Tombstone Tuesday - Tilden Tehee

In Memory of Tilden Tehee

Tilden Tehee was born about 1871 in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory to Yu-che-tee and Susie. In 1880, he was listed on the orphan roll in Cooweescoowee District as Tilden Hayes and living with Rat Sanders.

Tehee married Annie Henson and had a daughter named Rosabelle.

Tehee died July 9, 1935, the victim of a homicide. He was originally buried in the old Fisher Cemetery. When the Corps of Engineers put in Fort Gibson Dam, the cemetery was moved and now he rests in the new location of the Fisher Cemetery along with many of his friends and fellow Cherokees.

News article from the Ada Evening News; Ada, Oklahoma; Sunday, July 14, 1935; p. 2.

Charge Murder In Slaying of Wagoner Indian

WAGONER, Okla., July 12.—
(AP) — Murder charges were filed here today against Stanton Skeen and Levi Peyton, alleging that they kicked and beat to death Tilton Tehee, 63-year-old Cherokee Indian, in a fight nine miles north of here last Tuesday.

Tehee's body was found Tuesday afternoon by Stute Sequoyah, with whom he lived. Skeen is
held in the Wagoner county jail and Peyton is reported to have fled to Dodge City, Kan. Two
nieces of the dead Indian, Luella Henson, 17, and Lillie Pumpkin, 20, witnesses to the fight, testified at the inquest through an interpreter.

Information obtained from Guion Miller application #9427 and Dawes applications #9334 and #2066.
Court information HERE.

Transcription by Polly's Granddaughter
copyright 2010, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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Tombstone Tuesday - My Great Grandpa Carey

Dick Carey was born in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory in January 1890, the son of Aaron Carey and Polly Boots. At the age of 12, he was listed on the Final Dawes Roll as a fullblood. As a young man, Dick married a Cherokee woman whose name is not known. She and her son both died during childbirth.

In 1916, Dick married a Cherokee girl named Nancy Fisher. They lived on her allotment and had a family of 9 children. They only had one daughter who was named Nellie. Their sons were Mike, Aaron, Winston, Reed, Donald Ray, twins Millard and Willard, and John F..

Dick was a farmer who supplemented the family income by cutting hair for local men. Apparently he must have been pretty good at because many utilized the barber services he offered out of his home.

On New Year's Eve 1937, while walking home from town, Dick was killed by a hit and run driver. He was buried in the Old Fisher Cemetery and then later moved to the present Fisher Cemetery when the original had to be relocated.

The man who found Dick after he was hit did not see the vehicle that struck him. The driver who killed Dick was never found.

**Note: Documentation says Dick was born January 1890 and died December 31, 1937. The dates on the marker are wrong. This is a replacement marker and the dates were estimated for it.

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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Tombstone Tuesday - Remembering Uncle John F.

Johnson Fisher Carey, the youngest child of Dick and Nancy (Fisher) Carey, Cherokee Nation citizens, was born September 19, 1934. He attended Valley School and Wyandotte Indian School as a boy. He later enlisted with the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Korea. Johnson was named after his maternal grandfather, Johnson Fisher, but was called John F. by his family. Because he was the baby of the family, he was adored by his siblings. Like his seven brothers, he excelled at music, art and athletics.

John F. was a wanderer after he left the military and one day, he hopped a train on one of his exploits. He never made it to his destination. On September 24, 1978, he was murdered by a group of hobos and thrown from a train in Wyoming. After several months, his body was returned to his brother, Aaron, in Oklahoma. He is buried in an unmarked grave between his brothers, Mike and Donald Ray.

John F. never married and never had children.

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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