The Great Great Grandparents
Preston H. Crawford, the great great grandfather of Ms. Warren, was the purported son of Jonathon Crawford and O.C. Smith. He was born about 1824 in Tennessee. On the 1850 US Census, he is found as Preston H. Crawfford, living in Eastern District, Bledsoe County, Tennessee with his wife, children and Margaret Graham, 6 years old, relationship unknown; race listed as white.* He was found on the 1860 US Census as Preston H. Crauford, living in Hooker, Laclede County, Missouri, with his wife and children; race listed as white.* He had two land patents issued to him in 1862, in Laclede County, Missouri. He was found on the US Civil War Draft Registration Records, 1863 - 1865, living in Laclede County, Missouri; race listed as white.He was found on the 1870 US Census living in Hooker, Laclede County, Missouri, with his children; race listed as white. His wife Edith died in 1871. He married Sarah S. Rice on October 12, 1875.Sarah Harlin, the great great grandmother of Chief Baker, was the daughter of Eli Harlin and Delilah Alberty. She was born about 1824. In 1851, she was listed on the Cherokee Old Settler Roll, Flint 23. In 1880, she was listed on the Authenticated roll of the Cherokee Nation under the name of Sarah Tacket, page 329, number 2707, Native Cherokee. In 1896, she was found on the Cherokee Census roll under the name Sarah Tackett, page 1255, number 3400. In 1896, she was also found in the Cherokee Old Settler roll, page 460. In 1902-06, she was found on the Final Dawes Roll as Cherokee by Blood, 1/2, census card 6402, roll number 15325. She was found on the 1910 US Census listed as Sarah Tocket, living in Crittenden, Cherokee County, Oklahoma with her son-in-law, her daughter, her grandchildren and her grand daughter-in-law; race listed as Indian.
Ebenezer B. Walker, great great grandfather of Chief Baker, was the son of Jack Walker and Nancy Bushyhead. He was born in Cherokee Nation East and in 1851 was listed on the Drennen Roll, Tahlequah 260. He died January 1871.
Now we are seeing a very clear pattern develop. We are back to the great great grandparent generation, and Ms. Warren's ancestors are still only being found as white in the documents. On the other hand, Chief Baker's ancestors are found as Cherokee Indians. And notice that even though Sarah Harlin was born in 1834 and Indian, there are plenty of records to document both her existence and the fact she was Cherokee. We have 6 sources for her and all verify she is Cherokee even though many people wrongly assume records are harder to find if your ancestor was Indian/Cherokee.
Since the forced removal of the Cherokees was in 1838, we have gotten back to that time with both families. Preston H. Crawford was born approximately fourteen years before the forced removal and Sarah Harlin was born about four years before the removal.
The Crawford family was always listed as white in the records and remained in the east after the forced removal of the Cherokees. The Harlin family was always living among Cherokees and always listed as Indians. These two families are clearly found listed differently in the records.
In Elizabeth Warren's family, we have gotten to approximately 1824, fourteen years prior to the removal of the Cherokees from the east and there is no indication of Indian blood or association with the Cherokees through her Crawford line, the line she claims to be Cherokee through. That means we have gone back about 188 years and still not found a Cherokee.
Stay tuned for Part 3, where we discuss more about Ms. Warren's ancestry.
Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.
*Often when the race was white, the race section was left blank.
copyright 2012, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB
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I fully support your efforts here, and am fascinated by the detailed genealogical and historical information you present.
ReplyDeleteI recently wrote on the subject myself:
http://trueliberalnexus.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/elizabeth-warrens-struggle-with-truth/
including information found here. I hope that I fairly presented the facts and your concerns, and if not, will gladly amend my article accordingly.
Best of luck!
I'm part Cherokee, too, and Osage, or so the story in my family goes. Should I try to prove it to you? I don't think so. I saw reference to your blog in a New Yorker piece making fun of what you are doing. I can't help wondering whether you understand the position you put yourself in by writing defamatory articles, of a rather silly nature, about a current political candidate.
ReplyDeleteMr. Lee,
DeleteI can't help wondering whether you understand what you are talking about. Evidently not, as you seem to be participating in the defamation. You are part of the problem, that of everyone having the "right" to call themselves whatever they want. Doesn't make it true.
Of course you don't have to show Twila or anyone "proof," because frankly, for one, I don't think you have any, and for two, I'm pretty certain you haven't done any research into your "part Cherokee" (or Osage) heritage. You heard the family story and accept it as true, truth be damned.
What you or anyone who takes this position don't understand is that being Cherokee is not a blood issue. To be called Cherokee, one must be a citizen of one of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes. To become a citizen of one of these tribes, one must show documentary proof. Neither you nor Elizabeth Warren can do that, therefore, neither of you can say you are Cherokee. YOU perhaps could claim Cherokee heritage, IF you were to do some research and find a direct ancestor on one of the many Cherokee rolls, records or other documentation.
Gregory, how is anything written here defamatory? It's a shame that you consider protecting one's ancestors, history, culture and sovereignty to be silly.
ReplyDeleteTerrific work, especially showing the range of documents in which Cherokee and Indian status were recorded, and the historical differences about territory and location, and events occurring at different periods. Very useful facts - as you said, you showed how one family lived as Cherokee and another as white.
ReplyDelete