Guion Miller Roll for Eastern Cherokee

The Guion Miller Roll is a list of Eastern Cherokees who applied for money awarded in 1905 because of a 1902 law suit in which the Eastern Cherokee tribe sued the United States for funds due them under the treaties of 1835, 1836 and 1845.

Claimants were asked to prove they were members of the Eastern Cherokee tribe at the time of the treaties, or descended from members who had not been affiliated with any other tribe.

Guion Miller, an agent of the Interior Department, was appointed as a commissioner of the Court of Claims to compile a list of claimants. He made an extensive enrollment of the Cherokees in 1907 and 1908.

Use the Guion Miller Roll if your ancestors were:

• Alive on 28 May 1906.
• Members of the Eastern Cherokee tribe at the time of the treaties of 1835,1836, and 1845 between the United States and Eastern Cherokee
• Descendants of members of the Eastern Cherokee tribe during the years of the treaties.
• Not affiliated with any Indian tribe other than the Cherokees.

Origin of the Guion Miller Rolll. In 1902 the Eastern Cherokee sued the United States to get the funds due them under the treaties of 1835,1836, and 1845. In 1906, the court awarded more than $1 million to be split among the Eastern Cherokees. Claimants were asked to prove they were members of the eastern tribe at the time of the treaties, or descended from members who had not been affiliated with any other tribe.

Guion Miller, an agent of the Interior Department, was appointed as a commissioner of the Court of Claims to compile a list of claimants. He made an extensive enrollment of the Cherokees in 1907 and 1908.

Content of the Roll. Each applicant was asked

• His or her full English and Indian name,
• Place of birth,
• Name of husband or wife,
• Names of children,
• Place of birth and date of death of parents and grandparents,
• Names and ages of brothers and sisters,
• Names of uncles and aunts.

The documentation includes application forms, correspondence, and affidavits necessary to prove eligibility for a claim.

Extent of the Rolls. Guion Miller stated there were 45,847 enrollment applications filed, representing some 90,000 individuals. After exceptions and adjustments were made, a total of 30,820 persons were eligible to share in the fund. The Eastern Cherokee Applications of the U.S. Court of Claims 1906–1909 are found on 348 rolls of microfilm.

Rejected Claims. Claim documents were kept whether they were paid or rejected. Rejected applications fall into five groups:

• Those who left the Cherokee Nation in the East before 1835,
• Those who filed after the final application date of 31 August 1907,
• Illegitimate children rejected even when their brothers and sisters were admitted,
• Those who had dual tribal ancestry,
• Those who failed to prove the required relationship.

1. Use the General Index (on the Internet or film) to find and copy an Ancestor’s Application Number, Name, and State

On the Internet. Clear images of the General Index are on the Internet at Fold 3 www.accessgenealogy.com/native/guionmiller/index.htm

• Scroll down to see a list of pages and names.
• Click on a name to see an index page.

Or use FHL film 378594 to find the General Index which starts at Target 2 and appears 172 pages after the Roll of Eastern Cherokees (Target 1) starts. Do not confuse the Roll (printed book) with the typescript General Index.

Search for an ancestor’s name in the General Index. The words “General Index” appear at the top of each page. The General Index is alphabetical by surname. If you cannot find your direct ancestor, look for his or her relatives. Some handwritten entries are found scattered among the typed names. Figure 1 below shows part of a sample page.

GENERAL INDEX Example:

NUMBER NAME and STATE

34079 Owens, Minnie I.T.

33179 " Minnie Ga

15320 " Nancy A. Ga

43637 " Rachel I.T.

23903 " Samantha J. I.T.

13948 " Samuel I.T.

21021 " Sarah Jane I.T.

16048 " Susan A. I.T.

33501 " Tom Ga

36915 " Volina Dandridge Mo

22724 " William C., Jr. I.T.

40414 " William Daniel N.C.

40250 " William Jack Ga

20109 " Wilson Ga

17825 Owensbee, Joe Ga

11317 Owensby, F. M. Ga

43840 Owings, Thomas J. Mo

Figure 1. In the General Index application numbers are on the left side.

Copy all the information found in the index for your ancestor below and on your Research Log.

Application number: _______________________________

Full name: _______________________________________

State (residence): __________________________________

2. Find the Application Film Number in the Catalog

Look in the Family History Library Catalog for this entry:

United States. Court of Claims. Eastern Cherokee Applications, August 29, 1906–May 26, 1909. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1104. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1981. (On 348 FHL films starting with 378594.) Scroll down the catalog entry until you find the application numbers.

• Decide which film to search by using the application number you found in the index in step 1. The 348 films of application papers (in packets) are in order by their application numbers. • Copy the film number of the application to your Research Log.

Film number: _____________________________________

3. Obtain the Film, Find, and Copy the Application

• Obtain the microfilm and load it on a microfilm reader.
• Find the application packet in numerical order on the microfilm. Short slips of paper are used to show the start of each application packet.
• Copy the application papers and update your Research Log and family history records with the new information you find.

Online at Fold 3

Can’t Find a Name in the Guion Miller Roll?

Before concluding your ancestor’s name is not in the rolls, consider:

• The name may be spelled differently, for example, Anne instead of Ann, or Thos. instead of Thomas. Search for variant spellings.
• Look for your ancestor by his or her English name, Indian name, middle name, nickname, initials, married name, or maiden name.
• Look for your ancestor in the “Additional Sources” cited on page 4.
• Look for your ancestor’s relatives in the Miller roll indexes. They may have mentioned your ancestor in their application documents.
• Your ancestor may have been added to the supplemental rolls after the General Index was compiled. Search the three alphabetical “supplemental rolls” ahead of the General Index on film 378594.
• Not all Cherokees appear on this roll. Search for your ancestor on other records like theDawes Commission Enrollment Records.

===Additional records relating to the enrollment of Easter Cherokee, 1908-1910===(National Archives microfilm publications: M685)

• Report on exceptions with supplemental aroll 1909-1910 FHL Film: 830439 Miscellaneous testimony token before special commissioners volume 1-10, FHL Films: 830440-830444
• Sizemore, Poindexter and Creek Testimonies FHL Film: 830444
• Combined index of Eastern Cherokee Rolls A-Z 1851 FHL Film 830445
• Chapman (1851), Drennen (1851), Siler (1854)Old Settler (1851) Hester (1851and 1884) and Miscellaneous notes and drafts 1851. FHL Film: 830445

Additional Sources

Blankenship, Bob. Guion Miller Roll “Plus” of Eastern Cherokee, East and West of the Mississippi, “1909." [N.C.]: Cherokee Roots, [19--]. (FHL book 970.3 C424gmr.) Shows 62,769 names in two alphabetical lists (accepted, and not eligible) with their Miller and Dawes numbers, relationship, age, blood degree, and town.

Bowen, Jeff. Cherokee Descendants: An Index to the Guion Miller Applications. 3 vols. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1996. (FHL book 970.3 C424bj.) The east, east supplemental, west, and west supplemental rolls are indexed separately. The names are listed alphabetically and show the Miller Roll application number. The children’s names are grouped with the parent, with ages indicated for each family member.

Edgington, Billy Dubois, and Carol Anne Buswell. Vital Information from the Guion Miller Roll: Eastern Cherokee Court of Claims, 1906–1909. [Bountiful, Utah]: Heritage Books, 1999. (FHL book 970.3 C424; compact disc no. 195) This index shows each person’s name, Miller application number, sex, and often spouse, maiden name, birth year, birth state, residence, and Soundex code. An appendix lists the surnames in order by Soundex code.

Jordan, Jerry Wright. Cherokee By Blood: Records of Eastern Cherokee Ancestry in the U. S. Court of Claims, 1906-1910. 9 vols. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Press, 1987. (FHL book 970.3 C424j.) Each volume is indexed. This combines genealogical information abstracted from both the applications and the rolls.

Jordan, Jerry Wright."Index to the Applications to the Guion Miller Roll of Eastern Cherokees." In USGenNet [website]. N.p.: USGenNet, 29 October 1999 [cited 28 May 2002]. Available at www.tngenweb.org/cherokee_by_blood/miller.htm INTERNET. This site explains how to use the National Archives search called NAIL to find ancestors who were accepted or rejected for the roll.

Hoskins, Shirley. Cherokee Blood (Tsa-la-gi-yi Gi-gv). Chattanooga, Tenn.: [n.p.], 1983. (FHL book 970.3C424hs v. 3.) Indexed descendants lists compiled from the Miller rolls. Shows application number, descendants, birthplace, birth date, notes.

© 2002 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. 34936

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)