Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Oklahoma 

What is in the Collection?
Under the terms of the 1887 Dawes Act, Indian reservations were surveyed and lands held in common by the tribes were allotted in smaller parcels to individual members of the tribe. Individuals had to be enrolled tribal members to apply for an allotment. The lands were usually granted as homesteads. These records were created to provide a final list of those individuals who were approved to receive an allotment of land in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The records cover the years 1899 to 1907. Index courtesy of Fold3.

The collection consists of a name index and images of land allotment records for the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory. These records describe the parcels of land and name the tribal member to whom each parcel was allotted. Records are arranged by name of tribe (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole), by membership designation (member by blood, by intermarriage or freedmen), application number and according to age group -- newborn and minor children are listed separately. The pages may be:


 * Handwritten in narrative style
 * Handwritten on pre-printed forms
 * Typed
 * Printed plot maps

For a list of tribal membership rolls currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Note:These records are related to two collections indexed by Footnote: RG 75, NARA publication M1301 [Applications for enrollment of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914--468 rolls]; and M1186 [Enrollment Cards for the Five Civilized Tribes--93 rolls].

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The information usually included in the papers includes the following:


 * Tribal roll name
 * Membership category of the individual -- member by blood, by intermarriage or freedmen (newborn and minor children are listed on separate rolls)
 * Age
 * Degree of Indian Blood
 * Tribe or Nation
 * Application number
 * Indian census card number
 * Names of individual’s representative and their relationship to the individual
 * Guardianship and relationship information
 * Number of acres allotted
 * Legal description of the land
 * Date and place of application
 * Details of any improvements to the land parcel

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The tribe which your ancestor was affiliated.
 * The membership category -- member by blood, by intermarriage or freedmen.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page:

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then: ⇒Select the "Tribal membership roll" ⇒Select the "Application number"

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age to calculate a birth date and to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records.
 * Use the name, tribe, and the census number to locate the individual on the census.
 * Use the name, tribe, and membership category to locate the individual in the enrollment records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Oklahoma, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Oklahoma Archives and Libraries.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Image citation: