Choctaw Genealogy

 I finally looked at my blog comments this week, and I had several related to my Choctaw posts. A topic I really haven't broached in a while. I took the time to re-read some of my posts. Some of it material I wrote about 2001-2003. Man, I have learned a lot since that time. Some of that stuff, not accurate with what I know now, most of it is though.

It is probably the most accurate to state, that I have taken a deviation on the Choctaw to a more historical research perspective than a genealogical one. I try to read as much as I can, but I probably focus a lot of time on as many original records as I can find. And there are a lot, if you know where to look.  Finding the Quaker records (and an email) I confirmed that James L. McDonald was left with the Quakers with another boy, (whose obituary shows is James Madison, a son of Apuckshunnubbee), by Jeremiah Ward. It is not long after the death of James Madison, that Thompson McKinney writes in his memoirs, he was approached about taking in a Choctaw boy, the same James L. McDonald. I recall being fascinated by James' story, long before I found out he was a relative. In fact, the half-nephew of my ancestor. 

Reading newspapers, I found an article with a recount by Eliza Ann Flack, my ancestor's daughter, and her discussion of her mother's Uncle, Uncle Pushmataha. She also talks about a cousin who died and gives an account (hard to read) of the bone picking and cry that occurred afterward. She makes it sound like she recalls the Creek War, which I doubt, I suspect she was born in the midst of it, but it is interesting. I also have read accounts of Mushulatubbee's brother's trial and letter when he killed a white man. The death of General Hummingbird and Little Leader, among many other things.

I have read the American State papers, and the Mississippi territorial papers, deeds, and court records, and thousands upon thousands of Dawes files. Almost very history book ever written prior to 2000, and a few since, some thesis material when I could find it. I have gone page through page through the records on ancestry to read the court records that are hidden and not indexed. I researched annuity rolls, and census, and documented as much as I could. Oh, and I talked a lot to other researchers who have been doing this a lot longer than I have, most specifically my dear friend Sandra, who has spent hundreds of hours on the phone with me and shared hundreds of emails with me over the last 20 years. 

I love that there is a lot of love for genealogy now. That there is an interest in it, and younger people involved. Back when I started, I was 33, that was so much younger than everyone I ran across except one or two folks. So, glad to see younger people interested. And also grateful, that the search engines don't readily bring up some of the old forums which are full of inaccurate claims. Not so grateful that the claims have made it into a lot of trees. 

Accuracy in genealogy should always be the goal. Sometimes, we can't prove it on paper, but we can by circumstantial evidence, logic and reasoning. Such evidence generally includes, proximity, timeframe, and some kind of substantial evidence other than, an oral history, or a MCR file. There is a plethora of claims on the MCR that are true, and there are just as many that aren't. You can tell when you read them, they have no substance in their testimonies. What most people don't take the time to learn is that there were congressional testimonies over the enrollments in Mississippi, primarily, the scam ran by a group of lawyers, that went town to town, and literally signed up as many folks to enroll as they could. They also sold shares to the American public elsewhere for an expected profit when these folks enrolled and got their "money". The majority of the Mississippi Choctaw Society were their clients.

There are a lot of valid reasons why the Mississippi Choctaw were enrolled and became a tribe, and why it was limited to it's membership. It unfairly did exclude Choctaws in Mississippi who were descendants of mixed bloods in 1830, but by doing so they ensured that the fraudulent claims weren't allowed. The Choctaws in Oklahoma, they fought enrollment of the Mississippi Choctaws. That is why you can find court of claims testimonies in the Cornish Collection (I forgot to mention I read those too).

 Not that most of my comments have been about rumored Choctaws, but it seemed the best place for me to start. I can literally talk for hours about the period before 1830, so I am going to try and put some of that into a blog (maybe I will have to find a way to focus). I can talk for hours about the period after 1830 through enrollment, so I will try and talk about that. I want to someday write a book on the Choctaw that looks at the history from a genealogical perspective. Because I already know, there is a lot of history books that has overlooked that and missed a huge part of the story. Maybe I can work on some of that here.

 Researching your Native American tree, starts just like your non Native American tree. You start at you and you work backward. You gather records, you confirm, and you move back. If you are lucky, you will find (rare) a census, or an enrollment or a tribal roll. Sometimes you won't be lucky. It's not that there isn't records out there, but it can be hard. There are five derivations of the name Nahotima on the 1856 census for the Choctaw. There are I don't know how many Homomastubbee's on the 1785 Spanish Treaty. There are 3 (I think) Pushimataha on that treaty as well, and not one is Pushmataha. There are 3 Mingo Poos Coos also. See where I say about lucky. 

Yeah, it is extremely difficult when you get to a full blood to verify information. Largely because by the time you get back that far, you are literally to a point where few if any records exist. Choctaw records are sporadic, you have the 1896, 1893 (I can't find that one), 1885, and 1856 for full families. There are a few more just head of household in the NARA, and there is the Armstrong rolls. That's a whole lot of skipping. Some of the Choctaw nation county records, the court records are all in Choctaw.  Choctaws in Mississippi, have far fewer records, even with the Cooper roll. You literally have almost 70 years with no documentation for some families. 

I am not saying don't try, I am saying be realistic. You can search for years (well for any genealogy this is true) with nothing. No clue, no records, and then one day, you may stumble on the records. Never look to prove yourself right, just look for something that proves something, even if you were wrong in your assumption. Accuracy is your goal. A family tree full of errors and inaccuracies isn't rewarding, and if you do your DNA, it is a headache because you won't figure out a match because of it. Use good judgement, use logic, and if you have a theory, state a theory. Don't trust any tree on ancestry, even mine, you should verify everything you can, and you should strive for sourced documentation.