Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

this is not specific about individuals, dates, locations, children or spouses.

if you want to post on messageboards, there are a few others that i could recommend: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
http://www.genealogy.com/index_r.html
are two of the largest.

you could make a family tree on rootsweb’s worldconnect and add any notes or sources and i’m sure family would find this very helpful and likely contact you.

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/

mississippi choctaw and choctaw tribe explained here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choctaw_Trail_of_Tears

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

Suzanne, one set of gtgtgrandparents = Daniel McKaim Alexander, b in NC, d. in Pontotoc Co., Ms. (Chickasaw Cession)
Mar. in 1850 Pont. Co., Elizabeth Bridges/Bridger, b. in Ky, d in Ms.
One was of NA ancestry, possibly both (my dna test shows)
Because of his middle name, which he at times used as first,
I have a feeling he was at least part Scot. That, and he and wife were among founding members of a Presbyterian Church in Pont Co. Typically Scot.
Another gtgrandmother, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Cox was NA. According to census records in Warren Co., Ms. (Choctaw Cession), she and her parents were born in Ms. Can I assume they were Choctaw? Although in research notes, several Cox families were ousted from Cherokee lands.
My Sarah/Sally Tally (mar.Jer.Thompson), d/o of John Tally and Marguerite Sharp, another of NA anc. Married in Wilkinson Co., Ms., lived S of state line in La.
How do I begin to sort out their origins? Any help, advice would be greatly appreciated.
Doris

Dana, have you traced the Reese line back to Virginia? That’s where my Reese ancs. arrived in America. And some migrated to NC, Ga., Ala., Ms., La., Tx. I’m anxious to learn if our lines meet, cross, etc.

you might try local history books and newspapers. some scots were shipped to this country by the ruling faction in great britain because they were unwanted, might have had jacobite leanings. some scots came here for the opportunity. you might have to look at passenger lists as you go backward in your family line.

don’t just look at surnames. there was a lot of intermarriage between the scots and the native americans.

i really can’t look much up, because cox is a common surname and most every family had an elizabeth/lizzie. choctaw scrip and chickasaw scrip were land grants given to the heads of family.

one of the roadblocks that you might be running into is the usual non-enumeration of females. wills, marriage license, death notice, cemetery records are sometimes all we can find of people. sometimes a christening record. sometimes a mention in a trading post log. sometimes a mention in a book. it is much easier to trace male relatives.

choctaw, and other native languages, were an oral tradition. they have no written records. choctaw only became a written language in the mid-1800’s.

it is unusual to trace native records back earlier than the 1820’s. there are native rolls and databases on accessgenealogy.com, the website with the dawes roll. look at databases and census records and the state where they were located. it is a very good resource. location is a very important suggestion for native affiliation.

the mississippi choctaw and chickasaw were given land grants in lieu of tribal membership. the head of house were given these 1830-1870. look in the land records. the authority gives you the information about whether they were given land because of tribal affiliation. for a quick and dirty, ancestry.com has these land records and they tell you the authority, but you have to look at the file “mississippi land records” “alabama land records” “louisiana land records”. you can print the deed for federal land records at the bureau of land records website.

like this:
Mississippi Land Records
about John Talley
Name: John Talley
Land Office: PONTOTOC
Document Number: 19152
Total Acres: 160
Signature: Yes
Canceled Document: No
Issue Date: 9 Oct 1845
Mineral Rights Reserved: No
Metes and Bounds: No
Statutory Reference: 3 Stat. 566
Multiple Warantee Names: No
Act or Treaty: April 24, 1820
Multiple Patentee Names: No
Entry Classification: Sale-Cash Entries
Land Description:
1 NW CHICKASAW No 11S 7E 6
Source Information:
United States, Bureau of Land Management. Mississippi Land Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1997.
Original data: United States, Bureau of Land Management. Mississippi Pre-1908 Patents: Homesteads, Cash Entry, Choctaw Indian Scrip and Chickasaw Cession Lands. General Land Office Automated Records Project, 1997.

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/
at the search on that website, you want land patents.
they have a mapping feature (that is temporarily unavailable) and you can print the deed.
you should write to NARA http://www.nara.gov and give them the details of this record and get all the paperwork.

i can’t give you more details, as you didn’t include dates, locations, children or spouse. i can try to find them one generation at a time.

records are poorer in information as you go back in time.

Thank you. That’s 2 lines w/possible connection to Pontotoc Co.,Ms.

I have a line of Moran’s in my family, my grandmother Ola Moran was on the original dawes rolls.
If you are interested in names and dates email. me.