In this second Cherokee blog I will focus on the censuses known as rolls. These rolls include removal records (both voluntary and forced), muster rolls, rations and censuses. Most can be found online or published:
Cherokee Emigration Rolls (1817-1838): Cherokee who voluntarily removed westward.
Census of Cherokee (1835): Known as the Henderson Roll. A census of Cherokee living in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and is the main source for documenting Cherokee who were forcibly removed.
Ration Books (1836-38): Ration books from camps located in New Echota, Georgia and Camp Clanwaugh (near Chattanooga, Tennessee) prior to the removal process.
Cherokee Muster Rolls (1838): This muster roll was a forced removal record, accompanying the Henderson Roll.
Mullay Roll (1848): Eastern Cherokee who remained in North Carolina. It set aside money for emigration to Indian Territory.
Drennen Roll (1851): Also called the Immigrant Roll, it lists Eastern Cherokee who settled in Indian Territory after 1835, removing later on their own.
Siler Roll (1851): Eastern Cherokee living in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Chapman Roll (1852): Eastern Cherokee roll listed per capita payment made to those named on the Siler Roll.
Tompkins Roll (1867): Cherokees residing in Indian Territory listed by district.
Swetland Roll (1869): Eastern Cherokee in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Hester Roll (1883): Eastern Cherokee who resided in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and elsewhere.
Dawes Commission (1896, 1898-1914): The final roll of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory. Indexed on Ancestry: www.ancestry.com
Guion Miller Roll (1909): Applications for determining the final roll for the Eastern Cherokee. This is one of the most important sources for documenting mixed-blood families who did not remove. The index is at the National Archives website: www.archives.gov/research/arc/native-americans-guion-miller.html
The next blog will focus on the early Cherokee land and agency records.
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