The Trail of Tears Roll is the name given by researchers to two different lists, both individually important, which provide an early glimpse into the tribes who went west in the early 1830’s. Lending to the confusion is the fact that both lists were created in 1835 and identified as “Trail of Tears Roll.” But they represent two different tribes. These rolls don’t actually reference the people who went West and arrived in Oklahoma Territory, but rather the composition of the tribes right before they were transported and marched west along the Trail of Tears.
Cherokee Tribe
- Henderson Roll
In 1835, the Cherokee Nation contained almost 22,000 Cherokees and almost 300 Whites connected by marriage. This roll enumerates 16,000 of those people under 5,000 different families. - Cherokee Muster Rolls, 1834 – 1838
When Hernando de Soto arrived in the 1530s, he encountered the Cherokee, an Iroquoian-speaking tribe located in the southeastern United States. By the early 1800s, the Cherokee and other tribes had adopted European customs and were known as the “Five Civilized Tribes.” Federal policies led to the forced removal of the Cherokee in the 1830s, notably through the Indian Removal Act. The collection we call the Cherokee Muster Rolls from 1834-1838 document families during this tumultuous period, including those who emigrated and those who evaded removal.
If you read the reports listed under the 25 Congress, 3rd Session, that we’ve documented as the “Trail of Tears Roll” you will have a better understanding of this roll and the information contained in these reports. Hopefully this information will lead you to some of your ancestors.
Choctaw Tribe
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek contains a long list of individuals (3547) receiving land reservations and positively recognizes these people as members of the Choctaw tribe in a legally binding fashion. Many of these land recipients are elsewhere identified as countrymen or mixed bloods. There can be little doubt that they were accepted as leaders and members of the tribe. The various claims to land and claims for other reasons are found in American State Papers and offer positive identification of mixed bloods in individual cases. They also help pinpoint the location of mixed-blood land holdings. 1
Citations:
- Choctaw Mixed Bloods and the Advent of Removal, Dr. Samuel James Wells, 1987, University of Southern Mississippi. Copyright Dr. Samuel James Wells, 1987-2009.[
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