Seeking information about great-grandmother

There is no indication in easily available genealogical records that any of  Henry L. Huffman's and Susan Jack's children were Native American, but it was not unusual for non-reservation Native American during that time period not to claim their Native heritage.  Have you taken one of the DNA tests to determine if you have at least a partial Native American genetic background?  This might be where you need to start.

Dear Ms. Mitchell,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

To determine native heritage within federal records for someone born and adopted in West Virginia in 1868, you first need to identify the biological parents.  We suggest that you review the FamilySearch Research wiki for West Virginia Adoption Research.  In addition, we suggest that you build your family tree as far back as possible and see if they can be located on early census or removal rolls.

As the Cherokee were an Eastern tribal nation and part of the early removals, the U.S. National Archives (NARA) has custody of records for the tribe that date back to the 1830s when the first removal rolls were compiled. 

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Eastern Cherokee Census Rolls, 1835-1884 in the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Record Group 75) that has been digitized and is available via the Catalog.  We also located a series titled Census Rolls, 1815-1869 in Record Group 75 that has not been digitized or microfilmed. For access to  this series, please contact the National Archives at Washington - Textual Reference (RDT1) via email at archives1reference@nara.gov. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

When embarking on Native American genealogy, please note that the records in the custody of NARA often only detail those living on the reservations or being administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. If your ancestor or her biological family did not have interaction with the United States Government as such, they will not be recorded in NARA’s records and tracing her genealogy may be difficult.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!