Trying to prove my Mississippi Choctaw heritage.

Question

Hit a wall at a Willis McNelly born around 1800 in Tennessee. Was moved to Mississippi in 1830s. Then moved to St Genevieve MO with his daughter, May Ann McNelly who was married in St. Genevieve to a German man Anthony Henn.  They had a daughter Mary Ann Henn in St Genevieve.  Mary Ann Henn was married to a James Monroe Wade. They were all moved to Indian Territory.  Their son Charles H Wade is my great Grandfather. We believe he is on the Dawes roll. Card 2262 roll nbr 6560.

Answer 1

The Charles Wade on the Dawes Roll, card #2262 is not your ancestor.  He was the one-year-old son of a couple named Stanford and Eliza Cagle Wade who were married in Indian Territory in 1883.  You can see the Dawes Card and application on Ancestry at:

 https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/65869?token=7mBVLAEI1h7vB397fFZ98kQVNqZiDXlGR0TvccEfF5g%3D

Your ancestor applied to the Dawes Roll as a Mississippi Choctaw (Mississippi Choctaw card #589, rejected) but his application was rejected since he couldn't show any connection to that group or to the Choctaw Nation.  You can read his application on Ancestry at

https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/65923?token=8aeBWY3PuCfpj%2BTB0ebdzG10v9NAvO9kuEIPyOtNgQA%3D

Charles' application and those of several other people were grouped with the rejected application of his sister Mary Ann Wade, Mississippi Choctaw Card #71.  You can see all of the claims and documentation at https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/65954?token=b0JvR%2BWkEDFiWbHCi27YpfL6nbhErefw0%2BL0NdmG%2BvM%3D

Comments

Thank you. Yes Mary Ann (Henn) Wade was the mother of Charles Wade and the granddaughter of Willis McNelly. Charles claimed that Willis was on the Choctaw rolls and was allotted land as part of the treaty of dancing rabbit creek ( article 14) , but that is where the trail goes cold for me.  In the text of card 71 I read there were two witnesses there to confirm they knew Willis and his granddaughter and that they were Mississippi Choctaw. The witnesses were William Nail (91 yrs old) and John Hardwood(85 years old), but their testimony was discounted. Also the card 71 refers to a M.M Lindly producing a letter from an A.S. McKennon addressed to the claimant, but there is nothing more about that. Appreciate the help. Is there anywhere to research Choctaw rolls of the mid 1800s?

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There are good Choctaw rolls related to the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek and Removal.  

Here's a link to the Armstrong Rolls from 1831: Armstrong Rolls | Access Genealogy

The lengthy discussion by the Dawes Commissioners points out that Mary Ann McNally was probably alive in 1830 since she had a daughter born in 1848, and that if Mary Ann and her family were actually living in Mississippi and were actually Choctaw they would be found on the rolls.  

Mary Ann McNally got married in 1842, so she must have been born before 1826. The 1850 census says that she was born in Tennessee, a place the Choctaw never lived. 

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Thank you so much. This is all so interesting. I find it peculiar that my Mother’s side of the family all originate in Tennessee, Virginia, maybe Alabama and Missouri and quite suddenly are all in Indian territory/Oklahoma. Wondering if maybe they were of another tribe? Or was it possible during the Indian removals that non Native Americans were also moved to Indian territory?  Potentially a scheme to exercise eminent domain?

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Thousands of white people flooded into Indian Territory after the Civil War looking for free land. By 1896 there were three times as many whites as Indians living in Indian Territory.  So many white people filed applications with the Dawes Commission in 1896 (attempting to establish citizenship in the Cherokee Nation for purposes of land allotment) that all of the applications were thrown out and the whole process restarted. There are some estimates that by 1907 when Oklahoma became a state there were 7 white people for every Indian.

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Fascinating. Thank you. I clearly need to brush up on history a bit. Again, thank you.

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Kathy---thanks for all you do. I am not a descendant of Indian heritage, but I do have an 8c4r. Chief Wm McIntosh of the Creek Nation. I have read conflicting info re the sale of Creek property that precipitated the Trail of Tears. Do you have any suggested reading material that you feel is more credible than some. Thanks again 11c1r---Kevin Feel free to private message

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A couple of suggestions - and these are fairly scholarly books - are Benjamin Griffith's "McIntosh and Weatherford" and Michael Green's "The Politics of Indian Removal."

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Thank you