Dawes Final Rolls
The first step in the process of identifying Dawes land allotments is to have the Dawes Roll # for the person whose land you are trying to identify. If you do not have the number, go to http://www.okhistory.org/research/dawes and fill in asmany of the blanks as you canand you will find the following information.
Name, Age, Sex, Blood, Card No., Tribe, Roll No.
The Card No. is the same for each member of a household. Each individual in the household will have a different Roll No.
Dawes Enrollment Packets
You can find the packets at http://www.fold3.com/title_70/dawes_packets/. You must be a member to access the images.
You can also access the files on https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1852353. You will need to sign up to use this site but it is free.
Search by name. Having the roll number will help you to identify that you have the right file as there are many duplicate names on the Dawes Rolls.
Each piece of paper in the packet has been scanned. There is a lot of interesting information in the Dawes Enrollment Packets. In addition to the application forms there are often transcripts of interviews with applicants and other family members or friends.
Allotment Applications
After the final Dawes Roll was published, each individual had to complete another application to apply for their land allotment. The applications can be found in Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907 at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1390101.
On Aug 1, 2014 they were indexing this site to include some previously missing applications that have been newly digitalized. Try again if you cannot access the records the first time. I will keep checking the site and update this information when the site is functioning again. You will need a Dawes Roll number to use this collection. You cannot search by name.
Use the land description information from these applications to search for your allotment plat map. The allotment applications contain the legal land description of the final allotments to each person who was approved to receive an allotment.
Allotment Maps
Allotment Maps can be found at http://www.okhistory.org/index. They are a little tricky to get to, so follow the directions exactly.
On the home page click on “Research Center”. From the dropdown menu choose “Maps”.
In left-hand column at the bottom of the Maps page click “Search Catalog”.
On the Search Catalog page click “Archives Catalog”.
You will see a Search Dialog box. Under that box in small letters it says “Core Collections”. Click on the small arrow to the left.
An alphabetized list of core collection will appear next. Halfway down the alphabetized list click “Indian Archives”. The next page is slow to load so be patient.
On the Indian Archives page in the left hand column click on the plus sign next to the last entry, “Maps”. Do not click on the word Maps, click the plus sign.
Next click the plus sign next to Cherokee Nation maps (or whichever tribe is appropriate).
You will see a list of maps that are in PDF form. The plat allotment maps are images #69 – #305 in the Cherokee Nation section. They are not numbered so you have to count your way down the list to get to that general area. You will know you are in the right spot when you start seeing maps listed by Township and Range.
Click on the description of the correct Township and Rangeto see a PDF of the map with allotment names. You can then download and save the map to your computer.
Allotment maps are organized by Township and Range. Each map shows the sections for that range and with a little practice you can find NE4 of NW4 of SE4 of Section 11, Township XXN, Range XXE.
Each of the maps has the name and roll number of the person allotted each plot of land written by hand on the plot. In some cases, including one of my grandmother’s plots, the land was awarded after the maps were completed. If you follow the description you have from the Land Allotment package and do not see the name you are looking for you will usually find a little blank square where you can then write in the name of your relative on a hard copy of the map.
In Conclusion
It is getting easier and easier to accomplish these tasks. When I first started my research not all Dawes ApplicationPackets were digitalized and online. Every month I would go to the site again and enter my grandmother’sinformationand hope her packet would be there. For over a year I always got a messagesaying that those records were in the process of being digitalized. And then one day, success! Genealogy research involves a lot of patience and persistence which, in most cases, eventuallyresults in findingthe informationthat you are seeking.
