Click each item in red and each year to the right to see all the information!            This blog is a work in progress so please check back to see what updates have been added.    

Updated 19 July 2016                                                                     


Acknowledgements:

The search for the background behind Nelson Holder Ritchie has been going on for over 80 years. This blog would not be possible if it wasn't for the thousands of hours that people have put into searching for answers. The following people need to be recognized:

-Grace Samantha Ritchie (Daughter of Nelson)
-Bessie Ritchie Rogers (Daughter of Nelson)
-Louisa Cleverly Day (Grandaughter of Nelson)
-Donna Cleverly Winters(Grandaughter of Nelson)
-Olive Day Conley (great Grandaughter of Nelson)
-Lillian Day Stonebraker (great Grandaughter of Nelson)
-Jean Stonebraker Porcaro (great great Grandaughter of Nelson)
-Kathy Porcaro Adamson (great great great Grandaughter of Nelson)
-Deena Porcaro Hill (great great great Grandaughter of Nelson)
-Cristy Hill (great great great great Grandaughter of Nelson)
And many, many others of our family that are too numerous to name!!!!

*If you have questions about this blog you can contact Deena Hill at garyhi@yahoo.com or Cristy Hill at cristyhill@yahoo.com

Nelson Holder Ritchie 1840-1913

Nelson Holder Ritchie was 6 foot tall, 200 lbs, black curly hair

Go Here: Click here to view a history of Nelson written by his daughter Grace Ritchie Ashton

Go Here:Click here to view a history of Nelson written by his daughter Bessie Ritchie Rogers

Surmise of the life of Nelson Holder Ritchie written by Deena Hill

NEW INFORMATION: WE JUST HAD A DNA MATCH TO A CHARLES MCNEILL WHO WOULD BE THE BROTHER OF GABRIEL MCNEILL AND ON THE 1880 CENSUS CHARLES HAS HIS 80 YEAR OLD MOTHER SARAH LIVING WITH HIM. SO WE NOW HAVE BACK ONE MORE GENERATION. Miss Holder (Nelson's Mother) AND GABRIEL AND CHARLES MOTHER IS SARAH MCNEILL BORN 1800 NORTH CAROLINA.






Nelson Holder Ritchie

     

Nelson Holder Ritchie

                                                           

Nelson Holder Ritchie

                                                             

                                                               Holder Family side

McNeill family side

Nelson Holder Ritchie Family Group Sheets

Nelson lost 5 of his 13 children before he died in 1913. I cannot imagine the heart ache!!!

Proof of Cherokee Nation Lineage

March 25, 1892 The Great Bend Weekly Tribune

April 15, 1892 The Great Bend Weekly Tribune

Letter from the Cherokee Nation to Nelson. Nelson giving up his rights to his Cherokee Citizenship.
                                                                  Dated 24 May 1892

                                 Typed copy of the Letter from the Cherokee Nation to Nelson
                                                                Dated 24 May 1892

                   Chief of the Sac and Fox visited Nelson 8 Jan 1892 Great Bend Kansas. I am working with the Sac and Fox Tribe Historian. She is looking into our connection to this Tribe. So far nothing found. She said why would the Chief of the Sac and Fox tribe travel half way across Kansas to meet with Nelson if there was not some poof of his affiliation with this tribe. The search continues.... She will let us know!

April 15, 1892 Newspaper Article from The Great Bend Weekly Tribune

This is proof that he met with the Cherokee Council and had rights to Cherokee land in Oklahoma

Nelson decided not to take the land, he gave up his rights to the land, that's why he is not on the Dawes Rolls or any other Cherokee rolls.  We confirmed this by calling the Cherokee Nation and they said if he did not occupy the land he would not be on any Cherokee Lists.  His family history states "Nelson went to Oklahoma to look at the Indian land and came back saying it was no place to raise a family".  His other daughter said he was offered 160 acres of land in Oklahoma, which we confirmed with the Cherokee Nation is the exact amount they were giving Cherokee Natives at the time.

Go Here:     http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/cherokee-tribe.htm

This is the site with all the Native American rolls. Nelson will not be on any of them because he did not take his land.

Lawrence County, Missouri 1840 UPDATED!!!!!!! 

After over 1200 hours of Research and gathering over 350 pages of documents and contacting over 200 people this is the conclusion I have come to with all of the evidence that is before me to date. June 5 2015    Deena Hill

Nelson Holder Ritchie was born in Lawrence County, Missouri August 24, 1840. No birth certificate found.  Nelson mentions that his parents were born in North Carolina as seen on Census records. DNA has provided us with the PROOF that Nelson Holder Ritchie has the DNA from a man named George Vincent Holder and from his son Wiley Holder of Cumberland County North Carolina. We now know that Nelson's Grandfather was George Vincent Holder and that his father is Wiley Holder and that his Mother was a black Slave who was on the Plantation of William Holder a brother of George Vincent Holder. Nelson's mother (whose name is unknown) was bought from William Holder by a man named  Neal McNeill or McNeal (found spelled both ways) who was an old neighbor from Cumberland County North Carolina but had moved with his Mother Nancy Ray McNeill to Lawrence County Missouri in 1836. Neal made a trip back to Cumberland North Carolina to visit his sister Flora. Flora McNeill was a neighbor of William Holder in Cumberland North Carolina. William Holder owed back taxes for the year 1839 and having financial problems and in 1840 I see on the Census that he owned Slaves. Neal bought Nelson's Mother from William Holder,she was pregnant with Nelson at the time. She traveled from Cumberland County North Carolina to Turnback Lawrence Missouri with Neal McNeill. She died from the affects of the journey shortly after giving birth. Turnback is 5 miles from the Trail of Tears route so I believe Neal and Nelson's pregnant Mother traveled on the same road as The Trail of Tears. Nelson was told he looked just like his Grandfather Old Vincent! For years many people have searched for a Cherokee man named Vincent but in fact it was a white man living in Cumberland County North Carolina. We had no idea until the DNA results in 2016 from 2 different companies, Ancestry DNA and Family Tree DNA, came up with matches to people in our family. We are a match to 14 people that match George Vincent Holder and two people that match Wiley Holder. We also have DNA matches to a man named Gabriel McNeill a black Slave on the McNeill Plantation in Cumberland County North Carolina.Our family is a match to 4 people that match Gabriel McNeill. I believe that Nelson's mother is a SISTER of Gabriel McNeill and that she was part Cherokee as is evident with the DNA results. The DNA matches that descend from Gabriel also have Native American blood. In the early days of the South the Native Americans and African Americans often lived together. In the South before the Civil War Slaves were sold and families were torn apart and ended up in different places and even in different states. Slaves took their owners names so Gabriel was a McNeill and Nelson's Mother was a Holder. In some of my research I have seen it mentioned that Slaves held on to their original owners name as a way to hopefully reconnect at a later date with loved ones that had been sold off. This is most likely the case with Nelson's Mother and why Nelson kept the Holder name. Nelson was born to a Slave Mother so was automatically a Slave according to the law. Nelson mentioned to his children that he was raised by a old Scottish women who he never named. This year in my research I discovered the following document that names the Scottish women who raised him. ( Interview with Patriarch John M Whitaker Patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).                                                                                

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN M. WHITAKER PATRIARCH OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS DATED 10 DEC 1909

(Note Nelson in this interview said his father was pure blooded Cherokee Indian, this is genetically impossible according to the DNA testing.)  Nelson's Mother was Mulatto.. Mulatto is a mix of African American and Native American or African American and White. We know Nelson's father was white.

Turnback Lawrence County Missouri-This is where Neal McNeill's farm was located and where Nelson Holder Ritchie was born and lived until 15 years of age. It is in the middle of no where.

You will notice that Turnback is just 5 miles from the Trail of Tears route. I believe that Neal McNeill and Nelson's mother traveled the same route to get back to Lawrence County from Cumberland County North Carolina.                                                                                                                                      

The town of Turnback and Marionville are the two closest towns to where Nelson was born. On one of the Census it list Neal McNeill as living in Turnback.

This is the woman that raised Nelson Holder Ritchie!!!! I believe that Nelson was actually a Slave on the farm of Nancy McNeill's son Neal who lived next door to Nancy. I believe that she may have taken an interest  in Nelson because he was orphaned when his mother died shortly after his birth and Nancy McNeill would have been a Grandmother figure to Nelson.

Neal McNeill living next door to his mother Nancy McNeill. Notice Nelson is not in the home with either Nancy or Neal. He would only be 10 years old so not on his own. He was most likely a Slave of Neal's, that is why he is not on the regular Census with them.

Slave Census of Lawrence County Missouri. Notice Neal has a 10 year old Mulatto Slave. I believe this is Nelson and that the Census taker wrote female instead of male. In all my 30 years of genealogy research it is not uncommon for a Census taker to make a mistake on a Census. Census takers would write the information down as they went along then would go home and transcribe the information on to these official forms. Nelson is the only person listed as Mulatto on this Census.

A History of the McNeill family as related by a Grandson of Neal McNeill. This is proof that  Neal McNeill went back to Cumberland North Carolina to visit his sister Flora who happened to be a neighbor of William Holder. This visit to Cumberland County North Carolina by Neal is the only way the DNA from George Vincent Holder and Wiley Holder, who never left North Carolina, could have ended up in Lawrence County Missouri. The only way Nelson's descendants could have African American blood is because Neal brought a pregnant Slave girl back with him.

This is a History of Neal McNeill from the book History of Lawrence County Missouri

Proof of African Ancestry

Family DNA test results came back on two of Nelson's Great Grand Daughters that inherited 5%-7% West and South African and from a Grandson that inherited 13% West and South African.  We know this is from Nelson Holder Ritchie because nobody else in our family is from this area going back generations.  Records from 1863-1900 have shown that Nelson Holder Ritchie is "Black" or "Mulatto"(mixed blood).  After 1900 records show he is "White" or "Indian".

We are a genetic DNA match to Gabriel McNeill and Charles McNeill who are brothers. Nelson's mother would be a sister to Gabriel and Charles McNeill. On the 1880 Harnett County Census Charles Mother Sarah is living with him, so now we have the name of Nelson's Grandmother,SARAH MCNEILL

                                                           Sherd or Sherod McNeill

                                                              Nelson Holder Ritchie

                   I think Nelson and Sherod or Sherd look alot alike.They would be first cousins.


Mulatto is a mix of African American and Native American or Native American and White or African American and White.

1865 Topeka Kansas (Black)

 1875 Great Bend (Colored)

1870 Topeka Kansas-( Mulatto)   Mary Samantha Fullbright is also Mulatto!!!

1900 Salt Lake City Utah (White)

1910 Salt Lake City Utah (Indian)

1868-1870 Topeka City Directory (Colored)

                                 1870 Topeka City Directory (No race listed)

1872 Great Bend (no race listed)

1880 Great Bend Kansas (Mulatto)

1890 Veterans Schedule (no race listed)

                                          1864 Civil war Draft Registration (Colored)

Nelson's mother was from Cumberland County North Carolina that became Harnett County. This shows how the African Americans and the Native Americans lived together there and that Native Americans were even slaves along with the African Americans. Thus Nelson's mom could be Native and African American.

Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas 1863

The first time we see evidence of Nelson Holder Ritchie's existence is with his Civil War Draft Registration Records in 1863 Topeka,Shawnee Kansas.

Nelson Holder met a man named Colonel John Ritchie before 1860 in Topeka.  Colonel John Ritchie was a major player in the Underground Railroad.  He became close with Nelson and asked to adopt Nelson and pay for him to go to school.  Nelson refused, but took the Ritchie last name as a tribute to Colonel John Ritchie.  Colonel John Ritchie owned a Lime Quarry & Kiln, a Cemetery (where we suspect Nelson's first wife and baby are buried because Nelson was like family to Colonel John Ritchie), the land where Washburn University is located, and other properties.

Nelson was in the 2nd Kansas Militia Company B Cavalry Regiment and was involved in the Battle of the Little Blue River or Battle of the Blue at Mockbee Farm. He was in service from the 10 Oct 1864 until the 30th Oct 1864. The Battle was on 21 Oct 1864.

 Civil War Draft Registration Records, 1863-1865

 Civil War Draft Registration Record, 1863-1865 (Colored)

Letter from Veterans Administration Washington D.C. about Nelson's Civil War Service

Payroll of Company B of the Second Regiment of the Kansas State Militia 10th day of Oct to 30th day of Oct 1864. Copy VERY bad, this is the way it came from the National Archives.

History of Shawnee County Kansas and Representative Citizens Roster of Company B that Nelson

was in

Last year a man by the name of Jason Brock Jones portrayed Nelson Holder Ritchie at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library,  a living history narrative. Each year notable people from the town of Topeka Kansas are portrayed on the street corners of Topeka and our Nelson Holder Ritchie is one of these people portrayed.(Note we have no history of Nelson being a Buffalo Soldier or in the Indian Wars but he was in the Civil War).

Map drawings from the Diary of S.J. Reader of the Mockbee Farm House Civil War Battle that Nelson Holder Ritchie was involved in.

Map drawings from the diary of S.J. Reader of the Mockbee Farm Civil war Battle that Nelson Holder Ritchie was involved in.

 Go Here;  Click here to view an article about Nelson Holder Ritchie in the 2nd Kansas Militia

 CIVIL WAR ENDS 

This man Hiram C. Coville was at the Battle of the Blue at Mockbee Farm. Hiram was in the same 2nd Kansas Militia Company B with Nelson. He was killed in the battle. In the 1865 Census of Topeka Kansas Nelson Holder Ritchie is living with the wife of Hiram C Coville, Laura Ann Coville and her son Allen Coville. Maybe Nelson made a promise to Hiram as he was dying that he would take care of Hiram's wife and son.

1865 Topeka Shawnee Kansas Census. Nelson Holder Ritchie (Black) is living with Hiram Coville's wife and son. They are listed as white.

 After the Civil War ended Nelson worked at Colonel John Ritchie's Lime Quarry and Lime Kiln, pictured below

Picture of Topeka Kansas, 1869

Picture of Topeka Kansas, 1869

Map of Topeka Kansas, 1869

              This is the man that took Nelson in and helped him to become the great man he was.

Colonel John Ritchie

                                                    9 Sep 1887 The Great Bend Tribune

This is the wonderful wife of John Ritchie that helped Nelson. There are many stories of these two people risking their lives to help the run away Slaves.

                 Colonel John Ritchie front second from left with his John Brown Supporters

 Go Here:    Click here for a video tour of Colonel John Ritchie's Home that Nelson lived in

Colonel John Ritchie's home where Nelson lived.

It is listed on the National Historical Registry & is linked to the Underground Railroad

Front view of Colonel John Ritchie's home where Nelson lived. This home was used to house "Former Slaves" after Colonel John Ritchie built his new home.

Minutes of the Topeka Landmarks Commission stating that the home of Colonel John Ritchie on Madison between 11th and 12th was used to house FORMER SLAVES. Notice where NELSON is living in 1868-1870 on the Topeka City Directory!!!

Nelson Ritchie COLORED living on Madison between 11th and 12th street. The Joseph Ritchie COLORED listed with Nelson here on these directories is living with Nelson and Mary Samantha Fulbright on the 1870 Topeka Census. His name is Josephus Ritchie. This is proof that Nelson was a former Slave!!

                                Marriage 26 May 1870 to Mary MATTHEWS Fullbright.
This is totally new information to me. I do not know if Matthews is her middle name or maiden name or previous married name. To this point I can find no further information. If she is Mulatto as stated in the 1870 Census it is going to be another battle to find any thing out about Mary.

Marriage license of Nelson to Mary MATTHEWS Fullbright. Further investigation needs to be done to see why her name is not Mary Samantha Fullbright as mentioned in Nelson's daughters history of Nelson.

1870 Topeka Census with Mary Samantha Fullbright Ritchie listed as wife and Mulatto. Notice the M touches the line 3 times where as the above W only touches twice. So Mary was Mulatto. I wonder if the 60 year old women Lilly that was Mulatto is the old black mammy that poisoned Mary and her baby John Eddie. They both died in 1871. I have a lot of information on the Josephus that is living in the house with Nelson and Mary and his family is a MESS. Lots of arrest and fights and so on. I can not find any more on the James. They were all Mulatto and took on the Ritchie name. Josephus or Joseph was living with Nelson in the Ritchie home in 1868 and 1870 in the city directory.

                                                               Baby John Eddie

Ritchie Cemetery

There are 100 graves here, but only a few are marked.  

This was the burial site Colonel Ritchie created for Blacks and poor people.  There is a strong possibility that Nelson's first wife, Mary Samantha Fulbright (born 1848-died 1871), and baby John Eddy Ritchie (born 1871-died 1871), were buried here in 1871 because Nelson had such strong ties to Colonel John Ritchie.  Family history states that Nelson thought a black Mamie poisoned his first wife and first baby.