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Records relating to enrollment of the Eastern Cherokee by Guion Miller, 1908-1910.
Amount:
12.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
By record type.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
An act of Congress approved July 1, 1902 (32 Stat. 726), gave the Court of Claims jurisdiction over any claim arising under treaty stipulations that the Cherokee tribe, or any band thereof, might have against the United States and over any claims that the United States might have against any Cherokee tribe or band. Suit for such a claim was to be instituted within 2 years after the act was approved. As a result, three suits were brought before the court concerning grievances arising out of the treaties. These suits were (1) The Cherokee Nation v. The United States, General-Jurisdiction Case No. 23199; (2) The Eastern and Emigrant Cherokees v. The United States, General-Jurisdiction Case No. 23212; and (3) The Eastern Cherokees v. The United States, General-Jurisdiction Case No. 23214. On May 18, 1905, 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 one million dollars appropriated by Congress on June 30, 1906, for use in payment of the claims. The task of compiling a roll of eligible persons was begun by Guion Miller, then special agent of the Interior Department. In a decree of April 29, 1907, the court vacated that part of its earlier decision that gave the Secretary of the Interior responsibility for determining the eligibility of claimants and appointed Mr. Miller as a special commissioner of the Court of 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 Cherokee Tribe of Indians or were descendants of such persons, and that they had not been affiliated with any tribe of Indians other than the Eastern Cherokees or the Cherokee Nation. The decree further provided that claimants should already have applications on file with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, or should file such applications with the special commissioner of the Court of Claims on or before August 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 38, 1906, were to be filed by their children or legal representatives.
Summary:
This microfilm publication contains the report and related records of Special Commissioner Guion Miller. In 1906 Mr. Miller was appointed by the U. S. Court of Claims to determine who was eligible for funds under the treaties of 1835-1836 and 1845 between the United States and the Eastern Cherokee. Mr. Miller submitted his report and roll on May 28, 1909, and submitted a supplementary report and roll on January 5, 1910. Reel 1 contains a name index to the applicants in Volumes 1 and 2; the index denotes the individual's application number. Reels 2 - 5 consists of ten volumes containing Miller's 1909 report with application numbers 1 through 45857. The applicant's entry includes applicant's number, name, place of residence, and a brief entry sometimes listing birth information and relationships with others on the list. Reel 6 contains the printed Roll of Eastern Cherokees submitted on May 28, 1909 by Miller. The roll lists roll number, application number, F.C.T. commission number, name, address, relation, and age in 1906. It also contains Millers report on exceptions filed to his report of May 28, 1909 submitted by him on January 5, 1910. This list is similar to his original report, but it also includes the rationale for any changes made in the final disposition of the applicant.
Reels 7 - 11 consists of ten volumes of testimony taken before the Special Commissions from February 1908 to March 1909. The testimony is arranged by date of testimony and grouped roughly by the name of the town in which the testimony was given. The testimony contains information about the person's age and place of birth, who Indian blood is claimed through, and other family relationships.
Reel 12 contains other miscellaneous rolls and lists including: the Eastern Cherokee Roll, 1851 by Chapman and Drennen; the Chapman Roll 1851: the Drennen Roll 1851; the Siler Roll, 1854; the index to the Old Settler Roll 1851; and the Old Settler Roll, 1851.
Finding Aids:
Microfilm listing available.
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Microfilm.
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
National Archives, Washington, D. C.
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
National Archives Microfilm Publication M685.
General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Cherokee Indians. Indians of North America Southern States
for detailed listing.