Wallace
Rolls
Bureau of Indian Affairs. Scope & Content
John W. Wallace compiled the original rolls for the Authenticated,
Admitted, and Rejected Freedmen, and the Free Negroes. Because
of discrepancies, additional supplements were added. Individual
entries give name, age, sex, residence, and other pertinent
information. The individual rolls are generally arranged
alphabetically by initial letter of surname of head of
family, but occasionally they may first be divided into
groups and districts.
General
Note: These rolls were created because the Cherokee citizenship
of many ex-slaves of the Cherokee in Indian Territory was disputed
by the Cherokee tribe. The establishment of their status was
important in determining their right to live on Cherokee land
and to share in certain annuity and other payment, including
a special $75,000 award voted by Congress on October 19, 1888.
A series of investigations was conducted in order to compile
the rolls of the Cherokee Freedmen. These investigations were
conducted by John W. Wallace, 1889-1890; Leo E. Bennett, 1891-92;
Marcus D. Shelby, 1893; James G. Dickson, 1895-96; and WIlliam
Clifton, William Thompson, and Robert H. Kern, 1896-97.
