Rennie Belew and sons in the 2nd Spartan Regiment: A family at war.

Rennie Belue (also spelled Reney, Renny, Renney, etc.,
and Blue, Belue, Belieu, Ballow, etc.) was Kizzie Comer
Littrell’s great-great-grandfather.

Rennie Belue, was a Lieutenant in the Spartan Regiment and later the 2nd Spartan Regiment.

The county of Spartanburg, South Carolina has more Revolutionary War engagement sites than practically any other locale in the United States. Thus the early formation of the Spartan Regiment, made up of fiercely independent upstate settlers, in the late summer of 1775.

"...The BELUE (or BELEW) family supported the cause of the patriots during the American Revolution, both by serving in the military and by furnishing supplies to the American troops... Renney BELUE, Sr, as well as his three oldest sons, fought for the Americans. "Reney BELIEU" served as a lieutenant under Col. John THOMAS in 1776. He must have faced…”

As you can see from the map, the battles fought by the 2nd Spartan Regiment during the service of Rennie Belew and his sons are too numerous to present here. Seventeen of the mapped engagements are described in: “Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri”

Private. Zachariah Belew (Belue)
Kizzie's great-grandfather, Zachariah Belew (Belue), was a Pvt., in Col. Brandon’s Regiment of the South Carolina Militia.30 He received several wounds while serving in the Revolutionary War.

1779: Rennie and Zachariah Belue in the 2nd Spartan Regiment.
Rennie Belue (Belieu) would also serve in Brandon's regiment, the 2nd Spartan Regiment. Records indicate that this period was 1979-1981 (inclusive). Col. Thomas Brandon was a captain in the 1776 Spartan Regiment. Brandon was a neighbor of Rennie's after the war and possibly before.
Rennie's son, Zachariah Belew, also served in the militia joining his father under Col. Brandon and it is our assumption that it was during this same period of enlistment, 1779-1781.

1781: Rennie Belue and his three sons in the 2nd Spartan Regiment. Renney Belew (Jr.) and Rueben would join their father and oldest brother in 1781.

• Following the war Rennie Belew would prosper in Union County, South Carolina., were he would pass away in December of 1797.
• Zachariah, with some of his children, nephew and nieces, and their families would migrate to Lawrence Co., Tennessee about 1827. With Zachariah was his widowed daughter Susannah Belew Comer and her son Jesse Comer. County legend says the young Jesse would make the entire trip from Union County, South Carolina to Pebble Hill, near Loretto (in Laurence County, Tn.) riding horseback behind his mother, Susannah.
• Renney Belew (Jr.) would die young in Union County, South Carolina. Some of his and Keziah (his widow) children may have migrated with Zachariah as they show-up in Lauderdale County, Alabama within miles of the state line and border with Lawrence Co., Tennessee.
• Ruebin Belew would remain in Union County, South Carolina and pass about 1806.

---

excerpted from:

“Military Roll Call: The Littrell Family
of Mississippi County, Missouri”
Chapter 1. The Revolution. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2016:   115 / 289

Corene Belew Littrell: born 10-19-1919

Corene Belew (#271) August 10, 1937, daughter of William Belew and Ivy Shelton.(2) She was born Abt. 1917, and died March 15, 1943. 
Between 1925-1935 William Denise Belew(TN, 1886-1959) moved his family from Lawrence County, Tn., to New Madrid County, Mo. and Iva Shelton Belew (AL, 1894-1969), sharecroppers, with 3 of their children. Daughter Corene married John Littrell’s son Noble. Like Grandpa John they were in New Madrid County in 1935 Remember, Kizzie’s grandmother was a Belew also. The two families were county neighbors in Tennessee before 1935, New Madrid County, Mo., (LA Forge) in 1935, and then Mississippi County, Mo., in 1940.
Noble and Corene got married in 1937 in Charleston, Mo. She already had a child at the time, Billy Belew(?). Billy must have been born earlier in 1937 for him to be 5 years old in 1943. But where was he on the 1940 census where Noble and Corene are living with Noble’s parents, John & Kizzie?
Seven households away from John and Kizzie, on the 1940 census, is Corene’s parents and siblings… and Billy.  On the census he is listed as Billy Harold Belew, son of W.D. and Ivy (Iva Shelton) Belew. Obviously he was WDs grandson, not son. His age is consistent with an early 1937 birth.
Corene was ill for a long time with TB. She died from complications from TB and alcoholism. Rex says he believes that Ivy adopted Billy(William Harold) and raised him. Rex says that Ivy wanted to raise Billy because she didn't have any sons. Noble married Azilee in September 1943 in Georgia. Noble, Azilee, and Rex moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee soon after.
Ivy Belew raised Billy as her own to the grave. Her 1969 obituary list as a surviving son, Bill Belew of Hampton, Virginia. On the other hand, her daughter Mary Juanell "Jill" (Belew) Johnson’s obituary,  list Billy Belew of Hampton, Virginia as a surviving nephew along with Rex. Mary Juanell’s obituary was in 2005.

sources: Penny Chapek, Nancy Littrell, and the Missourian 3-9-1943.

View Full Album

Click here to see more on the family of Noble Littrell

The Tennessee to Missouri Migration:

Comer, James Littrell, John Littrell, Littrell, Belew, Thurman, Curtis, Shelton.

Migration from Lawrence County, TN to the bootheel of Missouri:

• 1929                  James Carrol & Donie (Ezell) Littrell John’s brother (& Donie is Kizzie’s cousin)
• 1929                  Edward J. Littrell a cousin of James and Grandpa John Littrell was also in the Bootheel, he and a son would die there and his wife, Laura E. Brown Littrell would return to Tennessee. UPDATE 1-10-2015: They moved in 1929,
• 1930               UPDATE 1-10-2015:  The parents of Laura Littrell (above), Francis M. Brown & Martha Ezell (Kizzie’s Cousin), would join Laura and Edward Littrell would bring their family in 1930. Both parents, a brother and a sister would also die in Missouri, prompting Laura to return to Tennessee in December of 1941 after the death of her son.
• 1932                 Grandpa John & Kizzie Littrell
• 1925-1935        William Denise Belew(TN, 1886-1959) and Iva Shelton Belew (AL, 1894-1969), sharecroppers, with 3 of their children. Daughter Corene married John’s son Noble. Like Grandpa John they were in New Madrid County in 1935 Remember, Kizzie’s grandmother was a Belew also.
• 1935-1940         Leslie Comer and Aunt Claude (Powell) Comer, Leslie was Kizzie (Comer) Littrell’s older brother.
• 1945                   Jesse Littrell (John’s son) & Viola (Johns – Simbeck) Littrell would  move from TN in 1945 to East Prairie, then to La Forge in 47 where Jesse was a sharecropper,

1940 Census:

• John Littrell HOH, age 52    Page 23A, Enumeration District 67-4  John is listed as living in rural Mississippi County, in an area that appears to be about a mile and a half east of Anniston.
  The 1940 census information indicates that this general area may have been where John & Kizzie were sharecropping this area in 1940. Children in the household are: Red, JF, Letha May, OJ, Lesley, and Rubon.  The census taker recorded Rubin as Rubon, but remember the census taker wrote it the way he heard it, or mis-heard it. On the other-hand the reviewer/transcribers of the census read JD's initials as JF. They too are reading it as they say it, and in the census takers handwriting it could be read JF, JP or JD. The only person besides John who has an occupation listed is Red, listed as a laborer. according to this census John & Kizzie were living in New Madrid County, Mo., in 1935. Our research indicates La Forge (sharecropping).
• Listed in the same household census page as John is his son, Noble Littrell(24) and Corene (Belew) Littrell(20), also sharecroppers.  Page 23A, Enumeration District 67-4
• Seven households down from Noble & Corene (on the other side of John) is Corene's parents William Denise Belew(TN, 1886-1959) and Iva Shelton Belew (AL, 1894-1969), sharecroppers, with 5 of their children. 1940 Census indicates that William's family lived in New Madrid County in 1935, same as John. Could they also been at La Forge then?
  Corene Belew's family also migrated from Lawrence County, Tennessee; living on Westpoint Road in 1920 with Iva's parents: W.E. & Mattie Shelton. Corene was a twin. Civil District 2, Page 7A, Enumeration District 84
  Noble and Corene were married in Charleston, Mo., 10-18-1939. Corene died in 3-8-1943 and was born on 10-19-1919. Burial: WOW (Memorial Park) Cemetery, East Prairie Mississippi County, Missouri, USA. Double headstone with twin sister Florine, who died 5 years earlier. 
• Bertha Littrell Thurman is living in Anniston Village, St. James Township. with Bordie. Census indicates that Bordie lived in St. James since 1935. He actually was born there. He shows on the 1920 census with his parents in Anniston Village.
• Lesley Comer and Aunt Claude (Powell) Comer LA Comer 50 (10-31-1889) Farmer (Rented: does this indicated sharecropper?) St. James Township (St.James Township includes Anniston Village & East Prairie). Census Indicates that Leslie was farming in Rural Tennessee, Lawrence County in 1935. Present in Household: Claude (46), Virgle (19), Lucille(16), OC(14), Willard(11). 1940 Census  Page 810B, Enumeration District 67-10 
  Leslie signed his name Leslie on his 1917 Draft Registration Card, born in Loretto, TN.
• Onene Littrell Curtis  Shows on Census as living in Marston, with Bert and daughter Martha Rae. Name was written as Anene.
• Jess Littrell, 30 HOH Lawrence Tennessee Page 8A, Enumeration District 50-3  Jesse is living northwest of Loretto: Busby & Westpoint Rd. The census indicates that he is at the same residence as in 1935. He listed as a farmer, no indication that he is or isn't sharecropping. Children in the household: Beatrice, Dola (Should be Dolan), Willadean (should be Willa Dean), Christine, Geneva and James (Bud).

see also 1930 Census entry for John Littrell & R. Benjamin Smith: Lawrence County, TN.

Susannah Belew–Comer:

 Birth~ Nov. 26, 1792 Union County, South Carolina, USA

Susannah was born in Union Co., South Carolina, a daughter to Zachariah and Mary (Bullington) Belew. Susannah came from good sturdy stock. She and all of her siblings except one outlived their first spouse, made rough journeys across, states, mountains and river by horseback and wagon. Her ancestors were farmers by trade, soldiers by duty, good citizens by choice, Baptist by faith and prosperous by hard work and fearless ventures.

She married Daniel Comer in Union Co. and they had five children. Daniel died in 1825, and in 1827, she moved to Lawrence Co., TN with her children and her parents. Her oldest son, Jesse (age 11), rode the entire journey on horseback with his mother, over 450 miles.

On March 31, 1827 she buys 40 acres from her father, Zachariah. We don't know who inherited any lands owned by Zachariah and Mary Belew.

Her second marriage was to Aaron Springer after his first wife, Ruth (Little) Springer died - 11-24-1834. Aaron and Ruth had also made the journey from Union County, South Carolina.

Susannah died May 13, 1848 in Lawrence County, Tennessee. She is buried in an unmarked grave in Second Creek Cemetery.

See the Comer Family

Our Ancestral Movements: From Virginia to Missouri

While we have been developing the story of the family’s Missouri migration from Lawrence County, Tennessee to the bootheel region of Missouri  we have seen more information falling in place on earlier migration stories:

• We know our Littrell cousin’s we’re at the founding of Boonesborough and the blazing of the Wilderness Road with Daniel Boone. They came through the Cumberland Gap as some of the first settlers in Kentucky.
• We know that our Littrell ancestor and his cousins migrated to Kentucky, and then to Tennessee, eventually settling in the same areas as other families that were their neighbors in Virginia.
• We know that our Littrell ancestor and his neighbors and cousins also came through the Cumberland Gap and were among the first settlers to the area around the, then nonexistent, community of Dunnville, Kentucky.
• We know that some of our Ezell Cousins, traveling with the Bumpass Party from Union County, South Carolina would be amongst the first settlers in the area of Giles County. An area that would eventually grow to be the town of Pulaski, the county seat of the newly expanded Giles County, Tennessee. Possibly also coming through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky then Nashville, Tennessee.
• We know that our Littrell ancestor from Dunnville, Kentucky and some of his cousins and neighbors would be amongst the first settlers in the newly formed county of Lawrence. Settling just miles from the Giles County, Tennessee settlers. Some of these settlers would be from the same families that migrated with our Littrell ancestor into Kentucky.
• We know that our Ezell ancestor, along with our Belew and Comer ancestors and some of their other Union County, South Carolina neighbors would move into the same area as our Littrell ancestor in Lawrence County, Tennessee just miles from their Ezell cousins and uncles in Giles County, Tennessee.
• We know that the same descendants of those Littrell, Comer, Belew, and Ezell families, and their neighbors would once again migrate into the same neighborhoods in another state. This time into the bootheel area of Missouri (see also) during the Great Depression leaving over a hundred years after their ancestors settled Tennessee. (see more)

These Virginia and South Carolina neighbors lived within miles of each other in their original neighborhoods and then in their new neighborhoods in Kentucky and Tennessee they once again were neighbors, and again in Missouri. In some cases they belonged to the same churches as each other in their state of origin and state of destination. They inter married with the same neighbors in both states and left families in their old neighborhoods with each migration. We can identify some moves as a group and some that were individual families moving over short periods of time.

Second Creek Church & Cemetery

Even though only one Littrell name appears in the Second Creek Cemetery the connection to this cemetery and church is important for both the Littrells and their allied families. In 1846, Mary Ann (Cox) Literal and her mother Nancy Cox were both received by letter into the membership of the church. It is also possible that Mary Ann’s mother-in-law was also a member.

Eli Franklin Literals’s nephew (Seburn K. Day) and niece (Eliza Caroline Day Powell) are buried here.

Kizzie (Comer) Littrell's grandparents, Jesse D.& Margaret (Springer) Comer, and her great-grandparents, Zachariah & Mary (Bullington) Belew, are also buried here.

Jesse Littrell also appears in the records of the church.

Unknown BELEW

William BELEW Family
......3 William Belew b: Jul 13, 1816 in South Carolina, USA, d: Sep 08, 1884
       + Sarah Gourd b: Oct 28, 1819 in Tennessee, USA, m: Feb 05, 1840 in
            Lawrence, Tennessee, USA, d: Nov 09, 1905
.........4 Jonathan BELEW b: Abt. 1842 in Tennessee, USA, d: Aft. 1860
.........4 Susan A. BELEW b: Abt. 1843, d: Aft. 1860
.........4 Elizabeth BELEW b: Abt. 1847 in Tennessee, USA, d: Aft. 1860
.........4 Hosea BELEW b: Abt. 1850 in Tennessee, USA, d: Aft. 1860
.........4 Nelly E. BELEW b: Abt. 1854 in Tennessee, USA, d: Aft. 1860
.........4 James R. BELEW b: Abt. 1856 in Tennessee, USA, d: Aft. 1860
.........4 Mary M. BELEW b: 1859 in Tennessee, USA, d: Aft. 1860

Dennis BELEW Family
......3 Dennis BELEW b: Feb 20, 1830 in Tennessee, USA, d: Nov 11, 1898
       + Nancy S. Ezell b: Apr 21, 1832 in Tennessee, USA, m: 1862, d: Oct 29, 1904
.........4 Martha Elizabeth Belew b: Abt. 1864
       + John Richard White
............5 Lorene White
............5 Lurine White
.........4 Susan E. Belew b: Abt. 1865
.........4 Sarah T. Belew b: Abt. 1867
.........4 Louisa M. Belew b: Abt. 1867
.........4 Mile Cabel Belew b: Abt. 1868
       + Martha Prier b: Tennessee, USA
.........4 John H. "Bud" BELEW b: Dec 11, 1854 in Tennessee, USA, d: Jun 08, 1923
          + Synthia Elizabeth Ezell b: Feb 11, 1846, m: Dec 28, 1786 in Lawrence,
             Tennessee, USA, d: Oct 26, 1913
............5 William G. BELEW b: Sep 29, 1877 in Tennessee, USA, d: Jul 28, 1939
             + Hawtensie "Tensia" Smith b: Apr 23, 1876 in Tennessee, USA, m: Oct 22,
                  1898 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA, d: Feb 12, 1947
...............6 Thomas Carthel BELEW b: Abt. 1902 in Tennessee, USA
                + Clara Moore b: Feb 22, 1904, d: May 23, 1925
...............6 Edwin BELEW b: Abt. 1912 in Tennessee, USA
...............6 Alvin BELEW b: Abt. 1915 in Tennessee, USA
............5 Robert BELEW b: Abt. 1880
............5 Dennis A. BELEW b: Abt. 1880 in Tennessee, USA, d: 1942
             + Minnie Gordon b: Abt. 1882 in Tennessee, USA, m: Jan 10, 1904 in Lawrence,
                 Tennessee, USA, d: Bef. 1919 in Tennessee, USA
...............6 Allen D. BELEW b: Abt. 1908
...............6 Allison BELEW b: Aug 20, 1909, d: Apr 24, 1965
                + Beulah B. Garrett b: Oct 05, 1919, d: Oct 20, 1989 in Lawrenceburg,
                    Lawrence County, Tennessee, USA
..................7 Alton BELEW
                + Ludie Barnett b: 1899, m: Jan 12, 1919 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA
............5 Evie BELEW b: Abt. 1887 in Tennessee, USA
             + Jep Brown b: Abt. 1882 in Alabama, USA
...............6 Myrtle Elizabeth Brown b: Jul 09, 1908 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee,
                   USA, d: 1997
                + Joe Vernon Littrell b: Jan 06, 1901 in Guntown, Ms., m: Oct 15, 1922
                    in St. Joseph, Tn., d: Oct 09, 1954
..................7 Dorothy Marie Littrell b: May 24, 1924 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee, USA
                   + Tressie Beecham
                   + Owen Proctor
..................7 Donald Chester Littrell b: Apr 21, 1928 in Deerfield, Tn., d: Aug 13, 1984
                   + Peggy Davis b: Feb 21, 1936 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee, USA,
                      m: Jul 18, 1953 in Iuka, Tish Co., Ms.
.....................8 Gilbert Littrell
                      + Pat [Littrell]
........................9 Ashley Breanna Littrell b: Abt. 1986
..................7 Bobby Carter Littrell b: Feb 18, 1933 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee, USA
                   + Joy Barnett b: Sep 06, 1935, m: Jul 05, 1952 in Iuka, Tish Co., Ms., d: 2000
..................7 Billy Jasper Littrell b: Nov 09, 1936 in Leoma, Tn
                   + Bonnie Hammonds b: Sep 26, 1936, m: Center Starr, Al.
.....................8 Allison Tracy Littrell
                      + Terry Wayne Williams m: Nov 25, 1990 in Lauderdale, Alabama, USA
.....................8 Vicki Littrell
                      + Burbank
........................9 Matthew Burbank
........................9 Leslie Bubank
..................7 Joe Kenneth Littrell b: May 11, 1941 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA
..................7 Brenda Sharon Littrell
                   + Allen Gray m: 1974 in Florence, Al
...............6 Arthur Brown b: Abt. 1917 in Tennessee, USA
...............6 Marshall Brown b: 1919 in Tennessee, USA
.........4 Mary J. BELEW b: Abt. 1859 in Tennessee, USA
          + John Henry Ezell b: Abt. 1856 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA, m: Oct 24,
              1878 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA
............5 Martha Ezell b: Jan 12, 1881 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA, d: Mo.
             + Francis Marion Brown b: Jun 12, 1880 in AL., Winston Co., Culman,
                m: Jul 22, 1900, d: Mo.
...............6 Laura Estelle Brown b: Jul 04, 1901 in TN., Lawrence Co., Leoma Cem.,
                  d: Apr 07, 1988 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee, USA
                + K. G. Campbell m: 1946, d: Jul 02, 1960 in Tennessee, USA
                + Edward Jasper Littrell b: Dec 12, 1898, m: Feb 23, 1919 in Lawrence,
                    Tennessee, USA, d: 1941 in Missouri
..................7 Esther Francis Littrell b: Apr 04, 1922, d: May 06, 1999
                   + Ed Kellum
.....................8 James D. Kellum
                      + Linda M. Cornell
........................9 Bonnie Lee Kellum
                         + Benton
..................7 Edward L. Littrell b: Oct 31, 1931
.....................8 Gerald Edward Littrell b: Dec 08, 1953, d: Jun 21, 1994
..................7 Clara Littrell
                   + McLanahan
..................7 Evelyn Littrell
                   + Hoffman
..................7 E. J. Littrell
..................7 Dale Littrell
                   + Peggy
.....................8 Meleah R. Littrell
                      + Gregory K. Taylor m: Dec 22, 1990 in Lawrenceburg, Lawrence
                           County, Tennessee, USA
                   + Regina
..................7 Alton Littrell
.....................8 Robert Alton Littrell
..................7 Gayle Littrell
..................7 George Child d: 1941 in Missouri
...............6 Lena Lou Edith Brown b: Nov 23, 1902, d: May 16, 1930
...............6 Henry Ambrose Brown b: Dec 29, 1904, d: 1936
...............6 Tennie Mae Brown b: Dec 20, 1906
                + Mashburn
...............6 Alice Magdalene Brown b: Aug 17, 1909
                 + Gieske
...............6 Frances Edmund Brown b: Dec 20, 1911, d: Dec 12, 1912
...............6 Marion Coleman Brown b: Oct 13, 1913
...............6 Martha Opal Brown b: May 01, 1916
                + Stanford
...............6 Vivian Brown b: Feb 28, 1919
                + Solomonson
............5 Donie Ezell b: Aug 10, 1886 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee, USA,
                d: Oct 30, 1981 in Sikeston, Missouri, USA
             + James Carroll Littrell b: Feb 16, 1880 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee,
                 USA, m: Mar 03, 1909 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA, d: Feb 21, 1965
............5 Alan Ezell b: Abt. 1896 in Tennessee, USA
             + Maudie Sluntes b: Abt. 1902 in Tennessee, USA, m: Apr 15, 1917 in
                  Lawrence, Tennessee, USA
...............6 John Henry Ezell b: Abt. 1918 in Tennessee, USA
............5 Mamie Ezell b: Bet. 1898–1901 in Tennessee, USA
              + John Martin Tate b: Sep 01, 1892
...............6 Faith Ellen Tate b: Sep 06, 1939 in Campbell, Mo., d: Apr 17, 2007
                   in  Wappapello, MO.
                + Oliver James Littrell b: Dec 26, 1926 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee,
                    USA, m: Abt. 1958 in Hernando, De Soto, Mississippi, USA,
                    d: Jul 30, 1993 in Marston, New Madrid, Missouri, USA
............5 Frances Ezell
             + Newton Everett Smith b: Mar 30, 1890, m: Nov 26, 1911, d: 1971
.........4 Jessee BELEW b: Abt. 1867 in Tennessee, USA

Jesse L. BELEW Family
......3 Jessie L. BELEW b: Apr 21, 1857, d: Jun 06, 1912
.........4 William D. BELEW b: Oct 16, 1886 in Tennessee, USA, d: May 21, 1959
          + Ivy Shelton b: Mar 20, 1894 in Lexington, Alabama, USA, m: Mar 23, 1913
              in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA, d: Feb 12, 1969 in Missouri
............5 Leota BELEW b: Jan 03, 1914 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee, USA,
                d: Jan 13, 1982 in IL., East Peoria
             + Ollie Delaney b: Dec 09, 1908, d: Jan 05, 1964
............5 Jaunine BELEW b: Jan 29, 1916 in Alabama, USA, d: Sep 10, 1985
             + D.C. Welborn b: Apr 09, 1920, d: May 17, 1991
............5 Corene BELEW b: Oct 19, 1919 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee, USA,
                d: Mar 15, 1943 in Missouri
             + Nobel James Littrell b: Jul 16, 1915 in Loretto, Lawrence, Tennessee,
                 USA, m: Aug 10, 1937 in Charleston, Missouri, USA, d: Aug 08,
                 1972 in Lorain, Ohio
............5 Florine BELEW b: Oct 19, 1919 in Tennessee, USA, d: Oct 28, 1938
............5 Jessica Mae BELEW b: Jul 19, 1922 in Tennessee, USA, d: Mississippi
             + Thomas Cantwell SR.
...............6 Carolyn Cantwell
...............6 Jerry Cantwell
...............6 Eldon Cantwell
...............6 Thomas Cantwell JR.
............5 Mary Jaunell BELEW b: Dec 18, 1924 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA,
                 d: Mar 30, 2005 in East Prairie, Mississippi, Missouri, USA
             + Johnnie Johnson
...............6 Earl Johnson
...............6 Randy Johnson
............5 Vala Jean BELEW b: 1935 in Missouri
............5 Bill Harold BELEW b: 1937 in Missouri

Jesse L. BELEW Family
......3 Jessie L BELEW b: Dec 20, 1889, d: Sep 18, 1949
       + Mattie Urban b: 1894, m: Feb 01, 1912 in Lawrence, Tennessee, USA
.........4 Son BELEW b: Feb 05, 1913, d: Feb 05, 1913
.........4 Ettie Mae BELEW b: 1916
.........4 ??? BELEW b: Abt. 1920

BELEW Family
......3 BELEW b: MS. [?]
       + Nancy Priscilla Jones b: Sep 02, 1860, d: Sep 09, 1941
.........4 Renia BELEW
.........4 Chestina BELEW
          + Smotherman

BELEW Family
......3 BELEW
       + Thelma Levone Curtis b: Jan 22, 1933
.........4 Patricia BELEW b: May 09, 1953
.........4 Debrah BELEW b: Mar 15, 1955

BELEW Person
......3 BELEW
.........4 Alton BELEW

BELEW Family
......3 Oscar BELEW
.........4 Clarence BELEW
          + Barnett
.........4 Elbert BELEW

Family Myth? Were any of our ancestors Native American?

Growing up I had heard on several occasions that we had Native American ancestry. While the source was usually from my father (JD) I now I heard it from others too, I cannot recollect who but I'm sure he was not the loan source.

Since beginning the family research I have also been asked this question several times and usually the cousin asking it affirmed that they had heard the story too.

Seldom has the discussion resulted in any details or cited a firm source for the story, but over the years it seems to have centered around the Cherokee tribe and the most common lineage that has been suggested was from Kizzie Comer's line.

Having done first hand research or at least studied multiple second hand sources I can say with certainty:

Littrell line – Our direct Littrell line is traced back to the original immigrant stepping off the boat in Virginia circa 1670. From that Luttrell to John Daniel Littrell there are 4 marriages where the wife(mother) has only been identified by there first name. The three most recent marriages (John's, his father and grandfather) involve Kizzie (see below) Eli's wife (Mary Cox), and Timmons wife (Mary Catherine Urban)

• We have identified Mary's parents and the general belief is that they were first or second generation immigrants.

• Both sets of Mary Urban parents go back at least two generations. Her father was possibly born in Germany, we know he spoke German and his father was an immigrant. Any introduction of Native American ancestry on her mother's side would have had to have occurred prior to 1800.

Comer Line – Her direct Comer line goes back to the birth of her great-grandfather in 1780. Her grandfather's wife is identified as a Springer, a common family in their county in1821.That leaves her mother and the spouses of her her great-grandfather, Susannah Belue.

• Susannah's grandfather, Rennie Belue, is believed to be a French Huguenot immigrant from the northern colonies. Rennie's tentatively identified wife's ancestry can be traced back another two more generations to 1737.

• Kizzie's mother, Ollie Ezell, can trace her mother's ancestry back two more generations to William Poteet and his wife Jemina ?? to circa 1800s. Ollie's fathers line can be traced back to Timothy Ezell, born before 1628. Of those 6 generations there is only one unidentified wife and she was born before 1689.

As we can see there are several opportunities for one of those unidentified wives, or those male lines that do not originate with an identified immigrant, that would allow the introduction of an unidentified Native American. On the other-hand our ancestral lines present an above average line of ancestry. Throughout all my research, the research of others, and accepted historical research there is nothing to establish the existence of a Native American ancestry, but...

Where does the story come from?

Every family has stories that get passed down for generations. Over time these stories outgrow their originators and like a child’s game of 'telegraph' they take on facts and fictions that were absent in their original form.

In addition there are stories that are so common that they appear in the mythology of most families. Nearly every family has the brother vs brother conundrum of the civil war, or the family splitting-up or disowning each other over the spelling of the family name. Every southern family has a story about sons having to hide in the woods, getting fed through the floorboards and having to work the fields at night to avoid impressment gangs who roamed the countryside looking for deserters or eligible males trying to avoid conscription into the war. This last one is so prevalent that one has to wonder who was available to fight for the south. Our family has a version of all three of these stories.

The last point of origination for unconfirmed stories often lies with those like myself who, while trying to discover the facts of a family history, sometimes fall into the trap of trying to rationalize an explanation for every anomaly or un-provable fact. A perfect example is this article itself. While attempting to disprove or prove the family story I will do one of four things:

1. Prove it totally unfounded, without merit and stamp it with an adamant denial.

2. Declare it as unfounded, but not beyond being possible.

3. Find proof and establish the story as true to some degree or in some form.

4. Dispel the myth but find a logical explanation for how it came to exist, entered our family history, or speculate about possibilities.

Number 1 is virtually impossible to do, quite simply proving a negative is always difficult, but in genealogy it is inadvisable. Closing the door completely is contrary to the never ending mystery of solving the next problem.

Numbers 2, 3, and 4 will always have the effect of at the most clearing up the truth behind the myth, but with time the corrected story will be passed on and with each telling the facts will be forgotten, misstated or ignored until the story will return to the original, cloudy version we set out to prove or disprove.

So with that soon to be useless explanation let me clear the air, for the moment.

Our Native American Ancestry: The Descendents of John and Kizzie Littrell.

In 20 plus years of researching our ancestry I have not come across one reference to our direct ancestors being Native American. But I believe I have found a credible source for the stories origination and an explanation of how it was passed down and absorbed into our heritage.

As mentioned earlier the story as told sometimes referenced Kizzie's family line as the source of our suggested Native American ancestry.

At this point that does appear to be the case. At one point there a marriage to a Native American in her ancestral families, just not in her direct line, which means it isn't our ancestor. To wit:

• Samuel Belew was the brother of Susannah Belew who married Daniel Comer. Susannah and Dan were Kizzie Comer's great-grandparents.

• Samuel, born about 1795, married Mary Polly Bryant about 1813 in Union Co., SC. Mary was the daughter of John Bryant, a Cherokee Indian, born in Pendleton, Va.¹

• Susannah's migration to Lawrence Co., Tn occurred when her son Jesse was about 9 years old. The wagon train included Susannah's aged father and other family and neighbors, so it is reasonable that Jesse would be aware that his 1^st cousins were part Native American.

As the story gets handed down from a young Jesse to his son Dan, to Kizzie and her siblings and half-siblings it would be natural for the details of an Uncle who was part Indian becoming an ancestor who was part Indian. Or as Dad would put it “We have Indian blood somewhere.”

More on Mary Polly Bryant Belew's ² ancestry:

Mary's father, John Bryant was the son of Zachariah and Lucy Bryant. Zachariah was killed in the War of 1812. In 1817 Lucy is on the Reservation Indian Rolls and was granted 640 acre of land in Helen, Ga.³

“In 1826, after gold was discovered along Dukes Creek on her property, her home was taken from her by the laws of the land at that time. Indians were considered savages if not of the Caucasian race thus on census reports many hid the very fact that they were Indian. This is were we get the saying to day of "Black Dutch" many that claimed to be "Black Dutch" were really of mixed bread Indian or some other race. We don't know if Lucy was in the Trail of Tears or not but we do know her heart must have been heavy and she must have shed tears at the loss of her beautiful mountain land, all she owned, and the hatred that now spread across the land.”   http://www.oocities.org/guledisgohnihi91/Chunannee.html 

Because of the Gold that was found on her land and the waterfall thereon Lucy's land is now a tourist attraction. At the foot of the path that leads to the Chunannee Falls is a plaque that reads:

“Chunannee Falls Land Lot 91: The 640 acre Reservation formerly known as Chunannee, was originally the home of Lucy Bryant/Briant. She was a Cherokee Indian widow, as shown on the Reservation Roll of 1817, who was granted this land under the provisions of article 8 in the Treaty of July 8,1817. It was here on Duke's Creek that gold was first discovered in 1828.”

Glenn Littrell: 2013

1Assuming that John was full blooded, and his wife Fanny was not, then Samuel Belews children would be 1/4 Cherokee and Susannah's children would be 1^st cousins.

2The story and details of Mary come from several citable sources, but the source that pulls all the details together comes from Bill Sherrill in the form of an untitled document that list no author or resources.

3 Turkey Town Treaty 7-8-1817