The Mantan the lost tribe of Wales

by designs 47 Replies latest social current

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  designs

  We have been researching our ancestry and so far on my father's side we have located the family land in Wales in a little village called Machynileth just off the coast of Cardigan Bay and our search dates to 1749. Someday my son and I will visit our family-tree homesteads in Europe.

  Legends develop in anyone's family and one of the curious legends was of an American native tribe called the Mantan who lived near the Ohio Valley and Wisconsin and later moved East to the Dakotas. What was interesting about the story of these peoples is that they were blue-eyed and some green-eyed with lighter skin and it was thought early on by anthropologists that some of their words were Welsh. It turns out they were not descendents of Welsh explorers but they may have been the result of earlier encounters with Europeans. Some of the earliest recorded contacts date to 1057AD and they may have had contact with the Vikings, married and the children had features like their Norse fathers.

  They lived in well developed villages, the homes and community centers were partial or fully subterranean, they farmed as well as hunted and were a rather peaceful peoples. Exposure to smallpox from Europeans decimated the tribes from thousands to about just under 250 survive today.

  Family disenfranchisement is such a powerful aspect of JW life that learning one's family history connects you in a Roots sort of way, something hard to explain but you just need to know who you are. My son and I have been approached by Welch and English people and told we look just like the Welch from this region of Wales.

  HBO has an important documentary called Banished, on the forced displacement of African American families from farms they owned in Texas, Georgia, Missouri (were my maternal family comes from), and Indiana. These forced expulsions occured between the 1880s to just before WWI. Now the greatgrandchildren are seeking redress for their lost lands and trying to fathom the impact on their family life.

  Now that we have our lives back understanding who we are and where we came from takes on more meaning. And what lies ahead is equally important, we have an obligation to be engaged in the future for both our families and our civilization.

  Have any of you done ancestry research, any surprise findings.
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  dazed but not confused

  We had family members that fed, helped, sheltered and hid the Jesse James gang in the 1860's and 1870's. I always thought that a cool piece of our family history.

  edit: this was on my dad's side
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  St George of England

  Have any of you done ancestry research, any surprise findings.

  Yes. The Mormons have quite a lot on me and were very helpful. An ancester of mine, along with her husband and another couple left England for the USA and became Mormons. She had 11 children and when her husband died she had 2 more children, fathered by the other husband. Interestingly, her birthday is the same as mine, though obviously many years before.

  Another of my ancestors hanged for murdering a woman. He was 17 at the time. I never was able to find any details of the case however.

  I also found many relatives that I never knew about and several that were not actually married to each other. My parents were more than embarressed. You have to be prepared for all sorts when you embark on this research.

  George
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  designs

  St George, the unsuspected are fun/shocking aren't they. We found one grandfather with 8 sisters none of whom we ever knew existed (what was the back story to that!).

  Dazed- On my mother's side we always heard about one of the McConnell clan that rode with the James-Younger gang, they had settled in Butler Missouri after the Civil War, who knows we may be related.

  I always liked the legend that on my father's side we had this connection to an American native tribe, but science seems to say no.
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  *lost*

  designs - lovely story.

  I've got Irish ancestory - what an ancestry they have. And yes family displacement, famine, clans, tribes, kings, high kings, priests, overlords, invaders, revolution, civil war, terrorism, poverty, church rule, corrupt governments. lol

  I do love reading about things like this. Like the jw, it's things we can relate to and they become more real, I think. It's like I have more clarity on things in life .... ' ii can see clearly now the rain has gone ' ...........

  I also love true stories, life experiences etc. I think if you can become aware of what suffering really is, and how that person is affected by it, then as people we can at least try to understand and be kind and helpful.
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  jgnat

  My great Uncle Jim Christie lived his life as a big adventure. Here's an article.

  http://www.hougengroup.com/yukonhistory/nuggets_year/2000s.aspx?nugget=1907

  I've looked up his enlistment record online, and there it was - scars on back - a reminder from that horrific grizzly attack. He was a sharp-shooter in WWI.

  His future bride knit socks for the servicemen. She tucked a little note in his. They corresponded through the war and he joined him in Canada afterwards. He retired, content, on Salt Spring Island.
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  designs

  jgnat- Christie Pass, wow!

  *lost- thanks
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  bigmac

  in ancient britain---the welsh were just the irish that couldnt swim when the romans invaded
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  designs

  *that explains so much

  'sink like a rock'
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  dazed but not confused

  designs - Who knows...? Small world...