To answer the question of Indian ancestry in the Hays line we first need to ask and answer how we will define “Indian ancestry”. Will it be by DNA, Blood Quantum, or tribal participation? Blood Quantum (BQ) is measured by a 50% rule for each parent, 25% for each grand parent, etc. DNA measures the amount of DNA in common with ancestors who identify with Indian ancestry. Tribal participation is living on the Indian lands and/or reservations of that tribe prior to the Indian Removal Act.
The clash of European and American cultures in America started in the 1500’s, grew minimally in the 1600’s and increased rapidly in the 1700’s. Initial European traders in contact with the tribes were all men and settlements had more men than women. Thus the mixing of blood was usually European Male and American Female. The European hereditary system based on individually owned land and a farm community society is from father to children (usually land to the sons). The American Indian hereditary system is based on a hunter gatherer tribal system with tribally controlled land and hereditary rights along the maternal line.
Tribes were broken down further into Clans. For example, if your mother was from the Mohawk Bear Clan and your father was from the Mohawk Wolf Clan you would have the right within the tribe as a Mohawk to farm and hunt any of the land they controlled but your right to participate in tribal politics and decision making would be in the Bear Clan. The adult male primarily responsible for rearing children (especially boys) would be the mothers oldest brother (Uncle to the child). This helped cement Clan traditions, beliefs and unity.
All the Eastern Tribes in America took captive slaves in battles with other tribes and then with the Europeans when they arrived. Although initially slaves, the captives were placed in a Clan and eventually incorporated and adopted into that tribe. This contributed to the strength of the Clan and Tribe, making it larger and replacing any persons they had lost to disease or in war with other tribes. Thus a Chickasaw Tribe member, “X”, might actually be 1/2 Mohawk Father (incorporated into the tribe) and 1/2 Chickasaw. It is possible going back that the Mohawk had a Mohawk Mother (raised Mohawk Bear Clan) and a European Father (a fur trader) and is in the present day in the Chickasaw Tribe.
If we evaluate “X” based upon Tribal participation they would be a Chickasaw, born and raised in a Chickasaw Clan on Chickasaw land. If we went by Blood Quantum “X” is 3/4 Breed Indian and if Y-DNA was done it would show both European and Indian DNA. If the initial European-Mohawk was raised on a farm as “Smith”, migrated west and settled a farm and married a Chickasaw who settled with them on the farm (off Indian lands) we would have the same Blood Quantum and same DNA but NO Chickasaw Tribal rights.
Dad’s quote “my grandmother liked to sit on an Indian blanket” and the “it has to be, look at the dark black hair and high cheekbones” in reference to Indian ancestry made it all the way down to me as a youth in the 1960’s. This was reinforced by Robert Alexander Hays and Mary Ellen Wilcox settling on a rented farm on the Chickasaw Reservation, present day Burneyville, Love, OK and their children being born there.
The 1920 Census shows Mary Ellen (60) living with Thomas Jefferson and Ruth in Justice Precinct 5, Cooke, TX. Thomas J. died in 1924 and Mary Ellen in 1930. The 1930 census shows Ruth in Olton, Lamb, TX with the children in 1930. It is unknown if the family moved to Olton after Thomas J. died or after Mary Ellen died but we can surmise that my father until he was 6 (and all his older siblings) would have been in contact with their grandmother and there is some basis for the discussion.
My Autosomal DNA (on Ancestry.com) shows no relations to Indian but my Y-DNA shows a small connection to Y-DNA of (United States) Indians. The 1860 census record show Mary Ellen Wilcox (1) was born 1859 to John Wilcox (27) and Mary Wilcox (24) living in Missouri (1960) (Mary Ellen lists Missouri as her birthplace in later census). John Wilcox lists being born in VA and Mary Wilcox lists being born in MO (1860 Census), no other records found for either. Given this we can only theorize.
Robert Alexander and Mary Ellen married in Collins, TX 1881 and had 4 children born in TX, moved to OK between 1888 and 1892 settled on a rented farm and had 3 children born there before Robert died in 1899. So it appears that moving to OK wasn’t the original intended destination for either. whether they headed to OK due to an ancestral connection to kith or kin or it was a recent availability is unknown.
The Chickasaws tribe had holdings in MO and started the move to OK in 1830 on Choctaw Land. In 1850 they split to form the Chickasaw Nation controlling land in what is now Burnyerville, Love, OK. with the land held for the tribal members. A search of Wilcox on the Dawes Rolls reveals NO Chickasaw Wilcox. But the lack of records for John Wilcox and Mary Wilcox leaves us questioning what happened to them. In any event we rule out the Chickasaw Tribal rights connection.
The 1880 census has the race column blank for all persons for several pages around the Wilcox. On the 1900 Census Mary Ellen is listed white. IF Mary Wilcox parents were full blood Indians she would be full blood, marrying a full blood white Mary Ellen would be 1/2, Thomas Jefferson 1/4, James H. 1/8 and me 1/16 (by Blood Quantum). But if we drop Mary Wilcox to 1/2 Blood Quantum I drop to 1/32.
Given the small Y-DNA match with Indian and no at-DNA match on Ancestry.com I suspect that Mary Ellen was 1/4 Indian at most. My 1/32 would amount to 3.125% (.03125) Indian Blood at most as there is no telling which 1/8th of a specific grandparent’s DNA you get. As such the little bit of Indian DNA and any Indian cultural heritage has been incorporated into us Hays as American Men.