Dusting Off Little Big Tracks – Part II

After a few days of researching the last known location of Frank Lee (son) & his father Frank Herbert Lee, Pryor Creek, OK in 1900, I find that Frank’s parents are lost in a time of constant change. Dusting off their tracks is proving to be a real challenge. Within just a few years things would take another shift & change the complete history of area where present day Pryor, OK, lies.

Due to many relocation efforts by the ever-expanding United States, the Native Americans found themselves all shoved into a small area known as present day Oklahoma. Before Oklahoma became an official state in 1907, Oklahoma fell under many surrounding governments like Kansas & Arkansas, including the Five Civilized Tribes.

Finding my ancestors tracks is tricky. Trying to decided if the Cherokee family story holds water or if he is just a white man in Indian Territory… is proving to be a heck of a challenge. He was definitely in Oklahoma while it was considered Indian Territory, but by 1900 many whites were already living in Oklahoma due to “land runs” and the railroad.

As I fill in the history of the area into Frank Herbert Lee’s timeline, it continues to be confusing:
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1870-1871: Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (now known as Union Railroad) is started & reached current day location in Pryor, OK. At one point Dalton’s Gang attempted to rob a train right there in Pryor.

Abt. 1875 BIRTH: [Milwaukee, Milwaukee], WI – male, unknown date, Frank Herbert or Herbert Frank Lee.

1880 CENSUS: unknown

1887: The area known as Coo-y-yah (“Huckleberry” in Cherokee) was changed to Pryor Creek, OK, by the Post Office.

1889: First Land Run – “unassigned lands” were purchased from the Native Americans by federal government opening up white settlement …the birth of Oklahoma Territory. From 1890-1906 a number of reservations were absorbed into the formation of OK.

April 1889 – First Land Run
September 1891 –
April 1892 –
September 1893-
May 1895 – Last land Run

Homestead Records @ Bureau of Land Management- General Land Office – which I searched & only find a Frank Lee for two years: 1909 & 1925 both far west of the state around the panhandle, not near Mayes County, OK. Also well after the birth of his son Frank Lee, so I am not sure he was driven into Oklahoma for free land.

1890 CENSUS: if wasn’t lost in fire, unknown; There isn’t a solid match on the Indian Territory Censuses 1890-1906, via Ancestry.com either.

1897: Whitaker Orphan’s Homes was established for white orphan’s in Cherokee Territory.

1898: The City officially took Pryor Creek as their name under the laws of Arkansas.

Abt 1900: Okmulgee, OK – Family story holds he met & married Clara [Gladys] Marie Nuahause [Newhause, Nayhouse, Newhouse, etc] about this time in Okmulgee,OK…

1900 CENSUS: Not listed in Pryor Creek, OK census, all 12 pages of whites & Indians.

1900 CHILD: Pryor Creek, Indian Territory (Cherokee Lands), OK; male, 22 September [1899] 1900, Frank Herbert Lee

1907: 16 July, Mayes Country is officially a county in the state of OK. This also marks the beginning of required records reporting. Prior to this, Mayes County was in Cherokee lands.

1909: “Creek” was dropped from Pryor Creek by the post office,

1911: Water, sewage, & gas was established in Pryor.

1942: “more that 50 people were killed during the tornado that struck on April 27, 1942”

DEATH: Unknown – But family story says he probably died in OK, buried in Pryor Creek, OK.
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I am hoping that you are starting to see the importance of timeline, especially in locating an elusive relative :D

A Time Line In Their History – Part I

Your ancestors had an entire life that not only predicted their lifestyle, but also tells you so much about the person they were & had became.

A collection of records merely give you small scopes of a moment in their life…just a day… A day in which they were born. A day in which the census taker stopped in & gathered their information. A day in which they were married. A day in which they were buried. All just snapshots of a day in their whole life.

When it’s time to create a bigger picture, much like a puzzle board, you have to take into account of their location’s history. (Again, this is where time lines really come in handy!) This is where a general “family historian” crosses over from an amateur to a “genealogist” going professional.

“Aunt Susie” who keeps the family stories, photos & some records (maybe even every record) may have never considered much more to the family’s time line other than the dates on the paper. However, a time line on locations & events, with history, can totally alter what “Aunt Susie’s” stories have been repeating all these years… especially in Native American Research, where specific locality as everything to do with a specific time :)

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My elusive Frank Herbert Lee was at one time, at least at the birth of his son in 1900, living in Pryor Creek, OK. His life & his story remain a mystery. So these last few days I wanted to look into his time line more.

Based on family stories & what little facts , here is what we have:

Abt. 1875 BIRTH: [Milwaukee, Milwaukee], WI – male, unknown date, Frank Herbert or Herbert Frank Lee.

1880 CENSUS: unknown

1890 CENSUS: if wasn’t lost in fire, unknown

Abt 1900: Okmuglee, OK – Family story holds he met & married Clara [Gladys] Marie Nuahause [Newhause, Nayhouse, Newhouse, etc] about this time in OK…

1900 CENSUS: unknown

1900 CHILD: Pryor Creek, , OK; male, 22 September [1899] 1900, Frank Herbert Lee

DEATH: Unknown – But family story says he probably died in OK & buried in Pryor Creek, OK…

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This is a great way to also keep your notes in your genealogy software program. It will give you a very helpful quick reference not only to the records you are missing, but to the information you need to still gather with the dates & locations! It is like a locations & evidence time line all-in-one! Many individuals over look this step because they think it is redundant or unnecessary. However, this is where the truth starts to build & take shape. It’s VERY IMPORTANT to keep notes.

Follow along over the next few weeks to see how this time line shapes up & more examples and information on how to keep some good notes!

So it is time to fill in some blanks….

More To The Story

I know I have been researching this same brick wall with Frank & Clara since 2006! Yes, that is almost 5 years of looking over this link & without serious attention… I would get lost or frustrated & just moving onto the next tree.

Since I have set a goal (I have to keep reminding myself of this :), moving on isn’t an option, so I finally get to focus! However, while I await the mail system for Frank Lee, the son, (why can’t genealogy catch up with the times already!)… I find I must keep digging… It’s truly an addiction.

“Your Focus Needs More Focus” – Karate Kid (2010) One of my favorite quotes :)

After deep thought, & little more rummaging around, I had some questions. Questions that I should have thought of earlier if had I just “focused”!

At one time I was told that after Clara died, Frank (the son) was raised by family in (Chicago) IL. Well, who’s family? Frank’s or Clara’s? Which family? An aunt, an uncle, grandparents? So back to my generous aunt:

“Hi,  spent a little time this morning looking over very old notes. Came across a few things.   Frank and  Clara Marie meet in Okmulgee OK and could possibly be the place of marriage. Notes clearly say the Frank Lee was born on indian reservation. And that Frank Lee senior is buried in Pryor OK. I have made several calls but have found nothing. Guess I will have to go to Pryor and walk the cemeteries. Anyway just thought I would send this your way.  Hope that you have a nice day.”

“I got the birth year from Frank Lee delayed birth certificate. Yes my notes say that he was raised by an Aunt in Chicago. Her side of the family. Keep in mind that they meet and married in Okmulgee. Still does not mean that he was indian. IF the father was from WI then are there indian tribes there?? ”

Well that certainly helps! He was residing in Okumlgee, OK, around 1900? Not a single positive search result, so this means I get to waste some time unwinding (one night this week), going through the ENTIRE census for Okumlgee, OK. After thought, “Hmmm… when did Okumlgee become  a city or town? And what others are it’s neighbors? That might be very important to know & why search results were all negative. Duh Ding-dong!”

Buried in Pryor! Well, let me get on that letter ASAP! That is simply a records search at the county clerks office…a death certificate usually states this information. Wait! Did they have death records as early as 1900? What year might I need to search? There’s another question to clarify….

“Indian Territory”… well that is another fun search for either the rolls or the whites on their land rolls… I am getting so excited! … but I LOATH Native American research. It’s not my cup of tea. :(

Man! My “To-Do” list sure is getting long now :D

Oral Family History

As a genealogist, oral history or the stories the family shares with you is a treasure. I find I often can’t get enough!

However, every good genealogist knows that family history or stories orally past down are like a good game of operator (or telephone). As it passes from person to person & generation to generation, things tend to get a little embellished, taken out of context, & misunderstood. So taking a oral family history as fact alone would be detrimental to your hard document proven research.

NEVER dismiss these stories! Often facts are lurking in the shadows of fun adjectives & misaligned information.

IF you have no real starting point, family histories & stories (legends in some cases) are a perfect place to start. They help guide your research with those little hidden facts.

Since I’m starting from “ground zero” again & focusing on only one family for this year, getting all I could in regards to the oral history of Frank & Clara was my first step. Thus, the other day I asked my hubby’s aunt to clarify, as much as she could for me, the oral history that’s been passed down on Frank Herbert & Clara Marie (Nuahause) Lee. I had gotten all of it in bits & pieces, but I still hadn’t grasped the whole story…if there was one.

I asked his aunt because we’ve both share a passion for genealogy, she’s holds a perspective from this side of the family, & she’s been so helpful in helping to collaborate on this line as she’s also been actively researching.

The story goes like this:

“Frank Lee was born in Pryor Creek OK in 1900.Clara Marie was born 1882 in Chicago When Clara died when he was 3. So she would have died in 1903. Clara we think is buried in Chicago Ill. Frank was given to relatives to raise and the father leaves. Frank Lee his father was born in Milwaukee WI in 1875. Do not know what he did for a living. Or how it is that he ended up on Pryor Creek OK. Clara’s parents ran some kind of printing machine. Not sure if it was a newspaper or just a printing business.”

Collected from my husband’s fathers hand written tree: “Frank Lee – Cherokee &  Nayhouse – German”.

OOPS! German? Well there you go… first mistake! It isn’t “Irish” but “German”. I had been listening to stories of my hubby & brother-in-law saying they were always told “Irish”. Hmm… now do you see how this gets funny with “oral histories”? I misunderstood or made a error in how I linked information already! :(

As you can clearly see, I am really short on the “story” side of this tree. I am really going to have to do some research & studying!

 

The Year of LEE

Like I state previously, my research has turned into ground zero…or it feels that way. Having to rebuild my entire software database is so daunting, as it looks like Mt. Everest to an ant!

In the past my research has always been about getting as many documents as possible… I mean that the whole point right? Evidence!

Well as I begin… And it’s a New Year… I’m setting goals this time & focusing on only one tree at a time. Thus this year all my research efforts & goals are going towards my husbands line: The Lees!

I opted for this family line because: 1- It’s my smallest tree on hard copy & Ancestry thus it’s a little less scary to start my rebuild. 2 – Because it’s brick wall comes early in historical perspective: 1900. 3 – I’ve had my first child, a boy! So his line is dad’s line :)

The brick wall & center of all research starts with Frank Herbert Lee who’s reported birth takes place in once Pryor Creek, OK, on 22 September 1900. I say “reported” because he had to get a delayed birth certificate of nearly 50 years after the fact!!

The delayed birth certificate said he’s the son of Frank Herbert (Herbert Frank) Lee of WI, & Clara Marie Nuahause of IL. Yes, both names were listed for the father. The father is said through family stories to be Cherokee & the mother is said to be Irish.

My suspicions are that these have been twisted. I mean, a Cherokee (as family legend holds it) born in Milwaukee, WI, before 1900? That would be very rare…wouldn’t it? And secondly, it’s most common for a man to travel to the location of the woman he marries &/or bears children with, with the first born birthed in the woman’s last known residence. I did say “most common”. Also “Nuahause” really doesn’t sound Irish to me…does it to you? It was even spelled “Nayhouse” on one handwritten family tree.

So begins The Year Of Lee! Follow along to see how this family unfolds these next 11 months :D