I have often read from the family information on the internet that our ancestor, Esther Burgess, was Chickasaw. I hate to question family lore, but do we really know for a fact? The only source I've seen cited is a genealogy book called The History of Wayne County. Experience has shown time and time again that oral family accounts of Native ancestry are all too often erroneous.
I don't doubt Esther's Native ancestry, but I am starting to wonder about the specific tribe. I cannot seem to find anyone in the Chickasaw tribe with the last name of Burgess on the Dawes Roll. I see plenty of Burgesses in the Creek tribe, however. Is it possible that the person giving the account in The History of Wayne County mixed up the tribes?