Early Freedmen Population of Boktuklo County, Choctaw Nation

 

Map Reflecting Location of Boktuklo in Choctaw Nation
(Accessed From www.researchgate.net)

In many cases descendants of Freedmen are looking at records reflecting their ancestors and only know that they were found on the Dawes Roll, but many cannot say much about the community, or who lived in the community in the decades that preceded the Dawes era.  Were ancestors always in the same area? Was there a large or small community of Freedmen in the same area where your family lived? And can you find records showing the names of the ancestors in the years before the Dawes era?

Looking at some pre-Dawes era records might assist you in finding out much more. An interesting set of records can be found on old reels of microfilm from the Choctaw Nation. In the years prior to statehood, there were enumerations of citizens in the nation being conducted. And in the early years right after the Civil War, an analysis was made through a census count in each district of the nation.

Many of these records were microfilmed in the 1970s and can now be found at the many Family History Centers throughout the country. These centers are part of the research centers attached to local stakes of the LDS Church, or Mormons as they are known. The records are also found at the Oklahoma Historical Society in Oklahoma City and they are categorized as CTN records--meaning records from the Choctaw Nation.

In the old Apukshunnubbee District of the Choctaw Nation there are several counties where Choctaw Freedmen lived. Boktuklo, Cedar, Eagle, Nashoba, Towson, and Red River were the counties within that district. While looking at records from the Boktuklo area some interesting census records from the late 1860s can be found. 

To understand how to read the documents the headings are very important.

 
CTN 13592
Choctaw Nation
Accessed from Family Search, Choctaw Nation Records
Film #166452

In the middle of that same cover page data is contained that represents a total tally of the various categories, such as age distribution and the male to female breakdown. 

(same source as above image)

Turning the page again, the vertical columns are important to take note of and it is clear that Choctaw Freedmen will be reflected in columns 8 and 9. Note the parts of the image below highlighted in red.

Zooming in closely two columns categories of people of African descent are noted--"Free Persons of Color" and Freedmen from States or Other Nations.

(same source as above image)

Both Freed people as well as people those classified as Choctaws "by blood" are enumerated on the same page, but taking note of how the pages are marked those names that have columns 8 and 9 marked reflect those of people of African descent.

(same source as above image)

Some of the pages reflect no persons of African descent those images. In this case sections 8 and 9 do not contain marks of "Free persons of color" nor do they contain marks reflecting "Freedmen from other states and nations."

Meanwhile, there are other pages on the microfilm that clearly  reflect clearly entire Freedmen families. This is shown in the image below.

Although there is no specific year noted on the documents, these records are worth exploring. In addition, if one studies the family groups a rough estimate of the document creation can be made. This can determined roughly when studying some of the persons listed appeared on the Dawes Roll. One should note to see if the children on the Dawes card, were even born when this record was made, taking note of the age of the enrollee at that time. Based on an analysis of other records from other Choctaw Nation Districts, it appears that the records found in the first post-civil war years.

Study the community

Assuming that these records were made sometime before the Dawes era (1898), take note of the number of Freedmen recorded in the community on this record. In this case the community was Boktuklo. Secondly, make a study of the same area during the Dawes era.

How many Choctaw Freedmen from Boktuklo had Dawes cards?
How much had the same community grown within those years?

By pulling up families listed in Boktuklo, one can learn even more about the families that lived there. However, the process will be a tedious one, because it will require looking at every single enrollment card to take note of the Residence and Post Offices used by the enrollee.

It is clear that Boktuklo had a Freedman population in those early post civil war years, and many continued to reside there, through the Dawes era and into statehood. These early records reflect some of that, and all are encouraged to study them to get a glimpse of the first time that the ancestors' names appear on the records as free families in the Choctaw Nation.