this is generally earlier than most records. the war department kept records 1800-1880 or so. NARA/national archives and records administration has those records.
it is doubtful that people were really born in oklahoma on a particular date in the 1700’s, since there only natives may have lived away from the coastal areas before the american revolution. natives didn’t have calendars nor any way of recording a birth, since all native languages were oral traditions.
natives did move around in communities called tribes, but a better term for their communities would be describing them as bands of natives. their hunting grounds spanned several states. the tribes were associated bands of natives.
if your relatives were born in AL and MS, they may be mississippi choctaw or MOWA tribe.
if any information exists, you should look at NARA records http://www.archives.gov or journals or local history books or newspapers or state archives. there might be trading post logs.
there are several websites that have interment records. http://www.findagrave.com and http://www.interment.com are just a few. further, rootsweb.com has messageboards, webprojects and email lists for tribe, location, surnames, events. genealogy.com also has messageboards with these categories.
i see there are several people speculating about this particular family line. perhaps some of them have sources of information. i would urge you to collect your own documentation.
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.ht
m
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
Darla Gordon
suzanne hamlet shatto