Individual Details
Fannie Francis Stephenson
(1877 - 1924)
Delaware Indian Roll #10, Pratt Books, December 7, 1867.
Dawes Roll #32202
Census #10404
3/4 blood degree, registered in the Cherokee Nation as an Adopted Delaware.
She was also known as "Anna"
August 21,1896: Census of Adopted Delaware Citiens of Delaware District, Cherokee Nation. Authorized by an Act of the National Council.Federal Records microfilm #7Ra-19 Rolls 1-2. Fannie Francis Stephens, age 18, Delaware born in Cherokee Nation. With that information it is possible she was born in 1877-1878. Her son, Freddie Stephens is listed as 1, Delaware born in the Cherokee Nation.
September 2, 1900: Delaware Statement of Applicant taken under oath. Cherokee by Blood and Adoption. Fannie F. Stephenson, Ketchum, I.T. Delaware District, 1880 page 317, No. 2404. Citizen by blood, Delaware. Mothers citizenship: Mary T. Stephenson, Andrew Stephenson. Names of children: Freddie Stephenson, year 1896, page 64, No. 74, age 6. Cooweescowee District. Walter Stephenson,
age 3. The age of Freddie at the time of this document matches up with his actual date of birth.
September 21, 1904: Cherokee Nation. Cherokee Roll. Delawre District,Ketchum I.T. Dawes Roll #32202 Fannie F. Stephenson, age 23, 3/4 adopted Delaware Indian blood degree. Tribal enrollment 1880, Delaware District, No. 2404. Tribal Enrollment of Parents: Name of Father: Andrew Stephenson, dead, non-citizen, Name of Mother: Mary T. Stephenson, Delaware District. Dawes Roll #32203, Freddie Stephenson, Son, age 6, 1/2 degree, 1896, Father: John Davis, Cherokee Indian living in Delaware District. Dawes Roll #32204, Walter Stephenson, age 3, 1/2 indian blood degree. Father: John Davis, Cherokee Indian living in the Delaware District. On Delaware Card #10 (old series) Sept. 21, 1900. On the card March 31, 1904. Other notes written on document: No 1 (Fannie)on 1880 Roll as Fannie Stephens and No. 2 (Freddie) on 1896 roll as Freddie Stephens. No. 1 (Fannie) on 1896 Roll, page 62, No.73 as Fannie F. Stephens, Delaware District. #3 (Walter) afidasvit of birth to be supplied. Another note: See #503 (referring to a newborn named Mary Stephenson)
September 21, 1900: Department of the Interior, Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, Vinita, I.T. In the matter of the application of Fannie F. Stephenson and children for enrollment as citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and she being sworn by Commissioner, C.R. Breckinridge, testified as follows: Her name is Fannie F. Stephenson, 23 years old, Post off is Ketchum in the Delaware District. She says she is of Delaware blood and that she was born in the Cherokee Nation. She states she is on the rolls of 1800 and 1896. When she was a child she lived in the Delaware District. Her name has always been Stephenson and her childrens names the same. She said she was never married. Her father's name was Andrew Stephenson,a white man and that he is dead. She said her father died March 31, 1900. She said her mothers name was Mary T., or C. Stephenson and that she was an Indian woman and still living. She told them her children were Freddie Stephenson,age 6 and Walter age 3, and both living.
June 7, 1904: Cherokee 10404. Muskogee, Indian Territory. Fannie F. Stephenson, Ketchum,Indian Territory. Dear Madam, There is herwith enclosed a copy of the Commission's decision dated May 16, 1904, granting, among others, your application for the emrollent of yourself ad your two minor children, Freddie and Walter Stephenson, as citizens of the Cherokee Nataion of Delaware blood.
I found an article on Craig County Cemeteries. Sol Ketchum stated T24-R21-S19, fenced, some maintenance, 7 known of 10 graves. East edge of Ketchum Cemetery. Originally known as Willow Springs; Graves from 10 cemeteries were relocated here in 1939 when Grand Lake was being built. The city of Ketchum was also relocated to its present location durig the same time period. Over 2000 known burials; earlies marked brial of original burials is March 1880. Probably earlier unmarked burials. Several of the relocated burials are from as early and 1872. Large number of unmarked graves. East section has largest nmber of unmarked graves athough they were originally marked by GRDA in 1940's.
"April 28, 1905: The Cherokee Nation alloted Fannie F. Stephenson 80 acres.
August 19, 1905: The Cherokee Nation allotted Fannie F. Stephenson another 80 acres.
September 2, 1905: The Cherokee Nation allotted Fannie F. Stephenson 30 acres.
She held land allottments in Craig, Washington, and Cherokee Counties in Indian Territory.
October 24, 1907: Henderson and Fannie F. McAdams purchased land.
February 12, 1914: Fannie F. Stephenson sold Freddie A. Stephenson's land. He was listed as a minor.
December 27, 1918: Fannie F. Stephenson sold Walter H. Stephenson's land. He was listed as a minor.
December 31, 1919: Fannie F. Stephenson sold Walter H. Stephenson's land. He was listed as a minor.
April 16, 1920: Fannie F. Stephenson sold Mary H. Stephenson's land. She was listed as a minor.
(three acres of this land was already being used as the Willow Springs Cemetery and could not be sold, so Fannie donated it to be used as a part of the Ketchum Cemetery as recorded in Book 92, Page 653, Section 36, Township 24 North and Range 21 East of the Indian Base and Meridian in Oklahoma, Craig County)
Grandma Ethel Stephenson always said that out of all of her girls, when Jessie was a young girl, she looked the most like Fannie.
Fannie is believed to be buried in an unmarked grave in the Willow Springs Cemetery located on the edge of the Ketchum Cemetery. The story has been passed down from Grandma Ethel Stephenson that if you faced to the east and aligned yourself with a certain tree along the fence with a house off at a distance in the pasture you would be in line with where Fannie is buried. That would place her in the East Section of the Cemetery and from what I have been told by Connie Schoefield, the co-author of book on the Ketchum Cemetery, that would be row four (4) just east of the road in the original old burial section. The tree is long gone now. Mary Ann Stephenson Alexander said she thought she was buried in the Willow Springs part of the Cemtery along with her Father Andrew Stephenson and her Mother Mary T. Stephenson. She recalls her sister Mildred used to place flowers on all the gravesites at one time, but too many years have passed by and ailing health won't allow her to remember the locations. Maxine and Sue Ann had made a trip to the cemetery in July of 2002 in hopes that she might remember a location, but wasn't able to. The highway went through the north part of the original three acres of the Willow Springs Cemetery and perhaps some gravesite were re-located.
In the book that Mary Oakley and Constance Schoefield put together on the Ketchum Cemetery they had this to say, "What started out as a little Indian girl's allotment lands, soon became a portal for the remains of her family's loved ones. In time, there were many tombs resting atop the green hillside beyond the river. Then other people asked for a piece of this grave yard to bury their dead loved ones too. The Indians agreed, as the great spirits had already deemed this a perfect spot for all weary souls to rest. On day, while the Indians were caring for the graves of the dead, it came to one of them in a vision from their Great and mighty Spirit, that others should be free to bury their dead in this hallowed spot too. In time, the Indian people honored the Spirits in the ways of the white men, and deeded a portion of this allotment to be a free cemetery, where friends and neighbors could bury the bodies of loved ones. This burial place was then called Willow Springs Cemetery, and a wrought Iron fence was built around it. In the years that followed, many nationalities came to rest here. Cemeteries that had to be moved, were re-sited here, many in their entirety. Young and old alike, most facing the rising sun, found their resting places atop this windswept hill. Rocks marking some of these places broke or disappeared, and some sunk beneath the prairie grasses. Some graves were never marked, but the locations were remembered. But, alas, one day all who remember the locations were gone. Those forgotten graves, now nestle, snug and lonesome in the ground, leaving a hollow spot in the earth and an even bigger hollow spot in history." I don't think it could have been said better.
October 1999, I visited with Mary Ann Stephenson Alexander and she stated that she knew John Davis and that he was a neighbor and always hanging around. She always wondered why. She knew his wife's name was Blance and that they had children but she did not know that John Davis was the father of Fred and Walter Stephenson. She knew Fannie worked for John Davis but she didn't recall exactly what type of work she did for him.
Dawes Roll #32202
Census #10404
3/4 blood degree, registered in the Cherokee Nation as an Adopted Delaware.
She was also known as "Anna"
August 21,1896: Census of Adopted Delaware Citiens of Delaware District, Cherokee Nation. Authorized by an Act of the National Council.Federal Records microfilm #7Ra-19 Rolls 1-2. Fannie Francis Stephens, age 18, Delaware born in Cherokee Nation. With that information it is possible she was born in 1877-1878. Her son, Freddie Stephens is listed as 1, Delaware born in the Cherokee Nation.
September 2, 1900: Delaware Statement of Applicant taken under oath. Cherokee by Blood and Adoption. Fannie F. Stephenson, Ketchum, I.T. Delaware District, 1880 page 317, No. 2404. Citizen by blood, Delaware. Mothers citizenship: Mary T. Stephenson, Andrew Stephenson. Names of children: Freddie Stephenson, year 1896, page 64, No. 74, age 6. Cooweescowee District. Walter Stephenson,
age 3. The age of Freddie at the time of this document matches up with his actual date of birth.
September 21, 1904: Cherokee Nation. Cherokee Roll. Delawre District,Ketchum I.T. Dawes Roll #32202 Fannie F. Stephenson, age 23, 3/4 adopted Delaware Indian blood degree. Tribal enrollment 1880, Delaware District, No. 2404. Tribal Enrollment of Parents: Name of Father: Andrew Stephenson, dead, non-citizen, Name of Mother: Mary T. Stephenson, Delaware District. Dawes Roll #32203, Freddie Stephenson, Son, age 6, 1/2 degree, 1896, Father: John Davis, Cherokee Indian living in Delaware District. Dawes Roll #32204, Walter Stephenson, age 3, 1/2 indian blood degree. Father: John Davis, Cherokee Indian living in the Delaware District. On Delaware Card #10 (old series) Sept. 21, 1900. On the card March 31, 1904. Other notes written on document: No 1 (Fannie)on 1880 Roll as Fannie Stephens and No. 2 (Freddie) on 1896 roll as Freddie Stephens. No. 1 (Fannie) on 1896 Roll, page 62, No.73 as Fannie F. Stephens, Delaware District. #3 (Walter) afidasvit of birth to be supplied. Another note: See #503 (referring to a newborn named Mary Stephenson)
September 21, 1900: Department of the Interior, Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, Vinita, I.T. In the matter of the application of Fannie F. Stephenson and children for enrollment as citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and she being sworn by Commissioner, C.R. Breckinridge, testified as follows: Her name is Fannie F. Stephenson, 23 years old, Post off is Ketchum in the Delaware District. She says she is of Delaware blood and that she was born in the Cherokee Nation. She states she is on the rolls of 1800 and 1896. When she was a child she lived in the Delaware District. Her name has always been Stephenson and her childrens names the same. She said she was never married. Her father's name was Andrew Stephenson,a white man and that he is dead. She said her father died March 31, 1900. She said her mothers name was Mary T., or C. Stephenson and that she was an Indian woman and still living. She told them her children were Freddie Stephenson,age 6 and Walter age 3, and both living.
June 7, 1904: Cherokee 10404. Muskogee, Indian Territory. Fannie F. Stephenson, Ketchum,Indian Territory. Dear Madam, There is herwith enclosed a copy of the Commission's decision dated May 16, 1904, granting, among others, your application for the emrollent of yourself ad your two minor children, Freddie and Walter Stephenson, as citizens of the Cherokee Nataion of Delaware blood.
I found an article on Craig County Cemeteries. Sol Ketchum stated T24-R21-S19, fenced, some maintenance, 7 known of 10 graves. East edge of Ketchum Cemetery. Originally known as Willow Springs; Graves from 10 cemeteries were relocated here in 1939 when Grand Lake was being built. The city of Ketchum was also relocated to its present location durig the same time period. Over 2000 known burials; earlies marked brial of original burials is March 1880. Probably earlier unmarked burials. Several of the relocated burials are from as early and 1872. Large number of unmarked graves. East section has largest nmber of unmarked graves athough they were originally marked by GRDA in 1940's.
"April 28, 1905: The Cherokee Nation alloted Fannie F. Stephenson 80 acres.
August 19, 1905: The Cherokee Nation allotted Fannie F. Stephenson another 80 acres.
September 2, 1905: The Cherokee Nation allotted Fannie F. Stephenson 30 acres.
She held land allottments in Craig, Washington, and Cherokee Counties in Indian Territory.
October 24, 1907: Henderson and Fannie F. McAdams purchased land.
February 12, 1914: Fannie F. Stephenson sold Freddie A. Stephenson's land. He was listed as a minor.
December 27, 1918: Fannie F. Stephenson sold Walter H. Stephenson's land. He was listed as a minor.
December 31, 1919: Fannie F. Stephenson sold Walter H. Stephenson's land. He was listed as a minor.
April 16, 1920: Fannie F. Stephenson sold Mary H. Stephenson's land. She was listed as a minor.
(three acres of this land was already being used as the Willow Springs Cemetery and could not be sold, so Fannie donated it to be used as a part of the Ketchum Cemetery as recorded in Book 92, Page 653, Section 36, Township 24 North and Range 21 East of the Indian Base and Meridian in Oklahoma, Craig County)
Grandma Ethel Stephenson always said that out of all of her girls, when Jessie was a young girl, she looked the most like Fannie.
Fannie is believed to be buried in an unmarked grave in the Willow Springs Cemetery located on the edge of the Ketchum Cemetery. The story has been passed down from Grandma Ethel Stephenson that if you faced to the east and aligned yourself with a certain tree along the fence with a house off at a distance in the pasture you would be in line with where Fannie is buried. That would place her in the East Section of the Cemetery and from what I have been told by Connie Schoefield, the co-author of book on the Ketchum Cemetery, that would be row four (4) just east of the road in the original old burial section. The tree is long gone now. Mary Ann Stephenson Alexander said she thought she was buried in the Willow Springs part of the Cemtery along with her Father Andrew Stephenson and her Mother Mary T. Stephenson. She recalls her sister Mildred used to place flowers on all the gravesites at one time, but too many years have passed by and ailing health won't allow her to remember the locations. Maxine and Sue Ann had made a trip to the cemetery in July of 2002 in hopes that she might remember a location, but wasn't able to. The highway went through the north part of the original three acres of the Willow Springs Cemetery and perhaps some gravesite were re-located.
In the book that Mary Oakley and Constance Schoefield put together on the Ketchum Cemetery they had this to say, "What started out as a little Indian girl's allotment lands, soon became a portal for the remains of her family's loved ones. In time, there were many tombs resting atop the green hillside beyond the river. Then other people asked for a piece of this grave yard to bury their dead loved ones too. The Indians agreed, as the great spirits had already deemed this a perfect spot for all weary souls to rest. On day, while the Indians were caring for the graves of the dead, it came to one of them in a vision from their Great and mighty Spirit, that others should be free to bury their dead in this hallowed spot too. In time, the Indian people honored the Spirits in the ways of the white men, and deeded a portion of this allotment to be a free cemetery, where friends and neighbors could bury the bodies of loved ones. This burial place was then called Willow Springs Cemetery, and a wrought Iron fence was built around it. In the years that followed, many nationalities came to rest here. Cemeteries that had to be moved, were re-sited here, many in their entirety. Young and old alike, most facing the rising sun, found their resting places atop this windswept hill. Rocks marking some of these places broke or disappeared, and some sunk beneath the prairie grasses. Some graves were never marked, but the locations were remembered. But, alas, one day all who remember the locations were gone. Those forgotten graves, now nestle, snug and lonesome in the ground, leaving a hollow spot in the earth and an even bigger hollow spot in history." I don't think it could have been said better.
October 1999, I visited with Mary Ann Stephenson Alexander and she stated that she knew John Davis and that he was a neighbor and always hanging around. She always wondered why. She knew his wife's name was Blance and that they had children but she did not know that John Davis was the father of Fred and Walter Stephenson. She knew Fannie worked for John Davis but she didn't recall exactly what type of work she did for him.
Events
| Birth | 1877 | Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, Native American | |||
| Marriage | Bef 1881 | Cherokee Indian Nation, United States - John William Davis | |||
| Marriage | 19 Nov 1904 | Muskogee, Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States - Henderson McAdams |  | ||
| Marriage | 19 Nov 1904 | Muskogee, Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States - Henderson McAdams | |||
| Death | 1924 | Ketchum, Craig, Oklahoma, United States | |||
| Marriage | John William Davis | ||||
| Burial | Willow Springs Cemetery, Oklahoma, United States |
Families
| Spouse | John William Davis (1873 - 1960) |
| Child | Freddie Andrew Stephenson (1894 - 1962) |
| Child | Walter Henry Stephenson (1897 - 1928) |
| Spouse | Henderson McAdams (1875 - ) |
| Child | Mary Henrietta Stephenson (1903 - ) |
| Father | Andrew Stephenson (1845 - 1900) |
| Mother | Mary Cummins Tiblow (1851 - 1901) |
| Sibling | Rosanna S. Stephenson (1866 - 1952) |
| Sibling | Mary Ann Stephenson (1869 - ) |
| Sibling | John Henry Stephenson (1873 - 1938) |
| Sibling | Infant Daughter Stephenson (1884 - 1884) |
Endnotes
1. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVP6-3H9T : 23 February 2021), Henderson Mc Adams and Fannie Stephenson, 19 Nov 1904; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm..