How do I trace Cherokee ancestors?

I have recently begun tracing my ancestry, I have always known that my maternal great-grandmother was full blooded Cherokee.I have searched on all the websites (family search, gen roots, ancestry etc).
I can locate my maternal great-grandfathers family back to the 1600′s, and I did find a record of the marriage (not the certificate), but it has her name incorrect (strangely misspelled). Does anyone have any clue, suggestion, bit of advise as to how I can research her? While my grandmother was knowledgeable about her mother’s traditions, she knew little of her family (and has since passed away, as has my mother).

As mentioned, the Cherokee are among the best documented Indigenous tribes in the country, However, you will find that much of the documentation is erroneous due to misspellings of names (intentional and otherwise) as well as local inhabitants and greed for Native lands.

For recent research, if your ancestors are Western Cherokee (Oklahoma), you’ll want to look towards the Dawes and Guillon-Miller Rolls, if they are Eastern (North Carolina), you’ll want to look towards the Baker Roll of 1928.

However, there are NUMEROUS Cherokee rolls dating back to the early 1800′s but one must remember that these for the majority, these “rolls” weren’t to “count” tribal members or even identify tribal members but rather to use as land allotments to see who got what amount of land and where (especially the Dawes and Guion-Miller Rolls).

Here are some links for you to use in your search:

1835 Cherokee East of the Mississippi Census Index

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/1835census/index.htm

1851 Census of Cherokee’s east of the Misssissippi
The Siler Rolls

http://members.aol.com/lredtail/siler.html

1851CHAPMAN ROLL EASTERN CHEROKEES

http://www.tngennet.org/cherokee_by_blood/chapman.htm

1889 – 1914 Index to the Final Rolls of the Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/finalrolls/index.htm

1890 Index to the Wallace Rolls

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/wallace/index.htm

1897 Index to the Kern Clifton Roll
Census of the Freedmen and their descendants of the Cherokee Nation

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/kernclifton/index.htm

1909 Index to the Guion Miller Roll

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/guionmiller/index.htm

DAWES ROLLS ENROLLMENT APPLICATIONS
Searchable and downloadable databases of the Dawes Rolls Enrollment Applications

http://www.dawesrolls.com

This particular site, has a lot of information on the Five Civilized Tribes:

http://www.amerindgen.com/5CivTriChronology.html

You can also try the Cherokee Genealogy Community in Yahoo! Groups where we have hundreds of people who help out with researching your Cherokee ancestors. That URL is:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CherokeeGenealogyCommunity/

Good luck with your search!

Proud to be Cherokee Native american Patches by CafePress $5.5 Show the world your pride in your Cherokee ancestry. Native american Patches Decorate your clothing, backpacks, jackets and more with expressive amp; cool patches that easily iron on. These custom patches can also be sewn, giving you that more permanent, sew on look amp; feel. Made of durable polyester with an adhesive backing,

Proud to be Cherokee Native american Mug by CafePress $15 Show the world your pride in your Cherokee ancestry. Native american Mug The perfect size for your favorite morning beverage or late night brew. Large, easy-grip handle. Treat yourself or give as a gift to someone special. Measures 3.75 tall, 3 diameter. Dishwasher and microwave safe.

Proud to be Cherokee Native american Hooded Sweatshirt by CafePress $48 Show the world your pride in your Cherokee ancestry. Native american Hooded Sweatshirt Tee, TShirt, Shirt The hoodie: the perfect utilitarian piece of clothing. Leave your hat and scarf at home Stay warm and comfy in your Pullover Hooded Sweatshirt. This hoodie is constructed with a cotton/polyester blend – both durable and comfortable.Heavyweight 90

Proud to be Cherokee Mini Bumper Sticker Native american Oval Sticker by CafePress $5 Show the world your pride in your Cherokee ancestry. Native american Oval Sticker Our stickers are printed on 4mil vinyl using water and UV resistant inks 150; meaning no fading in the sun or bleeding in the rain. Measures 3 x 5 oval. Printed on durable 4mil vinyl.

Proud to be Cherokee Native american Women’s Dark T-Shirt by CafePress $26 Show the world your pride in your Cherokee ancestry. Native american Women’s Dark T-Shirt Tee, TShirt, Shirt The women’s Dark T-shirt is comfortable, casual, and classy. The shirt is simple, flattering and will quickly become a favorite. The pre-shrunk 100% cotton is soft and durable.5.6 oz 100% cotton. Standard Fit.

Proud to be Cherokee Native american Women’s Light T-Shirt by CafePress $22 Show the world your pride in your Cherokee ancestry. Native american Women’s Light T-Shirt Tee, TShirt, Shirt Our 100% cotton women’s tee is preshrunk, durable and guaranteed.5.6 oz. 100% cotton. Standard fit.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 14th, 2006 at 2:45 am and is filed under Ancestry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.