Narcissa and Selena are in separate households in 1880.
The Rauhuff Connection:
Sampson Rauhooft, possibly with kin Jacob Hooft, John Hooft (2), Joseph
Hufft, Benjamin Hooft, and William Hooft (all probably misspelled by the
1830 census taker) moved into the Pigeon Forge community in Sevier
County, Tennessee sometime after 1800. Later census takers would write
Sampson's last name as "Rauhuff". Records from Montgomery County and
Grayson County, Virginia, prove that Sampson's parents were Peter Rauhuff
and Lovis Sage Rauhuff.
Sampson apparently married a native Indian woman (more on this below) and
had at least six children: Samuel (b. 1825-1830), another son (b.
1830-1835), Sarah Narcissus (b. 1833), Selena M. (b. August 11, 1836),
Caroline (b. 1830-1835), and Elizabeth (b. 1835-1840). The childrens'
names did not appear in any census, but were inferred from events that
are related below or were taken from the book "The Rauhuffs", by Bradford
Roy Rauhuff, 1994. The family lived in Civil District 5, Sevier County
(Pigeon Forge).
One of the girls may have been named Mary, because the Boyd's Creek
Cemetery has a Mary Rowhoff, born March 8, 1828, died September 3, 1859.
If so, she is named after her mother Polly, which name is a common
nickname for "Mary". Although the dates don't quite match with the 1840
census, errors of this type were often made.
In 1832, Sampson Rowhough joined the Forks of the Little Pigeon Baptist
Church in Sevierville, Tennessee, one of the old-line, principal churches
of the area. In 1833, Polly Rowhough was also admitted to membership.
By 1836, Sampson has moved to Knox County, Tennessee, just to the west of
Sevier County, with the family as described in the household. He must
have bought land, because he appears on the Knox County tax list of 1836.
In 1840, Sampson appeared in the Knox County, Tennessee census as
follows: Males 01101, Females 220001 [Key: 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20,
20-30, 30-40]
By 1850, Sampson does not appear in any Tennessee census. Bradford
Rauhuff states that he moved to Missouri.
James Pinckney Rauhuff (b. March 1, 1862, d. February 7, 1947), a son of
Selena M. Rauhuff, was kept the last two years of his life in the home of
M. Ada Davenport Sharp and Paul Sharp. He was a great uncle once removed
of Ada, and was affectionately referred to as "Uncle Pink". He probably
talked about his family a great deal, but only the following bare facts
could be recalled by Ada: Narcissus, Selena, and their older brother as
teenagers (before 1851) came to Sevier County from Norman, Oklahoma, by
themselves, in a wagon. [This is revealing, because the American Indians
had been removed from East Tennesse to Oklahoma in 1838. Possibly, they
had moved to Missouri with their father, visited their kin in Oklahoma,
and returned to Sevier County. - Ed.] Back in Sevier County, looking for
any place to stay, they settled for a time on the farm of William H.
Cannon, who was old (about 80) at the time, in the Boyd's Creek
community. William H. Rauhuff was the offspring of Narcissus and William
H. Cannon. These statements were substantially corroborated by Mary
Miranda Rauhuff Davenport, Ada's mother and a niece of Uncle Pink.
In 1850, William H. Cannon was keeping William H., Jr. and his wife
Mary. No children were present. The census does not indicate Sampson
Rauhuff's whereabouts, nor any of his children. If Sarah Narcissus and
Selena were on William Cannon's farm, they simply were not counted. In
1860, William H. was keeping only William H., Jr., and James Wade, County
Trustee, age 25. No women or children were indicated. Both of William
H., Jr's wives were deceased. William, Jr. is listed as "merchant."
In 1851, Narcissa, "a woman of color", joined the Forks of The Little
Pigeon Baptist Church (FLPBC) in Sevierville. (Recall that Sampson and
Polly, Narcissus' probable parents, were members at FLPBC when Narcissus
would have been a child). Selena M. is buried in the Shiloh Cemetery in
Pigeon Forge, which was then associated with another of the principal
churches in the area. Sarah Narcissus' burial place is not known, and is
not listed in a comprehensive survey of Sevier County cemeteries.
After 1850, Selena and Narcissus moved to Civil District 5 (Pigeon Forge)
of Sevier County into a household with just themselves and their
children, where they appear in the 1860 and 1870 censuses. Their
vocation in 1860 is listed as "hireland", which is to say "field hand".
Narcissus had two children, and Selena had four. It appears that they
named the boys after their consorts, who were themselves upright members
of the community. For example, James Pinckney Rauhuff was named after
James B. Seaton, the postmaster; William H. Rauhuff was named after
William H. Cannon, a prominent farmer; and James Leon Rauhuff was named
after James Leon Clabough, a store owner.
Selena's daughter Priscilla was listed as "attending school" in the 1870
census. This is significant because there were only a very few children
in the entire county who were attending school at that time. The few
schools were called "academies," and tuition had to be paid by the
parents.
Among the mementos left to Ada Sharp by Uncle Pink was a pencil portrait
of a teenage grandson and granddaughter of Selena Rauhuff. This was
viewed by Clyde McCall Davenport sometime around 1979. The two subjects
were the children of one of the two daughters of Selena; time has erased
the recall of which it was, but it had to be Rebecca (Priscilla had no
daughters). Either way, the portrait was very revealing, because it
showed two strong, healthy, handsome, obviously Indian faces. They
looked much like Japanese athletes! The artist captured a kind of a
glint to their expressions, as if to say "Don't mess with me". Moreover,
several old photos exist of Uncle Pink, and he had the jet black hair and
high cheekbones of an American Indian.
After the death of Ada Sharp, Clyde McCall Davenport approached her
husband, Paul Sharp, about making a copy or photo of the portrait.
Unfortunately, he could not find it.
To review the facts, Sampson moved to Knox County by 1836. Sometime
before 1856, two teenaged girls named Rauhuff, along with an older
brother, came to Sevier County from Norman, Oklahoma, where the Indians
had been taken. They are not taken in by any family in the community,
but are apparently left to fend for themselves. Presumably, they must
have been different in some way, as a person of Indian heritage would
have been. Some of their children and their grandchildren exhibited
strong Indian features. The Rauhuff women showed significant strength of
character by being able to stay in the community and raise children under
those circumstances.
alive 1925/26, lived Jael, Middle Creek, Possum Holler
First Communion? James Rauhuff, Knoxville, 1978: Sarah Narcissus was
Confirmation? Little Pigeon Baptist Church in Sevierville, TN in 1851
Baptism? Narcissa, "a woman of color", joined the Forks of the
Burial? Lived with sister Selena M. Rauhuff in Pigeon Forge 1860-70
