All My Ancestors

I’ve always heard of genealogists finding their family while searching for something else. In my 25 years, plus or minus, of searching this has never happened to me.

But yesterday it did!

I was researching a family that was in Vinita, Indian Territory, very early. (For Oklahoma, that means prior to statehood in 1907, which, in the scheme of things, really isn’t all that early.) I did not find that family, but while scanning through the C’s in the index, my eyes fell on Ball, Simson.

Simpson Ball is part of my Ball family I’ve written about before–they started in New York City (late 1700s) and ended up in Arkansas (late 1800s) via Iowa. Simpson is the oldest son of Dr. and Mrs. Ball–2 of his brothers perished in an ill-fated wagon train west.

I knew Simpson had married twice–first to Martha Jane Perkins but I didn’t know who his second wife was. From an interview with a descendant, I knew he had at least two daughters with this second wife–Eula and Hallie.

I’d sort of lost track of Simpson after the 1870 census where I’d found him in Carroll County, Missouri, until I found him in 1900, living in Sevier County, Arkansas, with his son Cyrus. His father had done some business in Montgomery County, Kansas in 1871, and I suspect Simpson was there, too. However, I cannot find Simpson on the 1880 census.

So, I was very excited to see an index entry that might be “my” Simpson. The index I was searching is to non-Cherokee persons who are in the Cherokee Nation in 1890 under permit. The index lists only the heads of household, and although the name was Simson rather than Simpson, I felt like this was probably my guy. When I pulled out the microfilm, sure enough, there he was.

On the actual census, it looks like to me that Simpson’s second wife’s name is Martha as well. I’m assuming the 35 year old female listed right under his name is his second wife. I know Clay is from his first marriage, so I believe the 4th entry, which looks also like Simson, age 12, is the first child with his second wife.

I can’t yet confirm the rest of children as his–they could also be grandchildren because I don’t know their names for sure. But I’ll keep looking.

This census was taken, as the title implies, of people who were in the Cherokee Nation, but who were not Cherokee Indians. To be there lawfully, they had to have a permit. Those who were not there legally, and there were plenty of those, were called “Intruders.” (Sharron Standifer Ashton has a terrific set of books called “Indians and Intruders” in which she abstracts mentions of intruders in Indian Territory.) Evidently, Simpson came legally, came in September 1889, and is working livestock for Ed Carey. Now I have to find out what all this means–who is Ed Carey and does a copy of the permit or application for the permit exist? Delaware County in the Cherokee Nation is the northeastern-most part of Indian Territory–it shares its west border with Benton County, Arkansas, which is where his parents were on the 1880 census.

In the meantime, I’m glad to have finally found some relatives in the Indian Territory.

I was starting to think I was the only person in Oklahoma who never had family there.

For me, I guess serendipity just takes a little longer.

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