Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsChurchill Believed Willcox Kin Had Indian Blood
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
One of the fascinating tales of history deals with England's great statesman, Sir Winston Churchill and his kinship with the Willcoxes. It just seems that Willcoxes are everywhere. And Sir Winston was quick to claim kin with them, especially emphasizing the point that he believed they were part Indian (or at least some of them).
Churchill was a powerful man in his country and saw his native land through many trying times, including the massive assaults of World War II. In those dark days he said, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." When most folks were on the brink of giving up to the enemy, old Winston was just getting started. As Lord Nelson, his hero, of the British navy of days gone by, had persevered, so would he. It was the aim of Churchill to be able, like his hero, to say, "Now I am satisfied. Thank God, I have done my duty." In fact, those happened to be the last words Nelson uttered.
To cherish the memory of the old sea commander, Churchill named one of his cats "Nelson." Churchill once said, "Cats look down on you; dogs look up to you; but pigs treat you as an equal." Maybe that had something to do with his wife nicknaming him "Pig" - which incidentally started out as "Pug" (from pug dog). Hers was "Kat"; so he might have been trying to tell us something with those nicknames. They never greeted each other with "Hello." It was always, "Wow!"
History and legend are full of personal items on the cigar-chomping, steel-willed man we call Churchill. He got run over by a car when in New York in 1931. As a young man he loved polo and thought it to be the top sport of all. This is what he had to say about American football in early 1930 when he visited at Columbia University: "Actually it is somewhat like Rugby. But why do you have to have all those committee meetings?" The huddle was foreign to Sir Winston.
Although born into a British aristocracy of lords and ladies, Churchill had some kin who came to America very early during the settling of our new country over here. But an interesting thing is that Churchill's mother, Jennie Jerome, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1854. It was when Churchill looked at his American lineage that he came to the conclusion that some of his kin, some of the Willcoxes, had Indian blood running in their veins. He was rather proud of the fact but many want to dispute his claims to this possibility.
But his grandson is not one of them. He supports his grandfather's assertion about the blood tie with Native Americans. He is also proud of the family's ties to the American Revolution. The grandson (also named Winston) gives us this:
"Winston Churchill (my grandfather) was half American by birth - a fact of which he was deeply proud. In his first address to a joint session of the United States Congress, on 26 December 1941, he teased the assembled Senators and Representatives with the mischievous suggestion, "If my father had been American and my mother British, instead of the other way 'round, I might have got here on my own!"" It is also interesting to point out here that on the very night of the same date, Sir Winston suffered his first heart attack (and it happened in America). Who knows - this might have been the same time he saw the ghost of Lincoln in the White House!
Grandson Winston goes on to tell us how proud he is that he found that while quite a few of the Churchills' kin fought for General Washington and the American Revolution, he could not find a single one who fought with the British in "that misguided effort"!
But even more interesting than his tenacious claim to ally the Churchills with the glorious Revolution is the fact that they also have looked up the Indians in their family tree:
"Not only did Winston Churchill have Revolutionary blood in his veins but, possibly, native American as well. According to family tradition, Jennie's maternal grandmother, Clarissa Willcox, was half-Iroquois. Clarissa's father, David Willcox, is recorded as marrying Anna Baker and settling in Palmyra, New York in 1791. The implication is that Clarissa may have been a half Iroquois accepted into the family. The truth will perhaps never be known. It is unsurprising that such matters, most especially in those days, went unrecorded. What is certain is that Winston's mother, Jennie, and her sister Leonie, firmly believed the story to be true, having been told by their mother, Clara: "My dears, there is something you should know. It may not be chic but it is rather interesting...."
Furthermore, the family portrait of his maternal grandmother Clara, which I have inherited from my grandfather, lends credence to the suggestion that she may have been quarter-Iroquois, with her oval face and mysteriously dark features."
Just how all this occurred, if it did, we are not at all sure but some strange things happened in America. Sometimes captive women were made wives of the captors. On the other hand, it could have been an entirely voluntary liaison between a Native American and one new to these shores.
Whatever occurred, the Churchills seem to believe that they have Indian ancestors:
"In recent years, genealogical researchers have sought to cast scorn on the suggestion that Clara's descent is other than "American Colonial of English background," but this fails to explain why, some 130 years ago, Clara would have told her daughters the story, at a time when it would have been deeply unfashionable to make such a claim. Nor does it explain the evidence of Clara's features which have little in common with the Anglo-Saxon. Furthermore, it is undisputed that the densely wooded country south of Lake Ontario around Palmyra, New York, where Clarissa Willcox was born, was the heartland of the Iroquois nation.
My cousin, Anita Leslie, in The Fabulous Leonard Jerome, quotes her grandmother Leonie, remarking on her exceptional energy: "That's my Indian blood, only don't let Mama know I told you!"
While it is unlikely that the question of the family's native American heritage can be firmly proved either way, I have little doubt as to the truth of the matter. For me physical features speak louder than any entry in a register of births, but I leave it to the reader to make his or her own judgment of the matter."
For more trivia on the Churchill-Willcox (Wilcox) connection (or non-connections), I found the following:
A note on the birth and death dates of an Air Force lieutenant-colonel by the name of Churchill Wilcox.
A document showing that William A. Willcox of the 20th Georgia Infantry, CSA, married Edith W. Churchill.
A source which stated that the secret meeting of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill took place at Willcox Inn in South Carolina in 1944.
While these little items might have little or nothing to do with the Churchill-Willcox connection, one thing is sure - the Churchills valued their heritage and their history.
Sir Winston said himself: "A nation that forgets its past has no future." It seems he applied the same saying to the genealogical history of his family.
Credits:
Winston S. Churchill for Winston Churchill Journal - American Heritage;
The Churchill Center, Washington, D.C. for The Winston Churchill Home Page;
other notes on Winston Churchill and related or non-related items.
