Don’t give up if you don’t find the name you’re searching for. Your ancestor could be listed under a different name, or even with a different tribe.
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Battle of Horeshoe Bend – 1814 – If your Cherokee ancestor lived during this time, especially in Alabama, or Tennessee, he may be one of more than 600 Cherokee, Choctaw, and Lower Creek who participated in this battle against the “Redstick Creeks”. The page lists names on the “muster roll” of a regiment of Cherokees who participated in the battle that left a thousand Redsticks dead. The Cherokee were commanded by Col. Gideon Morgan, under Brigadier General John Coffee, in the division commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson who later betrayed them. Sam Houston, a great friend of the Cherokee was wounded in this battle.
Reservation Rolls – 1817 – A listing of those Cherokees desiring a 640-acre tract in the east and permitted to reside there. No record exists of the 2,000 Cherokees who emigrated before 1817.
Emigration rolls – 1817 – A listing of those Cherokees emigrating to 1835 Arkansas territory & later 1828 to Oklahoma In 1828, the Cherokees ceded their lands in Arkansas for land in Oklahoma.
Henderson Rolls – 1835 – A listing of 16,000 Cherokees living in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, & North Carolina to be removed to Oklahoma, per Treaty New Echota.
Mullay Roll -1848 A listing of 1,517 Cherokees living in North Carolina after the removal of 1838 Agent John C. Mullay took the Census pursuant to an act of Congress in 1848.
Siler Roll – 1851 A listing of 1,700 Cherokees living in Eastern Cherokee entitled to a per capita payment pursuant to an act of Congress in 1850. In 1851, David W. Silar was appointed to take a census of the Cherokees east of the Mississippi to determine who could be eligible to participate in a per capita payment based on the 1835 treaty. Silar submitted his census list which contained 1,959? individuals by state and county in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.
Old Settler Roll- 1851 A listing of Cherokees still living in 1851 who already residing in Oklahoma when the main body of the Cherokee arrived in the winter of 1839 (Trail of Tears) Approximately one third were Old Settlers and two-thirds were new arrivals. The 1851 Old Settler Roll lists each individual by district and his/her children unless the mother was an emigrant Cherokee. In this case, the children were listed with their mother on the Drennen Roll 1852. There were 44 family groups listed as non-residents. Guion Miller used this roll in compiling the 1910 record.
Chapman Roll – 1852 Prepared by Albert Chapman as a listing of those Cherokee actually receiving payment based on Siler 1851 Eastern Census. In 1851 and 1852 the per capita payments were made by Alfred Chapman based on Silar’s census to 2,134 individuals. This roll played an important part in Guion Miller’s preparation of his roll completed in 1910. Anyone who could trace their ancestry to an individual on the Chapman Roll was included on Miller’s roll.
Drennen Roll – 1852 Prepared by John Drennen as a listing of first Census of the “new arrivals” (Trail of Tears) from 1838-1839 in Oklahoma.
Federal Census 1860 contains Indian lands in Arkansas
Swetland Roll – 1869 Prepared by S.H. Swetland as a listing of those Cherokee, and their decedents, who were listed as remaining in North Carolina by Mullay 1848 Census. Made pursuant to an act of Congress 1868 for a removal payment authorization. S. H. Swetland was appointed to take a census in 1868. He was touse the Mullay Roll of 1848 as the basis for his census. This census was completed in 1868 and gives the families in the Eastern Cherokee band.
Hester Roll – 1883 Prepared by Joseph G. Hester as a listing of Eastern Cherokee in 1883. (This Roll is an excellent source of information. Includes ancestors, Chapman Roll Number, age English name and Indian name.)
FederalCensus – 1880 (Note the 1880 Indian Schedules for this Federal Census were destroyed.) In 1879, the Cherokee National Council authorized a census and this 1880 Census was arranged in 6 schedules. Again, in 1883 and 1886, The Cherokee National Council authorized another census. Federal Census – 1890 In 1890, another census of the Cherokee Nation was made and it is probably the most complete of any of the census. It included Cherokees and adopted whites, Shawnees and Delawares, orphans under 16 yrs, those denied citizenship by the Cherokee authorities, those whose claims to citizenship were pending, intruders and whites living in the Cherokee Nation by permission.
Overturned Roll – 1896 Done in an effort to determine tribal citizenship. Unfortunately some enrollments were made by the federal courts, which did not have the jurisdiction. Many non-Cherokee were included, who were in fact intruders residing with a tribe. Tribal officials fought the enrollment and enumeration, and contested the authority of the federal courts in Indian Territory. The entire census was eventually disregarded (thrown out) but not everyone who applied learned of this, so they didn’t reapply to the Dawes roll. Many people had gone to great efforts to include affidavits, letters, and documents to support their claims. These are a great resource for information on ancestors who were not on the Dawes roll or Eastern Cherokee claims.
Dawes roll – 1898 to 1907 The Federal government embarked on the policy of extinguishing tribal title to land and allotting it to individual Indians. This “final roll” contains the names of more than 101,000 people who were eligible for tribal membership and thus entitled to an allotment of land.
Federal Census – 1900 This lists members of the Five Civilized Tribes as well as Whites and Blacks living in the Indian Territory.
Churchill Roll – 1908 Prepared by Frank C. Churchill as a listing of Eastern Cherokee to “Certify Members” of the Eastern Band. (Like the Hester above has lots of Information)
Guion Miller Roll – 1909 Prepared by Guion Miller of all Eastern Cherokee (Not Old Settlers), residing in the either East or West of the Mississippi River. Ordered by the Court of Claims as result of “Suit” won by Eastern Cherokees.
Federal Census – 1920 Native American Indians may be identified as Black, Indian, Other, or white.
Baker Roll – 1924 – This was supposed to be the “final Roll” of the Eastern Cherokee. The land was to be allotted and all were to become citizens. Fortunately the Eastern Cherokee avoided the termination procedures, unlike their brothers of the Cherokee Nation West. The Baker Roll Revised is the current membership Roll of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Carlisle Indian School – Cherokee students who attended this boarding school
Cherokee Orphan Asylum – In 1873, the Cherokee Nation purchased the home and farm of Louis Ross, in located in the present town of Salina, Oklahoma and converted it into a home and vocational school for Cherokee orphans. It included a working farm of about three hundred acres of land. Horses, cattle and hogs were raised, as well as crops of corn, oats and wheat. The timber land furnished fuel for the home, and springs of pure water bubbled out of the nearby hillside. Tribal funds supported about one hundred and fifty orphan boys and girls. Non-orphans also attended the school. On the 17th day of November, 1903, the entire home, including the original building and the three wings which had been added was destroyed by fire. The names of many students are mentioned in the school newsletter and newspapers of the time which may be found on the web.
