Bowen's with Cherokee blood.
By Benjamin L. Bowen
: Cherokee rolls named in this work :
1 . Siler Roll :1851 Eastern Cherokee Payment Roll :
2. By act of Congress 1854: Supplemental roll to the Siler roll.
3. Dawes Act / Dawes Commission / Dawes rolls 1898-1914
Commonly called the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, the Dawes Commission was appointed by President Grover Cleveland in 1893. In return for abolishing their tribal governments and recognizing state and federal laws, tribe members of the Five Civilized Tribes - the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole were given a share of common property.
February 8, 1887
Congressman Henry Dawes, author of the act, once expressed his faith in the civilizing power of private property with the claim that to be civilized was to "wear civilized clothes...cultivate the ground, live in houses, ride in Studebaker wagons, send children to school, drink whiskey [and] own property."
"...the real aim of [ the Dawes Act ] is to get at the Indians land and open it up for resettlement."
- Senator Henry M. Teller, 18814. Guion Miller Roll of 1906-1910
1909 Guion Miller East Roll - Eastern Cherokee Roll Entitlement Rolls for Allotments.The index includes the names of all persons applying for compensation arising from the judgment of the United States Court of Claims on May 28, 1906, for the Eastern Cherokee tribe. While numerous individuals applied, not all the claims were allowed. The information included on the index is the application number, the name of the applicant, and the State or Territory in which the individual resided at the time the application was filed.
And so the saga begins....
My Great Great Grandfather and Grandmother , James Lawrence Bowen, Dora Alice Bowen and their children, all named below appear on the Dawes comission rolls, census card number 4001 :
Dawes Roll Applications
Copies of the original applications are located at the Ft. Worth, TX branch of the National Archives. The archives staff will need to know the tribe, roll number and census card number of the applicant to be able to provide copies of the application. These may be ordered by contacting the National Archives, Ft. Worth Branch, 501 Felix St., PO Box 6216, Ft. Worth, TX 76115. Currently, the cost for a copy of the complete application is $10.00.
Name: James L Bowen [ James Lawrence Bowen 1874-1934]
Type: Parent
Sex: MaleName: Dora A Bowen [ Dora Alice Bowen 1877-1953 ]
Type: Parent
Sex: Female
Name: Seymour C. Bowen [ Seymour Courtney Bowen 1897-1965 ]
Type: Minor
Age: 9
Sex: Male
Degree Indian Blood: Not reported
Roll Number: NR
City of Residence: Yoakum [ Texas ]
Name: W. A. Bowen [ William Abraham Bowen 1898-1952 ]
Type: Minor
Age: 8
Sex: Male
Degree Indian Blood: Not reported
Roll Number: NR
City of Residence: Yoakum [ Texas ]Name: A. M. Bowen [ Addie Mae Bowen a female1900-d ? ]
Type: Minor
Age: 5
Sex: Male
Degree Indian Blood: Not reported
Roll Number: NR
City of Residence: Yoakum [ Texas ]Name: M. A. Bowen [ Mahala Agnes Bowen a female 1903-1948 ]
Type: Minor
Age: 3
Sex: Male
Degree Indian Blood: Not reported
Roll Number: NR
City of Residence: Yoakum [ Texas ]
Name: R. N. Bowen [ Richard Neal Bowen 1905-1975 ]
Type: Minor
Age: 1
Sex: Male
Degree Indian Blood: Not reported
Roll Number: NR
City of Residence: Yoakum [ Texas ]
James Bowen's parents were William M. Bowen and Mahala Duke(s) Bowen.
Mahala Duke Bowen was daughter of Matilda Killingsworth Dukes and David Dukes, Matilda Killingsworth Dukes was daughter of Matthew Killingsworth and Martha "Francis or Frankie" Elliott who's was the daughter of Joseph Elliott . Joseph Elliot claimed to be of half Cherokee blood.In the 1851 Census of Cherokee's east of the Mississippi Accepted and Rejected additional claims of David W. Siler, the claim of Cherokee blood was rejected. The statement of David W, Siler is :
REJECTED
Joseph Elliot from whom the families named above descended, was recognized so far as be allowed a reservation near Parkinsville, Alabama. He claimed that he was half Indian and seems to have enjoyed many if not all of benefits according to the Cherokee Nation under the Treaty with the Government of the United States , from the best account of the history of the family, that I was able to procure their claims were always disputed. - I can find nothing to show that the authorities of the Cherokee Nation has ever recognized them. , and several persons of good character and intelligence, were inclined to believe that the Cherokees declined receiving them into the Nation. I found no other Natives who believe that the Elliotts are Cherokee, in appearances I did not think that they had the features of the Indians, though their complexion is sufficiently dark.
However by the act of Congress in 1854 the names were approved and added to the to Siler Roll.
"An Act of Congress of July 31, 1854 (10 Stat 333) authorized the addition of 88 individuals whose names were ommitted by Siler but who were included on the Roll prepared by Mullay."
Jerry Wright Jordan stated in 1996: [ additional link ]This small roll (only 88 names) of the Eastern Cherokees is seldom mentioned and often overlooked, yet it was one of the criteria that Guion Miller used in deciding the eligibility of applicants to the Guion Miller Roll of 1906-1910. The introduction to the Roll on National Archives Microfilm Publication 7RA-06 states that the names contained in this roll were ommitted from the Siler Roll (1851) but had been included on the Mullay Roll of 1848. I know for a fact the names on the first page of this roll were not on the Mullay Roll.
The Cherokee ancestor of all the families on the first page (with the exception of Pickins E Willis) were descendants of "Old Joseph" Elliott, a half-blood Cherokee who accepted an individual reservation of 640 acs in Northeastern Alabama in the Treaty of 1817. Old Joseph (or his son Joseph Elliott, Jr.) also appeared on the Emigration Rolls of 1817 moving to the Western country at that time. He did not stay there long but returned to his reservation in AL where he raised a family. If anyone would like information on any of this family feel free to contact me at jjordan2@ix.netcom.com .
The family names on this roll who descended from "Old Joseph" Elliott are: Elliott, Hilliam, Vaughn, Killingsworth, Johnson and Dukes.
Names of Eastern Cherokees added to Siler Roll by Act of Congress.
Appropriation of July 1854
Opinion of Attorney General June 1857.From accessgenealogy.com
Page 1
Number Name Remarks Amount 5342 Pickens E. Ellis 54.76 7028 Mahala Hilliam
James
Kinford
Thomas
Nancydaughter of Old Joseph, Alabama 464.10 7029 Matilda Elliott
Orethea
Mary J.widow of James 278.46 7030 Caroline Johnson
Mary
Tobitha
Sarah H.daughter of Matilda Elliot, Alabama 371.28 7032 Josiah E. Vaughn son of Mary Vaughn 92.82 7033 Geo. Elliott son of Old Joseph, Alabama 92.82 7661 William Killingsworth 92.82 7662 David Elliott
MarthaA.
Catharine
John
Richard
Joseph
ThomasSon of Old Joseph 649.74 7663 Nancy Elliott
David
Louisa
Josiahwidow of Josiah; son of Old Joseph 371.28 7664 Matilda Dukes
William
Mahaladaughter of Mathew Killingsworth, Alabama 278.46 7672 Mathew Killingsworth
Henry
Martha
Marywidower [ was married to daughter of Joseph Elliot ] 371.28 7673 Mahala Killingsworth Daughter of Mathew Killingsworth 92.83 Our claim to Cherokee blood line would be through Joseph Elliot (Joseph Elliot claimed to be of half Cherokee blood) > Matthew Killingsworth and Martha "Francis or Frankie" Elliott , Martha "Francis or Frankie" Elliot daughter of Joseph Elliott > daughter Matilda Killingsworth Duke married David Duke > daughter Mahala Duke Bowen who married William M. Bowen > their son James Bowen who married his cousin Dora Alice Bowen > their son Seymour Courtney Bowen who married Bessie Myrtle Phillips > and their son Wayne Lanier Bowen who married Ruth Agnes Romanos (Chapa).
Mahala Duke Bowen's Guion Miller Roll, Application # 11726.
Contributed by :Betty Joe Hillin Durrenberger
Altered version of above
( Image was "re-centered" )
Note that the name of Mahala Duke Bowen does not appear on the index of the Guion Miller roll. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
