Welcome to the Eastern Shawnee history and genealogy page. Whether you are tracing an Eastern Shawnee ancestor, researching a Shawnee family, or exploring the history of northeastern Oklahoma, these resources can help you discover the people and communities that came before you.
The Eastern Shawnee story reaches from the Ohio Valley through Ohio, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Oklahoma. Historical records may identify an ancestor simply as Shawnee, or as part of the Lewistown Band or the Mixed Band of Seneca and Shawnee. Learning how these communities were connected can help explain why an ancestor appears under different descriptions in different records.
For genealogy, begin with the most recent documented ancestor and work backward through census, agency, allotment, school, and other records. Compare several records whenever possible to establish family relationships and follow the family across generations.
Linda K. Lewis, Site Coordinator
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1700s | Shawnee communities lived throughout the Ohio Valley and surrounding areas. Their earlier movements had taken them through portions of the eastern and central United States. |
| 1813-1817 | The Shawnee group that became the Eastern Shawnee developed around the Lewistown community in Ohio. The Lewistown reservation was shared with Seneca families. |
| 1831 | The Mixed Band of Seneca and Shawnee ceded its Ohio lands and agreed to remove to Indian Territory. |
| 1832 | The United Nation of Senecas and Shawnees received a reservation of approximately 60,000 acres in present-day northeastern Oklahoma. |
| 1861-1865 | The Civil War disrupted the community, and many Eastern Shawnee became refugees in Kansas. |
| 1867 | The Omnibus Treaty separated the Seneca and Shawnee into distinct tribes. The Shawnee became known as the Eastern Shawnee. |
| 1870s | The Eastern Shawnee community rebuilt its homes, farms, and tribal institutions in northeastern Indian Territory. |
| 1888 | Eastern Shawnee lands were allotted to individual tribal members. |
| 1936 | The Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act provided a framework for tribal reorganization. |
| 1938 | The Eastern Shawnee official census roll was established as the basis for later tribal membership. |
| 1939 | The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma adopted its constitution and bylaws under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act. |
| Present | The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma maintains its community in northeastern Oklahoma near Wyandotte and Seneca, continuing its governmental, cultural, and historical preservation work. |
The Eastern Shawnee trace their history to the Lewistown Band of Shawnee in Ohio. The Lewistown community shared a reservation with Seneca people who had separated from the Iroquois Confederacy and allied themselves with the Shawnee.
Because the two communities lived together for several decades, historical records frequently refer to them as the Mixed Band of Seneca and Shawnee. This relationship is particularly important when researching an Eastern Shawnee ancestor in records created before 1867.
In 1831 the Mixed Band of Seneca and Shawnee ceded its remaining Ohio lands and agreed to relocate west. In 1832 the United Nation of Senecas and Shawnees received a reservation in northeastern Indian Territory.
The reservation occupied approximately 60,000 acres in what is now Ottawa County and surrounding northeastern Oklahoma. The Eastern Shawnee remained associated with the Seneca until the two communities were formally separated by the 1867 Omnibus Treaty.
The Omnibus Treaty of 1867 was a turning point in Eastern Shawnee history. The treaty separated the Seneca and Shawnee into two distinct tribes and identified the Shawnee as the Eastern Shawnee.
The treaty also provided for portions of the former Seneca-Shawnee lands to be used by other Native nations relocating to Indian Territory, including the Peoria, Ottawa, Wyandot, Kaskaskia, Wea, and Piankashaw.
Kansas is an important part of Eastern Shawnee family history. During the Civil War, many Eastern Shawnee left Indian Territory and became refugees in Kansas.
Some families returned to Indian Territory after the war, while others may appear in Kansas records for several years. A Kansas record therefore does not necessarily indicate permanent relocation.
The 1857 Kansas Territorial Census contains a census of Shawnee Indians and can be useful for researching Shawnee families who were living in Kansas before the Civil War. The National Archives identifies this census as Microfilm M1813.
Eastern Shawnee genealogy often requires searching records under several different names. The modern tribal name should not be the only search term used for earlier generations.
An ancestor may appear as:
Eastern Shawnee census records are especially valuable for connecting families across generations. The Oklahoma Historical Society identifies a series of Eastern Shawnee records beginning in 1872 and continuing into the twentieth century.
| Record | Microfilm |
|---|---|
| Eastern Shawnee Census, January 1872-October 3, 1902 | QA 1 |
| Quapaw Agency - Eastern Shawnee Census, 1885-1892 | M595.411 |
| Quapaw Agency - Eastern Shawnee Census, 1893-1900 | M595.412 |
| Eastern Shawnee Census, 1901-1907 | M595.488 |
| Eastern Shawnee Census, 1910-1921 | M595.489 |
| Quapaw Agency - Eastern Shawnee Census, 1922-1929 | M595.413 |
| Quapaw Agency - Eastern Shawnee Census, 1930-1932 | M595.414 |
| Quapaw Agency - Eastern Shawnee Census, 1933-1935 | M595.415 |
| Quapaw Agency - Eastern Shawnee Census, 1936-1939 | M595.416 |
The 1938 Eastern Shawnee roll is particularly important for modern genealogy. The Eastern Shawnee Tribe states that applicants for tribal enrollment must be able to trace their family lineage to an ancestor on the 1938 roll.
The Tribe's current enrollment information recommends documenting the family connection with a family tree and certified vital records. This makes the 1938 roll an important target for researchers tracing a family toward present-day Eastern Shawnee citizenship.
Eastern Shawnee lands were allotted in 1888. Allotment records can provide an important bridge between census records and individual families.
An allotment record may identify an individual's land, legal description, age, family relationships, heirs, guardians, or other information. Land records can also help establish where a family lived after allotment.
School records can be particularly useful for Eastern Shawnee genealogy because children may be identified with their parents, ages, residences, and tribal affiliations.
The Eastern Shawnee community also has a long history of mission and boarding-school experiences. The Eastern Shawnee Tribe's historical resources include oral histories and family accounts concerning the boarding-school experience.
Researchers should search school records under both the child's name and the name of the school or agency serving the family.
For many Eastern Shawnee researchers, the Quapaw Agency is an important record source. Federal Indian census records for Eastern Shawnee appear in the Quapaw Agency series, even though the people being enumerated were Eastern Shawnee rather than Quapaw.
National Archives records relating to the Eastern Shawnee also include Bureau of Indian Affairs material and Dawes Commission records. The Dawes Commission records are especially important for the period surrounding allotment and federal enrollment activities in Indian Territory.
Historical records may contain significant variations in the spelling of Shawnee names. Researchers should search for alternate spellings and compare relatives, ages, locations, and occupations rather than relying on an exact name match.
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe has also published historical material about tribal chiefs and families. Its historical collection includes information about families such as the Jackson, Dushane, Captain, Daugherty, Deweese, Hampton, Prophet, Hauser, Amos, and Tayrien families.
These family histories can provide useful clues for researchers, but they should be compared with original census, land, and vital records whenever possible.
A good starting point for Eastern Shawnee genealogy is the most recent known ancestor.
Because the Eastern Shawnee and Seneca lived together for many years, researchers should not assume that every person identified in an early Mixed Band of Seneca and Shawnee record was Eastern Shawnee. Compare the person's family, later records, and tribal affiliation before drawing conclusions.
Eastern Shawnee genealogy crosses several geographic areas and historical periods. A family may appear first in Ohio as Shawnee or part of the Lewistown community, in Indian Territory as part of the Mixed Band of Seneca and Shawnee, and later as Eastern Shawnee.
The strongest family connections usually come from comparing several records rather than relying on one document. Census records can establish the household, allotment records can identify land and relationships, and vital and school records can help connect individual generations.
For researchers seeking to connect an Oklahoma ancestor with a present-day Eastern Shawnee family, the 1938 tribal roll is an especially important destination because the Tribe's current enrollment requirements trace lineage to that roll.
Page updated:
State Coordinator: Linda K. Lewis
Asst State Coordinator: Rebecca Maloney
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