do you have documentation of frank and amos totten?
census
birthdate/location or historical newspaper or birth announcement in a bible?
date of death/place of death, cemetery record, obituary, will?
marriage record?
when asking for help, it is very helpful to have spouse’s name, children, location, dates. this way people can match records.
if you are looking for native records, the war department kept some records from early 1800-1880 or so. then the department of the interior took over until the tribes became recognized. NARA,. national archives and records administration, has those records. http://www.archives.gov
fort worth, TX office has the records from the southwest and the morrow, GA office has the records for the southeastern tribes. but all NARA offices have access to most of the records on microfilm.
amos totten b. 1818 VA
frank totten b. 1862 place unknown
Dawes Card Information
tribe last first middle age sex blood card roll misc type
Choctaw Totten Alfred 0 M MCR834 P
Choctaw Totten Maggie 0 F MCR834 P
Choctaw Totten Mary 0 F MCR834 P
Choctaw Totten Mary 3 F 1/32 MCR834 MCR
Choctaw Totten Otis 9 M 1/32 MCR834 MCR
Choctaw Totten Arthur 12 M 1/32 MCR834 MCR
Choctaw Totten Frank 34 M 1/16 MCR834 MCR
p=parent
this family was coded as MCR, which means mississippi choctaw refused. you should get a copy of the census card, enrollment application, and testimony.
see this book on google.
The Dawes Commission and the allotment of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1914
By Kent Carter
you can probably borrow this book through interlibrary loan. see your local public library for that.
the mississippi choctaw were mostly denied enrollment after 1898 or so.
i don’t know if this is your amos:
1850 United States Federal Census
about Amos Totten
Name: Amos Totten
Age: 32
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1818
Birth Place: Virginia
Gender: Male
Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Western District, Tazewell, Virginia
Family Number: 342
Household Members:
Name Age
Amos Totten 32
Rebecca Totten 27
Gideon H Totten 11
Elenor M Totten 8
Rebecca J Totten 5
Rees Totten 2
Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: Western District, Tazewell, Virginia; Roll: M432_979; Page: 240A; Image: 58.
1860 United States Federal Census
about A Totten
Name: A Totten
Age in 1860: 46
Birth Year: abt 1814
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1860: Green, Lawrence, Missouri
Gender: Male
Post Office: Phelps
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members:
Name Age
A Totten 46
Jane Totten 21
Harvey Totten 20
Marinda Totten 19
Jane Totten 16
Recey F Totten 11
Recina Totten 7
Eliza Totten 5
William Totten 3
Milton Totten 1
Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Green, Lawrence, Missouri; Roll: M653_628; Page: 813; Image: 459; Family History Library Film: 803628.
but i don’t know if this is your family because i cannot find a record with frank among them.
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/ordb.asp
and the dawes roll says that frank’s father is alfred.
so i’m kinda at a dead end here.
genealogists use names, dates, locations, children and spouses to match records. if you have a common surname, you need to give more information rather than 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.
start with what you know, gather documentation, then you can go backward in time. so get your birth certificate, your parents’ birth certificates and marriage license and then you can start on your grandparents. if someone passed away after 1/1/1937, they probably have a social security application on file. if you ask a government for a birth certificate, and they were born before 1929, they might have sumitted a delayed birth certificate. death certificates, cemetery information and obituaries are helpful. you can usually get a copy of an obituary, newspaper mentions such as birth of a child or marriage, through the interlibrary loan program – see your local public library for this. i usually start with the death and work toward the person’s birth. military records and pension records can be helpful. census records can tell you where they were at particular times. the census records up to 1930 are available, although the 1890 census was largely destroyed. the 1940 census will be public information in 2012.
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.
2 ways to search:
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/finalroll.php
this will let you enter partial names to get card#. click on the card# in the card column and you can see other names in that family.
other resources on the left and at the bottom of this webpage. native census records and databases are especially useful.
http://www.okhistory.org/research/dawes/index.php
this will give you card# (family group) and enrollment #. they have some native marriage records too. other oklahoma records listed at left.
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/
NARA http://www.archives.gov/ federal records repository. the fort worth, TX office has archives for oklahoma and texas tribes. atlanta/morrow office has archives for the southwest tribes. many offices have microfilmed records for several tribes. note that this web address has changed recently from nara.gov.
mississippi choctaw and choctaw tribe explained here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choctaw_Trail_of_Tears
http://www.choctaw.org/
jena choctaw tribe in louisiana:
http://www.jenachoctaw.org/
MOWA tribe
http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1368
http://www.uab.edu/uabmagazine/2009/july/losttribe
http://www.native-american-online.org/MOWA-Choctaw.htm
MOWA Band Of Choctaws Wilford Taylor 1080 Red Fox Road Mount Vernon, AL 36560 (251) 829-5500. E-Mail: chieftaylor@mowachoctaw.com
other choctaw tribes: http://www.aaanativearts.com/choctaw-indians/index.html
texas tribes
http://www.native-languages.org/texas.htm
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/texas/index.htm
http://www.texasindians.com/
http://www.texasindians.com/
http://www.lsjunction.com/places/indians.htm
oklahoma tribes:
http://500nations.com/Oklahoma_Tribes.asp
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/oklahoma/index.htm
http://www.cowboy.net/native/tribes.html
some links for the choctaw.
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/choctaw/index.htm
i looked at the land records and those need a lot of work. i have no information about whether or when they will improve some of these categories.
types of records available for native americans:
pages 366-369 in particular although the entire native american chapter is helpful.
The Genealogist’s Companion and Sourcebook:
Guide to the Resources You Need for Unpuzzling Your Past
Emily Anne Croom
you can ask for these particular pages from your local public library. if they don’t have the book, you can get the pages through the interlibrary loan program.
native american records are discussed in pages 352-386.
Tracing ancestors among the Five Civilized Tribes: Southeastern Indians …
By Rachal Mills Lennon
this book could be accessed through the interlibary loan program also.
always find the state archives. some records are online, some records are not. but many times you can find a record not found in other places. you want to see also about newspaper mentions for obituaries, births, marriages in particular.
check courts for probate, civil and criminal cases, marriage records.
if your ancestors lived on a reservation, they might not appear on a federal census because they were not taxed.
http://www.okgenweb.org/~okgarvin/kinard/1860index.htm
1860 census, indian territory.
this book is a good read about the dawes roll and how they implemented it.
The Dawes Commission and the allotment of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1914
By Kent Carter
good advice about native research:
http://jenniferhsrn2.homestead.com/research2.html
if your relatives came from a different geographic location or belonged to a different tribe, try searching google for the state and tribes. you might find a contact for a state-recognized tribe or a federal recognized tribe.
i have collected many resources over the years. if you want to write to me, shamlet76@gmail.com and request the choctaw resource list, i will be glad to send it to you.
i am just a volunteer that wants to empower people to learn how to do genealogy.
suzanne hamlet shatto
Maxine Davies
suzanne hamlet shatto