1885 Choctaw Freedmen
Who Elected To Leave the Nation

(Approximately 69 persons classified as Choctaw Freedmen chose to leave the Choctaw nation prior to adoption of the Choctaw Freedmen in 1885.  These 69 should not be confused with the more than 6000 Choctaw Freedmen remaining in Indian Territory. 

Various records from the Ft. Smith field office of  the Office of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands (Freedman's Bureau) indicate that twenty years prior, in 1865, the plight of many Freedmen in the Choctaw Nation was woeful. Many newly freed slaves were subject to attack, confiscation of property, and various outrages committed upon them. This occurred  particularly in the Freedmen settlements near the Arkansas border.  Though few in number, these Freedmen, after years of trying to live in their nation, chose to emigrate to the United States for an opportunity at a different life. They were given payments of $100 to leave and thus forfeited any future rights as citizens of the Choctaw Nation.  These 69 Freedmen, represented less than 1% of 1% of the Freedmen who remained, and who later applied for and were enrolled on the Dawes Rolls.

There are those who deny the presence of the Choctaw Freedmen, who dispute their having any blood ties to their nation, and kinsmen, and who speak of the 69 emigrants as the Choctaw Freedmen as a whole.  The decision of these persons seeking a better life, are often used by persons wishing to continue to deny Freedmen recognition of their heritage. However, the more than 6000 Freedmen found on the Dawes Rolls, the families found on the 1910 and 1900 Federal Special Indian Census, and those admitted to citizenship in 1885 all  represent the thousands of African-Choctaws who arrived in the Territory in the 1830s, who lived both in and out of bondage and who worked the land until statehood and remained.  Their descendants live both inside and outside of Oklahoma today, and thousands of African Choctaw Ancestry descend from those referred to as the Choctaw Freedmen. Note that the largest group were the 69, and that Districts 2 and 3 contained less than 10 emigrants each.

These 69 emigrants listed below, are still part of the Indian Territory Freedmen community in an historical sense, and they are included here, for those who may descend from these 69, and who may be seeking the names of their ancestors. )  

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The discussion arose whether or not to allow some of the Freedmen to leave the nation, accepting a cash payment in lieu of other rights as a citizen. A vast majority elected to remain in the land that they knew as home. Though, like the freedmen of the other nations, their presence was welcomed by some and shunned by others, a majority did stay. A census was thus conducted of all of the Freedmen noting those who opted to take a cash payment and to leave the nation. The 1885 Choctaw-Chickasaw census therefore has several categories. The book containing this census, consists of a one volume book of 100 plus pages of names of the freedmen, categorizing them as 1) Those who Elected to leave the nation, 2) Those admitted to citizenship, and 3) Those whose enrollment was "Doubtful" All will be produced here copied from the original source.

The names listed below are in the following order:

Name--Name of Freedman
Designation---Head of house or child---(H) Head  (W) Wife
Nationality--Whether from the Choctaw or Chickasaw Nation
Slave Owner---Name of Choctaw to whom they belonged before freedom.

1885 Choctaw Census (By Blood)

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