How to Start Your Cherokee Search -3-

Most Counties recorded Birth and Deaths at the "County Seat" as far back as 1850. These old records were stored in the Court House basement where these paper records, with water soluble ink, slowly rotted away. In the years before electricity, the county clerks reviewed these records with kerosene lanterns or open candles, just begging for a fire. I suppose you have heard the term "100 year flood". Since 1850, nearly every county court house in the country has had some sort of flood in their basement.

A County record can be used to fill in the Pedigree Chart. If you find your ancestors on the ‘Right Roll’ that would enable you to apply for Tribal membership, a County record is not permissible. The Tribe and the BIA require a State Certified certificate as 'proof of descent', but there are loopholes and ways around this requirement. A few of my clients have been able to get County Clerks to present the data from earlier birth records to officials in local State offices and have the information transcribed to official State embossed paper, and use those documents as their ‘proof’. The Bureau of Indian Affairs say these birth and death records must be on official State stationary (embossed or with a Raised Seal) that is not subject to editing. A black and white photo copy can be edited, but the embossed State papers cannot.

If you are not collecting genealogical information for Tribal Membership, then you do not need official Birth and Death certificates. They may be ‘nice to have’ as in many cases, they are the only ‘official records’ of your ancestor’s existence.

A ‘*Back Door*’ to Native American family history

If you cannot find direct evidence of your direct ancestors (grandparents, great grandparents, etc) on the official Rolls, it can be helpful to find their siblings or other close family members, since a sibling’s or cousin’s family history will be the same as your branch of the family. Additional sources for finding your ancestors or their siblings can be found in several Cherokee genealogy books, written by Cherokees for Cherokees, between 1825 and 1900, when the information was still 'fresh' in the memory of the elder ladies of the Tribe.

In some cases, you will only be able to find people with the same Family name, that were living in the same State or town as your ancestors, who applied for one of the Rolls. Since people in this period tended to travel in 'packs' and living close to a relative was essential for farm labor and health care, these people will be Kin-Folk to your relatives, and their family history will be nearly the same as yours.

When people Applied for these Rolls, they had to submit the names and birth dates of their parents and their grandparents, and where they were born or living in 1850. They also had to submit letters stating their family history and a connection to the Cherokee Nation. All of their information is still on-file in the National Archives (only in Washington DC and Fort Worth, Texas). Photo-copies can be ordered for as little as $10 for each Application Number or Roll Number, which will include all of the members of the family living under the same roof.

In the case of the Miler Roll of Eastern Cherokees, the applicants listed names, dates of birth and residences of their siblings, married children, children living at home, their parents, their grandparents, their spouse and his immediate family. Quite often, you can find several people with your family name who were living in the same county as your ancestors in 1906. These people are most likely siblings or cousins of your ancestors

Not everyone applied for these Rolls. Many Cherokees disagreed with the terms of the Treaties and thought by ‘picketing’ they could force the government to grant better conditions. Others simply disagreed on political grounds, lived in the wrong State or Territory, or misspelled their ancestors family name. Other people thought some of these government Rolls were scams to trick them into identifying themselves so they could be rounded up and exiled to a reservation.

How to Start Your Cherokee Search -2-

Cemetery and Church records can be a big help. In some cases, cemetery records will show all the members of a family that are in that cemetery and their relationships to each other. Some tombstones will have inscriptions listing family relationship. From these records, dates and places of death will enable you to order death certificates or will assist you while scouring County records.

Beware of Census Records. Prior to 1850, these records only listed the name of the Head of the House with all other family members reduced to statistics. 1850 was the first year that each family members name and age was recorded. Spelling of names vary tremendously from one census to the next. In some cases, a John Bedford Phipps would be listed as John, Jim or James, or Bedford, using his middle name instead of his given name. Phipps could be spelled Phips, Fips, Fipps or Fitts. Since most people in the US were illiterate, they had no idea how to spell their name and it was up to the census taker to write it down the best way they could.

Around 1850, it became obvious to the census takers that most people had no idea what year they were born in or exactly how old they were. The census takers were instructed to put down how old they looked. When you find gross inconsistencies between one census and the next, be aware that when the census takers ‘came calling’ families were not very forthcoming with what they considered as ‘personal information’. In most cases, if a family was not at home, the census taker would collect the information from their next door neighbor. This was done under the assumption that neighbors were closely related or intimately familiar with each other.

If you can locate Social Security numbers for any deceased ancestor, write the info down on the Pedigree Chart or in an associated file. Please do not record social security numbers for living persons, as it can lead to identity theft if the file is lost or accidentally disposed of. When people apply for a Social Security Card, they have to fill out an application on a "Form-5" and list their parent’s names and their dates and places of birth. Any local social security office can process your request for an ancestors Form-5, or can give you’re the proper form and an address to contact.

If your ancestor’s family applied for any Death Benefits, burial assistance, financial support for minor children, support for an elderly spouse, etc, there will be a record of them in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), which is on-line. Just type SSDI into your search engine. If you find an ancestor on this list, the information on their death will enable you to order a copy of their SS Form-5 or and/or a copy of their death certificate from the state archives.

If Birth or Death Certificates need to be ordered, most on-line SSDI sites have listings of the Bureau of Vital Statistics offices for most states. Under recent provisions of the Patriot Act, only a blood relative can order copies of these documents. You typically need to include a photo copy of your drivers license with your request and specify how you are related to the person.

Death certificates are important as they will list the persons age and year of death, so it is easy to calculate their Year of Birth. Most importantly, this certificate will show the names of their parents, and usually the maiden name of their mother. Birth and Death Certificates were not kept by most states until they were mandated by federal law in 1920. If an ancestor was born before 1920, there will be no Birth Certificate at the State level, but there will probably be a Death Certificate.

How to Start Your Cherokee Search -1-

Like any other search, you have to start with what you know. Start by filling out a Pedigree Chart or a simple Family Tree, filling in as many blanks as possible with names, Year of Birth, State or Territory of Birth, Year and State of death. Go as far back as you can, then enlist the help of elder female relatives to help fill in the blanks back to your ancestors that were alive in 1900-1924.

These are important dates for Cherokees and many other Tribes, as the government held Final Treaties with the Indians during this period. Volumes of information are recorded in Official Records from this period.

The major Cherokee Treaty Rolls of this period were -

Dawes Roll of 1896-1905 in Oklahoma and surrounding states

Miller Roll of Eastern Cherokees (whole US) 1906-1909

Baker Roll of the Eastern Band in North Carolina 1924

Most people only registered on one of these Rolls, but some families applied to all of them, as the government was being very slow in awarding Cherokees Citizenship and settling land claims. The Dawes Roll was 'closed' in 1906 (no additions except by Act of Congress), but the Final Roll issuing Citizenship rights and issuing land was not completed until 1917. Some people felt they had been overlooked and registered on other Rolls as they became available.

I recommend asking your female relatives for help in this project, as the ladies tend to remember family history the way men remember sports trivia. While speaking with your elder relatives on family history, Do NOT mention Indian or Cherokee or any other Tribe, unless they bring the subject up first. The reason for this is deeply rooted in Anti-Indian prejudice formulated by the federal government to drive the remaining Indians onto existing Reservations. The Anti-Indian Laws of the period were enforced from 1830 to 1935. Any Indian 'discovered' living “Off the Reservation”, was arrested and exiled to the nearest reservation. An Indian could be murdered for the color of his skin, and the murder would not be investigated. Some of your older relatives may be old enough to have heard stories from their parents or grandparents when they were children, and old habits die hard.

Typically, older female relatives are thrilled that someone in the 'current generation' is interested in family history, and are willing to talk and help you with the Family Tree. While interviewing them, be sure to ask

If they have copies of any Land Deeds, Wills, Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, obituaries, books written about family members, or the old Family Bible, and old “Family Trunk” handed down by Grandma, scrapbooks, old photos, etc.

Ask if they know of a 'distant cousin' who is doing the family tree, or is the "Family Historian". Ask about Family Reunions, as there are typically one or more Family Historians at these functions who are willing to share their information. It makes them feel important, so be nice to them. (to be continued)

Early Records – What are the ROLLS? - Last part

Cherokees who were living in (Oklahoma Territory) Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, North Texas and Louisiana registered on the Dawes Roll between 1896 and 1902. The Cherokee Citizenship Rolls of 1886 were used as a beginning and these people on this Roll do not have a ‘postal district’ recorded on the Final Roll. All other Cherokees had the postal district listed where they made their application.

Choctaw Indians also had a large contingent that was still living in Mississippi. They are recorded on the Dawes Roll under Choctaw – MCR (Mississippi Choctaw Restricted) status. This is because their names were recorded between 1880 to 1890, with the expectations that they were to relocate to Oklahoma before 1900. The people on the MCR list remained in Mississippi through 1900 and most of them were ‘stricken’ from the Final Dawes Roll’.

Census Cards, or ‘field cards’ were filed out by the white registrars, showing the persons name, their age (or apparent age) at the time of registration, their sex, and blood quanta. They also listed this data for their spouse and any minor children still living at home. Unmarried older daughters (spinsters) were allowed to be listed on the Census Card of their parents. Married children and sons over the age of 17 were required to file separately, with married daughters being listed under their married names. Each applicant and their spouse were required to list their parent’s names.

Each Census Card had a unique serial number that captured a ‘snapshot’ of the family as it was at the time of registration. The Dawes Commission then scanned the Drennen Roll and the Old Settlers Roll to identify the names of the applicant’s parents. If the parents name was not readily apparent, the applicant was classified as ‘doubtful’ and was required to appear in court with witnesses, to determine if they were entitles to ‘free land’.

Blood quanta numbers were not subject to verification. However, any Cherokee that registered as half-blood to full-blood was considered to ignorant to manage their own affairs. The government appointed a white ‘overseer’ to each of these families to tend to the business aspect of their farms. Most of these overseers were ex-slavers and treated the Cherokee families as their slaves, running the farm into false bankruptcy with faked bank documents, and then selling the farm to their accomplices for pennies on the dollar. When this trend became apparent, other Cherokees with high blood quanta began registering with lower numbers. This was not a problem as far as the Tribe was concerned, as there was no minimum blood quanta. There is still no minimum blood quanta requirement for new members, but you must have a direct ancestor on the Final Dawes Roll.

Several categories of people were not allowed to register, were considered doubtful of Indian ancestry, or were simply ‘Stricken’ from the Final Roll when it was published in 1917. This group included parents of Dawes Applicants unless they registered separately, Intermarried Whites that had married after 1875, anyone who’s ancestors were not listed on the Old Settlers Roll or the Drennen Roll, anyone who missed the registration deadline, everyone who had left Oklahoma Territory after 1850 and had not returned by 1880. Continuous residence in New Indian Territory from 1850 to 1900 was a requirement for Dawes Roll registration. The Cherokee National Census (West) of 1880 was used as a qualifying document.

Tens of thousands of Cherokees refused to make an application to the Dawes Roll. The main reason for this was the Dawes was the result of another Treaty where the Cherokees lost several million acres of land that the government wanted for settlers, railroads, and oil exploration. In the Treaty of 1846, the Cherokee Nation was granted all of the land south of the Missouri River to the northern border of Texas, from the Rocky Mountains (Continental Divide) to the Mississippi River.

During the US Civil War, the Cherokees were active in the Confederacy and in the Union, but the government declared that the Cherokee Nation had succeeded from the Union and all previous Treaties were voided. The New Treaty that resulted in the Dawes Roll, restricted the Cherokee land to the North Eastern five county area of Oklahoma. Cherokee Chiefs that refused to sign this new Treaty were imprisoned or murdered.

According to my research, the Dawes Commission only needed a ‘simple majority’ (51%) of Cherokee Chiefs to sign the Treaty for it to become law. If a person or family refused to make an application, they and their descendants were forever banned from becoming members of the Tribe or even being allowed to call themselves Cherokee. Government estimates say that only about half of the eligible Cherokees who were living in Oklahoma Territory, actually applied for the Dawes Roll.

The most common form of the Dawes Roll was a ‘government friendly’ list that was in numerical order. There have been attempts to alphabetize the Final Dawes Roll, but they scatter family members and make it very difficult to determine which of the people on the Roll with the same name, are your ancestors. The only realistic way to find out which ‘John Smith’ was your ancestor, is to compare their year of birth against family records, and then sort through 640 pages of tiny print.

While noting ‘likely suspects’ in your ancestor hunt, you must record their individual Census Card numbers. This is the KEY to the Dawes Roll. Since they did not have addresses as such, their Census Card numbers serve that purpose. You literally have to go through the Dawes Roll again and again and note the names and ages of everyone with the same Census Card number as your list of ‘likely suspects’.

Breakthrough…. The entire Dawes Roll, all Five Civilized Tribes, has been alphabetized, years of birth calculated based on their age and their date of registration, and their Census card numbers recorded in an easy to use CD. By sorting everyone by Tribe and Census Card number, and putting the Census Cards in numerical order, entire families have been reassembled as they first appeared on the original Census Card. The family lists include both spouses even if only one was still alive, spouses and applicants parents names, spouses maiden names, children’s names and birth years for those born before the application date and still living at home, and parents of the children if they were from a different parent via divorce or remarriage, adopted cousin, etc. These listings also show all applicants even if they were later declared doubtful, rejected, or ‘stricken’ from the Final Roll that was published in 1917. It also includes people that were added as late as 1914-1915 by an Act of Congress, as a result of applications for the Miller Roll of Eastern Cherokees in 1906.

The US government had commissioned this study, but during the bidding process the project was dropped due to budgetary constraints. My wife and I spent 7 years compiling this information and checking it for accuracy. This CD makes looking up a Cherokee ancestor, or member of another ‘civilized Tribe’ as easy as using a phone book. There are over 250,000 names on this CD with connections to at least one other person on the Dawes Roll or the earlier Drennen or Old Settlers Rolls.

For a description of the CD and examples of research, please go to my web site Cherokee by blood. This CD is currently being sold over the internet or by mail order for $27.00, flat rate with shipping expenses included,

Early Records – What are the ROLLS? - Part 4

*Drennen Roll of 1852 (Treaty of 1846)* This Roll was comprised of the survivors of the Trail of Tears on 1837-1838, and their descendants, who had remained in the prescribed area until 1852. They were considered as a separate political group and not combined with the Old Settlers. These people had not been paid for their Cherokee land claims before leaving. The Drennen Roll lists 13,905 Cherokees which were paid an average of $93 for their Cherokee land Claims. The distribution of these funds was conducted by Colonel John Drennen at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory. This Roll lists families by Postal District, starting with the Head of the House, and listing the Cherokee spouse and any children in order of their ages. Their ages were not actually recorded, only their ‘order’ of birth. These postal districts were Canadian, Delaware, Flint, Going Snake, Illinois, Saline, Skin Bayou, Tahlequah, and a Disputed Roll for non-residents.

*Dawes Roll 1898-1914* Currently, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (western band) used the Dawes Roll for new members. In order to apply for Tribal Membership or a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Certified Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) card, you must have a direct ancestor on the Final Dawes Roll (your ancestor was issued a Dawes Roll number and their degree of Indian blood (blood quanta) must have been recorded. They require you to produce certified state original birth or death certificates to connect yourself to that ancestor. Each of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole) had similar Dawes Rolls taken at about the same time, and recorded the same type of information. Most of these Tribes have similar requirements for a person to apply for Tribal Membership. Being ‘on the Dawes Roll’ is typically what is meant if you say your ancestors were “On The Roll”, because it was the most important Roll of the Western branch of the Cherokee Nation. This Roll was open to survivors and descendants of the Old Settlers Roll of 1851 (descendants of the Emigration Roll of 1817) and the Drennen Roll of 1852 (descendants of the Trail of Tears Roll of 1835). This list covers approximately 26,000 individuals and is divided into five sections …

*By Blood* - included Cherokee, Assimilated Osage, Assimilated Delaware, and Assimilated Shawnee.
*Intermarried Whites* - covered spouses that were either white or had blood quanta from another Tribe. This section was culled in 1814 to only list those that had been married to their Cherokee spouse prior to 1875.
*NewBorns* – taken in 1905 to cover children born after the registration cutoff date of 1902. Parents of these children had to have been previously registered under the By Blood section.
*Minors* – taken in 1906 and covered all Minor children (under the age of 18) that had not been previously registered. Parents and older siblings that attempted to enroll at this time, were Stricken from the Final Dawes Roll.
*FreedMen* – Free blacks, mulattoes, ex-slaves, Black Indians. Many of these people had Cherokee blood quanta, but were not allowed to report that information to the Dawes Commission.
(to be continued)

Early Records – What are the ROLLS? - Part 3

*The Siler Roll of 1851 and the Chapman Roll of 1852*

The Siler Roll is a listing of those Eastern Cherokees entitled to a per capita payment pursuant to an Act of Congress in 1850. The government had decided that the descendants of the Reservation Roll of 1817 had remained in Tennessee and Georgia long enough and their lease “for life’ had expired. Since most of the Cherokee Heads of House that had qualified for the Reservation Roll had been born between 1750 and 1800, this assumption was fairly accurate. The federal government was under pressure from the governors of Tennessee and Georgia to remove the last remaining Indians from the highly desirable ‘bottom land’ that was the best farming land, and make it available to white settlers and land speculators.

The government commissioned a man named Siler to go into the area, and using the survey maps prepared by Robert Armstrong in 1819 to 1820, identify the remaining Reservation Roll survivors and their descendants still living on the land. They were to be paid for their ‘improvements’ (cabins, plowed fields, orchards) and a fixed fee for their acreage. One square mile of farm land was 640 acres. Siler recorded 3,600 men, women and children, listing the location of their land by township, the ‘family number’, and the names, relationship, and ages of everyone of Cherokee blood in the family that had been born before 1850 and was still living at home. This Roll was completed in 1851.

In 1852, another man named Albert Chapman was sent to the area to pay these families for their land, based on the Siler Roll, and tell them to leave the area. Approximately 25% of these families then moved to Oklahoma to be near other members of their families. The other Cherokee families simply moved into the next county or the next state and ‘passed for white’. Chapman was able to locate and pay 2160 Eastern Cherokees from the Siler Roll. I have not seen a reasonable explanation as to what happened to the remaining 1440 Cherokees that were listed by Siler and not paid by Chapman. These were the last Rolls taken in the Old Cherokee Nation, except for North Carolina which will be the subject of another post.

*Old Settlers Roll of 1851 (Treaty of 1846)*

This Roll was comprised of the Cherokee families that had voluntarily migrated to Arkansas Territory as a result of the Emigration Roll of 1817. Some Cherokee families had migrated to this area prior to the Louisiana Purchase of 1804 and many others did not arrive until 1830. Some families had found the land unacceptable and since it was still in the hands of the Osage Tribe, war was still in progress. Some of these families returned to Tennessee or Kentucky, others moved to areas in Missouri and Kansas.

Those Cherokee families that remained in the prescribed area until 1851, were recorded on the Old Settlers Roll, which lists 3280 individuals. This group was also called the Treaty Party, as their leaders had signed the Treaty to cede Cherokee lands to the American government. The Old Settlers that had not received payments for their Cherokee land claims in 1817, were paid $270 in gold. Those Cherokees that had previously been paid received nothing. This Roll lists families by Postal District, starting with the Head of the House, and listing the Cherokee spouse and any children in order of their ages. Their ages were not actually recorded, only their ‘order’ of birth. These postal districts were Canadian, Delaware, Flint, Going Snake, Illinois, Saline, Skin Bayou, Tahlequah, and a Non-residents list.

(to be continued)

Early Records – What are the ROLLS? - Part 2

*Emigration Roll of 1817*

Families listed on this portion of this Treaty Roll were expected to voluntarily remove themselves and their families to Arkansas Territory. They were issued a horse, supplies, a rifle, provisions, $270 in gold, and a map for a self guided walking tour to Arkansas Territory, via Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, then cross the Mississippi River at the head waters, and turn south to follow the western bank of the Mississippi until they reached Fort Smith Arkansas.

1740 Cherokee families are listed on this section of the Treaty Roll. Not all of them completed the trip to Arkansas Territory, or else returned to the Old Cherokee Nation after they had arrived in Arkansas. These families were not recounted until the Old Settlers Roll of 1850 in Oklahoma Territory. Only 1466 Cherokee families that had been listed on the Emigration Roll were left in Oklahoma Territory by the time the Old Settlers Roll was taken. Other families had dropped off the trail along the way, bought farms, and ‘passed for white’. Fragments of these families are scattered throughout the Deep South and the Mid West.

One Cherokee leader, Chief John Ross, assembled a large group of followers and migrated to New Spain. They had been promised large land grants by the Mexican government in East Texas to form a Red Wall against further white settlers from America. This group of people later became known as the Texas Cherokees. Their existence was short lived, as Texas revolted against Mexico and tried to drive the Cherokees out of the New Republic.

*Henderson** Roll of 1835* (also known as the *Trail of Tears Roll*)

Some of the Cherokee families that had signed up for the Reservation Roll and the Emigration Roll changed their minds about leaving and stayed in the Old Cherokee Nation, believing in their leaders efforts to secure the Home Land through political efforts. In 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was signed by a handful of local Town Chiefs, which ceded the entire Cherokee Nation to the American government.

2760 Cherokee families, still living in the Old Cherokee Nation in 1835, were listed on the Henderson Roll for immediate removal under the Indian Removal Act. The US Army did not move in to enforce the removal until 1837. Many of the Cherokees listed on this Roll fled the forced removal into Alabama, Western Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

Those Cherokee families that fled into other states literally dropped off the federal radar and disappeared into the hills. The government had no mandate to remove the Indians from most of these other states or territories. There were never any Treaties with the Cherokees in these states, so their names do not appear on any Treaty Rolls. This makes them very hard to trace and the only traces that can be found are on the original Treaty Rolls listed above.

The Trail of Tears followed the same Army maps that led them on a land route through Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, across the Mississippi River at the head waters, and turn south to follow the western bank of the Mississippi until they reached Fort Smith Arkansas in New Indian Territory. Approximately 16,000 Cherokees started this march and approximately 4,000 did not complete the trip. Of this 4,000, many died from age, exposure, disease or starvation, and the others simply disappeared to become farmers along the way. By 1900, fragments of these families were scattered throughout the US, in every US State and Possession.

(to be continued)