Genealogy and Native Americans

The 1851 Chapman Roll was compiled by Alfred Chapman in 1851–1852 as part of the distribution of treaty funds owed to Cherokees who had remained east of the Mississippi River after the Trail of Tears. All told he enumerated 2133 Cherokee who resided largely in the area known as the Eastern Cherokee Domain. In 1850, Congress authorized a per-capita payment to Cherokees living east of the…

Guion-Miller faced a monumental task when verifying applications for the Eastern Cherokee Eastern Enrollment (1906–1910). To prove eligibility, applicants had to link themselves to an ancestor named on the 1835 Henderson Roll or demonstrate that their family resided within the Cherokee domain at the time of the 1835 treaty. In 1835, prior to removal, the Eastern Cherokee domain comprised all or…

Elijah EavesDay, MissouriRejected Guion Miller Roll : Applicant Number 35 APPLICANTS CLAIMING THROUGH ALEXANDER BROWN AND HISCHILDREN, THOMAS, JOHN, ISOM, ANNIS, SALLIE ANDDICIE BROWN Applicants herein claim to be descendants of the Alexander Brown whose name appears on the roll of 1835, enrolled at Oostennolle River, Ga. The Alexander Brown on the 1835 roll was enrolled, with two others,…

Many applications to the Eastern Cherokee Tribe claimed Cherokee descent through Alexander Brown. As was the procedures for the commission setup by the Courts to oversee the payment, they batched family groups together and filed the reasoning for admittance or rejection under the lowest numbered application. In this case it was the application #35 of Elijah Eaves. As I process the additional…

Nancy BradfordKansas City, MissouriRejected Guion Miller Roll: Number 3 Applicant was born in Kentucky in 1805. Her mother was a slave and she was a slave and was not enrolled as an Eastern Cherokee in 1835 or 1851. That applicant was a slave is stated by her attorney, G. G. Wright, in letter dated Nov. 19, 1907. Nancy Bradford was born 22 Jun 1805 to Tom and Mary (Samuels) Sanders in…

John HildebrandBartlesville, OklahomaAdmitted Guin Miller Roll: Number 2 Applicant and his father and mother, David and Elizabeth Hilderbrand, were enrolled by Drennan in 1851 in Group 136 Tahlequah. Primary Reason for Admission John Hildebrand’s claim was accepted because both he and his parents were already enrolled on the 1851 Drennen Roll, a Cherokee census/payment roll used as evidence…

Isom Durham White314 Main St., Joplin, Mo. Rejected Guin Miller Roll: Number 1 Applicant was not enrolled in 1851. He was born in Washington County, Missouri in 1841 and his parents were born in Allen County, Kentucky, which is more than 100 miles from the Eastern Cherokee domain in 1835. His parents and grandparents were not enrolled in 1835 or 1851. In reply to letter, applicant states:…

Edward H. Fletcher presents a structured history of the Fletcher family, tracing the surname from its French occupational origin meaning “arrow-maker” to its establishment and growth in England and North America. It identifies Robert Fletcher as the principal progenitor in New England, settling at Concord in 1630, from whom three major family lines developed. Fletcher situates the family within…

William L. Chaffin’s 1913 genealogical study, History of Robert Chaffin and his descendants, traces the Chaffin family from its colonial beginnings into the early twentieth century. Chaffin integrates family lineage with historical context, including Revolutionary War service, westward migration to the Midwest, and selected personal narratives illustrating character and endurance. He documents…

This book is a collection of historical records, legal abstracts, and personal testimonies centered on the legendary Townley-Lawrence-Chase estates, a massive unclaimed fortune supposedly held in the Bank of England and the Court of Chancery. The text outlines the intricate genealogies of American claimants who believe they are the rightful heirs to hundreds of millions of dollars, tracing their…

This genealogical book comprises of a detailed investigative report debunking the legend of a massive unclaimed fortune supposedly belonging to the American descendants of William Carpenter. The text transitions from providing specific family lineages and historical biographies to a rigorous, firsthand account of an agent’s journey to London to verify the existence of a rumored two hundred…