Equity Case 7071
Bettie Ligon et al. v
Douglas H. Johnson et al.,
Green McCurtain et
al. & James R. Garfield Secretary of the Interior
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One of the biggest questions I have concerning the lawsuit
concerning more than 1500 women, children and men who sought a transfer from
the Chickasaw or Choctaw Freedmen rolls to the Chickasaw or Choctaw by Blood
roll is who are the living descendants?
During their lifetime the claimants on Equity Case 7071
never realized their effort to be recognized as citizens based on their
ancestry and genealogy related to the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians. During
that time they were denied this recognition based generally on having a mother
that was considered a slaver or former slave. It didn’t matter if their father
was a recognized citizen or considered a Chickasaw or Choctaw Indian they were
to be denied solely because they were seen as someone of African descent.
However it is a new day and the descendants of these
children, women and men may never be recognized and accepted as Native American
or Chickasaw or Choctaw Indians the historical record should reflect the truth
of their ancestry and the truth of their struggle to be recognized and accepted
as Chickasaw or Choctaw Indians.
The
science of DNA was not invented in 1907 but the genetics of today has the
possibility of bringing truth to the lie that denied our ancestor’s their
rightful place in the nation of their birth. It is through their descendants
and our ability to have our DNA tested we are able to bring some much needed
and long overdue attention to this issue that has festered for more than one
hundred years.
I will be posting the Dawes Cards and other documents that
provide the initial records that the claimants on Equity Case 7071 left us to
direct our research on their claims as Chickasaw or Choctaw Indians. For the
record I don’t know if everyone listed on Equity Case 7071 has a legitimate
claim to Chickasaw or Choctaw ancestry but we have an opportunity to set the
record straight on those that do.
The most expedient way to do this is to have the descendants
of these men and women have their DNA tested for Native American DNA. The other
and equally important aspect of this list is the people who descend from the
people on this list should conduct the research that would connect you to your
ancestor on “Bettie’s List.”
I have been tested by 23andMe as well as Ancestry and both
have determine I have Native American DNA (ancestry) with about a 4% indicating
my Native American ancestor was probably 4 or 5 generations before me. I have discovered at least two other people
who have done the research on their ancestors and performed the DNA test indicates we have ancestry in common. Once I compared our ancestors I was able
to locate our common ancestor as Thomas LOVE an intermarried white who had two "Chickasaw" wives.
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| Chickasaw Freedman Card #391 (rear) Lydia JACKSON |
This individual has research that indicates his ancestor
claimed to be the child of Benjamin LOVE. My great grandmother Bettie claimed
her father was Robert Howard LOVE the half-brother of Thomas. They had
different mothers but the same father who was Thomas LOVE our common ancestor.
Clearly, we didn’t get our Native American DNA from Thomas but both his wives possessed
some degree of Native American blood. This may not be the only source of our
Native American DNA but it does provide some convincing evidence that both of
our ancestors were telling the truth about who their father was.
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| Choctaw Freedman Card #106 (rear) Bettie LIGON |
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