Stewart's Index, or to the Tillet Porter family main page.
Was James Tillet Porter (1791 - 1893) an Indian who lived to be 103 years old?
Someone whom I met at the family reunion told me he had a poem (written by one of Tillet's children?) about Tillet's being an Indian (which I shall post on Internet if made available to me).
Ar the family reunion I met a wonderful cousin who was in the pulp wood business for many years, Mr. Don Wisher in Blacksburg (1-864-839-4062) , who has performed a great service to the Porter and other families of the region by reporting his discoveries of old cemeteries in the Cooperville and the Iron Works area of Cherokee County to historian, author and former Limestone College Professor Bobby Gilmore Moss, 519 Batchelor Dr, Blacksburg, SC 29702-8623, 1-864-839-6697. Wisher said he had helped Professor Moss to compile a book about these cemeteries. Since Mr. Wisher gave me such good directions and so strongly encouraged me to visit Professor Moss, only a few miles up the road, that I did so after the family reunion.
Professor Moss graciously welcomed me into his home. For many hours we sat at his table where we had a magnificent view of a small mountain and forested countryside for miles. We very openly and honestly discussed his work, genealogy, and some of my ancestors in particular, etc. We did not completely agree on religion, but I was amazed at how strongly we agreed about politics and threats to our civilization. When I left Professor Moss' home I felt that I had made a friend for life whom I would never forget. Professor Moss is a great asset to his community and to the people all over the world who use his publications.Although he is not a genealogist, he has written valuable books upon which genealogists rely. Professor Moss loves historical research and learning.
Professor Moss told me that the first non-Indian settlers in the area had arrived about 1852, and that they had interbred with Indians (Cherokees?).
I thank Professor Moss for the following information about some of my ancestors (I hope I report it accurately):
Professor Moss remembered a veteran of World War I, named McGill, whom he had known in the 1940's and 50's. McGill had known, and talked a lot about, James Tillet Porter. The veteran referred to Tillet as "Indian James" and also spoke of "Indian John". I asked Professor Moss why James Tillet Porter would be called "Indian John", since his name was James, not John, but Professor Moss did not know. If "Indian John" was Jedithan's (1755 - 1804) son John P. Porter, might Tillet's Indian blood have come from Jedithan's wife Rhoda Palmer?
Professor Moss remembered that veteran McGill often stated that "Indian James" (Tillet) was real OLD, so Tillet may have indeed lived 103 years.
Professor Moss told me that McGill had given him the impression that Tillet was a rough and violent man who roamed about, and that Tillet and his family lived by hunting and fishing, etc., near the Broad river, which did not mean that they had no money. Tillet panned for gold (the region is rich in minerals).
Moss said that Tillet lived according to Indian folklore, supersitition (religion?), cultural ideas, etc., which is consistent with the theory that Tillet identified himself as an Indian. Was James Tillet Porter the descendant of a respectable line of Indian religious leaders?
Professor Moss told me that there was public opposition to something about Tillet's funeral, but he could not remember what. Might another of Tillet's descendants reveal that? One of my Indian friends sadly told me the story of his grandmother being denied burial in the cemetery of the Judeo-Christian church to which she had belonged all her life because she was of a different race from the rest of the congregation. If Tillet had been buried with his Indian relatives instead, we might know who they were today.
Who is more likely to live 103 years than such a physically strong, healthy, vigorous, active man who lived such a healthy life style?
Professor Moss also told me that my ancestor Colonel Frederick Hambright was quite a man. He was a surveyor and taught the people of the area how to farm using stone walls to make the ground level (similar to what the Incas did?), etc. He said that some of the practices Colonel Frederick Hambright introduced could still be seen.
Catherine Hambright, whom I met at the Porter family reunion, told me that the Hambright family reunion is held the second Sunday of every October at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Kings Mountain, SC on Highway #216 from Grover, NC, and that Ralph Dye on Rambow Lane in Charlotte, NC has done research on the Hambright family.
Professor Moss also told me that Douglass Chapman in Fort Mill, SC works on the Moss genealogy. Professor Moss' great grandfather was Reverend Van Moss, the founder of Nazareth Church.
I may have forgotten other things Professor Moss told me.
I suspect more strongly than ever that my slight Indian physical characteristics came from James Tillet Porter. Most South Carolinians of all races seem to have some Indian ancestors.
The genealogist that cousin Hershell PORTER hired may have proven this wrong by the time you read this, but just for the fun of it, my guess is that James Tillet Porter (1791 - 1893) and Jedithan Porter (1783 - ?) were brothers, the sons of Jedithan Porter (1755 - 1804). Jedithan Porter (1755 - 1804) was the son of Edward Sanders Porter (1720 - 1792) and Mary Jeter, and the brother of Elisha Porter, the grandfather of the James Tillet Porter who was born in 1842 [and who may have been named after a common ancestor (James Tillet?) of both him and James Tillet Porter (1791 - 1893)].
Jedithan Porter (1755 - 1804) was only 15 when he had his first of 12 children (over a period of 24 years) by Rhoda Palmer. His last child was born in 1793 when he was 38.
I base my guess in part on my understanding or misunderstanding of the genealogical chart provided by Susan Porter and what I have learned from my Porter relatives in the last few weeks.
Why was James Tillet Porter not named in the genealogical chart? Might he have been the illegitimate son of Jedithan Porter (1755 - 1804) by an Indian squaw?
If Tillet was the illegitimate son of Jedithan Porter (1755 - 1804), he probably grew up with his Indian mother and family, which might explain why he was called "Indian James" and why his life style and religious beliefs, etc. were so Indian.