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Abraham H. Nail,
Choctaw
Dawes Commission, No.
57-1896. United States Court, Central
District, No. 84-McA. Citizenship court, No.
74-McA. Commission, No. 131-1907.
The facts in this case as found by the
United States Indian agent, the Dawes
Commission, and the United States court are:
Abraham H. Nail was a son of Rev. William
Nail, a quarter-blood Choctaw Indian and a
missionary among the Choctaws and Cherokees
in Bledsoe County. Tenn., where he lived and
died. Abraham H. Nail moved to the Choctaw
Nation. Indian Territory, in 1874, and was
recognized by his relatives then living in
the Choctaw Nation as a Choctaw Indian. In
the year 1875 he presented his claim and
submitted his proof thereof to the Choctaw
National Council and was admitted to
citizenship together with his family; that
the act admitting him passed both houses and
was not recorded; that since that time he
and the members of his family have been
recognized as citizens of the Choctaw Nation
by the authorities of said nation, with a
few exceptions; that in order to fully
establish his citizenship he again applied
to the Choctaw Council in 1888, and his
claim was rejected November 6, 1888 "for
want of proper evidence, also on account of
being debarred by the laws of 1887 requiring
all applications to be filed within 60 days
from its passage."
From the action of the Choctaw Council
claimant appealed the case to the United
States Indian agent under the provisions of
the act of the Choctaw Council approved
October 21, 1882, known as Bill No. 8,
authorizing such appeals. The record before
the council was transmitted and additional
evidence taken before the Indian agent. In
an opinion dated October 30, 1891, in which
all the evidence is carefully reviewed at
length, Agent Leo. E. Bennett found that
claimants were entitled to admission to
citizenship in the Choctaw Nation and
accordingly admitted them. In concluding his
opinion the Indian agent says:
Although the evidence submitted to the
Choctaw Council in 1888 was not sufficient
to prove, as in my opinion the additional
evidence submitted on the appeal is that the
claimant was admitted to citizenship in
1875, it appears to me that he at that time
presented ample testimony to prove his
Choctaw descent and his right to citizenship
in said nation.
From the record of the proceedings of the
Choctaw Council of 1888 it appears that in
many cases the law of 1887, requiring all
claims for citizenship to be filed within 60
days from the passage of the act, did not
debar the claimant from presenting his claim
and receiving favorable action thereon, as
in the case of W. F. Foster and others whose
claim was presented to the same council, and
by an act approved November 5, 1888, was
admitted to citizenship, as were other
claimants upon different dates, during the
same term of council, from which the
inference is reasonable that the law of 1887
did not enter (except spasmodically) into
the consideration of claims to citizenship.
After a careful consideration of all the
evidence submitted it is my opinion that
Abraham H. Nail and his descendants are
Choctaw Indians by blood, and that the
claimant and his wife. Matilda .T. Nail, and
his family, John Nail, William Nail, James
P. Nail, and Aaron I,. Nail, should be
admitted to participate In all the rights,
privileges, and immunities of Choctaw
citizenship.
September 9, 1896. Application made to the
commission for the admission to citizenship
of Abraham H. Nail, Matilda J. Nail, John
Nail, Aaron L. Nail, James P. Nail, and
Lizzie Nail, as citizens by blood of the
Choctaw Nation, with the exception of
Matilda J., who claimed by intermarriage.
December 1, 1896. Commission rendered its
decision admitting claimants as prayed in
their petition to citizenship in the Choctaw
Nation. Case appealed to the United States
court, central district, case No. 84; record
before commission certified to said court;
additional testimony taken; attorneys for
nation present and examined witnesses.
August 26, 1897. Judgment entered affirming
the finding in all respects of the
commission, and directing the commission to
enroll claimants.
December 17. 1902. Judgments of commission
and United States court vacated by decree of
the citizenship court in "test case." Case
thereafter certified to citizenship court
for trial de novo.
April 18, 1904. Decree entered denying all
claimants citizenship in the Choctaw Nation.
June 20, 1906. Petition filed with
commission in accordance with the
regulations of January 2, 1906. directing
the commission to hear all cases denied by
the citizenship court where the claimants
had been admitted to citizenship in "the
nations prior to 1896. or whose names were
properly on the tribal rolls asking the
enrollment of claimants.
February 27, 1907. Commission renders
decision holding that under opinion of
Attorney General of February 19, 1907.
claimants should be denied. The opinion of
the Attorney General of February 19,1907,
was misconstrued by the departmental
officers as holding that the decisions of
the citizenship court were final; this
erroneous construction was corrected by an
opinion of the Attorney General of March 4,
1907, which did not reach the department
until March 6, after the rolls had been
closed by operation of law and too late to
permit the enrollment of claimants.
March 4, 1907. Secretary approved the
decision of the commission.
Statement by Council
In this case the applicants were
admitted, first, by the United States Indian
agent; second, by the commission in 1896;
third, by the United States court on appeal
from the decision of the commission. They
were denied by reason of a decision of the
citizenship court, and were in 1907
prevented from being enrolled by the
department under an admittedly erroneous
decision of the Attorney General of February
19, 1907. which he subsequently modified,
but the modification occurred too late to
permit the enrollment of claimants.
Those entitled to enrollment are: Abraham H.
Nail. John Nail, Aaron L. Nail. James P.
Nail. Lizzie Nail, as citizens by blood, and
Matilda J. Nail, by intermarriage.
(Six in all.)
Respectfully submitted.
Walter S. Field.
Department of the Interior,
Commissioner to The Five Civilized Tribes.
In the matter of the application for the
enrollment of Abraham H. Nail et al., its
citizens of the Choctaw Nation.
Decision
It appears from the record herein that on
October 21, 1898. application was made to
the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes
for the enrollment of Abraham H. Nail, John
Nail, and Aaron L. Nail as citizens by blood
of the Choctaw Nation and for the enrollment
of Matilda J. Nail, wife of Abraham H. Nail.
as a citizen by intermarriage of said
nation; and that on the same day application
was made for the enrollment of James P. Nail
as a citizen by blood of the Choctaw Nation,
and for the enrollment of his wife, Lizzie
Nail, as a citizen by intermarriage of said
nation.
It appears from the records of the
Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes that
on September 9, 1890. in the case entitled
"Abraham Nail et al. v. Choctaw Nation"
(1890 Choctaw citizenship docket, case No.
57), original application was made to said
commission under the provisions of the act
of Congress approved June 10. 1896 (29
Stats., 321), for the admission to
citizenship in the Choctaw Nation of the
applicants. Abraham II. Nail, Matilda J.
Nail, John Nail, Aaron L. Nail, James P.
Nail, and Lizzie Nail; and that on December
1, 1896, said commission rendered its
decision therein, admitting said applicants
as citizens of the Choctaw Nation.
From this decision an appeal was taken to
the United States court for the central
district of the Indian Territory (central
district citizenship court case No. 84), and
on August 20. 1897, said court admitted
Abraham H. Nail, John Nail, James P. Nail,
and Aaron L. Nail as citizens by blood of
the Choctaw Nation, and Lizzie Nail and
Matilda J. Nail as citizens by intermarriage
of said nation.
December 17, 1902, the Choctaw and Chickasaw
citizenship court, created under the
provisions of the act of Congress approved
July 1. 1902 (32 Stats., 641), "set aside,
annulled, vacated, and held for naught" the
aforesaid judgment of the United States
court for the central district of Indian
Territory. Thereafter said cause was
certified to said Choctaw and Chickasaw
citizenship court for a trial de novo. and
on April 18, 1904, in the case entitled
"Abraham H. Nail et al. v. Choctaw and
Chickasaw Nations" (Choctaw-Chickasaw
citizenship court, case No. 74. McAlester
docket), rendered its decision therein,
wherein it was "ordered, adjudged, and
decreed that the petition of the plaintiffs,
Abraham H. Nail, Matilda J. Nail, John Nail,
James P. Nail, Aaron L. Nail, and Lizzie
Nail, be denied and that they be declared
not citizens of the Choctaw Nation and not
entitled to enrollment as such citizens and
not entitled to any rights whatever flowing
there from."
Under the regulations adopted by the
Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes
January 2, 1906. there was filed on June 25,
1906, a petition praying for the enrollment
of the applicants herein as citizens of the
Choctaw Nation, said petition alleging that
the applicants had prior to 1896 been
admitted to citizenship in the Choctaw
Nation by a decision of the United States
Indian agent.
The record in this case shows that on
October 30, 1891, Leo E. Bennett, United
States Indian agent. Union Agency. Muskogee,
Ind. T.. on appeal from the adverse decision
of the Choctaw National Council, under the
provisions of an net of said council
approved October 21, 1882. admitted the
applicants, Abraham II. Nail, John Nail,
Aaron L. Nail, and James P. Nail, as
citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation, and
Matilda J. Nail as a citizen by
intermarriage of said nation.
The applicant. Lizzie Nail, was on December
25, 1885, under the laws of the State of
Texas, lawfully married to James P. Nail,
both of said persons being on the date of
said marriage residents in good faith of the
Choctaw-Chickasaw country.
All of the applicants herein were residents
in good faith of the Indian Territory on
June 28, 1898.
None of the applicants herein are identified
upon any of the tribal rolls of the Choctaw
Nation in the possession of this office.
I am of the opinion that in accordance with
the opinion of the Attorney General for the
United States dated February 19, 1907. in
the matter of certain citizenship cases
referred to him for consideration by the
Secretary of the Interior, the application
for the enrollment of Abraham H. Nail, John
Nail, Aaron L, Nail, and James P. Nail as
citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation and
the petition herein in so far as same
applies to said applicants should be denied
under the provisions of the act of Congress
approved July 1, 1902 (32 Stats., 641), and
it is so ordered.
I am further of the opinion that the
application for the enrollment of Matilda J.
Nail and Lizzie Nail as citizens by
intermarriage of the Choctaw Nation and the
petition herein in so far as same applies to
said applicants should be denied under the
provisions of the act of Congress approved
July 1, 1902 (32 Stats., 641), and it is so
ordered.
Tams Bixby, Commissioner.
Muskogee, Ind. T., February 27, 1907.
Statement by Council
In this case the applicants were
admitted, first, by the United States Indian
agent; second, by the commission in 1896;
third, by the United States court on appeal
from the decision of the commission. They
were denied by reason of a decision of the
citizenship court, and were in 1907
prevented from being enrolled by the
department under an admittedly erroneous
decision of the Attorney General of February
19, 1907. which he subsequently modified,
but the modification occurred too late to
permit the enrollment of claimants.
Those entitled to enrollment are: Abraham H.
Nail. John Nail, Aaron L. Nail. James P.
Nail. Lizzie Nail, as citizens by blood, and
Matilda J. Nail, by intermarriage.
(Six in all.)
Respectfully submitted.
Walter S. Field.
Notes About the Book:
Source: Five Civilized Tribes In Oklahoma, Reports of the Department of the
Interior and Evidentiary Papers in support of S. 7625, a Bill for the Relief of
Certain Members of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma, Sixty-second Congress,
Third Session, Published 1913, by the Department of the Interior, United States.
Online Publication: The manuscript was scanned and then ocr'd. Minimal editing
has been done, and readers can and should expect some errors in the textual
output.
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