Mary Russell, Daughter of Chickasaw Robert Thompson

Mary Russell, was a woman who realized her situation as a citizen living in the Chickasaw Nation. She knew her family, she knew her community and she knew her history. As a result in the early 1900s she found herself in a battle struggling to be placed in a category that she felt was her birthright.  She based her claim on her mother's history and the relation to the Chickasaw ancestor from whom they came. Her mother was Patsy Harper who was the daughter of Chickasaw Robert Thompson, son of Chickasaw John Thompson.

National Archives, Ft. Worth Texas
Perry Files: File #206

During the years of the Dawes commission, Mary's name was inscribed on Chickasaw Freedman card number 48 with her husband and their five children.

National Archives Publication M1186
Chickasaw Freedman Card #48

Her parents were Cap and Patsy Harper. Cap Harper was a Chickasaw Freedman as was her mother Patsy. Through her parents they were tied to Chickasaw slave holder Frank Colbert, which is what put them on the roll as Chickasaw Freedmen.

Reverse Side of Card

At the time, both of Mary's parents were enrolled and their names were placed on Chickasaw Freedman card 287, Cap died before land allotments were made, thus his name was stricken from the card. However, Mary's mother Patsy's name remained on the card as well as a grandchild.

Chickasaw Freedman Card #287

The reverse side of the card reveals the name of  Rob't Thompson, and the fact that he was a Chickasaw Indian was revealed on the card as well.

Reverse Side of Card

The Dawes Interviews

For Mary Russell, the official interview in the file contained an abbreviated statement by Elijah Russell, her husband speaking about his family. The abbreviated summary ends with a statement simply referring to wife Mary and their children. Clearly there was no reference in this summarized statement about Mary's ancestry.

National Archives Publication M1301 
Chickasaw Freedman File #48

The Dawes interview for Patsy, was also a common one found where the tie to a slave holder was captured, but little mention of the tie to the Freedman applicant having an Indian parent. Although the card reflected Rob't Thompson by name, the interview focused on Patsy's tie to Colbert the slave holder and not Thompson the Chickasaw father.

Chickasaw Freedman File #287

Though Mary remained on the roll as a Chickasaw Freedmen, she left the record of her history, daughter of her father Robert, a Chickasaw, and son of John Thompson as Chickasaw by blood. She was the daughter of her Chickasaw father.