Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

first of all, you don’t give a middle initial for james. no date of birth or place of birth.

1910 United States Federal Census
about David Dennam
Name: David Dennam
[David Denham]
Age in 1910: 16
Estimated birth year: abt 1894
Birthplace: Texas
Relation to Head of House: Son
Father’s Name: J W
Father’s Birth Place: Kentucky
Mother’s Name: M A
Mother’s Birth Place: South Carolina
Home in 1910: Mountain Park, Kiowa, Oklahoma
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
J W Dennam 55
M A Dennam 50
Wallace Dennam 25
David Dennam 16
Joseph Dennam 13
Zemmar Dennam 10
John Dennam 6
Charles E Dennam 25
Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Mountain Park, Kiowa, Oklahoma; Roll T624_1257; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 175; Image: 587.

the trail of tears didn’t go through texas, but it is likely that if your family was native, they were mississippi choctaw. there were many unofficial migrations from the reservations in the southeast to/through texas.

Source Citation: Year: 1920;Census Place: Mountain Park, Kiowa, Oklahoma; Roll T625_1467; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 136; Image: 670.

World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
about David Monroe Denham
Name: David Monroe Denham
County: Kiowa
State: Oklahoma
Birthplace: Texas;United States of America
Birth Date: 16 Aug 1894
Race: Caucasian (White)
FHL Roll Number: 1851786
DraftBoard: 0

Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 3, Upshur, Texas; Roll T623_1674; Page: 32A; Enumeration District: 118.

since they were not in oklahoma by 1900, it is unlikely that they applied and were accepted also.

the james denham records you see were mississippi choctaw (MCR) and his wife was eliza j. so they are probably not your direct line, but might be related in some way.

genealogists use names, dates, locations, children and spouses to match records. if you

have a common surname, you need to give more information rather thann less. if you post

about women, it is helpful to include the maiden name and the married name and designate

which one is the maiden name.

first of all, heritage and tribal enrollment are two different things. many times

natives didn’t apply for enrollment because 1) they didn’t qualify, 2) they were

philosophically opposed to enrollment, 3) they didn’t have documentation, or 4) they

were mississippi choctaw and their ancestor had accepted land or benefits in lieu of

tribal enrollment.

the dawes roll was taken 1896-1906, so you should trace your ancestors down to that time

period. mostly, they had to be living in oklahoma by that time and agree to live there

permanently.

if the name is common, you may find too many possible records.

the tribe has an excellent information to help you. it is found under genealogy

advocacy.
http://choctawnation.com/services/departments/community-services/

i am just a volunteer that wants to empower people to learn how to do genealogy.

suzanne hamlet shatto

Thank you for the information I do believe this may be my family as James Denham’s mother, according to family documents, is Eliza and his father was also James Denham but James could be a middle name because a bible record of my grandmother has him listed as T. James. I was hoping for birthdates from the rolles becuase I have about 4 more James Denham’s in my family tree. The oral traditions in my Denham family tell of a Choctaw herritage.

Thank you so much for your help and insight!

Misty

genealogists use dates, names, locations, children and spouses to match records. when you leave a post, you should include the information that you have.

i don’t see a child’s name in your posts. the names you have given are very common.

when i saw child david denham, son of james denham, this is what i posted. it might be wrong.

you will probably get approximate dates from old native records, and it is important to look carefully at the date the document was taken.

Dawes Card Information

tribe last first middle age sex blood card roll misc type
Choctaw Denham Eliza J 0 M MCR3457 P
Choctaw Denham James H 0 M MCR3457 P
Choctaw Denham Missouri 0 F MCR3457 P
Choctaw Denham Fred T 2 M 1/64 MCR3457 MCR
Choctaw Denham James C 30 M 1/32 MCR3457 MCR

if this is your family, MCR=mississippi choctaw refused. many of these families did not get enrolled in the choctaw tribe in oklahoma.

but the census card, enrollment application, and testimony will help you with your heritage. you can get these from the tribe, NARA http://www.nara.gov fort worth office, oklahoma historical society http://www.okhistory.org/
the testimony might be in books, such as the dawes commission five civilized tribes. try to google one of the names of the original settlers and see which books contain reference to it. if there was a court case, you can review affidavits.

it sounds as if you should document your family tree and refer to people as james (middle name) denham born xxxx married eliza j. whatever, father of (name of child).
maybe you should put your familly up on rootsweb worldconnect or ancestry.com. maybe you should get some software to organize your research. i like legacy software and it is free http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/ there is a deluxe version that ties in with source records directly.

happy hunting.

suzanne hamlet shatto

location, dates, children and spouse are very helpful to genealogists because it helps them match records.