Person:Sarah Wyyougs (1)

birth parents: Occum Wyyougs and Martha Shantup (1)

SEE BLACK ROOTS IN SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT 1650 THROUGH 1900. THE MARRIAGE OF SARAH IS FOUND UNDER HOSCOTT. SALLY A VARIENT OF SARAH, AND SHANTUP THE MAIDEN NAME OF HER MOTHER WERE USED ON THE RECORD. ON THE 1861 TRIBAL ROLL OF THE MOHEGAN INDIANS SARAH STATES SHE IS 3/4 MOHEGAN AND 1/4 PEQUOT. THE SAMUEL BRUSHELL NEXT TO HER OH THE TRIBAL ROLL IS A COUSIN OF SARAH'S ON THE SHANTUP SIDE. SARAH MARRIED BARTHOLOMEW SMITH WHOSE MOTHER OFTEN USED THE SURNAME HOSCOTT, THE SURNAME OF A FORMER SPOUSE. SARAH INHERITED LAND FROM HER MOTHER MARTHA SHANTUP UNCAS IN 1859. HOWEVER THE MOHEGAN TRIBE CONTESTED IT IN THE NEW LONDON SUPREME COURT CLAIMING THAT THE LAND BELONGED TO THE TRIBE. SARAH SMITH LOST THE CASE. IT RESULTED IN A LAND DISTRIBUTION BY THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT AND 40 INDIVIDUALS WERE NAMED ON A LIST/GENEOLOGY CONSTRUCTED BY EMMA BAKER. THOUGH OVER 125 INDIVIDUALS WERE KNOWN TO BE CONNECTED TO THE TRIBE IN 1861 ONLY 40 WERE DETERMINED TO BE ELIGABLE TO RECEIVE LAND TO BE DISTRIBUTED BY THE STATE. MANY OF THOSE EXCLUDED CONTESTED THE LIST IN COURT. ACCORDING TO CATHERINE EUNICE SMITH THE MOTHER OF CHARLES J SMITH WAS INDIAN AND HIS FATHER WAS WHITE OR PART WHITE. CATHERINE E SMITH WAS CHARLES J SMITH'S GRANDDAUGHTER. BARTHOLOMEW SMITH'S FATHER, VALENTINE SMITH, MAY HAVE BEEN WHITE AND HIS MOTHER CYNTHIA TEECOMWAS WAS INDIAN. SARAH MARRIED BARTHOLOMEW SMITH. THIS AGREES WITH THE ORAL HISTORY GIVEN BY CATHERINE EUNICE SMITH. IF VALENTINE SMITH WAS NOT WHITE HE WAS LIKELY A PEQUOT INDIAN. SARAH APPEARS NOT TO HAVE RAISED HER CHILDREN. FIDELIA SMITH STATED SHE WAS RAISED BY HER GRANDMOTHER MARTHA SHANTUP. CHARLES SMITH AS WELL AS OTHER POSSIBLE CHILDREN MAY HAVE BEEN BOUND OUT TO WHITE FAMILIES-SEE 1850 NORWICH CT CENSUS-ROATH FAMILY. WYAX IS A VARIENT OF THE NAME WYYOUGS. SARAH ALSO USED THE NAME SALLY SHANTUP. SARAH HAD A FIRST COUSIN NAMED EUNICE WYYOUGS. THOUGH SARAH IS LISTED ON THE 1861 TRIBAL LAND ALOTMENT ROLL AS 3/4 MOHEGAN AND 1/4 PEQUOT, SHE WAS IN FACT AT LEAST 3/4 PEQUOT AND NO MORE THAN 1/4 MOHEGAN. THE SHANTUP/WYYOUG AND ASHBOW FAMILIES ARE LISTED AS "NOT PROPERLY MOHEGAN" FAMILIES LIVING IN MOHEGAN IN 1776-THOSE FAMILIES WERE PEQUOT INDIANS. BOTH OF SARAH'S PARENTS, MARTHA SHANTUP AND OCCUM WYYOUGS, WERE PEQUOT INDIANS. SARAH WYYOUGS GAINED MOHEGAN STATUS BY VIRTUE OF HER MARRIAGE TO BARTHOLOWMEW SMITH. BARTHOLOMEW'S MOTHER WAS MOHEGAN. SARAH WYYOUGS/SMITH AND HER 1/2 SISTER, MARY T QUIGEON,(MARY'S FATHER WAS MOHEGAN) SUED THE MOHEGAN OVERSEER SAMUEL E MAYNARD IN 1861. THEY WERE CLAIMING THEIR MOTHER'S(MARTHA SHANTUP/UNCAS) SHARE OF THE MOHEGAN LAND ALOTMENTS. THE RESERVATION WAS BEING BROKEN UP AND PARCELED OUT TO TRIBAL MEMBERS. SARAH AND MARY WON THE COURT CASE. I HAVE CONCLUDED THAT BARTHOLOMEW SMITH PROBABLY DIED OR DIVORCED SARAH ABOUT 1842 AS HE IS NOT FOUND IN ANY RECORD OF ANY KIND AFTER THAT DATE. SAMUEL MAYNARD, THE MOHEGAN OVERSEERER/DOCTOR WAS CLOSE TO THE ROATH FAMILY BY WAY OF DR BENJAMIN T ROATH AND CHARLOTTE MAYNARD(CHARLOTTE WAS LIVING WITH THE ROATH'S ON THE 1850 CENSUS). THIS GIVES A MOHEGAN CONNECTION TO THAT HOUSEHOLD. BENJAMIN T ROATH CAME TO NYC IN THE EARLY 1850'S TO PRACTICE MEDICINE AND RETURNED TO NORWICH CT IN THE SUMMER OF 1860. HE WAS LIVING IN NYC WHEN CHARLES J SMITH CAME TO NYC ABOUT 1859. SARAH A WYYOUGS/SMITH DIED A WIDOW AT AGE 68 AND THE DEATH CERTIFICATE LISTED HER OCCUPATION AS A DOMESTIC. ON SEPTEMBER 25,2003 THE GREAT GRANDAUGHTER OF CHARLES JAMES SMITH, IRENE REAVES DEGNEN, TOOK A ANCESTRY DNA TEST BY DNAPRINT GENOMICS INC. THE RESULTS WERE THAT IRENE REAVES DEGNEN'S DNA IS 82% EUROPEAN AND 18% NATIVE AMERICAN. WE ESTIMATE THAT 12 0F THE 18% NATIVE AMERICAN DNA IS FROM CHARLES JAMES SMITH. THAT INDICATES THAT CHARLES JAMES SMITH WAS MOSTLY INDIAN. AS SARAH WYYOUGS-SMITH WAS A FULL BLOODED OR ALMOST FULL BLOODED INDIAN, THE BIOLOGICAL FATHER OF CHARLES JAMES SMITH MUST HAVE BEEN 1/2 OR MORE INDIAN.

1.   Emma Baker. List Of Mohegan Indians May 1861 (3).
2.   Emma Baker. Persons Residing On The Mohegan Reservation June 1861.