George W Vann

The Cherokee Nation Freedmen Census card for George W. Vann details many facts about his life, including his age, the names of his wife and children, his current location and place of birth, and more. It also lists his former owner, James Vann. Here's George Vann, in his own words:

"My name is George W. Vann. I live at Roland, Oklahoma. I was born in East Tenn., in the Old Nation in Hamilton Co. I was born in 1812 or 1813. I was enrolled by the Dawes Commission under the Cherokee Freedmen. I claim relation to the Cherokee Indians through my mother,whose name was Charlotte Brown. My father's name was Joshua McCamey. I got the name Vann from my guardian, Joe Vann. I was owned by my grandfather, and when he died I had to have a guardian. Every free negro had to have a guardian, or they would be sold in 90 days. My grandfather owned my mother also. His name was John Brown? My grandfather did not die until after the immigration." -- U.S. Citizenship deposition, 1908

Freedmen

During the Antebellum period, the Cherokee held African-American slaves as workers and property.. "Cherokee Freedmen" refers to those men and women who were formerly slaves of the Cherokee; It includes the descendants of such former slaves, as well as those born in unions between enslaved African Americans and Cherokee tribal members. In 1860, Cherokee Nation members owned 2,511 slaves (15 percent of their total population), per Wikipedia.

Clearly, George Vann was one of them, a black man and former slave who lived his life among the Cherokee Indians.

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/31171:2397?tid=&p...