Bluford Sixkiller

Fields Scraper

James Sixkiller

Lucinda (Sixkiller) Wagnon

Lydia Ann (Scraper) Clark

Runabout Wilson

Etta Jane (Scraper) Sanders

Wilson Cummings

Jennie (Scraper) Batt

Jug Bunch

Ned Scraper

Salley (Scraper) England

Susie (Tiger) Downing

Guion Miller Roll of 1909 - Applications

Persons applying for compensation arising from the judgment of the United States Court of Claims on May 28, 1906, for the Eastern Cherokee tribe, filled out these applications in order to receive their share of the judgment as citizens of the Cherokee Nation. Guion Miller of the Office of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, was placed in charge of sorting out who qualified and who did not. Of the 46,000 applicants, many were not able to meet the standard of the Commission and were unable to prove their citizenship and were rejected. Commission Agents tried to locate the ancestors on the earlier rolls to confirm the applicant’s validity, but various spellings and pronunciations proved challenging. Also many had gone by different names, a Cherokee name, an English name, etc. Sometimes affidavits by older citizens who had knowledge of the applicant’s ancestors were required to help prove citizenship. These sworn statements which are sometimes found among the Miller applications can be veritable treasure troves of information for us genealogists.

I have obtained copies of these applications via microfilm in archives or libraries at various places including Kansas City (National Archives), Oklahoma City (National Archives), and Muskogee (Public Library). I know they are also available at other repositories as well including the library at Northeastern in Tahlequah. They are available on microfilm M 1104 (348 rolls) in the National Archives, but may be listed under a different call number in other locations.

Please note that these wonderful resources, while generally accurate, are not always perfect. Written records were often not kept, so the applicants had to rely on their memories. Communication between family members was often very rare if they lived more than a few miles from each other, so sometimes a person would list a relative as being deceased, when in fact the relative was alive and well living a mere days ride away by horse. Sometimes a person would state that a relative had no living heirs, when in fact there were many living nearby. Today with our mail service, telephones, and automobiles it’s easy to keep in touch with family members should we choose to do so, but in the early 1900’s in Indian Territory, life was very different.

My transcriptions may include adjustments to allow for easier readability. If you require absolute perfection to the last detail in the transcription, please check the microfilm at one of the libraries that have them on hand.
Joe Scraper Jr.

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