> The federal census records for this era show "taxed" Indians, who did not live on reservations and lived in the community under state laws. Censuses began showing such Indians in 1850, although not uniformly, and formal instructions on how to include and identify them were issued first in 1860. > Indian Anne was the only native American in Christian Co. in 1870. The number of native Americans in Missouri was few -- 20 in 1860, 75 in 1870 and 113 in 1880, which does lend some credence to the belief that state law banned their residency. Interesting. But I doubt Anne was the "only" Indian around there. Maybe my ancestors were in hiding when they took the census. This has been one of my biggest brick walls. I've never been able to find anything about my g-grandmother, Alabama Stephens, who married my g-grandfather, George W. Dye, in Christian Co., May 8, 1870. The family thinks she was full-blood Choctaw, and many of us have the facial features as evidence, but I suspect the family, if they were recorded at all, were recorded as "white." The censuses show (mostly) that she was born in TN in 1849, but so far I've not found any trace of her in 1850, 1860, or 1870 in any state. The three censuses I've found her in show her birthplace as TN, but in other censuses where her grown children are shown I've seen MO, AR, AL, and a blank (which was the most accurate as far as I can tell!). I seriously doubt she was born in Alabama in spite of her name, but I guess she could have been. I do know there were a lot of Choctaw in MS as well as SE OK. As for her parents' origins, the censuses show: 1880 Lawrence Co., AR Alabama Dye 30 TN TN TN 1900 Randolph Co., AR Alabama Wallis Oct 1849 50 TN TN MO 1910 Lawrence Co., AR Alabama Dye 59 TN TN TN Alabama remarried after the death of George Dye, but it didn't last long, and she was back to using the Dye name in 1910 after her divorce. (Dug up that little family secret myself a few years ago after I couldn't find her in 1900.) She died about 1915 and is likely buried in an unmarked grave in Imboden, AR. I can't find her or George anywhere in the 1870 census. The census was taken after they married that year, and they may have already been en route to Arkansas. Christian Co. had been part of Taney Co. (and others) in 1860, and George's family was in Taney Co. that year and in 1850. I found their marriage license, a handwritten ledger entry in which her first name is inexplicably spelled "Abancy," which states they were married "at the home of her father," so the family must have been living in Christian Co. in 1870, but they didn't record her father's name! The minister's name was Parks, but I've never found a candidate for Alabama's family or Rev. Parks anywhere in 1870. George's sister, Catharine, married George R. Garrison in Christian Co. that same year. The Dye family Bible, which contained the only record of the family anyone ever kept, was washed away in a Galveston hurricane in 1920. The only item the family was able to salvage was a rolling pin which somebody still has. (There's an idea! Record all the family's births, marriages, and deaths on a rolling pin. They're more durable.) Any ideas on where to look for this family in 1870 and before? Dale

Dale, I am positive that you are correct....I suspect that one of our sources of Indian heritage on my mom's side of the family was Mary Bacon Bledsoe (Bedsaul before the 1850 census). I believe that either she or her mother, Uratha Hale Bacon were Indian. I have heard lots said in more recent years that one way the Indian people could get by on census records was in claiming themselves to be "Black Dutch". I know that that was one of the nationalities my mom's family claimed, and quite possibly a clue. Like your family, my mother and her siblings showed their ancestry, in coloring and features. And, the oral history that was passed down is that their great grandmother was an "Indian Squaw", with dark skin and long black braids. Of course, I have looked at old photos that people have shared of their ancestors, and you could SEE the Indian in them, although they were claiming to be white! I am sure many of them wish that they lived in a time period like ours, where a man's color is not the important thing. Jean Mayfield Cuevas At 12:48 PM 11/6/2005 -0600, you wrote: > > The federal census records for this era show "taxed" Indians, who did not >live on reservations and lived in the community under state laws. Censuses >began showing such Indians in 1850, although not uniformly, and formal >instructions on how to include and identify them were issued first in 1860. > > > Indian Anne was the only native American in Christian Co. in 1870. The >number of native Americans in Missouri was few -- 20 in 1860, 75 in 1870 >and 113 >in 1880, which does lend some credence to the belief that state law banned >their residency. > >Interesting. But I doubt Anne was the "only" Indian around there. Maybe >my ancestors were in hiding when they took the census. >This has been one of my biggest brick walls. I've never been able to find >anything about my g-grandmother, Alabama Stephens, who >married my g-grandfather, George W. Dye, in Christian Co., May 8, >1870. The family thinks she was full-blood Choctaw, and many of >us have the facial features as evidence, but I suspect the family, if they >were recorded at all, were recorded as "white." The >censuses show (mostly) that she was born in TN in 1849, but so far I've >not found any trace of her in 1850, 1860, or 1870 in any >state. > >The three censuses I've found her in show her birthplace as TN, but in >other censuses where her grown children are shown I've seen >MO, AR, AL, and a blank (which was the most accurate as far as I can >tell!). I seriously doubt she was born in Alabama in spite of >her name, but I guess she could have been. I do know there were a lot of >Choctaw in MS as well as SE OK. As for her parents' >origins, the censuses show: > >1880 Lawrence Co., AR Alabama Dye 30 TN TN TN >1900 Randolph Co., AR Alabama Wallis Oct 1849 50 TN TN MO >1910 Lawrence Co., AR Alabama Dye 59 TN TN TN > >Alabama remarried after the death of George Dye, but it didn't last long, >and she was back to using the Dye name in 1910 after her >divorce. (Dug up that little family secret myself a few years ago after I >couldn't find her in 1900.) She died about 1915 and is >likely buried in an unmarked grave in Imboden, AR. > >I can't find her or George anywhere in the 1870 census. The census was >taken after they married that year, and they may have >already been en route to Arkansas. Christian Co. had been part of Taney >Co. (and others) in 1860, and George's family was in Taney >Co. that year and in 1850. I found their marriage license, a handwritten >ledger entry in which her first name is inexplicably >spelled "Abancy," which states they were married "at the home of her >father," so the family must have been living in Christian Co. >in 1870, but they didn't record her father's name! The minister's name >was Parks, but I've never found a candidate for Alabama's >family or Rev. Parks anywhere in 1870. > >George's sister, Catharine, married George R. Garrison in Christian Co. >that same year. > >The Dye family Bible, which contained the only record of the family anyone >ever kept, was washed away in a Galveston hurricane in >1920. The only item the family was able to salvage was a rolling pin >which somebody still has. (There's an idea! Record all the >family's births, marriages, and deaths on a rolling pin. They're more >durable.) > >Any ideas on where to look for this family in 1870 and before? > >Dale > > >==== MOCHRIST Mailing List ==== >Remember, you can search the Christian Co list back to 1998 at: >http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl >Enter MOCHRIST in the search field. > >============================== >Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the >last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: >http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx