Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

no dates, spouse or locations in your post. i don’t know if benton is a maiden name or a married name. genealogists use dates, locations, children and spouse to match records.

it sounds as if this might be the relations:
rosa caldonia benton b. unknown m. ? daniel
gertrude daniel m. ? britt
wallace britt

there are two different topics: tribal membership and native heritage. many natives did not apply for enrollment. maybe they were philosophically opposed to it, maybe they didn’t qualify or didn’t have the proof that was required, maybe they were not living on the reservation at the time of enrollment.

the dawes roll contains names of applicants 1896-1906. applicants that were accepted for enrollment were called original enrollees of the tribe. the dawes roll is transcribed on accessgenealogy.com, link in this post, and the original enrollees are listed on oklahoma historical society, link in this post.

since i don’t know any dates or location, i cannot figure out which records might be your relations. all searches have come up with multiple records.

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 submitted 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.
http://okhistory.cuadra.com/star/public.html

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

chickasaw historical society 22
Historic Preservation and
Repatriation Office
Phone: (580) 272-5325
Fax: (580) 272-5327
2020 E. Arlington, Suite 4, Ada, OK 74820
send mail to: P.O. Box 1548, Ada, OK 74821

chickasaw tribe
Chickasaw Nation Headquarters
520 East Arlington, Ada, OK 74820
Phone (580) 436-2603
Mailing address: P.O. Box 1548, Ada, OK 74821
http://www.chickasaw.net/index.htm

chickasaw genealogy archive center 23
Tribal Library
Phone: (580) 310-6477
Fax: (580) 559-0773
1003 Chamber Loop, Ada, OK 74820
send mail to: P.O. Box 1548, Ada, OK 74821

http://www.okhistory.org/
oklahoma historical society

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