RELEASE DATE: MAY 25, 2014
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
Genealogists who are familiar with Jeff Bowen’s diligent transcriptions of materials concerning Native Americans will welcome his new series, CHEROKEE INTERMARRIED WHITE, 1906. Projected to be a multi-volume set, the series began with the publication of VOLUME I in 2013. His latest addition, VOLUME VI, is now available.
Taken from the records of the famous Dawes Commission, Bowen’s publications pertain to the files of people who claimed entitlement to a portion of the Cherokee tribal lands (under the Dawes Act) in 1906. Entitlement was based on the intermarriage between a Cherokee and a white person. Although nearly 3,341 persons applied, the Commission only approved 286, far fewer than the numbers of intermarried couples appearing on the Choctaw and Chickasaw rolls.
That disparity was due to strict Cherokee tribal laws governing citizenship, which denied the enrollment of whites who had married Cherokees after November 1, 1877. However, whites who abandoned their Cherokee spouse or remarried to a non-Cherokee after they became a widow or widower were not eligible. Another law, passed in 1839, stated that individuals who moved out of the Cherokee Nation lost their citizenship unless they were readmitted. The U. S. Supreme Court upheld those laws in November of 1906. The Cherokee also maintained the rigid rules because they were aware of the importance of protecting their tribal allotment within Oklahoma Territory from unscrupulous individuals who might claim acreage under false pretenses.
Bowen’s volumes in the series consist of verbatim duplications of the applications that were accepted. Details found in the claims usually include the names and ages of all parties involved; the date of marriage; the names and ages of children; and places of birth and residence. Miscellaneous notes may also be added to the files. Names of more than 1,000 individuals mentioned in the transcripts usually appear in each of the volumes. Some recurring surnames are ADAIR, ALLISON, BIGBEY, BREEDLOVE, ELDRIDGE, FOLEY, GULAGER/GULEGAR, HAMPTON, HAYDEN, LAMAR, MILLER, SAGER, SMITH, THOMAS, TITTLE, WILLIAMS, WOODALL, YEARGAIN/YEARGAN, and ZUFALL.
Bowen is to be commended for continuing to make federal material about the Five Civilized Tribes more easily accessible to researchers by reproducing it in book form. Genealogists and historians alike will welcome the volumes of CHEROKEE INTERMARRIED WHITE, 1906 as valuable additions to library shelves.
Each volume has soft-covers and includes an introduction explaining Cherokee citizenship laws, illustrated examples of various types of documents found in the files, and a full name index. Volume I has 330 pages while Volume VI contains 357 pages. Each volume is priced at $36.00, but 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 copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $7.50 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book. Volume 1 (item order 8061) and Volume VI (item order 8066) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website at www.genealogical.com.