RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 21, 2016
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
Tracing Native American lineage can be a hard task. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that searching through records like the well-known Dawes rolls is a lengthy process. To make such valuable information from that federal source readily available to more researchers, Jeff Bowen continues to compile the material into a printed format. His most recent addition to his series, CHOCTAW BY BLOOD ENROLLMENT CARDS, 1898 – 1914, is VOLUME VIII.
Bowen bases this multi-volume set on the more than 6,100 Choctaw enrollment cards (sometimes referred to as "census cards") that were prepared by the Dawes Commission between the years 1898 and 1914. Information was gathered by the commission to help in the decision to accept or reject the thousands of applications for citizenship submitted by tribal members. Data in this new volume were taken in 1896. The author’s introduction provides a brief general history of the enrollment cards, including the political struggles between the tribes and the U. S. government.
He reproduces the cards in the numerical order of the Dawes Commission card/field number on the Choctaw roll. For each individual listed in the household on an application, the enrollment card furnishes such facts as the county of residence, post office, relationship to the head of the family group, age, gender, degree of Indian blood, and tribal enrollment (year, place, and roll number). When applicable, the material indicates if a spouse was an “I. W.” (meaning “intermarried white”). Additional notes about some or all of the individuals in a family may give details such as an alternate name, references to different cards; dates of birth, death, marriage, and divorce; name of a spouse from another tribe; and whether the application was accepted, refused, or cancelled later.
Like the rest of the set, Bowen’s new publication furnishes details about hundreds of individuals. A sampling of surnames includes ANDERSON, BACON, BEAMS, BEARD, BENTON, BIDDIE, BILLY, BOHANAN, BROOME, BROWN, CAMP, COLLIN, COUSER, DANEY, DUKES, FOLSOM, FREE, HARRIS, HARRISON, HEAVENER, HICKMAN, HILL, JACKSON, JAMES, JEFFERSON, JOHNICO, JOHNSON, JONES, KING, LEWIS, LUDLOW, MCALVAIN/MCALVANE, MCCLURE, MCCURTAIN, MILTON, MOORE, MORRIS, PAGE, PAXTON, PERRY, PETER/PETTER, PITCHLYNN, POTTS, SAGE, SEXTON, SMITH, THOMAS, THOMPSON, TROUT, TUCKER, VAUGHN, WADE, WALL, WASHINGTON, WATSON, WHITE, WILBURN, WILKIN(S), WILLIAMS, WILLIS, WILSON, WOODS, and WRIGHT.
Bowen is to be commended for making the material from the Dawes rolls easily accessible to all researchers. CHOCTAW BY BLOOD ENROLLMENT CARDS, 1898 - 1914, VOLUME VIII will be another welcomed addition to library genealogical collections pertaining to Native American forebears.
The 328-page work has soft covers, an introduction, illustrations, and a full name index. To the book’s price of $35.00, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional book; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $7.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional book. VOLUME VIII (item order 8608) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211 (For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website www.genealogical.com).