Saturday, November 23, 2019

The living relatives of “Gardner Green”


The non-profit groups in Missouri known as the Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory and the Northern Cherokee Nation both claim descent from a Cherokee man who was listed as “Gardner Green” on the 1835 Census of the Cherokee Nation. That claim was debunked earlier in this series in a post titled “Young Wolf, son of The Mouse.”

Since publishing that post, many have wondered about the actual Cherokee family of Young Wolf, aka Gardiner Green. At this time, though no living direct descendants have been identified, many living nieces and nephews of varying degrees have been found.

Young Wolf had at least seven siblings through his father, The Mouse. One of those siblings was named Ool-stoo or Leaves on a Tree. There is an abundance of information that supports the conclusion that The Mouse was the father of both Young Wolf and Ool-stoo. Most of that documentation will be shared later in the biographies of The Mouse and Ool-stoo.

Ool-stoo’s daughter, Peggie Redbird, recorded her father’s name in her Eastern Cherokee application.

Peggie Redbird, Eastern Cherokee Application #4605, Fold3.com
She also said her paternal grandfather was Rat. (The same word can be used to describe both mouse and rat in Cherokee.)

Peggie Redbird, Eastern Cherokee Application #4605, Fold3.com
Peggie had several siblings, including a sister named Too-nah-ye and a brother named Stephen, both dead.

Peggie Redbird, Eastern Cherokee Application #4605, Fold3.com
Because Too-nah-ye died in 1904, she did not live long enough to file an Eastern Cherokee application but her daughter did.

John and Jennie Cornsilk
Jennie Cornsilk nee Walker listed her mother as Too-nah-ye Ool-stoo but did not state the name of her maternal grandfather on her first application.

Jennie Cornsilk, Eastern Cherokee Application #2271, Fold3.com
She did list both Peggie Redbird, living, and Steve Ool-stoo, dead, as her aunt and uncle though.

Jennie Cornsilk, Eastern Cherokee Application #2271, Fold3.com
Later, Jennie filed another application. Though difficult to read, she listed her maternal grandfather as Oo-loo-stoo.

Jennie Cornsilk, Eastern Cherokee Application #12540, Fold3.com
At the time of the Eastern Cherokee applications, Jennie Cornsilk nee Walker was the widow of a man named John Cornsilk. Their son, William Cornsilk, filed his own Eastern Cherokee application. He listed his mother as Jennie Cornsilk, and grandmother as Too-nah-ye. While this information seems redundant, it’s important because it links the generations together.


William Cornsilk, Eastern Cherokee Application #12543, Fold3.com
One of the relatives William claimed through was his great grandfather on his mother’s side, Oo-loo-stoo.

William Cornsilk, Eastern Cherokee Application #12543, Fold3.com
William also listed his wife as “Kattie Cornsilk”, 30 years old.

William Cornsilk, Eastern Cherokee Application #12543, Fold3.com
In 1910, William and Katie Cornsilk were living in Stillwell, Adair County, Oklahoma. William was 25 and Katie was 33. It was his first marriage and her second. They had two children together at that time, a son named Jesse and a daughter named Cora.

Ancestry.com
In 1920, William and Katie were still living in Stillwell, Adair County, Oklahoma. They had two sons, Jesse and Henry, and three daughters, Cora, Ruth, and Kate, at that time.

Ancestry.com
In 1930, William and Katie were living in Baron, Adair County, Oklahoma. They had an additional child born to them since the previous census. That child was a little girl named Josephine.

Ancestry.com
Josephine
Josephine Cornsilk grew up and first married Millard Tidwell. Later she married Ray Moreland. She was the mother of twelve children.

Josephine and family
She is the grandmother of Jeannie Tidwell who represents the Cooweescoowee District as one of nine United Keetoowah Band District Councilors.

Jeannie Tidwell
Josephine is also the grandmother of my dear friends, Jo Ann Tidwell and Sandee Tidwell Lovato, as well as many others.

Jo Ann Tidwell
Additionally, Josephine’s brother, Jesse Cornsilk, is the grandfather of David Cornsilk who is well known for his activism against fraudulent Cherokees and tribes.

William & Sandee Tidwell, descendants of The Mouse
This means The Mouse is the 5th great grandfather of Jeannie, Jo Ann, and Sandee Tidwell and David Cornsilk. Young Wolf, the son of Mouse, also known as “Gardner Green”, is their 5th great-uncle. 

To be clear, Jeannie, Jo Ann, Sandee, and David are four of the legitimate living nieces and nephews of the Cherokee man (re)named Gardner Green who was listed on the 1835 Census of the Cherokee Nation. 





Those are my thoughts for today.

Polly's Granddaughter


copyright 2019, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB


A special 'Thank You' to Jo Ann Tidwell for sharing family pictures and allowing them to be used in this post.


**Other living nieces and nephews of Young Wolf, aka Gardiner Green, descend from Cherokee families with the surnames Rat, Rider, Swimmer, Tincup, Hogner, Wolfe, Spade, Manus, Scraper, and many more. Those lineages from The Mouse will be explored later in this blog.**

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