Allen
Banistor Examination by the Commission
Meridian,
Mississippi, April 11, 1901
In the matter of the
application of Banistor Allen for the identification of himself and four
minor children as Mississippi Choctaws.
Banistor Allen being first
duly sworn testified as follows:
Examination by the Commission:
Q. What is
your name?
A. Banistor
Allen.
Q. How old
are you?
A. 31 years.
Q. What is
your post office address?
A. Hale,
Clark county, Miss.
Q. What
proportion of Choctaw blood do you claim to have?
A. 1/4
Q. Is your
father living?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What is
his name?
A. Alex
Allen.
Q. Does you
father claim to have any Choctaw blood?
A. No sir.
Q. What is
he? Negro?
A. Sort of
mixed.
Q. Is your
mother living?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What is
her name?
A. Candis
Allen.
Q. Does she
claim to have Choctaw blood?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What
proportion of Choctaw blood does she claim?
A. ½
Q. Where
does she live?
A. She lives
at Hale, Mississippi.
Q. How long
has she lived in Mississippi?
A. All her
days.
Q. Have you
lived here all your life?
A. Yes sir.
Q. You never
have lived in the Choctaw nation, Indian Territory?
A. No sir.
Q. You claim
to get your Choctaw Indian blood through your mother>
A. Yes sir.
Q. Can you
speak Choctaw?
A. No sir.
Q. Does your
mother talk the Choctaw language?
A. No.
Q. Have you
ever appeared before this Commission before?
A. No, I
never heard of it until last Saturday a week ago.
Q. Are you
married?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What is
your wife’s name?
A. Fanny
Allen.
Q. Is she
living?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Does she
claim to have Choctaw blood?
A. Not as I
have ever heard.
Q. You don’t
make any claim for her/
A. No.
Q. Have you
been married more than once?
A. No sir.
Q. Have you
any children?
A. Four.
Q. What are
their names and ages?
A. Lewis 6
years, Annie 5 years, Cora 3 years and Luther 1 year.
Q. Are these
children all living with you at the present time?
A. Yes
Q. Always
lived with you?
A. Yes sir.
Q. They are
the children of yourself and Fanny Allen?
A. Yes sir.
Q. When and
where were you married to Fanny Allen?
A. I married
her 7 years ago near hale.
Q. Have you
your marriage license and certificate with you at this time?
A. I haven’t
got it here with me; I was married with a license.
Q. It will
be necessary for you to furnish the Commission with proper evidence of the
marriage of yourself and you wife for use in connection with the
application you make on behalf of your four minor children. If this
evidence is furnished within a period of thirty days of this date it will
be received, filed and considered in connection with this application.
These children get their Choctaw blood solely through You?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Have
either you or your children ever received any benefits as Choctaw Indians?
A. No sir.
Q. Never got
any land or money from the government?
A. No.
Q. Nor any
money from the tribal authorities in Indian Territory?
A. No sir.
Q. Are your
names on the Choctaw tribal rolls out in Indian Territory?
A. I don’t
know.
Q. You never
have been informed that they were?
A. No sir.
Q. You never
have made any effort to get them put there?
A. No sir.
Q. Did you
ever make application to the tribal authorities in Indian Territory for
citizenship in the Choctaw nation?
A. No.
Q. Did you
make application to this Commission in 1896 for citizenship in the Choctaw
nation?
A. No sir.
Q. Have you
ever appeared before this Commission prior to this time?
A. No sir.
Q. This is
your first application of any description to this Commission?
A. Yes sir.
Q. You have
never then, been admitted to citizenship in the Choctaw nation either by
this Commission, the tribal authorities of the Choctaw nation or by the
United States court on appeal?
A. No.
Q. You apply
for the identification of yourself and four minor children as Mississippi
Choctaws?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Do you
base your claim upon any particular treaty provision?
A. No, I
don’t understand that.
Q. What
makes you think you are entitled to be identified as a Mississippi
Choctaw?
A. I don’t
know; I don’t understand it.
Q. What are
you here for?
A. I am here
to prove my claim of Indian and prove my right to get what is coming to me
out in Indian Territory.
Q. What do
you think is coming to you?
A. I don’t
know; that is what I am here to see.
Q. The
Commission is here for the purpose of hearing applicants for
identification as Mississippi Choctaws claiming rights in the Choctaw
lands in Indian Territory under the provisions of the 14th
article of the treaty of 1830. Do you make any claim under that article?
Is that what you want to claim by?
A. No.
Q. Unless
you claim under that the Commission has no jurisdiction to hear you case.
A. I don’t
understand, of course.
Q. I will
explain it to you. The treaty of 1830 was made with the Choctaws for the
purpose of securing their removal to the new country west of the
Mississippi river. Some of the Choctaws did not want to remove out there,
and insisted that a provision be made in this treaty by which they might
remain in Mississippi, and so this 14th article was inserted in
the treaty. It provided that certain of the Choctaws might remain here in
Mississippi if they wanted to and they could get land here under certain
conditions. They were to appear before the Indian agent within a period
of six months from the time the treaty was ratified and tell him that they
wanted to remain in Mississippi and become citizens of the state. He
would then make a reservation of certain lands for them, and they were
required by the provisions of theis 14th article to live on
this land for five years. This 14th article also provided that
persons taking advantage of that article should not lose the privileges of
citizenship if they ever removed to the Indian Territory except that they
forfeited their right to the Choctaw annuities. Do you want to claim
under this 14th article?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Have you
any evidence that your ancestors ever complied with the provisions of the
14th article by appearing before the Indian agent within six
months?
A. No, I
have not.
Q. Did you
ever hear of any of your Choctaw ancestors doing such a thing as that?
A. No.
Q. Did you
ever hear of any of them claiming or receiving any land here in the state
of Mississippi?
A. No.
Q. Your
father never got any did he?
A. No, he
didn’t.
Q. Never did
own any land here?
A. No.
Q.
Neither did your mother?
A. No.
Q. Did her
parents either of them, ever get any money from the government?
A. No sir.
Q. How old
is your mother?
A. Somewhere
about 49 years.
Q. Through
which one of her parents does she get her Indian blood?
A.
Her father.
Q. Was he a
full blood?
A. That is
what they say.
Q. Do you
know as a matter of fact that he was a Choctaw?
A. No, what
I have heard he was.
Q. He might
have been Creek so far as you know?
A. If he was
we could not have been like we are.
Q. Do you
speak the Choctaw language?
A. No sir.
Q. Does your
mother speak the Choctaw language?
A. No.
Q. Do you
know whether her father spoke the Choctaw language?
A. I don’t
know.
Q. You never
saw him?
Q. He died
before you were born?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you
know whether he was living in Mississippi 70 years ago?
A. No, I
can’t tell.
Q. You don’t
know whether he was living here when this treaty was made?
A. No.
Q. Do you
know whether any of your Choctaw ancestors were living here when this
treaty was made 70 years ago?
A. No, I
don’t know. Guess they was.
Q. But you
couldn’t swear they were?
A. No.
Q. You don’t
know whether any of them ever claimed or received any land in Mississippi?
A. No.
Q. Do you
know whether any of them claimed or received any money from the
Government?
A. No sir.
Q. Did you
ever get any money from the Government in Indian Territory?
A. No.
Q. You never
have been recognized in any manner? As a citizen of the Choctaw nation?
A. No.
Q. In case
the Commission should be able to identify you and your minor children as
Mississippi Choctaws entitled to rights in the Choctaw lands Indian
Territory under the provisions of the treaty of 1830, would you be willing
to remove to the Choctaw nation, Indian Territory and make it your home?
A. Yes
sir.
Q. Are they
any other statements you would like to make in regard to your case?
A. No.
Q. Have you
any papers of any kind that you want to file?
Hudson & Arnold,
attorneys for applicant ask leave to file written evidence in support of
this claim. Permission is granted attorneys for applicant to file
documentary evidence in support of this claim, if filed within thirty days
of the date hereof.
You will be
furnished at a later date with a copy of the decision of the Commission
with reference to the application you make on your own behalf and on
behalf of your four minor children for identification as Mississippi
Choctaws, mailed to your at your present postoffice address.
This applicant
claims to be ¼ Choctaw. From his features, color and hair, it would
appear that he might be possessed of a small portion of Choctaw Indian
blood.
Frances R. Brown
having been first duly sworn upon oath states that as stenographer to the
Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes she reported in full all
proceedings in the above entitled cause on the 11th day of
April, 1901, and that the above and foregoing is a full, true and correct
transcript of her stenographic notes of said proceedings on said date.
Frances R. Brown
Subscribed
and sworn to before me at Meridian, Mississippi, this 16th day
of April, 1901
_______________________Notary Public
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