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The Joneses - Edward
Frenchman, his wife of the Perry family, and
possibly his son by his first wife Dora Jones Frenchman. This photograph,
circa 1906. The child would be a son of Ed's first wife and;
therefore, a grandson of William Stephens Jones, who was Dora Jones's
father.
A very old newspaper
clipping shows that this woman died in the same tragic way as Edward's
first wife, Dora (Doshia) Jones.
1880 roll: page 102,
#1073, Ed Frenchman, Coo-Weet-Scoo-Weet. 1896 roll: page 368, # 274,
Edward Frenchman.
As the accurate meaning
of many names of Ponca people has been lost through the passage of time so
too maybe the name Coo-Weet'-Scoo-Weet' (accent on both Weets). It is the
custom of the Cherokees to pass a name down from ancestor to descendant
just as the Ponca's do. This was the Indian name of chief John Ross, of
Scot descent.
Edward's handwriting on
the documents from the archives shows the script to be quite attractive,
with well-formed letters, properly spaced and placed on the line. There is
not a great flourish except on the F.
It is interesting to
note, Ed's second wife, Perry, died tragically in the same manner as his
first wife. Jerry Young, author, found the newspaper clippings on the
accident.
It is common for the
Jones children to be fair and blond, but when they grow up their hair is
almost black. This is probably Dennis, Ed's child by his first wife, Dora
(Doshia) Jones.
The following is from a
document dated October 9, 1900:
Q. How long have you lived in the Cherokee Nation?
A. All my life. Born here.
Q. What is the name of your father?
A. Frenchman is all he goes by.
Q. Is he dead or alive?
A. Alive
Q. What is the name of your mother?
A. I don't remember, she has an Indian name. She's been dead seven years.
Q. Do you remember her English name?
A. Didn't have any English name.
Q. What did you call her in Indian?
A. I couldn't speak it.
Q. How did you speak to your mother?
A. I never called her by name.
Q. Did you call her Mother?
A. Yes sir.
On another document dated October 31, 1902 is a question and answer
statement by Frank Frenchman, brother to Edward Frenchman telling that
Dora Jones and Edward Frenchman were married in 1888. At the time Frank
was forty-six. Through the questioning the two men keep bringing up the
fact that they are Delaware Indian as well as Cherokee.
Edward's first wife,
Dora (Doshia) is pictured earlier.
Absolutely!
You are also completely correct
about the Cherokee territory connection. That band of Delawares made a
treaty with the Cherokees in 1850-something for their land around
Copan/Dewey. They are called “Cherokee-Delaware” on the Dawes rolls, but
if you look at the rolls and see their tribal affiliation, it is
documented as Delaware. That does cause some confusion.
The Cherokees had already settled
in the Eastern part of Oklahoma by then, they moved after the Indian
Removal Act (1830) of Andrew Jackson fame, and came to Oklahoma during
their Trail of Tears in 1838.
Also,
Edward Frenchman is not a Cherokee descendent, they are quite proud of
being full-blood Delaware, which they pretty much are give or take a few
16ths here and there. I did notice that one of Dora’s brothers was
married to a woman by the last name of Ross, and I’m thinking that may
be where the Cherokee connection with John Ross is from.
Again,
thank you so much for being willing to share your wonderful collection –
your stories are fascinating too – I’m sharing them with my daughter –
she’s a history buff too and it’s her family and her Dad’s family that
is from that area. I just love doing the family tree stuff!
Kathy
Fabunan
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