Here's the puzzle for my family. My grandfather's mother, Daisy Murray was, we believe, half Indian. However, she denied her Indian heritage throughout her lifetime. It was only discovered after her death that she was part Indian. What my grandfather was told is that his mother was "Iroquois", not Sioux (the largest local tribe where they lived in Iowa and South Dakota).

Due to Daisy's denial of her Indian roots, we have precious little exact information to go by to track her ancestry. Was her Indian background through her father Louis Murray, or through her mother Louisa (last name Thurman according to some family historians)? Which Iroquois tribe was she from and when did they come west? If anyone has any information, email me at ckdane@yahoo.com

You haven't given us any dates of birth for Daisy, or her parents, so suggestions are limited. But, I think the first thing you need to do is find her and her parents on census records. This should give you her place of birth and her parents' place of birth. (Check more than one census since info is not always accurate on census records.) Finding where they were born will help a little bit in narrowing down possible tribes.

Carolyne

Carolyne, thanks for replying. Here's what I have been able to piece together:

Daisy Murray was born 1883 in Iowa. Her father was Louis Murray, born 7/28/1839 in New York, died in Iowa in April, 1918. My mother says that the research her uncle did (but which we don't have access to any more) indicated that Louis was a full Indian.

I'm fairly sure that Louis's father was Joseph Murray, born in Quebec, Canada, possibly Montreal in 1799. He appears to have lived in Beekmantown, NY in the 1850 Census. According to some family history I've found online his wife's name was Mary Beauchamp, born in Montreal in 1800.

Kyle

I searched census records for you. (Below). On all records, the people are listed as white. What you need now, is the 1835 Canadian Census records. They have two for that year: basically one for Europeans, etc. and one for the Indians aka First Nations people. You need to see which list Joseph Sr. and his wife Mary Beauchamp are on. The Canadians are a little better than the U.S. when it comes to identifying Indians. Based on what I have found, you should check the province of Quebec. Contact the Canadian Library and Archives on how to have the census records researched and copied.


Carolyne



1850 U.S. Federal Census (Louis and parents)
Beekmantown, Clinton, New York
Joseph Murray 50 Canada (b. about 1800) blacksmith
Mary Murray 49 Canada (b. about 1801)
Harriet Murray 16 Canada
Armine Murray 13 Canada
Louis Murray 11 New York (b. about 1839)
Rosalie Murray 8 New York
(NOTE: would have come from Canada after birth of "Armine" and before birth of Louis. This would be circa 1837 to 1839)


1860 U.S. Federal Census (brother and father of Louis)
East Waterloo, Black Hawk County
Post Office: Cedar Falls
Joseph Murray 32 Canada shinglemaker (b. about 1828)
Margaret Murray 28 Canada
John Murray 10 Canada
Josephine Murray 9 Canada
Sylva Murray 5 Canada
Lewis Murray 3 Iowa
Margaret Murray 5.12 Iowa
Joseph Murray 62 Canada blacksmith (b. about 1798)
(NOTE: The Joseph age 32 should be a son who was already married and out of the household in 1850. Mary, the mother not listed. Possibly dead. Appears the son emigrated from Canada about 1856 or 1857 since his son Lewis was born in Iowa abt 1857.)



1860 U.S. Federal Census (Louis)
Cedar Falls, Black Hawk, Iowa
Post Office: Cedar Falls
Cyrus Ashley 62 NY
Millison Ashley 64 NY
Abigail Ashley 34 NY
Lovinia Ashley 33 NY
Louis Murray 21 NY
Wm Morgan 13 Illinois



1870 U.S. Federal Census (Louis and father)
Mount Vernon, Black Hawk, Iowa
Post Office: Cedar Falls
Louis Murray 30 NY farmer 5700-1290
Louisa Murray 22 IA
Effie Murray 6
Nattie Murray 3
Mary Firman 21 Wisconsin
Nancy Thoroughman 65 OH (Likely the mother of Louisa)
Joseph Murray 75 Canada farmer (father of Louis) (b. about 1795)



1874 (father of Louis?)
There is a Joseph Murray born 1800, died 1874, listed in Hillside Cemetery, Washington, Black Hawk County, Iowa. Possibly the father of Louis.



1880 U.S. Federal Census (Louis)
Black Hawk, Iowa
Lewis Murray 40 New York farmer Canada Canada
Louisa Murray 33 wife IA
Effie C. Murray 16 dau
Nettie L. Murray 13 dau
Cora E. Murray 10 dau
Harvey C. Murray 8 son
Bertha A. Murray 4 dau
Eva Maud Murray 2 dau
(Infant, not named yet) Murray 2/12 (born March 1880, relationship blank)



1880 U.S. Federal Census (Joseph, brother of Louis)
Joseph Murray 52 Canada Canada Canada
Margaret Murray 48 Canada Canada Canada
Lewis Murray 22 son IA Canada Canada
Arvilla Murray 13 dau IA Canada Canada
George Murray 10 son IA Canada Canada
Florence Murray 3 adopted daughter Iowa
Joseph Wool 82 father-in-law Canada blank blank
Samuel Mumpford 25 laborer



1885 Iowa State Census (Louis/Lewis)
Mount Vernon, Black Hawk County
Lewis Murray 45 born in New York farmer
Louisa Murray 37 born Linn County Iowa
Effie C Murray 20 born in Black Hawk County, teacher.
Nettie L Murray 18 born in Black Hawk County
Cora E Murray 14 born in Black Hawk County
Harvey C Murray 12 born in Black Hawk County
Bertha A Murray 8 born in Black Hawk County
Mand E Murray 6 born in Black Hawk County
Herbert Murray 4 born in Black Hawk County
Daisy Murray 1 born in Black Hawk County



1900 U.S. Federal Census (Louis/Lewis)
East Waterloo Township (Excl. Waterloo City), Black Hawk, Iowa
Occupation: View on Image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Lewis Murray 60 Jul 1839 M-37 NY Canada Canada
Louisa Murray 53 wife Jan 1847 M-37 10-9 IA OH OH
Herbert Murray 20 son Mar 1880 IA NY IA
Daisy Murray 17 dau Jan 1883 IA NY IA
Cassius Murray 14 son Dec 1885 IA NY IA
Hezel Murray 9 dau Sep 1890 IA NY IA
(NOTE: Married 37 years, Louisa has had 10 live births, only 9 living.)



1908
There is a Joseph Murray, born 1828 and died 19 Feb 1908, buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County. This is likely Joseph, the brother of Louis/Lewis.)



1910 U.S. Federal Census (Louis/Lewis)
Waterloo Ward 4, Black Hawk, Iowa
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Lewis Murray 70 NY M-46 Canada French Canada French
Louisa Murray 63 IA OH OH M-46 10-8
(NOTE: Married 46 years, married only once, 10 live births, 8 living)



1915 Iowa State Census (Louis/Lewis)
Census card shows he is age 75, born in New York, both parents born in Canada. His home is valued at $2500; he is retired and is a member of a Methodist church. He lives at 1226 Franklin, Waterloo, Black Hawk County.



1920 U.S. Federal Census (Louisa)
Louisa is listed as a widow living with her daughter Bertha Murray Ford in Cedar Falls Ward 1, Black Hawk, Iowa. Bertha has a daughter Helen Ford, age 17. Bertha is also listed as a widow.

P.S.

I recommend that you do not ignore the parentage of Daisy's mother, Louisa. It is always possible that she was Indian.

Carolyne

Since I posted this originally, I've discovered that Louisa was most likely Louisa Thoroman, whose father Crawford Thoroman or Thoroughman was of the Adams, Ohio Thoroman clan, so it's less likely that her family is where our Indian heritage is.

These census records are really fantastic for piecing these things together. From all the US records I've been looking at, it looks like the only race information is "White" or "Colored". I presume that means African American, not the modern term "persons of Color".

The term "colored," depending on the census year, can mean person of color (Indians, Asian Indians, Asians, Filipino, etc.) or Negro. There were census years where the term Negro and Black were used, and it actually meant Indian. And there are census years where white included Indians. So, race classification is always questionable when tracing American Indian heritage.