 Quebec-1860 Swanton, Vermont); 3 children born between 1808 and abt. 1830, 2nd child born in Quebec, 1st child born in Swanton, Vermont; petition documents indicate the first presence in Vermont for this family is birth of first child in 1808 (SSA 2005, FTM) (see Appendix A); 297 individuals on the group's current 2005b membership list claim descent from this ancestor;
The SSA has consistently claimed descent from the Missisquoi Abenaki or Western Abenaki Indians. The only documents in the record that name members of the Missisquoi Abenaki Indian are the Fort Saint-Frederic register covering the 1733 to 1756 period (Roy 1946, 268312) and probably the 1765 Robertson lease (Robertson 1765.05.28, see Appendix B). However, the Fort Saint-Frederic register listed most of those individuals who were identified as Indian only by their given names, 122 did not indicate where the individuals were living at the time, and did not provide information on genealogy or family relationships beyond the parent-child relationship. In addition, none of the 20 "primary" ancestors claimed by the petitioner are known to have been born before 1775, and the petitioner did not submit information on their parents or earlier ancestors. Therefore, it is not possible to connect the petitioner's claimed ancestors to the individuals listed on the Fort Saint-Frederic register or the Robertson's lease, and the petitioner does not document such ancestry in its FTM register database. Names of individuals listed on the Fort Saint-Frederic register were compared with later censuses at St. Francis (Odanak) and other available documents and could not be reliably linked to individuals named in those other documents or to known or claimed ancestors of the petitioner. As yet, none of the petitioner's 20 "primary" ancestors are listed on any document as being a member or descendant of the Missisquoi Abenakl or the Western Abenaki tribe as it may have existed in the 1700's.
The evidence for using "Abenaki" family names to demonstrate descent from the historical tribe as presented by the petitioner is unreliable. The available evidence does not demonstrate the petitioner's ancestors trace to a Western Abenaki or any other Indian tribe. The petitioner acknowledged this scarcity of evidence in its 1986 petition:
Identification of Abenaki individuals or groups as Indian has been quite low in all sources after 1800 except for the general accounts of "St. Francis Indians" down to 1860, some isolated citations of individual families from Odanak and Vermont in the census and town records as well as some local Indian and non-Indian oral traditions. Generally, the best accounts of the "St. Francis Indians," from the early 19th century and the Indian "swamp" or "marsh people" from the late 19th
FOOTNOTES:
122. Out of approximately 200 Abenaki individuals identified in this register, the surnames of only 17 individuals were recorded.
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and early 20th century were not specific to the contemporary Abenaki community. The twenty or so baptisms from 1903 to 1922 which showed "Indian" origin were the only clear connections of the present immunity to recorded Indian ancestry before the first tribal roll (1976) and 1980 census shoed several hundred Indians living in Swanton, Highgate, St. Albans and the immediate area. (SSA 1986.05.23 [Addendum B], 304) (123.)
As best as can be determined, it appears the SSA's researcher, John Moody, developed the connection between names of the claimed ancestral family lines and the Indians at St. Francis based largely on "variations" of names found on 19th century lists of Indians at St. Francis in Quebec. Moody described this process in his 1979 unpublished manuscript, which formed the foundation of the group's arguments in the 1982 and 1986 submissions. He stated as follows:
The majority of the families discovered so far lived on Missisquoi Bay and Lake Champlain with the other areas being maintained by individual families at different periods from 1820 to 1850. Not one of the families is cited as being "Indian," "Abenakis," or anything of the kind. The names are variants of those familiar at Odanak like Panadis (Benedict), Lazare, Gonzague, Benoit, Laurent, Denis, Saint Denis, Marie and Maurice in various combinations with names developed d exclusively at Missisquoi like Campbell, Peter, Coulomb-Cadoret, and Francis. French names later found as Abenaki names at Missisquoi and Saint Albans Bay included Guyette, Deno, Boucher, Tiriac, Gauthier, and others. (Moody 1979, 49)
The researcher apparently took the family names of SSA members and searched for them on lists of the Saint Francis Indians at Odanak in the late 18th and 19th centuries. When he did not find the exact name, he then searched for "variations" of those names at St. Francis (Odanak), in local church, land, school, and census records from the 19th century in northwestern Vermont, or which came from the "oral traditions" of current members. Once Moody found presumed similarities between the name of a SSA family line and names on the other records, he designated these family lines "Abenakl." Moody incorporated this research into the group's 1982 petition and further expanded it in the 1986 submission. Such a process is not based on sound genealogical, anthropological, or historical methodology. As a result, the petitioner has identified families as Western Abenaki mainly on speculation, not because the record demonstrate they were identified as Indian or as part of an Indian community. The petitioner has not provided evidence to show that the family lines from the 19th century listed as St. Francis Abenaki have descendants or any social or historical connection to the current members of the group.
Another difficulty in the use of family names is that the SSA provided almost no documentation to trace the evolution of how and when the claimed family name changes may have occurred, or how they might connect genealogically to actual family names on specific lists of Odanak Indians. While the petitioner described the content of various land, church, school, and census
123. The "twenty or so baptisms from 1903 to 1922" are discussed in criterion 83,7(a), (b), and later in this criterion.
They are actually birth records and do not clearly identify Indian ancestry.
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records, and abstracted lists of names of claimed ancestors from them, it did not submit copies of them. Nor did it provide most of the referenced interviews or genealogical materials. The petitioner is encouraged to submit copies of these documents.While it is not uncommon for names to have various spellings in the historical records, such as Benedick for Benedict or LaDue for Ladeau, It is very unusual for the same individual to be identified by a completely different surname. The SSA has not shown that these widely different names were indeed "variations" of the petitioner's ancestors' names. For example, according to the petitioner, the Benedict family of Alburg and the Lake Champlain Islands included the name variations of Bartem, Barnaby, Benway, Pandike, Prado, and Paradee. The Glode family of the same area had the possible variations of Latto, Ladue, Glodue, Ladura, Latuse, and Ladeau. In the case of the Hanks family of St. Albans, the claimed versions were Hinis, Hennisse, Hanass, St. Anus, Hance, Hanes, Hances, Arsinau, Hence, Henry, Hendrix, Hendrin, Henren, Henris, and Hendrick. Yet, the Hanks family of nearby Swanton had the unexplained name alternatives of Hance, Anus, Amis, Ascino, and Arseno. The Mortis family of St. Albans included the name shifts of Moritt, Murray, Merrick, Morice, Morriseau, Moricette, Morquis, and Marais. The Morits family of Swanton was attributed with the undocumented name variations of Morat, Maray, Morin, Morreson, Mercik, Merreik, and Morris. Numerous other examples of multiple name variations could be described (SSA 1196.01.17, Appendix IA, 1-24). Without proper genealogical evidence, such as birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records or deeds, probate records, or church records that identify the petitioner's ancestors by whatever variant spelling of their names there may be, the SSA's assertions concerning these widely diverse names are without support. Name changes are accepted if it is clear from a large variety of records that over time a family's name has actually altered. At present the petitioner has not demonstrated that these different surnames actually apply to their ancestors.
It should be pointed out that the surnames contained in documents listing individuals at St. Francis (Odanak), vary only slightly over approximately 60 years, from the 1832 St. Francis return (Nominal Return of the Abenaquois Indians 1832) to the 1893 St. Francis pay list (Indian Distribution Pay List 1893.04.14). Examination of the available rolls of the St. Francis Abenaki at Odanak taken during a period of 60 years (Nominal Return of the Abenaquois Indians 1832; Recensement du Villages 1873, 1875; Indian Distribution Pay List 1893.04.14), and Day's examination of leading St. Francis family names (Day 1981, Table 2), indicates very little variation in surnames save phonetic spelling variations which do not significantly change the pronunciation of the surname, for example, Capino for Capineau, Camp for Kemp, Msadaquis or Msadoques for Mesatoncous, and Nagazoa or Nigajoie for Nigajowa or Negajoua. A comprehensive examination of the origin and evolution of leading St. Francis family names compiled by Gordon Day in 1981 from various 19th century censuses and lists at Odanak shows relatively few name variations during a time when the petitioner claimed its ancestral family names were undergoing frequent, major alterations (Day 1981, Table 2; also 73-107). With so little variation of known Indian surnames in official documents over such an extended period of the 19th century, the SSA's claim that its ancestors' surnames changed into so many variations, with grossly differing spellings and pronunciations, is unconvincing.
Another complication in the use of family name variations culled from historical lists of St. Francis Indians of Quebec is that only 8 current members of the petitioner (out of 1,171
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members) claim descent from that Indian group. In the case of 14 additional claimed descendants, it is unclear whether they are actually current members of the group. The available evidence does not demonstrate that the remainders of the petitioner's claimed ancestors descend from the St. Francis Indians of Odanak or an Indian entity in Vermont which evolved from them. Day's exhaustive research led to the conclusions that by 1800 "practically all of the Indians originally living in Vermont, New Hampshire, western Maine and the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, excepting the Pigwackets, had moved to Odanak" (Day 1981, 117).These problems with its researchers' use of family name variations were not unknown to the petitioner. In April 1979, Gordon Day wrote the petitioner's researcher, John Moody, and advised him to be cautious when dealing with Western Abenaki family names. First, he urged caution in using church registries because it was "uncertain" if the people listed in them were "residents in the vicinity or transients." Next, he advised Moody on the difficulty of dealing "subjectively with the degree of `Indians' of persons with French or English family names." Finally, he counseled interpreting "family names as disfigured Indian names" involved "a high degree of subjectivity" (Day 1979.04.27).
Moody himself describe some of the dangers in relying on family names in his 1979 unpublished study. Regarding the Morins or Maurice family names, he stated they "illustrate[d] the difficulty in accurate tracing of the family names at this time. Aside from the frequent absence of surnames in the Abenaki women, the Maurice name has at least five [sic] major variations including Moricette, Morisseau, Molisse, Morrisey, Morris, and Morits" (Moody 1979, 43, n. 22).
Gordon Day reiterated his concerns about the use of family names to show Western Abenaki ancestry in his 1981 Identity of the Saint Francis Indians, a work focusing on the pre-1850 period. He warned the "student who would identify Indians and trace families in the records" was "faced with two sets of formidable problems, one set arising from Indian naming practices and the other arising from the nature of the records" (Day 1981, 73). Regarding the first set of problems, an Abenaki child could have several first names, including a childhood name, a teenage name, a nickname, and a baptismal or official name which had French, English, and Indian equivalents (Day 1981, 73). The original Abenaki family name was generally replaced by an official French surname, which was normally used when dealing with whites or officials, while the Indian name remained known as the ancestral family name. Sometimes the given name of a father also became the family name of the child (Day 1981, 73-74).
Official recorders also compounded the confusion. Day explained:
The early church records often contain only the French baptismal names, because the recorder was either unaware of or indifferent to the correct Abenaki name. Given names and family names derived from given names are often reversed, presumably because the recorder did not know which was the family name...European and Americanized names may exist side by side for the same person, such as Benedict and Panadis. One problem is pervasive—the common inability of the recorders who wrote the censuses and other documents to understand and write Abenaki names in any suitable orthography. The sole [sic] exception to this
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in the materials used in this study are the two documents prepared in the 1840's by or under the direction of educated members of the band. (Day 1981, 74)The SSA echoed and even cited most of Day's concerns regarding "the problem of Abenaki names" in its case as part of a five-page discussion of the issue located in Appendix D of its 1982 submission. It stated as follows:
Genealogical research on Abenaki families in northwestern Vermont has been complicated by the changes in Abenaki names, especially in the period following the American Revolution and the first few decades of the nineteenth century. There are two aspects of the problem. The first is simply the lack of any comprehensive records for the group as a whole. The other is the variation in names that occurred as a result of cultural interaction and intermarriage with French, Dutch and English settlers. (SSA 1982. 10.00 Petition, Appendix D, 206)
It added,
Were it only these problems of the records, the research on Abenaki families in northwestern Vermont would be difficult enough. But Abenaki naming practices in the context of French and English record-keeping make the tracking of names unusually complicated. Not only are the records sparse, but names change radically and unpredictably as they enter the record books of Europeans. (SSA 1982.10.00 Petition, Appendix D, 206)
Without copies of primary records, and the appropriate analysis of them by the petitioner, to trace the group's claimed ancestors and the evolution of their family names to copies of rolls or other documents created when those ancestors call be identified clearly as affiliated with a historical tribe, the available evidence does not demonstrate that the family name variants presented by the SSA are accurate or that they demonstrate descent from a historical tribe.
Documents in the record which name the claimed ancestors of the SSA's members consist primarily of abstracts of U.S. Federal censuses for 1800-1860 and 1900-1910. U.S. censuses generally provide only limited evidence for tracing descent from persons living between approximately 1790 and 1840 because only the heads of households are named and records generally do not identify individuals as being members of an Indian community. These documents provide information on head of household, age, place of birth and, beginning in 1850, names, ages, and birthplaces of family members. Later censuses included, for example, information such as parents' origins, kinship relations, household head, occupation, wealth, education, and number of children born to a mother and number of those children then surviving. Therefore, these 1800-1860 and 1900-1910 censuses do not provide evidence of Indian or Missisquol Abenaki ancestry for any of the petitioner's members or ancestors of the petitioner's members except perhaps for those 8 current members who descend from Simon Obomsawins (1850 Odanak-aft.1910). It is uncertain, but likely, that this Simon Obomsawin is the same individual named as "Simon Obumsawin fils" on the 1873 and 1875 St. Francis (Odanak) Abenaki censuses. Day interviewed the Obomsawins frequently about Abenakis language and the
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Obomsawin themselves identified specific people living on the reservation as their relatives; Day also spoke to people living on the St. Francis reservation who remembered Elvine (Obomsawin) Royce (Day 1948.07.00-1962.11.13, 1-2, 4, 14, 19). If Day's identification of the family as St. Francis Abenaki is correct, then the descendants of Mrs. Royce would also be St. Francis Abenaki. (124.) Although the tribal entity from which the Obomsawins claim descent is not designated on the Canadian reservation census, the reliability of Day's ethnographic research strongly suggests that the Obomsawins and Royce descendants are indeed descended from a member or members of the Canadian St. Francis Abenaki, although there is no documentation to support the petitioner's claim that they are Missisquoi Abenaki descendants. However, the Obomsawins left the Canadian tribe (Elvine Obomsawin Royce told Day in August 1956 that she left St. Francis in 1907 and had not returned since (Day 1948.07.00-1962.11.13, 4)), and there is no evidence in the record that the Royce descendants have continued to interact with the St. Francis Abenakis on a regular basis.There is currently no documentation in the record to substantiate any genealogical connection between named Missisquol Abenaki or Western Abenaki individuals from the 18th and early 19th centuries and persons claimed by the petitioner as Western Abenakl Indian ancestors. The petitioner relies primarily on census information documenting Canadian birth for 12 of these ancestors but Canadian birth alone is insufficient to demonstrate the connection to the known Abenaki at Odanak/ St. Francis in Canada.
The SSA claimed that all persons listed on the petitioner's 1995 membership list descended from one of the 20 named ancestors. However, the primary genealogical documentation (such as birth records, baptismal certificates, marriage licenses, military documents, or death records) submitted for members named on the group's 1995 membership list did not verify the ancestry of the individuals listed. Sources for the data cited in the family history files and oral histories, including Abenaki and non-Indian "oral tradition" and other material, were supposedly included as part of Addendum C, which the petitioner never submitted (SSA 1996.01.17, Appendix 2, 99; Salerno 2001.10.23). OFA researchers were unable to document the asserted genealogical descent for the individuals named on the petitioner's current 2005b membership submission.
As far as can be determined, the SSA does not assert Missisquol Abenaki or Western Abenaki descent through any ancestors other than the 20 "primary" ancestors named in the petition. (125.) Further, the 20 "primary" ancestors claimed by the petitioner did not live contemporaneously or in geographic proximity to one another. The petitioner furnished no evidence generated in the lifetimes of these 20 "primary" ancestors identifying them by tribal affiliation or even as Indian, except for Simon Obomsawins and Jean Charles Nepton. Thus, the 20 "primary" ancestors appear to be simply the earliest known individuals from whom current members do descend, rather than members of a historical tribe from which current members must descend. If the petitioner wishes to pursue Federal acknowledgment, it must provide evidence acceptable to the Secretary of descent from the historical tribe.
FOOTNOTE:
124. Elvine (Obomsawin) Royce has 8 descendants listed on the petitioner's 2005b membership list.
125. A total of 3 members on the 2005b membership list appear in the petitioner's FTMTM database as descendants of "Chief Louis Annance" (1794-1875), alleged to have been Chief of the St. Francis Indians at some point.
