Indian Territory -- Description and travel

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Surgeon and naval officer. Correspondence (1860-1913) to and from Griffith regarding his experiences as a medical cadet with the U.S. Army during the Civil War, his participation in a U.S. naval expedition to Darien (modern Panama), and also regarding New Hope Seminary in the Choctaw Nation; diaries (1864-1870) regarding Griffith's travels abroad, and his emigration to Indian Territory; naval medical reports and requisition requests (1870-1871); petition (1894) from the residents of Sans Bois, Choctaw Nation, requesting that Griffith establish a medical practice there; certificates (1900-1917); a passport (1871); manuscripts (1864-1865) by Griffith concerning his Civil War experiences with Sherman's army in Georgia and North Carolina; and programs (1888-1931).

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A manuscript journal (1879) of a wagon train trip to the Cherokee Outlet presumably by Thomas Jefferson Jordan, Jr.; a land allotment deed of the Cherokee Nation for Watie B. Jordan (1907); a hand-copied bill of sale for a slave sold to "Stan Waity" (1856); plus transcriptions and digital copies of these original documents.

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A journal kept by Joseph R. Smith of New York, recording his experiences while on a surveying expedition through Indian Territory. Smith describes the expedition's encounters with hostile Comanches, friendly Osages, severe weather and insect hordes. Also included in this collection are photocopies of a legislative document (1858) and a published article (1850), both regarding Creek Nation boundaries.

Scope and Contents FULL FINDING AID (PDF)Subject collection. Letters, reports, publications, and manuscripts reflecting the history of Oklahoma and of its American Indian tribes and nations, including correspondence (1813–1839) from U.S. government officials concerning policy toward the Indians, especially in regard to the Indian removal, and correspondence (1862) from Confederate Army officer Albert Pike in regard to Confederate States of America policy toward the Indians. Also included in this collection is a group of French colonial documents (1682–1794), along with diaries and journals (1770–1877) of travelers on the American frontier. The collection contains material on a variety of topics; researchers are urged to consult the inventory to determine the full scope of the collection’s contents. Portions of Boxes 7 and 8 of this collection are available at the OU Libraries...

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Teacher. A letter (1930) written by F.D. Pittman, a teacher from McAlester, Oklahoma, to Louis Dakil in which Pittman describes his coming to Indian Territory in 1895 to teach, and of the growth of and changes in the town of McAlester between 1903-1930.

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Collector. Personal and family correspondence (1885-1921) between Hiram Young and other members of his family in which they describe their lives in Indian Territory and the Neosho, Missouri area. Correspondents include L.A. Young, Ada Jones, Mollie Davidson, and W.A. Davis.

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Soldier. Correspondence (1866-1868) to and from Reagle regarding personal matters as well as his assignments at Fort Arbuckle, Indian Territory, with descriptions of the Indians of various tribes with whom he came into contact; and Reagles's diary (1864-1867), in which he recorded his experiences as a Union soldier in Virginia during the Civil War and his post-war service with the U.S. 10th Cavalry at Fort Arbuckle. In the diary Reagle recorded prominent Comanche, Choctaw and Chickasaw words and their English translations, a Caddo drinking song, and recipes for "elixirs of life." Of special note are his impressions of the Indians, his history of the Comanches through 1867, and drawing of a Caddo village he visited in 1867. James Reagle Jr. Photograph Collection also in repository.

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Ledger book of accounts (1867-1887) kept by attorney Jonathan Gore of Shawnee, Kansas. The second half of the ledger book is comprised of diary entries by Gore (1867-1869) concerning daily life in Shawnee, Kansas; Gore's legal practice and related cases; and observances regarding members of the local Shawnee tribe; a spiral bound transcription of the diary entries, entitled"Jonathan Gore Diary: A Compilation" by John W. Kincaid; and four loose typescript pages of entries from another diary kept by Jonathan Gore in 1867.

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Pioneer. Typescripts of manuscripts (ca. 1922) by Mrs. Reeve, entitled "Early Days in Western Kansas" "Santa Fe Trail" and "Early Days in Oklahoma.".

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Journalist. A photostatic copy of a typescript (n.d.) by Parks entitled "Prairie Prelude: 1897-1903" describing her childhood in Pawnee, Indian Territory.

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Collector. Copy of a letter dated February 17, 1877 to Melissa Evans from her husband, Elisha, regarding his trip through Caddo, Indian Territory.

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Diary of Mrs. Cassandra Sawyer Lockwood describing her journey to the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory (1833-1834), and life at Dwight Mission (1834-1835), including efforts by the Mission staff to free slaves.

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Government employee. Correspondence, memoirs, recollections, allotment records, Civil War papers, clippings and other materials relating to Indian Territory, reflecting Chaney's experiences while traveling through the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations as clerk in charge of the Choctaw-Chickasaw Allotment Division of the Dawes Commission. Warren P. Chaney Photograph Collection also in repository.