Elvis - A Lighted Candle

[Rainbow Light]

Southern Genealogy Yields Surprises
By Erika Celeste
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
25 July 2007



Log on to any number of American genealogy websites, especially those looking for Native American heritage and it won't take long to come across the name Morning Dove White.

Her name appears for two reasons: first, many Native Americans trace their ancestry through maternal lines, making her a great matriarch, and second, she is the great-great-great grandmother of Elvis Presley, the King of rock and roll.


A sketch of what Morning Dove White may have looked like, from the Palmer family genealogy website
The legend of Morning Dove White begins when the full-blooded Cherokee Indian marries a white man, William Mansell, in the early 19th Century. It's a tale Mike Palmer heard often growing up, because Morning Dove White is his paternal great, great, great grandmother. "The way I understand it is her last name 'White' comes from her Native American clan's relationship to the Americans, the white people that were here in the early 19th [century]." Palmer explains some Indians were friendly and others weren't so friendly to the Americans, "so the unfriendly Indians were called the red Indians, the friendlies were called the whites."

As the legend goes, Morning Dove and William Mansell moved to the Alabama frontier. There they prospered, becoming major landowners and prominent members of the community. Her knowledge of native herbal medicine is said to have helped many new homesteaders in a strange new land.

Genealogy researcher Julian Riley, who became familiar with Morning Dove White while tracing the Elvis Presley family tree, says there's no doubt she was extremely important in terms of surviving on the frontier. "In 1818, Alabama is still a wild country," he points out, "there's no hospitals, service stations and road maps. If you had a local Indian living with you, it could be a tremendous help, just telling you where things are located, where are the creeks, the rivers, where are the salt deposits, where do you get the right type of vegetation for whatever you might be needing it for. How do you do certain things? She would know the native way of doing things, plus she would know how to speak the language, so she could be an interpreter."


Creating a family tree has become a popular activity in the United States, and can lead to surprising discoveries
As Riley started to research Morning Dove's story, though, he says things just didn't add up. For example, her name. Morning Dove is an English name. Riley notes that not only would the Cherokee have spoken their own language with native names, they usually had one-word names. So he doubts she was a Cherokee.

More importantly, 'Morning' was Mansell's mother's first name, and 'White' was the name of nearby neighbors. He says these are good indicators that Mansell either renamed her or she chose an anglicized name.

And Riley says there are other inconsistencies. "There were no Cherokees in south Alabama, very unlikely that William Mansell rode 900 miles [1450 kilometers] to North Carolina to get a Cherokee Indian woman when they're all around him in south Alabama. Impossible that William Mansell ever married this Indian, two reasons: one, marrying as we see it, is not an Indian custom, and William Mansell already had a wife. She's living in Marion County, Alabama, the same time William is living there with the Indian girl."

Riley also points out that Mansell fought with General Andrew Jackson, later president Jackson, who was well known for waging war on the Indians. One of the way soldiers like Mansell would have been compensated for their service was with land and captured Indians. Riley suggests it is more than likely that Mansell, like most European Americans of the time, viewed Native Americans as second-class citizens.

"The most likely thing that happened," he concludes, "is that Morning White Dove was a refugee from one of the Creek Indian Villages that were being destroyed in Alabama. And for whatever reason - he liked the way she looked, wanted some domestic help - he just took her and took her home."


Morning Dove White's daughter, Morning Dizenia, was photographed in the late 1800's
While there is no record that William Mansell married Morning Dove, they did have four children, three of whom survived. She died at the age of 35, most likely in childbirth, delivering their daughter Morning Dizenia. Like her mother, Morning Dizenia helped nurse people in her community, and she married the town doctor. Her older brother, John, would someday become the great great grandfather of Elvis Presley.

Morning Dove White's great great great grandson Mike Palmer admits he's always had his own doubts about the facts surrounding his legendary ancestor, but says that's what makes her so intriguing. "Who wouldn't want to claim her as kin?" he asks. "She's such a mystical figure. There are so few known facts that you can almost create her as you want, she can become whatever you want because so little is known about her and a lot of people I'm sure do that."

While researching the family tree can reveal long-kept secrets or inspire reunions with new-found family members, Julian Riley says, even if the search hits a dead end, it still gives families a valuable glimpse into the past. "Everyone needs to know where they came from. It can't change anything, you can't determine who your ancestors were. It's just neat to know who they were and what they did and where they came from and how they got here and maybe something about the trials that they went through getting here." And, he adds, it's always nice to find out you're related to someone famous.

[Wanda June Hill]

My stepmom's great grandfather and his first cousin whom he married were Mansells and of Indian and Jewish blood. Also in Jimmie's family were Smiths, Morgans, and a Presley that spelled the name with two l's and no e before the y. Elvis tried to find a common name he recognized because he thought we were related-he found Mornin' who was my great grand mother and her maiden name was Love. My aunt married a man from Tennessee named Vivian Love-he was soft spoken Southern, quiet and dressed very nicely and he collected guns and was a bookkeeper. He was a very nice guy-he had sandy brown hair and very blue eyes and I went on two long road trips as a young teenager with them across the United States Midwest up into Idaho. It was great. [ When I think about it now, I can't believe I traveled into so many states-it amazes me-how did that happen and why did I marry a guy who didn't like to be away from home at night!]
My Auntm Mr. Love's wife, loved Elvis from the first day she saw his photo in the paper and went to his concert in Tulsa-I could have gone, but he was "the devil's child" to me at that time...no way would I go see him do that thing he did for the devil! (naive/sheep like stupidity-me!) Anyway he was very intrigued that we had those family names...and said, see I was right! But I never thought so-it was coincidence nothing more and common names. But then when he came up with Jimmie's mom and one of his relatives being named Elvira well...and Dovie too...and a Dovie Smith at that...well...maybe???
wjh

[Amanda Viola]

How extraordinary it would be you were relatives...! Yet, at soul's level, most probably you were!

[Wanda June Hill]

I don't think so - he just hoped to find something as family was important to him. Those were very common names in the south-and he said, well that is because we're all cousins... and I said, you mean, marry your cousins? It was meant as a joke, but he kind of took it seriously and said very quickly, "Not all do that-just in some areas where they're too poor to get far from their roots...then it was common and to keep body and soul together, really. Folks were poor back in Mississippi and the Carolina's." He rushed that out-when he talked fast, rattling things out, sometimes slurring words he said them so fast, he wasn't real pleased with the way the conversation was going or the topic. I learned that early.
He talked faster if he was excited, up about something or had not "come down" from working yet...I liked him best when he was level-lazy and wanting to relax his mind and fall asleep...crazy I guess, but that was when he was more himself and would say just what ever he thought instead of "hiding" his feelings about whatever it was. And he would be funny as all get out at times. I've watched him a lot today, and really miss him more than if I hadn't.
This morning at 3 am Starla was heading to LA where she was called in to check something important. Her car started not shifting into the last gear about 30 miles from home-so she turned about and "creeped" back. She had planned to hurry the check, and get back home as she has always taken the 16th off since Elvis left. She was miffed to be called on but was going to return home as soon as possible to tape and watch etc:. Anyway, she thought she'd have to spend the weekend looking for a new car to buy as she wasn't going to fix the Jeep again-the last time she had to put a new transmission in it and it cost $3,000. The Jeep has a lot of miles on it-thousands of them as she drives for work a lot. Anyway, Jimmie can't repair automatic transmissions though he can do most other things. Well he discovered that the electric door locks were not working either-so he read up on the manuel's electrical things and then went out and checked the battery cables and other circuit things-well it was a loose one and he fixed it. It was sooo strange-her car was running perfectly the day before-but today, the 16th it made her come home and spend the day as usual-watching Uncle Elvis. Could he have used the electrical energy to keep her home? He wouldn't have wanted her going to East LA at 3 in the am for pete's sake! Anyway, it was not a serious thing but it made her come home right away-and she spent the day with him...as usual. She thinks he did it...and I wonder-after all "spirits" use electrical impulses to do things, they say. He could move pens, make sparks come off his finger tips and moved a rather heavy glass ashtray-just with his mind and/or his own magnetic energy force. Soooo why not tweak the magnetic field of a computerized car with something simple, but affective and she still got home safely. Was not stalled in the fast lane of a freeway either...still able to move etc:. Could be. I said when she got home, Well, maybe Elvis wanted you to stay home today. She smiled and said, "Could be...I was going to come back as fast as I could anyway." Stranger things have happened... Her car works perfectly again. wjh

[Rainbow Light]

Wow! Thanks for sharing, Wanda! Great to read and feel the Elvis was watching over Starla for sure!!

[Amanda Viola]

Fantastic!

[Wanda June Hill]

We all have our "angels" looking out for us, sometimes they do wonderful things out of the blue-other times they can't probably due to something we ourselves do and shut them out? Anyway, her car works perfectly today-she's in LA doing her thing and no problems at all.
Just a "fluke" or "plan of action"? Just like when we went to Nashville-she and I driving a weeks old new car-Maia did some of her "magical" things and protected the car and us in it before we left and nothing happened on the trip, not even a flat tire. We were home a while, kept that car in the garage and didn't drive it much as it was a lease car-but it started running funny a few weeks after we got back-took it to the service center and discovered there was a recall on the engine!!! It was prone to have a crack so water got where it shouldn't-the thing over heats and the engine freezes up etc:...we drove more than 5000 miles across country and back-without a hitch or a glitch...other cars like it didn't get 800 miles on their new engines! So we got a brand new engine for free to replace the defective one-and when we turned it in at lease end we got money back too! Boy, that was a great "angel" looking after us! We got the new car on a fluke-just happened to be going by, stopped in and there it was-on sale, special deal and got it without putting one dime down! We had to have one to make that trip-so there it was! It made the trip with a license plate that spelled ELVIS on the front end. I think I told that story before-wjh

[Blue Moon]

It made the trip with a license plate that spelled ELVIS on the front end.

Did you have that license plate designed to spell Elvis or was it a mysterious "coincidence"?

[Wanda June Hill]

I can't remember exactly where we got it, but they could be purchased and were not offical tags...we just had it on the front end-there was one other family we saw on the freeway and other areas of the beach cities here in So. Ca. that we'd pass each other coming and going and they'd honk or we would. They were the only other people around that we knew of who had a tag like that. We met them at a swapmeet much later, and saw the tag on the car by their booth so we met them-but that was brief and don't know any more about them as far as I can recall, anyway. We haven't seen their car in a while-but after we moved to Riverside we did see them driving one day and both of us honked again. It's been a-while...Starla has the license plate packed in her stuff - she keeps all such things-after all, it went to Tupelo, Memphis, Graceland and across the Mississippi Bridge and up the back area that Elvis knew so well...and it went to Nashville and into LA several times too...when she was appearing at the Palomino Club in W. Hollywood way back there in the late 80's-early 90's. Then we turned it back in as the lease had expired and we didn't need another car payment. wjh

[Amanda Viola]

We all have our "angels" looking out for us, sometimes they do wonderful things out of the blue-other times they can't probably due to something we ourselves do and shut them out? Anyway, her car works perfectly today-she's in LA doing her thing and no problems at all.
Just a "fluke" or "plan of action"? Just like when we went to Nashville-she and I driving a weeks old new car-Maia did some of her "magical" things and protected the car and us in it before we left and nothing happened on the trip, not even a flat tire. We were home a while, kept that car in the garage and didn't drive it much as it was a lease car-but it started running funny a few weeks after we got back-took it to the service center and discovered there was a recall on the engine!!! It was prone to have a crack so water got where it shouldn't-the thing over heats and the engine freezes up etc:...we drove more than 5000 miles across country and back-without a hitch or a glitch...other cars like it didn't get 800 miles on their new engines! So we got a brand new engine for free to replace the defective one-and when we turned it in at lease end we got money back too! Boy, that was a great "angel" looking after us! We got the new car on a fluke-just happened to be going by, stopped in and there it was-on sale, special deal and got it without putting one dime down! We had to have one to make that trip-so there it was! It made the trip with a license plate that spelled ELVIS on the front end. I think I told that story before-wjh

This one is a great story also Wanda, speaking of protecting angels...!

I do believe firmly in them and their help. I scaped accidental death myself several times, in an incredible secuence of circunstances too, being a child and later a teenager and a young woman. When the time is not YOUR time to depart, neither it's your soul choice to go, then it seems things are "twisted" to let you stay.

[Rainbow Light]

Thank you to everyone for your posts, thoughts and feedback!