Cherokee by Blood and Newborn, July 1, 1902

Cherokees By Blood
[Act of July 1, 1902, 32 Stat., 716.]

Jennie Cloud, Joe Kingfisher, case No. 7713.
Jennie Cloud, who is a full-blood Cherokee Indian, is a daughter of Nelce Crittendon and Ka-lo-nuskee; she was born in the Cherokee Nation about 33 years ago and has continuously resided therein since her birth to the present time; her name is identified upon the 1880 Cherokee tribal roll, Goingsnake district, at No. 456, as Sinthy Critdenten and upon the 1804 Cherokee pay roll, Goingsnake district, at No. 664, as Jennie Kingfisher.

Joe Kingfisher, born about 1892 is a son of said Jennie Cloud and one Josiah Kingfisher, whose mane appears opposite No. 18653 on the approved roll of Cherokee citizens, being enrolled as a full blood. Said Joe Kingfisher resided in the Cherokee Nation continuously from his birth until his death, which occurred in 1903 or 1904. The application for the enrollment of Jennie Cloud and Joe Kingfisher was made April 15, 1902, but their case was through an oversight, never passed upon.

Viola Grazier, case No. 4079.
Viola Grazier was born August 26, 1902, and is a child of Homer M. Grazier, whose name, appears upon the approved roll of citizens by blood of the Cherokee Nation, opposite No. 9841, being enrolled as a three-eighths Indian, and one Dora Grazier, a noncitizen of the Cherokee Nation. The application for her enrollment was made October 3, 1902, and on February 20, 1907, the former commissioner rendered his decision ordering her enrolled as a citizen by blood of the Cherokee Nation. No protest against her enrollment was filed by the attorney for the Cherokee Nation, but through oversight she was not placed upon a schedule of Cherokee citizens and forwarded for departmental approval.

Maggie Beamer, case No. 9365
Application for the enrollment of Maggie Beamer was made June 24, 1902; she is a full-blood Indian, about 13 or 14 years of age, a daughter of Sam Beamer, whose name appears opposite No. 18962 upon the approved roll of citizens by blood of the Cherokee Nation, and one Lydia Beamer nee Wesley, a Cherokee, who died about 12 years ago. Maggie Beamer is identified upon the 1896 Cherokee tribal roll, Tahlequah district, at No. 319, and has continuously resided in the Cherokee Nation from the time of her birth until the present time. The case of this child was not, through inadvertence, passed upon prior to the closing of the Cherokee roll.

Jim Wolfe, case No. 10991.
This applicant, who is a full-blood Indian, made application for enrollment November 20, 1900, as a citizen by blood of the Cherokee Nation, his age being given at that time as 41 years. June 20, 1901, the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes refused his application for enrollment in accordance with the provisions of the Act of May 31, 1900 (31 Stat.. 221), and on September 24, 1901, said decision was approved by the department. On November 27, 1903 (I. T. D., 8304-1903), on request of the commission, the department rescinded its decision and returned the case for readjudication. Further proceedings were had in tho case September 21, 1904 and October 30, 1905. On February 21, 1907 the commissioner rendered his decision ordering Jim Wolfe enrolled as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Shawnee blood. The attorney for the Cherokee Nation entered no protest against the enrollment of Jim Wolfe, but through inadvertence, his name was not placed upon a schedule of Cherokee citizens and forwarded to the department for approval.

Eli Springwater, case No. Memo. 200.
Application for the enrollment of this applicant was made August 16, 1900. Emily A. Springwater, his mother, is n white woman, and alleges that she was married to Johnson Springwater, the father of Eli Springwater, in 1888 or 1889, and that they lived together for about three years. Other than her uncorroborated testimony, there is no evidence of the marriage of herself and Springwater, but from the information received it appears that they lived together for about three years: that the child Eli Springwater, was born while they were living together: that he was recognized in the community as their child: and also by his putative father Johnson Springwater. The name of Eli Springwater can not be identified upon any of the tribal rolls of tho Cherokee Nation in the possession of this office. Johnson Springwater is identified upon the 1880 Cherokee tribal roll, Sequoyah district, at No. 1218, and his name appears upon the approved roll of citizens by blood of the Cherokee Nation opposite No. 25720.

Commissioner Bixby in his letter of June 28, 1907, fully advised the department in reference to the above cases and as to the probable cause of their being overlooked.

Alta May Brassfield, case No. 6415.
Alta May Brassfield was born June l6, 1902 and is daughter of John Brassfield, whose name appears opposite No. 15360 upon the approved roll of citizens by blood of the Cherokee Nation, and his wife, Mary Brassfield, a noncitizen white woman. The first application made to the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes was received September 1, 1904, too late, under the provisions of section 30 of the act of July 1, 1902, to be considered. The act of April 26, 1906 (34 Stat., 137), extended the time for the reception of applications for enrollment to December 1, 1905, but the application for the enrollment of Alta May Brassfield, which was retained in the files of the commission, was not discovered after the passage of the act of April 26 until subsequent to March 4, 1907 and her case was not passed upon prior to the closing of the tribal rolls on March 4, 1907. Said child is living at the present time.

Cherokee Freedmen New Born
[Act of Apr, 26, 1906, 34 Stat. 137.]

Lucy Scott, new born, case No. 542.
Application was received May 31, 1906, for the enrollment, under the act of April 26, 1906, of Lucy Scott, born September 21, 1903, a child of Jim Scott, a noncitizen of the Cherokee Nation, and Mary Scott, whose name appears upon the approved roll of Cherokee freedmen opposite No. 3722. This child was living March 4, 1906. When this application was first received, Lucy Scott was listed for enrollment on Cherokee new-born card No. 2757, instead of a Cherokee freedmen new-born card, it being recited in the application for the child's enrollment that its mother, Mary Scott, was "a citizen by birth of the Cherokee Nation.'' On February 7, 1907, Commissioner Bixby ordered the transfer of the name of Lucy Scott from the Cherokee newborn case to a Cherokee freedmen newborn case. It being found that the mother was enrolled as a Cherokee freedmen. It appears that no further action was taken looking toward the enrollment of Lucy Scott until March 4, 1907, when Mr. Bixby wired the department as follows:

"From evidence now in my office it appears that minor Cherokee freedmen applicant Lucy Scott is a minor child of Mary Scott, Cherokee freedmen roll number thirty-seven twenty-two, was born September twenty-one, nineteen hundred three, living March four, nineteen hundred six, made application within time limited by act April twenty-six, nineteen hundred six, and has been listed on card number five forty-two. I recommend that said applicant, Lucy Scott, be placed on minor Cherokee freedmen roll and approved."

Fearing that the telegram would reach the department too late, the commissioner wired his employee then in Washington, calling his attention to the telegram, which was quoted him in order to secure. If possible, the enrollment of this child March 8, 1907 (I. T. D. 8200-1907), the Acting Secretary of the Interior notified the commissioner that said telegram was not received In the Secretary's office until March 5, 1907, and that no further action could be taken.

Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma

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. Several spellings have been used for the same tribe of Indians.

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