M C R 2612
Muskogee, Indian Territory, October 1, 1903
Benjamin F. Davis
Daphne, Texas
Dear Sir:
Receipt is hereby acknowledged of your letter of the 25th ultimo, in which you ask to be advised relative to securing a rehearing in the matter of your application for identification as a Mississippi Choctaw.
In reply you are informed that motions for re-hearings are granted in those cases where sufficient reason appears for so doing. Mere statements contained in a letter are not sufficient to induce such action. Applicants are required to show that they or some one of their ancestors, were citizens of the Choctaw Nation in 1830 and heads of families, and as such, complied or attempted to comply in person or by proxy, with the provisions of article 14 of the treaty of September 27, 1830. A mere allegation that their ancestors so complied is not sufficient; the time of their application to be registered must be shown, and the conversation or circumstances relating to it. In some cases this showing can be made directly by satisfactory evidence, either oral or documentary; in others the applicant can accomplish the same result by showing that an ancestor of theirs was identical in person with one of the original beneficiaries of said article 14, whose name appears as such in the records of the government. No conclusion, however, as to the identity can be reached in the absence of a full history of the applicants’ ancestors, showing, as nearly as possible their legal residence and family associations, also their Choctaw as well as their English names.
Petitions for re-hearing should be addressed to the Department through the Commission of the Five Civilized Tribes, and should be in the form of, or accompanied by, the affidavits of the party in interest, setting forth by what testimony he expects to establish his claim, and containing the names of the witnesses who are expected to furnish the required testimony. Petitioners must also show how, when, and where witnesses acquired their knowledge of the matters where of its is expected that they will testify.
Respectfully,
Chairman
M.C.R. 8612
Muskogee, Indian Territory, September 4, 1902
B. F. Davis
Eustace, Texas
Dear Sir:
Receipt is hereby acknowledged of your letter of the 1st inst., enclosing letter of the Commission to you dated September 5, 1901, acknowledging receipt of the joint affidavit of W. A. Lingle and N, M. Mathews in regards to the marriage of Benjamin F. Davis and Mary Ann Yarner; and a letter of John D. Evans and J. P Henderson.
You ask to be informed whether the documents referred to have been filed with the record in your case. You further ask if Nick Lear has been given his “right in the Choctaw Nation?”
In reply, you are informed that the joint affidavid of W. A. Lingle and N.M. Mathews, and the letter of John D. Evans and J. P. Henderson with reference to the marriage of Benjamin F. Davis and Mary Ann Varner were, on September 3, 1901, duly filed with the record in you case.
You are further advised that it appears from the records of the commission that Wichelas Keen, 71 years of age, residence Garadan, Texas, is an applicant for the identification of himself and his minor grandchildren as Mississippi Choctaws.
The Commission has not up to this time rendered a decision in this case, but it is probable that a decision will be rendered in the near future when the applicant will be duly notified of the action of the Commission, and of the forwarding of the record to the Secretary of the Interior for review.
The letter of the Commission to you dated September 3, 1901, is herewith returned to you.
Yours truly.
Acting Chairman