Hi, CBR When are you talking about? The "high license fees" you mention were the tribes' reactions to U.S. citizens moving into the nations'/Indian Territory in large numbers. Generally this happened as the railroads were built but before territorial status. The license fees were pretty much gone by the 1890's (they were never very effective at keeping illegal immigrants out; sound familiar?) since the U.S. was working on several plans to allot the lands, abolish the tribal governments (and opposition), and open up the "excess" lands for homesteaders. The railroads were one of the primary proponents of allotment & homesteading. Christian missionaries were not common in preterritorial days, and many couples were never formally married (or divorced). Not many marriage records were kept. Some of the censuses (taken for payment of treaty obligations, not part of the U.S. census) and enrollments list families' and children's names. Birth certificates (white or Indian) were not required until the 20th century. Tribal enrollment and allotment records (Dawes Commision, 1898-1902) will get you some names, and carry your line back to the mid 19th century, if they enrolled. No formal birth records were kept. Check out www.rootsweb.com for the nations/counties you are interested in. You can search www.nara.gov for ancestors that may have enrolled in the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek or Seminole tribes. There are enrollment records on microfilm for the other tribes. Check with your librarian for more information. Chuck Miles -----Original Message----- From: Cbrsearch@aol.com <Cbrsearch@aol.com> To: FIVECIVILTRIB-L@rootsweb.com <FIVECIVILTRIB-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Sunday, March 21, 1999 2:03 PM Subject: intermarriage >Hello, > >I have seen references to intermarriage in the Indian Territory, but all I've >read has pertained to white men marrying Native American women. Would the >high license fee (around $100) and the written support of several citizens >also have been required when a Choctaw man took a white wife? > >Does anyone know the legal status of common-law marriages in the Indian >Territory? That is, were they considered legally binding as they are in some >states, despite the lack of an official license? > >Would the offspring of a common-law marriage have been citizens of the Nation, >even if they had a white mother? I have been told that in the I.T. "children >followed the blood of the mother," and that illegitimacy was never an issue. >But I wonder if, this being the case, a white mother means non-citizenship for >her children? > >Would there be any record of the children's births in the Nation? How about >in Ft. Smith, if the children were considered white? I am trying to figure >out where to look for any records that might list the father's name or >maternal grandparents. > >Thanks for any help. :-) > >______________________________