Surnames Index

A prominent Anglo-Cherokee family tracing to Scottish trader William Adair who settled in Cherokee territory. Multiple Dawes Roll entries and land allotments recorded in the Goingsnake District.

Missionary and settler family with documented Cherokee intermarriage. Several Baldridge enrollees appear in the Cherokee by Blood section of the Dawes Roll with Goingsnake area connections.

A well-established Goingsnake District family of Cherokee descent. Chief John Benge led the last official removal party on the Trail of Tears in 1839, settling families in what became the Goingsnake District.

Common in Cherokee Nation rolls; multiple Bird families resided in the Goingsnake District area through the late 19th century, appearing in the 1880 and 1890 Cherokee censuses.

One of the most frequent surnames on the Dawes Roll; several Brown families with Goingsnake District connections appear in district land records and court filings through the 1890s.

Thomas Mitchell Buffington served as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (1899–1903); the Buffington family had longstanding roots in the Goingsnake area.

Dennis Wolf Bushyhead served as Principal Chief 1879–1887 and was born near the Illinois River in what became the Goingsnake District. One of the most politically significant Cherokee families.

Cherokee Nation Senator T. L. Christy was from the Goingsnake area. The Christie family appears in district census records and has several Dawes Roll enrollees.

Documented in Goingsnake area court and land records throughout the post-Civil War period. Several Cobb families appear on Cherokee Nation rolls and Dawes enrollment applications.

Mixed-blood Cherokee family in the Goingsnake area; appears in the 1880 Cherokee Nation census and subsequent Dawes enrollment applications with district land holdings.

William Shorey Coody was a prominent 19th-century Cherokee leader and writer. The Coody family had long-established connections to the Goingsnake District.

A traditional full-blood Cherokee surname; several Cornsilk families are documented in Goingsnake records and Dawes enrollment. The name reflects deep Cherokee cultural heritage.

Chief Lewis Downing (1867–1872) was a Baptist minister and Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Multiple Downing families were enrolled in the Goingsnake District on the Dawes Roll.

Colonel John Drew commanded the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles during the Civil War. The Drew family operated a major plantation near Goingsnake and is well-documented in district records.

A mixed-blood Cherokee family with Goingsnake District land allotments; the Duncan surname appears in district court records and multiple Dawes enrollment cards.

Richard Fields served as Chief of the Western Cherokees in the 1820s. The Fields family had deep roots in the Goingsnake area and appears in numerous district records.

One of the largest mixed-blood Cherokee families. Stephen Foreman was a prominent missionary, attorney, and publisher. Numerous Foreman entries appear on the Dawes Roll with Goingsnake connections.

John Gunter was a wealthy Cherokee merchant and trader. The Gunter family intermarried extensively with the Cherokee and had documented connections to the Goingsnake area.

The Harnage family is documented in Goingsnake-area land allotment files and appears in multiple Dawes Roll enrollment cards. Known intermarriage with Cherokee families.

Charles Renatus Hicks served as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (1822). The Hicks family was among the most politically prominent Cherokee families and had wide district presence.

The Hildebrand family operated mills in the Goingsnake area and is documented in territorial court records. Several Hildebrand entries appear on the Dawes Roll.

Several Horn families are documented in the Goingsnake and adjacent Illinois Districts. Appears in the 1880 Cherokee census and in Dawes applications with land allotments near the district.

A Goingsnake District family with numerous Dawes Roll enrollees. The Ketcher surname appears consistently in district court records and census data through the 1890s.

Appears in Goingsnake area marriage records and Dawes enrollment applications. Several Landrum families of Cherokee descent held land allotments in the district.

A documented family in the Goingsnake area court records. Several Lynch families appear in Cherokee blood enrollment applications and district census records from the 1880s onward.

Deeply connected to the historic Goingsnake Courthouse Tragedy of April 1872. The McCoy-Beck dispute triggered a confrontation that drew national attention and placed the Goingsnake District on the map.

Prominent Cherokee-Scots family; the McNairs appear in multiple Cherokee censuses and Dawes applications. Several McNair families held farmland in the Goingsnake area.

The Nave family held farmland in the Goingsnake District; several Nave entries appear on the Dawes Final Rolls with Cherokee by Blood enrollment in the district.

Multiple Parker families with documented Cherokee ancestry in the Goingsnake region. Appears in district court records from the 1870s and Dawes enrollment applications.

Documented family in the Goingsnake area with enrollment applications. Theda Perdue, a leading modern historian of Cherokee women, carries a name rooted in the region.

Multiple Phillips families with Goingsnake District connections. Appears in mid-19th century Cherokee census records and in numerous Dawes enrollment cards from the area.

Ezekiel 'Zeke' Proctor was the central figure of the Goingsnake Courthouse Tragedy (1872), one of the most dramatic events in Cherokee Nation history. The Proctor family is among the most storied in the district.

A traditional full-blood Cherokee surname; several Rattlinggourd families in the Goingsnake area appear on the Dawes Roll. The name is connected to a traditional Cherokee medicine ceremony.

Clement Vann Rogers, father of humorist Will Rogers, was a prominent Cherokee Nation senator with family ties near the Goingsnake area. The Rogers name is widespread in Cherokee enrollment records.

Chief John Ross led the Cherokee Nation for nearly 40 years through Removal and Civil War. While the Ross estate was in Cooweescoowee, the Ross family had significant district connections through intermarriage.

A large Cherokee family; multiple Sanders entries appear in Goingsnake area land records and Dawes enrollment cards. One of the more common surnames across the district.

Sam Sixkiller was a renowned Cherokee lawman who served as captain of the United States Indian Police. The Sixkiller family was well-established in the Goingsnake District area.

James and Tom Starr were notorious Cherokee outlaws operating in the Goingsnake area. Belle Starr's husband Sam Starr was a Cherokee Nation citizen with Goingsnake ties.

Swimmer (A-yu-ini) was a renowned Cherokee medicine man and oral historian whose knowledge was recorded by James Mooney of the Smithsonian. Connected to the Going Snake area of the Nation.

Richard Taylor was a prominent Cherokee leader and warrior. Multiple Taylor families appear in Goingsnake area census records and on the Dawes Roll with district land allotments.

One of the more common surnames among mixed-blood Cherokees; several Thompson families held Goingsnake District land allotments and appear in Dawes enrollment cards.

'Rich Joe' Vann was the wealthiest Cherokee citizen before Removal. The Vann family was one of the most powerful in the Nation with wide presence across district records and Dawes enrollment.

Tandy Walker was a Cherokee leader and militia captain. Walker families appear in Goingsnake area land and court records throughout the 19th century.

Stand Watie was the only Native American to achieve the rank of Confederate general. The Watie family had deep Goingsnake District roots and appears prominently in Civil War-era Cherokee records.

A documented family in the Goingsnake area census and court records. Several Whitmire entries appear on the Dawes Final Rolls with connections to district farming families.

Multiple Wilson families with Cherokee enrollment appear in Goingsnake area marriage records and district court filings throughout the 1880s–1900s.

A traditional Cherokee surname connected to the Wolf Clan (Ani-Waya), the largest of the seven Cherokee clans. Several Wolf families are documented in the Goingsnake and adjacent districts.

A Goingsnake District farming family documented in the 1880 and 1890 Cherokee censuses. Appears in Dawes enrollment applications with land allotments in the district.

Several Young families with documented Cherokee ancestry in the Goingsnake area. Appears in district court and enrollment records through the late 19th and early 20th centuries.