Collecting Dead Relatives

Here we are again. I need to post more often. I've been really busy the last couple of weeks, but I should be able to post more often now that my regular playing season is over.

Today's post is very much genealogically related, and is the beginning of a series of CDR posts about a project I've been working on for a few years.

I started working on my genealogy about four years ago. It kind of started with a "dream" project and evolved into a very satisfying hobby. For years, the only thing I was interested in was playing the trumpet. Not that that is a bad thing, but it's all I had. When I started working on my genealogy there was finally something other than music that could keep my attention and filled some spare time in my life.

I will ever stop working on my genealogy because I have so much to work on at this point in my research, but I realized part of that "dream" project last week. What was my project? Well, it started with a family legend....

My maternal grandfather (Paw) was supposedly part Native American. Possibly Creek or Cherokee, but nobody knew for sure. His father was never a part of his life and had been estranged for many, many years. I was told that his grandmother was a full blood indian and her name was "Morning Star". Whether or not any of this information was accurate or where it really came from was anybody's guess. My mother said that some people in my family including Paw had tried to find out information about these questions, but to all of our regrets, nobody ever had any luck. I told my mother and grandmother that I would look into it, and if there was anything to be found I could find it. I was up to the challenge and looking forward to it.

Nearly four years later, after countless hours of research I, my daughter, mother, sister, and nephews are legal citizens of the Creek Nation. Last week we received our "Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood" from the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.

During the next few weeks, I'll post about how all of this came about. These blog posts will be the beginning of a family history article I plan to write for a writing competition next spring. Hopefully, this will give me a good start.

I'll catch up on the AREA 365 pictures soon.

Dominus Vobiscum!

-OD