Cherokee

Biographies of the Cherokee Indians

1830 Map of Cherokee Territory in Georgia

Whatever may be their origins in antiquity, the Cherokees are generally thought to be a Southeastern tribe, with roots in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, among other states, though many Cherokees are identified today with Oklahoma, to which they had been forcibly removed by treaty in the 1830s, or with the lands of the Eastern Band of Cherokees in western North Carolina. The largest of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes, which also included Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, the Cherokees were the first tribe to have a written language, and by 1820 they had even adopted a form of government … Read more

Cherokee Indian Tribe Photo Descriptions

This article contains the Cherokee photo descriptions from the Descriptive Catalogue, Photographs of North American Indians. United States Geological Survey of the Territories, 1877 by W. H. Jackson, Photographer of the Survey, F. V. Hayden, U. S. Geologist.

Medicine Bag of my Forefathers

I now fell heir to the great medicine bag of my forefathers, which had belonged to my father. I took it, buried our dead, and returned with my party, sad and sorrowful, to our village, in consequence of the loss of my father. Owing to this misfortune I blacked my face, fasted and prayed to the Great Spirit for five years, during which time I remained in a civil capacity, hunting and fishing. The Osages having again commenced aggressions on our people, and the Great Spirit having taken pity on me, I took a small party and went against them. I … Read more

John Ross, Cherokee Chief

John Ross

John Ross, on his mother’s side, was of Scotch descent. His grandfather, John McDonald, was born at Inverness, Scotland, about 1747. Visiting London when a youth of nineteen years, he met a countryman who was coming to America, and catching the spirit of adventure, he joined him, landing in Charleston, S. C., in 1766. While here, he heard of a mercantile house in Augusta, Georgia, which attracted him thither, and he entered it as clerk. His success in business inspired confidence in his employers, who sent him to Fort Loudon, on the frontier of the State, built by the British … Read more

Cherokee Advocate

Cherokee Advocate: News Items from several editions of the Cherokee Advocate in the years 1885 and 1886.

Cherokee Advocate 1885 – 1886

December 4, 1885 The Cherokee Advocate Published Every Friday Morning Tahlequah Cherokee Nation Terms: One Dollar A Year, Invariably In Advance. J A Thompson, MD Permanently located at Tahlequah, I T Will do the practice of his profession, either in any departments of Surgery, Male or Female, the general practice of medicine and will insure a cure of the Opium habit, and no fee is required until the patient is completely cured and dismissed. He will always dismiss any case of the Opium patient in 20 days at the fartherest period. Some cases are dismissed in 12 days. This is … Read more

Cherokee Advocate 1886

  February 15, 1886 Vinta, Indian Territory Editor Advocate: Dear Sir; Your Correspondents has not forgotten you if the weather has. We will try to be on time in the future provided the blizzards don’t interfere. News at this place is not very plentiful, we might say there we have had very cold weather, but doubtless our neighbors are aware of that as well as ourselves. Since our last items we have had intense cold and tremendous snow drifts. Business is very dull owing to the scarcity of cash. We give it up, that last snow beats us, nothing like … Read more

Cherokee Advocate, May 7, 1886

May 7, 1886 Clerk’s Office, Sequoyah District, Cherokee Nation To All Whom It May Concern: Parties obtaining permits from this office made under the laws of the Cherokee Nation, are hereby warned to renew them within ten days after the expiration of such permits, or they will not be renewed. Also all persons having white or colored laborers on their farms without permits are requested to take out permits for them without delay, r they will be reported to the Solicitor for prosecution, and the non-citizens to the Executive Department of the Cherokee Nation as intruders. Given from under my … Read more

1854 Act of Congress Roll

An Act of Congress of July 31, 1854 (10 Stat 333) Authorized the addition of 88 individuals whose names were omitted by Siler but who were included on the Roll prepared by Mullay.  This roll has been reproduced on roll 12 of National Archives Microfilm publication M685. Names of Eastern Cherokees added to Siler Roll by Act of Congress.  Appropriation of July 1854 ~ Opinion of Attorney General June 1857. Volume–Indian Appropriations–No.11 Page 143-144 There are only 3 pages to this Roll Number Name Remarks Amount 5342 Pickens E. Ellis 54.76 7028 Mahala Hilliam James Kinford Thomas Nancy daughter of … Read more

Cherokees, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Creek, 1896 Applications

Please read the following for a better understanding of these pages. This is the Index of Cherokees, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Creek found on microfilm M1650 obtained from the National Archives in Fort Worth, Texas.  If your ancestor was on the 1896 Cherokee Census they probably will NOT be on this index.  This is NOT the 1896 CENSUS.  It is an index of people who were NOT recognized by the Cherokee Tribe and subsequently made application to be considered for citizenship. Applications from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Muskogee Area Office, Relating to the Enrollment of the Five Civilized Tribes under … Read more

1880 Cherokee Nation Census

The census of 1880 was authorized by an act of the Cherokee National Council Senate Bill No. 33 on December 1, 1879. This is a transcription of the index for Schedule One and includes all nine districts.  This index can be found on microfilm through the LDS organization on microfilm #989204.  National Archives also has a microfilm index for this census. It is found on Roll # 7RA07 The introduction to the NARA index, written by Thelma Defrates, indicates it was used by the Dawes Commission to verify citizenship in the Cherokee Nations for the purpose of land allotment. Section … Read more

Trail of Tears Roll

Trail of Tears Map

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 Cherokees who went west in the early 1830’s. Lending to the confusion is the fact that both lists were created in 1835.