Lore & Origins (weeks 1 & 2)

I combined the first two prompts of 52ancestors together since they seemed to go hand in hand in my research. 

Who knew a marriage affidavit could cause so much confusion and generate so many questions? 

When Roswell "Ross" Jennings (1826 Floyd Co., Indiana -1890, Schuyler Co., Illinois), my husband's 4th great-grandfather, wed Mary S. Adams on January 11, 1843, in neighboring Harrison County, the information below was recorded, only to be analyzed and questioned by his descendants generations later. 

Walter S. Beanblossom, Marriage Affidavits and Certificates, Harrison County, Indiana, 1809-1865., (Ancestral Trails Historical Society, 1973), p. 65. Familysearch.org

"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XXLD-BYH : Thu Oct 19 15:55:38 UTC 2023), Entry for Roswell Jennings and Mary Adams, 10 Jan 1843. (record number 4, page 152)

The marriage affidavit document and various census records are where the lore and origins come into play. 

Roswell's father is not listed. I find it interesting that female names are typically lost to history but not in this case. Polly Jennings is a mystery of her own. The lore stated Polly never married but had several children with multiple fathers. Yet all her children have the last name, Jennings. Roswell was the second
child and first-born son of record, born in 1822. Polly would have nine children born of record, with the last making his arrival in 1846. 

Polly is listed in the 1830 census as a single parent with four children under the age of 10 in Floyd Co., Indiana. She's also living next door to Jeremiah Clark. Is this the same Jeremiah Clark who is on the marriage affidavit of Mary Adams and Roswell Jennings?

Skipping over the 1840 as it is yet to be found, in the 1850 census of Floyd Co., Indiana, Polly is living with Jeremiah & Aery Clark. It is believed that Aery is Polly's sister. Is this the same Jeremiah on the affidavit?

In the 1860 census, Polly and her family moved 290 miles south to Obion Co., Tennessee. On record, Polly's three sons are listed as mulatto but Polly is listed as white. They are living near Jeremiah Clark and his family. Is this the same Jeremiah Clark on the marriage affidavit?

In 1870, Polly is living with her son Robert Jennings and his family in Harrison Co., Indiana. I don't see Jeremiah Clark. 

Even Polly's death record is a mystery. But that's a story for another day.

Another lore is Polly's heritage. Some say Polly was Native American. However in various censuses over time, Roswell and his brothers are recorded as mulatto; one son is listed as a negro, yet Polly is always listed as white. Polly's birth state is a mystery. In the census, she is listed Kentucky (1850 & 1860) and Virginia (1870), Even her children, when listing their mother's birthplace of record, vary the location - Pennsylvania, Illinois, or North Carolina.

One more question - who was Allen Z. Bliss, who provided information on the affidavit? Polly's daughter, Susan, wed Bliss two years prior. This would make him Roswell's brother-in-law.

So there are some answers but more questions. But that is what makes genealogy fun.