Pocahontas Matoake 'Rebecca' Powhatan . . .

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life and I am feeling good!

As promised . . .

Grandpa Harrison's Indian Connection

Reverand John J. Dickey's Diary says that John and Elisha Harrison were two of the original long hunters that came to Kentucky in the mid 1700's. Elisha settled on what is now known as Elisha's Branch Road, just north of McKee, Kentucky. He was living there when Daniel Boone first came through this area. Daniel spent some time at Elisha's house before going on to central Kentucky. Daniel Boone's Sheltowee Trace goes down Elisha's Branch. It is believed that John went with Daniel and helped to build Fort Boonesbrough. Erection of Fort Boonesbrough began in April, 1775 and was completed in July 1776. Records from Boonesbrough mention a John Harrison and a Jack Harrison. People with the name of John were sometimes called 'Jack'. There is also a Samuel and Richard Harrison in the Boonesbrough records. Madison County Historical Society records say that John Harrison helped to construct the fort. He later left the fort and settled on some of the best portions of the county, through settlement and premption rights.

In “When They Hanged the Fiddler”, by Jess Wilson, page 90, Indians had captured Daniel Boone's daughter and two Calloway girls in Boonesbrough. Elisha was in a party that rescued the Boone and Calloway girls from the Indians. It also says that Harrison family traditions are the source for the story that the rescue happened below McKee, Ky.

There was a shower of meteors that fell all night on November 13, 1833. Elisha was in bed asleep when his grandchildren woke him up shouting, “Grandpa, wake up! All the stars are falling! It's the end of the world!” He quietly said, “Go look and see if the North Star is still where is was and if it is, everything will be alright”. He turned over and went back to sleep.

As to the Indian blood in the Harrison family tree. I took the Harrison line back to a Daniel Harrison who showed up in Surry County Virginia (1658-1728) and found nothing. After much study, I figured that most likely any Indian blood would be from someone who was a 'Long Hunter'.

The Long Hunters

About 1770, a group of some 22 hunters from Virginia united for a hunting expedition west of the Cumberland Mountains into what is now south central Kentucky. The Expedition was led by Colonel James Knox. Because they were away from their homes for up to three years at a time, they became known as the "Long Hunters."

They entered into what is now Green County in 1770. They made their Base Camp (Camp Knox), in a valley they called the Beech Woods. Today, the Mt. Gilead Christian Church stands on the historic Camp Knox site. This camp served as their headquarters for frequent hunting excursions throughout a large area surrounding this camp. They brought back to their base camp the skins of deer, buffalo, elk, bear, beaver, and smaller animals. Over a period of several months, they had accumulated an enormous number of skins. They constructed a crude structure they called a "skinhouse" to protect their pelts from the weather. They named the small branch of water that flowed beside their campsite, "Skinhouse Branch."

The Long Hunters were forced to leave their campsite and return to their homes due to Indian raids. They were also forced to leave most of their valuable hides at the camp.

Returning to Camp Knox several years later, they found that many of the hides had been stolen by Indians, and the remaining skins had rotted due to being exposed to the weather. On a nearby tree, one Long Hunter carved, "2300 lost – ruination by God."

Many of these original Long Hunters later returned to this area and settled with their families: Skaggs, Graham, Miller, Workman, Lisle, Hancock, Harrisons, Haskins, Caldwell, Allen, and Montgomery.

The Long Hunters’ Camp Knox Historic Site is located in Southern Green County near the Adair County line near Highway Route 61. A monument dedicated to the Long Hunters is located in front of Mt. Gilead Church that describes the historic Camp Knox to visitors.

Now, the Indian Blood: Elisha G. Harrison was from Surry County, Virginia and he came to Kentucky by way of North Carolina, Tennessee then on to Kentucky. His wife was Igha Baker, daughter of John T. Baker, a Revelotionary War Soldier and also another 'Long Hunter'. John T. Baker was the son of James Baker and Mary 'Mollie' Bolling. The Bolling/Baker line has always be intertwined with the story of Pocahontas.

Mollie Bolling was the daughter of John Bolling (1676-1729). John was the son of Colonel R. Bolling and Jane Rolfe. Jane Rolfe was the daughter of Thomas Smith Rolfe and Jane Poythress. Thomas Smith Rolfe was the son of Captain John Rolfe and Pocahontas.

Pocahonta's full name is Pocahontas Matoaka 'Rebecca' Powhatan. She is my 11^th Great-grandmother. The Rebecca is the Christian name that she adopted when she was baptized.

I am attaching a copy of a painting of the Baptism of Pocahontas.

Til the next time, live large my friends . . .