Oxendine Family Lumbee American IndiansThe Lumbee Indians are named after the Lumbee River, and reside mostly in North Carolina / South Carolina. They were made up of Cheraw Indians (Siouan) and Croatan Indians (Algonquian). The reason tribes merged in early days was because the settlers brought smallpox and other diseases with them, and many tribes lost up to 90% of their members. The remaining survivors had to regroup together with other local Indians to rebuild. Records date back to the 1700s on this group of Indians. Common family names in the Lumbee tribe are Brayboy, Brooks, Carter, Locklear, Lowry, Oxendine, and Revels. It's rumored that the lost town of Roanoke actually merged in with the Croatan Indians - they carved the word "Croatoan" on a tree when they left, and didn't leave any other emergency indicators that it had been a raid. The Lumbees did indeed have surnames used that matched those of settlers, and spoke fluent English, even in those early days.Lost Colony of RoanokeBecause of this early influx of English language and style, most traditional clothing and information was lost. The Lumbee were dressing like "everyone else" by the time people started documenting things. It is assumed they wore beaded headbands with a feather or two, and knee-length skirts (women) or breechcloth (men). Moccassins were common for all Indian footwear. When Scottish immigrants "found" the Lumbee Indians in Robeson County, North Carolina in the 1730s, the Indians already were speaking English and living in English style houses.Crafts included basketry and wood carvings. Food included deer, turkey, corn, beans, and squash - but again the English came in so quickly that soon they were living much as other settlers did.The Lumbees were very mixed race right from that beginning, and were often not really considered "Indians" when things such as the Trail of Tears occurred. In addition to absorbing the entire Roanoke colony, they also intermarried with blacks and other Indians. In the mid to late 1800s, there are records saying that the Indians in North Carolina (i.e. the Lumbees) were sent to special schools along with the Negros. They were not allowed into the white schools.By 1910 the Croatans (i.e. Lumbees) didn't like their original name; it was being used as a term of derision in their homelands. They started calling themselves Cherokee. This upset the main Cherokees who felt the tribes were quite distinct. So in 1933 the Lumbees officially adopted the title of Lumbee, from a river in the region.
John "Figro" OxendineJohn, born around 1694-96, a mixed-race man [the African-American book] in Virginia who was" bound as a servant" till age 31. He sued William and Elizabeth Wildey for his freedom in Northumberland County, Virginia. in January 1724. His name was written- John Oxendine- in Northumberland County Virginia. court records dated 1727, 1734 and 1741. However, Northumberland County Virginia church records spelt his name -John Oxendane -when his children were born during the 1730's. He married Sarah Oxendine.The birth of John's children was recorded in 'Virginia County Court Abstracts, v.3, Northumberland County Record of Births, page 112'." From Charles Oxendine's book, titled, "Oxendine Census Records, 1790-1920".He lived in Northumberland County in the 1730’s; Bladen County, North Carolina in the 1750’s and was still alive in 1758 as he wanted to be excused from paying taxes. on 27 August 1753.On 27 August 1753, John Johnson Jr. entered 100 acres in Bladen County, North Carolina on the north side of Pugh's marsh whereon John Oxendine was then living. (Bladen County Land Entries #805). In 1759 , he and two of his sons, John and Benjamin, lived in the Drowning Creek area of Bladen County, North Carolina which is the upper part of the Lumbee River area, where his son, John, buys 100 acres including improvements from his father, John Oxendine, Sr. some years later, the family moved on to South Carolina. He died in1759.
They had the following children:
Cudworth Oxendine was between in 1740-1750 in Bladen County, North Carolina. He died in 1820.
Benjamin Oxendine was born on 12 April 1733 in Northumberland County, Virginia. He died in 1758.
Jenne Oxendine was born on 14 February 1735 in Northumberland County, Virginia.
Clark Oxendine was born on 28 November 1737 in Northumberland County, Virginia.
John Oxendine was born on 10 June 1739 in Northumberland County, Virginia.
Charles Oxendine was born in 1741. He died on 7 Sep 1808 in Robeson, North Carolina.
Cudworth “Cood"OxendineCudworth was born sometime between 1741 and 1750, in Bladen County, North Carolina. Cudworth's father was John Oxendine from Northumberland Virginia - which is far back as our records go. Cudworth was a taxable "Mulato" in Bladen County in 1768 and 1769. Note that in 1787, this section of Bladen County, North Carolina became Robeson County, North Carolina.Note that some rumors say that Cudworth was a "Cherokee Chief". First, the Oxendines weren't Cherokees; they were Croateans which later renamed themselves to Lumbees because Croatean became a term of derision. Next, Cud's father was a servant who was freed; while they seem to be of mixed blood / Indian stock and marrying in with others of mixed blood / Indian stock, there's no evidence of Cud's father or Cud himself being a chief.
1790 Federal CensusGeorgetown South Carolina - Prince Georges Parish - Roll 11, Book 1
"Cood" Oxendine2 free white males age 16+ [This would be Cood himself, plus son David, now 16]3 free white males
They had the following children:
Charles Pickett Oxendine was born 1803 in Marion District, South Carolina. He died 29 Jul 1889 in Redding, Shasta, California.
Dicy Oxendine was born in 1809 in Marion, South Carolina. She died in 1877 in Lodi, Stanislaus, California.
Levi Oxendine was born in 1811 in Marion, South Carolina. He died on 31 July 1858 in Stockton, San Joaquin, California.
Suzanna Oxendine was born in 1815 in Marion, South Carolina. She died on 13 February 1890 in Calaveras, California.
Edney Oxendine was born on 26 February 1836 in Alabama. She died on 31 May 1915 in Shasta County, California.
Delilah Oxendine was born in 1813 in Marion, South Carolina.
Charles Pickett OxendineCharles was born in 1803 in Marion District, South Carolina. Charles was listed a Cherokee Indian. In 1820 Charles was living in Marion, South Carolina. In 1825 he married Martha Shumate in Georgia. In 1850 he was living in Vineyard, Washington, Arkansas. 1850 Federal Census He died 29 Jul 1889 in Redding, Shasta, California. His occupation is listed as a farmer.
Death Certificate
Headstone
They had the following children:
Thomas Oxendine was born 1832, Tennessee, d. 1833.
Adeline Edney Oxendine, b. 26 Feb 1836, Alabama Indian Territory, d. 31 May 1915, Shasta County, California.
Levi Caleb Oxendine, b. 1838, Alabama, d. 09 Aug 1897, Shasta, California.
George Washington Oxendine, b. 1839, Georgia , d. 1879.
Jane Oxendine, b. Jul 1841, California, d. 1885, California.
Dicy Ann Oxendine, b. 29 Jul 1843, Washington, Arkansas, d. 15 Oct 1893, Redding, California
Martha Ann Oxendine, b. 26 Aug 1845, Washington, Arkansas, d. 1914, California.
Civil War Pension File
Civil War Pension File
John was born on 25 October 1896 in Overton, Tennessee. John's mother died when he was only 2 years old. His father was killed in a rail road accident in 1926. John moved to Detroit and is found in the Grand Traverse 1920 Census as a boarder of Andrew C. Dauchy. He went to work at the Ford Motor Company, but found work as a garage mechanic. This is where he met Dorothy Elizabeth Wood. He married Dorothy in Detroit, and they moved to Santa Ana, California prior to 1940. He died on 29 March 1976 in Orange, California..
