I am an enrolled member of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (formerly Smith River Rancheria), a federally recognized American Indian Tribe headquartered in Smith River, California. That is from my mother's side of the family.

However, a persistent belief exists among many members of the Whitehead family (my father's side of the family) that we have Cherokee ancestry, and I have found one family member (Thomas Leroy Whitehead, 1st child of Alma Josephine Whitehead (Davis)) described as Cherokee in S. W. Harman's book, "Hell on the Border: He Hanged Eight-Eight Men", published in 1898 (see below), so this is weak evidence confirming the Whitehead family's Cherokee ancestry, but I am still working to connect my father's side of the family back to the Dawes Rolls so family members not enrolled in a federally recognized American Indian Tribe might be able to enroll in one of three federally recognized Cherokee Tribes.

In-depth information (language, prayers, songs, culture, etc.) on our family's Cherokee and Tolowa Ancestry is in development on my Facebook page at this link:
https://www.facebook.com/wayne.whitehead.3762

A brief description of our family's Cherokee and Tolowa Ancestry is shown below, and included on various Find a Grave memorials.

CHEROKEE ANCESTRY

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hell_on_the_Border/weE1AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Thomas Leroy Whitehead is described as a Cherokee Indian in S. W. Harman's book, "Hell on the Border: He Hanged Eight-Eight Men", published in 1898, Chapter XVI (One Young Man's Experiences: A Warning to All), page 332.

Thomas Leroy Whitehead (Memorial ID# 8798126) was the first child of Alma Josephine Whitehead (Memorial ID# 74551450), and we know this is the same Thomas Leroy Whitehead from S. W. Harman's book because the event from S. W. Harman's book, and the subsequent transfer and burial of Thomas Leroy Whitehead's body to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, is published in The Indian Chieftain (see photograph and flower on the memorial for Thomas Leroy Whitehead).

The inclusion of Thomas Leroy Whitehead's Cherokee ancestry in S. W. Harman's book is weak evidence of our family's Cherokee ancestry, but strong evidence is needed in order to connect our family back to the Dawes Rolls.

Birth records and death records were not generated in the time of Thomas Leroy Whitehead's birth and death in Oklahoma, so the US Marshalls' office might have race information and next of kin notification information, which might confirm Thomas Leroy Whitehead's race and relationship to Alma Josephine Whitehead, but as of July 21, 2020, due to the COVID-19 virus, the US Marshalls' genealogy department is working from home, and not able to research their files on Thomas Leroy Whitehead (US Marshalls are still working from home as of September 9, 2022).

A photograph of Alma Josephine Whitehead's Certificate of Death is included on her Memorial ID# 74551450, and line 15 is where the maiden name of Alma's mother is written as "S. Star". Alma's Certificate of Death is from the state of Washington, county of Whitman, city of Tekoa, Record Number 113, Registered Number 7.

The 1860 United States Census shows Alma's parents, Leroy and Saphrona Davis, so this confirms the "S." in the maiden name of Alma's mother.

Alma Josephine Whitehead (Davis) had a brother, Wheeler Davis. A photograph of Wheeler Davis' Certificate of Death is included on his Memorial ID# 155354131, and line 12 is where the maiden name of Wheeler's mother is written as "Starr." Wheeler's Certificate of Death is from the state of Arizona, county of Maricopa, city of Phoenix, State File Number 315, Registered Number 142.
--Note that Wheeler's Certificate of Death provides the birthplace of his mother as "Tennessee", however, the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 United States Census provides Saphrona's birthplace as "Ohio".

At this moment, I would like to see Saphrona "Starr" on some sort of census form (probably from the State of Ohio), but those two death certificates are the best evidence that the maiden name of Alma's mother was "Star" or "Starr".

The Cherokee ancestry in the Whitehead family could be from Leroy Davis, born in Missouri, or Saphrona Davis (Starr), born in Ohio, or both! More on the Davis family, below:

https://archive.org/details/historyofcheroke00lcstar/page/n5/mode/1up
Emmet Starr's book, "History of the Cherokee Indians and Their Legends and Folk Lore", published in 1921, top of page 332 (Page 339 of 695 of this PDF file), lists Jennie Saphronia Davis, but I have determined that Emmet Starr's genealogy in this particular instance is incorrect because these Davis children are assigned the numbering system [(1.1) (1.2) (3.3) (1.x) (1.4) (x.5)] belonging to the Bushyhead family (and not their correct father, John Davis, Sr.). Continued below...

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/56688538
Application number 27119 for George W. Bushyhead ("Bushyhead, Jr."), son of Bushyhead, Sr. and grandson of Bushyhead and Nancy Bushyhead. George W. Bushyhead ("Bushyhead, Jr.") does not include any of the Davis children, especially Jennie Saphronia Davis, as his siblings, so I conclude George W. Bushyhead's genealogy is correct and that Emmet Starr's genealogy, in this particular instance, is incorrect.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/56494624
Application number 9684 for John Davis, Jr, son of John Davis, Sr. and brother of Cicero Davis. This application confirms the father of John Davis, Jr., and the Davis siblings, is John Davis, Sr., and not George Bushyhead, Sr. This is more evidence that Emmet Starr's genealogy, in this instance, was in error.

The error in Emmet Starr's genealogy was fortunate, in fact, because it gave me a path for researching the Davis family, and it confirmed that the "Davis" family could be a source of Cherokee ancestry. The "Starr" family is a well known Cherokee family, especially the notorious Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr, better known as "Belle Starr".

The question is--who were the parents of Saphrona Davis (Starr), born in Ohio, and Leroy Davis, born in Missouri, and were they Cherokee Indians as suggested by the description of Thomas Leroy Whitehead (1st child of Alma Josephine Whitehead (Davis)) in S.W. Harmon's book?

CHEROKEE ANCESTRY, UNITED STATES CENSUS INFORMATION FOR LEROY AND SAPHRONA DAVIS, AND ALMA JOSEPHINE DAVIS:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZ4-SSS
1850 Census, enumerated on August 22, 1850
District Number 26, being in the County of Dallas, State of Missouri
Leroy Davis, born in Missouri, 20 years old
Saphrona Davis, born in Ohio, 19 years old, married within the year
James Davis, born in Missouri, 10 months old (male child).

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHZY-GR5
1860 United States Census, enumerated on June 5, 1860
Rutledge Township, County of McDonald, State of Missouri
Leroy Davis, born in Missouri, 29 years old
Saphrona Davis, born in Ohio, 29 years old
James Davis, not listed on the 1860 census (see 1850 census)
Lorenza Davis, born in Missouri, 8 years old (male)
Alma Davis, born in Missouri, 6 years old (female)
Mary E. Davis, born in Missouri, 4 years old (female)
Wheeler Davis, born in Missouri, 3 years old (male)
Elizabeth Davis, born in Missouri, 1 year old (female)
John Bartshe (Ranch hand?), born in Ohio, 19 years old (male)

TOLOWA ANCESTRY

May Elizabeth "Liza" Freeman (Memorial ID# 30328695) is my maternal great-grandmother. In her "Application for enrollment with the Indians of the State of California under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. L. 602)" (aka, the "1928 California Indian Census"), application number 8361, completed on June 28, 1930, May Elizabeth "Liza" Freeman (McClung) (Memorial ID# 30328695) provides the name of her mother as Sophy [Zoie] McClung (Memorial ID# 22156964), her grandmother as Kate Melson (Memorial ID# 216546762), and her great grandmother as Mrs. Sam Wilson (Nancy Wilson) (Memorial ID# 113670760).

https://www.amazon.com/Chetco-Story-River-Its-People/dp/1450770843
See the book, "Chetco" by Dr. Mike Adams for more information on the Freeman family from Brookings, Oregon.

In Sophy McClung's 1928 California Indian Census, application number 8198, completed on December 18, 1929, she lists her name as Zoie Melson McClung. She lists her mother's name as Kate Wilson [married name Kate Melson. Kate Melson (Wilson) is the daughter of Mr. Sam Wilson, Sr.], and Sophy's maternal grandmother's name is listed as Nancy [Nancy Wilson, wife of Sam Wilson, Sr.].

Nancy Wilson (wife of Sam Wilson, Sr.) is the mother of nine children (by birth order: John Wilson, Henry Wilson, Catherine "Kate" Melson (Wilson), Robert Wilson, Samuel Salyer Wilson, Jr., Vance Wilson, James Wilson, Margaret Wilson (I don't know if she was married), and Creed Wilson).

In Samuel Salyer Wilson, Jr.'s 1928 California Indian Census, application number 9289, completed on December 22, 1930, Sam Jr. provides the name of his mother as "Nancy Soutus Wilson" (maiden name Nancy Soutus), and provides her date of death as February 6, 1926. Sam Jr. provides the name of his maternal grandfather as "Soutus", so this is evidence that Nancy Soutus Wilson's father was Soutus. [NOTE: the spelling of the name "Soutus" varies from the spelling provided in Creed Wilson's application.]

In Creed Wilson's 1928 California Indian Census, application number 9879, completed on December 8, 1930, Creed Wilson provides the name of his father, Sam Wilson [Sr.], and the English name of his mother, a full-blooded Indian, Nancy Wilson, and her Indian name, Sou-tas [the name of her father, Sou-tas]. Continued in next paragraph...

Creed Wilson provides the Indian name of his maternal grandmother as "Sro-Chelley" [pronounced "Srow Shay", similar to the "Canyon de Chelly, or Canyon de Chelley" national monument in northeastern Arizona, United States of America. "Shay" is also the name of my 1st cousin (Mr. Shay Freeman) of Medford, Oregon.

In Pete Sow-tas' ("Sow-tas" is the last name) 1928 California Indian Census, application number 3481, completed on August 16, 1929, he states that his nickname is "Big Flat Pete", which is a reference to Big Flat, Del Norte County, California. Pete provides the name of his father, Sow-tas, and the name of his mother, Mary-Ann. Combined with the information from Creed Wilson's 1928 California Indian Census, application number 9879, it is possible that Sow-tas (Big Flat Pete's father) had at least two wives: (1) Sro-Chelley (pronounced "Srow" "Shay"), and (2) Mary Ann.

Pete Sow-tas (Big Flat Pete) also provides the English and Indian names of his deceased wife--(English name, Kate Pete) (Indian name, Sow-yas).

END OF BIOGRAPHY

I am an enrolled member of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (formerly Smith River Rancheria), a federally recognized American Indian Tribe headquartered in Smith River, California. That is from my mother's side of the family.

However, a persistent belief exists among many members of the Whitehead family (my father's side of the family) that we have Cherokee ancestry, and I have found one family member (Thomas Leroy Whitehead, 1st child of Alma Josephine Whitehead (Davis)) described as Cherokee in S. W. Harman's book, "Hell on the Border: He Hanged Eight-Eight Men", published in 1898 (see below), so this is weak evidence confirming the Whitehead family's Cherokee ancestry, but I am still working to connect my father's side of the family back to the Dawes Rolls so family members not enrolled in a federally recognized American Indian Tribe might be able to enroll in one of three federally recognized Cherokee Tribes.

In-depth information (language, prayers, songs, culture, etc.) on our family's Cherokee and Tolowa Ancestry is in development on my Facebook page at this link:
https://www.facebook.com/wayne.whitehead.3762

A brief description of our family's Cherokee and Tolowa Ancestry is shown below, and included on various Find a Grave memorials.

CHEROKEE ANCESTRY

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hell_on_the_Border/weE1AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Thomas Leroy Whitehead is described as a Cherokee Indian in S. W. Harman's book, "Hell on the Border: He Hanged Eight-Eight Men", published in 1898, Chapter XVI (One Young Man's Experiences: A Warning to All), page 332.

Thomas Leroy Whitehead (Memorial ID# 8798126) was the first child of Alma Josephine Whitehead (Memorial ID# 74551450), and we know this is the same Thomas Leroy Whitehead from S. W. Harman's book because the event from S. W. Harman's book, and the subsequent transfer and burial of Thomas Leroy Whitehead's body to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, is published in The Indian Chieftain (see photograph and flower on the memorial for Thomas Leroy Whitehead).

The inclusion of Thomas Leroy Whitehead's Cherokee ancestry in S. W. Harman's book is weak evidence of our family's Cherokee ancestry, but strong evidence is needed in order to connect our family back to the Dawes Rolls.

Birth records and death records were not generated in the time of Thomas Leroy Whitehead's birth and death in Oklahoma, so the US Marshalls' office might have race information and next of kin notification information, which might confirm Thomas Leroy Whitehead's race and relationship to Alma Josephine Whitehead, but as of July 21, 2020, due to the COVID-19 virus, the US Marshalls' genealogy department is working from home, and not able to research their files on Thomas Leroy Whitehead (US Marshalls are still working from home as of September 9, 2022).

A photograph of Alma Josephine Whitehead's Certificate of Death is included on her Memorial ID# 74551450, and line 15 is where the maiden name of Alma's mother is written as "S. Star". Alma's Certificate of Death is from the state of Washington, county of Whitman, city of Tekoa, Record Number 113, Registered Number 7.

The 1860 United States Census shows Alma's parents, Leroy and Saphrona Davis, so this confirms the "S." in the maiden name of Alma's mother.

Alma Josephine Whitehead (Davis) had a brother, Wheeler Davis. A photograph of Wheeler Davis' Certificate of Death is included on his Memorial ID# 155354131, and line 12 is where the maiden name of Wheeler's mother is written as "Starr." Wheeler's Certificate of Death is from the state of Arizona, county of Maricopa, city of Phoenix, State File Number 315, Registered Number 142.
--Note that Wheeler's Certificate of Death provides the birthplace of his mother as "Tennessee", however, the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 United States Census provides Saphrona's birthplace as "Ohio".

At this moment, I would like to see Saphrona "Starr" on some sort of census form (probably from the State of Ohio), but those two death certificates are the best evidence that the maiden name of Alma's mother was "Star" or "Starr".

The Cherokee ancestry in the Whitehead family could be from Leroy Davis, born in Missouri, or Saphrona Davis (Starr), born in Ohio, or both! More on the Davis family, below:

https://archive.org/details/historyofcheroke00lcstar/page/n5/mode/1up
Emmet Starr's book, "History of the Cherokee Indians and Their Legends and Folk Lore", published in 1921, top of page 332 (Page 339 of 695 of this PDF file), lists Jennie Saphronia Davis, but I have determined that Emmet Starr's genealogy in this particular instance is incorrect because these Davis children are assigned the numbering system [(1.1) (1.2) (3.3) (1.x) (1.4) (x.5)] belonging to the Bushyhead family (and not their correct father, John Davis, Sr.). Continued below...

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/56688538
Application number 27119 for George W. Bushyhead ("Bushyhead, Jr."), son of Bushyhead, Sr. and grandson of Bushyhead and Nancy Bushyhead. George W. Bushyhead ("Bushyhead, Jr.") does not include any of the Davis children, especially Jennie Saphronia Davis, as his siblings, so I conclude George W. Bushyhead's genealogy is correct and that Emmet Starr's genealogy, in this particular instance, is incorrect.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/56494624
Application number 9684 for John Davis, Jr, son of John Davis, Sr. and brother of Cicero Davis. This application confirms the father of John Davis, Jr., and the Davis siblings, is John Davis, Sr., and not George Bushyhead, Sr. This is more evidence that Emmet Starr's genealogy, in this instance, was in error.

The error in Emmet Starr's genealogy was fortunate, in fact, because it gave me a path for researching the Davis family, and it confirmed that the "Davis" family could be a source of Cherokee ancestry. The "Starr" family is a well known Cherokee family, especially the notorious Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr, better known as "Belle Starr".

The question is--who were the parents of Saphrona Davis (Starr), born in Ohio, and Leroy Davis, born in Missouri, and were they Cherokee Indians as suggested by the description of Thomas Leroy Whitehead (1st child of Alma Josephine Whitehead (Davis)) in S.W. Harmon's book?

CHEROKEE ANCESTRY, UNITED STATES CENSUS INFORMATION FOR LEROY AND SAPHRONA DAVIS, AND ALMA JOSEPHINE DAVIS:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZ4-SSS
1850 Census, enumerated on August 22, 1850
District Number 26, being in the County of Dallas, State of Missouri
Leroy Davis, born in Missouri, 20 years old
Saphrona Davis, born in Ohio, 19 years old, married within the year
James Davis, born in Missouri, 10 months old (male child).

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHZY-GR5
1860 United States Census, enumerated on June 5, 1860
Rutledge Township, County of McDonald, State of Missouri
Leroy Davis, born in Missouri, 29 years old
Saphrona Davis, born in Ohio, 29 years old
James Davis, not listed on the 1860 census (see 1850 census)
Lorenza Davis, born in Missouri, 8 years old (male)
Alma Davis, born in Missouri, 6 years old (female)
Mary E. Davis, born in Missouri, 4 years old (female)
Wheeler Davis, born in Missouri, 3 years old (male)
Elizabeth Davis, born in Missouri, 1 year old (female)
John Bartshe (Ranch hand?), born in Ohio, 19 years old (male)

TOLOWA ANCESTRY

May Elizabeth "Liza" Freeman (Memorial ID# 30328695) is my maternal great-grandmother. In her "Application for enrollment with the Indians of the State of California under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. L. 602)" (aka, the "1928 California Indian Census"), application number 8361, completed on June 28, 1930, May Elizabeth "Liza" Freeman (McClung) (Memorial ID# 30328695) provides the name of her mother as Sophy [Zoie] McClung (Memorial ID# 22156964), her grandmother as Kate Melson (Memorial ID# 216546762), and her great grandmother as Mrs. Sam Wilson (Nancy Wilson) (Memorial ID# 113670760).

https://www.amazon.com/Chetco-Story-River-Its-People/dp/1450770843
See the book, "Chetco" by Dr. Mike Adams for more information on the Freeman family from Brookings, Oregon.

In Sophy McClung's 1928 California Indian Census, application number 8198, completed on December 18, 1929, she lists her name as Zoie Melson McClung. She lists her mother's name as Kate Wilson [married name Kate Melson. Kate Melson (Wilson) is the daughter of Mr. Sam Wilson, Sr.], and Sophy's maternal grandmother's name is listed as Nancy [Nancy Wilson, wife of Sam Wilson, Sr.].

Nancy Wilson (wife of Sam Wilson, Sr.) is the mother of nine children (by birth order: John Wilson, Henry Wilson, Catherine "Kate" Melson (Wilson), Robert Wilson, Samuel Salyer Wilson, Jr., Vance Wilson, James Wilson, Margaret Wilson (I don't know if she was married), and Creed Wilson).

In Samuel Salyer Wilson, Jr.'s 1928 California Indian Census, application number 9289, completed on December 22, 1930, Sam Jr. provides the name of his mother as "Nancy Soutus Wilson" (maiden name Nancy Soutus), and provides her date of death as February 6, 1926. Sam Jr. provides the name of his maternal grandfather as "Soutus", so this is evidence that Nancy Soutus Wilson's father was Soutus. [NOTE: the spelling of the name "Soutus" varies from the spelling provided in Creed Wilson's application.]

In Creed Wilson's 1928 California Indian Census, application number 9879, completed on December 8, 1930, Creed Wilson provides the name of his father, Sam Wilson [Sr.], and the English name of his mother, a full-blooded Indian, Nancy Wilson, and her Indian name, Sou-tas [the name of her father, Sou-tas]. Continued in next paragraph...

Creed Wilson provides the Indian name of his maternal grandmother as "Sro-Chelley" [pronounced "Srow Shay", similar to the "Canyon de Chelly, or Canyon de Chelley" national monument in northeastern Arizona, United States of America. "Shay" is also the name of my 1st cousin (Mr. Shay Freeman) of Medford, Oregon.

In Pete Sow-tas' ("Sow-tas" is the last name) 1928 California Indian Census, application number 3481, completed on August 16, 1929, he states that his nickname is "Big Flat Pete", which is a reference to Big Flat, Del Norte County, California. Pete provides the name of his father, Sow-tas, and the name of his mother, Mary-Ann. Combined with the information from Creed Wilson's 1928 California Indian Census, application number 9879, it is possible that Sow-tas (Big Flat Pete's father) had at least two wives: (1) Sro-Chelley (pronounced "Srow" "Shay"), and (2) Mary Ann.

Pete Sow-tas (Big Flat Pete) also provides the English and Indian names of his deceased wife--(English name, Kate Pete) (Indian name, Sow-yas).

END OF BIOGRAPHY