Oklahoma Genealogy - Oklahoma Genealogy

Thomas Segar, Big Man among Indians

The subject of this sketch was born and raised in Ohio. After he had married he came west as others have done before him and since, to find wider fields of action. As I have been reliably informed, he was a young man of considerable wealth. About the year 1876 he stopped at Fort Reno, and accepted a position as principal of a government school at Darlington. Darlington was located on the north side of the North Canadian opposite Fort Reno, and was the agency for the Cheyennes and Arapahoes. He adapted himself quickly to the ways of the Indians, … Read more

Quanah Parker, Chief of the Comanche

This chapter on the the of Quanah Parker will be begun with the following poem taken in substance from Indianology by Herman Lehmann. The old chieftain, Parker, was a great lover of music, and the following poem fairly illustrates the figure of a dance of which the noted chief was especially fond: Get yo’ little sage hens ready, Trot ’em out upon the floor; Line up there, you cusses, steady; Lively now, one couple more. Shorty, shed that ol’ sombrero; Broncho, douse that cigarette; Stop your cussin’, Casimero; For the ladies now, all set. S’lute your ladies, all together; Ladies … Read more

Religion and Traditions of the Cheyenne

There is a tradition among the Cheyennes that in the beginning they lived upon the upper Missouri or in some part of Canada, existing much like animals. What they could catch they ate raw, so the tradition says, and as to clothing, the less they had, the better. They had no love nor respect for one another, and when a woman gave birth to a child she would take care of it until it was large enough to catch what it needed to live on, and then turn it adrift and care no more for it. They were living somewhere … Read more

Two Braids, Ora Woodman

From the best evidence that the government has been able to secure, this man was born somewhere in western Texas before the Civil War. Whether he has any living relatives or not will probably never be known, and what his real name is will also remain veiled in mystery. Whether he had father, mother, brother, sister, massacred by the red men, no one knows; or perhaps, he was torn from his mother’s breast, leaving her to lament and bewail his loss. In all probability, however, he was stolen by a warrior named Toey, since the warriors always kept the captives … Read more

Wash Robinson, a Noted Colored Scout

Wash Robinson was born in Old Mexico, as nearly as he remembers, about the year 1840. When quite a boy, he was stolen by the Navaho Indians. When he was nearly grown, he was sold by them to the Pueblos. After having been with them for some time, he left, and went to the Wichita Mountains. He was next taken prisoner at the battle of Big Frame on the Santa Fe Trail, and taken to Washington. He could talk no English at all, but he was proficient in Spanish and in several Indian tongues. He didn’t know what his English … Read more

Craig County, Oklahoma History and Genealogy

Craig County is located in the northern part of the state, adjoining Ottawa, County on the west and the State of Kansas on the south. In Territorial days this section of the state was an important part of the Cherokee Nation and many of its officials and prominent citizens still reside here. Upon the abolition of tribal government and the adoption of statehood, these Cherokees quickly adjusted themselves to their new environment and their new political relations, many of them being successful farmers, business men and political leaders. History of Craig County Oklahoma History of Vinita, Oklahoma Original Vinita, Craig … Read more

Original Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma

“Originally there were thirteen streets and nine avenues. The streets were named for prominent Cherokee families as Vann, Wilson, Scraper, etc. The avenues were named for the districts or counties into which the Cherokee Nation was divided, Sequoyah, Delaware, Canadian, etc. As a pioneer frontier town, Vinita was not long a `wild and woolley’ west,. town, but early in its history became a school and church town, populated for the most part by law abiding people who laid the foundations for the present splendid little city. With the exception of the Cherokee public schools, to the Congregationalists belongs the credit … Read more

Craig County, Oklahoma ~ Vinita today

The character and condition of the business of a city are usually reflected by the character and condition of its financial institutions. In this respect Vinita makes a good showing. Its two National banks have total deposits of $1,200,000, and its two State banks have more than a million dollars. Some of the leading financiers of the state are connected with these banks and they are noted for their conservative management. Many of the residences of Vinita have been built through the aid of a local Building & Loan Association, which at this time has more than a half million … Read more

Tahlequah, Cherokee County, Oklahoma ~ Early Years

For many years Tahlequah continued to be the principal trading point for the Cherokees and for the whites who had drifted into the territory, but it remained an inland town until the branch of the Frisco railroad was built from Okmulgee to Muskogee and on through Tahlequah to Fayetteville, Ark., in the early part of the present century. Prior to the arrival of the railroad, a regular stage line was maintained between Tahlequah, Fort Gibson and Muskogee. The National Council was required by law to hold annual meetings at Tahlequah and special meetings were often called by the chief. These … Read more

Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Cherokee County adjoins Muskogee and Wagoner counties on the east and Adair County on the west. It contains about seven hundred square miles of land of diversified quality. It contains some rocky, hilly land, some upland of medium quality, some open prairie and some fertile river and creek bottom land. With the exception of the limited amount of prairie, this county was formerly heavily timbered, much of the timber, especially along the numerous streams, being still undisturbed. A farmer in search of a home would indeed be hard to please, who could not find a farm here to suit his … Read more

Male and Female Seminaries, Cherokee County, Oklahoma

In 1846 the Cherokee Council, in session at Tahlequah, took steps toward establishing a male seminary and a female seminary, but these seminaries were not ready for occupancy until 1850. Soon after Tahlequah was made the capital of the Cherokee Nation, the National Council passed an act providing that the chief should make his official headquarters at that place. From the beginning of the Cherokee government, in 1839, to the recent dissolution of their tribal government, the following named men served successively as chief : John Ross (who served continuously from 1839 to 1866, except when deposed for .a short … Read more

Mormons in Cherokee County, Oklahoma

In 1844 Tahlequah was visited by a delegation of Mormons, migrating toward the West, who passed through Tahlequah and being fascinated by the beautiful scenery of the neighborhood, decided to locate there and establish a Mormon society among the Indians. Being industrious and energetic, they began to manufacture brick and built some of the first brick houses erected in the town, including the old, historic National Hotel which, for many years was headquarters for council members and visitors. Aunt Eliza Alberty, a fine old Cherokee lady, proprietor of this hotel until a few, years ago, could relate many interesting stories … Read more

Park Trill, Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Park Trill, a small town, located on the railroad five miles south of Tahlequah, is noted principally for its connection with the history of the Cherokee Nation. It has a bank controlled by Mr. Waddie Hudson, for many years the editor and proprietor of the Tahlequah Arrow, an old-time newspaper which is still published, and several general stores. The old Park Hill Female Seminary, which was destroyed by fire many years ago, was the leading school for girls in the Indian Territory for many years. The Cherokee Orphan Academy is located just west of Park Hill, and is now the … Read more

Tahlequah Cherokee County, Oklahoma Incorporation

Tahlequah was incorporated under Cherokee law on December 20, 1890, and under that incorporation Mr. G. W. Hughes was elected as the town’s first mayor and Messrs. J. S. Stapler, E. C. Boudinot, Jr., T. J. McSpadden, T. J. Adair and B. W. Foreman were chosen as the first aldermen. The town did not increase in population to any extent for many years, partly on account of its remoteness from any railroad, and perhaps, like most other capital towns, it seemed content with entertaining the National Council when in session, and with patiently waiting for the next session to arrive. … Read more

Bitter Controversy, Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Soon after their arrival here a bitter controversy arose between those who first left their Eastern homes and those who emigrated a few years later as to their respective property rights in and to their new reservation, and delegates representing the two factions met at Illinois Camp Ground, near Tahlequah, and on the 12th day of July, 1838, consummated the following: “Act Of Union Between The Eastern And Western Cherokee Click here to read the signers for the Eastern and Western Cherokee. There is additional information on that page, and is different from the information on this page. “Whereas, Our … Read more

Cherokee Advocate, Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Soon after the establishment of their capital at Tahlequah, the Cherokee felt the need of some means of communication between the officials and the members of the tribe, and in 1811 the Cherokee Advocate was established as their official newspaper. It was the successor of the Cherokee Phoenix, which had been their official paper back in Georgia ever since 1822. The invention of the Cherokee alphabet by Sequoyah, in 1821, enabled them to publish their news in their own language which enabled the full-bloods who could not speak nor read the English language to keep posted upon the events and … Read more

Civil War, Cherokee County, Oklahoma

The darkest page in the history of Tahlequah was that of the Civil war period. For more than twenty years the Cherokees had busied themselves with the task of clearing land, building houses and fences and developing farms. Many of them were slaveholders and with their cheap labor they had been able to produce abundant crops and accumulate herds of cattle, horses and hogs, in short, many of them lived in affluence, but the war, with its bitter animosities, left the majority of, them penniless. Their homes were burned, their crops destroyed and their livestock confiscated and driven away. It … Read more

Act of Union Between Eastern and Western Cherokee, 1838

“Whereas, our fathers have existed as a separate and distinct nation, in the possession and exercise of the essential and appropriate attributes of sovereignty, from a period extending into antiquity, beyond the records and memory of man; and, Whereas, these attributes, with the rights and franchises which they involve, remain still in full force and virtue; as do also the national and social relations of the Cherokee people to each other, and to the body politic, excepting in those particulars which have grown out of the provisions of the treaties of 1817 and 1819, between the United States and the … Read more

Articles Of Agreement Between The Cherokee And Delaware

“Made this 8th day of April, A. D. 1867, between the Cherokee Nation, represented by William P. Ross, principal chief, Riley Keys and Jesse Bushyhead, delegates, duly authorized, parties of the first part, and the Delaware Tribe of Indians, represented by John Connor, principal chief, Charles Journeycake, assistant chief, Isaac Journeycake, and John Sarcoxie, delegates for and on behalf of said Delaware Tribe, duly authorized, witnesses “Whereas, by the 15th article of a certain treaty between the United States and the Cherokee Nation, ratified August 11, 1866, certain terms were provided, under which friendly Indians might be settled upon unoccupied … Read more

Ball Games, Dancing and Ghost Dance

Indian Ball Game The following account of an Indian ball game, played some years ago, has been sent to the writer. When it was announced that the teams were about to appear, there was some nervousness on the part of most of the spectators. It had been reported that the red men would appear in costumes that would put the sea-side bathing suit to shame and make the average ballet dancer consider her dress fit for the Klondike. Instead of this, however, no one appeared in breech cloth and with the exception of two or three who were … Read more

Cherokee Treaties

On the 20th day of November, 1785, while the American colonists were still operating under the defective Articles of Confederation, the First Treaty was concluded with the Cherokees, known as the Hopewell Treaty. This treaty was made by and between Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Joseph Martin and Lachlan McIntosh, commissioners representing the Colonies, and the headsmen and warriors of all the Cherokees, thirty-seven in number. Article I provided that the Cherokees should restore to the Colonists all prisoners and property taken by them during the Revolutionary war. Article II provided that the Colonists should restore to the Cherokees all Indians … Read more

Additional Cherokee Treaties

Eleventh Cherokee Treaty A delegation, soon afterward, explored the Arkansas River country and reported that they had found a suitable tract which was not claimed by any other Indians, and on July 8, 1817, the chiefs, head men and warriors again met Gen. Andrew Jackson and two other United States commissioners at the Cherokee Agency and negotiated their Eleventh Treaty, by the terms of which the Indians ceded a large portion of their rapidly disappearing reservation east of the Mississippi in exchange for an equal number of acres out in the White and Arkansas rivers country. The United States authorities … Read more

The United States Court In Indian Territory First Location At Muskogee

For many years prior to 1889 the United States District Court of western Arkansas had jurisdiction over the Creek and Cherokee Nations in matters in which non-citizens, i.e., persons not members of the Indian tribes, were interested. Judge Isaac C. Parker, who presided over that court established the reputation of being “a terror to criminals,” it being claimed that during his administration fully one hundred men were sentenced to be hanged. Judge Parker was kind and courteous to attorneys, witnesses and jurors, but he possessed no sympathy for crime or criminals. It was very inconvenient and expensive, however, for lawyers, … Read more

Creek Treaties

The origin of the Creek tribe of Indians, like that of most other tribes, is shrouded in doubt and mystery. While uncivilized and of nomadic disposition, it was not possible to preserve any reliable historic records of the tribe. They have assumed the name “Muskogee Nation,” but 200 years ago, they constituted but one branch of the powerful confederation known as the “Muskhogeans,” which at one time included the other four tribes of Indian Territory. The early English settlers gave them the name of “Creeks,” because of the numerous small streams of water in the sections of Alabama and Georgia … Read more

Dawes Commission

The Act of Congress providing for the appointment of a commission to the Five Civilized Tribes was the most important law enacted by Congress, looking toward the abolishment of the tribal governments and the settlement of their vast estates. The law was passed on March 3, 1893, and provided that the President should appoint three commissioners to enter into negotiations with the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muskogee (Creek) and Seminole nations, for the purpose of extinguishment of the tribal . title to the lands of Indian Territory, either by the cession of the same or some part thereof to the United … Read more