Researching Your Paiute Indian Ancestor?

Nevada Native Americans

If your Native American ancestor was from western Nevada, be sure to include the Paiute (Pah-Ute) Indians in your search. Actually the Paiute Natives are often subdivided into Northern Paiute which included northwest Nevada, flowing into Oregon, Idaho, and California. The Southern Paiutes can be placed in southern Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and of course, California. There are over 30 bands of Paiute Indians (see listing at the Accessgenealogy.com page. 

Tips in Researching

• Do not limit your research to reservation only, as many Paiute’s did not live on the reservation, but often worked on ranches of white families 
• Keep in mind that many Paiute’s were considered nomadic in the earlier years, and stripped of land due to wars, railroads in the latter. So it is best to research and understand the migratory paths of the various bands. 
• The Paiutes were originally a unique Native American tribe, but in later documents (see Census) researchers may see the reference Shoshoni-Paiute, especially on the various Nevada reservations. 
• Paiute’s carry the nickname of Numa (“The People”). 
• Today’s reservations in Nevada established between 1859-1891 include Moapa, Pyramid Lake, Walker River and the Shohone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley reservation.

        6 Great Places to Search?

1. Tribal Records: Your research may include the Fallon Band, Sho-shone or Ft. McDermitt in Nevada (or U-tu Utu Gwaitu Paiute in California). A great first step is to determine when a reservation was established/ This may assist in tracing your ancestor to a reservation: (i.e. Duck Valley Reservation, established in 1877; Walker River Tribe, established in 1859, etc.)
2. Federal Government: NARA: Be sure to search the National Archives (NARA) - Pacific Regional Archives in San Francisco for records of the Nevada Agency available for 1895-1975.
3. Nevada State Archives located in Carson City, holds an impressive collection on the Paiute Indians. However, we have uncovered data and information in newspapers, at historical societies, and museums throughout Nevada to include the Clarke County Museum and at the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas. 
4. Ancestry.com indexed the Walker River Valley, Nevada Paiute Indian Records, 1902-1906, located south of Lake Tahoe. Although not complete, this database covers 2000 of the reservation residents from 1902 to 1906.  The best part of these records is they provide the Native American name which may further your family research.
    Ancestry.com has also indexed the US Indian Census Rolls, 1885 - 1940. There are over 1500 names listed in the census for the Paiute Indians listed in Nevada (some may include Shoshoni’s). (NARA microfilm of Federal Indian Census Rolls, DC - M595).
5. Special Collections. The California State Military Museum houses some accounts of the Paiute War (1860):. However, newspapers and other collections held at local and state museums will help the researcher on this quest. A good example is the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Museum and Visitor Center. 
6. School Records. As with much research school records/documentations, may help in uncovering Paiute ancestors.  In Nevada, the Stewart Institute boarding school was opened  from 1890  - 1980. Be sure to check records of faraway schools also. Recently our search at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS proved fruitful for our Paiute ancestral search.  For school records search research should be conducted at the NARA- San Francisco. Reference Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Records Group (RG) 75.20.4 Records of the Carson/Stewart Indian School, NV. 

Of course if you need to combine research with pleasure, remember the Tudinu, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe. 

For further information:

Best Blog with Comments: Countries and Their Cultures: Le-Pa Pauites 

Stewart Indian Museum, Carson City, NV 

Nevada Historical Society, Reno NV

Kathleen Brandt

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Military Station Hospital Records and Correspondence

Another National Archive Treasure

Family researchers are quick to request the Veteran Administration files of their ancestors. They also scour the medical reports and notes of injuries found in the veteran’s service records. Both of these medical based files give us a bit more about our veteran: place, injury/illness,cause of injury or illness, duration of time for recovery, etc. But rarely do researchers uncover medical reports and injury reports from the field Station Hospital. These valuable reports and associated correspondence can provide the researcher with additional information on troop events and activities, station information, early discharges and demotions. Plus they may fill in the gaps that the Fire of 1973 has left us.  We all know “…between 16-18 million Military Personal Files were destroyed in the fire of 1973 at the St. Louis National Personnel Records Center. This fire destroyed about 80% of Army records from Nov. 1 1912 to Jan. 1 1960; and 75% of all Air Force records from Sep. 25. 1947 to Jan 1. 1964.”

Military Station Hospital Records

Camp Hospitals kept records. The Adjutant General kept reports and the Surgeon General’s Office was kept abreast. There are impressive amounts of documentation and correspondence resulting from the station hospital records, and the best place to begin your search is with the Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (RG112).  Of course your pre-work, as explained below in the Case Study Brief, should have been completed, prior to taking on this NARA task. 

What to Expect?

The Surgeon General Annual report will not name your ancestor by name, but provides an overview of the hospital patients: number of disability discharges, mental issue occurrences, venereal disease issue, camp hospital outbreaks, etc.  

So, Where’s My Ancestor?

It is in the correspondence that you will find your ancestor’s name. Be sure to understand the process. 

1. The hospital reports are forwarded to both the Veterans Service File (hopefully salvaged and safely archived in your ancestor’s file at the National Personnel Record Center, St. Louis) and a copy was traditionally sent to the Adjutant General’s Office (AGO).
2. The AGO may maintain these records, but usually they were forwarded and are stored at the NARA in College Park (for Modern Military). However, you may also wish to check State Archives, and regional Archives. 

3. 

   RG407 Research

   The Adjutant General keeps the Surgeon General’s Office (SGO) abreast, and often has to notify the SGO for both disciplinary actions (in case of injuries caused by neglect which includes venereal disease) and for discharge due to medical reasons. The correspondence can most often be located in the AGO Decimal Correspondence of RG 407.2.1 Be sure not to disregard the Decimal Files of the Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1917 -  even though there are over 5, 018 rolls of microfilm from 1948-1962 in the Decimal Correspondence (RG 407.2.1) alone.

It is in this chain of correspondence letters, notes, telegrams, that you may find your ancestor discussed. Know the common flu, unless resulted in death or discharge, did not warrant descriptive explanations to the AGO or SGO. However, you can find out if there was a flu outbreak using the SGO Annual Report.

Where Are Surgeon General Records Located?

As to not be confusing, please note that the Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (RG112) are not just held at the NARA in College Park, but also at the Regional Offices: Atlanta, Ft. Worth Texas, Waltham, MA etc.

Case Study Brief

A recent case of a burnt fire only held a veteran’s Certificate of Disability Discharge. It was clearly noted that the veteran was discharged on Section II - physical disability.  The veteran only served for 2 months and was discharged. Why? This document presented us with more questions than answers beginning with for what “physical reason” was he discharged?

Prior to fishing through the massive NARA Surgeon General and Adjutant General’s Correspondence, be sure to closely review anything in the veteran’s service file, (i.e. last pay voucher, discharge papers). Then it’s time to scour Morning Reports for the troops and years of your veteran.  These vital troop reports can narrow the dates of your ancestor’s injury, activities and locations. If your ancestor was removed to the station hospital, he is usually named at the time of hospital entrance and return to duty. However, rarely is it explained why he was sent to the station hospital. For this reason the related correspondence is needed.

Kathleen Brandt

accurate, accessible answers

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

Female Ancestor Citizenship Confusion?

Loss of Citizenship
(Part II of Citizenship and the Law. Click here for Part I)

If you are confused by the documents that state your American born female ancestor was not a US citizen, you are not alone. Tracing one family, the woman was a citizen as a child, had her passport application denied because she wasn't a citizen, then later applied for citizenship. 

Shaking my head to the confusion, once again I researched the laws of the time for answers to discover the moving citizenship requirements that were imposed after the Naturalization Act of 1906. Interestingly enough the Naturalization Act was created to standardize the naturalization procedure and citizenship requirements. Yet from 1907 to WWII, citizenship laws impacted American born women, leaving the men unscathed.

What to Look For?

Did your female ancestor marry a foreign national?  The Expatriation Act of 1907 declared that an American woman who married a foreign national or alien lost her US citizenship.  So from 1907 -1922 women born in the USA lost their citizenship when they married foreigners, but could only be repatriated when their husbands became naturalized citizens. 

1.  Did you female ancestor marry an Asian? The Married Women’s Citizenship Act of 1922, also called the Cable Act, reversed most of the Expatriation Act, except in the cases of an American woman being married to an Asian.  From 1922 - 1936 the Cable Act still stripped American citizenship to those married to Asian aliens. 
2. The law became more woman friendly by 1940.  At this time women were allowed to repatriate if they lost their citizenship between 1907 – 1922 due to their alien spouse.  However, to restore her US citizenship, the American-born was required to apply for citizenship and take the oath of allegiance.

What About Men who Married Foreign Nationals?

Surely you didn’t expect the same loss of citizenship to be reported for men during this timeframe?  Neither the Expatriation Act of 1907 nor the Cable Act applied to men. However, the flow of immigrants was controlled by the Immigration Act of 1924 which limited European immigration and banned Asian immigration to the United States. (Note the exceptions below).

During WWII the Immigration Act had to be repealed when approximately one million American soldiers married foreign women from 50 different countries. Visit the War Brides in Citizenship and the Law.  

For More Information

Be sure to review the Harvard University library Open Collections Program, Aspiration, Acculturation and Impact – Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930. Here is an excerpt of the timeline provided: 

1906    The Naturalization Act of 1906 standardizes naturalization procedures, makes some knowledge of the English language a requirement for citizenship, and establishes the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization in the Commerce Department to oversee national immigration policy.           

1907    The Expatriation Act declares that an American woman who marries a foreign national loses her citizenship.
Under an informal "Gentlemen's Agreement," the United States agrees not to restrict Japanese immigration in exchange for Japan's promise to voluntarily restrict Japanese emigration to the United States by not issuing passports to Japanese laborers. In return, the US promise to crack down on discrimination against Japanese-Americans, most of whom live in California.

 1911   The Dillingham Commission warned that the "new" immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe threatens to subvert American society. The Dillingham Commission's recommendations lay the foundation for the Quota Acts of the 1920

1917    Congress immigration from Asia, except for Japan and the Philippines. The Immigration Act of 1917 restricts immigration from Asia by creating an "Asiatic Barred Zone." 

1921    The Emergency Quota Act restricts immigration from a given country to 3% of the number of people from that country living in the US in 1910

1922    The Cable Act partially repeals the Expatriation Act, but declares that an American woman who marries an Asian still loses her citizenship                   

1924    The Oriental Exclusion Act prohibits most immigration from Asia, including foreign-born wives and the children of American citizens of Chinese ancestry.                                         

1934    The Tydings-McDuffe Act grants the Philippines independence from the United States on July 4, 1946, but strips Filipinos of US citizenship and severely restricts Filipino immigration to the United States.   

Kathleen Brandt

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Ancestor Citizenship and the Law, Part I

Australian War Brides

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor

When did your ancestor become naturalized? Where is the certificate? Family researchers must be familiar with laws, acts and regulations before launching a full ancestral search. The path to citizenship has taken various courses throughout history based on laws, regulations and politics.

Derivative Citizenship

Fact: Not all of our ancestors received a Certificate of Citizenship.

As early as the first Naturalization Act of 1790 foreign born minor children became US citizens through their parents’ naturalization.  This derivative citizenship path did not require the issuance of a Certificate of Citizenship to the minor. So your ancestor, if they entered the USA as a minor, would have become citizens via their parent’s naturalization but not necessarily been named on the Certificate.  This process continued through August 1906.the Certificate.  This process continued through August 1906.

After Sept. 1906, minor children were listed on their parents’ Certificates of Citizenship, but were not issued their own certificates.  Note that the federal government became the custodian of naturalizations after that date resulting in a more uniformed issuance of citizenship and requirements.

The Immigration Act of 1924 established limited European immigration and banned Asian  immigration to the USA. This quota system was not liften until 1945.

War Bride Citizenship
Have you ever wondered how your War Bride ancestor left foreign land to set up home in the USA? Take a look at the old Good Housekeeping Magazines. The magazine during the WWII era advised the War Brides on how to set up house  in USA! This publication partnered with the US Office of War Information

This was considered a needed service especially for estimated fifty thousand (up to 100k) British brides that came to the USA as new wives to WWII and Korean veterans.  About one million soldiers married foreign women from 50 different countries overseas between 1942-1952; enough to inact The War Brides Act of Dec 28, 1945 which temporarily lifted the limits on immigration. This Act allowed spouses and adopted children of military personnel to enter the United States, but they were not granted automatic citizenship. 

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the Red Cross role in supporting and assistance in readying the war brides for their overseas travel. Red Cross workers even provided escort services. In additon to the British war brides there were approx. 7,000 from  France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg; , and 8,000 from Australia and New Zealand.

To search for your war bride in the USA, begin your research using the NARA, Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at the Port of NY, 1944-1948 (M1417).  Up to twenty military ships provided transport across the seas. Keep in mind that some of the brides chose airlines to America!

Copies of naturalization and citizenship certificates may be found online: see ancestry.com, or ordered via the USCIS.gov website.  

Military Naturalization 
Researchers of immigrant ancestors have already learned that many veterans were naturalized while serving in WWI and WWII.  But many find it shocking that after the Sept 11 2011 attacks, immigration laws and the USCIS procedures continue to make it easy for military personnel to naturalize.  When researching your more recent immigrant ancestors, know that about 29,000 foreign born serve in the US military today and are not American citizens. Approximately 8000 permanent immigrants with green cards join the armed forces annually.  The idea is “persons serving honorably in active-duty status in the US Armed Forces at any time on or after Sept 11, can apply for citizenship, even if they have only one day of .honorable active duty service and regardless of how long they have been a US resident.”  Begin your search with the veteran’s military file: Veteran Service Records 

Canadian War Brides

Although this article is not about Canadian War Brides, I want to share with our Northern research friends that Canadian War Bride passenger lists for 1946-1947 are online at Findmypast.com . Be sure to visit the Canadian War Brides website.

Finding Other Records

Here are a few additional searchable links:

Australia: National Archives of Australia - Leaving Brisbane:  (see mid page)

British: Indexed files searchable by surname at Warbrides UK 

Be sure to also visit: Female Ancestor Citizenship Confusion.

Kathleen Brandt

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Accurate, accessible answers. 

Identifying Revolutionary War Era Parents

-->Five Basics Steps

Beating The “Now What?” Syndrome

In genealogy research where each region has records reflecting its community and where each era and generation of records evolve, we are reminded daily that historical record searching is never static.  Yet, there are still some basic guidelines to follow. Here is a sample of my strategy for identifying Revolutionary War Era parentage.  It’s simple, but it puts me back in action when I’m paralyzed with the “Now What?” Syndrome.  

1) Land Inheritance. One way to prove parentage is to prove land inheritance.  These records can show when and where the land was probated and to whom.  Often the eldest son, if not a minor, inherited the land.  However, the land could also be left to the wife.  In the interest of minor children, names may be revealed showing kinship. Records can also show the relationship of siblings or other family members.

2)  Church Records. During the Revolutionary War Era churches kept a lot of family records to include children baptism, christening, marriage banns, and licenses.  You are doing a disservice if you haven’t researched these genealogical gems.

3) Guardianship. Mothers were not usually granted guardianship of their minor children during the Revolutionary War Era, but if they did, it usually was through the court system. So a guardianship record should be available for any minors.  These records would list minor heirs and guardians and maybe even other inventory and probated information. 

4) Newspapers. Don’t forget old newspapers. Sure they usually aren’t indexed, but you may get lucky with a local library or State Archive.  Some of these repositories (like both the Mo. State Archives and the Kansas Historical Society), may have a surname index in their card catalog.  Don’t underestimate the holdings at these repositories. At minimum, old newspapers are often preserved on microfilm at these repositories.  What a great way to spend a bad climate day!

5)  Cluster Analysis. To show direct lineage there may not be a direct line. Keep alternatives in mind.  For example by tracing a sibling and proving the brother-hood connection you could be lead back to the parents.  Through an official printed biography on a sibling, you may find parents and siblings listed together. Don’t forget to keep your research open to include family clusters and friends.  Through these relationships you may be able to prove parentage.

There’s so much more you can do for this era to find parent names.  But the idea is to get back into action.  More in depth analysis of migratory clusters, especially after 1830, can lead you back to the home record source.  Keep that in mind when looking at census records.  I always write down information on 10-20 family names living around the direct line.  This technique can lead to married names of the women and even tips on recovering maiden names.  But that is another blog. 

Happy searching for today!

Kathleen Brandt, Professional Genealogist

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Originally posted 5 Aug. 2010

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Cherokee Female Seminary

Acculturation and Assimilation via Education
Last month I attended Kansas City Mo Public Library exhibit of Our People, Our Land, Our Images. It was there that I saw the plaque on the wall referencing the Cherokee Female Seminary graduating class of 1902. An accompanying photo was provided by Jennie Ross Cobb (Cherokee). As family researchers we are always looking for early Native American Ancestors, especially women, and I found the history of the Cherokee Female Seminary to be helpful for a recent project. Of course female seminaries were as popular as boarding schools by the 19th century and many have preserved genealogy-filled records.

Seminary History
On 7 May 1851 the Cherokee Nation opened the female Seminary in Park Hill Mission (OK), making it “among the first educational systems built west of the Mississippi-Indian or non-Indian. In fact, for a period of time during the mid-nineteenth century, the Cherokee population was more literate than the neighboring non-Indian population” according to Wilma Mankiller, the first female Cherokee Nation chief. From 1851 to the close of the American Civil War the school was in operation. During the Civil war the seminary was used as a warehouse, hospital, etc and it took until 1870 to ready the seminary once again to accept students.  Then after Oklahoma statehood, the land and building was purchased for forty thousand dollars to be converted to the Northeastern Normal School.

The seminary was modeled after the Mount Holyoke Seminary in Worcester MA and was established by the Cherokee Nation, not the Federal Government or Missionaries.  Not only was the Mt. Holyoke Seminary curriculum adopted, many of the teachers were graduates from Mt. Holyoke Seminary; others were from Yale and Newton Theological Seminary. Free tours of Seminary Hall are offered by the Cherokee Nation , but keep in mind this is not the original structure of Park Hill Mission, as it was destroyed by fire in 1887.

Cherokee Male Seminary
Please note there was also a Male Seminary. It too was burnt down in 1910, but was never reconstructed. However, through biographies and obituaries, you may find more information on  your Cherokee ancestor.  The Cherokee Nation site even mentions a few who attended like Dr. C. M. Ross. Hew was the Medical Superintendent, was born in Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, December 17, 1868. He is the grandson of the chief, John Ross. He was educated at the Cherokee Male Seminary from which institution he was graduated in 1887.

Did My Ancestor Attend?
It is said that students, elementary from high school, were “acculturated Cherokees, many of them already familiar with “White ways,” the majority being mixed blood Cherokees. According to the Mt. Holyoke records, full and mixed blood Cherokees were eligible to attend, but the school did not offer courses in Cherokee language, history, or culture. Acculturation and assimilation into the “white” society was ideal. Out of the 3000 girls who attended the Seminary only 212 graduated; the last graduating class being 1910.

How to Research
The best place to being this research is at the Oklahoma Historical Society website. Here the researcher can locate school records from 1874-1909, photos as early as 1860 and original manuscripts. .

For More Information

Books/Manuscripts 

Elzie Ronald Caywood, "The History of Northeastern State College" M.A. thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1950.

Brad Agnew, "Legacy of Education: The History of the Cherokee Seminaries," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 63 (Summer 1985).

Cherokee National Female Seminary, An Illustrated Souvenir Catalog of the Cherokee National Female Seminary, Tahlequah, Indian Territory, 1850-1906 (Chilocco, Okla.: Indian Print Shop, [abt 1906]

Ellen Goodale, Ellen Rebecca (Whitmore), Journal of Ellen Whitmore, ed. Lola Garrett Bowers and Kathleen Garrett (Tahlequah, Okla., Northeastern State College, 1953). 

Online Resources

• Photographing Native Americans in Oklahoma-Indian Territory
• Mount Holyoke Historical Atlas - The Cherokee Female Seminary 
• Cultivating the Rosebuds: The Education of Women at the Cherokee Female Seminary, 1851-1909 

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

Accurate, accessible answers