Extract of the rejected applications of the Guion Miller Roll of the Eastern Cherokee/ Jo Ann Curls Page

Note

The Eastern Cherokee filed three lawsuits against the United States government for funds due them under the treaties of 1835, 1836 and 1845. The United States Court of Claims awarded over one million dollars to the Cherokee. Guion Miller, an agent of the United States Department of the Interior, was assigned to identify those who were eligible to receive funds. The Guion Miller Rolls were compiled to distribute the funds from these three lawsuits among the entitled members of the Eastern Cherokee Nation.

Over 45,000 applications were filed representing 90,000 individuals. Almost two-thirds of the applicants were rejected for various reasons. Some were denied on the grounds that the applicant was a former slave or descendant of a slave previously owned by a member of the tribe. Applications by Old Settlers, those who traveled to the west before 1835, were rejected. In some cases applicants were identified as members of a different tribe (Creek, Choctaw, etc.) and others failed to prove their relationship to an ancestor on an earlier Cherokee roll. Some of the applicants were identified as white.

These books contain abstracts of rejected applications. Genealogical information is included in the abstracts, although some applications were more complete than others. To be eligible for funds from the settlement, a person had to either prove they were a member of the Eastern Cherokee at the time of the 1835, 1836 or 1845 treaties or prove they were descended from a person who was a member of the tribe during that time. Applicants were asked to supply their name, residence, age, place of birth, name of spouse, names of children, place and date of birth of their parents and grandparents, names and ages of their brothers and sisters, and names and residence of their grandparents' children.

Contents: v. 1. Extracts from rolls 1-195 -- v. 2. Extracts from rolls 195-282 -- v. 3. Extracts from rolls 283-348 (applications 36051-45856).

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