My Moore County Goings family tree

Leah Goins, born c.a. 1790, was the daughter of William Goings, Sr (1749-1835) and Patsy Petty.  William Goings Sr. was the illigitimate son of John Harmon, a Portuguese in documents, and Elizabeth Goings (1740-?)

Daniel Goins, (1824-1907) was the illigitimate son of Alexander Murchison (b.c.a. 1804) and Leah Goins, a Croatan of NC.  Daniel married Margaret Goins (double Goins line)

Many of these Goinses remained in North Carolina after a mass emigration to Tennessee and Texas in the 1820's-1830's.  The ones who remained clung to their cultural identity.  They have represented the Croatan/Lumbee Indian tribe on the tribal council for many generations and Jimmy Goins former  Chairman of the Tribal Council.


William Goyens, Jr, (1794-1856) is the brother to Leah Goins.  He served as a Cherokee fighting side by side with the Cherokee at the Battle of the Horseshoe in Alabama, 1814 as muster rolls reveal.  It is by no accident that he was tapped as Indian Agent by Sam Houston for negotiation of the Houston-Forbes Treaty.  They had already fought one battle together under Andrew Jackson and knew of each other prior to arriving in Texas. These events were set in motion before any of these people arrived in the Republic of Texas.

Genealogy and Brilliant Compassion

There has been an ongoing debate among 'historians' that somehow a degree makes a person a 'better' historian than a genealogist (who is just a hobbyist).  I strongly disagree with this, especially since I've seen some sloppy biographies of noted heroes.  Genealogists work strictly with primary documentation - the census records, the vital records (birth, death and marriage) while some historians rely solely on what has been published before or what is available in their local archives.  Most genealogists I know make pilgrimages to the places where their ancestors lived.  They locate cemeteries, churches and get a true feel for the community where their family members lived and died.  My father and I have accumulated a treasure of experiences from interviewing people who lived down the street, including a shy elderly woman who merely peeped around a tree to answer my father's questions about one of our great uncles.  She answered concisely and clearly, but preferred to have the tree between him and her.  Can a historian glean that from a book?
And with this experience comes something I can only call brilliant compassion.  Because this elderly woman, along with the grave-digger walking along the side of the road one day in present day Lee County, NC and the old man with the granddaughter who liked to swat visitors with a fly-swatter all bequeathed us something more than answers.  They gave us the culture of our ancestors.  And that is why genealogists get it right and historians get it wrong.  That is why the history books are not accurate.

Must read books about history and compassion:

Murchison Dynasty of Texas and William Goyens, Jr. Tender Ties

Rassie Wicker himself was intrigued by the Moore County Goinses, because he too was a descendent of Kinnith Murchison through Kenneth Wicker who married Isabella Currie, who was the daughter of Malcolm Bethune Currie and Catherine Murchison. Talitha Ann Wicker, born 1863 married Andrew Cole, whose land bordered on William Goings, Sr.’s property in Pocket Creek. Flora Coffer, daughter of Henry Copher and Margaret McIntosh, born in 1839 married Ben Kimball, which is also a family name which appears on Goins’ affidavit of genealogy. The Henry Coffer home was adjacent to Edward Goins’ line. The old white Coffer house was converted into a church before it was removed to the Henry Kimball place.[i] It is the intricate kinship which proves the credibility of the Goins affidavit witnesses and the validity of their testimonies in court including the Goins’ Portuguese/Native American heritage. The Pocket Creek Community was small and families intimately related. Descendants of the Goings/Goyens/Goins family have had Whole DNA tests which revealed Berber, (Asni, Morocco), Spanish, Moroccan, Macedonian, Canary Islands and Scottish among the top ten global population matches in order from highest contribution to lower contributions. The conclusion was 91% European, 9% Native American and 0% Sub-Saharan or East Asian ancestry[ii] proving that all dark-skinned individuals, including Europeans and Native-Americans were subjected to the burden of proof which could result in loss of rights and even enslavement. The blood validates the oral tradition and the historical documentation on the family.

Maps and Migration routes

Carolina Genesis: Beyond the Color Line  contains key migration route maps and boundaries from the Colonial period to the mid 1800's.  The history of the frontier is much more diverse than historians have depicted in the past. 
List of illustrations:

The Carolinas 1780  page 11
Hill Country and Tidewater, page 12
Interconnected Tri-racial Groups, page 16
Colonial Boundaries 1783, page 17
French and English Trade Routes, page 20
Trails and Paths of the Southeast, page 21
Accession of Territories in the U.S., page 24
Georgia Land Lottery, 1805, page 25
Routes into the Mississippi Territory, page 26
Natchez Trace and Three Chopped Way, page 28
Federal Roads to Natchez, page 29
El Camino Real del los Tejas, page 35
Trails West, page 39
Spanish Missions of the Gulf Coast, page 40
Early Trails into Texas, page 42
Spanish Tejas, page 48
The Trail of Tears, page 52
Ladino Chichimeca, page 61
Indians of New Netherlands, 1671, page 63
Ninigret, 1681, page 72
Portion of the Hobcaw Barony Map Showing Sandy Island, page 91
Map of Wee Nee Ya Village and Black Mingo Creek, page 110
The Author in traditional Regalia, Native American Heritage Celebration, NYC 2009, page 112
Goins Family Graveyard, Moore County, NC, page 125
William Goings Tract Survey to Spivey, 1836, page 140
Drowning Creek and Cape Fear River Watershed, page 147
Sadletree Swamp, page 151

Goins Family Musings: Carolina Genesis

http://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Genesis-Beyond-Color-Line/dp/093947932X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274712558&sr=1-1

Carolina Genesis

http://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Genesis-Beyond-Color-Line/dp/093947932X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274712558&sr=1-1

What began as a Texas Humanities Grant funded Redbone Heritage Foundation conference has now evolved into a well-documented and true history of William Goyens, Jr of Nacogdoches and families labeled as Redbones, Mulattoes, Negroes, Brass Ankles, Melungeons, Smilings, and Croatan/Lumbee. The biography of Goyens, originally a Croatan/Lumbee Indian, includes the unusual tombstones in Moore County with etchings showing upright burials, similar to those of the Wampanoag peoples in Massachusetts. What is the Native American connection? Sam Houston and William Goyens, Jr. were acquainted before Goyens' arrival in Texas and War of 1812 records reveal that he was fighting with the Cherokee as a Cherokee in the Battle of the Horseshoe, 1814. This is an amazing book of the 'multi-ethnic' American frontier which includes Spaniards, Portuguese, Native-American and Mediterranean peoples in American history. Also included in this book are maps and descriptions of the migration roads westward - including the Cumberland Road, the Wilderness Road, the Natchez trace, The Trail of Tears and many other migratory paths outlined by Stacy R Webb. These maps and roads, along with the true history of William Goyens, Jr of Nacogdoches, were presented at the East Texas Historical Association Conference 2009 and provide the backbone of Carolina Genesis: Beyond the Colorline as we witness the roads well traveled.


Govinda Sanyal uses astonishing research to present the history of a single female lineage that winds its way through prehistoric Yemen, North Africa, Moorish Spain, the Shephardic disapora, colonial Mexico and assimilation into Native American tribes in America. Steven Pony Hill recounts historic struggles of the South Carolina Cheraws in an essay entitled "Strangers in Their Own Land." Scott Winthrow concentrates on the saga of Joseph Willis who was born in a community of Color in South Carolina but migrated to Louisiana where he was accepted as a White man and became one of the region's best loved ministers. Finally, K. Paul Johnson traces the history of North Carolina's antebellum Quakers. The once-strong Quaker community dissolved as it grew morally opposed to slavery. Those who opposed slavery moved North. The ones who remained slave-owners left the church. Marvin Jones tells the history of the Winton Triangle, a section of North Carolina populated by successful families of mixed ancestry from colonial times until the mid-20th century. They fought for the Union, founded schools, built business and thrived through adversity until the civil rights movement of 1955-65 ended legal segregation.
We wish to thank the Texas Humanities Grant Committee for the launch of this significant research as we work to preserve integrity and historical accuracy in Texas and United States history.

Carolina Genesis: Beyond the Colorline

I'm deeply honored to be one of the authors represented in this new history of the American frontier. Twenty-five years of research, along with new forensic anthropology and DNA results, support historical documents, illuminating the rich multi-ethnic American history. I am proud to present the authoritative biography on William Goyens, Jr of Nacogdoches, TX based on North Carolina records and his life before Texas. Stacy R. Webb illustrates the westward paths, families of color used in western migration including the Wilderness Road, the Natchez Trace and many other famous roads West. S. Pony Hill writes of the South Carolina Cheraws from Strangers in Their Own Land. K. Paul Johnson traces the history of North Carolina's antebellum Quakers. The once strong community dissolved as it grew morally opposed to slavery. Those who stayed true to their faith migrated North. Those who remained slaveowners left the church. The worst stress was the Nat Turner event. In the aftermath, the previously permeable colorline evolved into the harsh endogamous barrier that exists today.



These are only a few excerpts from a book rich in real history. It is a must read for those interested in multi-ethnic families and how their legacy endured.


http://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Genesis-Beyond-Color-Line/dp/093947932X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274665516&sr=1-1