Historical Research Concerning the Catawba/Saponi/and Melungeon Peoples
The best way to contact me is through email -- vhawkins2591@gmail.com .
I have been researching these people for about thirty years now. I have come across many, many misconceptions. Thre are many people who have good intentions I am sure, but not everyone is objective. Some discover what they want to discover, or have preconsieved notions. Being human, I am not immune from that possibility. My family has stories of Native American ancestry. Like many, we lost contact with them. Like many as well, we originally thought that those Native ancestors were Cherokee, and I haven't ruled out that possibility. But maybe its time that I should. The evidence I have discovered all seems to lead to people once known as "Melungeons". Evidence has also shown me my particular group of Melungeons was previously refrred to as Saponi Indians. The Saponi was a band of the Catawba. The Catawba was the largest surviving band of the Eastern Siouan people once known as Ysa/Yesah in Virginia, and were referred to as Iswa/Esaw in South Carolina. Since my family came to Oklahoma -- we entered Indian Territory first in 1832 -- and we are still here -- I cover the migrations of some Catawban families to Oklahoma. On the far right of the above menu is the word "Blog". If you go therer and click on it, you will enter the Blog secotion. I hope titles are self explanatory. My fmily has no Portuguese or Gypsy ancestry, therefore I have NO sympathy for those why try to tell me the Saponi are extinct and we are just Gypsy's or Portuguese. They are just WRONG! Maybe that is true for them -- but it isn't for me. I believe in the Principle of "Occam's Razor" -- look it up -- my mixed race ancestors were Caucasian, African, and Native American -- and that's all.
I will hope to list all my references and citations here. Please go to the section called "blog" at the upper right section of this screen to view my research projects and essays.
References
Research
A million people do “research” online. So many don’t know what they are doing. Here is a quick study of the principles I use that keep me grounded. First, learn these concepts.
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Reliability -- the degree to which the result of a measurement, calculation, or specification can be depended on to be accurate.
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Validity -- Validity refers to how accurately a method measures what it is intended to measure
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Occam’s Razor – the principle (attributed to William of Occam) that in explaining a thing no more assumptions should be made than are necessary. The principle is often invoked to defend reductionism or nominalism.
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Proof – the action or process of establishing the truth of a statement.
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An abundance of circumstantial evidence – Circumstantial evidence – Wikipedia -- https://en.wikipedia.org -- Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. – end of Wikipedia – So an abundance of such evidence would be enough evidence to convict a person of a crime, but it could fall short of actual proof.
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Standard Deviation -- If your research includes analyzing quantifiable data, know a little about mathematics, including Statistical and Probability Theory. Minimum knowledge must include ho to derive standard deviation. Go to the link below and study the variables to learn how to solve the equation.
Standard Deviation Formulas (mathsisfun.com)
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Every good researcher will follow and be familiar with these concepts. Be wary of any researchers that don’t understand the five concepts listed above.
I use the above as a guideline to keep my research grounded in reason. Please keep these six principles in mind as you look through the blog entries. To enter the blogs, please scroll to the top of the page, then to the right, and click on “blog”. A blog essay will come up with a menu at the top of the page. Check out that menu. All the blog entries are listed by topic. Enter the topic that interests you, and the blog entries under that topic will be listed.