Chapter 11: 1740-1755, A foot in both worlds

Edward had been raised among his mother’s people and within her clan, but his father had taken him along on many of his trips to the cities where the Whites lived for trade goods. As a consequence, he had learned to speak both English and Cherokee. And, when he reached adulthood, he had continued to trade with his mother’s people to supplement his farming.

2 “You must overcome your White heritage,” one of his customers had told him. “The Whites are filthy animals – they are not human!” the man had exclaimed.

3 “Ned, be careful that you don’t git in too thick with those damned savages,” one of his White neighbors had cautioned about the same time. “Those copper-colored heathens will steal you blind when you ain’t lookin,” he explained.

4 Thus, although many would say that Ned had a foot in both worlds, he had never felt completely at ease in either. “The girls on neither side want anything to do with me,” he complained to his mother. As a consequence, he had decided to marry a woman of mixed heritage like himself. Mary understood what it meant to be a half-breed.

5 Mary named her youngest son after her brother, Thomas. He was born in the spring of 1747, and he was fairer-skinned than his older brothers. And, as Ned had his older sons to tag along with him on his trips into the Cherokee back country, Mary was free to keep Thomas close to her and raise him amongst his White neighbors and kinfolks.

6 Thus, from an early age, Thomas was more closely linked to the culture of the Whites than he was to that of the Cherokee. “I want to learn about Scotland,” he told his father when he was eight years old. “You need to learn more about the forests,” his father responded.

7 “The forests are being felled, and crops are growing in their place” Thomas pointed out. “I guess that’s so,” Ned admitted as he looked down at his young son and scratched his chin. “I guess that’s so.”

8 The generations of John and Tikami Vann:

9 They were the ancestors of Edward Vann, Chief James Vann and the comedian Will Rogers.

10 Edward Vann married Mary Barnes, and they were the parents of Thomas Vann.

11 Thomas and Anne Vann were the parents of Dempsey Vann.

12 Dempsey Vann married Ruth Reed, and they were the parents of Bryant Vann.

13 Bryant Vann married Sarah Lemley, and they had children together.