Willie G. Patterson Et Al., Maggie Lee Glance Et Al.
Commission No. R-1272.
January 12, 1901. Applicant appeared before the commission at Muskogee and made application for enrollment of himself and child as Choctaws by blood. As his name did not appear on any tribal rolls made by the Choctaw Indians in Indian Territory, which fact, under the act of May 31, 1900, prohibited the commission from receiving, considering, or making any record of the application of any person not on some tribal roll, and as his two brothers, James and Walter Patterson, had been enrolled as Choctaws by blood, the commission permitted claimant to make application for enrollment as a Mississippi Choctaw, claiming rights under the fourteenth article of the treaty of 1830, which was the only kind of an application the commission was authorized to receive.
Applicant was examined, and testified to the following facts:
That he was a son of Sarah Patterson, a one-fourth-blood Choctaw; that he was born in Mississippi, near Eddigers Depot, Choctaw Nation; taken to Texas when about 8 years old; remained there until 1897, when he moved to Sans Bois County, Choctaw Nation, in which nation he has since continuously resided; that his mother was a Choctaw Indian in Mississippi, but neither he nor his mother had been enrolled in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory; that his two brothers, Walter and Jim Patterson, had been enrolled by the commission; that he was married and had one child. Noiar Patterson, a girl.
Henry Patterson, claimant’s brother, appeared as a witness and testified, corroborating in all respects the testimony of his brother.
Copy of the examination record is hereto attached and marked “Exhibit A.”
May 9. 1902. Maggie Lee Glance, full sister of Willie G. Patterson, applicant herein, and full sister of James and Walter Patterson, enrolled by the commission as blood Choctaws, appeared before the commission at Muskogee and made application for the enrollment of herself and her minor children, as follows: Vada Glance, Ollie Glance, Walton Glance, Dora Glance, Wiley Glance, Jake Glance, Ella Glance, and Gilbert Glance, as Choctaws by blood.
It is shown by her examination record that this applicant had been living in the Choctaw Nation continuously since 1888. The facts in her case, except as to residence, and identical with those above set out in the case of her brother, Willie G. Patterson, as will appear from the copy of the examination record hereto attached and marked “Exhibit B.”
The record shows that James and Walter Patterson, full brothers of Willie G. Patterson and Maggie Lee Glance, applicants herein, were admitted by act of the Choctaw Council on November 6, 1884, in bill No. 50, and were enrolled by the commission on Choctaw field card Nos. 4690 and 2857, respectively, and their names appear on the final approved roll of Choctaws by blood opposite Nos. 5272 and 8403, respectively, and that their children are all enrolled as Choctaws by blood.
Applications were also submitted for the enrollment of James M. Patterson as an intermarried Choctaw and Henry Patterson and children as Choctaws by blood, but counsel for claimants concedes that James M. Patterson is not entitled as an intermarried, not having married according to tribal laws, and that Henry Patterson is not entitled, because he did not move to the Choctaw Nation until 1900, and was not a resident of the Choctaw Nation on June 28, 1898, as required by law. Therefore no claim is made for their enrollment.
February 7, 1903. The commission rendered its decision denying claimants’ enrollment as Choctaws by blood, and denying them as Mississippi Choctaws, because they had failed to establish that their ancestors took land in Mississippi under the fourteenth article of the treaty of 1830.
Copy of the decision is hereto attached and marked ” Exhibit C.”
May 15, 1903. Decision of the commission approved by the Secretary.
Statement By Counsel
Counsel for applicants respectfully submit that Willie G. Patterson and his sister Maggie Lee Glance, full brother and sister of James and Walter Patterson, enrolled with their children as blood Choctaws, are entitled to enrollment because (1) they are Choctaw Indians by blood; (2) they were bona fide residents of the nation long before June 28, 1898, the time fixed by law. The mere fact that they neglected to have their names placed on the rolls made up by the Indian authorities ought not in equity to deprive them of their clear birthright. Their children, as shown by the record, are also entitled to enrollment. Those thus entitled are: Willie G. Patterson, Willie C. Patterson, Maggie Lee Glance, Vada Glance, Ollie Glance, Walton Glance, Dora Glance, Wiley Glance, Jake Glance, Ella Glance, Gilbert Glance.
(Eleven in all.)
Exhibits attached.
Respectfully submitted.
Ballinger & Lee.
Exhibit A
Department Of The Interior,
Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes,
Atoka, Intl. T., January 12, 1901.
In the matter of the application for Identification as Mississippi Choctaws of Willie G. Patterson and his minor child. Willie G. Patterson, having been first duly sworn, on his oath testifies as follows:
Examination by the Commission:
Q. What is your name?-
A. Willie G. Patterson.
Q. What is your age?-
A. Thirty-eight.
Q. What Is your post-office address?-
A. Krebs, Ind. T.
Q. Indian Territory?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long have you lived in Krebs?-
A. I have lived in Krebs something over two years.
Q. Where did you live before you lived in Krebs?-
A. I lived in the Chickasaw Nation.
Q. What place; do you remember?-
A. Place they call Hart, near Hart.
Q. How long did you live there?-
A. One year.
Q. And where did you live before that?-
A. I lived at Sans Bois, in Sans Bois County.
Q. Texas?-
A. Choctaw Nation.
Q. How long did you live there’-
A. One year.
Q. And before that where did you live?-
A. Texas.
Q. How long did you live in Texas’:-
A. I was raised there.
Q. Born and raised In Texas?-
A. Not born.
Q. Where were you born?-
A. Mississippi.
Q. How old were you when you left Mississippi?-
A. Well, sir, I don’t know just exactly how old: I was old enough to go to school.
Q. Seven or eight, you think?-
A. Ye?, sir; something about 8 years old.
Q. And from there you went to Texas?-
A. My father carried me to Texas.
Q. And you came from Texas to the Territory?-
A. Yes. sir.
Q. At what place did you live in Mississippi?-
A. I can think of it, I reckon, Eddigers Depot.
Q. How do you spell that?-
A. Eddiger, I reckon.
Q. What is your father’s name?-
A. J. M. Patterson.
Q. Is he living?-
A. I don’t know.
Q. Don’t know whether he is living or dead?-
A. No, sir; not at this time.
Q. What is your mother’s name?-
A. Before she married my father?
Q. No; what Is her name now?-
A. Patterson.
Q. Her first name?-
A. Sarah.
Q. Is she living?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Through which one of these parents do you claim Choctaw blood?-
A. My mother.
Q. How much do you claim?-
A. My father tells me that she was a quarter Indian.
Q. Yes; how much do you claim?-
A. Well, I don’t know.
Q. If she claim a quarter, how much do you claim?-
A. Half of that.
Q. It would be one-eighth, wouldn’t it?-
A. That is what I would think; I ain’t positive.
Q. You think about an eighth?-
A. About an eighth.
Q. Is the name of your mother on any of the tribal rolls of the Choctaw Nation?-
A. I don’t know sir.
Q. Was she ever recognized by any of the authorities of the Choctaw Nation as a Choctaw Indian?-
A. I don’t know, sir.
Q. Have you ever made application to the Choctaw tribal authorities as a citizen of the Choctaw Nation?-
A. Never have had any chance.
Q. Did you, or did anyone in your behalf, in 1896, under the act of Congress of June 10, 1896, make application to the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes for citizenship in the Choctaw Nation?-
A. I don’t know.
Q. Have you ever been admitted to citizenship in the Choctaw Nation by judgment of the United States court in Indian Territory on appeal from the decision of the Choctaw tribal authorities or the decision of the commission?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Have you ever before this time made application to either the tribal authorities or the authorities of the United States for either citizenship or enrollment as a Choctaw?-
A. This is my first opportunity.
Q. This is the first application, then, you have ever made, of any kind?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You are now making application for identification as a Mississippi Choc- taw?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are you making your claim as a beneficiary under provisions of the 14th article of the treaty of 1830?-
A. I don’t understand.
Q. Do you know anything about the treaties pertaining to your application?-
A. No. sir. I don’t.
Q. Have not had any of them explained?-
A. No sir.
Q. Do you understand or believe that there are treaties or laws made by the United States that enable you to make this application for Identification?- A. I believe there ought to be, but now I don’t know.
Q. You don’t know anything about it?-
A. No. sir.
Q. Did you ever hear of the treaty of 1830?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Made between the United States Government and the Choctaw Nation who lived in Mississippi at that time?-
A. No, sir; If I did I don’t know it.
Q. You never heard of article 14 of that treaty?-
A. I don’t understand.
Q. You don’t know anything about it?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Article 14 of the treaty of 1830 provided that if any of the Choctaw Indians living in Mississippi in 1830 did not desire to remove to the Indian Territory in 1833 when the Choctaw tribe was moved here by the United States Government, that they might remain there and receive land from the United States Government, but if they so elected to remain, article 14 provided that they should notify the United States Indian agent In Mississippi at that time of their intention to remain in Mississippi and become citizens of the United States. That is. substantially, the law. You say you have not heard of that law?-
A. No, sir. I have got no education and can’t read; just what I hear is what I get.
Q. I want to ask you the name of your ancestor who lived in Mississippi In 1830.-
A. Explain that ancestor.
Q. I mean by the word ancestor, some kin of yours from whom you are lineally descended, who lived in Mississippi in 1830?-
A. Some kin? Outside of my father and mother, I don’t know.
Q. Do you know whether your father lived in Mississippi in 1830?-
A. No, sir; I don’t.
Q. Do you know the name of your father’s father or your mother’s father, that is, your grandfather on your father’s side or on your mother’s side?-
A. No. sir.
Q. What is the name of your father?-
A. Patterson.
Q. Yes: his full name?-
A. James Patterson.
Q. Do you know whether James Patterson lived in Mississippi in 1830?-
A. No. sir; I don’t.
Q. And you don’t know the names of any of their ancestors?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Never heard about your father’s father being an Indian?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Or your mother’s father being an Indian?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you hear that your father was an Indian?-
A. I have heard him claim that he was an Indian.
Q. When did he die?-
A. My father? My father is not dead that I know of.
Q. He is not dead?-
A. No.
Q. When was he born?-
A. I don’t know that.
Q. I thought you said a little while ago that you didn’t know whether he was living or dead?-
A. I didn’t know whether he was living or dead at this time, he was alive the last time I have heard from him.
Q. You have not heard from him or seen him very recently?-
A. I have not heard from him since along in August.
Q. And where was he then?-
A. He was In the Chickasaw Nation.
Q. Do you know whether your ancestor removed from Mississippi to the Indian Territory at the time the Choctaw Tribe were moved here by the United States Government, from 1833 to 1837?-
A. No, sir; I don’t know.
Q. Do you know whether your ancestor, within six mouths after the ratification of the treaty of 1830, signified to the United States Indian agent of the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi, his intention to remain in Mississippi and become a citizen of the United States?-
A. No, sir; I don’t know.
Q. Have you any documentary evidence showing that your ancestor ever compiled In any manner with the provisions of the fourteenth article of the treaty of 1830?-
A. No, Sir; I have not.
Q. Did any of your ancestors ever claim or receive land in Mississippi as beneficiaries under the provisions of the fourteenth article of the treaty of 1830?-
A. I don’t know.
Q. Have either you or any of your ancestors ever received any benefits in Indian Territory as Choctaw Indians?-
A. I have two brothers.
Q. Did they ever receive any benefits In Indian Territory as Choctaw Indians?-
A. They claimed and were, they told me that they were enrolled.
Q. Enrolled?-
A. Yes. sir.
Q. What are their names?-
A. Walter and Jim Patterson.
Q. They claim to be enrolled as members of the Choctaw Tribe?-
A. No; they claim to be enrolled by adoption.
Q. By adoption?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are you married?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is your wife’s name?-
A. Mary Patterson.
Q. Have you any children?-
A. I have one.
Q. What Is her name?-
A. Noiar.
Q. Is this a girl or a boy?-
A. Girl.
Q. How old Is she?-
A. The 8th day of next month she will be 10 years old.
Q. This is all the children you have?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you make application for your wife or not, or simply for the child and yourself and the child?-
A. Myself and the child.
Q. Is Noiar, this child of yours, the child of Mary Patterson?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You are the father?-
A. Yes. sir.
Q. The basis of this child’s claim is the same as yours, claiming through you, and you through your ancestor?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you your marriage license and certificate that you wish to file now with the commission?-
A. No, sir; I haven’t.
Q. Would you like time in which to file it? It is necessary for you to file this in support of your claim for the child, either the marriage license and certificate or a certified copy?-
A. I would like to have time.
Q. Have you any documentary evidence which you would like to submit now in support of your claim? Any evidence in writing that you would like to put in now?-
A. I have none.
Q. Would you like a little time in which to file evidence?-
A. I don’t understand how that Is.
Q. Would you like a little time to look up the matter of testimony or evidence and send to the commission within a certain period from the date of this, hearing, such evidence as you may look up?-
A. Yes, sir, I would.
Twenty days’ time from the date hereof is given the applicant in which to file such documentary evidence as he may wish to produce in support of his application and also to file his marriage license or certificate or a certified copy thereof.
Q. Is there anything further you would like to say in support of your claim that you think of?-
A. Well, I would like to have my evidence sent up to where that I could get a new hearing if it Is necessary.
Q. Yes, sir; you would like to have it sent to the Secretary of the Interior for his final review and action?-
A. I would like to have that done if you please.
Q. Have yon a witness here that you would like to have testify In this case?-
A. None but my brother; he will testify that I am his brother.
Henry Patterson, being called and sworn as a witness, testifies as follows on behalf of the applicant:
Examination by the Commission:
Q. Now, Mr. Patterson, you can make any statement in behalf of your brother that you wish.-
A. Well, he is my own brother, has the same father and the same mother that I had.
Q. What is your father’s name?-
A. J. M. Patterson.
Q. And your mother’s name?-
A. Sarah.
Q. And through which one of your ancestors do you make your claim? You have appeared before the commission? You have made your claim?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And your claim through which parent?-
A. My mother.
Q. Do you remember her ancestor who lived in Mississippi In 1830?-
A. No, sir; unless it was my father; he is 84 years old.
Q. I thought you said you claimed through your mother?-
A. Well, I do.
Q. Through your mother’s mother? Well, what did you say?-
A. My mother’s mother was a full blood.
Q. You claim that your ancestor who lived in Mississippi was your grandmother-your mother’s mother?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was her name?-
A. McQuaters. She married a man by the name of McQuaters. You mean my grandmother?
Q. I mean your ancestor who lived in Mississippi?-
A. McQuaters.
Q. You don’t remember her given name?-
A. No, sir; if my father ever told me, I don’t remember now.
Q. And this applicant is your brother?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Having the same father and mother?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the basis of his claim is the same as yours?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Anything further you would like to state?-
A. He don’t recollect about where he was born; he was born in Rankin County, Miss.-Brandon.
Q. How much older are you than he?-
A. Let’s see; I am 46, and he Is 38.
Q. You were 8 years older and you remember when he was born?-
A. Yes. sir.
The decision of the commission in regard to this claim which you make for identification as a Mississippi Choctaw for yourself and child will be mailed to you at your present post-office address.
Anna Bell, having been first duly sworn, on her oath states that as stenographer to the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, she reported In full all proceedings had in the above-entitled cause on January 12, 1901, and that the above and foregoing Is a full, true, and correct transcript of her stenographic notes in said cause on said date.
Anna Bell.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 22d day of January 1901.
[seal.] Charles H. Sawyer, Notary Public.
Exhibit B
Department Of The Interior,
Commission To The Five Civilized Tribes,
Muskogee, Ind. T., May 9, 1902.
In the matter of the application of Maggie Lee Glance for the identification of herself and her eight minor children, Vada Glance, Ollie Glance, Walton Glance, Dora Glance, Wiley Glance, Jake Glance, Ella Glance, and Gilbert Glance, as Mississippi Choctaws. No attorney for applicant Maggie Lee Glance, after being duly sworn, testified as follows:
Examination by the Commission:
Q. What is your name?-
A. Maggie Lee Glance.
Q. What is your age?-
A. I am 38.
Q. What is your post office?-
A. Roff, Ind. T.
Q. How long have you lived there?-
A. Six years.
Q. Where did you live before you en me there?-
A. McAlester.
Q. How long have you lived in Indian Territory?-
A. Fourteen years.
Q. Where did you live before you came to the Indian Territory ?-
A. In North Carolina.
Q. Where were you born?-
A. In Mississippi.
Q. Do you know where in Mississippi you were born?-
A. I think it was in Brandon County.
Q. How long did you live In Mississippi?-
A. I don’t remember.
Q. Where did you go from there?-
A. To Texas.
Q. Is your father living?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is your mother living?-
A. No, sir. .
Q. What Is your father’s name?-
A. James Patterson.
Q. What Is your mother’s name?-
A. Sarah Patterson.
Q. She did not marry again, did she?-
A. No. sir.
Q. Through which parent do you claim?-
A. My mother.
Q. How much Choctaw blood do you claim?-
A. One-fourth.
Q. Has your mother ever been recognized in any way or enrolled as a Choctaw citizen in Indian Territory?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Yon are married?-
A. Yes. sir.
Q. What is your husband’s full name?-
A. Hunter A. Glance.
Q. Is he a white man or a Choctaw Indian?-
A. He is a white man.
Q. You do not make any claim for him?-
A. No, sir.
Q. How many children have you living?-
A. Eight.
Q. Are they all under 21 and unmarried?-
A. All but one; I have one of age and seven under age.
Q. Give me the oldest one under age?-
A. Vada Glance.
Q. These are all children by your husband, Hunter A. Glance, are they?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How old is Vada?-
A. Twenty years old.
Q. What is the name of the next one?-
A. Ollie Glance.
Q. How old is Ollie?-
A. Seventeen years old.
Q. What is the name of the next one?-
A. Walton Glance.
Q. How old?-
A. Sixteen.
Q. Next?-
A. Dora Glance.
Q. How old?-
A. She Is 13 years old.
Q. Next?-
A. Wiley Glance.
Q. How old is he?-
A. Eleven.
Q. Next?-
A. Jake Glance.
Q. How old?-
A. Four years old.
Q. Next?-
A. Ella Glance.
Q. How old?-
A. Four years old.
Q. Are they twins?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Next?-
A. Gilbert Glance.
Q. How old is he?-
A. One year old.
Q. Do you make claim for yourself and these minor children?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. There are eight, then, under 21 years of age, instead of seven, as you first stated?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is your name or the names of any of your children on the tribal rolls of the Choctaw Nation In Indian Territory?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever make application for citizenship to the Choctaw tribal authorities or to the United States authorities in Indian Territory?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Have you ever made application for citizenship for yourself and children In the Choctaw Nation to the Dawes Commission?-
A. I have made application to the Dawes Commission.
Q. When did you make application?-
A. In 1900, on July 12.
Q. You made application at that time as a citizen by blood of the Choctaw Nation, and also for seven minor children, did you not?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Your child Gilbert has been born since that application?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was done with the application you made at that time?-
A. I was not admitted.
Q. Did you get any word from the commission as to whether you were admitted or rejected?-
A. I got word that I was refused.
Q. Didn’t you get a letter from the commission, addressed to you at Roff, stating that there was inclosed you a copy of the decision of the commission regarding your application made at that time for the enrollment of yourself and children as citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation? Didn’t you receive that letter?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then-you did not get notice that you were refused admission as a citizen of the Choctaw Nation?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you come before the commission claiming the right to identify yourself and children as Mississippi Choctaws, claiming rights under article 14 of the treaty of 1830?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you want all the papers filed and the application made by you in 1900 at Muskogee, Ind. T. to be made a part of the present application, which is here referred to as R-706?-
A. Yes, sir.
The application of Maggie Lee Glance et al., made by her on the 12th day of July 1900, before the commission at Muskogee, Ind. T., and numbered R-706, Is here referred to.
Q. Do you understand article 14 of the treaty of 1830?-
A. No, sir.
The treaty of 1830 was made between the United States Government and the Choctaw tribe of Indians at a place In Mississippi called Dancing Rabbit Creek, on the 27th day of September 1831. The object of the treaty was to remove all the Choctaw Indians, as far as possible, from the old Choctaw Nation east of the Mississippi River to the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory; but before the treaty was signed it became known that a great many Choctaw Indians would not go from Mississippi, and in order to protect the Interests of those who remained article 14 was drawn up and put into the treaty.
That article reads as follows:
“Each Choctaw head of a family being desirous to remain and become a citizen of the States shall be permitted to do so by signifying his intention to the agent within six months after the ratification of this treaty, and he or she shall thereupon be entitled to a reservation of one section of 640 acres of hind to be bounded by sectional lines of survey; in like manner shall be entitled to one-half of that quantity for each unmarried child which is living with him over 10 years of age and a quarter section to such child as may be under 10 years of age, to adjoin the location of the parent. If they reside upon said lands intending to become citizens of the States for five years after the ratification of this treaty, in that case a grant in fee simple shall issue. Said reservation shall include the present improvements of the head of the family or a portion of it. Persons who claim under this article shall not lose the privilege of a Choctaw citizen, but if they ever remove are not to be entitled to any portion of the Choctaw annuity.”
Q. Did any of your ancestors comply or attempt to comply with any of the provisions of that article?-
A. No, sir.
Q. What is the name of your Choctaw ancestor through whom you claim Choctaw blood?-
A. Margaret Gaydon.
Q. What relation was Margaret Gaydon to you?-
A. My grandmother.
Q. Did she live in Mississippi or Alabama in 1830?-
A. She lived in Alabama.
Q. In what county in Alabama did she live?-
A. I don’t know.
Q. Do you know whether she lived In the old Choctaw Nation?-
A. I don’t know.
Q. Did she live in Alabama in 1830 and have a family there?-
A. I don’t know.
Q. Can you give me the name of a Choctaw ancestor who lived in the old Choctaw Nation in Mississippi or Alabama in 1830?-
A. No; I don’t know myself; my father is sick or he would have come with me. He knows, I guess.
Q. Is Margaret Gaydon as far back as you can go?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Can you tell me her father’s name?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Do you claim through Margaret Gaydon?-
A. No; through Sarah Gaydon.
Q. Can you go back any further than Margaret Gaydon, whose maiden name was-what was her maiden name?-
A. McAuarters.
Q. Can you go back any further than Margaret McAuarters?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know how to spell that name?-
A. M-c-Q-u-a-r-t-e-r-s is the way I understand it.
Q. She married a man by the name of Gaydon?-
A. Yes; John Gaydon.
Q. Can you give any more evidence as to Margaret Gaydon, as to where she “was born and where and when she died?-
A. No, sir.
Q. How much Choctaw blood did she have?-
A. One-half.
Q. Did you get all your Choctaw blood from that source?-
A. No; my father is a part Indian, and of course I get some from him. But of course I get all my Choctaw blood from her; my father is not Choctaw.
Q. Have you other Indian blood besides Choctaw?-
A. Yes; my father Is Seminole.
Q. But you are now claiming as a Mississippi Choctaw?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How much Seminole blood have you?-
A. About one-fifth.
Q. Do you think you have more Choctaw blood than Seminole?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did any of your Choctaw ancestors own any lands or claim any improvements in Mississippi or Alabama under article 14 of the treaty of 1830?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Did any of your Choctaw ancestors go from that old Choctaw Nation east of the Mississippi River to the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory with other Indians between 1833 and 1838′-
A. I don’t know.
Q. Did any of your Choctaw ancestors go within six months after the ratification of the treaty of 1830 to the United States Indian agent. Col. Ward, and tell him that they wanted to stay, take lands, and become citizens of the States?-
A. I don’t know.
Q. Did any of your Choctaw ancestors receive any benefits under article 14 of the treaty of 18807-
A. No, sir.
Q. You can not tell the name of any of your Choctaw ancestors who lived In Mississippi in 1830 and was at the head of a family there?-
A. No sir; I don’t remember; I just can remember leaving the State.
Please Read, Contains valuable info on Mississippi Choctaw
The Choctaw Indians who remained in the old Choctaw Nation after the treaty of 1830 was ratified were required, if they wanted to take advantage of any of the provisions of article 14 of the treaty of 1830, to go to the United States Indian agent, Col. Ward, within six months after the ratification of the treaty and tell him they wanted to stay, take lands, and become citizens of the States. A great many Choctaw Indians did this whose name Col Ward failed to put upon his list, known as “Ward’s register.” His neglect to do this caused a good many Choctaws in Mississippi to lose both their lands and their improvements, for both were taken from them by the Government and sold at its public land sales. This caused so many complaints among the Indians that Congress, in 1837, by an act of March 3 of that year, appointed a commission which went to Mississippi and heard claimants under article 14 of the treaty of 1830. In 1842 Congress appointed another commission by an act of August 23 of that year for the same purpose. Both commissions went to Mississippi and heard claimants under article 14 of the treaty of 1830 and made lists of such names as came before them.
Q. Do yon know whether any of your ancestors appeared before either of those commissions claiming under article 14 of the treaty of 1830?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Have you any other evidence other than the matter continued In your application, R-70B, with you and which yon want to present now?-
A. No sir.
Q. Do you ask for any time In which to introduce other testimony?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Have you any relatives or kin who have applied to this commission to be Identified as Mississippi Choctaws?-
A. Yes: two brothers.
Q. What are their names?-
A. Charlie Patterson and Willie Patterson.
Q. When did they appear before the commission?-
A. I suppose it was in February.
Q. Did they make applications as Mississippi Choctaws?-
A. I think they did.
Q. You have presented here the sworn statement of J. M. Patterson; do you want this evidence introduced and made a part of the record in this case?- A. Yes, sir.
The sworn statement of J. M. Patterson is received, filed, and made a part of the record in this case, same being marked “Exhibit A.”
Q. Do you speak or understand the Choctaw language?-
A. No, sir.
A reasonable time will be allowed in which to introduce other evidence In this case.
Q. Charlie Patterson has made application before this commission, has he?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did he make application for anyone but himself?-
A. I think he has two children-I think so-but I have not seen them since they married.
Q. The application of Willie G. Patterson is referred to as No. 1272. Did he make application for anyone else but himself?-
A. He has one child. I believe, and its name is Nolle, I think.
Q. He gave the name of this child as Nolria?-
A. That is it. That is the same child.
Q. The application of Henry Patterson is here referred to as No. 1271. Is he a brother of yours?-
A. Yes.
Q. He made application January 12, 1901, as a Mississippi Choctaw.-
A. That is my brother.
Q. Do you remember his age?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Has he any children?-
A. I don’t know the names of his children.
Q. He has applied for his children named Katie and Bertie.-
A. I don’t know the names of his children.
Q. Who Is James M. Patterson, who has applied here for identification as a Mississippi Choctaw, No. M C R-1276?-
A. He is my brother.
Q. Do you know whether he had any children-
A. I don’t know.
Q. These relatives of yours have made application to be identified as Mississippi Choctaws; do you want your case considered with them and all others claiming from the same common ancestor?-
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know of any other relatives, claiming through the same ancestor, who have made application?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Your father has no Choctaw blood, has he?-
A. No, sir.
Q. Your mother had the Choctaw blood?-
A. Yes; my mother was part Choctaw.
Q. Is your mother dead?-
A. Yes; she Is dead.
This applicant has the appearance and physical characteristics of being descended from a mixed ancestry, composed of white and Indian blood. She claims not only Choctaw blood from her mother’s ancestry, but also claims Seminole blood, but is not positive as to the quantity of Seminole blood. Her color and the color of her eyes and hair show plainly the features and characteristics of the Indian. The commission does not doubt that this applicant has Indian blood; in fact, the Indian blood predominates, and there is no question as to her possession of Indian blood, but as to the quantity the commission Is unable to determine at this time. Her complexion is dark and her hair is that of an Indian. She does not speak the Choctaw language and has no knowledge of any compliance on the part of her ancestor with any of the provisions of article 14 of the treaty of 1830.
S. A. Apple, being duly sworn, on his oath states that as stenographer to the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes he reported the proceedings in the above application on March 9, 1902, and that foregoing is a true and correct report of the proceedings In the same.
S. A. Apple.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of May 1902.
[seal.] Charles H. Sawyer, Notary Public.
Exhibit C
Department Of The Interior,
Commission To The Five Civilized Tribes.
In the matter of the application of James M. Patterson et al. for identification as Mississippi Choctaws, consolidating the applications of: James M. Patterson, M. C. R. 1276; Henry Patterson et al., M. C. R., 1271; Willie G. Patterson et al., M. C. R. 1272; Maggie Lee Glance et al. M. C. R., 5528.
Decision
It appears from the record herein that applications for identification as Mississippi Choctaws were made to this commission by Henry Patterson for himself, his wife, Lou, and his two minor children. Katie and Bertie Patterson: by Willie G. Patterson for himself and his minor child Noiar; by Maggie Lee Glance for herself and her eight minor children. Vada, Ollie, Walton, Dora, Wiley, Jake, Ella, and Gilbert Glance; and by James M. Patterson for himself as an intermarried Mississippi Choctaw, under the following provision of the act of Congress approved June 28, 1898 (30 Stats., 495) :
“Said commission shall have authority to determine the identity of Choctaw Indians claiming rights in the Choctaw lands under article fourteen of the treaty between the United States and the Choctaw Nation concluded September twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and thirty, and to that end may administer oaths, examine witnesses, and perform all other acts necessary thereto and make report to the Secretary of the Interior.”
It also appears that all the said applicants, except Lou Patterson, claim rights In the Choctaw land under article 14 of the treaty between the United States and the Choctaw Nation concluded September 27, 1830, by reason of being descendants of or having married a descendant of Margaret Gayden (or Gaydon, nee McQuaters), who is alleged to have been an one-quarter blood Choctaw Indian, and to have resided in Mississippi in 1830; that the said Lou Patterson claims said rights by reason of being a descendant of Jim Stevenson, who is alleged to have been an one-eighth blood Choctaw Indian; and that the two minor children of the said Lou Patterson claim said rights by reason of being descendants of both the above-named ancestors.
It further appears from the evidence submitted In support of said applications, and from the records In the possession of the commission, that none of said applicants has ever been enrolled by the Choctaw tribal authorities as a member of the Choctaw Tribe, or admitted to Choctaw citizenship by a duly constituted court or committee of the Choctaw Nation, or by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, or by a decree of the United States court in Indian Territory, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 10, 1890. (29 Stats., 231.)
It does not appear from the testimony and evidence offered In support of said application, or from the records in the possession of the commission relating to persons who complied or attempted to comply with the provisions of said article 14 of the treaty of 1830, and to persons who heretofore were claimants thereunder, that the said Margaret Gayden (Gaydon. nee McQuaters) or an ancestor less remote, or the said Jim Stevenson, signified (in person or by proxy) to Col. William Ward. Indian agent, Choctaw Agency, an intention to comply with the provisions of said article 14 or presented a claim to rights thereunder, or either of the commission duly authorized to adjudicate such claims by the acts of Congress approved March 3, 1837 (5 Stats., 180) and August 23. 1842 (5 Stats., 513).
It is therefore the opinion of this commission that the evidence herein is Insufficient to determine the identity of Henry Patterson, Lou Patterson, Katie Patterson, Bertie Patterson, Willie G. Patterson, Noiar Patterson, Maggie Lee Glance, Vada Glance, Ollie Glance, Walton Glance, Dora Glance, Wiley Glance, Jake Glance, Ella Glance, and Gilbert Glance, as Choctaw Indians entitled to rights In the Choctaw lands under the provisions of said article 14 of the treaty of 1830, and that the applications for their identification as such should be refused, and it is so ordered.
It Is the further opinion of this commission that under the provision of law above quoted no person is entitled to identification as a Mississippi Choctaw by marriage, and that the application of James M. Patterson for himself as an intermarried Mississippi Choctaw should therefore be refused, and it is so ordered.
Commission To The Five Civilized Tribes.
(Signed) Tams Bixby, Acting Chairman.
(Signed) T. B. Needles, Commissioner.
(Signed) C. R. Breckinridge, Commissioner.
Muskogee, Ind. T., February 7, 1903.