The Eastern
Cherokees, under the authority of acts of Congress, brought suit
against the United States for certain sums alleged to be due
under treaties with the United States, and the court of claims
decreed May 18, 1905 [220 U.S. 83, 85], that, after deducting
counsel fees, costs, and expenses, the sum of $1,111,284.70,
among other sums, with interest, should be paid to the Secretary
of the Interior, to be by him received and held for the use and
purpose of paying costs and expenses as stated, and the remainder
to be distributed 'directly to the Eastern and Western Cherokees,
who were parties to the treaty of New Echota, as proclaimed May
23, 1836 [7 Stat. at L. 478], or to the treaty of Washington
of August 6, 1846 [9 Stat. at L. 871], as individuals, whether
east or west of the Mississippi river, or to the legal representatives
of such individuals.'
The Court held
that the decree, 'in directing that the distribution be made
to 'the Eastern and Western Cherokees," was 'perhaps liable
to misconstruction,' though limited by a reference to the treaties,
and decided that the decree should be modified 'so as to direct
the distribution to be made to the Eastern Cherokees as individuals,
whether east or west of the Mississippi, parties to the treaties
of 1835-36 and 1846, exclusive of the Old Settlers.' As modified,
the decree was affirmed.
Their daughter
Savannah Cornett lived in Voca, McCulloch Co., TX, on 18 Jul
1907 when she signed a Power of Attorney and contract to Anderson
P. Cagle of Konawa, Indian Territory to prosecute her claim pending
before the Special Commissioners Court of Claims, Washington,
DC for money due the Eastern Cherokee; she listed her husband's
and parents' deaths, and the birthdates of her siblings, their
place of residence, or date of death.
She received a
letter dated May 7, 1908, from the Special Commissioner asking
why she, her parents, and her grandparents were never enrolled?
Were any of your ancestors slaves? Do you pass as white or colored
in the community in which you reside? Were any of your ancestors
parties to the Treaties of 1835-6 and 1846? (In Eastern Cherokee
App. #30921)
She wrote letter
to Mr. Guion Miller, Washington, DC, dated May 13th 1908:
Dear Sir, Relative
to my application for Participation in the EASTERN CHEROKEE fund,
will state that I do not know why myself my Parents or my Grandparents
were never Enrolled, there were none of my ancestors Slaves as
far as I know of, I have allways Past as a white woman in all
the communitys I have Ever resided. I never knew or heard of
any of my Ancestors having any Negro Blood in them, we all have
bin considered all through our lives Just as white as any American,
if there were any of My Ancestors Parties to the treaties of
1835-6 annd 1846 I do not know anything about it. Hoping I have
given you the desired replyes I remain as Ever Yours respectfully,
SAVANNA
MILLER, Voca, Texas
On 24 Sep 1908
in Goldthwaite, TX, She gave a deposition in EASTERN CHEROKEE
application No. 30921 ~ SAVANNA MILLER being first duly sworn
deposes and says:
My name is SAVANNA
MILLER, and I live at Voca, Tex. I am 59 years old. I claim my
Indian blood through my father, SAMUEL CORNETT. My father died
in 1870 in the CHEROKEE NATION. He was 68 years old at the time
of his death (Showing the family Bible pages) SAMUEL CORNETT
was born Dec. 27 1802, in Clay County, Ky. He lived in Ky. until
some time after his marriage, and went to Mo. after the births
of three or four of his children. I was born in Mo., but I was
next to the youngest child. I have heard my mother say that my
brother WM. CORNETT, born May 9, 1833, was also born in Mo. and
JOHN CORNETT, born Nov 29, 1835, was also born in Mo. as were
all the rest of us children. My father got his Indian blood through
his mother, SUSAN BROCK. I can tell nothin about SUSAN BROCK
only that she lived in Ky. and she died there. She was said to
be a full blood Indian. She never got any money or lands from
the Government on account of her Indian blood. My father went
to Tahlequah in 1869 to have his Indian rights recognized, but
he did not get his claim fully established.
SAVANNA MILLER
Subscribed and
sworn to before me this 24th day of Sept. 1908, at Goldthwaite
[Mills Co.], Texas. J. E. TAYLOR, Asst. to Special Commissioner,
Court of Claims. 3194.
A separate small
form says: No. 30921. Action: Rejected. Name: SAVANNAH MILLER
and ____ children. Residence: Voca, Texas.
Reasons: Claimant
was born in Missouri in 1848 and claims her Indian blood through
her father. She states in Misc. File Page 3194, that "I
have heard my mother say that my brother WM. CORNETT, who was
born May 9, 1933, was born in Mo." It follows therefore
if his father was a Cherokee at all, that he was an Old Settler.
As you probably
know, there was a lawsuit by the Cherokee against the govt. for
violation of terms of treaties of 1836 and 1846, which led to
a million-dollar + settlement in 1905, in which applicants were
interviewed to determine whether they deserved to be parties
to the settlement (and were parties to the treaty). The money
lured attorneys to go door to door asking people, "Do you
have Indian blood?" wanting a share of the money. All these
claims (both accepted and rejected) were preserved in a 10-volume
series of books, CHEROKEE BY BLOOD, which are in many libraries.
The govt. employed Guion Miller with this enrollment project
was Guion Miller, and the resulting list of enrollees was the
Guion Miller Roll.
Notice above that
Savannah Cornett Miller had a brother Braxton Cornett. His widow,
Latitia F. Patterson Cornett, applied on 5 Sep 1907 in Rosedale,
Socorro Co., NM, to participate in Eastern Cherokee Fund on her
husband's Cherokee ancestry; stated her age as 60 and gave her
date of birth, listed eight children, six of them with application
numbers, all with age and date of birth:
44006, Elizabeth
A. Bruton, age 41, born 15 Jul 1866.
43280, Savannah
Richardson, age 39, born 7 Oct 1868
44740, Nancy McNair,
age 36, born 5 Apr 1871
44763, Malinda
Babers, age 32, born 28 Jan 1875
44712, Joseph Cornett,
age 28, born 26 Jun 1879
Lucretia Kelley,
age 26, born 25 Dec 1881
43740, Rockie Courson,
age 22, born 6 Apr 1855
Charles Lockhart
Cornett, 24, born 31 May 1883
On the next page
she listed her husband's nine brothers and sisters. She stated,
"My husband's grandmother was I think a full blooded Cherokee
resided in Kentucky before and in 1835."
All of this family's
Eastern Cherokee applications list the Indian name of these Cornett
descendants as "Brock." I doubt they'd have been enrolled,
even if Samuel Cornett had not died before finishing the process,
because KY was not part of the area covered by the treaty of
New Echota.
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