Kristi GROSS (author of WOFFORD Family Clearinghouse Database) in association with Amazon Books, is pleased to present this selection of genealogy books. I've listed some of the books I've found to be useful in doing my own personal genealogy. Clicking a title link takes you right to a page where you can order that book at a discount of up to 20% to 30% off the list price. You won't be committed to your purchases until you enter your credit card information. If you have questions about Amazon's ordering, please contact Amazon Orders.
Order History of the Cherokee
Today!
History of the Cherokee Indians and Their Legends and Folk Lore
by Emmet STARR
Our Price: $65.00
Paperback (June 1922)
Periodicals Service Co; ISBN: 0527857009
Availability: This title usually ships within 4-6 weeks. Please note that titles occasionally go out of print or publishers run out of stock. We will notify you within 2-3 weeks if we have trouble obtaining this title.
Customer Comments: A reader from Texas, December 13, 1998, stated: A must have book for those researching their Cherokee roots. This is an excellent refrence book for those researching their Cherokee ancestry. It contains the family pedigree's of the Old Settlers, e.g. those Cherokee's who arrived in Indian Territory (Oklahoma)prior to the Trail Tears including some who arrived later. A number of family histories are also included. Because Emmet Starr obtained most of his information from personal interviews with descendants, there are some errors, however the work is invaluable as a genealogy research tool.
----------COMING SOON
The Dividing Paths: Cherokees and South Carolinians Through the Era of Revolution. A review by PESANTUBBEE, Michelene E. Found in The American Indian Quarterly, 03/22/95, v19:n2. p290(3)by HATLEY, Tom. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. XV + 320 pp. Illustrations, notes, index. $45.00 cloth.
In 1670, when the first permanent English settlement was established in what is now South Carolina, the white colonialists were eager to arrange an alliance with the Cherokee. The more numerous Cherokee were not only powerful enough to threaten the well-being of the English, they were needed as allies against other indigenous groups and as a source for trade. Later, as the white population began to expand westward, the Cherokee were also seen as the key to access to more land. This dependence on the Cherokee contributed to relatively open relations between the two societies. However, by the end of the eighteenth century, relations between the Cherokee and Carolinians were no longer conciliatory.
In 'The Dividing Paths', HATLEY relates how a rapidly changing regional demography and economy reshaped the relations between the Cherokee and Carolinians. As the slave population began to vastly outnumber the white population, and non-English immigrants such as the Germans began settling in the area, fears of possible dangerous alliances arose. The Carolinians feared that the Cherokee, slaves, and mulattos would form an insurgence against the whites. The English colonialists also feared that either the immigrants or native people would form alliances with the French to the detriment of English-trade and security. Later, as the colonists moved towards separation from Britain, uncertainties about the loyalties of white and native neighbors arose. Added to these fears were growing class distinctions between the coastal elite and the back country farmers and traders that led to personal and social divisions among the whites.
Among the Cherokee the economic roles of men and women and the power structures within Cherokee society were altered by the trade industry and adaptations in the agricultural domain. Land cessions, epidemics, and war resulted in shifts in tribal territories and political destabilization. The changing conditions within Carolinian and Cherokee society, in turn, had repercussions on the relations between the two groups.
Differences and misunderstandings between the Cherokee and whites, as well as internal power struggles, led to military actions between the two groups. During campaigns against the Cherokee, white troops used tactics that shocked the Cherokee, such as burning homes and cornfields and taking hostages. Many times the Cherokee responded to aggressive actions by abandoning their towns rather than engaging in battle. The Cherokee became disenchanted with the whites, but they did not want to discontinue all relations with them. They wanted to maintain a level of association that would allow trade to continue, but that would also keep them separated from the whites. For different reasons, both men and women were invested in maintaining trade relations.
On the surface, the conflicts between the Cherokee and Carolinians appeared to be based on revenge and struggles to maintain power. But, as HATLEY explains in The Dividing Paths, the sources of conflict ran much deeper. The actions taken by the Cherokee and whites were the results of social and political tensions within each society as well as between societies. HATLEY examines the conflicts between and within Cherokee and white society, including the dual patterns of consumption, authority, power, dependency, gender roles, and myth, that contributed to alienation between the two groups. These conflicts led to misconceptions and changing patterns of perception about each other.
HATLEY focuses on a pivotal time in the history of Cherokee/white relations. He unravels the complexities of human relations during this period to explain why end how the images the Cherokee and whites had of themselves and each other changed significantly. For example, he describes how events and perceptions altered the Carolinians' attitude towards women. They began referring to native, black, and lower class white women as "wenches." For native women this ambivalence was soon reflected in the term "squaw." Racial attitudes and stereotypes that would shape future relations between Cherokee and whites also were formed at this time. By the end of the American Revolution the whites no longer made distinctions between friendly and unfriendly tribal nations, but saw all native people as threatening. The Cherokee lost respect for white society as they realized that the whites were not able to control their own people. They no longer addressed the colonists as "brother" or "father," and many of the Cherokee men began to deride those things connected with white culture such as cattle, pigs, and chickens. Both societies had undergone changes that significantly altered their relations.
HATLEY has produced an insightful study based on excellent research and analysis. He challenges the reader to reevaluate some of the assumptions that eighteenth century colonists and historians made about Cherokee and white societies. Hatley also exposes many of the myths surrounding Cherokee/ white relations in the colonial South. Only by understanding how attitudes and images were shaped during this period can we fully appreciate later events that took place in the South. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in intercultural relationships, gender roles, and American Indian and southern history." Copyright 1995 University of Nebraska-Press.
----------Cultivating the Rosebuds: The Education of Women at the Cherokee Female Seminary, 1851-1909.
by Devon A. MIHESHUAH
Our Price: $17.95 Paperback, 240 pages, November 1997.
University of Illinois Press
Hardcover available
Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days.
SYNOPSIS:
Established by the Cherokee Nation in 1851 in present-day eastern Oklahoma, the nondenominational Cherokee Female Seminary was one of the most important schools in the history of American Indian education. Devon Mihesuah explores its curriculum, faculty, administration, and educational philosophy. Recipient of a 1995 Critics' Choice Award of the American Educational Studies Association. 24 photos.
A REVIEW:
'Cultivating the Rosebuds: The Education of Women at the Cherokee Female Seminary, 1851-1909.' A review.
REYHNER, Jon. The American Indian Quarterly06/22/94
v18:n3. p431(2)
The Cherokee Female Seminary was open from 1851 to 1856 and then reopened from 1872 to 1909, when the school was to sold to the state of Oklahoma and became the nucleus of what is now Northeastern State University. The Cherokee National Council ran the seminary, and it served only tribal members, though some had as little as 1/128 Cherokee blood. Less than 10 percent of the students were full bloods, and one-third of the students were 1/16 Cherokee or less.
The seminary was patterned after Mount Holyoke Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where some of the missionaries to the Cherokees went to school. In its forty years of operation it served 3,000 students, but only 212 graduated. Graduates tended to marry white men or Cherokees with less Indian blood than they had. In the early years, fifteen of the twenty-six seminary graduates became teachers in the Cherokee public school system. Twenty-eight of the seminary's graduates and seventeen of the non-graduates went on to teach at the seminary.
The United States government had a massive long-term effort to forcefully assimilate this country's indigenous people. But the history of the Cherokee Female Seminary indicates that left to their own designs and volunteer missionary efforts, tribes could effectively assimilate themselves. The Cherokee Female Seminary had no Cherokee curriculum. The author reports how a mixed-blood seminary superintendent in 1908 castigated full-blood students for their "pathetic attachment to home" (p. 80). Another superintendent in 1889 declared "it is the white blood that has made us what we are," and encouraged intermarriage with whites (p. 81). The author documents how "the teachers relentlessly reinforced the importance of learning and retaining the values of white society. At the same time they repressed Cherokee values" (p. 81).
This relentless pushing of white values did not go unnoticed by the more traditionally oriented Cherokee and, in fact, full-blood students were once expelled for trying to burn the seminary in protest of its "white atmosphere." Despite the Cherokee Nation's support of "civilization," the government increasingly interfered with internal tribal affairs. In 1900 President McKINLEY vetoed the seminary principal appointed by the Cherokee National Council. Such actions make it clear that control rather than "civilization" was the real policy of the United States government. The government also was interested in giving the Indians a second class "manual labor" or industrial" education. The Bureau of Indian Affairs complained in 1899 that the seminary s curriculum was too academic and that women were learning Latin and math instead of the "domestic arts."
This is a slim volume (only 115 pages of narrative) based on the author's doctoral dissertation. She hints at some larger issues such as the divisions within Cherokee society that the school reflected and parallels between Cherokee efforts to mimic white ways and those in schools for blacks, but these interesting topics are not developed. While this is a well-researched book on a fascinating topic, its narrow focus limits its interest for the general reader." Copyright 1994 University of Nebraska-Press.
AWIAKTA, Marilou. Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother’s Wisdom. 1993 A Cherokee/Appalachian weaves essays, stories and poems to provide insights into the philosophy of her heritage.
DUNCAN, Barbara R., ed. Living Stories of the Cherokee. 1998 72 contemporary tales from 6 storytellers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee.
FINGER, John R. Cherokee American: The Eastern Band of Cherokees in the Twentieth Century. 1991 A chronological and scholarly account of the small group who managed to avoid the forced move to Oklahoma, emphasizing the political, legal and economic developments and the major social and cultural changes.
JAHODA, Gloria. The Trail of Tears: The Story of the American Indian Removals 1813-1855. The history of the many Indian tribes uprooted by the white expansion in the early 19th century that finally led to the Indians' forced removal to lands in the West.
PERDUE, Theda, ed. Cherokee Editor: The Writings of Elias Boudinot. 1996 Eliot Boudinot (1804-1839) was a tragic figure - an educated Cherokee who edited the Cherokee Phoenix and believed in a separate nation of Cherokees, but signed the Treaty of New Echota that led to the Trail of Tears. He was eventually killed for his role in this part of Cherokee history.
Availability: This title is out of print. Although it is no longer available from the publisher, Amazon will query their network of used bookstores for you and send an update within one to two weeks.
KRISTI's 5 star book: My copy is extremely worn. The *MOST* used book on my genealogical shelf! I think I paid $14.95 for mine back in 1990. Will help you to match U.S. cities to their corresponding counties. Quickly access basic information about every U.S. county, county seat, principal city, and lists cities of 100 or more people. You can look up and cross reference information by state, county, or city. If you are always wondering what county a city is in, get ahold of a copy of this book!
Order The Source Today!
Order Netting Your Ancestors Today!
'Netting Your Ancestors: Genealogical Research On The Internet'
by Cyndi HOWELLS. Genealogical Pub Co, 1997. 182 pages, $19.95.
This a very cool book. It will be helpful for genealogists new to the internet. It covers getting started using the internet, and then how to use it for your research.
Order In Search of Your European Roots Today!
'In Search of Your European Roots : A Complete Guide to Tracing Your Ancestors in Every Country in Europe'
by Angus BAXTER. Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994.
Our Price $ 16.95.
This book has information about where to find/send for information on your European ancestors, or on places your relatives passed through on their way to the United States.
Order They Came In Ships Today!
'They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Ship'
by John Philip COLLETA. Ancestry, 1997. 97 pages, $9.95. ISBN 0-916-48942-6.
This book is very useful to research passenger ship lists.
Order Genealogy Online for Dummies Today!
'Genealogy Online For Dummies'
by Matthew L. HELM and April Leigh HELM
List Price: $24.99
Our Price: $19.99
You Save: $5.00 (20%)
Paperback - 384 pages Bk&Cd-Rom edition (May 1998)
IDG Books Worldwide; ISBN: 0764503774.
Reviews: The HELMS have put together an excellent introductory guide to doing genealogical research online. They've avoided the usual trap of organizing their book by resources, which may be easy for the author but makes it harder on the user. So instead of devoting this chapter to useful Web sites, that chapter to valuable newsgroups, and so forth, they've organized the book in a way closer to the way you'd organize good family research.
They begin with a series of chapters on preparation, including doing initial groundwork, developing a plan, picking the names to begin researching, and locating ancestors geographically. Next, they deal with the means for finding valuable records and then delve into getting the most from your resources. Chapter 8, for example, discusses organizing and presenting your findings, while chapter 9 deals with cooperating with other researchers so that you can all be more effective (and probably make some new friends in the bargain).
As is always the case with a Dummies series book, the Helms present a "Part of Tens" section, in this case four chapters each covering 10 top online genealogical sites, tips for designing your genealogical Web page, sites for beginners, and general tips for "smooth sailing." An enclosed CD-ROM contains nine genealogy programs plus a wide assortment of Internet tools and utilities. --Elizabeth LEWIS
Synopsis:
Explaining how to use the home computer to maintain and publish one's genealogy information, this book contains a helpful directory to great sites for collecting genealogy information from the World Wide Web, newsgroups, mailing lists, and online service providers. The CD-ROM contains the software for connecting to a selected online service. 150 illustrations.
The authors, Matthew and April Leigh HELM (mhelm@tbox.com), May 15, 1998 had this to say about their book: "A common sense guide to researching your genealogy online. You're probably asking yourself how this book differs from the many other available genealogy books. Some books tell you only the traditional methods of genealogical research--others that do talk about online methods tend to group them by type of resource rather than explaining how you can integrate the many Internet resources to achieve your genealogical goals. In Genealogy Online for Dummies we provide details on how to prepare for going online, research names on the Internet, find locations where your ancestors lived, locate government, ethnic and hard to find records, publish your genealogical findings on the World Wide Web, and a provide a glossary of Internet and genealogical terms--all with a focus on integrating the many available resources.
We also include several tools on the accompanying CD-ROM to assist you in your research including the full Basic Edition of the bestselling Family Tree Maker genealogical software, useful Internet utilities and browsers, and genealogical utilities to help you place your genealogy on the Internet."
Customer Comments about Genealogy Online for Dummies:
A reader from Tennessee, October 26, 1998, said:
"Best book by far I've found on Native American Genealogy. For some time I've looked for sources that include Native American genealogy. This is by far the best I've found! After going on-line, I began getting information in less that 12 hours! This book is essential in the library of any genealogist."
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If you have any comments, please send an e-mail message toKristi GROSS, (subject: Suggested Books), who maintains this site.
© 1999 by Kristi GROSS
