At 02:24 PM 9/29/98 -0700, Kyle & Evelyn Long wrote: >Can anyone tell me what kind of records I might find around or before >1893 I am Looking for information on Levi Berry Long born In TN but Came >to Ok he was there about 5 years when he died in Maybe 1893 possibly >Atoka Ok Not to give a lecture on Oklahoma history (again) but...First of all, Oklahoma did not exist in 1893 and the sooner you start thinking that way when you research in Oklahoma the better off you will be. The rule of thumb for the US is (generally) the sooner it had a GOVERNMENT, the sooner it had PAPERWORK. Now the second thing to remember and to visualize is that the US is a group of CONQUERED NATIONS and the Indians are a CONQUERED people of a CONTINENT. The white man just kept taking it piece meal til it all belonged to them. The third thing to realize is that some tribes were considered more "civilized" than others. CIVIL key word: Government = Paperwork. If your Indian roots are one of the five civilized tribes, the more likely there will be some type of governmental type paperwork concerning them. If your white ancestors were in IT, and the tribe was civilized the more likely there will be a piece of paper with your loved one's name on it stashed somewhere in the various archives of what is now: Oklahoma. The Indian Nations still exist as a people, however, they are kind of like the people of Tibet today. They are a people, they just have other people living and governing their country. (and not by choice) Oklahoma is the zenith---the pennacle of this conquering of a Nation. That said, let's look at some papers: Was your kin in Indian Terr or what was left of Indian territory? Look at the county you have and then place it in a Twin territories map. Look at your dates to see what land was opened and when. Now figure out if the land could have been his, or someone else's..or tribal land. Let me give you some dates to work with: He may have gotten some land in land runs, or allotments, or lottery. If he got his land in the run of April 22 1889 he would be most likely on the 1890 partial census, AND a land run list since the Unassigned Territories were the first land run on April 22, 1889, and a census was done, and still exists for most of this area. (see why maps are so important, especially in Oklahoma---I won't even talk about Georgia and the land lotteries.) Iowa, Sac and Fox, Pottawatomie-Shawnee lands opened by run Sept 22, 1891. If he was in this area, he may have been on the run lists. Tonkawa Lands opened by Allotment in 1891 Cheyenne-Arapaho Lands opened by run Sept 19, 1892. Pawnee lands by Allotment, 1892 Cherokee Outlet opened by run Sept 16 1893. Kickapoo lands opened by run May 23 1895. Greer County awarded to Indian Territory by Supreme court 1896 settled under TEXAS by act of congress 1897. (Indian givers!! sorry, bad joke) Wichita, Caddo, Kiowa, Commanche and Apache Lands opened by lottery, July 9 to Aug 6 1901. Ponca and Oto-Missouri Lands by allotment 1904 Osage and Kaw lands by allotment 1906. Kiowa, Commanche, Apache, Wichita, and Caddo Lands big pasture allotments 1906. Statehood: 1907. On the OKGENWEB page there is a wonderful list of various censuses that are available for different areas. Most are listed there, I think I only found a couple omissions, but gave a list over to Marti so she could add the couple I did not see listed. (remember the dream....) The HANDYbook will also tell you some documents that are available and where, I honestly believe that if you are serious about research this should be the FIRST book to buy after a basic "how to" book on Geneaology. The Three books I use the most are listed in the bibliography of the Handybook for Oklahoma under Atlases/Maps/Gazetteers. Let's just look at the entry in the handybook of my fav little county in Oklahoma: Name Map Index Date Created Parent county Pottawatomie G3 1891 Original county/Pottawatomie-Shawnee lands Pottawatomie County, 325 N. Broadway St. Shawnee OK 74801-6938 (Clk has m, div, pro & ct rec; Co Clk has Ind rec from 1892) Lots of info in just 4 sentences, eh? But me....I have written a heap 'o sentences here , so I better go before I give you information overload, and you begin to hate me. Nalora