A series of transcriptions of census material for the Eastern Band of Cherokees between the years 1923 and 1929. Researchers familiar with the work of compiler Jeff Bowen will know that he recently completed the transcription of a four-volume series of census records gathered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Agent James E. Henderson for the years 1915 to 1922. Like its predecessor this new three-volume series is based on Agent Henderson’s enumerations, in this case for the succeeding years 1923 to 1929. Mr. Bowen made his transcription from U.S. Archives Microfilm Roll M595-24, which is part of the larger collection, Native American Census Rolls, 1885-1940. This series marks the first time the 1923 to 1929 Eastern Cherokee data has been made available as a publication.
Eastern Cherokee Census, Cherokee, North Carolina, 1923-1929 concerns the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from Cherokee, North Carolina, living on the reservation known as the Qualla Boundary. Individuals enumerated in the census are descendants of the Cherokees who were not removed to Indian Territory during the period 1838 to 1839 in the migration known as the Trail of Tears. While there is sometimes additional data, information provided in the census almost invariably gives each person’s name, family relationship, date of birth, and sex–information that is critical in any genealogical research.
In most cases the information provided is self-explanatory; however, where there are discrepancies and anomalies, Mr. Bowen has transcribed the data exactly as it appears in the microfilmed typescript, which in turn reflects the methodology of the census taker. In all, researchers will find references to about 3,500 Cherokees who inhabited the Qualla Boundary between 1923 and 1924.