Madness Monday - The Standards For Sound Genealogical Research apply to Cherokee Genealogy Too

I have been taking a break from this blog in order to research and work on some other projects concerning Cherokees, but due to some recent comments, I think it is important to start writing here again on a regular basis. It is apparent some people simply do not understand exactly what makes one Cherokee. In my mind, it is pretty simple...one must descend from a Cherokee in order to be Cherokee, but some people just don't seem to get it. The fact that people want to do their Cherokee genealogy without following the Standards For Sound Genealogical Research drives me "mad"!

People offer all sorts of "proof" to show they are or someone else is Cherokee. They say their family escaped the Trail of Tears or hid out to avoid removal. They say their family refused to enroll. They say they speak the language, know the customs or follow the traditions. One reader even said it was obvious Johnny Depp was Native American because he directed and starred in a movie called "The Brave", has an Indian tattoo and has constantly spoke of his ancestry since early in his career. Probably the craziest thing I have heard came from a woman who insisted her grandmother was Cherokee because she was a mystic and wore moccasins!

Maybe to some, these claims sound logical, but to anyone who knows and understands Cherokee history, true Cherokee history, these claims are absurd. They don't understand that, even if their family did escape the Trail of Tears, hide out to avoid removal, or refused to enroll, their ancestors would still be found on earlier rolls. They don't understand that speaking the language, knowing customs or following traditions are things that can be learned by anyone and offers no proof of ancestry. They don't understand that there is no law preventing a white man from claiming to be Indian, starring in and directing a movie about Indians or from getting an Indian tattoo. They don't understand that these New Age beliefs and hippie-like attire are not Cherokee. And, they don't understand that Cherokee genealogy is exactly the same as any other genealogy. It must be verified and supported with evidence.

If you are one of those people who believes you will never be able to verify your Cherokee ancestry because there are no records or because the records were lost or the records burned up in a fire, I urge you to learn some actual Cherokee history instead of listening to what others say. The Cherokee people are possibly the most documented group of people in the United States and one of the most documented in the world. I have said it before and I will say it again, Cherokee genealogy is extremely easy and in my opinion, easier than the genealogy of whites. After all, the government kept track of Indians. Whites were allowed to move about and do whatever they wanted without the government recording it or keeping track of them.

In closing, I would like to share a few truths --- There are 30+ rolls of the Cherokee people dating back to before the forced removal. There are rolls with the names of those who did not remove from the east on the Trail of Tears. Not enrolling on the Dawes Roll was not an option - people were arrested and forced to enroll or informants gave the information for them. Because of the previous rolls, the Dawes Commission knew who to look for and inquire about. If your family is not found on any of the rolls of the Cherokee people, then there is only one logical conclusion to make - they were NOT Cherokee. All the other claims and reasons people give (many listed above) don't hold water and certainly don't adhere to the Standards For Sound Genealogical Research. The ONLY thing that makes one Cherokee is decent from a real Cherokee who is found in the historical documentation of the Cherokee Nation. Basing your genealogy on anything else means you are writing a work of fiction based on what you want to believe rather than what the evidence shows. "Genealogy without proof is mythology."

Those are my thoughts for the day,
Thank you for reading,

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2010, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Ancestor Stealers

Recently, I have noticed a new trend among those claiming Cherokee ancestry--"ancestor stealers". Instead of providing a well researched, documented family tree to verify their ancestry, quite a few people are now basing their "Cherokee ancestry" on fabricated family trees. These trees quite often have the names of real Cherokees in them, but there is no connection between the Cherokee and the person who put the tree together.

For example, I saw a tree this week from a person who claimed to be the descendant of the well known Cherokee Nancy Ward. At first glance, the line of direct descendants seemed fine, until you noticed that Nancy Bean, a real descendant of Nancy Ward, was listed as the mother of William E. Bean., the tree creator's great great grandfather. The problem with that information is that all of Nancy Bean's children had the surname Johnson, her married surname. The family is extremely well documented and Nancy Bean Johnson had no son named William, let alone one named William E. Bean.

Normally, I might think the mistake was an honest one, but in this case, I don't believe it was. The woman the tree belonged to is touting herself as a person who is revitalizing and teaching the Eastern Cherokee language dialect. She gets involved in anything she sees online that says it is Cherokee. Her daughter has won an essay award meant for Native American children and has started crafting Indian style items. This woman has several fabricated family trees online where she makes it look as if she does descend from a Cherokee from very distant history. It seems no matter what it takes, she is going to try to convince people she is a Cherokee.

Often I am asked why we Cherokee people get so mad about wannabes. Well, the example above is one of those reasons. Unless you are truly a Native American, I don't think most people can begin to understand the length some frauds will go to in order to try to claim to be one of us. We understand that there are some people who truly just want to learn their ancestry, but we are also aware of many people who don't care what their actual ancestry is--they are going to claim to be Cherokee, no matter what they have to do--even if that means stealing someone else's ancestors and claiming them. This makes the true descendants of that person angry.

If you are researching your ancestry looking for verification of a Cherokee family story, please only use information that you can support with documentation. Be extremely wary of ANY family tree you find online. You don't know where that information came from and you don't know the goal of the person who posted that tree. Even if they are not an "ancestor stealer", they could be very bad at genealogical research.

No matter who your ancestors were, whether they were Cherokee or other, they deserve to be remembered and honored by you. By claiming someone other than those you actually descend from, not only will you be an "ancestor stealer" but also denying your true ancestors the place in your family history they deserve.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2010, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

The Dawes Roll is Not the Only Proof

Often times, people will claim they are Cherokee, but they can never prove it because their ancestors are not on the Dawes Roll. They claim their ancestors hid from the Dawes Commission and refused to be enrolled. Or, they claim their family escaped the Trail of Tears and hid out or passed as white. To some, these stories may seem logical or realistic, but to those knowledgeable in Cherokee history, those stories seem absurd. There is so much documentation on the Cherokee people throughout history, it would be nearly impossible for one not to have been recorded as Cherokee on some document or roll. Recently, my friend, David Cornsilk, responded on a message board to a person (CR) who seems to think the Dawes Roll is the only document containing any information about Cherokee ancestry and also believes (his words, not mine) "those who ... ... followed the Dawes commission around like a dog hoping to get some land have descendants who get to claim to be Cherokee."

To this, David responded with, "There were many full bloods, some of my ancestors included, who refused to enroll on the Dawes Roll. They followed Redbird Smith's orders and avoided enrollment; at least until their neighbors testified for them. I think the point that CR is trying to make, which is only partially correct, is that some Cherokees did not get on the Dawes Roll. This we know is factual. However, just because something happened in the past does not mean it happened to his ancestors.

There are many tragedies and triumphs of the Cherokee people. The names of our ancestors do not just appear on the Dawes Roll. They appear on the 1896, 1894, 1890, 1880, 1876, 1851 (3 rolls in that year alone), 1835 and 1817 rolls. There are a number of other documents created inbetween that list the names of Cherokees living at those times. There are documents from the early 1800s including missionary records that mention the names of Cherokees whose descendants are among those enrolled in subsequent years. My ancestors are nobody special. Just your average Cherokees. Yet their names appear on EVERY roll and in every document. My blood kin through collateral lineages are listed throughout the Cherokee records. That is how it is for real Cherokees.

On the other hand, the fakes, not naming any names, find absolutely no ancestors or kin of any kind among our people no matter what record we look at or how far back in time we go. The bottom line here is proof. And whether CR or anyone else dislikes the Dawes Roll because their ancestors names do not appear there is not important. That Roll, despite whatever flaws it may have is OUR history, our record, the names of OUR ancestors appear there. And the same can be said for every Cherokee record that predates it. Those records belong to us because the Cherokee tribe of Indians belongs to us and none other.

Fakes and wannabes claim their ancestors were hiding from the Dawes Commission, then I ask where are the names of your ancestors in any record that would have alerted the Dawes Commission to search for them? They claim their ancestors remained east of the Mississippi after the Trail of Tears. Yet my ancestor Collins McDonald, his in-laws (who were Cherokees), his Cherokee wife and his Cherokee children actually did remain in Georgia. They appear in numerous records, not passing themselves as whites, although they could have. They were living as Cherokees and their names appear in the 1848 and 1851 Rolls of Eastern Cherokees, just the same as all the other Cherokees who remained. Yet the fakers and wannabes have no ancestors on those rolls. Why? Because their ancestors were not Cherokees!

Before the Trail of Tears a roll was made that lists 16,000 Cherokees who were destined to be removed. Again, my ancestors names are there, the fakers who claim their ancestors jumped off the Trail of Tears are nowhere to be found. In the early 1800s missionaries came among our people to educate our ancestors and convert them to Christianity. They made copious notes in journals of the children they taught and the families they met. My ancestors are mentioned throughout those journals. My ancestors are listed as students in the mission schools in Georgia in 1820. Are the fakers and wannabes listed? No, their ancestors cannot be found there.

Logic does not reign supreme in the mind of the wannabe. They twist our history and torture the names of our ancestors to fit their own family scenarios. They invent parents for Cherokees long since dead who cannot protest this bastardization of their family names. The fakes call out names such as Moytoy the first through the fifth, Great Eagle, Tamedoe, Cornblossom and other blasphemous corruptions of our ancestral heritage to make themselves appear to be Cherokees, and all of this without so much as a shred of evidence to connect themselves to a Cherokee, let alone a Cherokee to the fabricated names they force upon us.

If any part of our heritage belongs to the fakers and wannabes it is the heritage of theft that has left the Cherokee Indian landless and poverty stricken. Ethnic Identity Theft is the ultimate form of genocide. The white people and their descendants who invaded and colonized our homeland in the Southeast are no longer happy with just owning the land we once called home. Now they must rise up and steal our name."

So my fellow genealogists, the next time you hear someone give a reason as to why they cannot prove they are Cherokee, think about the information David shared with us. If a person cannot find one iota of evidence to support their family story, then it is highly unlikely they have any Cherokee ancestry at all. It is just that plain and simple.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

**A very special thank you to David Cornsilk for allowing me to use his writing.

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Are You Sure That is Your Ancestor?

Recently I have received quite a few messages from people who say they are Cherokee and that they found their ancestor or ancestors on the Dawes Roll. So far, none of these people were right in their assumptions. These people made the very common mistake of assuming a person with the same name as their ancestor was their ancestor.

Finding a name on a Dawes Roll index listing that matches the name of your ancestor does not mean much. Too many people have heard a story they were Cherokee so they go straight to the Dawes Roll index and search for any name that matches one of their ancestors. This is the wrong way to go about Cherokee research.

First, you must know when your ancestor was born and when they died. If they died in 1885, then they will NOT be listed on the Dawes Roll. If they were born in 1922, they will NOT be listed on the Dawes Roll. A person MUST have been alive in 1902 at the time the Dawes Roll closed in order to be found on it. People listed on the Dawes Roll must have been living in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. If your ancestor was living anywhere else, then they are not on the Dawes Roll.

There are some minors (children of Dawes enrollees) who were born after 1902 who are listed on the Dawes Roll, but their parents are listed on the Dawes Roll and the family of these children had been living in the Cherokee Nation for years and years before the Dawes Roll. So, if your ancestor was born in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory in 1905, but his parents were born in Illinois in 1880 and the grandparents were born in Pennsylvania, your ancestor will not be found on the Dawes Roll. The fact that your ancestor was born in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory means nothing in terms of Cherokee ancestry. At that time, the whites in Indian Territory far outnumbered the Indians.

After reviewing everything about your ancestor, if you learn they were born in Cherokee Nation and living in 1902 and their family had always been in Cherokee Nation, then, and only then, you may want to review an online index to see if your ancestor is listed on the Dawes Roll. IF you find a name that matches that of your ancestor, then you will need to obtain the application the person listed on the Dawes Roll made. That should give you enough information to determine whether the person listed on the Dawes Roll is really your ancestor. Happy hunting.

Those are my thoughts for the day.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Monday Madness - The Cherokee Carey Surname

Cherokee families did not always have surnames, so figuring out why they sometimes have a particular surname can be a rather daunting task. The origin of my Cherokee family surname Carey is no different. Though many times, a white man would marry into the tribe and his descendants would take his surname, this does not seem to be the case with my Careys. I am not saying it isn't a possibility, I am just saying at this point in time, documentation does not suggest that is the way the family came to have that name.

Of course, we have a family story about why our Indian family came to have an Irish surname, but I do not base my genealogy on family stories, so I have put that aside and I depend on what I can find as evidence through documentation and other sources. And, of course, as sometimes the fact with any genealogical research, it has only served to drive me crazy or "mad". I often feel as if I am dancing around in a circle, and the answer is just out of my reach. The answer is there and I am close, but I just can't put my finger on it yet. UGH..............

What I know about this Cherokee Carey family and surname is IF you descend from anyone who was considered a full blood and a Cherokee Carey at the time of Dawes, then you are a descendant of Mike Carey and his wife, Nancy Tucker. There is no doubt about this. All evidence and documentation of these Careys leads back to those two people. There is a mixed blood Cherokee Carey line who got their surname from a white man, but there is no known connection between that family and mine.

I also know that all of the full blood Cherokee Careys originate, at least at the time of the Dawes Roll, from the 14 Mile Creek/Melvin/Lost City area in Oklahoma. The descendant lines may have moved around a bit, but the origins of their family came from those areas along 14 Mile Creek.

Mike Carey, the first I have found to have used the surname Carey, arrived in Indian Territory as part of one of the removal detachments. I don't know when he arrived or who he traveled with, but know he traveled the infamous "Trail of Tears" because he is listed on the 1852 Drennen Roll. By 1852, he was an adult with his own family, so I am not able to connect him with his parents through that roll. Per one of his children's Guion Miller applications, he was born in North Carolina. Though interesting and nice to know, that information has not yet allowed me to connect him to his parents and I don't know if it ever will. One child of his listed a paternal grandfather named Dick Ah-cawk on his Miller app, but that "name" offers little in solving the mystery of who the parents were of Mike Carey or how our surname came to be.

At this point in time, it seems Mike Carey might have been the first of my Cherokee ancestors in that line to have used the surname Carey, since this surname associated with my line of Careys seems to (going backward) stop with him. Some evidence I have found suggests his siblings took different surnames which were used by their descendants. This would mean I could have many collateral lines that have never been connected to my family yet. It also might give some evidence which would suggest this Cherokee Carey surname family story might be true. But, without further evidence or documenation, I am not ready to say that yet.

I just thought I would share a part of my genealogy research that is driving me "mad". Cherokee genealogy, like any other, is not always easy and we don't find the answers overnight, but with patience and thorough research, the truth can be found. And as lovely and as heartwarming as family stories can be, remember what they say - genealogy without proof is mythology! As interesting as my family story is and as easy as it would be to just accept it as true, it would be a disservice to my descendants to pass such information to them without some type of documentation or evidence to verify it.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Unusual For Who? Cherokee Family Names - 1904

Below is a list of Cherokee family names listed in a 1904 newspaper article. According to the article, the names are unusual, but in my opinion, that means they are unusual for whites, but not for Cherokees. I believe most who can prove they descend from the historical Cherokee Nation will find some, if not many, of these names in their ancestry or family tree. I have at least seven of these names in my family.

Acorn
Beanstick
Bearpaw
Birdchopper
Bullfrog
Buzzard
Buzzardflopper
Bean
Bearclaw
Bushyhead
Blackbird
Coon
Corntassel
Cornsilk
Cloud
Cricket
Candy
Carselowey
Duckwell
Deer-in-the-water
Dirteater
Dirtpot
Doublehead
Deerskin
Fox
Fivekiller
Featherhead
Fence
Falling
Fallingbuzzard
Gettingdown
Grapevine
Grass
Glory
Grease
Groundhog
Hogshooter
Hatchet
Hare
Hummingbird
Hitcher
Horsefly
Hawk
Heart
Kingfisher
Locust
Muskrat
Mouse
Mixedwater
Noisywater
Nakedhead
Oldfield
Pumpkin
Polecat
Pegg
Paun
Pidgeon
Rabbit
Redbird
Risingfawn
Rattlinggourd
Raven
Roastingear
Squirrel
Swimmer
Starr
Sevenstar
Soap
Sixkiller
Scarcewater
Soldier
Spoon
Springfrog
Sittingdown
Spade
Sweetwater
Trottingwolf
Terrapin
Treekiller
Trickeater
Tadpole
Tincup
Tail
Tehee
Tiger
Whirlwind
Walkingstick
Youngbird
Yellowbird

This is just a list I found in a newspaper article and thought I would share them. It is in no way a complete list of Cherokee family names.

Those are my thoughts for today,
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

(Source - Lincoln Evening News; Lincoln, Nebraska; December 13, 1904; p. 3; "Queer Cherokee Names")

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Currently Researching These Surnames

The Cherokee family names I am currently researching are Tucker, Keener (or Kenah), Birdchopper, Scott, Henson, Whitekiller, Shade and Cochran. These families were all from the Lost City/Melvin/Hulbert area at the time of the Dawes/Miller Rolls. Not all are related to each other and not all are related to me. If anyone is researching these family names and needs help, contact me and I will be glad to help if I can. Also, if anyone has information about these families they would like to share, that is always welcome!

Thank you.
Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Stealing the Identity of Indians

On my father's side, I have ancestors who immigrated to the United States from Germany. I don't speak German and I don't know anything about German history other than the few things I have learned from world history classes. When my German ancestors left their native country to become citizens of the United States, they had to renounce their citizenship to their old country and swear their allegiance to their new one. By doing so they not only forfeited their own citizenship and rights to their native country, but also that of all their descendants.

What if I decided I wanted to be German, but since the government there would not recognize me as a citizen, I started my own nation called "The German Nation of the United States"? What if I sold citizenship cards to other people who were also not accepted as German citizens? What if I and my fellow "Germans" started having gatherings where the public was invited to share in our versions of German culture and learn our versions of German traditions? What if we sang songs in our version of the German language? What if we told our family stories and said they were part of German history even though those stories were in direct contrast to actual German history? What if we said we were the "free Germans" who refused to be held under the iron fist of Hitler or any other German government? What if we petitioned the United Nations for recognition as our own nation? Would this be absurd? Of course it would. Would it be an insult to real German people? Of course it would. If someone did something like that, it would be viewed as terribly wrong and people everywhere would oppose it.

If it is wrong to do this to a recognized nation in the world, then why is it okay to do it to a federally recognized Indian nation? Federal recognition is not something handed out willy nilly by the government. Recognition is a legal term that means the United States recognizes a government-to-government relationship with a tribe. Tribes exist politically in a “domestic dependent nation status” with the government of the United States. Federally recognized tribes have historical interactions with the United States through treaties and agreements. These tribes must also have continuous American Indian identity in a distinct community. In other words, these tribes, as a whole, must have continuously identified as American Indian and lived in a geographically defined community that was specific to that tribe.

For Cherokees, this means after the forced removal, one had to be living either in Indian Territory or among the Eastern Cherokees in North Carolina. There were no other Cherokee communities in the United States that had a government to government relationship with the United States. Any former citizens of the historical Cherokee Nation had renounced their citizenship and had become citizens of the United States, just like any other person who had left the nation of their birth. This means they not only forfeited their own citizenship and rights to the Cherokee Nation, but also the citizenship and rights of all their descendants.

There are only three federally recognized Cherokee tribes in the United States, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. But, there are over 200 fake Cherokee tribes masquerading as authentic Indians. These fake tribes are often composed of people who have no documented connection to the historical Cherokee Nation. Despite this, these people claim to be Cherokee and start their own "tribes" since they are not accepted by any of the three authentic tribes.

These "tribes" offer membership with little to no proof of any Cherokee ancestry required. They hold gatherings and pow wows where they "teach" their ideas of Cherokee history and tradition. They sing in bad versions of the Cherokee language and tell their family stories as if they are actually part of Cherokee history even though there is no proof to verify what they claim. These "tribes" call themselves the free, disenfranchised or lost Cherokee. Often the people in these tribes claim their ancestors refused to "sign the roll" or refused to bow down to the government. These tribes clog up the federal recognition process with their attempts to become accepted and recognized as Cherokees. Is this absurd? Of course it is. Is this an insult to real Cherokee people? Of course it is. But, people do this all the time and few people, other than real Cherokees, see anything wrong with it.

Well, there is something wrong with it. These people are making money by impersonating Indians and in my opinion, it is both morally and criminally wrong. After all, if I made money by pretending to be a well known person, I would probably be arrested for criminal impersonation. These fake tribes should be no different.

The authentic Cherokee tribes are made up of descendants of those listed on either the Dawes or Baker Rolls. Those rolls include the names of citizens who stayed with their nations; helped clear and farm their nations' land; helped build their nations' businesses and schools; participated in their nations' governments; and defended their nations in times of war and unrest. Through their loyalty to their nations, those Cherokee citizens paid the price for their descendants to have the right to call themselves Cherokee. No one else has that right. In the past, everyone wanted to steal our land. Now they want to steal our identity. What is next? Our first born child? Oh, wait, that's been done already..........When will these crimes against Indians stop?

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Surname Saturday - The Cherokee Fishers

My great great great grandfather, Johnson Fisher, was the first generation of my Fisher ancestors to use that surname. On the 1852 Drennen Roll, he was listed simply as Johnson. His father was listed as Fisher. No surnames were attached to either of them. By the time the two men enlisted and fought with the 3rd Regiment of the Indian Home Guard, they were using the names Fisher Hatchet and Johnson Fisher. As you can see, Johnson Fisher took the first name of his father as his surname. This was a common practice among the Cherokees when asked for a surname. Since he was Johnson, the son of Fisher, he became Johnson Fisher on records recorded by English speakers. Later, when the children of Johnson Fisher applied for the Guion Miller Roll, each stated the name of their father was Johnson Fisher and the name of their paternal grandfather was Fisher Hatchet.

To people who are used to researching their ancestors who always used both a given name and a surname, they assume it is nearly impossible to trace Cherokee ancestry. This is not true. There are many records of the citizens of the Cherokee Nation. Sometimes family groups are listed on the rolls or censuses. The Old Settler Payment rolls list the names of a person's heirs and the relationship the heir had to the original payee. The Guion Miller applications often have both the Cherokee and English names of the parents and grandparents of the applicant. Sometimes even the names of aunts, uncles and cousins are listed.

Often times, people will claim to have Cherokee ancestry but then say they can't prove it because there are no records. Hopefully by sharing the history of my Cherokee surname Fisher, I have helped dispell that myth. I have tried to show how our Cherokee ancestors can be traced, even when the family did not follow the traditional naming conventions of the English. It may take a little more time and require a little more work, but Cherokee genealogy is not impossible.

Those are my thoughts for the day.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Tombstone Tuesday - In Cherokee - Alsie Sanders

Cherokee baby - Alsie Sanders

This stone is in the Cherokee font. About 70-75 years ago, Looney Henson translated the stone to his niece. He told her the stone said "Alsie Sanders, daughter of Joe and Maudie Sanders." Alsie was a baby when she died. The stone is very small -- only about 12 - 18 inches tall.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Can you tell by looking?

"I have a picture of my great great grandma and you can tell she is Cherokee by looking at her. She has long black hair and high cheek bones." I have heard this more than once and I bet you have too. Often times, people who have family stories of Cherokee blood use the "you can tell by looking" line when all the documentation says their ancestors were white. Like I have said before, I have seen full blood Cherokees, mixed blood Cherokees and whites my whole life. I can't tell by looking who does and who does not have Cherokee Indian blood and I don't think most other people can either. So, today, I have set up a quiz called "Find the Cherokee Indians". All you have to do is look at the picture of the person and then decide whether you think they have Cherokee Indian blood or not.




How do you think you did?

There are 10 pictures of people who were listed as Cherokee by Blood on the Final Dawes Roll. Those people are found in pictures B, F, R, S, T, V, Y, Z, AA, and FF.

There are 13 pictures of people who descend from someone listed as Cherokee by Blood on the Final Dawes Roll. Those people are found in pictures C, H, I, J, K, M, N, O, P, Q, U, BB, and CC.

There is one picture of a person who died before the Final Dawes Roll, but her descendants are found on the Dawes Roll as Cherokee by Blood. That person is found in picture D.

The people mentioned in the three groups above are the only people in the pictures who have Cherokee Indian blood.

The people in pictures A, DD and EE are white. The people in pictures G and L are Creek. Those in pictures E, W, and X are Yankton Sioux.

Hopefully, this little quiz helped show you CANNOT tell one's heritage or nationality by looking at them. And you sure can't tell that your ancestor was Cherokee from a picture! If you want to find your true family heritage, it is best to put the family stories aside as well as the pictures. Dig into historical documents such as census records, tribal rolls and immigration papers to determine the race or nationality of your ancestors. That will be a lot more accurate than a guess based on what you think your ancestor looks like from a picture.

Those are my thoughts for the day.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

My Cherokee Ancestor Passed for White

My ancestor was Cherokee, but they passed for white so they are always recorded as white in the records. This is a statement often made by people trying to prove their family story of Cherokee ancestry. Often times, these people claim the Cherokee ancestor was "a full blood" passing for white. When I hear these claims, I wonder if the person making the claim has ever seen a real full blood, because if they had, they would realize how absurd their claim is. I have seen full bloods, mixed bloods and whites my whole life. I have never seen a full blood who could pass himself off as a white person and be believed. I have also seen quite a few mixed bloods who could never pass for white.

Many of these stories are also based on an ancestor who lived in the South. Knowing the racial divisiveness of the South through- out history should wave a red flag about these stories. It would not matter what a person wanted to try to pass themselves off as, it would matter how they were seen and accepted in the community. It is very unlikely that the whites of that time would accept anyone, Indian or African American, as white. It is also unlikely that a census enumerator would record a person of color as white. If your ancestor is repeatedly recorded as white on the US census, they very likely were white.

It is important for us, as researchers, to base our genealogy on facts, not hearsay. Though family stories are interesting and heartwarming, they are not always based in truth. If your family has one of these stories about a Cherokee ancestor who passed for white, it is best to set the story aside and simply follow the standard and accepted methods of genealogy which means you work from yourself backwards basing your findings on documentation and facts. It is important to do your own research and not depend on what others find or post on the internet.

Always be skeptical about information from people who have a strong desire to prove their Cherokee ancestry rather than their ancestry, whatever it might be. Often times, these people suggest their hard to research ancestor was "the Indian". These are the people who argue against facts and historical documentation. They are people who refuse to accept a family story is just that......... a story........no matter what evidence you provide to show otherwise. Cherokee genealogy message boards and mailing lists are filled with these people. If you take advise from someone on such a board, I would recommend you make sure the person you are taking advice from has knowledge and experience in Cherokee genealogy.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for listening.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

*Note - All the photos in this post are of known and documented full blood Cherokee Indians.
Tweet

Cherokee Genealogy - Part 3

There are lots of places to find more information about your Cherokee ancestors. I have already posted information about the Dawes and Miller roll applications, but I wanted to share some other sources I have used to find additional information on my family.

If you know you are Cherokee and have ancestors listed on the Dawes Roll, you should find those ancestors listed on the 1900 US Census as living in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. This is the first US Census that included the Cherokee Nation. If you don't know if your family is listed on the Dawes Roll, then you should pay particular attention to where your family was living on the 1900 US Census. If they were not living in Cherokee Nation, then they most likely are not going to be found on the Dawes Roll. Since the Dawes Roll listed those who were citizens of the Cherokee Nation, only those living in the nation legally are included on it. Any Cherokee who might have left the nation prior to the Dawes Roll will not be listed. Any intruder who was not a legal citizen will not be listed on it. If anyone needs a look up on the 1900 US Census, I have a link in my sidebar where you can post a query and get a FREE look up.

Two of my personal favorite sites to search for information on my Cherokee ancestors are The Doris Duke Collection and The Indian-Pioneer Papers which are which are part of the University of Oklahoma Western History Collections. I usually just enter the surname of the family I am researching and it pulls up several interviews. Of course, they are not always about my ancestors, but sometimes they are. I found an interview by a traveling preacher who said my great great grandfather was the "best Indian friend he ever had". I also found an interview that told about a man that had a falling out with one of my ancestors. The man went to kill him and my ancestor killed him instead! Though none of that information really helps complete the data in my family tree, it did give me insight into the life and times of my family.

Some of my most helpful information has come from Cherokee elders who lived in the same areas of my family. I don't "interview" them, per se, but just visit with them about my family. I do take notes, and sometimes have a list of questions I want to ask them, but not always. Usually once we get the conversation started, the information just starts flowing. I always knew my great grandma's mother died young, but had no idea why she died. While talking to an elder one day, she made a comment about how sad it was my great grandma never knew her mother who had died in childbirth. That was when I finally solved the mystery of my great great grandmother's death! About eighteen months after my great grandma was born, her mother died in childbirth with the next child. If I had not talked with this Cherokee elder, I might have never solved that mystery.

Some other places I have found a little information on my family are The History of the Cherokee Indians by Emmet Starr and articles from The Cherokee Advocate. If you get lucky, you might find something about an ancestor in Gideon's Indian Territory Biographies (not a full list). Sometimes you can even find a tidbit of info in the Chronicles of Oklahoma. All of these sources are free or fairly low cost (the cost of a phone call to an elder or the cost of copies of an article) and worth checking. So, have fun searching and let me know if you have a question or need help.

Those are my thoughts for the day.
Thank you for listening.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

Tweet

Not Enrolling = Not An Option

Often times, people who cannot prove their Cherokee ancestry claim their ancestor refused to enroll. Apparently these people do not understand that such claims are completely false. The real Cherokees were enrolled whether they wanted to participate in allotment or not. Some were arrested and forced to enroll while others were enrolled against their will by those in their own communities.

Since I know someone will come along and dispute what I write, I decided to show what lengths the government would go to in order to get those true heirs to the Cherokee Nation to enroll. The following is a news story that appeared in several newspapers around the country.

Musgogee, Ind. T., March 16--Rather than submit to a hair cut eight full-blood Cherokee Indians, arrested yesterday, charged with being in contempt of the federal court, today enrolled before the Dawes Commission. These Indians are members of the Ketoowah society, composed of an element In the Cherokee nation opposed to enrollment. Last month Judge Raymond, of the United States territorial court, ordered them to present themselves for enrollment under pain of contempt. They disobeyed the order and were arrested and placed In the federal jail here. Last night the government officials pleaded with them to submit,but they declined stoutly. Redbird Smith their leader, making an impassioned speech in defense of their action. Argument had no avail and the order was issued today that each prisoner should have his hair cut. They were lined up to take their turn in the barber chair. When the first Indian had lost his hair the others broke down and signified their willingness to enroll.

That story shows that refusing to enroll was NOT an option. They were going to enroll all Cherokees whether the Cherokees wanted to be enrolled or not. I have been studying and researching Cherokee history and genealogy for a long time. I have never found anyone who is ineligible for registration with the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to have had an ancestor who should have been listed on the Dawes Roll but was left off of it. So, when someone says their Cherokee ancestor refused to enroll or was a "free Cherokee who answered to no government", it is a pretty sure bet, their ancestor were not entitled to enrollment in the first place.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for listening.

CC
The Granddaughter

(Source for the news article - The Atlanta Constitution; Atlanta, GA; March 17, 1902; p. 2) Transcription by Polly's Granddaughter.

Tweet

Cherokee Genealogy - Part 2

Probably the most valuable sources of genealogical information for your Cherokee ancestors are the Eastern Cherokee Applications, better known as the Guion Miller Roll. The applications consisted of at least four pages of family information as well as other documents, including some marriage records. Included in the four pages of information might be:

• date and place of birth of the applicant;
• name of spouse, if married;
• parents' English and Indian names;
• parents' date of death;
• place applicant or parents were living in 1851;
• other rolls applicant or parents were listed on;
• names, date of birth, date of death of the applicant's siblings;
• English and Indian names of applicant's grandparents;
• birthplaces of grandparents;
  
• the English and Indian names of the grandparents' children;
• sometimes the names of the applicant's children.
  

It is important to pay attention to the names and relationships of the people the applicant makes their claims through because these names could give clues to relationships not found anywhere else. Also, on the card at the beginning of the packet that says whether the applicant was accepted or rejected, there is usually a note telling who the applicant claimed through. If the note on the card says, "Applicant's father enrolled by Drennen 1851 Del 188", that means the father of the applicant was living in Delaware District, Group 188 on the 1851 Drennen Roll.

Sometimes the next card in the application might say "grouped with" followed by several other numbers. These are the numbers of other Guion Miller applications. You should look at each application in the "grouped with" list. Those applications may offer additional information on your family. Maybe your ancestor did not know the name of his grandfather, but his brother did. Maybe one sibling listed the Indian name of someone and the other sibling listed the English name. You never know exactly what you can learn from looking at all of the applications that are grouped together. On one application for a family member of mine, I found fourteen other applications that were grouped with it. Simply by knowing everyone who had claimed through my ggg grandfather, I was able to add several more branches to my family tree. I was also able to determine that everyone with his surname, listed at the time of Dawes as a full blood, was a descendant of his.

There are free index searches for the Guion Miller Roll on the internet, but none offer anything other than a name and number. There is no way to know if this is your ancestor or if they were accepted or rejected from these indexes. In order to get that information, you must have access to the application. I will do FREE Miller application lookups for anyone who requests one. Click the free lookup link in the side bar of this page and leave a query for the ancestor you are researching.

For additional information on the Guion Miller Roll, please see this page. From time to time, I will list additional resources to search for Cherokee family history and genealogical information so check back often for my future posts.

Those are my thoughts for the day.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter Tweet

Cherokee Genealogy - Part 1

I know my family was Cherokee and I know my family was listed on the Dawes Roll, but don't know how to do my genealogy. What do I need to do? This is a question that I was recently asked from a Cherokee friend of mine. He is an older man and is interested in learning more about his Cherokee ancestors, but not interested in reading through all the advice on the internet that is specifically intended for those who aren't sure whether their ancestors were Cherokee or not. He has his CDIB card and is registered with the CNO so figuring out "if" was not his question. Figuring out "who came before" is. If you are in the same situation, then hopefully the following information will be helpful to you.

Since you know your family is listed on the Dawes Roll, the first thing you should do is get those applications your family made. The Dawes applications provide varied information depending on the application. If a woman has married more than once and had children from each of those marriages, often times, you will find not only the names of her parents, but also the names of her former spouses, the father/s of her children. Usually you can also learn what names your ancestors were using in 1880 and 1896. It is important to get the entire application and review it to make sure the name you find on some of the online indexes is really your ancestor. There are many situations of "same name, different person", so do not assume anything until you verify it with further research and documentation.

My own family history and genealogy project grew out of the desire to record the information my grandpa had shared with us about his family. The first thing I did was write down all the family names I knew, which included my grandpa, his parents, his maternal grandparents and his paternal grandfather. I also knew the names of his maternal grandmother's brother and the name of another relative, Ellen or Ella Swimmer, but didn't know exactly how she was related.

After writing everything I knew down, then I got the Dawes applications for my grandpa's parents. Not only was I able to verify the information I already knew, I was able to learn the names of my grandpa's paternal grandmother and several of his aunts and uncles. After having that information, then I got the applications of my grandpa's grandparents, great grandparents and so on. Just from looking at the Dawes applications and following that paper trail, I was able to put together a simple, basic family tree of names and estimated dates. I also found some other valuable things in those applications, like my great grandmother's birth affidavit and my great great grandmother's death affidavit.

There are several places to get more information and/or to order the applications your family made for Dawes. Since genealogy can be expensive, I offer FREE Dawes application look ups. You can click on the link in my sidebar to the right to leave a query for the ancestor you are researching. Other places offer free searches on the index of the Final Roll that will give you the name, age, sex, blood, census card number, roll number and type. The easiest to use and the one I recommend is - Search the Final Dawes Roll. If you want to do your research in person, you can visit the Muskogee Public Library where they are very helpful.

After thoroughly researching the Dawes applications your family made, you will be then able to move on to the Miller applications, which are a gold mine of genealogical information. Those will be the topic of my next post, Cherokee Genealogy - Part 2.

Those are my thoughts for the day.
Thank you for listening.

CC
The Granddaughter

Tweet

Looking for Cherokee Ancestry

Contrary to popular belief, it is not extremely difficult to find a Cherokee ancestor if there is one. The Cherokees are most likely the best documented group of people there is. Often times, it is easier to trace a Cherokee ancestor than it is to trace a white one.

From my experience, if you are truly of Cherokee descent, you can prove it. If you cannot prove it by conventional genealogical methods, then you need to explore the idea that you very well might not have Cherokee blood. I often read people's family stories on Cherokee genealogy boards and those stories tend be in direct contrast with real Cherokee history. One thing I would recommend for anyone wanting to research the possibility of a Cherokee ancestor is to study the true history of the Cherokees and then see if your family story makes sense.

Things to pay attention to would be WHERE your family was living when they supposedly were Cherokee and the YEAR they were living there. Also if your family signed up for "something", what exactly did they sign up for? Where were they living when they signed up for such things? Remember, if your family has any connection with the Cherokee Nation, they MUST have been residing in the nation at some point in time, whether it was Cherokee Nation East or Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory.

Also be aware that when the Dawes Roll and Guion Miller rolls were being done, lawyers traveled around the country and told people that, for a small fee, they could get them Indian land or money. They said the Cherokees had no records so they would not be able to disprove the people's claims. Those lawyers were lying and knew there was little to no chance those people would be approved, but they were just out to swindle unsuspecting people. This explains why many people applied for either the Dawes or Miller Roll and then were eventually rejected. Many people wrongly assume that, because their family made an application for Indian land or money, then they were Indian but just could not prove it. This is absolutely NOT true.

There were many people who were simply frauds who were out to try to get "a piece of the pie". They weren't Indians and they didn't care about the Indians. All they cared about was trying to get something for nothing and they saw the Indians as an easy target falsely believing the Indians had no records. Though not a pretty side of history, it is a true part of history.

If you don't agree with what I am saying, then either you need to learn more about true and accurate Cherokee history or you are just not willing to accept the truth. My only goal is to share the accurate history of the Cherokee Nation, but I realize, like the old saying says, "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink." I know there are people, who until their dying breath, will cling to their family stories no matter how outrageous they might be. If you are one of those people, all I can say is, you can claim whatever you want and you can believe whatever you want, but no matter what you claim, without proof, will never make you a Cherokee.

Those are my thoughts for the day.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter
Tweet

What is a Cherokee? (Simple explanation)

Today, while browsing the internet for blogs I might be interested in reading, I stumbled across one for "Cherokees with No Tribal affiliation". Excuse me? Just like these mythological Cherokee grandmas, there is NO SUCH THING! Being Cherokee is not a racial thing, but a nationality thing. It is no different than being British, Italian or German. Either you are or you aren't. If you have no tribal affiliation, then you are not Cherokee. Plain and simple.

I am amazed that grown adults don't seem to understand this since my children were able to understand the concept at a very young age. Here is how I explained it to my kids.

At one point in time, there was a geographical area (Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory) where people were living. If the people were living there 'legally' (this includes Indians, whites and blacks, but not intruders), then they were considered citizens (Cherokee citizens) of that geographical area and they were included on a list (Dawes Roll). Anyone who descends from one on the list is now eligible to register as a Cherokee because that geographical area was called Cherokee Nation and the people who lived there were citizens of that nation.

There were other people (former citizens of the Cherokee Nation) who had once lived in that geographical area or with the main body of the tribe but had chosen to move away. Since they were not there when the list was written down, they were not citizens of the Cherokee Nation. They were citizens of the United States. Their descendants will never be Cherokee, but instead Cherokee descendants.

This is the way I explained it to my kids a couple of years ago and they ranged in ages from 10-13. Each one of them understood the difference. It is the same thing as me saying I have a great great great great great grandma who was from Germany. She moved here from Germany and became a US citizen. Because she lived in Germany at one time does not make me a citizen of Germany and therefore, I am not a German. I descend from a former German citizen, but I am not and never will be a German. In my opinion, the same thing is true for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. If your ancestors were not citizens at the time they needed to be in order for you to be eligible to register, then you might be a descendant of a former Cherokee citizen, but are not a Cherokee.

Look at it in terms of citizenship of a nation and it is fairly easy to understand. And, if you don't know for sure yet, then you are researching to find out if you descend from Cherokee. To some, it may seem like just playing with words, but to others, it is an important difference. Remember, it is those Cherokees who stayed with the nation who built it into what it is today, not those who left.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

Tweet

The Cherokee Grandpa

I have a Cherokee grandpa. Bet you don't hear people say that very much. I have often wondered, since so many people have a mythological Cherokee grandma, why no one seems to have a Cherokee grandpa. My theory is it is easier to "lose" a Cherokee grandma in the mix of surnames and maiden names than it is to "lose" a Cherokee grandpa, at least from a white perspective of genealogy. Anyone who has done genealogy knows it is much easier to research a non-Indian male ancestor because they normally have the same surname as their father who had the same surname of their father. Women are much more difficult to research because, if you don't know their maiden name, then how do you figure out who her parents are or where she came from? I would guess this is the reason the stories of a Cherokee grandma flourish while stories of a Cherokee grandpa are nearly non-existent. It is hard to convince people of an ancestor that doesn't exist if the line has been thoroughly researched and there is no Cherokee to be found.

Well, today, the Cherokee grandpa is no longer forgotten and we are going to celebrate his existence. Not only do I have one Cherokee grandpa, but many Cherokee grandpas. One of my Cherokee grandpas was an Old Settler. Several others traveled the Trail of Tears. At least four of my Cherokee grandpas served in the Indian Home Guard during the Civil War and four others were listed on the Final Dawes Roll. In more recent times, one of my Cherokee grandpas served in WWII with the US Army.

The only Cherokee grandpa I knew personally was the last one in a long line of other Cherokee grandpas. He was a remarkable man, not just because he was Cherokee, but because he was a good person and had an interesting life. He was the third child of two Cherokee Nation citizens who were both listed on the Final Dawes Roll. While a young teenager, his father was killed by a hit and run driver and he had to take over the role of helping his mother support the family of 9 children. He fetched water and kept the fire going for her as she did laundry for a living. He also helped a local widow on her farm and he would be paid in vegetables which he took home to his mother and siblings.

When he was 20 years old, he enlisted with the U.S Army. He was attached to the 612th Tank Destroyer battalion and was part of the European campaign during WWII. On Dec. 18, 1944, at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, he was captured by the Germans at Honsfeld. After having his coat, gloves and boots taken away, he was marched toward the Prisoner of War camp. It was bitter cold and he had nothing to eat during the entire 10 day trip. He endured six months as a POW until he was liberated by American soldiers.

After the war, he returned to civilian life and raised a family like many other veterans. He never realized he had honors coming to him. Fifty-five years after WWII, he was presented 7 medals from a United States Congressman from Oklahoma. My Cherokee grandpa was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the POW medal, an European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal (with service stars representing the 8 major battles he participated in), a U.S. Victory medal, a Good Conduct Medal, a Combat and Infantryman badge, and a Rifleman Qualification Combat Infantry Army Award medal. He was also awarded a Cross of Valor by the State of Oklahoma.

Later when interviewed about his wartime experience, Grandpa said he felt it was important that the young people of today learn about the wars America has fought and the sacrifices made to keep the country free. He said he had told his children about it when they were young like many other veterans did, but he didn't know if the stories had been passed on to the younger generation. He said if given the opportunity to tell young people about WWII, he would advise them, "Let's not go through another thing like this again."

Two years and four months after he received his WWII medals, Grandpa was sick and near death. As he struggled to hold onto life, my mom, his oldest daughter, laid her face beside his and told him she loved him and one day he would have four little Indian girls in Heaven with him. A few hours later, he died.

My Cherokee grandpa was dearly loved and will never be forgotten. He, and all the other Cherokee grandpas that came before him, helped form our family and the Cherokee Nation into what it is today.

To all the Cherokee grandpas, whether from our past or our present, we have not forgotten you. We are proud of you and we love you.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter
Tweet