Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash's Native American Ancestry

Started by Stephen Daniel Harper on Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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At one time, Johnny Cash believed he was part Cherokee, but later in life acknowledged this was probably not correct. However, his family tree as posted on Geni seems to include ancestors from the Catawba tribe (part of his Hagler line). No documentation to support this ancestry appears to be provided. Has anyone researched this subject? I don't want to reinvent the wheel, before I start digging into this.

Johnny Cash’s Daughter was on Finding your roots with Henry Louis Gates it also said the DNA test that Johnny Cash also has African American Ancestry. In the program as well as his first wife.

The revision history on Rebecca Overton shows that Private added the "Catawba" suffix to her and her ancestors in August. David, please share your sources for this information.

Overall, Cash's tree is poorly cited, so we'll still need to cite his path back to her regardless of whether she was Catawba.

The MP for Thomas "Nopkehe" Arataswa Chief of the Catawba Nation, Thomas Ayre Ayers Kopkehee Haigler, Catawba suggests the path downward from him needs proof, so we'd also need to cite Rebecca's path to him.

Kevin Patrick Carey Is right, that was a good show. And if i remember correctly, Gates danced around the claim of his Native American ancestry by the focus on her mother’s side. But I “think” Roseann Cash’s DNA testing did not show any. This should be easy enough to look up.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2021) stated that Rosanne’s genetic ancestry is:

  • 92.3% European
  • 3.8% Western Asian
  • 3.3% Sub-Saharan African
  • 0.6% Unassigned

https://ethnicelebs.com/rosanne-cash

If I'm remembering that episode correctly, it found that Rosanne Cash had African-American ancestry through both sides, but I have the same memory as Erica about them not finding Native American ancestry. Someone else is welcome to rewatch the episode to see if it said something different.

Either way, we need to work with the records, so let's look at our tasks:

  1. Cite Johnny Cash back to Rebecca Overton
  2. Review David's sources about Rebecca being Catawba (once he has a chance to provide them)
  3. Determine whether Rebecca was actually a descendant of King Hagler

Oh whoops, cross-posted. Thanks, Erica!

Born J. R. Cash in Kingsland, Arkansas, the third of seven children to Ray Cash (13 May 1897, Kingsland, Arkansas – 23 December 1985, Hendersonville, Tennessee) and Carrie Cloveree Rivers (13 March 1904, Rison, Arkansas – 11 March 1991, Hendersonville, Tennessee).

Cash learned upon researching his ancestry, that he was of Scottish royal descent. After the opportunity of meeting with former Falkland, Fife laird, Major Michael Crichton-Stuart, he traced the Cash family tree to 11th-century Fife, Scotland. Scotland's Cash Loch bears the name of his family. He had believed in his younger days that he was mainly Irish and partially Native American, including Cherokee and Choctaw. Though Cash learned he was not of Native American descent, his empathy and compassion for Native Americans was unabated. Such feelings were expressed in several of his songs, including "Apache Tears" and "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", and on his album, Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian.

https://en.geneastar.org/genealogy/cash/johnny-cash

I’m uploading the book page this is from.

Contained in the following information from Southern Arkansas Biographical and Historical Memoirs, Ch 25, Cleveland County (search.ancestry.com,/Browse/view.aspx?dbib=7192&path=Biographical+and+Historic...) is data about the following persons: Rev John H W Overton, his wife Susan W Wharton Overton, his father James Overton, his mother Rebecca Hagler Overton & his sister Angeline J Overton Lemmons. Ancestry, AncestryImage

”Rev. John H. W. Overton was born in Henry County, Ga, and is a son of James and Rebecca (Hagler) Overton, the former of whom was born, reared and educated in South Carolina, his removal to the State of Georgia taking place after he had reached man's estate, and there he was married. His wife was brought up in Tennessee, but removed to Georgia with her people, where she met and married Mr. Overton. After the birth of the subject of this sketch they removed to Lafayette County, and after a residence of ten years then they settled in Marion County, Ala, where they made their home for four years. They then took up their abode in Carroll County, Miss, this being in the fall of 1848, and in October, 1849, they emigrated to Arkansas and settled on the farm on which the subject of this sketch is now living which was then in Bradley (now Cleveland) County. ..

Thanks to everyone for quickly jumping into, and usefully contributing to, this discussion. I had forgotten about Roseanne Cash's appearance on Finding Your Roots. I will see what I can dig up in the way of actual solid documentation regarding Johnny's Hagler/Overton ancestors.

I meant to also add that in the biographical info posted for King Hagler, he is said to have proclaimed that he had no son, only a grandson. This throws some further doubt on the lineage shown in Geni, where a son of King Hagler ("Johnny Yang Hagler") is said to be an ancestor of Johnny Cash.

There are Ancestry trees, including one with a “DNA verified” tag, that show Rebecca Hagler as daughter of Jacob Hagler (brother of John “the cripple” Hagler) and Elizabeth Cagle, sister of David Cagle and daughter of George Cagle and Rebecca. King Hagler, Catawba Indian, was a real person, but so far I haven’t seen any details on him, not any Ancestry tree linking Rebecca.

Incidentally, she married in Jasper, Georgia in 1817.

I’m hesitating slightly because

  • 1) Cagle & Hagler trees need straightening out
  • 2) her parents would be Revolutionary War generation, and I would think that Johnny Cash as an amateur genealogist would have identified any Patriot ancestors
  • 3) apparently the professional genealogy done for him in the (1990s ?) called him “pure” Scots, & Hagler / Cagle is of course Palantine / German
  • 4) yet we know from DNA testing that “pure Scots” can’t possibly be true.

Stephen Daniel Harper I’m really glad this came up, it’s more interesting than I would have thought.

Here’s where I’m at so far on the contorted Hagler / Cagles.

Elizabeth Hagler

(The Hagler side is confused - jump in, anyone!)

AncestryImage AncestryImage

Jacob Hagler was a son of John and was mentioned in his father's will.

He sold his 121 acres of land and relocated into the western edge of
what was Montgomery County. His wife was Elizabeth the daughter of
Rebecca and George Cagle. About 1816 Jacob and wife relocated to Henry
County, GA. in order that Elizabeth could be near her favored brother
who was David Cagle. Jacob and Elizabeth were the parents of Elizabeth
who was the first wife of Rev. George Boger

"Liquor sales to the Indians continued, and Hagler watched his tribes diminish from war and disease. Hagler, in 1761, brought his grandson before South Carolina Lieutenant Governor William Bull. “I am an old Man and I have no Son, but a Grand Son, whom I have brought hither to see your Honour. He will succeed me and I have recommended to him to love the English the same as I have done and I hope he will do so.” https://charlottemuseum.org/king-hagler-catawba-chieftain/

Thanks so much, David! So if that's the only source used on those profiles, we can cut -- Rebecca is not mentioned at all in the source, nor is a father for her.

This tree smashes every Elizabeth Cagle into one--- Mrs Young, Mrs Honeycutt, Mrs Hagler:
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-461762591-1-500806/eli...

I think Leonhart Cagle's genealogy has been pretty much set but maybe not so much here at Geni. It is my husband's maternal line and I know quite a bit about them but the same names get smushed here the same as other immigrants to here in the same era have been confused over and over.
I keep thinking I will devote some time to straightening them up but it will take more than just little ole me

Why a third wife for Leonhart?

Looks like sorting out Rebecca Cagle's parentage will be a bit of a challenge. Some sources list her maiden name as "Darrough", but no documentation is provided. More digging is in order.

Turns out I'm distantly related to the Haglers, but I guess that doesn't surprise me since my mother's family has Southern roots going back many generations (I seem to be related to everyone who likewise has family from back when the South was being settled by Europeans).

Same here, Stephen - yet DNA doesn’t show any German so far. But I don’t see how someone like me with plenty of Arkansas cousins could avoid a Johnny Cash connection. :).

Sure, Rebecca Hagler could be a previous married name - but then, why is it on her tombstone?

Elizabeth Hagler Has a birthdate that makes her Rebecca’s contemporary, not mother; but she and “Jacob Hagler of Tennessee and Georgia” are also seen as the mother of a somewhat famous guy - Rev. George Boger - so we have some big mixup somewhere.

Erica Howton the link on the one you added today (3rd wife) has no maiden name
I only ever knew of two wives

Stephen Daniel Harper Darrough is an issue... two different women and different timeframe and have been confused many times

I attempted a Discussion on her in 2018: Lucy Cagle
MIGHT be a good place to disambiguate

I attempted a Discussion on her in 2018: Lucy Cagle
MIGHT be a good place to disambiguate

Hiccup

https://wc.rootsweb.com/trees/104973/I3131/mariasusanna-/individual smushed the moms...: Name: Maria Susanna

These are two different women. We know of two wives for Leonhart, not three.

I will log off and wait but really should have done more sooner as this is NOT an unknowable/unknown genealogy and yet it needs clean up more often than not. This, again, is why I am so thankful for Germanna Foundation. Every immigrant family should be so fortunate.

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