Hello everyone,

I am hitting a massive brick wall trying to find official tribal records for my husband’s direct family, and I am desperately hoping someone here can point me in the right direction or recognize these case files.

We have found the family on the 1896 Dawes Index, but they disappear from the Final Approved Rolls, and I am struggling to track down the actual 1896 case paperwork or link them back to the old Cherokee rolls.

Here is the data we have gathered:

The 1896 Dawes Generation (The Core Clue):

Barton Armstrong (b. 1832): Listed on the 1896 Dawes Commission Index as Cherokee (Case #3843).

Martha A. Armstrong (née Higgins): Barton’s wife (first married to his late brother, Wesley Armstrong). Listed on the 1896 Dawes Index as Chickasaw (Case #7).

Laura B. Armstrong: Barton’s daughter. Found on a later index with Census Card #M3489 (listed as a Minor parent).

The Texas Frontier Generation (Parents):

Elijah Armstrong (b. 1793 Iredell Co., NC – d. 1865 Wise Co., TX): Family history states he was Cherokee. He served in the Jack County Texas Rangers / Minute Men.

Margaret “Peggy” Higgins (b. 1794 Wilson Co., TN – d. 1876 Wise Co., TX): Married Elijah.

The Civil War Generation (Brother):

Major John R. Armstrong (b. 1817 Wilson Co., TN – d. 1887 Jack Co., TX): Barton’s brother and my husband’s direct grandfather. He was a Union Major in the Civil War, a Mexican-American War veteran, and a Texas Ranger. Because he died in 1887, he is not on the Dawes Commission.

Where I am completely stuck:
Because Barton (Case #3843) and Martha (Case #7) are 1896 applications, I cannot find their finalized files on standard databases. I strongly suspect they were part of the contested or rejected 1896 applications that were overturned by the Choctaw-Chickasaw Citizenship Court or the Cherokee Nation.

Does anyone have advice on how to pull the actual physical packets for Cherokee Case #3843 or Chickasaw Case #7 from Fort Worth or Fold3? Also, if anyone is tracking an Elijah Armstrong (b. 1793 NC) on the older Cherokee Emigration Rolls, Henderson Roll, or Old Settler lists, I would be incredibly grateful for a connection.

Thank you so much for your time and expertise!