EQUITY CASE 7071 KEMP, John et al., Chickasaw Freedmen

EQUITY CASE 7071

Empower Me to Know My History

KEMP, John et al.,

• Chickasaw Freedman Card #274
• Enrollment #1089-1092
• Place of Residence: Wynnewood, Indian Territory Chickasaw Nation
• Father: Louis  (Deceased)
• Mother: Jennie Non-Citizen
• See Petition to Transfer #64
• Joe and Dillard PERRY files BIA Record Group 75, Entry 90C,  Folder F-177-184
• See CHIF #268, #269, #270, #379, #273,

M1186 John KEMP Chickasaw Freedman #274 Front

When I first looked at the particular case of a family claiming Chickasaw ancestry I was reminded of a statement by my friend Carlotta KEMP says; “all KEMPS are related.” The fact that John KEMP survived to be more than one hundred years of age is remarkable. As a survivor of slavery he must have stories to tell.

Now I’m not saying it’s not true but according to this card John was still making babies as an octogenarian? That is not the only revealing item on this card. One of the easiest tells on a card of someone who is claiming Chickasaw ancestry is a notation that states “see petition to transfer.” This is telling me there is the great possibility a file may exist that will provide information regarding that individual’s genealogical history. Unfortunately I don’t have that file but any descendant of John KEMP should obtain it (and send me a copy, please) to discover more on the genealogy of this family patriarch.

M1186 John KEMP Chickasaw Freedman #274 Rear

Again, on the rear of John’s Dawes card there is no notation like so many others that will direct the researcher to who the parents of John are or if in fact it was one of John’s parents that is the basis for his claim to Chickasaw blood? However when you look at his interview packet you quickly discover John and Meline KEMP were the parents of a sizable family. It is because of this document we are able to reconstruct and locate those children and their children. 

There is nothing on the Dawes card for John and Meline KEMP that provides direct information about the ancestry of either that indicates they have Chickasaw blood. However the notation of a petition to transfer is significant if it is possible to determine Chickasaw ancestry.  It would appear from the sizable files held in the Joe and Dillard PERRY collection some sort of information is available. As a researcher on all of the individuals listed as claimants on Equity Case 7071 those are some files I will have to obtain at some point.

Meanwhile it is important to assemble the framework for establishing the various family members that descend from the original Chickasaw ancestor and that means taking the names of John and Meline children to demonstrate the genealogy of this claim to Chickasaw blood, I begin with their daughter Emily KEMP on Chickasaw Freedman Card #269.

M1301 John KEMP Chickasaw Freedman #274 p2

 KEMP, Emily et al.,

• Chickasaw Freedman Card #269
• Enrollment #1060-1069, 4276 & 4817
• Place of Residence: Wynnewood, Pickens County, Indian Territory Chickasaw Nation
• Father: KEMP, John
• Mother: KEMP, Meline
• See NB #Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #211, #396, #402
• See Petition to Transfer #62
• Joe and Dillard PERRY files BIA Record Group 75, Entry 90C,  Folder F-177-184, 186 & 203

Emily KEMP’S Dawes card is just full of information regarding her children and grandchildren and except for on little notation you again would not think she had any Chickasaw ancestry. At the time of this writing I still don’t know because I don’t have a copy of what that notation states; “see petition to transfer #62.”

The Dawes Commissioner or clerk was very efficient in making notes of just about every other aspect of this woman’s life except what was in that petition to transfer #62. You will also note, her father John KEMP had a petition to transfer as well but, it was #64. Was there something different in his than was in her file? Was her file done independently from her father’s? These are questions that should be answered and included in the overall story of the Chickasaw Freedmen.

M1186 Emily KEMP Chickasaw Freedwoman #269 Front

 KEMP, Lorena et al.,

• Chickasaw Freedman Card #270
• Enrollment #1070-1080
• Place of Residence: Wynnewood, Pickens County, Indian Territory Chickasaw Nation
• Father: KEMP, John
• Mother: KEMP, Meline
• See NB #Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #226, #273 & Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #191
• Joe and Dillard PERRY files BIA Record Group 75, Entry 90C,  Folder F-177-184, 186 & 203

Lorena KEMP is a younger sister of Emily’s and like her sister and mother gave birth to numerous children. It is unfortunate the Dawes Commission held fast to some customs taken from a culture of slavery by stating that children to unwed mothers were somehow “illegitimate.” This practice was used to ensure the slave holder could increase his wealth by determining the status of a child by the status of the mother and this was the basis for the Dawes Commission and the Chickasaw Nation to claim the children of Chickasaw men were not Chickasaw by blood.

With that distinction the nation was able to deny thousands of acres of land to people who should have been entitled to the three hundred and twenty acres based on their ancestry like all the other “citizens by blood.” Now we see the classification used in this situation to enroll all of Lorena’s children and stigmatize them as illegitimate and Chickasaw Freedmen.

M1186 Lorena KEMP Chickasaw Freedwoman #270 Front

 KEMP, Lottie et al.,

• Chickasaw Freedman Card #273
• Enrollment #1086-1088
• Place of Residence: Wynnewood, Pickens County, Indian Territory Chickasaw Nation
• Father: KEMP, John
• Mother: KEMP, Meline
• See NB #Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #23
• Joe and Dillard PERRY files BIA Record Group 75, Entry 90C,  Folder F-177-184, 186 & 203

There is nothing remarkable about the enrollment card for Lottie KEMP and we don’t see any references to a petition to transfer but when you look at the index to the Joe and Dillard PERRY files Lottie and her children appear to be a part of the claim to have Chickasaw ancestry.

M1186 Lottie KEMP Chickasaw Freedwoman #273 Front

BLUE nee KEMP, Virginia (Jennie) et al.,

• Chickasaw Freedman Card #379
• Enrollment #1591-1596
• Place of Residence: Wynnewood, Pontotoc  County, Indian Territory Chickasaw Nation
• Father: KEMP, John
• Mother: KEMP, Meline
• See Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #204
• See Petition to Transfer #65
• Joe and Dillard PERRY files BIA Record Group 75, Entry 90C,  Folder F-177-184, 186 & 203

Virginia KEMP aka Jennie is another daughter of John and Meline KEMP who appear on Chickasaw Freedman card #274 and like all of John and Meline’s children Wynnewood was crawling with KEMPS.

On this card we discover Jennie’s husband Smith BLUE is serving time in the Ft. Leavenworth penitentiary in Kansas. It would be interesting to dig a little deeper into his case but unfortunately Jennie’s application packet does not reveal anything more than his incarceration.

Oh, did you think I would forget the additional note that there is another “see the petition to transfer #65” on this card? It is becoming clear that there may be some additional information regarding the ancestry of this family and we have multiple references to there existence.

M1186 Smith & Virginia BLUE Chickasaw Freedman #379 Front

KEMP, Ebenezer et al.,

• Chickasaw Freedman Card #268
• Enrollment #1055-1059
• Place of Residence: Wynnewood, Pickens County, Indian Territory Chickasaw Nation
• Father: KEMP, John
• Mother: KEMP, Meline
• Joe and Dillard PERRY files BIA Record Group 75, Entry 90C,  Folder F-177-184, 186 & 203

With Ebenezer KEMP and his young family we don’t know much more than what is printed on the card but he is the son of John and Meline KEMP and he resides in Wynnewood like the rest of his family. He does show up as part of the Joe and Dillard PERRY files so again we will have to see what those documents have to tell us about the rather large family of Chickasaw Freedmen?

M1186 Ebenezer KEMP Chickasaw Freedman #268 Front

KEMP, John & Harriett et al.,

• Chickasaw Freedman Card #280
• Enrollment #1129-1133 & 4852
• Place of Residence: Bearden, Indian Territory Creek Nation
• Father: KEMP, John
• Mother: KEMP, Frances (Deceased)
• See NB #Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #226, #273 & Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #191
• Joe and Dillard PERRY files BIA Record Group 75, Entry 90C,  Folder F-177-184, 186 & 203

John may have been the eldest child of John Sr., and he was living in the Creek Nation with his wife when they enrolled with the Dawes Commission. John is the namesake of the patriarch of this family but he is the only child found on the Dawes Roll that did not have the same mother as the other children. Add to that it appears he only had one child with his wife Harriett before he died in 1902. 

Unfortunately I am not able to locate him in the index of the Joe and Dillard PERRY files. Despite that if he has any descendants they should know there connections to him and the KEMP family.

M1186 John KEMP Chickasaw Freedmen #280 Front

M1186 John KEMP Chickasaw Freedmen #280 Rear

The KEMP’S story is part of the Chickasaw Freedmen story, the Chickasaw Nation’s story and a part of the many individuals who sought to be recognized and accepted based on their Chickasaw ancestry. I hope more people will begin to see this as an integral part of African American history and just as importantly an integral part of the Chickasaw Nation history.

Someone recently told me the Chickasaw Nation is moving forward and not looking back at this history but I think that is misguided and sad. This was a chapter in their history that led the nation to fight with the confederate states in an attempt to maintain the institution of chattel slavery. It can’t be ignored or swept under the rug so the tribe can move forward as if their former slaves and in many cases their own people are not a part of Chickasaw Nation History.

Empower Me to Know My History

ADDENDUM:

While researching for my next article I discovered another child of John KEMP and Frances KEMP (deceased.)

EASTMAN, Serena et al.,

• Chickasaw Freedman Card #281
• Enrollment #1134-1143
• Place of Residence: Wynnewood, Pontotoc Indian Territory Chickasaw Nation
• Father: KEMP, John
• Mother: KEMP, Frances (Deceased)
• See NB #Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #219 & Minor Chickasaw Freedmen #187
• Joe and Dillard PERRY files BIA Record Group 75, Entry 90C,  Folder F-177-184, 186 & 203

M1186 #281F Reuben & Serena EASTMAN Chickasaw Freedmen

M1186 #281R Reuben & Serena EASTMAN Chickasaw Freedmen