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Manuscript Collection: Cherokee Papers

Collection Overview

Collection summary derived from "Guidebook to Manuscripts", 1969: These papers consist of a miscellaneous collection of material including some correspondence of Col. Return J. Meigs, Senator Harlan, President Grant, Colonel Stand Watie; documents regarding sale of two slaves from the James Vann (1811) estate; names entitled to draw in land lottery of Gold Region in Georgia (1832); Old Settlers' Council Proceedings (1838-1865), and a list of 119 Old Settlers' names. There are Sequoyan documents and notes on his syllabary, a map of New Echota, and a Brainerd Mission Map, manuscript, with a family tree of the Mindwell-Caswell families, (1824). A complete listing of all documents in the Cherokee papers is included. Important item: Probably the most important document is General Watie's official surrender, signed by General Stand Watie, Lieutenant Colonel A.C. Mathews, and Adjutant William A. Vance, June, 1865.

Thomas Gilcrease Library and Archive
ENG, CHR
97 items
1804 - 1871
CSV file
MC.1954.39

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Access Restrictions

Available by appointment only at the Helmerich Center for American Research (HCAR) with the exception of materials with donor restrictions. Contact Library staff in advance to inquire if materials exist pertaining to your research interests.

Use Restrictions

Please contact the Rights and Reproduction Department for information on publishing or reproducing materials included in these records. Permission will be granted by the Gilcrease Museum as the owner of the physical materials, and does not imply permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all necessary permissions from the copyright holder.

Provenance

The Gilcrease Foundation acquired these materials before 1964 and is housed in the Helmerich Center for American Research (HCAR). The library currently receives most materials through community donation, board members, artists and the acquisition of manuscript collections.

Staff, interns, and volunteers of the Thomas Gilcrease Library and Archive have contributed to the organization and maintenance of the files since the collection passed to the City of Tulsa in the 1950s.