Interesting topic. My grandfather knew Emmanuel Whitman, b. 1811(?) d. 1888(?) He was his grandfather (my grandfather was John Baylus Barnett, b. 1879, son of Julia Whitman, b. 1853) And the family story was that Emmanuel Whitman was a light skinned Cherokee who often passed for white. The family remembers people saying that he made railroad ties. Also there was grandmother's memory that he had a bit of a temper and would kill anyone who questioned his honesty. I would love to find out if anyone has any more evidence or even family history about this--I think of him as "the indian" of our family.