Remembering the Children of the Oil Fields

Today, is the opening day of the film Sarah's Oil. The film depicts the story of a young girl, Sarah Rector of Taft Oklahoma who was alloted 160 acres of land on account of her citizenship in the Creek Nation. To the surprise of many, her land contained oil and upon that discovery, she became a target of many who wanted access to her, and her land.

The film will undoubtedly create the interest of many about her life. However, Sarah's story is part of a larger story of other oil-field children, all black children, and all descendants of former slaves held in bondage in the Creek Nation where they once lived. Sarah's story is also the same as that of Dan Tucker, Sallie Hodge, Luther Manue, twins-Edith and Edna Durant, and siblings Herbert and Castella Sells.

Sarah's story is special because she lived to enjoy the fruit of her allotment. Luther Manuel died penniless, it is said. The Sells children were killed by the plot to obtain their land. Their home was destroyed by dynamite blast, and it is not clear if anyone was ever punished for the crime. The fate of the other children of the oil fields has yet to become widely known.

However their stories belong to all of us who descend from Oklahoma Freedmen. They obtained land allotments through the Dawes Allotment Act that alloted lands to citizens of the Five Tribes, each of whom once brougt enslaved people to Indian Territory.  Before Oklahoma statehood the lands were allotted to those who could prove their ties to the Five Tribes. Over 20,000 people classified as Freedmen received allotments of land.

So as we celebrate the success of the life of Sarah Rector, we also remember the other children of the oil fields, and let the legacy of Sarah Rector Campbell Crawford encourage others to explore this unique and critical missing chapter of Oklahoma's history.

Sarah Rector

Courtesy of Sarah Campbell

Luther Manuel Gravesite,
Cane Creek, Okmulgee Oklahoma
Find a Grave

Edith Durant Harrison
Can Creek Cemetery, Okmulgee Oklahoma
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Edna Durant Simmons
Cane Creek Cemetery, Okmulgee Oklahoma
Find a Grave Image

Herbert & Castella Sells
Blackjack Cemetery, Taft Oklahoma
Find a Grae Image

Renewed Interest in Sarah Rector's Story

 

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Image from Trailer for MGM Studios Film of Sarah's Oil

Exitement has arisen with the recent production of the film Sarah's Oil, released this coming weekend in movie theatres around the nation.

The story highlights the story of a young girl who was a Creek Nation citizen living in Taft Oklahoma. As a citizen, she received a land allotment of 160s acres, near the Cimarron River. To the surprise of many, her allotment contain an impressive amount of oil. Once that was discovered, her life was changed, as many people tried to obtain access to her land and her money. 

Fifteen years ago I wrote a blog article entitled Remembering Sarah Rector Creek Freedwoman.

                                             

First Blog Post About Sarah from 2010

Four years later, I had  the honor of being consulted by author Tonya Bolden in her book Searching for Sarah Rector. 

Blog post about Tonya Bolden's book about Sarah Rector

Last year I had the opportunity to visit the set as the filiming was going on. And I have also learned that my name also appears in the credits at the end of the film Two weeks ago there were two screenings of Sarah's Oil, one in Muskogee and the other in Kansas City which was a gala event attended by not only the actors, and director and others who made the film, but also the descendants of Sarah Rector were present - the erandchildren of Sarah Rector and her nieces as well.  

Over the years numerous people have claimed ties to Sarah unaware that she had living relatives. Several years ago, one of the nephews from the Rector family was able to address one young man who had made claims to Sarah's story and stating that she had been killed for her land - which is simply nnot true.  Thankfully, many of those making false claims have now faded and the true relatives have now been given the opportunity to share their stories of their ancestor, who showed resilience throughout her life, and who lived to make decisions about her own life and journey.

On a recent trip to the Arkansas/Oklahoma area in October, I had the chance to meet some of the family members from Sarah Rector's family. 

Some of Sarah Rector's Family Members
Fort Coffee, Oklahoma

This week I have also had two interviews about Sarah's Oil, one was on the Afro-Indians Table Talk on KBOB Radio in Tulsa and the other on the podcast Ancestors Footprints, hosted by Bernice Bennett.

Sarah Rector was a Creek Freedwoman, a citizen of the Muscoggee Creek Nation. Her story is part of a larger story of over 20,000 Freedmen in the land that became Oklahoma. Hopefully, the film about Sarah Rector will generate much more interest in the story of all of the Oklahoma Freedmen and how they were able to shape their lives on the western frontier.

Searching the Dawes Roll

 

Many have expressed the fact that they have been seeking the actual roll number of their ancestor on the Dawes Roll. For some it is a quick look-up with an Ancestry Account, or a quick click on the Oklahoma Historical Society database. But for some the search can be a challenge. Perhaps the ancestor had a common name---or a unique name that was possibly spelled in a unique way. And for some, there is the cousin who has the number, but who won't share it. But if the cousin won't share it,  you can still find it. Just dive into the database (the one from OHS is free) and you should find it. In many cases the cousin who won't share actually does not  have the number.  So, the solution is simple---examine the roll yourself! 

There are two published images of the Final Roll with slight differences. One is the Index to the Final Roll and the other is the Final Roll itself.

The Index

The Final Roll

 The Final Roll is the base roll used by the Five Tribes to process applications for citizenship, today. Those Five Tribes are Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. Both are useful and access to both can be found freely online. The Final Roll itself is a document that consists of over 600 pages of names of those who were identified as members of those respective nations.

Note - the Dawes Roll was not a roll reflecting people admitted to citizenship in the nations. The purpose of the Dawes Roll was to reflect the names of individuals who were eligible to receive land allotments.

The National Archives had digitized the Final Roll, and it would be worthwhile to take a look by page number for the nation and the category that interests  you. A indexed list of the categories found on the Dawes Roll is listed on Family Search.org, and it has been copied here for you.

Tribe	Pg.
Choctaws By Blood New Born Choctaws by Blood Minor Choctaws by Blood Choctaws by Marriage Choctaw Freedmen Minor Choctaw Freedmen Mississippi Choctaws New Born Miss. Choctaws Minor Mississippi Choctaws	1 91 101 107 117 151 155 164 165
Chickasaws By Blood New Born Chickasaws by Blood Minor Chickasaws by Blood Chickasaws by Marriage Chickasaw Freedmen	167 197 201 204 209
Cherokees By Blood Minor Cherokees by Blood Delaware Cherokees Cherokees by Marriage Cherokee Freedmen Minor Cherokee Freedmen	238 428 460 462 464 492
Creeks By Blood New Born Creeks by Blood Minor Creeks by Blood Creek Freedmen New Born Creek Freedmen Minor Creek Freedmen	497 559 568 572 607 613
Seminoles By Blood and Freedmen New Born Seminoles by Blood New Born Seminole Freedmen	616 633 635

It is wise to examine the data from the actual records that accompany the roll: Enrollment Cards, Application Jackets, and the Land Allotment Records.

The Four Treaties of 1866

 

Treaties of 1866 all signed in Fort Smith, Arkansas

Frequently, one hears many people make reference to the Treaty of 1866, and this is sometimes referred to as if there was one single treaty that covered all of the Five Tribes and their relation to the United States after the Civil War. All of the five tribes had signed treaties with the Confederates and all had units that had actually fought for the south during the Civil War.

As a result the Federal government told the Five Nations that all previous treaties were null and void and new treaties had to be signed with the United States, going forward. Three of the nations signed their owned individual treaty with the United States meanwhile, the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nation signed the same treaty together.

. Of interest to the descendants of Freedmen from those nations - the people previously enslaved in those nations, one of the issues addressed in each of the treaties was the aboloshing black chattel slavery practiced in those tribes. 

Nation                                             Date Signed               Date Ratified

Seminole Nation                              March 21, 1866          July 19, 1866
Choctaw & Chickasaw Nations       April 28, 1866             June 28, 1866  
Cherokee Nation                              July 19, 1866             July 27, 1866

Creek Nation                                    June 14, 1866            July 19, 1866

Each treaty had their own language, addressing unique aspects of their relations with the Federal government. 


Portions of each treaty and the ending of slavery:
 
Cherokee Nation - Article 9 of the Cherokee Treaty of 1866 states:  
   Article 9 The Cherokee Nation having, voluntarily, in February, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, by an act of the national council, forever abolished slavery, hereby covenant and agree that never hereafter shall either slavery or involuntary servitude exist in their nation otherwise than in the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, in accordance with laws applicable to all the members of said tribe alike. They further agree that all freedmen who have been liberated by voluntary act of their former owners or by law, as well as all free colored persons who were in the country at the commencement of the rebellion, and are now residents therein, or who may return within six months, and their descendants, shall have all the rights of native Cherokees:  Provided, That owners of slaves so emancipated in the Cherokee Nation shall never receive any compensation or pay for the slaves so emancipated.

Choctaw & Chickasaw Nation - Article 3 of the treaty of 1866 states:
Article 2. The Choctaws and Chickasaws hereby covenant and agree that henceforth neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than in punishment of crime whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, in accordance with laws applicable to all members of the particular nation, shall ever exist in said nations. 


Creek Nation - Article 2 of the Treaty of 1866 states:
The Creeks hereby covenant and agree that henceforth neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted in accordance with laws applicable to all members of said tribe, shall ever exist in said nation; and inasmuch as there are among the Creeks many persons of African descent, who have no interest in the soil, it is stipulated that hereafter these persons lawfully residing in said Creek country under their laws and usages, or who have been thus residing in said country, and may return within one year from the ratification of this treaty, and their descendants and such others of the same race as may be permitted by the laws of the said nation to settle within the limits of the jurisdiction of the Creek Nation as citizens [thereof,] shall have and enjoy all the rights and privileges of native citizens, including an equal interest in the soil and national funds, and the laws of the said nation shall be equally binding upon and give equal protection to all such persons, and all others, of whatsoever race or color, who may be adopted as citizens or members of said tribe.

Seminole Nation - Article 2 of the Treaty of 1866 states:
The Seminole Nation covenant that henceforth in said nation slavery shall not exist, nor involuntary servitude, except for and in punishment of crime, whereof the offending party shall first have been duly convicted in accordance with law, applicable to all the members of said nation. And inasmuch as there are among the Seminoles many persons of African descent and blood, who have no interest or property in the soil, and no recognized civil rights it is stipulated that hereafter these persons and their descendants, and such other of the same race as shall be permitted by said nation to settle there, shall have and enjoy all the rights of native citizens, and the laws of said nation shall be equally binding upon all persons of whatever race or color, who may be adopted as citizens or members of said tribe.

These are dates to remember, as they refer to the official time in which slavery ended in each nation. Many former slaveholders fought to keep their human chattel in bondage, and the years after the war were challenging to many of the freed people. However, by the mid 1880s a new life would take shape as the Freedmen of Indian Territory forged new lives on the Western Frontier.

 

Freedmen Schools in the Cherokee Nation 1869 - 1907

 

In 2008 I had the privelege of speaking with Dr. James McCullough a professor at the University of North Iowa. He had for several years  taken a strong interest in a topic that had caught his attention. That was the education of Freedmen in the Cheokee Nation. At that time, researcher Terry Ligon and I were publishing a small journal known as Voices of Indian Territory. 

Dr. McCullough reached out to me, as he became interested in sharing some of his own research about the Cherokee Colored High School, and offered to share with me, some of his work. I was delighted, and the result was that in the Spring/Summer issue of 2008, his work was published. The article was quite extensive, and in addition to his work on the Cherokee Colored High School were some additional pieces of information pertaining to education of Freedmen in the Cherokee Nation.

I shall be posting much of this information on the blog in future weeks sharing his work about Freedmen education in the Cherokee Nation. In thi issue, I shall share a list by District of the old Freedmen schools, now long forgotten. 

As an educator and as a Freedmen researcher, I have deep appreciation for Dr. James McCullough, and his  sharing this information with me.  It is time now to bring Dr. McCulloug's  work forward to a larger community of Cherokee researchers.

Cherokee Nation Freedmen Scochools by District 1860's - 1907

Compiled by Dr. James McCullough, North Iowa State University

1860s:
Fourteen Mile Creek (Spring 1869) Tahlequah District
Tahlequah (Spring 1869 - Fall 1907) Tahliquah Distict
Fort Gibson (Spring 1869 - Fall 1907 Illinois District

1870s
Four Mile Branch (Fall 1874 - Fall 1907) Tahlequah District

Grant (Fall 1874 - Fall 18960 Talequah District
Vann's Valley (Fall 1874 - Spring 1885) Saline District
Four Mile Branch (Spring 1877 - Spring 18780 Illinois District
Lightening Creek (Spring 1877 - Spring 1907) Cooweescoowee District
Sand Town (Spring 1877 - Fall 1907) Illinois District

Greenleaf (Fall 1878 - Fall 1907) Illiois District
Island Ford (Spring  1878 - Fall 1907) Delaware District

1880's
Flat Rock (Fall 1880 - Spring 1892) Cooweescoowee District
Goose Neck(Fall 1880 - Fall - 1907) Cooweescoowee District
Timbuctoo (Fall 1882 - Fall 1887 (Sequoyah District)
Big Creek (Fall 1882 - Fall 1887) Cooweescoowee District
Lone Cedar (Fall 1882 - Fall 1885) Sequyah District
Moore (Fall 1883 - Fall 1907) Delaware District
Stooping Elm (Spring 1883 - Spring 1890) Canadian District
Green (Spring 1885 - Fall 1885) Illinois District
Lynnch's Prairie (Fall 1885 - Fall 1907) Saline District
Redland (Fall 1886 - Fall 1907) Sequoyah District
Hickory Creek (Fall 1888 - Fall 1907) Cooweescoowee District

1890's
Brushy Creek (Fall 1892 - Fall 1907) Cooweescoowee District
Vinita (Spring 1894 - Fall 1907) Delaware District
Flint Ridge (Fall 1896 - Fall 1907) Tahlequah District
Watie (Spring 1897 - Fall 1907) Illinois District

1900s
Pleasant Hill (Spring 1901 - Fall 1907) Tahlequah District
Sanders (Spring 1903 - Fall 1907) Cooweescoowee District
Elliot (Spring 1904 - Fall 1907) Cooweescoowee District
Upper Big Creek (Fall 1904 - Fall 1906) Cooweescoowee District
Vian (Fall 1904 - Fall 1907) Illinois District
St. Stehpan (Fall 1904 - Fall 1907) Sequoyah District
Lower Big Creek (Fall 1905 - Spring 1906) Cooweescoowee District

Melton (Fall 1905 - Fall 1907) Cooweescoowee District
Pine Mountain (Fall - Fall 1907) Sequoyah District
Panther Creek (Fall 1906 - Fall 1907) Cooweescoowee District
Big Creek Fall  (1907)  Cooweescoowee District
Booker (1907)  Cooweescoowee District
Daniels (1907)  Cooweescoowee District
Douglas (1907)  Sequoyah District
Flat Rock (1907)  Cooweescoowee District

Foreman (1907)  Cooweescoowee District
Hill (1907)  Cooweescoowee District
Mohawk (1907)  Cooweescoowee District

It is clear from Dr. McCullah's work that the Cherokee Freedmen Schools ended as Oklahoma statehood arrived, and after that time all education came under the jurisdiction of the new State of Oklahoma. Of course racial segregation would be strongly in place, and those schools once designated as tribal Freedmen schools were known from that time forward, simply as "Negro" schools and would remain so, until the 1960s, when the Civil Rights movement brought about a changein the educational system.

The identification of many of these Cherokee Freedmen schools identified by Dr. James McCullough are quite useful in the documentation of Cherokee Freedmen history as well as that of Oklahoma Freedmen as a whole. There is much more of McCullough's work to share that were published in Voices of Indian Territory, including detailed history of the Cherokee Colored High School as well. 

"Only God Could Seperate Us"

When reading the interviews of Freedmen seeking to have their names placed on the Dawes Roll, most interviews were simply factual data recorded about their lives. So when expressions of tenderness and emotion appear from these interviews it is enough to make one pause and appreciate who the Oklahoma Freedmen were. They were men, they were women, they were people who had emotions and between many dared to express their love for their life partner to anyone who would hear it.

Therefore, on this Valentine's Day, it is worthwhile to share two examples of the love and passion that people shared for each other.

Joe Davis, Vinita Oklahoma

Joe Davis and His Love for Belle

During the Dawes Commission period, Joe Davis appeared in front of the Dawes Commission to apply for himself and his family. The usual questions were asked of Joe Davis. He answered questions about his earlier life, about his life when enslaved, and whether he was enrolled on the 1880 authenticated Cherokee Roll. He was asked  if he was married, and when they married, and he produced a marriage certificate from 1876. He was asked if this was his first marriage:

Q. Was Bell Davis your first wife?
A. Yes sir, she was the only woman I ever loved in my life.
Q. You love her yet, do you?
A. I love her yet, still harder.

This kind of tenderness is rarely seen in Dawes interviews, particular since many of the commissioners were known to be harsh and hostile to the Freedmen being interviewed. But the love of this man for his wife must be noted, for love is the greatest of all virtues.


Rachel and King Kernal A Union that Endured for Eight Decades
Their grandson, Phillip A. Lewis was a Creek Freedman who lived in the Muskoge area most of his life. He had a remarkable life, and in the 1930s much of his life was captured in the Indian Pioneer Papers. One of the stories about his family history stood out when he expressed the love between his grandparents, Rachel and King Kernal was shared. He told his grandmother Rachel's  story the way he heard it as a child. Grandma Rachel's life with her husband began at a place of heartbreak and sorrow: a slave auction.

Rachel's story:
"When I was only a girl, I was taken to a slave market to be sold by a slave trader. Just before the sale, my attention was attracted by a very large young fellow in the crowd who seemed to never to be looking at anyone except me. Finally after working his way closer and closer to me, and the opportunity presented itself, he leaned over and whispered to me, 'If I persuade my master to buy you will you marry me?' As I looked up into his face, somehow, something made me say 'yes'. Without another word, he turned and dissappeard in the crowd.
  "He was gone. I was bewildered and lost in a haze of jumbled thoughts. Who was he? To come to me to come to me from among the people, the greatest number of people I had seen in my life."
   "Why had he said such words, received my answer and then disappeared as suddenly and mysteriously as he had came. What did it all mean? I could not understand."
    "Then I saw him, head and shoulders taller than anyone else, making his way through the crowd in my direction, and as he came closer, I saw there was another man with him. They came near us and stopped, stood there together, looking in my direction, and after a short whispered conversation, they approached my master, and shortly, I was the property of a new master, who was the owner of the man to whom I had given the answer "yes", King Kernal.
     "Our master took King and Me" to his place, and we were married immediately thereafter, though in slavery, we were happy. Our master was kind not to separate us during slavery time, and after we were made free people, only God Could separate us."

Rachel and King Kernal would spend oaver 80 years of their lives together, with both passing away after the age of 100. King Kernal died in 1873 and was said to be 108 years old at the time. Rachel died twelve years later at the age of 103. Both had endured slavery, then the removal to the west in the 1830s, and in spite of the bondage under which most of their lives were spent--their bond of love was far greater than any restrictions of slavery.

* * * * *

These two stories are presented to reflect the basic humanity of the enslaved people, taken to the west, who were enslaved in five Indian Tribes, and later tasting a freed life in a territory that had become home.

Though the next century their children and grandchildren would be tossed aside and expelled, due to the contemporary biases of color the descendants of both families have a strong legacy of families founded in unbreakable love. Both of these two stories reflect the humanity of a people discarded but whose humanity still shines forth.

* * * * *     
  ".... but the greatest of these is love."
                                             1st Corinthians 6:20

New Chat Schedule for 2024

 

New ZOOM-chat schedule 
Afvummi Himona Na Yukpa - Happy New Year!

 
Beginning in January 2024 the twice-a-week history/genealogy chats will occur on the following days:

Sunday 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Friday   4:00 - 6:30 pm

The new schedule will accomodate people who cannot make the weekday chats, and the Friday chats will hopefully allow people who are working to join the chat later in the day.

Sunday chats will be open with no specified topics.

Friday chats will have a Topic of the day. The first half-hour will incorporate the Day's topic, and may occasionally be taped when unique documents are shared. The chat will then be opened up for general genealogical chatting.

Links to the weekly chat will be posted in the Facebook group, (Choctaw-Chickasaw Freedmen Descendants) and also to those wishing to be on an email list.

Join us!