The Newberry holds one of the country's foremost collections for the study of American Indians. In addition to consulting this sheet, check the card and computer catalogs under the subject heading "Cherokee Indians." Many of the titles listed in the catalogs, as well as on this sheet, are part of the Ayer collection, and are obtained through Special Collections on the 4th floor, while microfilm titles are obtained on the 2nd floor.
Many Americans, including African-Americans, have traditions of Cherokee ancestry, sometimes leading them to look for "Cherokee records." Often such a search is undertaken prematurely. If you or current family members are not presently on the tribal rolls, you should probably not begin searching Cherokee sources until you have first researched the family in the same fashion you would any other American family from the late 19th century to the present. In other words, you should first obtain copies of death certificates, seek out cemetery information, identify families in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census, etc.
Much of Cherokee genealogical research is based on tribal rolls compiled during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The researcher should know the reasons for their creation in order to make the best use of them.
Cherokee names can take three forms on the rolls: a transliteration from the Cherokee language (for example, "Oo-ta-tie"), a translation from the Cherokee language (for example, "Sleeping Rabbit"), an English name (both first and last). There can also be combinations of the three.
The major division to bear in mind is that of Eastern Cherokee and Western Cherokee. Residing in the southeastern United States, most Cherokees were transported in 1838-39 to "Indian Territory" in what is now northeastern Oklahoma, although some Cherokees, known as "Old Settlers," had preceeded them by several years. Those west of the Mississippi became the so-called Western Cherokee, while those who avoided removal were the nucleus of the so-called Eastern Cherokee in western North Carolina and adjacent areas. There were probably people with Cherokee blood who never made it onto any of the rolls. Rolls for Cherokees prior to the general removal are also referred to as Eastern Cherokee rolls.
American
Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications.
Washington: National Archives, 1995.
Call No. Local History Ref
Z1209.2.U5 U52 (2nd floor open shelf).
Kirkham, E. Kay. Our
Native Americans and Their Records of Genealogical Value. Logan, UT:
Everton, 1980-1984.
Call No. Local History Ref Z1209.2.N67 K57 (2nd floor
open shelf). 2 vols.
Indexing and cross-referencing for various rolls in books compiled by Bob Blankenship on 2nd floor open shelf ( Local History Ref E99.C5 Call No. range).
Enrollment
Cards of the Five Civilized Tribes.
Call No. Microfilm 1083.
These are the final rolls from the early 20th century. First consult the
index on Reel 1 for a card number. The table of contents at the beginning of
Reel 1 will then tell you which microfilm reel you need for that card number.
It is important to note the various categories, such as Cherokee by blood,
Cherokee by marriage, Cherokee freedmen (African-American), etc.
Dawes Rolls. Consult instead the Enrollment cards.
Guion
Miller Rolls.
Call No. Microfilm 1181.
Identifies those who
were alive in 1906 who were members of the Eastern Cherokee or descendants of
Eastern Cherokee at the time of the treaties of 1835/36 or 1845. Includes later
Western Cherokee. Index and table of contents on reel 1. Accepted and rejected
claims intermixed. Some documentary material included, although the full
applications are found in another microfilm set not held by the Newberry. You
may also wish to consult the transcriptions in Jerry W. Jordan's series
Cherokee
By Blood (Call No. Local History Ref E99.C5 J63 on 2nd floor open shelf), which, though
incomplete (at this writing only going to Application 23,800), is
comprehensively indexed, and includes some, though not all, of the relevant
miscellaneous testimony found on reels 7-11. Reel 12 includes various other
rolls (including Chapman, Drennan, and Hester) plus indexing.
Old Settler Rolls. Cross referencing with descendants between 1851 Old Settler roll and 1896 roll found in David K. Hampton's Cherokee Old Settlers: the 1896 Old Settler payroll and the 1851 Old Settler payroll (Call No. Ayer folio E9.C5 H35 in Special Collections on 4th floor).
Starr, Emmet. History of the Cherokee Indians. Call No. Local History Ref E99.C5S8 (2nd floor open shelf). Originally published 1921, contains much genealogy and biography.
Tyner, James W and Alice Tyner Timmons. Our People and Where They Rest. 12 vols. Call No. Ayer folio E99.C5 T97 (Special Collections on 4th floor). Oklahoma cemetery data.
Wever, Orpha J. Probate Records, Northern District Cherokee Nation. Call No. Ayer folio F693.W48 (Special Collections on 4th floor). Vol. 1 1893-1904. Vol. 2 1904-1908.