Category Archives: Names

The slaves of the Cherokee who were freed after the Civil War were called the Freedmen.  Therefore, I expected the surname Freeman or similarly spelled names to be rampant in the 1869 Cherokee West Census but they weren’t.  Not only … Continue reading →

In these old records, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish a Native name versus a name that is being used as a last name, or a name in transition between the two.  It really doesn’t matter which records you’re working with, … Continue reading →

Ok, so how did this guy get this name.  Sometimes I get these visual impressions as I read these records, sort of like when you’re reading a good book.  I used to have a friend who loved his cats, but … Continue reading →

While working on the Emmet Co., Michigan death records, things started to fall into a pattern.  Most records groups are that way and you develope an understanding to some extent of how things were handled within a record grouping.  In … Continue reading →

Some of these Native names just make me smile. How about Grand John, a St. John’s Indian. Or Many Greets. How do you think that Pierre Joe Stutterer got his name? Or maybe, better yet, Sam Bananas.  Now you know … Continue reading →

Many Native people have surnames that are two words combined.  In some cases, how to index or categorize these names is obvious based on how the name is written.  For example, we have two people with the surname Blackhawk and in … Continue reading →