My aunt posted this sometime ago, I’m not sure what came of it. At this point we are just interested to see if anyone within this genealogical line is on the Dawes or Baker rolls. We have attempted to search them ourselves but have come up empty handed. If it is of any help, the entire family is settled in South West Missouri and has been for quite some time. I believe we may have some extended kin still in Oklahoma, and the Arkansas area by way of Missouri. The Trail of Tears confirmation would be very interesting, but any confirmation of actual Cherokee lineage is what we’re really going for. It has been heavily discussed in the family for generations, but we would love to see if any of our family members are on the rolls. Thank you!
Merrilie Tettleton Bryant
Query: I am looking for information on Gabe Jones (Cherokee Indian) taken from Kentucky on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma, wife’s name Fannie Roach(Roch)she was Irish. They had a daughter Victoria Jones and two sons Jim and Jug(nickname) Jones. They fought on opposite sides of the Civil War. Victoria married H. D. Baker. Their daughter Cora Annetta Baker married Charles Dallas Tettleton. I am looking for some way to confirm that Gabe Jones was on the Trail of Tears.
Fannie and Victoria E. Jones show up on an 1860 Census record, living in Calloway, Kentucky. It appears Fannie is listed as the head of the household and there is no father present during this enumeration. On this page, Fannie is surrounded by a number of Jones families (Charles Jones, Rob Jones, Jonathan Jones). Victoria E. is listed as age 12.
Another census record from the same location can be found for 1850. Unfortunately, this only gives abbreviations. However, V.E. Jones, female, age 2 entry allows us to narrow this family down a bit. Her parents are listed as F. A. Jones (Francis/Fannie), and A. Jones.
There are several records that give Victoria’s birthplace as Kentucky, and her birth year as being about 1848. The Trail of Tears was a very specific event and took place between 1838-9. There were no known roundups of Cherokee living in Kentucky. This is because there was no significant Cherokee settlements to be found in that state. In fact, Calloway County was never included in the Cherokee Nation boundaries, and most lands in that state were actually ceded around the time of the American Revolution. The 1835 Henderson Roll only includes Cherokee citizens living in TN, AL, GA, and NC. There are also no Drennen Roll entries for a Gabe Jones (nor entries for a Jones male with a first name starting with A).
These families didn’t move to Arkansas and Missouri with any Cherokee migration or removal. Victoria can be found living around other Jones families in Calloway, Kentucky in 1850 and 1860. She moved to Arkansas sometime before 1880. Her daughter Cora shows up in records living in AR in 1880 and 1893. By 1910, Cora and her husband Charley had moved to Missouri. This couple lived briefly in central Oklahoma (found in 1920 Census), but were back in Missouri by 1930. There is no indication that they had any family ties to the Cherokee Nation in their lifetimes.
You’d still need to track down records clearing showing parentage or ancestry of Gabe or “A. Jones.” This branch is still a little hazy.
But as far as a family connection to the Dawes or Baker Rolls, you’re not going to find it. These were very specific enumerations for tribal citizens in both western and eastern communities. Basically, Dawes is limited to Cherokee citizens living in Cherokee Nation between 1898 through about 1906. A few applications were still being completed into 1907, but the rolls were finalized early that year. Additionally, the rolls were re-opened in 1914 to add a small number of individuals that had been missed earlier. The majority of Cherokees enumerated on the rolls were non-US citizens and they had been living in Cherokee Nation since the Trail of Tears or earlier. There were only a small number of accepted applications from re-admitted Cherokees, or those living outside the Nation, who had let their tribal citizenship lapse (or forfeited it earlier).
The Baker Roll applies only to Eastern Band Cherokee. These ancestors were recognized members of that small community, and they were found on BIA census records of the early 1900s and the Hester Roll of 1885, among others. Baker was finalized in 1924 and listed just over 3,000 people. None of your family along the Jones/Baker/Tettleton lines was anywhere near that community or recognized as being part of the Eastern Band.
If there is any distant Cherokee lineage through the Jones line, it would probably need to be established in records that date to before Removal.