4th Generation - Avery Vann & Susanna Spaniard Miller - Richard Carey

Avery Vann Miller (Elizabeth Miller Mann’s Father) **************************************************

Susanna Spaniard (Elizabeth Miller Mann’s Mother) *************************************************

Avery Miller is listed on the 1835 Census as: Red Clay, Mominn County, Tennessee - 6 quarter bloods, 1 white intermarriage, 1 farm, 1 farmer, 1 English, 1 weaver, 2 spinners.
Avery died in 1865. Named for Avery Vann Prominent Cherokee in the East.

Susanna Spainard Miller. The only Spaniard’s listed on the 1835 Census was Etowah River, Cherokee County, Georgia, 12 Fullbloods, 3 farmers, 3 farms, 1 weaver, 1 spinner. She died at age 65 at Hickory Grove, Indian Territory She was the first person to be buried at Hickory Grove Cemetery located on the land she donated.

The Miller family came to Hickory Grove before 1874 from Clay, Georgia. They chose a home on Hickory Creek which is now in the Hickory Grove community. This community is located right outside of Grove, Oklahoma. You go to Tom Cat Corner and turn North which is right if you are coming from Grove.
Go to the first street and turn back west or left and follow that road around until you get to The Hickory Grove School House and Cemetery.
The family settled in this part of the country after they came over the “Trail of Tears”.
Susan Miller, the mother, died at the age of 65, in 1875, and was the first person buried in the Hickory Grove Cemetery. She gave the first small acreage for the Hickory Grove Cemetery.
At that time the nearest accessible town was Prairie City, now known as Fairland, Oklahoma.
Their son, Andrew J. “Andy” Miller and Martha A. McCullough were the first couple married at the Old Hickory Grove Schoolhouse. There were twelve children born in this family. All the Miller children attended school at the Old Hickory Grove schoolhouse.
The Miller children are:
Flora Stevens
Ida Cooley
Lucinda James (married Bert James)
Mahana Barber
Lee Miller
Mamie Hutchinson
Sallie Spencer
Jack Miller
Myrtle Sixkiller (now in Miami, Oklahoma)
Pearl Lamar McIntosh of Fairland, Oklahoma
Hue Dawes Miller, and John Miller who died when an infant.

After writing this part of their story I ventured out with my youngest daughter, Samantha and three of my Grandchildren, Justin, Bailey and Jordan Combs.
(Jennifer and Jessie’s children) to try to find this cemetery.
We went to Fairland, Oklahoma.
It was a very cold day.
We got directions to the Fairland Cemetery and off we went.
Needless to say this was the wrong one.
We saw a police officer and I stopped him and asked him where the Hickory Grove Cemetery was and he said it was in Grove.
It is a beautiful cemetery.
We took pictures of the headstones and they are included.

If we could go back one hundred years and take a look at the Hickory Grove area, it would seem a rather strange area, to which we had gone.
Roads, such as they were, did not follow section lines.
They followed the places of least resistance – along the low areas, through the bottom land, and when necessary to leave the lower areas, would find as gradual a slope as possible.

Few fences were in the area, and those were seven or nine rail fences, staked and ridered, to prevent “breachy” animals from breaking in or out.
Since most of the animals roamed the open ranges, the fences were more likely to keep animals out of crops of corn, wheat, oats, sorghum cane, or large gardens.

Even though animal roamed free, there was no need to worry they would be destroyed by the traffic or be a cause of a wreck. Horse back, wagons, buggies, and even walking were the modes of travel.
Animals were identified by their owners by brands, or slits or notches in ears.
In the case of young animals on the range, they belonged to the owners of their mother.

As one crossed the “shallows” or fords of Grand River into the “Denmark” area (Later Hickory Grove) from the east or the south of off the prairie from the north or from the Horse Creek Hills from the west, settlers along the winding roads would likely be Lamar, Miller, Paden, Moore, Copeland, James, Alberty, Williams, Brown, Smith, McCullough, or Harlan.
This was soon after the Civil War and some “hot” blood still flowed because of the war, yet all-in-all these were hospitable folk.
Did you need a night’s lodging? Somehow necessary items were shared!
No fancy places – but these were pioneers and they offered their best.

Few of the people were all white and few were all Indian.
Most were mixed because many white men had married women of Indian blood.
By law, no all-white family could settle here.
Would you like to stay among us?
Then find an unoccupied area, build a log house, and move in – providing you or your spouse is of Indian descent.

Cherokee land was held in common by the Cherokee Nation.
A Cherokee was allowed as much land as he wanted.
The wealth of free land brought a second migration of Cherokees from about 1800 on.
Many of these were only one-eighth Cherokee, and the Dawes Commission was set up to enroll all the Indians, and later divide the land into allotments of sixty or eighty acres.

Though their country and government had been almost destroyed by the Civil War, the early 1870’s saw the beginning of a new era of prosperity and progress for the Indian Nation.
The first railroad came from the Neosho River to Muskogee in 1871, and later in the fall the second from Seneca, Missouri , to Vinita.
A fair to awaken interest in agricultural and industrial growth of Indian Territory was held each autumn.
It was later moved to Muskogee in 1873 and was known as The Indian International Fair.
There were exhibits of vegetables, grains, hand-woven fabrics, fine sewing, and art.
In the livestock exhibits were some fine saddle horses, classed with the best raised in any state.
Work horses, mules, and some pure bred cattle were also present.

The mixed Cherokee from the east were a hardy people among whom English and Scotch immigrants had settled and married before the America Revolution.
There were many mixed blood Cherokee families of prosperous planters, traders, and owners of substantial homes, large herds of cattle and horses who came to Oklahoma.
The children of these families were given the advantage of education and became leaders of the Cherokee Nation.
These Indians believed in educating and fitting their people to meet the changing times and progress in their country.

As they progress in their community, they saw the need of schools for their children.

The cemetery was an additional plot of twenty acres set aside for an Indian Cemetery and the first grave was placed there in 1875.
Susan Miller, the mother, died at the age of 65, in 1875, and was the first person buried in the Hickory Grove Cemetery.
She gave the first small acreage for the Hickory Grove Cemetery.

1089. ROBT. L. MILLER et al, By Martha Miller, Gdn. Admitted. Minor’s father Andy J. Miller, and father’s parents enrolled by Drennen in Del. #789. (Misc. Test P. 3719.) 6567-1089 – Alford Miller….through Tom Roach, Interperter:

“I am 51 years of age.
Both of my parents were Emmigrants.
My father and mother were not living together in 51.
My father was living in Going Snake.
See Del. 790.
My father had a full sister named Martha.
See Del. 2791.
My father’s father first married a white woman I think, and she was my father’s mother.
My father’s mother died before 51 and his father married a woman named Susie and they had three girls named Sarah, Elizabeth and Catherine, and three boys named John, Andrew and Thomas.
Elizabeth married Dave Mann and their children are named Carey, lives near Oaks, Henderson, Pleas and Bertha.
I am certain they haven’t any child named Richard.
There is a Richard Foreman that is a child of Dave Mann’s sister.
For Elizabeth Miller see Del. 789.
I am a Night Hawk.
Signed: Alford Miller, Locust Grove, Oklahoma Oct. 6, 1908.

ROLL P99 #19036 FCT COMM #23735 – Robert L. Miller – 19
#19037 #23736 – Mamie J. (Sis) - 17
#19038 #23737 – Sarah E. (Sis) - 15
#19039 #23738 - Andrew J. Jr. (bro.) –14
#19040 #23741 – Myrtle (Sis) - 12
#19041 #23739 – Pearl (Sis) - 7
#19042 #23740 – Dawes (bro) - 6
By Martha Miller, Gdn.

Avrey’s Siblings were:

#61623; Andrew born 1819. He died before 1851. He married Sallie McCoy. Sallie was born about 1819.
This is how we are related to Stand Watie:
#61623; Isabel was born in 1802. They called her “Ibby”.
She married three times.
The first time she married it was to Kinch Hargroves, who was born about 1802.
Her second marriage was to Isaac Stand Watie.
“Takatoka.”
Who was born December 12, 1806.
He died September 9, 1871 at the age of 68 years old.
According to “The History of the Cherokee Indian” by Emmet Starr, Stand was first married to Elizabeth Fields, then our gal Isabel Hicks nee Miller, then to Eleanor Looney and finally to Sallie Carolina Bell.
Stand Watie was an English translation of his Cherokee name which was Takatoka.

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Watie, Ridge & Boudinot

He was popularly known as Stand Watie or Isaac Watie.
Stand Watie was the son of Oowatie who was Major Ridge’s brother.
Oowatie had two sons.
The oldest was Gallegina, or Buck Watie. Oowatie sent his son Buck away to school.
There he adopted the name of a white benefactor, Elias Boudinot.
Stand was his younger brother.
This is how they are all related.
He was a signer of the December 29th, 1835 and August 6th, 1846 treaties.
Elected to the council from Delaware District August 1st, 1853, August 6th, 1857 and August 1st, 1859.
Speaker of Council 1855 to 1859.
Organized and was Captain of a company of Home Guards early in 1861.
In July 1861 he organized a regiment, “The Cherokee Mounted Rifles”, for service in the Confederate cause.
He was elected Colonel Of the “First Cherokee Mounted Volunteers” August 31st, 1862.
He was elected Chief of the Cherokee Nation by the Confederate Cherokee provisional government in 1862 which he held until 1865.
He was appointed Brigadier General May 10, 1864.
He had been a delegate of the Cherokee “Treaty Party” several times prior to the Civil War and was a delegate of the “Canadian” or Southern Cherokees in 1866.
Stand Watie killed James Foreman in Mayesville, Arkansas May 9, 1842.
Was cleared by Arkansas court on a plea of self defense.
Anderson Springston was killed at the same time and place but the killer was unknown.
John Adair Bell and General Stand Watie said Springston and Foreman were in the party that killed Major Ridge on June 22, 1839 in the blood feud between the signers of the removal and those who took a blood oath to kill anyone who did.

Confederate Brig. General Stand Watie (De-ga-do-ga) -- "Stand Watie is, of course, an Indian, and he was in command of the last engagement of the Civil War, which was a small scale Confederate victory.
Stand Watie stood firm.
The Indians didn't know which way to go, they felt they were going to get robbed by either side, and there's a lot of truth to that, too.
But Stand Watie stood by the Confederacy from start to finish."

The following is an excert from:
“The Five Civilized Tribes” by Grant Foreman:

Stand Watie (native name De-gat-ga, conveying the meaning that two persons are standing together so closely united in sympathy as to form but one human body) noted Cherokee Indian, son of Uweti and after the death of Boudinot a leader of the party which had signed the removal Treaty of New Echota.
On the outbreak of the Civil War he and his party were the first to ally themselves with the South, and he was give command of one of two Cherokee regiments which joined the Confederate forces and participated in the Battle of Pea Ridge and in other actions.
Later he led his regiment back into Indian Territory and in conjunction with Confederate sympathizers from other tribes laid waste the fields and destroyed the property of the Indians who espoused the Federal cause.
In revenge for the death of his brother he burned Rose Cottage, the handsome home of John Ross, the head chief. He is further noted as one of the principle authorities for the legends and other material collected by Schoolcraft among the Cherokee (Handbook of American Indians, II, 634).

Stand Watie had married before his removal to the West.
His wife, Betsey, had in died in childbirth late in March 1836 (Lavender to Ridge, May 3, 1836, OIA, “Cherokee file”).
The child also died.
Stand Watie emigrated by water in 1837 with the Ridge’s and the journal kept by Dr. C. Lillybridge, who accompanied that party, mentions his ministering to Mrs. Watie.
There was also another wife.
The files of the Indian office contain a letter written by K.W. Hargrove of Rome, Georgia, in behalf of Isabella Watie (this is our gal), wife of Stand Watie from whom he separated when he left for the West.
She was formerly the wife of Eli Hicks by whom she had a child named Henderson Hicks.
She afterward married Stand Watie and when he left her she and her child were “in a destitute situation having been forced out of a comfortable home with the usual means of living, through the cruel policy of the Georgia laws and the ill treatment of her husband,” Stand Watie.
She had been awarded $1,660.00 for her improvements and the writer of the letter who was trying to secure it for her learned that the warrant had been sent to the agent for the Cherokee Indian in the West where Stand Watie had gone (Hargrove to commissioner of indian affairs, November 1, 1837, OIA).

The next day the whole country was thrown into great excitement by the brutal murder of Major Ridge, his son John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot.
A party of Cherokee Indians proceeded to the home of John Ridge on Honey Creek in the northeastern part of the Cherokee Nation “and having surrounded the house with their rifles, three of them forced his doors, drew him from his bed midst the screams of his wife and children, and having given him twenty-five stabs in his body, left him dead in his yard.”
Major Ridge, the father of John, had “started the previous day, to Vineyard in Washington county Arkansas.
He stayed on Friday night at the home of Mr. Ambrose Harnage, forty miles south of his son’s residence.
He was waylaid about ten o’clock on the same morning, by a party of Indians five miles west of Cane Hill and shot from a high precipice which commanded the road.
It is reported that ten or twelve guns were fired at him; only five balls, however penetrated his body and head.”

At about the same hour while Boudinot was engaged in building his house at Park Hill, he left with three men for the home of Doctor Worcester to secure medicine for them; about halfway there his companions seized and killed him, and cut him in pieces with knives and tomahawks.
There was no evidence that John Ross had anything to do with the killings, but it was obvious that they were committed by some of the recent emigrants.
The bitterness against the signers of the Schermerhorn treaty, an act for which their laws prescribed the penalty of death, and the reported aid which the Ridge faction had contributed to the failure of the recent meeting to effect a union under a new government, furnished provocation if not justification for the bloody deeds that shocked the Nation.

This is how we tie in with the Adairs:  Lucinda was born 1811 CHARLES LEWIS ADAIR FAMILY James Adair, born in 1709, came to America in 1735. He and his brothers setttled among the Five Civilized tribes in the east and began trading among them. He was the ninth generation of direct ancestors of the present day Adair Family. He wrote “The History of the American Indian,” primarily to try to dissuade England from unfair taxation My great-grandfather, Calvin Adair, married Luicinda Miller and they had two children: Ephraim Martin Adair and George Washington Adair. Calvin and Lucinda’s son Ephraim Martin Adair married Sallie Starr and they had two children: Martin Luther Adair and Sue Adair. This is one way we tie in with the Starr’s. Here is the other way.  Elizabeth Betsy born 1808 Elizabeth Betsy Miller which was Avrey’s sister married James Starr born about 1818 which was Tom Starr’s Father. Sam was Tom Starr’a son. In 1880, Tom's son Sam married Myra Belle Shirley. She became known as "Belle Starr". OUTLAWS AND LAWMEN OF THE CHEROKEE NATION by Dee Cordry The removal of the Cherokee Indians from their homes in the east to the lands now known as Oklahoma brought great suffering upon the Cherokees. The removal also resulted in violence between the Cherokees who supported the removal treaty and those who did not. One family name that became well known during this Cherokee "civil war" was the Starr family. But this is not a story about Belle Starr. It is a story about Cherokees who fought each other over the removal, and Cherokees who fought for law and order. A white man of Quaker parentage immigrated from Pennsylvania to the Cherokee country (now eastern Tennessee). He was named Caleb Starr, and in about 1790 Caleb married a Cherokee woman named Nancy Harlan,(aka Nannie Harlan who was Susanna Harlan’s sister) and in so doing he became a member of the Cherokee Nation. This is the third way we tie into the Starr Family.They had twelve children, including Ezekial Starr,(which was named after his Grandfather Ezekiel Harlan), James Starr, and Joseph Starr. Caleb Starr was involved with both the Treaty of 1816 and the Treaty of 1819, the removal treaties. Cherokee leaders attempted to preserve their remaining eastern lands, and had established a new government by 1828. John Ross was elected principal chief. Ross and his followers opposed removal. Cherokees who willingly immigrated to the new, western lands were known as the "Old Settlers". Caleb Starr and his sons supported emigration. Ezekial Starr and his family travelled to the west in 1834. James Starr became a member of the Treaty Party, which advocated total tribal removal, and with other members he signed the controversial Treaty of 1835. James Starr moved to the western Cherokee Nation in 1837. The remaining eastern Cherokees, under the leadership of John Ross, were forcibly removed to the west in 1838 and 1839 in what became known as the Trail of Tears. These Cherokees were subjected to incredible suffering. Upon arrival in the Indian Territory, the differences between the Ross faction and the Treaty, or Ridge Party erupted into violence. On June 22, 1839, three leaders of the Treaty Party - Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot - were assassinated by members of the Ross faction. James Starr and Stand Watie were due to be killed the same day, but they found refuge at Fort Gibson. John Ross was elected principal chief of a new, "unified" Cherokee government. In the Cherokee election of 1841, Ezekial Starr was elected to the Cherokee legislature from the Flint District, and his brother James Starr was elected to serve from the Goingsnake District. But the supporters of Chief Ross were still eliminating the supporters of the removal treaty and many murders had been committed. Both sides were after blood. James Starr's son, Thomas Starr, reacted to attempts on his father's life with violence. He was accused of attacking and murdering the entire Benjamin Vore family at their home near Fort Gibson in 1843. The Cherokee civil war included murderers on both sides of the conflict, but the Ross faction labeled Tom Starr an outlaw. A reward of one thousand dollars was offered for his capture. In 1845, Ross followers decided that James Starr would be held accountable for the actions of his son, Tom, and on November 9th they acted. Thirty-two armed men raided the home of James Starr in the Flint District. Starr was gunned down on his front porch, as was his crippled son, Buck. Both were dead. Starr's other three sons barely escaped the massacre. According to Tom Starr, in retaliation he killed every one of the thirty-two men except for those who became sick and died in bed before he could get to them. A truce was called in 1846, and a resulting peace treaty between the two factions included a special clause that "all offenses and crimes committed by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.......are hereby pardoned." It was the opinion of many Cherokees that the pardon was for Tom Starr. Tom moved to land in the southern portion of the Canadian District of the Cherokee Nation, near present Briartown. Tom Starr served in the Civil War as a scout for General Stand Watie and became acquainted with Quantrill. After the war, some of Quantrill's former guerrillas came to visit Tom, one of them being Cole Younger. Tom's ranch became known as "Youngers Bend". Tom raised eight sons, including George and Sam Starr. In 1873 George's son Henry Starr was born. In 1880, Tom's son Sam married Myra Belle Shirley. She became known as "Belle Starr". BELLE STARR Belle had previously been married to James C. Reed, and their son James Edwin "Eddie" Reed was born on February 22, 1871. At the age of 18, Eddie Reed was sentenced to a term in prison by Judge Issac Parker. Reed was granted a pardon and released in 1893. In a curious turn of events, in 1894 Reed was hired by the Katy Railroad as a guard to protect trains between Wagoner and McAlester. The U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Arkansas, George Crump, appointed Reed a deputy marshal. Eddie's shooting ability was well known, and he also became known as a good officer of the law. Eddie married a Cherokee schoolteacher from Claremore named Jennie Cochran in 1895. They settled down in Wagoner. Jennie's father was Alec Cochran. (An "Alex" Cochran is listed in some documents as a deputy U.S. marshal in the Cherokee Nation. It is unknown if Alec is the same as Alex Cochran.) ED REED KILLED Deputy U.S. marshal Ed Reed, living in Wagoner, was called on to deal with two drunks who were shooting up the town on October 24th (or 25th), 1895. The two law-breakers were Dick and his brother Zeke Crittenden, former lawmen and survivors of the shootout at Fourteen Mile Creek in 1894. The two brothers had wounded a Wagoner resident named Burns in their drunken shooting spree. One version of the story describes Reed encountering Zeke Crittenden on the street and telling him to surrender his gun. Zeke fired at Reed and was killed with return gunshots from Reed. Dick, at the other end of town, learned of his brothers death and rode to the scene of the shooting. Upon seeing Ed Reed, Dick opened fire. Reed returned fire, mortally wounding Dick Crittenden, who died the next morning. The brothers were buried under one headstone in a small cemetery near Hulbert, only a short distance from the site of the Half-way House on Fourteen Mile Creek. Ed Reed died on about December 14th, 1896 while attempting to "arrest" Joe Gibbs and J. N. Clark in Claremore, Oklahoma. Newspapers reported that Reed was attempting to arrest them for selling whiskey. Other sources tell a story about Reed's father-in-law, Alec Cochran, dying as a result of bad liquor from Gibbs. Reed intended to shut down the Gibbs "saloon", but when he entered the Gibbs store he was cut down by two shotgun blasts from close range. Ed was buried in his wife's "Cochran" family cemetery near Tiawah, south of Claremore. His wife, Jennie, had lost her father and her lawman husband in 1896, and her outlaw brother, Jess Cochran, in 1895. It is not known if Ed and Jennie Cochran had any children. In addition to serving as a Cherokee sheriff and a deputy U.S. marshal, Jesse Cochran held the office of prosecuting attorney (solicitor) of the Cooweescoowee district from 1885 to 1889. In November, 1894 Jesse was appointed by the National Council to the office of associate justice of the supreme court of the Cherokee Nation. Cochran was described as a "self taught lawyer and a self made man, in a primeval country where law and order didn't come easy." Cochran knew Blackstone by heart and used it as a guide in jury trials which he held at Kephart Springs near Claremore. Cochran passed away on November 11, 1905 at his home on Spencer Creek. Jesse's father, who came to Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears, had been a lawman. Both his father and his step-brother George had been the victims of violence. Jennie Cochran may have been his niece. Her brother died an outlaw and her husband, the son of Belle Starr, died in the line of duty. Jesse's wife was a member of the Ross family, and her father's uncle, John Ross, had been a participant in the Cherokee "civil war". Perhaps family names of Cherokees who were outlaws are heard of more often, but it is the citizens of the Cherokee Nation such as Jesse Cochran who brought law and order to a territory where violence was commonly used to settle disputes. SOURCES  Personal collection of Juanita Cochran Russell, Chelsea, Oklahoma  Virgil Talbot, curator, The Talbot Museum and Library, Colcord, Oklahoma (Note: Jesse Cochran Sr. (d. 1866) had a sister named Judah Cochran. She married Ambrose McGhee, and they were the great, great grandparents of Virgil Talbot.)  National Archives, Southwest Region, Fort Worth, Texas  The Indian Pioneer Papers, Oklahoma Historical Society  Cherokee Advocate newspaper  The Goingsnake Messenger  The Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. LXI, number 3, Oklahoma Historical Society  True West, Mar-April 1977  Cherokee By Blood, Volume 1 & Volume 6  Belle Starr And Her Times, by Glenn Shirley, University of Oklahoma Press, 1982  Law West of Fort Smith, by Glenn Shirley, University of Nebraska Press, 1968  Hell On The Border, by S. W. Harman, University of Nebraska Press, 1992  Special thanks to OklahombreS members Art Burton and Phillip Steele for their contributions to this story. Copyright 1996 OKLAHOMBRES, INC. The Infamous Belle Starr By Carol Tallman Jones -- © 1997 Myra Maybelle Shirley February 5, 1848 - February 3, 1889 According to legend, she was the "Bandit Queen", an amoral, amorous adventuress associated with the James boys and the Youngers. Tales published by the National Police Gazette in the 19th century and picked up by other publications propagated this distortion of truth. Fraudulent biographies, spiced with bogus letters and entries from Belle's diaries, sold for 25 cents. Although public records and fact dispute the published lies of the "Petticoat Terror of the Plains", she was known to have been companion to fugitives, thieves, and felons, and probably even stole a horse or two. Blown out the saddle by a shotgun blast and left to die in the road, the fact that her assailant was never brought to justice adds to her legend. A victim of ambush, and perhaps of her time, Belle Starr died just two days before her 41st birthday. Probably born near Carthage, Missouri, Myra Maybelle Shirley (per 1850 census data) was the second of three children and the only daughter of John and Eliza Shirley, residents of Jasper County, Kansas. The black sheep of a well-to-do Virginia family, Belle's father, John, had originally moved from Virginia to Indiana where he'd married and divorced twice. Her mother, Eliza Pennington, on the Hatfield side of the feuding Hatfield and McCoy families, was a gracious mannered Southern belle and John Shirley's third wife. They moved in 1839 to Missouri, where they prospered raising, corn, wheat, hogs and blooded horses. In 1856 the Shirleys sold their land and moved to Carthage (Jasper County Seat) where they built a wayside inn, a tavern, livery stable and blacksmith shop, occupying almost a city block. John Shirley was a respected member of the community whose holdings the 1860 census estimated at $10,000, a sizable amount for that time. His library and Eliza's piano and gracious manners were an attraction to the intelligentsia. Myra Belle grew up while living with her family in their hotel, and attended Carthage Female Academy, where she was a bright student that reportedly flaunted her status as a little rich girl. She was educated as a lady, instructed in "the three Rs", music, and classical languages. Belle loved the outdoors, and was taught to ride and handle guns proficiently by her older brother, Bud (John Allison Shirley, b. 1842). History barely mentions younger brother, Edwin (born in 1850), and two other male siblings born during the following decade. The good times in Carthage came to an abrupt halt with the advent of the Civil War. Jayhawkers and "Red Legs" laid waste to Missouri communities in support of the Union, while Rebel guerrillas and bushwhackers retaliated with death and destruction of a like kind in Kansas. Residents were forced to take sides and neighbors became bitter enemies. Bud Shirley joined the bushwhackers led by William Clarke Quantrill, and being familiar with the area served admirably as a scout. Attaining the rank of captain, he was much sought after by Federal troops, and young Belle reportedly gleaned information from her many social contacts and passed it on to her brother. Just how much information the young miss would have been privy to is unknown. Only sixteen at the time of her brother's death, it's conceivable that reports of Belle Starr's involvement as "the Rebel informant" are exaggerated. Bud Shirley met his demise in June 1864 when the house in Sarcoxie, Missouri, where he and a compatriot were being fed was surrounded by Union militia. Attempting escape, the two men bolted; and twenty-two year old Bud was killed while climbing a fence. His luckier companion made haste to Carthage and immediately informed the Shirley's of their son's death. Due to the war, John Shirley's business was nearly ruined. The death of his eldest son was the final straw. He sold his Missouri property, loaded family and personal belongings into wagons, and headed for Texas. And so it was that at the age of sixteen, Myra Maybelle Shirley moved with her family to Scyene, a small community southeast of Dallas, Texas. There they settled on a land grant of 800 acres. At first living in a dugout, it wasn't long before the Shirley's constructed a four-room clapboard house -- like a mansion in comparison with other area dwellings. Unlike most immigrants in Texas, John raised not cotton, but corn, sorghum, milk cows, oxen, hogs, and horses. Trading horses and providing a blooded stud service for a fee generated cash. Myra attended a one-room school, but was older than most of the students and far ahead academically. That, and her sharp tongue, made her less than popular. If she was bitter, she had enough reason. Her life had drastically changed. She'd been uprooted from home and friends. Her brother, and those glorious, carefree days of roaming the countryside together, were both dead. The affluent life of the "little rich girl" was over. Now, there was war. Now, there was nary a friend to be found. Now...there was merely...Texas. Yet, these were difficult times for all Southern sympathizers. Carpetbaggers were in political control and Southern officials disqualified from holding office. Amnesty was granted Federal guerrillas, but not to those of the Confederacy. Train holdups and bank robberies, often accredited to the James gang, the Youngers, and other Rebels from the ranks of Quantrill's or Bloody Bill Anderson's troops, were the big news of the day. At least once, according to Belle herself, one of these outlaw bands came to the Shirley home and took refuge for the night. Among them was James Reed, whom she'd met in Missouri where their families had been friends. They became reacquainted and their romance bloomed underneath the Texas sky. Belle Starr stated later that "Jimmie was the first man" she ever loved. But legend, sometimes, leaves little room for truth. Legend has it that while in Texas, Belle became involved with bank robber Cole (Thomas Coleman) Younger. It was alleged that the couple spent several months together in a small cabin on the Oklahoma Strip while Younger was hiding out from the law after robbing several banks; that after Younger rejoined the James gang, Belle gave birth to his illegitimate daughter, Pearl. In actuality, Belle gave birth to her first child, Rosie Lee, whom she adored and called "my little Pearl", late in September of 1868. Younger admitted that he did visit the Shirley's in Texas, but in 1864, not in 1866 as reported. He stated that the next time he saw Belle was at the Reed's Missouri residence in 1868, two years after her marriage to Jim Reed and at a time when Belle was six months pregnant. Though some claim this denial merely the response of a "Southern gentleman," a manuscript compiled by husband Jim Reed's younger brother, Richard Reed, supports Cole's word. A copy of the marriage license issued to Myra Maybelle Shirley and James C. Reed in Collins County, Texas, shows they were married on November 1, 1866, by the Reverend S.M. Williams, and appears to further document the latter story. Reed moved into the Shirley home and helped with the chores, then worked for a time as a salesman for a Dallas saddle and bridle maker. By late 1867 he and Belle had moved to Missouri and were living on the Reed homestead. Soon after the birth of baby Pearl, Belle's brother Edwin Shirley (age 18) was shot and killed for horse theft. Belle likely returned home for the funeral, but if so, the visit was brief, for the next several months she spent in Missouri as stated by a neighbor of the Reeds who recalled seeing Belle and the baby living at the household and attending a local church. Husband Jim, on the other hand, much preferred racing horses to farming, and spent little time at home. Jim's escapades led to his association with a murderous Cherokee named Tom Starr whose father, James, had been assassinated when the Cherokee nation split into two hostile factions in 1845. Tom carried out his oath of vengeance with more than twenty murders, yet due to a unique quirk in a federal peace treaty was pardoned. After the Civil War, Tom Starr and sons built a thriving business selling whiskey and rustling stock. Jim Reed fell in with them and began to participate in these lucrative activities. Rubbing elbows with the avenging Cherokee, however, was not as good for Jim Reed's freedom-loving spirit as it was for his pocketbook. To avenge the death of his older brother Scott Reed who was gunned down, James killed a man named Shannon. A writ was issued against Reed not only for murder, but for bringing whiskey into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) as well. Now a full-fledged fugitive, Jim Reed, with Belle and Pearl, fled to California in 1869. While still on the Pacific coast, Belle gave birth to their second child, James Edwin, in Los Angles on February 22, 1871. The following month, Reed was accused of passing counterfeit money and the ensuing investigation revealed that he was wanted for murder. When authorities set out after him, he hightailed it for Texas on horseback. Belle and the children followed by stagecoach straight away. Meeting in Texas, with the assistance of Cole Younger the family settled on a farm outside Scyene, where rumors soon spread of missing livestock. Reed still had his knack for drawing unsavory characters to him, and by 1873 he and his band of cutthroats were involved in two cold-blooded murders. After rewards were offered for them, Jim escaped with Belle to Indian Territory, leaving the two children with her parents in Scyene. On November 19, 1873, in the Choctaw Nation, Reed and two other criminals robbed the Watt Grayson family and got away with $30,000. Grayson and his wife were hung from a tree until they admitted where they'd hidden the money. Although some Belle Starr biographers say she participated in the robbery, no member of the Grayson family, nor any of the hired hands who witnessed it, mentioned a woman dressed like a man (as later reported) or even a small-framed man among the robbers. The date of this robbery has been juggled anywhere from 1869 to 1873, and its location hopped around from The Choctaw Nation to the California coast and even on the East coast, depending on whose version you read or in what encyclopedia you look. If Reed and partners had pocketed $30,000 on each of those dates at each of those locations, they'd have been wealthy men, indeed. No documentation has been offered to support statements that Belle, dressed up as a man, was a participant in any robbery. The Reeds moved back to Texas where Belle moved in with her parents, leaving her husband and his continued depredations. She objected, it is said, not only to his life of crime, but to the fact that he'd taken up with another woman named Rosa McCommas. Putting over seven years with Belle behind him, Jim and his band went on rustling stock, now adding stage robbery to their various other criminal activities. Nearly caught several times by posses, they always managed to escape into Indian Territory and elude capture. In August of 1874 Jim Reed returned to Texas alone. He began traveling with his former acquaintance John T. Morris, not knowing that Morris had been deputized and had agreed to hunt Reed down in exchange for the $4,000 reward on his head. James C. Reed would never see September; for when the two were stopped at a house for a meal, Morris drew down and ordered Reed to throw up his hands. Jim Reed flipped the table over and bolted for the door. He was shot and killed. Belle Starr, now destitute, lost her father in 1876. Her mother sold out and moved to Dallas. Belle sold the farm and is reported to have spent the next few years of her life in Missouri with Reed's mother, living a rather quiet existence. This time period has been filled with many a log on the fire of the "Cattle Queen" legend, ranging from armed robberies and horse stealing to eloping with her jailer, yet neither court records nor newspapers from that time support such accusations. Though local gossip had it that Belle lived for a time with Bruce Younger (said to be Cole's uncle) in Kansas, and others report that Chetopa officials have records to show they married in 1880, other public records show that Belle married 23 year old Sam Starr on June 5, 1880. Belle listed her age as 27, but was probably 32 at the time. She and her new three-quarter Cherokee husband cleared land and settled into a cabin on the Canadian River at what they called Younger's Bend, about 70 miles southwest of Fort Smith (Arkansas). In Indian Territory and outlaw country, the cabin was visited by many seeking refuge. If Belle did not openly object to this, she did express in one letter her hope "to live out her time in peace." Neither Sam nor Belle appeared in any official public record after their marriage until July 31, 1882. During the spring round-up, they gained permission to pen their horses at a neighbor's corral. The neighbor pointed out to them that two of the penned horses bore brands belonging to others. The Starrs ignored the comment and sold the herd, after which the two other ranchers, Andrew Crane and Sam Campbell, brought charges. In District Court at Fort Smith on November 7, 1882, the grand jury handed up a true bill for larceny in Indian Territory against them. Their bail was made by Sam Starr, Sr. and the couple returned home to await trial. In March 1883 a four day trial was held in the court of "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker, and the two were found guilty -- Belle on both counts, Sam on only one, as the court lacked jurisdiction in cases where one Indian committed a crime against another. A first offense for both of them, Judge Parker was lenient. Each sentenced to 12 months, both Sam and Belle were released after serving just nine. Old Tom had kept the place up for them and spring planting was foremost in their plans. Belle did a lot of riding and also enjoyed reading and playing her piano, which she'd had freighted in to Younger's Bend. Things were fairly quiet until just before Christmas in 1884 when a young and handsome John Middleton, on the run for murder and horse theft, rode into the Bend. By this time Sam Starr was spending a good deal of time away from home. Belle entertained casual guests during his absence, particularly, Middleton. When in the spring of 1885 the treasuries of the Seminole and Creek Indians were robbed, a posse, suspecting Middleton and the Starrs, raided the cabin looking for evidence. There they found only Belle, but the raid caused Middleton to determine he should leave the area. To accomplish this, Sam and Belle, along with children Pearl and Eddie, tied their saddle horses to the back and loaded into the wagon, setting off on a trip. Middleton hid in the back covered with canvas. While camped that night, the plan for John's flight on Pearl's horse went awry. Pearl, perhaps offended in some manner by the man, refused to allow him use of her horse. A mare was purchased the next day, upon which Middleton departed, Pearl's saddle under him and Belle's .45 in his belt. The mare showed up several days later covered with mud and with Pearl's saddle still cinched on tight. A search led to the discovery of John Middleton's body. He'd apparently drowned while attempting to cross a swollen river. Though the news most likely shocked the Starrs, the kicker must have been to hear that the man who'd sold them the mare had not been the rightful owner. Fearing she'd be charged with larceny, Belle headed home only to find her fear true. In January 1886 a writ for her arrest was issued. She surrendered to the U.S. marshal at Fort Smith. Indicted, her trial was set for September. The long arm of the law did not then ignore Sam Starr, for he and two others were charged with the hold up of a mail hack. Although that case never came to trial, charges were then filed against him for robbery of a store and a U.S. post office. On the run, Sam still made intermittent trips home, his area friends hiding him and helping him avoid the law. To make things worse, in February several farm settlements were robbed. Report had it that of the three men committing the crimes, one was a woman dressed like a man. One eyewitness identified Belle Starr as the culprit. Consequently, a posse again raided the Starr home. Though not arrested at the time, in April of 1866 a writ was issued for her arrest. In May two officers returned to Younger's Bend. Warned by Pearl, who had spotted them approaching, Sam slipped away and Belle greeted the deputies only to find that she, too, was wanted. Returning with the officers to Fort Smith, Belle entered a not guilty plea and made bail. She spent several days socializing and shopping, and on Saturday, May 23, had her picture taken. Belle Starr & Blue Duck Historians have claimed that after Jim Reed was shot in a gun fight in 1874, Belle Starr and an Indian outlaw named Bluford "Blue" Duck organized a horse and cattle rustling ring and moved in together as husband and wife. The alleged "common law" couple pose together for a studio portrait. This involvement, too, has been disputed. According to an article by Richard D. Arnott (Wild West, Aug. 1997) "...Belle apparently was never Blue Duck's mistress." The photo, this writer states, was actually taken in Fort Smith on Sunday, May 24, 1886, "...at the request of Blue's Duck's attorney, who apparently thought it would help his client in his pending appeal of a death sentence. This was the first and last time Belle saw Blue Duck." The picture, however, added more fuel to Belle's fiery legend. Belle stood trial in June of 1886 for the alleged February robbery. Not identified by any of the witnesses, who testified that all three bandits were "good sized men", she was turned loose on June 29. Three months later, in September, she returned to stand trial on the indictment issued for horse theft. The jury handed down a "not guilty" verdict on September 30. Belle hurried back to the Bend to find that her husband was badly wounded. Sam Starr's horse had been killed and Sam shot by Indian police, who'd spotted him in a cornfield. When he regained consciousness, he'd snatched the gun of one of his guards and made his way to the home of his brother. There, Belle nursed Sam's wounds and ultimately convinced him to turn himself in to the U.S. marshal, pointing out that a federal court would likely be more lenient than would the tribal council. Sam did so on October 4, 1886, was indicted and released on bail. Trial was set for February, 1887. The couple remained in Fort Smith, as Old Tom Starr was on trial for introducing whiskey into Indian Territory. When Old Tom was found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison, young Sam and Belle returned home. On December 18, 1886, while attending the Christmas party of a friend, Sam Starr ran into Frank West, an old enemy. The gunfight was brief and Starr's aim was true. He shot Frank West dead...but not quickly enough. Sam Starr was mortally wounded. Almost as brief, we are told, was the widow Starr's mourning period. For not long after she returned to Younger's Bend, she took into her home, and supposedly into her bed, Jack Sevier, aka Jack Spaniard, a half-blood Cherokee and notorious outlaw. This, too, was cut short. Spaniard, described by local press as "a man of desperate and reckless character, who held human life at a very low estimate", was arrested, tried for murder, convicted and ultimately (August 30, 1889) was hanged. One likely reason for casting off her widow's weeps in such short order, was the fact that the Cherokee authorities maintained Belle's claim to her land at Younger's Bend ended with Sam Starr's death. Once Spaniard was taken away, Belle found herself in the same predicament. The solution was a Creek Indian named Jim July (alias Jim Starr), who was the 24 year old adopted son of Old Tom Starr. Since no public records show a marriage certificate recorded for the couple, it is presumed they were either united through tribal ritual or by common law. Whatever their marriage arrangement, July moved in with Belle and thus the claim to the land was resolved. For Belle Starr, however, the hope she expressed in that letter, "to live out her time in peace", was not in the cards. Eddie, nearly 17 now, objected fervently to the presence of Jim July; and Pearl, 19, was determined to marry a young man that Belle, herself, objected to just as fervently. Belle sent her daughter away to live with friends, and told her beau that Pearl had forgotten him and had married another. Dejected, he soon married. Historians claim that later, when he and Pearl found out about her mother's deception, they met secretly several times. Assuming that one half of her most pressing child rearing problems were over, Belle became irate when she learned that Pearl was pregnant. Two choices were given: visit a "noted Fort Smith physician," or "leave" and never bring the child in Belle's presence. Pearl chose the latter and left to go live with her grandmother. Her baby, Flossie, was born in April of 1887. In June, began another string of troubles for Belle; her new husband was arrested, indicted, and released on bail for horse stealing. Following suit, in July 1888, Eddie was also charged with horse theft, and by that December had moved out of the house. Meanwhile, Edgar A. Watson and his wife arrived in Younger's Bend seeking land to rent. Agreeing to rental terms, Belle accepted payment in advance. Later, when she found out from his wife that Watson was wanted in Florida for murder, Belle tried to rescind the agreement. The tribal council had warned her that if she were caught harboring fugitives again, they would put her off her land. Ed Watson, however, would not accept his money back, and insisted that he would farm the land for which he'd already paid. All else failing to move the man, during a final confrontation Belle commented that Florida authorities might be interested in his whereabouts. Watson became furious, but eventually accepted the refund and rode out. Disgruntled, Watson and his wife settled on another place nearby. Belle and her two children still had their problems. History records two major happenings that strained the mother-child relationship. Belle did not approve of Pearl's chosen occupation: prostitution. In fact, she made attempts to have her grandchild, Flossie, taken away from Pearl and corresponded with authorities regarding the issue. Eddie sided with his sister and was accepting money from her in order to help pay the legal fees resulting from the horse stealing charges against him. This didn't set well with Belle, who was already upset with him because of his trouble with the law, not to mention the ongoing battle over Jim July. Suspecting that her letters were being intercepted, Belle instructed the postmaster not to allow her children to pick up her mail. When Eddie attempted to do so, the postmaster stood firm and refused the request. Eddie drew a hand gun and aiming it point blank, demanded the letter addressed to his mother. His timing, however, was as poor as the young man's judgment, as Belle walked into the post office at that exact moment, a bullwhip in her hand and, once she realized what was taking place, fury in her eyes. She lashed her teenage son with whip (and tongue) until he apologized and fled the building. Though Belle's action may have kept her son from being charged with the armed robbery of a federal official, her discipline was extreme and was soon the talk of town. Eddie was humiliated. His hide ripped and his pride bruised, the boy resented his mother for that public display and, it is said, never quite forgave her for it. Most likely it was after this that Eddie moved out. It is not known when Pearl came back home, but by February 1889 she was back in Younger's Bend. On Saturday morning, February 2, 1889, Belle set out with her husband toward Fort Smith. Jim July was headed to his hearing for the horse stealing charge, while Belle intended to do some shopping in a community closer to home. The shopping done, the couple spent the night with friends in San Bois, about 15 miles from Younger's Bend. On Sunday morning the 3rd, Jim July departed for the remainder of his journey and Belle turned back for home. She stopped on the way to visit at the Jackson Rowe household, where often on Sundays neighbors would gather and where her son Eddie had been staying. Though Eddie Starr had left before his mother arrived, there were still several visitors there; among them Edgar Watson, who left soon after Belle arrived. Belle ate, chatted with friends, and then set out, nibbling a piece of cornbread as she left for home. The road she traveled passed within a few hundred yards of the Watson place. Belle reined her horse to turn onto the river lane. She'd only gone a few feet when a shotgun blast blew her from the saddle; her horse bolted and galloped for home while Belle made an attempt to rise. But the second blast caught her in the face and shoulder. Belle Starr lay stalk still in the roadway, unable to move, as the hard earth and her velvet clothing soaked in her life's blood. Her riderless horse arriving at the ranch, Pearl immediately headed out to find her mother. A youth on his return home was the first on the scene. Pearl, and neighbors who heard the shots, arrived soon after. Her "little pearl" at her side, Belle Starr faded into the pages of American history on February 3, 1889, unable to utter any last words. Among the suspects were Pearl, Eddie, and Jim July Starr. Edgar A. Watson was arrested for the murder, but was acquitted. Physical evidence included footprints, his size, leading from the murder scene to within 100 yards of his home. Yet, circumstantial. Eddie Starr and Jim July were never convinced Watson was innocent. Belle Starr was buried on February 6, 1889 near her cabin at Younger's Bend in Indian Territory. Her tombstone is engraved with the following inscription: "Shed not for her the bitter tear, Nor give the heart to vain regret, 'Tis but the casket that lies here, The gem that fills it sparkles yet." I read all of this and decided to write to Vern and ask him. The Starr side of our family, is there any relation to Belle Starr? I have read some very interesting stories about her. This was his reply: She is only related by marriage but Pearl, her daughter is kin I guess. She used to run a house that was not a home, like Mamie Stover wrote about or whatever her name was, there not far from where you live. Maybe Ft. Smith. Sam Starr, supposed to have been married to Bell Shirley, was a cousin to us. There is a small book out called "Starr Tracks" Belle and Pearl Starr by Phillip W. Steele that covers some of it. I think Belle had Sam killed and Tom Starr probably shot Belle out of the saddle one night when she was returning home from some tavern or something. At least that is one way it was told but there are many different ones too. Not too pretty but certainly plenty of color. *Avery born 1810. This is our guy. He married twice. His first wife was Nannie Ward. His second wife was our gal Susie Spaniard. Alfred Miller was born 1811 Elmira Miller born 1812 R.K. Man “Richard Carey” (David's Father) ”Carey” ******************************************************************************** DATE OF BIRTH: September 10, 1818 (From headstone) LOCATION OF BIRTH: UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO: Elzira Wilson nee Hicks DATE OF MARRIAGE: 1840 LOCATION OF MARRIAGE: R.K.’S AGE AT MARRIAGE: ELZIRA’S AGE AT MARRIAGE: DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON: June 13, 1856 (From headstone) LOCATION OF DEATH: Twin Oaks, Oklahoma; Delaware County LAID TO REST: Mann's Cemetery; Twin Oaks, Oklahoma AGE AT DEATH: 37 years, 9 months and 3 days old. *Elzira Wilson nee Hicks (David's Mother) ******************************************************************************** DATE OF BIRTH: May 22, 1822/23 DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON: August 6, 1902 : Still living when census of 1896 taken, age 73 years old. CHILDREN BORN TO THIS UNION: Robert James “RJ” Mann –born 1842 Julian Mann *David Sproul Mann – born 9- 5-1849 Louisa McCreary nee Mann – born 1852 There were 4 other unknown children This was their age when the 1896 Census was taken. Mann Robert James “RJ” Mann – age 52 Julian Mann *David Sproul - age 45 Louisa McCreary nee Mann – age 46 David Sproul Mann, son of Carey and Elizabeth Wilson Mann, was born September 5, 1849, on the place now known as the Aunt Lou Mann place. He died near there December 4, 1937. David had one brother, Uncle Bob who was eight years older than David, and one sister, Aunt Lou who was three years younger than David. Five other children were born to his parents but they did not live to adulthood. David Mann was listed on the Dawes Rolls as ¼ Cherokee Blood. He was the son of Elzira Wilson nee Hicks and Carey Mann(R.K.). Dave received money for “Old Settlers” which was those who came before The Trail of Tears. The following was received by Nancy E. Hamilton from Vickie Vanek – P.O. Box 202 – Valleyford, Washington 99036 - 509-924-5230 R.K. Mann had 8 children with Elzira. They were Robert, David, Julian, Louisa and 4 more not known. Robert James Mann (This is Vickie’s Grandfather) Born: Nov/Dec 1842 in Grove (Going Snake District) Oklahoma Died: 1920 in Grove, Oklahoma (Cherokee Nation) Census # 5957 listed as ¼ Cherokee by blood – Film #921 Dawes (#2) #14243 – Occupation Farmer/Civil War Veteran Spouse: Julia Married 1861? Spouse: Ella (Elizabeth) Wilson Spouse: Charlotte Catherine (larange) Warren Married: 1874 in Oaks (Cherokee Nation) Oklahoma Old Settlers Roll – 1895- Card #1008 – OB & Agency Pay #235 – Roll Yr –1851- Age 52 Served in 2nd Cherokee Mounted Volunteers – 1863 – Under Col. William Penn Adair. James Thaddens Carroll, was married to Lola Mann, daughter of Robert Mann. He was a country doctor in the Oaks area. James Thadeus Carrol, son of Eslick Carroll was born in 1871 in Harrison, Arkansas. He went to medical college in St. Louis, Missouri, then he came to Indian Territory. He married Lola Mann in 1898. He was a country doctor at Oaks for years until an Oklahoma Law was passed that would have required him to go back to college. By then, he had a family and was not financially able to go back. He put in a little grocery store at Oaks and was Postmaster there for several years. He helped the first Lutheran pastor, N. Nielsen get started at Oaks and was Sunday School Superintendent for fifteen years. His health begin to fail. He moved his family four miles northwest of Oaks and rode horseback to take care of the little store and post office until late in 1917. He died in July 1918. Lola died in 1951. Lola Mann Carroll, the daughter of Robert J. Mann, born in 1842, farmer and Civil War veteran, and Charlotte Warren Mann born in 1858 (father Elijah Warren) and died in 1929. Charlotte was a mid-wife around Oaks. She would go to deliver a baby and stay for two to five days to take care of the mother and baby if there were no older children or relatives to do that chore. Her pay was very small, but she was always ready to go. She kept a record of expectant mothers. Robert J. Mann and his brother Dave, were faithful workers in the mission works at Oaks. Julian Mann Born: Died: Oaks (Salene District) Oklahoma Listed as dead on Old Settlers Roll – 1851 Old Settlers Roll 1895- Roll #2 –1851 – Card #1011 – OB & Agency Pay #8206 Age (dead) *David Sproul Mann (This is our guy) Born: 05Sept1849 in Oaks (Salene District) Oklahoma Baptized: in Member Oaks Lutheran Church Died: 04Dec1937 in Oaks (Salene District) Oklahoma Buried: in Oaks, Oklahoma (Aunt Lou’s Location) Roll YR –1851 in Old Settlers Roll 1895 – Card #1010 – OB #233 Agency Pay #233 Spouse: Elizabeth Miller Married: 01Sept1869 Attended Moravian Church School – Now Oaks Cemetery – Member Masonics, Kansas, Oklahoma. Louisa Mann Born: 1852 in Oaks (Salene District) Oklahoma Age 46 Old Settlers Roll – 1895 Old Settlers Roll – 1895 – Roll #2 – Card #234 – Agency Pay #234 Roll yr 1851. X-POP3-Rcpt: hamilton@dreamland Return-Path: Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 22:55:51 -0800 (PST) X-Sender: vjordan@mail.bmi.net To: "Nancy E. Hamilton" From: Vern Jordan Subject: Re: At 12:44 PM 1/16/98 -0600, Nancy E. Hamilton wrote: >Hey Cuz, And Back To You Too, Cuz, I will be checking some of this stuff while I am writing this. It may not be complete when I finish because I am waiting for Velda to get home from grocery shopping and I have some things to do then. So if I can keep this from being tossed in the can by my Eudora, I will just keep it for a while and work on it until I get stopped by something else. I will just comment your information as I go. >Thanks so much for sending that stuff to me. I am trying to get this thing >somewhat close to finished. My mother's side of the family came from up >in Missouri and Kansas and when we go to the boat show I will go to the >library there and see if I can get some information on them. I am still >stuck on R.K. Mann "Carey", and also this gal told me that his wife Elzira >Wilson nee Hicks, her parents were William & Peggy Wilson, but that's all >she knew. R.K. was born in 1818 and Elzira was born in 1823. Grant in the Notes of Starr Vol. 3 which is on the Grant/Emory/Bushyhead et all line in his notes on page 49, index 1132931 generation 7 shows that Ella Wilson married Robert Mann but that Ella and Robert did not have any children. This is showed further by no listings on down the line to generation 8. If you do not know Starr's numbering system it can be very confusing to try and trace a line. It took me a long time to ever get to where I could read him with any certainty and still do not consider myself to be an expert in his system for it leaves many gaps. Also, he did not list anyone that died under the age of 16 or those other parents of children that that he considered illegitimate and in many cases he did not try to figure out which of several wives were the mother of which child. So in some cases, only checking the census cards will show which is the correct parent but many are obvious in his charts. Take the index above, 1132931 sub7 for 7th generation for Ella Wilson on page 49. To go to the index # in the next lower generation, which would be 6 just drop the last digit, in this case, 1 and that is the next location for the name of the parents for in this case Ella Wilson or Robert Mann depending on which side of the line would be the original descendant of Ludovic Grant. In this case it is Ella Wilson for no Mann is a descendant of Grant yet and Robert is the one marrying into the Grant Line as it were. From then on, any Mann names from this marriage will be descendants of Grant as this is his genealogy and he the progenator of the line. On page 16 of this same book, we find 113293, 6th generation, Elenore Ophelia Hicks and Gilbert Wilson so Ella's mother was a Hicks but she was a Wilson. There is a note C-764 which is in Starr's Notes, Book 1 page 124. It says Gilbert Wilson and his wife Eleanor Ophelia nee Hicks, were both born in 1829. He died Aug 29, 1894, and she died Dec 18, 1894. Now just below Elenore Hicks, another brother 113294 Henry Hicks, married Annie and they had no children either, next her other brother, 113295 DavidHicks married Elzina Wilson 5-22-22 d 8-6-02. It is not noted but that must be she was born May 22, 1822 and died Aug 6, 1902. We go on back to page 4, of the same book and we find the parents of all of these children are 11329, gen. 5, Lucy Fields and George Hicks with note C-642 on pg 119 of Book 2 says thus: C642 George Hicks, son of 2nd Chief, Charles R. Hicks, and Chiuke, a full blood Cherokee woman. His first wife was Aky Rogers. They separated and she afterward married Daniel Vickory. His second wife was Lucy Fields. He was elected Marshal of Coosawaytee District, November 9, 1825. He was one of the Captains of Emigrant Detachments in winter of 1838 and 9. He was a signer of the "Act of Union" of July 12, 1839. He was a signer of the Constitution of September 6, 1839. Delegate to Washington in winter of 1839 and 40. Elected Associate Justice of Supreme Court in October, 1843. Elected to Council from Going Snake District, August 6, 1849. Elected Senator from Going Snake District, August 3, 1857. Just to go on and finish this part of the line, Lucy Fields had 11 brothers and sisters in all with three mother's who were on page 1 of this same Book 2 of the descendants of Ludovic Grant. Their Father was 1132, gen 4, Richard Fields and he married Jennie Biffington, Elizabeth Hicks, and Nancy Timberlake nee Brown. Lucy Fields was the daughter of Richard and Nancy (Brown) Timberlake Fields. Of course Richard Fields was the daughter of 113 gen. 3, Susannah Emory and Richard Fields. Richard was the second husband of the three she married. On down to gen. 2, we see on page 3, 11 gen. 2, Mary Grant and William Emory. The generation one is of course on page 1 with an index of 1 gen.1, Ludovic Grant and Eughioote. The names of both Eughioote and Mary Grant are not shown as the wives of their respected husbands here but are shown as sub notes, 1 and 2 on the bottom of page 1 and says some sources list their names as such. I have also seen them listed in other places and think they are probably correct. Now lets look in the other direction for a second and see what we can see. We start from gen 7 and the group of the 1132931 which is Ella Wilson & *Robert Mann, (the * before Robert indicates he had no children with Ella,) 1132932 is Henry Wilson & * and he does not show his wife or if he had any and again the * means she did not have any issue with Henry, 1132933 is Delila Amelia Wilson & James S. Hunter and show she had issue, 1132934 is William Wilson &* so he had no issue, 1132935 is Jennie Ida Wilson & James Earl Bowman and Robert Lee Hicks (3-30-71) so he was evidentally born Mar 30, 1871 and some of the two husbands and Jennie had issue. In the next entry on the next page (50), it shows an index of 1132971 gen 7 Robert Lee Hicks (5-30-71) & Jennie Ida Bowman nee Wilson (6-29-68). This is a rather unusual entry when looking at most of Starr's listings but that may be because this book 3 was not written by Starr but David Keith Hampton and Jack D. Baker who just extracted the Notes of Starr and some correction was made where Starr was wrong. So lets see where that entry leads to. The only two entries from the previous gen 7 other than the last one that is a bit different is 11329331 gen 8 which is James S. Hunter C-757 which is the ist child, a son of Delila Amelia (Wilson) and James S. Hunter Sr. and 11329332 gen 8 which is Lucretia Hunter, the second child, a dau of Delila and James Hunter. Note C-757 just says James S. Hunter, born Dec 30, 1886 (that would be the birth date of James Jr.) The other entry is 11329351 gen 8 Hope Eva (Duncan) Bowman & Leon C. Merritt C-758. Then there follows 8 more siblings of Hope, 4 named Bowman and 4 named Hicks, all having notes of birth dates indicated but I won't put them in here. If they are important to you, I will get them and send them to you. The entry that is the 8th gen. of the other entry of Robert Lee Hicks is next. 11329711 gen 8 Robert Franklin Hicks C762 and three other siblings. Even though this is a separate entry than those above, they are the same four Hicks that are shown as the siblings of Hope Eve (Duncan) Bowman and named Hicks. They also have the same four C notes of birthdates as the above and none of them show any spouse or issue listed. So the only one of these three siblings of group 113292xx that go on to gen 9 is 11329351 Hope Eve (Duncan) Bowman & Leon C. Merritt. And I can find nowhere that this line goes any further in Starr's Vol 3 Grant Line. But I did look from this last entry on to the last page which is 178 and saw Robert F Mann gen 10 listed there but no other information shown. Traced that back to the 9th gen and that it showed his parents as Annie Belle Spriggs & _______ Mann and a note A706 which shows Annie was born Jan 19, 1888. Then it just goes on back to her ancestors but no more mention of any Mann names. So it looks like this line has stopped as far as Starr shows. It looks like you may have to start looking at the US Census to try to find R.K.Mann. I did find that Robert F. Mann lived at Wagoner and that Annie Belle Spriggs was born in Bradley Co. TN on 25 Jan 1866 so that might be a clue too. I am wondering about the Robert James Mann and R. K. Mann and the names said to have been married to them. At least in as far as it is recorded in records. I would almost bet that these next three paragraphs which I have shown above too, is the main clue to your problem. Either Robert James and Robert "Carey" are mixed up in some way on the records or something. I would also bet that the Elzina Wilson is probably Elzira Wilson. How hard is it to get an "n" and an "r" read wrong in some records ? Now none of this is anything other than speculation and nothing to do with proof but it is just a hunch that I have gnawing at the back of my neck. I have not found every name I have set out to and I have been wrong before and will again but I must also admit that I have not been completely off in many of my hunches about genealogy. More right than wrong but who knows. I will just leave the rest of this to work on more. I have a thundering herd kicking up much dust in my dry head right now. If I can get into my service, I will try to send this on. I seem to only be able to get in maybe one time each day if that. How long do we have to get this done as much as we can before you go to KC ? We will try to find something for you to look for. Take care. I will next look at every applications I can find that will even come close to any Mann. I don't have all of them and some that I do have are hard to locate because each book has its own index and all entries are not listed in the index. It is about 2000 pages in these Cherokee By Blood books which has the applications I have. Talk to you later Cuz. I don't think I added anything from this point on so you won't have to read that again but I want to leave it in here for simplicity. I do need simplicity you know...:-) vj After much research trying to find a Robert Carey Mann I received a letter from Eleanor Pendergraph. Come to find out Robert is not Robert at all. The R stands for Richard. This is what she has: This is very interesting. Our blood tie with Chief Charles Renatus Hicks comes from Sarah Elizabeth Miller Mann, which was David Mann’s wife. On David’s side his mother’s name was Elzira Wilson nee Hicks. I am assuming her maiden name was Wilson which I have believed the whole time. Before she married Richard Carey Mann she was married to a David Hicks, who died without issue. I am wondering if this is why she named her son with Richard – David? Anyway David Hicks’ parents (Which are not blood related) were George Hicks and Lucy Fields Hicks. George was the son of Chief Charles Renatus Hicks and Lydia Halfbreed. This is how it looks: Nathan Hicks wed Nancy Broom > > Charles Renatus Hicks wed Lydia Halfbreed > > George Hicks wed Lucy Fields Catherine Hicks wed Andrew Miller  <  < David Hicks wed Elzira Wilson nee Hicks wed Richard Carey Mann Avery Vann Miller wed Suzannah Spainard  <  < David Sproul Mann wed Sarah Elizabeth Miller This is a photo of R.K.'s headstone reading: Mr. R.K. MAN - was born SEPT the 10th 1818 AND DEPARTED THIS LIFE JUNE THE 13th, 1856 JOHN A. MILLER (George Miller's Father) ******************************************************************************** DATE OF BIRTH: May 1804 LOCATION OF BIRTH: Georgia UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO: Nancy J. DATE OF MARRIAGE: LOCATION OF MARRIAGE: JOHN’S AGE AT MARRIAGE: NANCY’S AGE AT MARRIAGE: DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON: LOCATION OF DEATH: LAID TO REST: AGE AT DEATH: NANCY J. MILLER (George Miller's Mother) ******************************************************************************** DATE OF BIRTH:August 1817 LOCATION OF BIRTH: Alabama DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON: LOCATION OF DEATH: LAID TO REST: AGE AT DEATH: CHILDREN BORN TO THIS UNION: This information was taken from: The Census of Cherokee In The Limits of Georgia 1835. John A. Miller W/M/May/1852/48/M Head Ga. N.C. Tn. Farmer Nancy J. Miller F/Aug./1858/41/M Wife Al. Ga. Tn. *George F. Miller W/M/Oct./1878/21/S Son Al. Ga. Al. Cow Herder Warren Miller W/M/Jan./1887/13/S Son Tx. Ga. Al. CUL-LAU-NOO-HAS-KE (Emma Lou Hope Jackson's Grandfather) ******************************************************************************** DATE OF BIRTH: LOCATION OF BIRTH: UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO: A-kin-ne DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON: LOCATION OF DEATH: LAID TO REST: AGE AT DEATH: A-KIN-NE (Emma Lou's Grandmother) ******************************************************************************** DATE OF BIRTH: LOCATION OF BIRTH: DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON: LOCATION OF DEATH: LAID TO REST: AGE AT DEATH: This information was taken from The 1851 Drennen Roll. Delaware District - Group #320.

The Generations

1st Generation - Homer & Mollie Jackson Mann
2nd Generation - Avery
3rd Generation - David Sproul & Elizabeth Miller Mann - George & Martha Wilson Miller - Able & Mollie Jackson -
5th Generation - Andrew & Catherine Hicks Miller - Frank & Hannah
6th Generation - Chief Charles Renatus Hicks & Lydia Halfbreed Hicks - David & Nannie
7th Generation - Nathan & Nancy Broom Hicks - Chief Halfbreed &
8th Generation - Chief Broom & Nancy Elizabeth Broom - Ellis & Catherine Kingfisher Harlan - Robert & Mary Ellige Hicks
9th Generation - Ezekial & Hannah Oborn Harlan Jr. - Kingfisher &
10th Generation - Ezekial & Ruth Buffington Harlan -
11th Generation - Chief Moytoy & Unknown - George & Elizabeth Duck Harlan - Richard Bobbington Buffington & Ann - Robert & Frances Hicks
12th Generation - James Harlan & Unknown - Thomas & Ann Bovington Jr.
13th Generation - William Harlan & Unknown - Thomas & Joan Harberd Bovington
Hamilton Guide Service

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