US 1900 Census - Indian Territory

The 1900 United States Census has special significance for Indians.  There is a secret in this census that is not in any other United States Census.  The secret appears under the heading Residence where there is a drop-down list of States.  When you click on the drop-down list for States, one of the entries is "Indian Territory".  This is not one of the States of the United States.  It is the Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

The example of George Guess will be used to illustrate step-by-step how this is done using the internet site, Ancestry. This example will show the use of a special version of Ancestry that can only be used at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  The address for this site is http://www.ancestryinstitution.com/.

1. Get into ancestry.

2. On the home page, click on the 1900 Census.

3. Type in the following search terms.  Note that the indexers spelled the last name as Guss not Guess.
    Notice also a SECRET - Indian Territory, USA was typed into the "Lived In" box instead of a state.

4. Get to the following image where George Guess is shown with his wife, Betsy.



1900 US Census for George Guess

Click on the image above and then click on it again to get an enlarged view of this image.

You should notice the following:
1. There is an upper and a lower section - The lower section is what makes this census so special.

2. The upper section shows the following for George Guess:
     1. His birth date is Aug 1856.
     2. He was born in Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
     3. His father and mother were born in Georgia.
     4. It shows similar information for his wife, Betsy and an orphan named Simon

3. The lower section shows the following for George:
     1. George, his father and his mother were Cherokee.
     2. George is 1/8 white.  Even though he says he is full blood Cherokee, he has some white blood.
     3. His wife, Betsy, and her parents were Cherokee.
     4. Betsy has 0 white and therefore full-blood Cherokee.

This is would be an important part of proving that a person was a Cherokee Indian.  If you are interested in proving that you are a Cherokee Indian go to http://www.cherokeeindianproof.com/.