Jennie Johnson vs. the Creek Nation (Dawes Commission)

Submitted by David Morgan dmorgan@efn.org

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Following is an affidavit made in the Creek Nation, by John and Elizabeth 
Berryhill's grandson, Nathan Berryhill, son of their son, William. This was in 
Okmulgee, the capitol of the Creek Nation, for a Case for Citizenship into the 
Creek Nation for Jennie (Posey) Johnson, granddaughter of Benjamin and Eliza 
(Berryhill) Posey:

Jennie Johnson etal VS, the Creek Nation.

Indian Territory Northern Judicial Division
Now on this 27th day of July, 1896, personally appeared before me, W. J. 
Watts, a notary public for and within the Indian Territory, NATHANIEL 
BERRYHILL, who, being duly sworn, upon his oath states that he is a Creek
Indian by blood and a member of that tribe, and was well acquainted with
BENJAMIN POSEY for fifty years in the state of Georgia and Alabama and
also in Texas. Affiant further states that BENJAMIN POSEY was a son of
NANCY POSEY, whose maiden name was NANCY BERRYHILL; that NANCY POSEY, nee
BERRYHILL, was a daughter of JOHN BERRYHILL, who was a half-blood Creek
or Muscogee Indian. Affiant further states that the following named
persons were the UNCLES and AUNTS of the said BENJAMIN POSEY: JOHN
D. BERRYHILL, ALEXANDER BERRYHILL, PLEASANT BERRYHILL, PATSY MCGAHEE 
[McGAHA], nee BERRYHILL; KATY SELF, nee BERRYHILL; SUSAN SELF, nee BERRYHILL; 
BETSY BERRYHILL, all of whom were emigrants from Georgia to the Creek or 
Muscogee Nation about year 1832; that the aforementioned persons are the sons 
and daughters of John Berryhill, who was a Creek or Muscogee Indian by
blood and descent. He also states that ELIZA POSEY, wife of BENJAMIN
POSEY, was a daughter of THOMAS BERRYHILL, who was a brother of the above
mentioned persons and a son of JOHN BERRYHILL.

Affiant further states that the following named persons are the sons and 
daughters of BENJAMIN POSEY and ELIZA POSEY: Sarah A. Barber, whose maiden name 
was Sarah A Posey, Thomas B. Posey, Benjamin B. Posey, Martha A. Posey, Nancy 
Posey, Uriah Posey, Eli Posey, Tensley E. Barber, nee Posey, James M. Posey, 
William A. J. Posey, Eliza Allen, nee Posey, and knows them to be lineal 
descendants of John Berryhill.

						Nathaniel Berryhill
	Sworn to and subscribed before me this 27th day of July 1896
						W. J. Watts
						Notary Public


Following are excerpts taken from statements and affidavits made in the Creek 
Nation, Indian Territory, in the late 1800s, for and of the grandchildren of 
John and Elizabeth (Derrisaw) Berryhill, for citizenship into the Creek Nation. 
The parents of these grand-children had left the Creek Nation in the 1830s and 
moved into the nearby States. The grandchildren went back to the Creek Nation in 
the 1880s and 1890s, and in order to become citizens of the Nation, they had to 
prove their lineage by blood from a Creek Nation citizen. In several families, 
some brothers and sisters were granted citizenship while others were denied 
citizenship. Many took their cases to the U.S. Supreme Court, but still were 
denied citizenship.


ROBERT R. MANASCO, grandson of John and Catherine [Berryhill] Self, the 6th of 
October 1891.
---we are direct lineal descendants of Creek ancestry namely: John and Elizabeth 
[Elizabeth marked through and Martha written above] Berryhill. These people were 
grandparents.

JOHN B. SELF, son of Baxter and Susanna [Berryhill] Self, the 4th of September 
1896.

--first made application in 1889. I claim my Indian blood from my mother --- her 
maiden name was Susan Berryhill, and was familarly known as "Suky". She was the 
daughter of John and Elizabeth Berryhill. I get the Indian blood from my 
grandmother who was a full blooded Indian. My grandfather was a white man. My 
grandmother was from the Indian family by the name of Derisaw. My mother was a 
half breed. My grandmother's name was Elizabeth Derisaw.

6th of October 1891
In the early emigration of the Creeks to this country, probably in about 1828, 
John and Elizabeth [Elizabeth marked through and Martha written above] Berryhill 
and their daughter Susan, my mother, recognized members of the Creek Nation, 
removed along with the Creeks---Susan Berryhill, was the full sister of John, 
Alex, and Pleasant Berryhill. Q. Which one of the John Berryhills was your 
grandfather? The John Berryhill who was the father of John, Alex, Pleasant 
Berryhill and others but these are the only ones who emigrated to this country.

WILLIAM BAXTER "BUCK" SELF, son of Baxter and Susanna [Berryhill] Self. 16th 
July 1895.

--Susan was a Berryhill. Susan Self's mother was a Deershaw and she married a 
Berryhill.

Soloman McIntosh for Wm. B. Self: I am 83 or 84 years old -- I came from 
Alabama. I know the Berryhills were Creeks. I know that Wm. B. Self is the 
offspring of the Berryhills. Bucks' mother Suky was a Coweta. Coweta and Broken 
Arrow was considered one. She was of the Dere Shaw family.

DAVID LOGAN "TOBE" BERRYHILL, son of Pleasant Berryhill. Statement for his 
cousins.

I was well acquainted with the mother of these children, Buck Self, John Self, 
Elizabeth Self, Lucinda Self, and the name of the mother was Susan nick named 
Suky. Our grandmother was of Broken Arrow Town--was a niece of John and Jacob 
Derisaw, and they near relatives of the Mingoes. My father was Bleasant 
[Pleasant] Berryhill.

Statement of JOHN DALLAS BERRYHILL's son and granddaughter.

Statement of Mariah [Berryhill] Quearles. My father was A. J. [Andrew Jackson] 
Berryhill. My grandfather was John Dallas Berryhill. My great grandfather was 
John Berryhill.

Statement of George Washington Berryhill: Mariah is a niece of mine and a 
granddaughter of John Dallas Berryhill. John Dallas Berryhill was son of John 
Berryhill. She inherited her Indian from her great grandmother. Her great 
grandfather was John Berryhill, a whiteman, and his wife was a full blood, a 
Derrisaw.

The Story of John Berryhill and Elizabeth Derrisaw and Their Descendants

This is an unpublished manuscript done by Thelma Nolen Cornfeld before
her death in 1996. Her daughter Barbara gave me permission to put her
research online.

David Morgan