Chasing Our Tales - Native American Ancestry

Chasing Our Tales, Native American Ancestry

 

So, have you thought some more about your family tale? What is your family legend? One of my many family tales is that we are descended from the Cherokee Indian Tribe. No one in the family ever made it plain whether this was in North Carolina, on the Trail of Tears, or in Oklahoma (my family has been all three places, you see). Many of us in this part of the country share the same tale of an Indian in our ancestry. Most of us probably think this Indian was Cherokee--which seems to be an extremely popular theory, but Comanche, Anadarko, Ioni, Caddo, Waco, Keechi, or Tawaconi would make a lot more sense in this part of Texas. However, it is seldom easy to prove a connection of any sort to an Indian tribe.

There is a wonderful place, now, to begin to proving Native American kinship, at least to those registered on the Final Rolls of the Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory. If you are on the internet, go to the NAIL (National Archival Information Locator) Homepage at <http://www.nara.gov/nara/nail.html>. Click on Search for Archival Holdings. Next click on Expert Search and then type in the Keywords final rolls and click on Display Results. Go down to Number 2 and click onto the word Full. Click onto "links to digital copies". The rolls are alphabetical but it is slow going. Then,too, you have to guess where a certain letter would come in the list. You can research all the names they want - by blood, new borns, by marriage, etc.

If you are not on the World Wide Web, you may contact NAIL at National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20408; 301-713-6800.

You may also contact the Oklahoma--or other--Indian nations by tribe. The Cherokee Principal Chief is Chad "Corntassel" Smith. His telephone number is 918-456-0671, Ext. 2882. The url for the Cherokee Nation is <http://www.cherokee.org/>.

Choctaw Chief is Gregory Pyle. The url for the Choctaw Nation is <http://www.choctawnation.com/> , or you may write P. O. Drawer 1210, Durant, OK 74702-1210; 1-800-522-6170 or 580-924-8280.

Contact the Comanche Tribe through Johnny Wauqua, Chairman, P.O. Box 908, Lawton, OK 73502; 580-492-3751. They are online at <http://www.ga-siouxnation.com/comanche/>. Another good Comanche site is <http://members.tripod.com/~Quohadi/>.

The Chickasaw Nation can be contacted through Bill Anoatubby, Governor, P.O. Box 1548, Ada, OK 74280; 405-436-2603; or <http://www.chickasaw.net/>.

The Seminole Nation Principal Chief is Jerry Haney. His address is P.O. Box 1498, Wewoka, OK 74884; 405-257-6287; or <http://www.seminoletribe.com/>.

Creek Nation of Oklahoma, Okmulgee Agency's Principal Chief is Bill S. Fife, P. O. Box 580, Okmulgee OK 74447; 918-756-8700; <http://ngeorgia.com/history/creek.html>.

For an extensive list of Oklahoma tribes, you may go online to <http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/OKTribes.htm>. This website not only provides information in both English and Cherokee, but the information is quite varied including files about music, history, and genealogy.

There are many publications on the genealogy of the Cherokees and other Indians of the Oklahoma Indian Territory. The Cherokee Observer includes articles about the preservation of tribal customs and effects of federal law. You can find it online at <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/5918/> or you may write P. O. Box 1301, Jay OK 74346-1301.

The Goingsnake Messenger specializes in the publication and preservation the history of Cherokee and white settlers in Indian Territory. It is a newsletter which is published quarterly. It is sponsored by the Goingsnake District Heritage Association. The telephone number is 918-326-4532.

Native American Ancestry Hunting Newsletter is an exchange of information about Native genealogy. To subscribe, write or call 3308 Acapulco Drive Riverview FL 33569; 813-653-0015; email addresses: <[email protected]> or <[email protected]>.

Arlene LeMaster published Eastern Oklahoma Indians and Pioneers: Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory. Poteau, OK (P.O. Box 477, 74953). This is a Family Heritage Resource, in three volumes. The volumes were compiled from interviews obtained in conjunction with the WPA project in 1937 and contain biographical and historical data.

As I have worked with the USGenWeb over the past four years, I feel that its website for Oklahoma/Indian Territory called Twin Territories is exceptional in the genealogical content and research. The internet address (url) for the page is <https://sites.rootsweb.com/~itgenweb/>. I have found that the folks who work on the OklahomaGenWeb sites are some of the most helpful of any I have encountered. They will, for no charge, work tediously endeavoring to help in you with your genealogical research.

As with all USGenWeb information, many, many cemeteries, birth/marriage/death (BMD) records, military rolls, etc. can be found, free of charge, on their websites.

Another way to research Native American tribes is during their festivals. Two PowWows of interest are in September each year on Labor Day weekend. One is the Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival which is held in Tuskahoma, OK. For more information contact Willard Polk at 580-924-8280 extension 2349. Admission is free.

The same weekend the Annual Cherokee National Holiday has been held for the past 48 years. Included in the celebration is a State of the Nation address, a parade, Pow-wow, arts/crafts display and sale, blow gun contest, gospel signing, Miss Cherokee Pageant, children's events, traditional food, stickball game, a hog fry, the Gathering of the Grounds, and a traditional stomp dance. The event is scheduled to take place in downtown Tahlequah OK; 918-456-0671 ext. 2543 or 1-800-850-0348 ext. 2543.

The North Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory is planning a Pow-wow, October 13, 2001, in Mineral Wells. This would seem an exceppent time to get to know our area Cherokees.

NARA, also, maintains Native records other than Final Rolls. It houses databases of extended military bounty land laws awarded to Indians, entitling those who were veterans from the Revolutionary War and the Indian Wars of 1818 and 1836 to warrants that could be exchanged for public lands. These records are detailed, and at times, confusing. For instance, warrants for bounty could be filed by juveniles in the name of their guardians, who may or may not have been their parents.

Also, because many Natives did not have a surname, it is difficult to trace them using a non-Native surname. To find out more about the Indian Bounty land applications, contact NARA (above) or go their website page at <http://www.nara.gov/publications/prologue/morrow.html>.

Stanford University Library houses a collection of historical and genealogical information on Native Americans. Their url is <http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/adams/shortcu/amind.html> or you can contact their Native American Studies department at 650-723-9108. Their online library has provisions to "ask a librarian" where one can submit a question and the librarian will respond.

I am amazed to find people in our county with proven heritage in Cherokee, Choctaw, Sioux, and others. What a wonderful heritage!

There are a plethora of Native American genealogy, but, as I have stated, there are many crooked lines--tales and legends--lack of surname, questions regarding which division of what tribe is to be studied. Were they mixed or full-blood?

Here are some recommendations as you go: 1) Gather all the family information: Names, birth dates, death dates, marriage dates, military records, old stories about the family from old records, letters, baptismal records, elders in your family, information passed down from generation to generation, etc. 2) Get pedigree charts or family group sheets for connecting the ancestry of each family name. 3) Write down all the data you have on these forms. 4) Get a notebook devoted to your genealogy with paper and room to place file folders. 5) Create a file folder for eachtribe and each family name you are going to research with the appropriate ancestry form. 5) Keep your information organized. 6) Get a good Software Program and enter your information.

As you are looking for Native American or other of your ancestors, be sure to remember not only to look through old documents such as family Bibles, wills, and other certificates. Remember the sampler your great-grandma made? It may have valuable information on the genealogy of your family, and, this is the real kicker, it may be worth a small fortune--so take it to the Antique Roadshow once you have established the genealogical connection!

Remember the old song, I am my own Grandma? Well, when you begin tracing your ancestry, you may discover that there is more truth than fiction to that. In this day and time not many of our young people have never heard about double cousins (when brothers in one family, for instance, marry sisters of another family--and their children are double first cousins), but most of us older folks had double cousins! After all there were just so many people of marrying age in one community, and communities were far apart.

As you begin to find your ancestors and to prove tales of your own for your children and grandchildren, write them down. There is a wonderful solution that can be found on Theresa London's website at <http://home.earthlink.net/~theresa001/>. She has some shareware called "Tell me" which asks specific questions of parents or grandparents so that when you have worked through the package, you have an account of your life for those who come after you. It is in both PC and MAC format. You may contact her in St. Louis MO at 816-232-7524.

Here are some addresses which may help you as you begin your search...remembering that you should provide certificates about yourself, as well as your ancestors, to your progeny. If you are interested in obtaining birth, death, marriage, or divorce certificates in the State of Texas, you may order them from Bureau of Vital Statistics, Texas Department of Health, 1100 W. 49th St., Austin, TX 78756-3191. You can view their website at Texas Department of Health's Vital Statistics page <http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/bvs/default.htm>.

Birth records cost $11.00. The Bureau has records back to 1903. Additional copies of a death record for the same person may be ordered at same time for a $3.00 charge. Check or money orders should be made payable to Texas Department of Health. Personal checks are accepted, also. To verify current fees, the telephone number is 512-458-7111. Now, you won't be able to ask questions here, as this is a recorded message.

Death certificates can be ordered at the same address as birth records. The cost is $9.00 each.

Marriage records are on file since January 1966. Certified copies are not available from state office. Fee for search and verification of essential facts of marriage is $9.00 each. This varies from county to county. Contact the county clerk in the county where the license was issued.

Divorce records are on file from January 1968. Certified copies are not available from state office. The fee for search and verification of essential facts of divorce about $9.00 each, and again this varies according to county.

For Palo Pinto County, contact Palo Pinto County Clerk Courthouse, Palo Pinto, TX, 76072 (940) 659-3651. You may find addresses for all state and county vital records online at <http://www.vitalrec.com/>. I found a marriage license for my great-great-grandparents from 1830 in Greene County, Missouri, and it only cost $2.00. They paid the postage, too. So, some states are less expensive than others and go back farther!

Another prime web site for the Archives and Manuscript Repositories in Texas can be viewed at <http://lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/txsites.html>. This includes many university libraries, as well as historical and genealogical organizations. Further you can find Texas Census Online at <http://www.census-online.com/links/TX.html>.

Well, this should keep you busy until next time, and if you have any questions with which I can assist, you may contact me with requests which may be published in future editions of Painted Post Crossroads. Either mail your questions to Sue Seibert, P. O. Box 61, Mineral Wells TX 76068--061 or email me at <[email protected]>.

 

©2001Sue Seibert, Oak Cottage TX Genealogy, Chasing Our Tales