Many women and children were abducted in Indian raids in the 17th and 18th centuries, but the vast majority were repatriated to their families before bearing substantial Indian families. In Mary Jemison's account, she mentions only one other young woman in her condition; and the occasion of their meeting was notable because this was Mary's first opportunity to converse in English for years. Perhaps 20 women were in such circumstances in NY and Ontario when our ancestor (89) Margaret was born in the 1790s. A sampling of the first names of Mary Jameson's children and grandchildren shows that no more than 1/20 of them were named "Margaret". On this basis alone, there is an even chance that Mary's granddaughter was identical with our Margaret. When coupled with the DNA evidence, this is convincing proof of a connection.

"Some of (Mary's) descendants adopted white customs, others followed Indian ways, and, there are today, many Native-Americans, particularly in New York and Pennsylvania, who are named Jemison, Jemson, Jimmerson, or some other corruption of Mary's name."

-- http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/JAMESON/1998-11/0910934376

"My Father's name was Thomas Jemison, and my mother's, before her marriage with him, was Jane Erwin. Their affection for each other was mutual, and of that happy kind which tends directly to sweeten the cup of life; to render connubial sorrows lighter, to assuage every discontentment; and to promote not only their own comfort, but that of all who come within the circle of their acquaintance ...they were strict observers of religious duties; for it was the daily practice of my father, morning and evening, to attend, in his family, to the worship of God.

"Resolved to leave the land of their nativity, they removed from their residence to a port in Ireland, where they lived but a short time before they set sail for this country, in the year 1742 or 3, on board the ship Mary William, bound to Philadelphia...

"In Europe my parents had two sons and one daughter, whose names were John, Thomas and Betsey; with whom, after having put their effects on board, they embarked, leaving a large connexion of relatives and friends...

"My father being fond of rural life, and having been bred to agricultural pursuits, soon left the city, and removed his family to the then frontier settlements of Pennsylvania... on Marsh creek.

"During this period my mother had two sons... the oldest was named Matthew, and the other Robert...

"(during the Indian attack): They first secured my father, and then rushed into the house, and without the least resistance made prisoners of my mother, Robert, Matthew, Betsey, the woman and ther three children, and myself...

"My two brothers, Thomas and John, being at the barn, escaped and went to Virginia, where my grandfather Erwin then lived, as I was informed by a Mr. Fields, who was at my house about the close of the revolutionary war...

"As soon as I had finished my supper, an Indian took off my shoes and stockings and put a pair of moccasins on my feet, which my mother observed; and believing that they would spare my life, even if they should destroy the other captives, addressed me as near as I can remember in the following words: "'My dear little Mary, I fear that the time has arrieve when we must be parted forever. Your life, my child, I think will be spares; but we shall probably be tomahawked here in this lonesome place by the Indians... Be careful and not forget your English tongue. If you shall have an opportunity to get away from the Indians, don't try to escape; for if you do they will find and destroy you. Don't forget, my little daughter, the prayers that I have learned you -- say them often; be a good child, and God will bless you. May God bless you my child, and make you comfortable and happy...'

"My suspicions as to the fate of my parents proved too true; for soon after I left them they were killed and scalped, together with Robert, Matthew, Betsey and the woman and her two children, and mangled in the most shocking manner."

-- Mary Jemison autobiography

ThosJemison Descendants.pdf has (639i) John as William. (639iii) Thomas' daughter Sarah is shown to have married William H. Cooper, but she seems to have been confused here with another Sarah Jamison.

Although several ancestry.com contributions detail "parents" for (638) Thomas, none of them appear reasonable.

"Although I may have frequently heard the history of my ancestry, my recollection is too imperfect to enable me to trace it further back than to my father and mother, whom I have often heard mention the families from whence they originated, as having possessed wealth and honorable stations under the government of the country in which they resided.

"...I am not able to state positively, which of the two countries, Ireland or Scotland, was the land of my parents' birth and education. It, however, is my impression, that they were born and brought up in Ireland.

"...I had an uncle, whose name was John Jemison, who was killed at the battle at the Great Meadows, or Fort Necessity. His wife had died some time before this, and left a young child, which my mother nursed in the most tender manner, till its mother's sister took it away, a few months after my uncle's death."

-- Mary Jemison autobiography

 Rosanna Irwin

• b. 1685 Omagh, Tyrone, Ulster, Ireland
• d. BEF 1734
• Family: John (or William?) Jameson
• 1. (1259i_a[1]) Hannah Jameson -- STEVENS LINE
• 2. (58EBF) Sarah Jameson (see above)
  • b. 15 Nov. 1711 Omagh, Tyrone, Ulster, Ireland
  • d. 19 Jan. 1812 Campbell Co., VA

    mtDNA Haplogroup V:   HVR1 16261T, 16298C, 16311C, 16519C     HVR2: 072C, 263G, 309.1C, 315.1C

  • Family: Moses Helm 1738 Ireland
    • b. 1701 Belfast, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland
    • d. 1780 Campbell Co., VA

Erwin/ Irwin: "The great majority of this name in Ireland were planters, who arrived from Scotland in the 17th century... Their name is ultimately derived from at least two place names in Scotland... Irving in Dumfriesshire, or from Irvine in Strathclyde."