- Collection:
- Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842
- Title:
- [Letter] 1855 Sept. 26, Executive Office, Raleigh [to] Gov[ernor of North Carolina Thomas] Bragg
- Date of Original:
- 1855-09-26
- Subject:
- Cherokee Indians--Legal status, laws, etc.
- Location:
- United States, North Carolina, 35.50069, -80.00032
- Medium:
- letters (correspondence)
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- text/html
image/jpeg - Description:
- This document is an incomplete letter from unknown author to North Carolina Governor Thomas Bragg (1855 - 1859) concerning the North Carolina Cherokee Indians and their rights to citizenship. It states that the Cherokees, under the treaties of 1817 and 1819, do not exercise the ordinary rights of citizens nor have they been regarded as possessing such rights, with a few exceptions. The letter, dated September 26, 1855, also refers to a supreme court case of Euchella v. Welch.
Digital image of original manuscript, scanned by the University of Georgia Libraries in 2000, as part of GALILEO, funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. - Local Identifier:
- wtp071
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_zlna_wtp071
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_zlna_wtp071#item
- IIIF manifest:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_zlna_wtp071/presentation/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: [title of item], William H. Thomas Papers, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries, presented in the Digital Library of Georgia
- Extent:
- 3 pages/leaves
- Original Collection:
- Manuscript held by the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries, William H. Thomas Papers, box 01, folder 15, document 02.
- Holding Institution:
- Hargrett Library
- Rights:
-
Page: [1]
Executive Office Raleigh
Septr [September] 26th 1855
Sir
I had the honor to receive a few days since your letter of the 22nd instant calling my attention to one of the provisions of an act of Congress, passed at the last Session thereof in relation to the Cherokee Indians, and requesting my views respecting the North Carolina Cherokees as to their rights to citizenship or a permanent residence in this State.
The Cherokees of this State with one or two exceptions do not exercise the ordinary rights of citizens nor have they been regarded as possessing such rights.
Under the treaties of
1817 &
1819 such of them as preferred to remain east of the Mississippi were allowed to do so upon certain conditions and the heads of families were allowed reserved lands, and upon a compliance with the conditions expressed in the treaties, they perhaps became citizens of the United States. How many
Page: [2]
in North Carolina availed themselves of these provisions. I have no means of determining or whether any of them or their descendants are yet in this State. Some of them did undoubtedly remain for there is a case reported in 3rd [unclear text: Hawks Repts [Reports] ] (
1824) of our Supreme Court Euchela vs [versus] Welsh in which it was held that the title of the plaintiff an indian who had received lands of the kind was good against the defendant who claimed under a Grant from the State.
Various acts of Assembly were passed both before and after the making of these treaties to protect the Indians against the encroachment of the whites. There has been no act so far as I am aware to compel their removal or making it penal for them to remain.
The exceptions to which I refered [referred] as to citizenship are of one or two cases in which the State has by act of Assembly conferred or attempted to confer such rights. One of them was in
1846 upon an old chief called [unclear text: Junaluskee ], who commanded a body of friendly Indians at the battle of Horse [page(s) missing]
Page: [3]
[illegible text]
Gov Bragg letter
Sep 25 1856-