The Curious Case of John 'Running Fox' Green
I follow a really great Facebook group that will do free genealogy research for possible Cherokee ancestry. They estimate that only 1 in 100 requests actually turn out to be of Cherokee descent. So people react with anger when their Native American dreams are dashed, but as the researchers constantly point out, wouldn't you really want to know the truth and celebrate your actual heritage rather than a false one? Here's a link to their page, if you are interested. Cherokee Indians/Research Genealogy
I recently came across a post in which a guy requested help proving his ancestry which he had found on Ancestry. It was clear, from the get go that this was a 'fake' line. He claimed to trace his ancestry to:
Susanna Sukey Green
Wolf Clan Woman
Daughter of the Chickamauga Wolf Clan Chief
1665-1727
|
Running Fox Green 1690
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|Meshack Greene
The researchers quickly pointed out that there is no known woman named Susanna Green and if she had been in the Wolf Clan then her father would have been from a differing clan as the clans are maternal, and it was forbidden to marry within one's own clan.
I too a quick peek on Ancestry to see what others had to say about Running Fox Green. Here is some of what I found:
#1 John Running Fox Green b. 1736 Georgia d. 1835 Georgia
S/O John Running Fox Green ((1690-1748) and Elizabeth Running Spring Green (1680-1750)
Married: Cora Cloud
#2 John Running Fox Green b. 1690 Georgia d. 1783 Cherokee, TN
No parents recorded
m. Ooloosta Moytoy (1700-1735)
#3 John Running Fox Green b. 1690 Georgia d. 1748 Culpepper, VA
S/O William Green (1651-1717) Elizabeth Wheeler (1638-1726)
Married: No wife given
#4 John Running Fox Green b. 1690 Georgia d. 1748 Culpepper, VA
S/O William Green and Running Spring Swano Southern
#5 Chief John Running Fox Green b. 11 June 1685 Lunenberg, VA d. 15 Oct 1748 Culpepper, VA
S/O JAMES “Big White Wolf” GREEN (Trader Jim) (1655-1725)
and Susanna-Sukey Green (Daughter of the Chickamauga Wolf Clan Chief) Wolf Clan Woman (1665-1727)
Married: Eleanor Brewster Dunn (1698-1793)
#6 Cheif (sp)John Running Fox Green b. 1690 d. 1768
S/O Cheif (sp) James Big White Wolf Clan (Born 1655) and Mother Susanna Wolf Clan Sukey (Born 1655)
Married: Elizabeth Griffin (1685-1748)
#7 John Running Fox Green (Principal Chief of the Cherokee) b. Jan 1662 Amelia, Virginia, d.1749 Natchez, Adams, Mississippi
S/O William Green (1645-1734) Elizabeth Wheeler Green (1641-1726)
So what we have is a jumbled mess of names and dates, parents and wives. There is no consensus and there is no documents to back up any of these claims. Furthermore, the is no known Principal Cherokee Chief by the name of John Green. What we are left with is nothing but a myth blown up and perpetuated by the internet.
