Cherokee County, Oklahoma Genealogy

United States Oklahoma  Cherokee County Cherokee County, Oklahoma genealogy and family history research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Courthouse
Cherokee County Courthouse 213 Delaware Street Tahlequah, OK 74464 Phone: 918.456.3171 Clerk Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1907;  County Clerk has land records from 1907 and military discharge records from 1917

Parent County
1907--Cherokee County was created 16 July 1907 from Cherokee Lands. County seat: Tahlequah

Description
Located in northeastern Oklahoma, Cherokee County has a total land and water area of 776.40 square miles. Important rivers and streams include the Illinois River, Baron Fork, Town Branch (also known as Ross Branch and Tahlequah Creek), and Park Hill creeks. The area is located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains and includes the Cookson Hills, which was a favorite hideout for turn-of-the-twentieth-century outlaws. Cherokee County was created from the Cherokee Nation's Tahlequah District at the 1906 Constitutional Convention and named for the Cherokee Nation. The county seat is located at Tahlequah, which was also the capital of the Cherokee Nation.

The "Trail of Tears" brought a large population of American Indians to Cherokee County. Prominent Cherokees settled at Park Hill, an established mission community, and at Tahlequah, the new capital, which was incorporated under Cherokee law in 1844. Many of the Cherokees' government buildings and residences, especially at Park Hill, were destroyed during the Civil War by one side or the other, as the conflict divided the tribe. In the mid-1870s non-Indians began illegally moving into present Cherokee County. In 1878 seventeen of these intruders were reported, and that number quadrupled within five years. By the 1890s whites outnumbered Indians. Land was surveyed in that decade, and beginning in 1902 individual Cherokees received allotments from the federal government. In 1906 the Cherokee Nation's tribal government was dissolved in preparation for statehood.

Many historic sites exist in the county. The Cherokee Heritage Center is located on the grounds of the original Cherokee Female Seminary, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, at Park Hill. Also at Park Hill are the 1845 Murrell Home, built by George M. Murrell, a white planter married to a niece of Cherokee Chief John Ross, and the Ross Cemetery. The Murrell Home is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Tahlequah is home to the historic Cherokee Capitol Building, Cherokee Supreme Court Building, Cherokee National Jail, and seven other National Register properties.

The county is well known for its lakes and recreational areas. In 1953 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed Tenkiller Ferry Dam on the Illinois River for flood control and recreation purposes. Most of Tenkiller Lake is in Cherokee County. Lake Fort Gibson and the Grand River border Cherokee County on the west. The county has two state parks, Cherokee Landing and Sequoyah. Sparrowhawk Wildlife Management Area is located entirely in the county, and parts of the Cookson, Fort Gibson, and Tenkiller Wildlife Management areas are within its borders. The county has four watersheds, the Lower Neosho, Dirty-Greenleaf, Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, and Illinois. The scenic Illinois River is a major tourist attraction.

The basis of the county's economy historically has been agriculture. Major crops include corn, vegetables, and wheat. In 1940 nearly 62 percent of the labor force was engaged in agriculture. By 1970 the number of farmers had decreased to 29 percent of the population. By 1990 the farm population was only 4.4 percent. However, specialized agricultural commodities emerged. In 2002 Cherokee County was ranked first in the state for the value of nursery and greenhouse crops and seventh in the state for sales of poultry and eggs. The decrease in agriculture was largely due to urbanization around the Tahlequah area and economic development after World War II. In 2000 the county's major employers included Northeastern State University, the Cherokee Nation, the nursery industry, and public education.

Major transportation routes include U.S. Highway 62, which crosses the county from east to west. Other routes include State Highway 51, an east-west road, State Highway 10, which extends from the western border and curves to the north, and State Highway 82, which crosses the county from north to south. In 1901-1903 the Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway (acquired by the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) became the first to build tracks though Cherokee County, accessing markets and contributing to an increase in agricultural production. The railroad declined by 1940, largely due to an increase in automobiles and a decrease in profits during the Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s. Rail service in Cherokee County ended in 1942.

Education in the county is deeply rooted in its Cherokee heritage. The Cherokee Male and Female seminaries opened in 1851 at Tahlequah and Park Hill, respectively. Many seminary graduates attended eastern colleges, and the Female Seminary became a social center for the Cherokee Nation. The seminary building burned in 1887 and was rebuilt in Tahlequah. After 1907 statehood Oklahoma purchased the Female Seminary (also in the National Register of Historic Places). This institution became Northeastern State Normal School, which is now Northeastern State University. In 1910 fire destroyed the Male Seminary.

Notable citizens have included many principal chiefs of the Cherokee Nation. John Ross, who served as chief from 1828 until his death in 1866 and presided over the "Trail of Tears," the Civil War era, and much internal division and conflict, made his home at Park Hill. Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to serve as Cherokee principal chief, led her nation through a period of renewed growth from 1985 to 1995. Principal Chiefs William P. Ross, Dennis Bushyhead, and Ross Swimmer, among others, also lived in the county. Other noteworthy residents included world-champion archer Joe Thornton, movie and television actor Clu Gulager, and politician and former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives W. P. "Bill" Willis. Accomplished Cherokee author and historian Robert J. Conley and Cherokee actor Wes Studi also have lived in the county.

In 1907 the Cherokee County's population was 14,274. It grew to 21,030 by 1940 but declined to 17,762 by 1960. In the next decade the population began a steady growth, spurred by enrollments at Northeastern State University and a reestablishment of Cherokee tribal government. Attracted by the area's pleasant climate, timbered hills, and various lakes and rivers, an influx of retirees also began moving to Cherokee County. By 1970 the population had reached 23,174, and growth continued steadily. Tahlequah and Hulbert are the county's only incorporated towns.

Boundary Changes

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Oklahoma Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities
==== Populated Places ====

City

 * Tahlequah (county seat)

Towns

 * Fort Gibson
 * Hulbert
 * Oaks

Unincorporated Communities

 * Briggs
 * Cookson
 * Dry Creek
 * Eldon
 * Gideon
 * Keys
 * Lost City
 * Park Hill
 * Peggs
 * Pettit
 * Qualls
 * Scraper
 * Shady Grove
 * Tenkiller
 * Teresita
 * Welling
 * Woodall
 * Zeb

Census-Designated Places

 * Grandview
 * Steely Hollow

Neighboring Counties

 * Adair
 * Delaware
 * Mayes
 * Muskogee
 * Sequoyah
 * Wagoner

American Indians
Census
 * 1851 - 1959 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1895 - 1914 U.S., Native American Citizens and Freedmen of Five Civilized Tribes, 1895-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1898 - 1914 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * Dawes Final Rolls - Oklahoma Historical Society

Land and Property
 * 1884 - 1934 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Land Allotment Jackets for Five Civilized Tribes, 1884-1934 at Ancestry — index and images ($) *1889 Oklahoma County Plats 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more information see Indians of Oklahoma

State Census Records

 * 1890 Oklahoma Territorial Census 1890 - Oklahoma Historical Societ
 * 1890 and 1907 Oklahoma Territorial Census, 1890 and 1907 at Ancestry — index and image ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Oklahoma starting in 1860. For links to Federal census indexes, see Oklahoma Census.

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Cherokee

Land
Online Land Records

For more information see Oklahoma Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images
 * 1889 Oklahoma County Plats, 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * El Reno Homesteader Filings - Oklahoma Historical Society

Local Histories
Muskogee and Northeastern Oklahoma: including the counties of Muskogee, McIntosh, Wagoner, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Adair, Delaware, Mayes, Rogers, Washington, Nowata, Craig, and Ottawa. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1922

Maps

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Maps n More - county and township maps.
 * Oklahoma Civil War Map of Battles


 * Cherokee Nation Indian Territory Map of 1905 (My Genealogy Hound)
 * Cherokee County, Oklahoma 1922 Map (My Genealogy Hound)

Revolutionary War

 * 1775 - 1783 - at FamilySearch - images only
 * For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

 * http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9236 Oklahoma, Confederate Pension Index, 1915-1955] at Ancestry — index (free)
 * For more nationwide Civil War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War Battle was fought in Cherokee County

November 19, 1861 = Round Mountain also known as Round Mountains

Map showing Civil war battles in Oklahoma

WWI

 * For more nationwide World War I databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWII

 * Oklahoma Military Deaths - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more nationwide World War II databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Newspapers
Oklahoma Newspapers Online Oklahoma Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Oklahoma newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Oklahoma newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Oklahoma State Historical Society - catalog of known Oklahoma newspapers; lists repositories that have the newspapers
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Probate
Online Records
 * 1801 – 2008 Oklahoma Wills and Probate Records 1801-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1887 – 2008 Oklahoma Probate Records 1887-2008 at FamilySearch — images

School Records

 * 1895 - 1936 at | FamilySearch — index and images

Births
Online Birth Records Indexes and Images
 * Early Oklahoma Birth Records

Marriages
Online Marriage Records Indexes and Images
 * 1841 - 1927 - Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Marriage, Citizenship and Census Records, 1841-1927 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1852 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1870 - 1930 - at FamilySearch Index only.
 * 1870 - 1930 - Oklahoma, Select Marriages, 1870-1930 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1870 - 1930 Oklahoma, Marriages, 1870-1930 at My Heritage index ($)
 * 1889 - 1951 - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Marriage Index, 1889-1951
 * 1890 - 1995 - at FamilySearch Index and images
 * OKGenWeb Oklahoma Marriages

Deaths
Online Death Records Indexes and Images
 * Obituaries Listed in the Oklahoman - Oklahoma Historical Society — index only
 * 1935 - 2014 - U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1936 - 2007 - U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}
 * 1936 - 2007 - U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}

Divorces
Online Divorce Records Indexes and Images
 * 1923 - 1942 - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Divorce Index, 1923-1942

Societies and Libraries
Cherokee National Historical Society PO Box 515 Tahlequah 74465-0515

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.