Under the provision of Section 21 of the Act of Congress, approved 28 June 1898, the Department of the Interior, Commissioner of Five Civilized Tribes, recognized “citizenship by intermarriage” in the Cherokee Nation. To qualify, an applicant had to sufficiently prove that he or she was married in accordance with Cherokee law, and who at the time of the marriage was a recognized citizen by blood of the Cherokee Nation. The Commissioner of the Five Civilized Tribes then compared the applicant’s information with that shown on the Cherokee tribal roll of 1880 and the Cherokee Census Roll of 1896 as an intermarried citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

Available as Applications for Enrollment of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914, National Archives micropublication M1301, rolls 305, 306 and 307, this genealogical data was abstracted as an eleven-part series in American Genealogy Magazine, Volumes 10, No. 1 thru Vol. 13, No. 3.

Applications rarely name the full-blooded Cherokee ancestor. The degree of tribal descent is not always given, either. Clearly, many citizens by blood had more Anglo ancestry than Native American. For instance, James C. Yeargin enrolled as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation by his marriage to a recognized citizen by blood, Mary Jane Kinney, who was about one-thirty-second Cherokee.

In spite of being labeled “marriages,” these records do not always give an exact marriage date or even the maiden name of the bride. Sometimes two wedding dates for the same couple are found in an application. This simply implies that the couple had married before their arrival and needed an official record of their union in the Cherokee Nation.

Applicants were required to testify about their marital history. The Commissioner asked the applicant about any previous spouses, whether an earlier marriage ended in death or separation, and the Cherokee Nation citizenship status of any previous spouse. Friends and relatives were often called to testify to substantiate the applicant’s claims.

Before the 1870s, many Cherokee-white unions were “informal” or common law. Though an Act of Cherokee Council passed on 15 October 1855 required a marriage license, some couples continued the earlier practice of having a so-called “Indian style” marriage. Nancy Cordrey’s application for enrollment was accepted, though it was indeterminate whether or not she and her half-Cherokee husband had legally wed. Her stepson stated that, in 1862, Nancy and Wilson M. Cordrey “commenced living together like people did in them times. . . I never asked no questions; it was a general rule that people lived together.” And a minister named Joe Fox recanted his earlier testimony about James Wright and Hattie Hall’s marital history, clarifying that they “took up and lived together” and had “two, or three, or four” children before marrying.

Some divorces were “informal,” too. In Mary J. Catron's application, Martin A. Wallace testified: When I came to this country in '71, there were no divorce law among the Indians, nor no marriage law. They just courted the woman and if she agreed they lived together, and when they got tired they quit.

The type of data found in applications varies greatly. Actual birth dates are rarely given, but ages were always recorded. Applicants were required to state their address, marital status, whether or not he or she was a citizen by blood or intermarriage, the spouse’s citizenship status, and the names of others included in the application for enrollment. In most cases, only children under the age of twenty-one needed to be named. Otherwise, adult children had to file their own papers for membership status. Other inquiries might be tailored to the case. In these instances, the Commissioner might ask for the names of the applicant’s parents or in-laws. For example, the application of Joseph H. Alexander (born ca. 1841) states that his parents were Silas Alexander and the former Mary Kennedy or Kannady. Joseph H’s wife, the former Sophronia E. Duncan, is identified as the daughter of a Cherokee named John Duncan and Betsy, whose maiden name was not given.

The data provided in these applications — verbatim testimony — is a genealogical treasure trove.

Most references only offer information on Cherokees of the 19th and 20th centuries as you have seen above. While this is important, the majority of us descend from intermarriages that occurred in the 18th century. Thus, many of these kinships came from British or French traders intermarrying with Cherokees.

Through 1776, South Carolina controlled the Cherokee trade, and most of our mixed ancestors were connected to this region. Virginia also supplied a few traders to the Cherokees, and Georgia and North Carolina still fewer. Thus, to locate your ancestors, whether from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia, most records of note are related to the South Carolina Indian Trade. To begin your search for this era before “rolls” existed, I recommend that you do a surname survey in:

This set, including one other volume, can be purchased from: South Carolina Dept. of Archives & History, PO Box 11669, 1430 Senate St., Columbia, SC 29211. If you intend to do a thorough study of your ancestors who may have intermarried with the Cherokees, this 3 volume set is indispensable. It is the most thorough record of British/Cherokee trade available.

2.	Do not assume the origin of your Cherokee blood, nor the degree of blood contained. Family tradition tells us that all our grandmothers were full blood Cherokees, yet by 1900, there were very few full blood Cherokees in existence.
	a.	The surname you started with may lead you to another surname. More than likely, your search will end with a significant trader.
	b.	Do not assume anything, but be prepared to find conflicting information.

3.	Search the regions around the Cherokee nation, and be aware of the fluctuating borders of both the Cherokees and the frontier.
	a.	There are four settlement groups in the Cherokee Nation.
		i.	OVERHILLS -- East Tennessee on the Little Tennessee River
		ii.	VALLEY –- Lower east Tennessee, southwestern North Carolina, and north Georgia
		iii.	LOWER –- western South Carolina, and northeastern Georgia
		iv.	MIDDLE –- Western North Carolina
	b.	All regions around these areas are possible locations to find your ancestors. The Cherokee people were mobile, and moved from place to place within/without the Cherokee Nation.
	c.	Check all colonial, state, and local histories, frontier histories, Indian trade records. Here are some Suggestions:

Colonial Records to Search
		Allan D. Chandler, ed. The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, Atlanta: Charles P. Boyd Printer, 1914 Walter Clark, ed. The State Records of North Carolina, New York: AMS Press, 1968. Kenneth G. Davies, ed. Documents of the American Revolution, 1770-1783, Dublin: Irish University Press, 1976. Wilmer L. Hall, ed. Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia, Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia, 1945. William P. Palmer, ed. Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts, 1652-1781, New York: Kraus Reprint Co. 1968. William L. Saunders, ed. The Colonial Records of North Carolina, New York: AMS Press, 1968. David Ramsey, The History of South Carolina, Charleston: David Longworth, 1809. John Preston Arthur, A History of Watauga County, North Carolina, Johnson City: The Overmountain Press, 1992. Lewis Preston Summers, History of Washington County, Virginia, Johnson City: The Overmountain Press, 1989. Don L. Shadburn, Unhallowed Intrusion: A History of Cherokee Families in Forsyth County, Georgia, Cumming, GA.: Don Shadburn, PO Box 762, Cumming, GA 30130 John Haywood, The Civil and Political History of Tennessee, Knoxville: The Tenase Company, 1969 J.G.M. Ramsey, The Annals of Tennessee, Knoxville: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1967 Albigence Waldo Putman, The History of Middle Tennessee: Or Life and Times of General James Robertson, New York: Arno Press, 1971. Samuel Cole Williams, Early Travels in the Tennessee Country, Johnson City: The Watauge Press, 1928 Williamtatham: Wataugan, Johnson City: The Watauga Press, 1947 Dawn of Tennessee Valley and Tennessee History, Johnson City: The Watauga Press 1937 History of the Lost State of Franklin, Johnson City: The Overmountain Press, 1993 Tennessee During the American Revolutionary War, Knoxville: University of Tennessee, Press, 1974

4.	Do not restrict your search, but record anything you find on your surname. Your ancestor may be using both an Indian name and an English/French name. Indian names are often evocative of nature or personality traits.

5.	The Cherokee clans were based on a matrilineal system (traced thru the mother’s line).
	a.	In the 1750s, this system began to change due to intermarriage with European Americans.
	b.	While Cherokees kept traditional matrilineal oral records, mixed Cherokees often used both patrilineal and matrilineal notations.
	c.	Many Cherokee traders also had two families: a Cherokee family, and another located in South Carolina or Virginia.

6.	Do not stop searching because your ancestor disappears off the records – there were no written records within the Cherokee Nation during this period.
	a.	You must rely on European-American records to locate your ancestor.
	b.	Do not always accept everything at face value, and be totally objective.
	c.	When your ancestor (surnames) cannot be found on traditional records, this is usually a good sign that they may be found within the Cherokee Nation.
	d.	Remember that most Upper Creek traders had Cherokee wives.

7.

When you ask your older relatives and those connected to the suspected line where they think your Cherokee ancestry came from, recognize that anything they tell you may help, even if it appears as simple trivia. Remember that you were the one chosen to carry this lineage forward and it is your duty to do so. Make genealogical connections and queries to get help from others. Try to enlist the help of all your relatives with the same surname.

8.

Understand Cherokee traditions and attempt to recognize traits that exist in your current family. Your ancestors want to be remembered, so let them assist you in your work. Be aware of dreams and visions that might guide you. This may sound ridiculous, but believe me, with the Cherokee culture, it is a fact that is well known and respected. Even animals may offer clues to lead you to your kin. Let your heart lead you as well. Native American people traditionally have “feelings” that lead us to where we want to go. Others often do not understand this phenomenon, but it is true, nonetheless. Above all, be aware that you must depend on more than traditional genealogical methods to reach the destination you seek. Cherokee genealogy, as well as all Native genealogy, is not traditional.

9.

Search all abstracts, journals, and memoirs available on Cherokee families. Read the Journal of Cherokee Studies, 16 volumes available at some libraries or for sale by Cherokee Publications, Cherokee North Carolina. This series contains many genealogical abstracts and articles about prominent Cherokees that you will not see elsewhere. Because it was advantageous for early traders to marry prominent Cherokees, most did so, so be aware that you could be kin to any of the prominent Chieftains (head men). Also, be aware that one Cherokee may possess many titles or names i.e., Ostenaco can be found as Mankiller, Ootacite, Tacite, or Outacite. All four of these terms are the same word and the same man.

10.	Every text that you search includes a bibliography. Make sure to search the bibliographies for other sources that might help you. Granted, this can be very time consuming, but I urge you to search every available text.