USING NEW MEXICO AS AN EXAMPLE : THE HISTORIC STATE : NATIVE AMERICANS - SPAIN - MEXICO - U.S. TERRITORY : STATE CENSUS ADVENTURE #6

 I found New Mexico confusing, so I hope to unconfuse you... !!!

What if your ancestor lived in what was a territory rather than a state?

As most of my readers know, the United States began on the Atlantic coast,  and then there was "expansion."

When Lewis and Clark began their expedition to find out what was West of the Alleghenies in May 1804, specifically to explore the Louisiana Territory, Purchased in 1803, they officially began in Missouri and the Missouri River, but actually, to get to the Missouri River they left what is the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, using the Ohio River to get to that official starting point.  (Pittsburgh was almost the Wild Wild West!) Louisiana Territory was previously owned by France, but what of Spanish America and Mexican America? 

The twists and turns of history affected what's available as does who conducted the census. The acquisition of territory came first, then statehood.  What country owned that land? Who took the census? Was it Federal, State, Territorial, special?

First, research the history of the state. Spain first claimed land in what became New Mexico.  Then Mexico did. Spain did a census in 1790. Mexico did in1823 and then 1845.

In 1850, New Mexico became a Territory of the United States. From that point on the territory was included in what we call the U.S. Federal Census, though it was not a state. Statehood for New Mexico as a state of the United States of America - "joined the Union" was 1912. Which means that we are looking for resources from various countries.

Take a look at this list from NEW MEXICO STATE LIBRARY - GUIDE TO CENSUS (Genealogy) THERE WERE MANY CENSUS including some specific to Native Americans, it's a wonder...

Excerpt: Spanish and Mexican Census Records :

1845, 1830, 1827, 1826, 1823, 1822, 1816, 1802, 1790, and 1750-- Mexican and Spanish colonial censuses exist. The colonial censuses include the wife's maiden name. These censuses are incomplete and do not include all families in New Mexico.***

Though the United States first started taking a national (I call that a FEDERAL) census in 1790 (OF STATES THAT WERE ACTUALLY STATES), New Mexico did not appear until the 1850 census (7th). The New Mexico State Library has microfilm of the dicennial Federal Census of New Mexico for the years: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and then the New Mexico Territory Census of 1885!

*** No census has ever been totally complete, inclusive of every resident, for various reasons.  In New Mexico's example we should consider California, another state that was claimed by Spain and then Mexico. When populations were sparse or a great deal of travel was necessary, lots of people who lived there were not counted.

In the case of French America or Spanish America, Church records can be especially helpful.

And a reminder : STATE LIBRARIES are often separate of STATE ARCHIVES.

Whew!

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The TAG for this series is  "STATE CENSUS ADVENTURE"

MEMORIAL DAY

In 1890 every state in the United States (then in the Union) adopted MEMORIAL DAY to honor those who lost their lives in the service of the United States Military.  Since then service members may have their service noted on their tombstone or have markers placed by local veterans' groups.

Here is the link to the VA where a description of headstones, markers, and medallions, is given. National Cemetery Administration Headstones, Markers, and Medallions

Read about the no-cost benefits for veterans.

USING OKLAHOMA AS AN EXAMPLE : THE OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY TIPS US OFF! AND PROVIDES SEARCHABLE DATABASES

Oklahoma state census - 1890***, 1907.

No wonder there was a hit stage musical called Oklahoma! The state has played an important part in American history. There were pioneers of course but often researchers into Native American heritage find themselves looking into what's available in that state as well. So the bad news is that this state is one of those who suffered the loss from the legendary fire that wiped out most of the 1890 Federal Census... But there is the 1890 OKLAHOMA TERRITORIAL CENSUS! ***

As well, there is this offering: 

Smith's First Directory of Oklahoma Territory

Smith's First Directory of Oklahoma Territory For the Year Commencing August 1, 1890 provides information about the population of early Oklahoma. The index includes over 17,000 names arranged alphabetically by surname.

OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Very interesting offerings! Such as :

1933 Unemployed Relief Census - An index of more than 100,000 names listed in the Unemployed Relief Census records. There are twenty-seven Oklahoma counties included. A searchable database on line!

Now, you might think that Oklahoma Historical Society might only interested in those Native American tribes whose people were relocated to Oklahoma but WOW!  Excerpt: 

The American Indian Archives

Since 1934 the Oklahoma Historical Society American Indian Archives have housed records for numerous tribal nations. The records came to the Oklahoma Historical Society after Congress passed legislation giving the OHS custody of the materials. These records include a variety of official documents and information relating to nations in Indian and Oklahoma Territory. The archives include a significant number of records pertaining to the Five Tribes as well as other tribal nations.

The Research Division is an affiliate of the National Archives and Records Administration.

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INDEXING

 

NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES : DAWES ROLLS : 1896 APPLICATIONS AND THE CURTIS ACT : APPLICATIONS TAKEN 1898 - 1907

ARCHIVES GOV RESEARCH DAWES ROLLS 

Excerpt: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has custody of the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes, known as the Final Dawes Rolls, as well as related census cards, enrollment applications, land allotment jackets, and maps. These records are found in Record Group 48, Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, and in Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Final Dawes Rolls and related records are some of the most heavily used records at NARA for researching membership in the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).

Note that these tribes were originally exempted but did end up being counted, and it's controversial.

Excerpt: Then, in 1895, Congress authorized a survey of Indian Territory, and in 1896 Congress authorized the Dawes Commission to add names to existing tribal rolls as a preliminary step to allotment. The Commission received more than 7,500 applications for enrollment and traveled throughout Indian Territory conducting hearings.

These applications, known as the 1896 Applications, were declared null and void two years later, when Congress passed an act on June 28, 1898, authorizing the Commission to proceed with enrollment and allotment for the Five Civilized Tribes without tribal consent. The 1898 act, known as the Curtis Act, also provided for the termination of the Five Civilized Tribes’ tribal governments. By 1902, each of the Five Tribes had negotiated and ratified an agreement that modified the terms of the Curtis Act and became the basis for enrollment and allotment.

With new guidelines in place, the Dawes Commission accepted enrollment applications from 1898 through 1907, with a handful accepted in 1914.

MOCCASSIN

 

CHEROKEE : DAWES ROLLS : COUNT CONTROVERSIES : WHO GOT LAND

The Dawes Rolls were controversial in their time. They were a census of Native Americans. As we have seen, over time who was or was not a Cherokee, deserving of Tribal Membership, varied. At one point anyone who was Black and lived in the territory was a member of the tribe - if they were recognized or declared within 6 months. However some Cherokee had held slaves while others married Freedmen.

Excerpt page 116 - "On January 31, 1899. a vote was held to determine what to do with the proposed Dawes Commission Treaty; the conservatives lost by 2, 015 votes in their efforts to reject all agreements with the commission.  This draft agreement, though accepted by the tribe, was nonetheless rejected by Congress as insufficient.  An agreement was finally settled upon and adopted in 1902. In 1901 the Dawes Commission began working towards compiling the final tribal rolls to decide who got land allotments.  The commission ultimately broke down those residing on Cherokee land into three categories: Cherokees, whites, and freedmen. All told, the counted inhabitants of the Cherokee Nation numbered 41,824 total including 4,919 freedmen, 8703 "full blooded" and 27, 916 "mixed bloods"  There were over 1,000 freedmen who had previously been citizen 

Tribal Government ENDED.

The Cherokee (and other tribes) had their own rolls and were not in agreement with the governments, for they had expelled people or revoked tribal membership in the past, and the government tried to compare the two rolls as well.

Excerpt page 122 -

"The final Cherokee Nation rolls included 36,619 Indians, including 27,916 "mixed bloods" and 8,703 "full bloods" In addition, the commission included 286 whites and 4.919 freedman, bring the final total up to 41,824. These were made citizens of the Untieds States and (the state of) Oklahoma."

These past weeks, I've excerpted some important part of Cherokee Nation Citizenship by Aaron Kushner, a highly recommended book. There is more to the story, and if you find this of interest, please get yourself a copy or demand that your library get a copy for the shelves.

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MOTHERS DAY : A DAY TO SAY THANK YOU TO THOSE MOTHERLY PERSONS WHO NURTURED YOU

 

It's time to remember the motherly people in your life who raised you.

Ask her some questions about her own mother, your grandmother.

What stories have you never heard before?

LAKE COTTAGE

What a lovely old image, curtesy of Graphics Fairy.

When did you last go on vacation?

Did you go on vacations as a child? Where to?

What is your fantasy vacation?

 

ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY

 

CHEROKEE : THE 1833 BEGINNINGS OF THE DAWES ROLLS : CRIMINAL WHITE SQUATTERS and the INDIAN PROBLEM : INCOMING SETTLERS THREATENED TRIBAL OWNERSHIP OF LAND

What a book this is!  I'm so glad author Aaron Kushner did not give into political correctness (as it is today) or go sentimental on us as he reported the complications of Cherokee Nation Citizenship.  So very many Americans are today seeking the truth of their ancestry and family history and many of them have heard they have some tribal ancestry as well. I would say that the Cherokee may be the most famous of all the tribes.

Excerpt page 107 -

"In 1883 a group of Eastern humanitarians, led by Senator Henry L. Dawes, began meeting regularly to discuss the "Indian problem."  They observed the influx of white settlers into Indian Territory and the lack of stable law enforcement therein; since the Cherokee Nation and other tribal nations could not prosecute crimes where an American was involved, lawlessness spread like wildfire, especially among white squatters."

Excerpt page 108 - William Ross was the leader of the Cherokee at that time.

"William Ross argued that their system (of communal tenure) created no "landless paupers" or "absent landlords" to brutally eject them; the Cherokee had among them poverty but not starvation.

By 1890 the white settlers were outnumbering the Cherokee and they wanted to acquire property. 

Excerpt page 110 -

"Undeterred by the Cherokee Nation or the half-hearted attempts made by the United States to escort them out, non-citizen whites continued to pour into the Nation. The most dangerous of these were those who advanced "some fantastic claim to citizenship, and who loudly demanded every privilege enjoyed by the Indians" despite tribal authorities repeatedly denying them access. Cherokee leaders soon found themselves operating a minority government in their own territory.  The United States census of Indian Territory of 1890 listed 56,309 inhabitants in the Cherokee Nation. 29,166 were coded white. 5,127 were coded Black, and 22,015 were coded Indian.

Excerpt page 111 -

"Up until 1887, Cherokee leaders had successfully resisted American pressures for allotment and territorial assimilation.  In 1887, Congress passed the General Allotment Act, better known as the Dawes Act, to turn the I*Indians into private land holders,.  By allotting land to individual in tribal nations, the thinking went, the total lands allotted would not equal the total acreage held in common by the tribes, the remainder would be left for white settlers and corporations to consume.  The Dawes act, however, did not app;ly to the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks,m= Chickasaws, or Seminoles because of prior Treaty agreements. Nevertheless, the writing was on the wall."  (These were the Five Civilized Tribes.)

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CHEROKEE AFTER THE TREATY OF 1866 : EASTERN BAND CITIZENS OF THE STATE RATHER THAN THE CHEROKEE NATION : LEAD UP TO THE DAWES ROLLS

In 1866, by defining who was a member of the Cherokee tribe/Nation, the Cherokee also determined that they could remove someone from the tribe.  This caused conflict as well... In 1866 it went to the Supreme Court

Excerpt page 105 -  "... The United States Supreme Court decided in the case of Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians v. United States and the Cherokee, Nation, Commonly Called Cherokee Nation West. ... the court ruled that, since Cherokees in North Carolina had "refused to join their countrymen in the removal to the lands ceded to them west of the Mississippi," they could claim nothing belonging to the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory.  These people had, in effect, legally cut themselves off from the common fund of the Cherokee Nation.  The Cherokees in North Carolina were considered to be "citizens of the state."

Was there total cooperation with this by Native Americans or governmental agents? NO! And forced removal was called a refusal to go to lands ceded to them!

The Cherokee were now in conflict with the United States as the Treaty allowed for a couple railroads to run through their Territory and they were considered to be backward and against progress when they did not easily give up their lands. Their traditional way of life held that land was held in common. So there again, if a particular Cherokee was for giving up land to make way for "progress" rather than stay put, it was a tribal issue and a political one. Did it always have to do with just how "red" someone was?

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