Indian Territory! ( Part 2 )

Henry and Sarah were now making the trek to I.T. (Indian Territory) December 1901. This time they didn't just have a boy with them, but a man; in that their oldest Marvin ( my G.G. Grandfather ) was accompanying them along with his expecting wife Amy. Naturally they ran in to a little trouble with an unexpected snow storm, but that didn't stop Henry. They simply rode it out in an abandoned shelter they found.

As Henry and family were in tow there were already things taking place in the direction they were headed unbeknownst to them all. Although with the removal of many Indian tribes into this one location called I.T.; others who had made their way into this region were now pushing to make economic progress, one of those ways being through the building of the Right-of-Way for the Fort Smith &Western Railroad that would run between Weleetka and Spokogee ( a Creek word believed to mean "exalted" or "near to God" ). Spokogee would later come to be known as Dustin.

It seemed as though it was all about to "fall into place" for everyone. Three men (George F. Clarke, O.W. Meacham, and Lake Moore ) had come together in hopes of having a part in all the new progress and making some money. They had left their jobs and now had secured themselves a part of  starting a new town due to the railroad township group.  Of course they ran into a snag along the way with no township laws. Charles Curtis ( a soon to be Vice President of the United States) got involved helping to secure the passage through Congress for the Frisco Right of Way Act, and thus allowing the forward movement of now establishing a town along with a name.

The town was on an allotment of a mixed blood Creek Indian, Hugh Henry. Mr. Henry Beard who was part of the Railway Township Group had a wife named Etta who also had a land allotment west of the area in question. He suggested the new town be named, "Henryetta" so that all three could be honored; the allotment owner, himself, and his wife. Thus Henryetta was born, just fifteen days after the Chancey's departure for Indian Territory.



With the new railway and towns beginning to pop up, Henry Chancey had an opportunity for some work now that they had arrived in Indian Territory. Upon arriving, just two short months later, another new town had opened up, Weleetka. Henry was going to now be a part of helping to build the Right-of-Way for the Fort Smith & Western railway

Ft. Smith and Western Railroad Depot
near Spokogee ( Dustin ) Courtesy Don Taylor

through this new township.

Henry went on to hire a large number of mule teams and drivers for the job while taking up camp for him and his family on the North Canadian River. There Sarah ran a commissary. Sarah would graciously serve her customers throughout all hours. 

The railroad work finished its course out in 1904, and with that another move awaited. Henry and Sarah moved their family back towards Henryetta to farm. After a year they moved west a ways to Bryant where they continued to ranch and farm. The Chanceys now had just taken up residence in the heart of the Creek Nation, Indian Territory.

Main Street Bryant, Oklahoma
Courtesy of Don Taylor

Henry was known to be friendly to everyone he met, what some called a fearless man. He never carried a gun, but mingled amongst everyone from the occasional outlaw to the cattlemen to the Indians. If you messed with his stuff, say a horse, he didn't have a problem tracking you down to retrieve his belongings.

His relationship had begun to grow with the Creek Indians as well, and they would come to trust Henry so much so that in 1907, during one of the armed Indian uprisings Henry would remain in close contact with those involved.....




( Sources )

Chancey, Grace H., Floy Bess. Chancey, and Aleene Chancey. Shubert. Joseph Chancey. Chauncey-Chancey. Jacksonville, AR: Order ... from A. Shubert, 1988. N. pag. Print.

History of Weleetka

Stories of Early Oklahoma

Cherokee Nation Female Seminary

Quote:
" The Cherokee National Female Seminary School was founded on May 7, 1851. A related text describes it thus, "One of the first boarding schools for Native Americans was not created by the federal government, but was founded in 1851 by the Cherokee National Council." "

John Ross was the leader of the Cherokee Nation, and one who also became influential in beginning institutions for young Cherokees. One of those would be the Female Seminary Hall for the young Cherokee women. An institution that would come to be considered one of the best of its kind, west of the Mississippi.

Cherokee Female Seminary
Courtesy Cherokee Heritage Center

The Cherokee Nation was one who embraced education. Within its grasps it now had the syllabary by Sequoyah, and by the 1890's the Cherokees were considered to have some of the highest literacy skills than other citizens.

Though the Cherokee people seemed to desire to educate its people, it was said that the Women's Seminary did not offer instruction in their own Cherokee language. The women did however maintain a rigorous work schedule learning anything from Latin to Philosophy to Religion.


On Easter Sunday 1887 the Female Seminary burned to the ground, and was rebuilt May 7, 1889 in Tahlequah, Indian Territory.



1889 Tahlequah after rebuilding of Female Seminary
Courtesy Northeastern State University

Tahlequah was, and today still is, the Capital of the Cherokee Nation. A Cherokee word Talikwa, or Tellico, of which was considered an old Cherokee town.


Indian Territory was to become known as Oklahoma November 16, 1907 when it received statehood. In two years, 1909, the state of Oklahoma bought the Female Seminary Hall as Oklahoma was now joining the ranks of the state college system. The Cherokee Nation graduated the last of its students under the name in the spring of 1910.

Today the building is simply called, "Seminary Hall" and is a major focal point on the campus of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma; and houses numerous classrooms with students from every walk of life attending.


Seminary Hall on Northeastern State University Campus
Courtesy of Oklahoma Native America

                                                                  
                                                      Listen for more!

Sources:
Tahlequah, Oklahoma - Cherokee Seminaries

http://wsharing.com/WSphotosTahlequahCS.htm

Cherokee Heritage Center

http://www.cherokeeheritage.org/attractions/female-seminaries/

  Photos Courtesy of:
Cherokee Heritage Center
Northeastern State University
Oklahoma Travel Native America