Meridian, Mississippi, April 17, 1901.
In the matter of the application of Julia Thompson for identification as a Mississippi Choctaw.
Julia Thompson, having been first duly sworn, upon her oath testifies as follows:
Examination by the Commission:
Q. What is your name?
A. Julia Thompson.
Q. What is you age?
A. About seventy four.
Q. What is your post office address?
A. Hale, Clarke County, Mississippi.
Q. How long have you lived in Mississippi?
A. I have been living her about sixty years.
Q. Where did you live before you came to Mississippi?
A. Alabama close to Barrington.
Q. What county?
A. I dont know.
Q. Born in Alabama?
A. Yes, bred and born in Alabama.
Q. And lived there until you came to Mississippi?
A. Yes sir.
Q. You were a slave?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Whom did you belong to?
A. Bill Trotter, this here lawyer Trotters brother. I stayed with him three years after the surrender.
Q. You claim you have Choctaw Indian blood?
A. Yes sir, my great grandfather was a Choctaw.
Q. What was he, a full blood Choctaw?
A. Yes.
Q. What does that make you?
A. My papas father—-
Q. That was your grandfather in place of your great grandfather?
A. Yes.
Q. What do you claim — one quarter?
A. I reckon that would make me a quarter.
Q. Is your father living?
A. No.
Q. What was his name?
A. Willoughby Trotter.
Q. You father was a slave?
A. Yes he was freed before the war by his master.
Q. He was a slave at one time?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he claim to have Choctaw blood?
A. Yes.
Q. What proportion did he claim?
A. His father was Choctaw.
Q. Full blood Choctaw?
A. Yes.
Q. That would make him one half?
A. Yes.
Q. His mother did not have Choctaw blood?
A. No sir.
Q. Where did your father live?
A. He lived over the river down here in Mississippi.
Q. Is your mother living?
A. No.
Q. What was her name?
A. Ann.
Q. Was she a slave?
A. Yes.
Q. A Negro?
A. Yes sir.
Q. You get your Choctaw blood through your father?
A. Yes.
Q. Were your father and mother married?
A. Yes
Q. Sure about that?
A. Yes and had five children.
Q. How were they married?
A. There was no license in those days.
Q. How did they marry in those days?
A. They just had a preacher come and passed a ceremony.
Q. The master gave his consent to their marrying?
A. Yes
Q. Were they married that way?
A. Yes.
Q. Are you married now?
A. No.
Q. You have been married?
A. Yes.
Q. Have you any children under twenty one years of age?
A .No.
Q. This application is solely on your own behalf?
A. Have you ever received any benefits as a Choctaw?
A. No.
Q. Is your name upon the Choctaw tribal rolls in the Indian Territory
A. Not as I know of.
Q. You never made any effort to have it placed there?
A. No sir.
Q. Did you ever make application to the Choctaw tribal authorities in the Indian Territory for citizenship in the Choctaw Nation?
A. No.
Q. Did you make application to this Commission in 1896 for citizenship in the Choctaw Nation?
A. No sir.
Q. You never have been admitted to citizenship in the Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory either by the Choctaw tribal authorities, by this Commission in 1896, or by the United States Court in the Indian Territory?
A. No sir.
Q. You have never be recognized in any manner as a citizen of the Choctaw Nation?
A. No sir.
Q. Did you ever appear before this Commission prior to this time?
A. No sir.
Q. Is this your first application for identification as a Mississippi Choctaw?
A. Yes sir.
Q .Do you want to make application for identification as a Mississippi Choctaw
A. Yes sir.
Q. What makes you think you are entitled to be identified as a Mississippi Choctaw?
A. All my eight children made application and it looks as if I could.
Q. You didnt hear that one of your children was successful and got any land?
A. No sir, I have not heard from them since I have been up here.
Q. What makes you think you are entitled to have any land out therejust because you have Choctaw blood?
A. Yes sir, my husband was a full blood Choctaw. I raised eight children by him.
Q. You do not know your father had Choctaw blood?
A. Of course, you can see it in the children.
Q. I mean you father did he have Choctaw blood?
A. Yes.
Q. Could he speak the Choctaw language?
A. Yes, I never could understand him?
Q. How did you know he was a Choctaw.
A. By my Indian the one I had eight children byI never learned to talk from him.
Q. May be your father was a Creek?
A. No, he was not a Creek but Choctaw. His father was a Choctaw.
Q. Did you ever see his father?
A. Yes
Q. What was his name?
A. Sam.
Q. Was not your grandfather a slave?
A. No.
Q. Did he look like an Indian?
A. Yes
Q. Did he speak the Choctaw language?
A. Yes
Q. Where did you see him?
A. In Bigbee River.
Q. This state?
A. Yes
Q. When did you see him?
A. When I was eight years old.
Q. When did he die?
A. I dont know when he died.
Q. Do you want to base your claim upon the provisions of the fourteenth article of the treaty of 1830?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Did you ever hear of that treaty before just now?
A. No.
Q. What makes you want to claim under it.
A. I have heard it, but I never heard it like you explain it now. I have heard it through white people.
Q. You have heard of the treaty?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What makes you claim under it.
A. I heard whit folks say I was entitled to it.
Q. Do you know what the fourteenth article isdo you remember of ever having heard it read or seen it?
A. No.
Q. Do not know a thing it contains?
A. No sir.
Q. Do you remember when the Choctaw Indiansthe main body of the tribe moves west?
A. Yes.
Q. Where were you living?
A. In Alabama. There were about three hundred came to our house.
Q. Where were they going?
A. Going offwhite folks were carrying them off. The white folks had two wagon loads of guns My boss fed them.
Q. Did they tell you they were going west to their new country?
A. My white folks didthey did not tell me anything.
Q. How big a girl were you?
A. Seven years old.
Q. That was about the time the stars fell?
A. Yes, directly after-wards.
Q. Did you get any land her in Mississippi about that time from the government of the United States.
A. No sir.
Q. Did the government give your father any land about that time?
A. Not as I know of.
Q. Did you ever own any land here in Mississippi?
A. No
Q. Did your father own any land here.
A. Yes he owned a piece of land about fifteen or sixteen years before he died.
Q. Where did he get it?
A. Below Shubuta, Mississippi. My brother Robert is living on the land now.
Q. Where did your father get the land?
A. From Trotter, Trotter gave it to him.
Q. The government did not give it to him?
A. No sir.
Q. Where was your father when these Indians were moving out west?
A. He was over there. I was living up in Alabama and he was living down at Shubuta..
Q. Neither you nor your father got any land from the government?
A. No sir.
Q. Were you or your father ever recognized by the Choctaw Indian authorities or the United States government as members of that tribe?
A. No sir.
Q. You were slaves?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Neither of you went out west with the Indians when they moved that time?
A. No.
Q. Did you ever get any money from the Choctaw tribal government in the Indian Territory?
A. No sir.
Q. Do you know whether your father appeared before the United States Indian Agent within six months after the treaty of 1830 was ratified and told him he wanted to stay here and become a citizen of the states?
A. No.
Q. If he ever did you never heard of it?
A. No sir.
Q. In case the Commission should be able to identify you as a Mississippi Choctaw entitled to rights in the Choctaw lands in the Indian Territory under the provisions of the fourteenth article of the treaty of 1830, would you be willing to move out to the nation and make that you home?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Is there any additional statement you want to make at this time.
A. No sir..
Q. Have you any papers you want to offer in evidence at this time?
A. No sir.
Q. Did you ever see any deeds or patents, papers of any kind showing that your forefathers ever got any land from the government?
A. No.
Q. Did you ever hear of such a thing.
A. No sir.
You will be furnished at a later date with a copy of the decision of the Commission in regard to this application which you make at this time for identification as a Mississippi Choctaw mailed to you at your proper post office address.
This applicant has the appearance of being a Negro. She shows very little if any indication of being possessed of Choctaw Indian blood.
H.C.Risteen, having been first duly sworn, upon his oath states; that as a stenographer to the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes he reported in full all proceedings had in the above entitled cause on the 24th day of April, 1901, and that the above and foregoing is a
Full, true and correct transcript of his stenographic notes of said proceedings on said date.
H. C. Risteen