John and Louisa are still remembered today by their grand-
children, who are themselves now in their golden years. I have spoken with a few of them and some other folks too, who had memories to share.
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I spoke with Ruth one of their granddaughters a few years back, who shared some of her memories with me. She remembers her grandparents coming to her house many times and bringing gifts for all of the children. Grandpa John told them stories while they sat eagerly listening around him. She said her grandpa was a kind man who always was happy and Louisa, her grandmother was sweet and good natured. Her father would go once a year to New Mexico and help with the harvest of John's crops. Sometimes the whole family would go. It was always a fun trip.
One thing she remembered well about her grandpa is that he never wanted Louisa to tell anyone that she was part Indian. As far as he was concerned that was strictly a family secret. Sometimes they would get into a squabble over it. Louisa wanted to collect her Indian money given by the US government to all Indians born in the USA. Doing that meant she would have to come out of the closet about her Indian heritage. But John wouldn't stand for it. Needless to say, Louisa never claimed any money.
I guess back in those days if you were white, marrying any person of Indian blood was looked down upon and strictly a taboo.
Ruth also told me of a tale about John when he was young. It went like this:
John and his step father John Blalock never got along from the beginning. John Blalock would beat John for very small infractions and John nearly hated him for it. Many times when John Blalock was looking for his step son to punish him for something, the slaves on the farm would hide him, sometimes for several days, so he was kept safe from the beating.
John Blalock married John's mom in 1860 and The civil war was from 1861 -1865. So given these dates, John would have been between the ages of 7-12 years old during the time of this unfortunate story.
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From another descendant I heard a story about Louisa that goes like this:
The night before Louisa died, she told everyone in the house goodbye and dressed in Indian burial clothes she had picked out. Then she went to bed. The next morning she was found dead. Louisa had died in her sleep. Afterward, John took out a box filled with Louisa's Indian papers and personal items. He offered it to his youngest son, Nathan whom they had been living with, but Nathan wasn't interested in keeping any of it. So John burned it all, guaranteeing that Louisa's Indian heritage would be forever a mystery. Too bad for us!
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Betty, a descendant of John's 1/2 brother told me that her father used to speak of Uncle John and Aunt Louisa coming for Christmas. Her father said John always seemed happy and carefree on those holidays, ready to celebrate with a bottle of good wine which he would bring to the dinner table as a present to all the adults there.
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From one granddaughter I heard that Louisa would get very sad and sentimental at times. She would dress in all black, mourning the loss of her Cherokee ancestors who came along the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma.
Now when I hear this it makes me wonder who she lost and when she lost them. Louisa was born in Tennessee in 1860, well after the Trail of Tears took place in 1838. But John Bordeaux met her in Oklahoma at 16 years old; so she must have traveled across America too at some point in her young life. Did she lose her grandparents on the original Trail of Tears or maybe her mother or father as she made the trip many years later herself. I would love to know.
