Before I Forget

-- The Wagoner Tribune, page 1, published 19 March 1946 in Wagoner, Oklahoma.

Not my Childers, but a fascinating family I've long researched. This man's father was shot/killed one hot August day a few blocks from where I now live. On the Perryman ranch. 

Obituaries are great founts of data. Whether accurate or embellished, they say so much about the survivor(s) who write them. 

More later... 

          Today's TulsaWorld newspaper has a guest columnist's piece on an appalling land grab 100+ years ago in Creek Nation, Indian Territory. No, not THE big land grab when the U.S. Government broke its zillioneth contract with indigenous peoples by declaring their territory the 46th state in 1907. This is about a woman cheated of control of her very own allotment. 

          Written by a former Tulsan and a forever-Okie, Russell Cobb adapted the story of Millie Naharkey from his new book, The Great Oklahoma Swindle: Race, Religion, and Lies in America’s Weirdest State. 

https://t.co/CNXx8iOFOC?amp=1

          (I pray my link leads you to the article. Holler, if not). 

          Because I can't wait for Prime to bring Cobb's book to my doorstep (we ARE practicing "social distance" in lieu of Covid-19), I plugged Millie Naharkey's name into Newspapers.com.

          From the front page of an October 5, 1922 newspaper:

          Because front pages of old newspapers rock, here's a partial shot from the same paper. Look who was en route to Muskogee that week. See "Comrades Attention!" at the top:



          I was happy to learn from Cobb's article of Millie Naharkey's hard-fought legal victory against Charles Page, head of the corporation named "Sand Springs Home." Good for her!  Although she saw little of the profit from the land thanks to her guardians at 1st National Bank of Tulsa. Imagine what the Bank's lawyers hourly fee was to represent themselves in that lawsuit, I mean, Ms. Naharkey.

          Having her repeatedly declared "an incompetent Indian" before a judge and then stealing her inheritance!  Reminds me of Wells Fargo's recent fine for twice setting up fake accounts under customer's names so it could profit by moving money around--without knowledge or approval from customers, FFS.  

          Have you ever wished bankers could be tarred and feathered?

https://law.justia.com/cases/oklahoma/supreme-court/1936/23023.html

         
          If you also read Newspapers.com, here's the 1922 article's link:  https://www.newspapers.com/image/608081786/
 

From URL:  http://www1.odcr.com/detail?court=019-&casekey=019-MLI+2700064

I'll let you decide, BP, as I see two different spellings of her name:

Do you know of supporting documents? Just a thought. I'm at work now, or would look up on Ancestry. 
_______________

9:15 p.m. UPDATE

The 1930 Federal Census finds Cleveland and Venzella living at 1245 S. Owasso Av., Tulsa.  Ages 29 and 24, he is a porter at a "service station."  And yes, her name is spelled: VENZELLA (which means nothing because mistakes are frequent in census records). Someone gave her birthplace as Kansas. 

Then, found a 1953 Pasadena City Directory listing for Venzella. Sadly, she's listed as a widow to Cleveland:

Name:	Venzella G Benjamin
Gender:	Female
Residence Year:	1953
Street address:	670 Casitas av
Residence Place:	Pasadena, California, USA
Occupation:	Beauty Salon Operator
Spouse:	Cleveland Benjamin
Publication Title:	Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1953

 An enlarged image:

Name	Venezuela Ford
Birth Year	abt 1905
Age	1
Gender	Female
Residence Date	27 Oct 1906
Residence Place	Oklahoma
Tribe	Creek

Forced removal of several native tribes from southeastern United States to Indian Territory in the early 1800s prompted this kickass meme. The subject looks more like a "Plains Indian" but I won't quibble.