A big THANK YOU to everyone who so kindly responded to my request for information on Bear Creek. I can't get over the number of replys and all the helpful information. Yes, we believe my gggrandmother was Cherokee due to where she was born and where she lived as an adult. She and her younger brother were found standing on a street corner in Iuka, Ms. in 1838/1839 by a white couple. They lived with this couple for a while. Later she would never discuss her past with her children or anyone else. What little we know tells us life was not that kind to her. And yes, she married a white man like so many. And of course, 1838/1839 was the time of the 'Trail of Tears'. I have done extensive Cherokee research on my husband's Cherokee lines, but they were so much easier than mine. His ancestors lived in Georgia, East Tenn. and North Carolina, were high officials in the Cherokee Nation East, and came to Northeastern Oklahoma (Cherokee Nation West) on the infamous 'Trail of Tears', so they were well documented. Poor Harriet Minerva (Oliver) Smith is not so easy. She isn't listed on any of the Eastern Cherokee rolls. So the search goes on and I thank you so much. If any of you ever need information on Caddo county, Oklahoma <http://www.rootsweb.com/~okcaddo/ccpage.htm> just let me know and I will do my best to help you in return. Thanks, Sandy Miller