How I began
How you begin
Where to look
How to contact Potawatomi resources
The purpose of this page is to help those who have the interest but have never begun a genealogy project get started. It covers some pretty basic ground and provides links to sites for the novice as well as the experienced researcher. And, since it is designed with the Potawatomi people in mind, tips on obtaining genealogy information from the offices of the Potawatomi people will be included.
Links above and at the end of this page will take you to other pages in our Potawatomi genealogy web site: web links, information sources and addresses that you may find useful, some historical lists of members of different bands, family trees, family stories, and a
NEW! Potawatomi Genealogy Query Page (found in the Sources page).
This design was taken from a beaded hat band owned by Susan Campbell's family. For more information, see our Arts section.
I want to begin by telling you a bit about who I am and why I was asked to work on this page. My name is Susan Campbell and I'm a descendant of the Vieux family. Although I was born and raised in Kansas it wasn't until after my family moved to Seattle when I was thirteen that I began to learn about my Potawatomi ancestry. One of the things I learned early on was that I would have to do the research and find out the story myself; I was too far away from my Grandmother to sit with her and learn (besides which, I didn't know what to ask). By graduation I had begun the process but it wasn't until the mid- 1970's that I really got down to serious research. I've been researching ever since.
Please note: I do not consider myself an expert by any means. I finally took a day-long course in Native American genealogy in 1995 in Muncie, IN and highly recommend taking such a class, but most of what I've discovered has been uncovered through work, by accident, with help from others working on the same family line, and after long hours spent on the road, in small community libraries, in cemeteries photographing and recording information from tomb stones, in tribal rolls offices, in research centers, in historical societies. And I've met some wonderful people along the way.
Researching your genealogy can be exciting, rewarding, tedious, and frustrating (just when you fill in one line on your family tree, two more pop up!). It can be time-consuming, dusty, stressful (you always find the "good stuff" just as the library is closing). And it can be a whole lot of fun.
The best way to begin a genealogy project is to begin with the person closest to you: you. Write down what you know about yourself: your date of birth, place of birth (city, state, county if possible). If you're married, include the date and place of your wedding and your spouse's name, dates, and place of birth. Add your children--names, dates, places (the easiest way to do this is to diagram the information on a lineage--also called a pedigree--chart and to use a family record sheet for additional family members and notes. Check out some of the outline ideas and a sample chart below).
Now go back a generation. Write down your parents' names (always using your mother's maiden name), the dates of their births, where they were born, their marriage date, where they were married, and if they're deceased, the dates of their deaths and the place of death and burial.
Make the chart as complete as you can and go back as far as you can. For now don't worry about the empty spaces. Be sure to include maiden names and middle names if you have them, as well as all of the dates and places you know. You will need this information to prove your identity as a tribal member according to the census, tribal roll or annuity list as required by your tribal council.
When this is as complete as you can make it, it's time to go to the family storyteller. This is the person, male or female, who knows your family's story. Sit down with a tape recorder if they're comfortable with it or with a pen and paper and ask them to tell you their stories. It's possible they've told their stories for years and no one has listened; listen now. They may not want to talk with you. The past may be something they're uncomfortable sharing. Respect them for this and don't push it. There may be another day when they will be willing to share or it may never come.
The storyteller in my family was my father's sister. When the Elders told their stories about the way it was, she would stay and listen. She also collected the newspaper articles, the marriage, birth and death certificates of family members long deceased, and opened them up to me when I asked. She was the keeper of many of the old family photos. I took notes when she told the stories; I xeroxed all she allowed me to copy. This will be your task when you spend time with your storyteller.
Don't expect to learn everything during the first visit. Memories are often triggered by conversation or activity. Spend time just visiting. Go back a second or third or fourth time. As soon as possible after these visits, diagram out every bit of information you've received and be sure to document where you obtained it. Continue doing this every step of the way. Also, be sure to hold on to the stories; they give your family members life.
At this point, you will find you still have a lot of blank spaces. Now the work begins. And now you will learn why you laid the groundwork so carefully.
You have many avenues of research you can undertake to find a missing ancestor. Let's check them out!
The Office of Vital Records/Statistics in county courthouses often has records to research and usually clerks who will help you locate them. Here you can find land records, marriage, birth and death certificates, divorce records and custodian records. Once you have established which state and county an ancestor resided in, contact the office and speak with the county clerk. Even better, call ahead for their hours and visit the office in person.
One of the better resources I've discovered is the historical society in the county where your ancestor lived. Some of them will send you a list of what they have about your family as well as a list of names of people who will research, copy and send, for a small fee, whatever you find of interest.
State historical societies offer the same service. It was a researcher for the Kansas State Historical Society who discovered my 3rd Great Grandfather's will and patiently copied and mailed it. I've written to historical societies in Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan as well and have been treated courteously and, for the most part, promptly.
Church records are also valuable sources of information. Some of these records are published (the records of Mackinac births, marriages and deaths, valuable sources of information on early Potawatomi/French ancestors) are published in the Wisconsin State Historical Society Collections; the Jesuit Relations are another excellent source. These are sometimes available through your local library (or by interlibrary loan.) while other church records you will have to access through direct contact with the church. The Jesuit Archives in St. Louis are another wonderful resource for Potawatomi records; they have boxes and boxes, so plan to spend awhile. Remember, it is important to first establish your ancestor's denomination before doing a search of church documents.
And then there are the Federal Archives. Records stored here include census records of everyone in the U. S. who participated in census-taking from 1850 until 1990. Census records for 1900 and 1910 often list blood quantum; records for 1900 include English names. For the most part, a census was taken every 10 years, though there are some 5-year census records for certain areas. Records of military service, ship arrivals (for your European ancestors) and passenger lists, naturalization records, tribal rolls, BIA records by tribe, Indian school records, found under agencies, are found in the Federal Archives, which has offices in many of the major cities. Call your local office for the hours of operation.
Don't forget to check out the local newspaper office for articles or obituaries pertaining to your ancestors. These obituaries often list spouses, parents if living, brothers and sisters, residence and place of burial. The local library can be of help here as well.
It is somewhat inevitable that you will run across conflicting dates and names. For whatever reason, some ancestors will have changed their names and may go by a nickname or a middle name. Another may have "fudged" about a birth date, most likely to enter military service early or to get a job. For this reason careful note-taking is absolutely essential. Keep all the records you find, no matter how trivial or how unpromising; I'm finding new things all the time in records I copied years ago.
On our sources page you will find addresses for the seven bands of Potawatomi people. When you address a letter to them, please address it to: Tribal Rolls Office. You will need to be specific and you will need to have as much information on your ancestry as you possibly can. One of the worst questions to ask the office staff is, "My mother/father was a Potawatomi/Cherokee princess/king. How can I enroll?" followed by, "I think I'm part Indian/Potawatomi. Can you help me find my ancestors and get enrolled?" They really do need more to go on than that! The Potawatomi tribal rolls office probably cannot help you if you are other than Potawatomi. If they have the time, staff members will try to give you an address for the Cherokee Nation (there are several) or another tribe but it's best to check out the Native American genealogy sites yourself and get an address. Or call your local library or genealogy society.
And you need to know more than the fact that your ancestor was Potawatomi--names, dates and places again. If you only "think" you're part Indian, they can't help you without that information. As the regional director for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Seattle, I can't tell you how many times I got the above calls! The director of our tribal rolls office in Oklahoma received many times that. Do your homework! When you have all you can find, call the tribal rolls office in the area in which your ancestor lived for assistance.
Remember: it is the Bureau of Indian Affairs office connected with your tribe which determines your blood degree. In order to do so they must have all the information you can gather so be careful and be thorough.
Now that you've learned how to begin, where to search, and what to search for, it's time to get busy! Send us a copy of your family tree (lineage chart) and let us post it on this site to help others. Perhaps one of your long-lost cousins will be in touch with you as a result; it's happened to me and we've become good friends. If I can help, or answer specific questions not covered here, feel free to email me and I'll try to help.
But most of all, have a great time doing your genealogy!
Text and graphics copyright © Smokey McKinney 1997
