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Free Access to the Native American Collection

82 - Broken Arm, Ogalalla Sioux
Do you have Native American ancestry? Or are you interested in Native American history? Then explore Fold3’s Native American Collection for free November 1-15.

Titles in this collection include:

  • Ratified Indian Treaties (1722-1869): Ratified treaties that occurred between the United States government and American Indian tribes. Also included are presidential proclamations, correspondence, and treaty negotiation expenses.
  • Indian Census Rolls (1885-1940): Census rolls submitted annually by agents or superintendents of Indian reservations as required by an 1884 Act of Congress. Only persons who maintained a formal affiliation with a tribe under Federal supervision are listed on these census rolls.
  • Dawes Packets: Applications between 1896 and 1914 from members of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes to establish eligibility for an allotment of land in return for abolishing their tribal governments and recognizing Federal law.
  • Dawes Enrollment Cards (1898-1914): Enrollment cards, also referred to as “census cards,” prepared by the staff of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, commonly known as the Dawes Commission. The cards record information provided by applications submitted by members of the same family group or household and include notations of the actions taken.
  • Eastern Cherokee Applications (1906-1909): Applications submitted for shares of the money that was appropriated for the Eastern Cherokee Indians by Congress on June 30, 1906.
  • Iroquois Indian tribe, 1914

  • Enrollment of Eastern Cherokee by Guion Miller (1908-1910): The Guion Miller Roll is perhaps the most important source for Cherokee genealogical research. There are an estimated 90,000 individual applicants from throughout North America included within this publication.
  • Cherokee Indian Agency, TN (1801-1835): The records of the agent of Indian Affairs in Tennessee, including correspondence, agency letter books, fiscal records, records of the Agent for the Department of War in Tennessee, records of the Agent for Cherokee Removal, and miscellaneous records.
  • Rinehart Photos – Native Americans (1898): Photographs of over 100 Native Americans taken by Frank A. Rinehart, a commercial photographer in Omaha, Nebraska. Rinehart was commissioned to photograph the 1898 Indian Congress, part of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition.

Have you found an ancestor in Fold3’s Native American collection? Tell us about it! Or get started exploring the Native American Collection here.

28 Comments

  1. Carol Crow says:

    Family lore says my grandmother was part Native American (Cherokee?). She was Winnie R (possibly Rebecca) Hicks. dob 1896-1902. dod 1926-28. Parents were George and ? Hicks.

  2. Debbie DuBois says:

    I’m from upstate sc and my daddy’s family was Hits, Jewell, and Barkley. I have been told all my life I have Cherokee and Cree could you please help me . Thanks

    • Barb says:

      It would likely be difficult to trace any Creek or Cherokee lineage in your case as your ancestors apparently inter married with the European settlers and were not removed to Indian Territory. Therefore, they will not be on the Dawes rolls or the census taken during removal.

  3. susan winkler says:

    my grandmother was full indian do not not know which we think Cherokee . Her name is Exie Browning

  4. Mary Gallowy says:

    How would one go about finding out if they had native American heritage?

    • Sheila Quinton says:

      I’ve been told I’m Cherokee and maybe Blackfoot my grandfather was potts I can’t find out anything can someone help me

    • Diane Goodboe says:

      Sheila, Diane Haddad’s web site, Genealgy Insider, has a good tutorial this week that explains how to get started on tracing Native American heritage. This should help you get more out of Fold3:

      http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2015/11/09/5CluesYouMayHaveAmericanIndianAncestry.aspx

      Native people in the U.S. who accepted treaty terms and allotment payments were exempt from federal censuses as they did not pay taxes, but many participated for various reasons. Those living on reservations were sometimes censused by the BIA through their local agent as part of identifying people who were eligible for allotments.

      Be aware that due to racism many people of mixed heritage claimed less Indian ethnicity on some records than they actually had; you may find someone listed as the more socially acceptable one quarter NA on a census, but based on what you find about their parents/grandparents you’ll see that they would have to be half or more Native American. I’ve found this to be true in doing my husband’s Minnesota Chippewa ancestry and only figured out the reason for the discrepancies by talking with his elders and hearing their stories about how their parents or grandparents had to lie about their Indian blood quantum in order to get by. His grandmother remembered her own mother not being allowed to enter stores and having to wait outside, even in winter, while her children did the shopping for her.

      I’m unaware of any DNA testing lab that has yet built up a large enough database of Native American results to give a very definitive result, so records and research are still your best bet. I don’t know of any U.S. tribes that offer research help; in my experience they will direct you to do your own research.

  5. Deborah says:

    I am researching a family name, Timberlake. I am hoping to connect it to Henry Timberlake who took the Cherokees to England to meet the Queen. How would I go about it. Williamsburg, VA USA

  6. […] 3rd edition of ResearchBuzz, I clicked over to the latest Upfront With NGS Announcement, and on to the Fold3 blog – where I found the following information. I’ve been a Fold3 member since May of 2007. […]

  7. Zenith Harris says:

    I have been searching for my grandmother for years to no avail. Her name was Mattie Womack, not totally sure of the spelling. She died possibly in the 1920’s and may have been married to Nathan Harris. Any help would be so appreciated.

    • Missy says:

      Zenith, I looked on ancestry. There’s a marriage cert for a Mattie Womack and Nathan Harris in Arkansas, Desha County, March 1, 1925.

  8. WHEN THE LAND GRANT PROPERTY IS SOLD TO SOME ONE ELSE OUT SIDE OF THE FAMILIES. DO THE MINERA RIGHTS GO WITH THE SALES? I FOUND ON THESE DEED OF THE LAND GRANT OF MY GRT. GRT. GRTFATHER’s THAT SAYS “ALL GO EXCEPT THE LESS OF ALL MINERAL RIGHTS, OIL, GAS DRILLING BENEFITS” DO THAT MEANS THE FAMILIES HAS SOME HIDDEN ROYAL THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ALL THESE YEARS?

    • Diane Goodboe says:

      Mrs. Jones – Generally land deeds have always specified surface features. The boundaries are measured and spelled out and marked in the old days by stone cairns, a certain tree, a stream or river’s edge, a fence shared with a neighbor, etc. Nowadays they are usually required by the mortgage holder to be surveyed and marked by GPS, as this is more permanent and accurate.

      Mineral rights below ground tend not to be included unless specifically assigned to go with the land on the deed. Or, as it sounds is the case in your family, unless specifically retained by the seller, assuming the seller had the rights to them in the first place.

      That’s why oil/gas companies can drill under your land without your permission by drilling from a neighbor’s land (or land the company owns or leases) simply by drilling on a slant or horizontally until they hit deposits under your property. A lawyer familiar with mineral rights would be able to help you figure out your situation.

  9. Ina says:

    I have an ancestor that was to have been from the Blackfoot tribe who moved from Canada and ended up in Iowa. I can’t find any info on her parents. Her name was Tabitha Jane Haskins and she was born in 1802 and died in Iowa in 1878. Any help would be appreciated.

  10. […] Free Access to the Native American Collection from Fold3 – From November 1-15! […]

  11. […] Free access to Native American collections through 15 November 2015 […]

  12. Lara says:

    I am looking for information on my grandfather’s lineage. His name was Robert Lee Adams, born on November 7, 1898 in Holmes County, Florida. He had a brother named Ollie D. and a sister named Alice Lee.

  13. […] To learn more about the contents of each of the collections visit the Fold3 blog at https://blog.fold3.com/free-access-to-the-native-american-collection/ […]

  14. Robbin Smith says:

    Hi my parents are from south Shore KY mom’s Bettie Lee her parents Virgie Lee wolf and David Elvie Ratcliff my dad Raymond Ithel his parents were Hilda Ann walker and Raymond Ithel Crisp but his blood father was Sizemore we were told we have Cherokee blood please and thank you Robbin

  15. […] – and fold3 is offering free access to their Native American Collection until November […]

  16. Wanda Jenkins says:

    My great great grandmother Mary M Hyde (Hide) was born around 1830 in Georgia. She married James Anderson Burke (Burks, Burkes) he was born around 1830 in Ireland and married Mary 10-4-1853 in Whitfield, Georgia.
    The family story is she was Cherokee. My dad looks like he has a lot of Indian in him, very black hair and kind of dark complexion as well as one of my brothers..My problem is I cannot find any record of her birth or anything about her. No parents names either. How to I prove she was or not.

    • Missy says:

      I did a quick search on Ancestry, was she married 3 times?

      Is this her? http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=36785158&ref=acom

      If it’s the right one, I found two marriage certificates and a couple census records. She’s listed as white on the census.

    • Wanda Jenkins says:

      I don’t think it is her. James and Mary had a son my great grand father his name was John Willis Burks born 4/15/1854 in Georgia and he lived in Hot Springs, Ark and died 3/27/1934.
      I thought I found Mary M Burke in a 1860 census living in a residence of Sarah Dikes age 68, Mary M Burke age 31, MSJ Register Age 15,, EW Register age 11, Celia E Register age 9 , MJT Register age 6, and JBS Burk age 2 but that is not the right age for John in 1860 if he was born in 1854.
      No mention of James I know he lived till 1929 age 104 but I can’t find him where he died. The family story his she was a real short lady 4′ something and full blood Cherokee.
      Thanks

  17. […] FREE Access to Fold3’s Native American Collection – There are several Native American records available through Fold3, which are all available for FREE until 11/15/15. […]

  18. Tanis Wells says:

    I’m looking for Alfred Wells. Choctaw. Roll#6252 died 1924 in Oklahoma

  19. Tanis Wells says:

    Need relatives of Alfred Wells