Much thanks to Ron Bunch for posting the 1845 Indian law. To understand the background, remember that "the Indian territory" originally included Kansas and Nebraska along with Oklahoma. Indian reservations were established all along the western border of Missouri after 1830 and the passage of the Indian Removal Act. The northern reservations of the Indian territory were eliminated in 1854, and Kansas was established; Nebraska shortly followed. The fact that the Missouri laws remained on the books until 1909 shows how various federal laws such as the Dawes Act failed to accomplish their goals, which included general civil rights for Indians. In reply to some other posts.... Emily Jane Dewitt, whom neighbors in Nixa consulted to read coffee grounds and tea leaves to provide "news" about traveling or distant relatives before telephones, did marry -- to David Clark Lawson -- after her children were born but she fled from him by train to Springfield less than a year after they wed in Rowan Co., KY in 1889. He followed her to Missouri, but ended up in the state prison and later county jail for theft. His last known residence was with the George Meadows family in Ozark in 1900. David and Emily Jane bought a farm from the railroad near Nixa before 1896, but Emily Jane or her son George Lewis Dewitt (m. Mildred Harrington, a member of a prominent old Republic family) eventually took control of the property and paid the taxes. Emily Jane's children married in Missouri, including: -- Mary Alice Dewitt (1881-1939), who in 1896 married Finley Glover "Bud" Inman of Nixa, the son of John Wesley and Nancy Lavanda Wilson Inman. (my line) -- Sarah Cora Dewitt (1879-1958), who married 1) Francis Marion Hicks of Nixa in 1897, 2) Charles E. Bussard of Nixa in 1919 and 3) William Thomas Haskins in 1928. Some of Emily Jane's grandchildren -- all by George -- maintained that she was a full-blooded Indian, even though the Kentucky census records back to 1860 all show she, her sisters and mother were white. The daughter of Malinda Evans Dewitt, Emily is known NOT to have had any close Indian ancestry on her maternal side, the Evanses and Rayburns, who are descended from the earliest settlers of KY, western PA and MD. Her earliest known Evans ancestor died in Maryland in 1691, and the wives of this line were all English or Welsh. Her documented paternal line, however, is not long. Father John Dewitt disappeared during the Civil War; he appears to descend from an early Dutch family that settled in NY in the 1600s before they emigrated to NJ, PA and KY. Randy

I did not see the message on the 1845 Indian Law. Was it posted to the MOCHRIST list? Thanks- Meg ScandalMcC@aol.com wrote: > Much thanks to Ron Bunch for posting the 1845 Indian law. To understand the > background, remember that "the Indian territory" originally included Kansas > and Nebraska along with Oklahoma. Indian reservations were established all > along the western border of Missouri after 1830 and the passage of the Indian > Removal Act. The northern reservations of the Indian territory were eliminated > in 1854, and Kansas was established; Nebraska shortly followed. > > The fact that the Missouri laws remained on the books until 1909 shows how > various federal laws such as the Dawes Act failed to accomplish their goals, > which included general civil rights for Indians. > > In reply to some other posts.... > > Emily Jane Dewitt, whom neighbors in Nixa consulted to read coffee grounds > and tea leaves to provide "news" about traveling or distant relatives before > telephones, did marry -- to David Clark Lawson -- after her children were born > but she fled from him by train to Springfield less than a year after they > wed in Rowan Co., KY in 1889. He followed her to Missouri, but ended up in the > state prison and later county jail for theft. His last known residence was > with the George Meadows family in Ozark in 1900. David and Emily Jane bought a > farm from the railroad near Nixa before 1896, but Emily Jane or her son > George Lewis Dewitt (m. Mildred Harrington, a member of a prominent old Republic > family) eventually took control of the property and paid the taxes. > > Emily Jane's children married in Missouri, including: > > -- Mary Alice Dewitt (1881-1939), who in 1896 married Finley Glover "Bud" > Inman of Nixa, the son of John Wesley and Nancy Lavanda Wilson Inman. (my line) > -- Sarah Cora Dewitt (1879-1958), who married 1) Francis Marion Hicks of > Nixa in 1897, 2) Charles E. Bussard of Nixa in 1919 and 3) William Thomas > Haskins in 1928. > > Some of Emily Jane's grandchildren -- all by George -- maintained that she > was a full-blooded Indian, even though the Kentucky census records back to > 1860 all show she, her sisters and mother were white. > > The daughter of Malinda Evans Dewitt, Emily is known NOT to have had any > close Indian ancestry on her maternal side, the Evanses and Rayburns, who are > descended from the earliest settlers of KY, western PA and MD. Her earliest > known Evans ancestor died in Maryland in 1691, and the wives of this line were > all English or Welsh. > > Her documented paternal line, however, is not long. Father John Dewitt > disappeared during the Civil War; he appears to descend from an early Dutch family > that settled in NY in the 1600s before they emigrated to NJ, PA and KY. > > Randy > > > ==== MOCHRIST Mailing List ==== > Check out the Christian Co Missouri, MOGenWeb site at: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~mochrist/ > > ============================== > 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 > > > >