This is true but it so happens a lot of court officials in Burke, Caldwell, Wilkes, Lincoln, Rowan are related to the Cherokee and patriarchs of how the Cherokee got their European surnames happened primarily in this area of western NC which bordered both the Cherokee and Catawba/Saponi. Its possible that some of these patriarchs also had relations with other tribes other than the Cherokee but finding record of that prior to removal is iffy. I have come across several Cherokee that can trace their patriarchs back to this area. I have this line of Hawkins marrying into the Benge family and those Benges are not Thomas's. This is a work in progress. Maybe answers are somewhere in Supreme or County court minutes. This is all before the Trial.