Collections Only

Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Get the Full Story
  1. Collections Home

Manuscript Collection: John Ross Papers

Collection Overview

Collection summary derived from "Guidebook to Manuscripts", 1969: John Ross (1790-1866) chief of the First Indian Republic, was principal chief of the Cherokees during the time of the Removal , establishment of the Cherokee Nation, and until his death. During the Civil War he split with the Cherokees who favored the Southern cause and ruled in exile after 1863 from Philadelphia. The collection contains correspondence, proclamation as chief of the Cherokee Tribe, legal papers, records, accounts, lists of names, and rations allocated during removal from Tennessee to Indian Territory, official and other papers of the Cherokee Council, petitions and protests to Congress, and papers relating to the East and West Cherokee controversy and the Civil War. Interesting items: A number of papers relate to the various detachments, or groups, of Cherokees being removed from their homes in the East. One such paper is the Muster Roll of Captain John Benge's Detachment of Emigrating Cherokees. Another document records expenditures of one detachment, the costs for which the U.S. Government promised reimbursement.

Thomas Gilcrease Library and Archive
ENG
1479 items
CSV file
MC.1954.185

Our Online Collections site is a work in progress. If you have information about this item that may be of assistance, please contact us.

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.