Sharolyn McCoy wrote: > I am curious about something: So many of our stories are the same: we find > our ancestors in Indian Territory late 1800's then, they are in Sebastian > County AR early 1900's and then, we find them back in OK again? Does > anyone know why they were crossing back and forth? Was something > significant going on during that period or is it just coincidence? Yes, Sharolyn- there was something going on. Since they were going to allot all of the land in Indian Territory to the legal Indian citizens, they were expelling the non-citizens from the land that they had been renting from the Indians (or at least living upon). Then after the allotment process was completed, many who had been expelled came back and rented or purchased surplus land from the Allottees (see "And Still The Waters Run", by Angie Debo, and "The Intruders", by Nancy Hope Sobar). jc