Trail of Tears Research

 

Recently I attended a Family Search where the discussion was regarding female ancestors and how/where to research.  In the comment section of the live broadcast was information about the Trail of Tears as someone had inquired how to find information about those people who were part of the 1830 Indian Removal Act. I was interested in learning more because this inquiry and decided to research further online to see what could be found about this atrocity where the Cherokee Nation was forcibly removed from their homelands to Oklahoma and thousands of them perished along the way.

One of the links provided during the Family Search Live Event chat section was Family Search - Trail of Tears. I began here learning a great deal from my reading in Family Search and also checking out the Cherokee Nation link in Family Search.

Further online research discovered information was limited regarding the names of the people driven from their homes in 1830 to Oklahoma. Although I do not personally have any known relation to the Native American Nations, I feel what was done to them in the establishment of the Unite States.

Although I was unable to find any searchable lists of those were on the Trail of Tears, I discovered a website dedicated to Preserving the Cherokee heritage which provided links for Cherokee roles. 

The Sequoyah Research Center American Native Press Archives website provide some Family Stories passed down to the descendants of those who traveled the Trail of Tears.  If you would like to read the stories, click here.

If you are unfamiliar with the Trail of Tears, this video explains it well. Trail of Tears Movie