Hi, Well if the rolls are not even correct, then they should not be depended upon to determine who is or who is not a Cherokee. They should only be used for the welfare system to the tribal persons who were living in OK at that time. Now the North Carolina Cherokee reservation, that more recently received federal recognition may not be on the rolls either, since they may not have been a reservation at the time the rolls were taken. The way I see it is that the Rolls were a instrument of the government, to limit access to government funds to Indians, and allotment of land. Most of the tribes had a requirement of being 1/4 Indian to become a part of the tribe. The Cherokee had a 1/16th blood because of the great influx of whites who had married/had children with the Cherokee. But this instrument of identifying Indians to get benefits by checking rolls is not the correct or most exhaustive way to find out if you have Native ancestry. There are people who were of Native/white heritage in the 1700's, and their descendants may not have married other Indians later in the years where they became absorbed in the white race. So the Rolls would have nothing to do with their genealogy search for their heritage, since their tribal affiliation would have ended by the late 1700's. So telling someone like this to search the rolls is incorrect and has nothing to do with their genealogy. And now we hear that the rolls can be incorrect and some think that the historians who write history books are incorrect. So it appears everyone can be incorrect, and there is nothing to go on. So why have we not seen a history book written by the Cherokee tribe, NC or OK. focusing on the early history?? Whatever I have seen that was written by one of the Cherokee tribes speaks little about the days before the Trail of Tears. (Very little on the Indians in the 1700's and before.) It usually focuses on the days leading up to the Trail of Tears, and the reestablishment in OK and what happened along the way and the people who hid out in NC. The Cherokee nations need to write more books and tell the world their story. Genealogy is a hot topic today. Donna --- "Joyce G. Reece" <bjreece@bellsouth.net> wrote: > Many of the rolls were taken by white men who knew > how to write in > English....not Cherokee. If someone gave the census > taker a Cherokee name > and he didn't know how to spell it he would write > down something > else....something in English. Many Indians got > English spelled names in > that manner. > > > Joyce Gaston Reece > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Salisbury, Rita" <RHOSTER@seaford.k12.de.us> > To: <tnwilson@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 1:52 PM > Subject: Re: [TNWILSON] Cherokee roots > > > > Kudos for reminding people that not all books and > rolls are accurate or > > complete. I have a collateral ancestor who was > given early reservation > > land in Alabama because she was a Native. Her full > sister (my lineal > > ancestor) would have been the same, but neither > appears on a tribal > > roll. > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: tnwilson-bounces@rootsweb.com > > [mailto:tnwilson-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf > Of Sara Binkley Tarpley > > Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 12:44 PM > > To: tnwilson@rootsweb.com > > Subject: Re: [TNWILSON] Cherokee roots > > > > Yes, and it is important not to discount family > stories. Just label > > them as family stories or family tradition until > you can prove them. > > As so many have stated, that may never happen with > traditions of > > Native American ancestry; but it would be a > mistake to discard the > > story. > > > > My roots are firmly in NC, VA, and TN. So, when I > started > > researching, I thought that the story that one of > my > > great-grandmothers was born in Buenos Aires, > Argentina, had children > > by her first husband in Mexico, came to New > Orleans where she met my > > great-grandfather, and then had my grandmother in > Nashville was just a > > little too exotic to be true. Every record > confirmed it. I have also > > found that family stories can carry a grain of > truth even when they > > are not entirely accurate; so, while I don't > necessarily believe them, > > I never discount them entirely. > > > > Sara Binkley Tarpley > > > > On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Joyce G. Reece > <bjreece@bellsouth.net> > > wrote: > >> There are actually few very old families in the > southeast who will not > > have > >> 'some' Native American Heritage and that is a > fact BUT as to > > researching > >> YOUR Native American heritage, it could be a bit > tricky. It isn't > > like your > >> usual, run-of-the-mill research. There are many > N.A. reserchers who > > don't > >> comprehend the people who 'want-to-know' as > opposed to 'want-to-be'. > >> > >> . > >> Joyce Gaston Reece > >> > >> > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email > to > > TNWILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the > > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email > to > > TNWILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the > > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > -- > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > Checked by AVG. > > Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.5/1357 - > Release Date: 4/3/2008 > > 10:48 AM > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email > to TNWILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message > ____________________________________________________________________________________ You rock. 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