"What does all these numbers mean?"

The Treaty of Aug. 8, 1846 set forth the reason for the Drennen and Old Settler Roll: Article 9. A Fair and Just Settlement of all Moneys Due the Cherokees Under the Treaty of 1835 to be Made.

The United States agree to make a fair settlement of all moneys due to the Cherokees, and subject to the per capita division under the treaty of 29th December, 1835, which said settlement shall exhibit all money properly expended under said treaty, and shall embrace all sums paid for improvements, ferries, spoliation’s, removal, and subsistence, and commutation therefor, debts and claims upon the Cherokee Nation of Indians, for the additional quantity of land cede to said nation; and the several sums provided in the several article of the treaty, to be invested as the general funds of the nation; and also all sums which may be hereafter properly allowed and paid under the provisions of the treaty of 1835. The aggregate of which said several sums shall be deducted from the sum of six-millions six hundred and forty-seven thousand and sixty-seven dollars, and the balance thus found to be due shall be paid over, per capita, in equal amounts, to all those individuals, heads of families, or their legal representatives, entitled to receive the same under the treaty of 1835 and the supplement of 1836, being all those Cherokees residing east at the date of said treaty and the supplement thereto.

The Old Settlers Roll 1851

The people that was living in Cherokee Nation West and ceded their lands in Arkansas on May 6, 1828 for the present day Oklahoma. A census was taken of the "Old Settlers" the Cherokees that was living March, 1851 signed up and was given a family group number and the District they resided in. Three thousand, two hundred and seventy three Cherokees were enrolled and received two hundred, seventy dollars and ninety five cents. The "Old Settlers" filed a protest against the sum. The Supreme Court decided that the original "Old Settlers" or their heirs would receive an additional one hundred, fifty nine dollars and ten cents per share in the 1896 "Old Settler" payment.

The Drennen Roll 1851

The Treaty for removal from the east was signed Dec. 29, 1835. The Cherokee Emigrants were either forced or voluntarily removed from Cherokee Nation East. A roll was taken in 1851 of the emigrants and given a family group number and the district where they lived.

The Dawes Roll

In January, 1900, the Dawes Commission began to consider the problems of making a current and correct roll of the citizens of the Cherokee Nation, which was required by section 21 of the Curtis Law, approved June 28, 1898:

That in making rolls of citizenship of the several tribes, as required by law, the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes is authorized and directed to take the roll of Cherokee citizens of 1880 (not including Freedmen) as the only roll intended to be confirmed by this and preceding Acts of Congress, and to enroll all persons now living, whose names are found on said roll, and all descendants born since the date of said roll to persons whose names are found thereon, and all persons who have been enrolled by the Tribal Authorities who have heretofore made permanent settlement in the Cherokee Nation whose parents, by reason of their Cherokee blood, have been placed thereon by fraud or without authority of law, enrolling only such as may have lawful rights thereto, and their descendants born since such rolls were made, with such intermarried white persons as may be entitled to citizenship under Cherokee laws.

It shall make a roll of Cherokee Freedmen in strict compliance with the decree of the Court of Claims tendered the 3rd day of February, 1896.

The Commission had to index rolls from the roll of 1880 with twenty thousand four hundred and thirty nine names. The "Strip" payment of 1894 with twenty four thousand nine hundred and eight nine names. The census roll of 1896 with thirty three thousand and eight names.

You may write to the: National Archives, Southwest, P. O. Box 6216, Fort Worth, TX 76115 Phone: # 817-334-5525 or request over the internet, they will only look up one census and you must have a major credit card, arcives@ftworth.nara.gov.

Request the Field jacket of the person(s), Tribe, Dawes Roll and census number, as of Nov. 1999 fee for each census number is ten dollars. The Dawes roll is informative, many times they had to have testimony from other people who could validate their application.

The Guion Miller Applications

They were taken from 1906 to 1910: Cherokee Nation East and West. Guion Miller wrote a report on the "Emigrants and/or their heirs. Much genealogy is in these applications, even if the applicants were rejected. Sometimes even more than the Cherokees that was accepted.

An act of Congress approved July 1, 1902 gave the Court of Claims jurisdiction over any claim arising under treaty stipulations the Cherokee tribe, or any band thereof, might have against the United States and over any claims that the United State might have against any Cherokee tribe or band. Suit for such a claim was to be instituted within two years after the act was approved. Three suits was brought against the United States concerning grievances arising out of the treaties. (1.) The Cherokee Nation v. The United States. (2.) The Eastern and Emigrant Cherokees v. The United States. (3.) The Eastern Cherokees v. The United States. On May 18, 1904, the court decided in favor of the Eastern Cherokees and instructed the Secretary of the Interior to ascertain and identify the persons entitled to participate in the distribution of more than $1 million appropriated by Congress on June 30, 1906, for use in payment of these claims. The decree also provided that the fund was to be distributed to all Eastern and Western Cherokee Indians who were alive on May 28, 1906, who could establish the fact that at the time of the treaties they were members of the Eastern Cherokees or the Cherokee Nation. The decree further provided that claimants should already have applications on file with the Commission of the Indian Affairs, or should file such applications with the special commissioner of the Court of Claims on or before Aug. 31, 1907. According to the decree, applications for minors and persons of unsound mind were to be filed by their parents or persons having their care and custody, and applications for persons who had died after May 28, 1906, were to be filed by their children or legal representatives. Approximately 46,000 applications were approved to share in the one million dollars to be distributed, the rolls used to determine who were eligible were the Hester, Chapman, Drennen and many others between 1835 and 1884. My books "Only The Names Remain" series is the complete 1851 Drennen roll, I have linked (sixty years) as many as possible to the Guion Miller Applications.