Kerrenhappuch Hightower

This Link is possibly her family lineage of the Hertzogs but the birthdate for Kerrenhappuch does not match there are two Kerrenhappuch Hartzogs

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/HARTZOG/2004-04/10826...

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=zwalker&i...

Other sources

I know this line Rosella is descended from William Canova Hightower & Kerenhappuch Hartzog (full blooded Choctaw) from what I understand.

from this link: http://searches2.rootsweb.com/th/read/HIGHTOWER/2006-06/1150134793

From: Gene

Date: 06/12/06 10:27:52

To: HIGHTOWER-L@rootsweb.com

Subject: [Hightower] Rosella Hightower

Maybe this can help some maybe not I have traced Hightower for over 40 years and this lady is among my family MAYBE!

ROSELLA HIGHTOWER

A Biographical Sketch taken from

AMERICAN INDIAN BALLERINAS

By Lili Cockerille Livingston

We are indebted to have been given permission from the author, Lili Cockerille Livingston, to present in this issue of HIGHTOWER QUEST, a portion of the wonderful story of Rosella Hightower, along with some of the photographs, that appear in Ms. Livingston's exceptional book, AMERICAN INDIAN BALLERINAS, the first authorized biography off our twentieth-century American Indian ballerinas.Maria Tallchief, Rosella Hightower, Marjorie Tallchief, and Yvonne Chouteau. All raised in Oklahoma, each went on to achieve international fame. Lili Cockerille Livingston, who worked with all four of the ballerinas during her own career as a dancer, draws upon her extensive interviews with the women to bring their stories to life. Livingston also explores the tribal background of the women, and provides a fascinating glimpse into the worlds of the Osage, Choclaw, and Cherokee-Shawnee tribes to which the Tall chief sisters, Hightower, and Chouleau respectively belong.

Durwood, Oklahoma, 1920

People in Durwood will tell you not much has changed since January 20, 1920, when smoke curling uninterrupted from the chimney at Doc Fanning's place meant something special was happening. What ever fees the good doctor collected then for tending the needs of the citizenry and livestock in Carter County were hardly enough to keep afire burning hot all day without good reason. Although Doc had brought more than his share of babies into the world, the arrival of the first Fanning-Hightower was cause for celebration. Doc Fanning is not around anymore, but there has been a historical marker erected to honor the baby he delivered that day.

Making ends meet in the heart of southern Oklahoma farm and ranch country is not much easier than it was seventy-five years ago. That is why both families approved when in 1918 Charles Edgar Hightower, known as C E, began guiding his horse south across twenty miles of' limestone-streaked red clay gullies dotted with wild heather to call on Miss Eula May Fanning. In time, the soft spoken ways of the tall, lanky Choctaw won the heart of the diminutive, high-spirited Irish girl. Their marriage united the two families in their efforts to survive. With Hightower's and Fanning's tending each other's fields and livestock, the labors of the -spring and summer months brought greater harvest yields. Whether working the Fanning livestock, cultivating the Hightower soft-shell pecan farm, or raising and putting up food crops for the family, everyone earned a seat at the supper table.

Winter in southern Oklahoma can be fierce, but it begins late and usually spends it might during the first quarter of the new year. With fields lying dormant and livestock needing little aside when news arrived that Eula May had gone into labor. Between the clatter of relatives coming and going and the organized chaos of preparing for the birth, the normally complacent C E. Grew visibly excited. Following Doc Fanning's announcement that a healthy baby girl had been born, C E. Exploded untypically into a lengthy, impassioned explanation of the name that had been chosen. The baby would be named, he proclaimed, in honor of a great lady in the history of the Choctaw Nation, Rosella Hightower.

Tribal heritage was paramount in Hightower family life. Rosella's great-grandmother, thought to be in her nineties by 1920, was the last of the clan born east of the Mississippi. She had been among the 19,559 Choctaws ordered by the United States government to begin the exodus of all southeastern tribes to the west in the 1830s. Being driven as an infant from the family's well cultivated Southern plantation by covered wagon to carve a new existence from the undeveloped, and lands set aside as Indian Territory had not embittered her toward the while man. The hardships endured by the tribe, resulting from a treaty signed with the United States government exactly one hundred years prior to her great-granddaughter's birth, had simply taught her that the white man's treaties could not be trusted.

Of her great-grandmother Rosella says, I still remember when she called the last of the big family reunions, Hightower's from all branches of the family came from all over to hear what she had to say. There were at least four hundred gathered when she announced that she would not register on the Mississippi Choctaw rolls with the Office of Indian Affairs. As the elder, her refusal to file meant that no Hightower could ever qualify for payments or pensions owed the tribe under land purchase agreements made with the federal government. There was no discussion. Her word was final and the issue was settled, forever.

Shaking her head, Rosella adds, "It's always the dramatic moments that you remember as a child. What I really saw in my great-grandmother was not an iron hand I saw a woman of tremendous inner strength, patience, and wisdom. Although I was too young to understand a lot of what I saw and heard, being in her presence taught me that life goes good, life goes bad, and you must live through both phases.

Growing up on a farm suited Rosella. A wisp of a child, she delighted in doing chores considered too difficult and strenuous for her size. Rosella recalls, "As soon as I could walk and was strong enough to drag a sack behind me, I started picking cotton. Everyone picked cotton and, to me, it was fun. Getting paid at weigh-in was fantastic, and then the adults made such a big fuss over me because I was working and carrying my own sack. It became how I made myself interesting.

Being recognized as a productive member of the family was important. By the time she could count, Rosella remembers, twenty-five sat at the family supper table." The work at hand dictated who worked where and, in some cases who lived where. An eager child, Rosella quickly learned to be where she was needed

At the Hightower farm I spent my time in the kitchen with my father's mother Like my father, Grandmother Cumy was quiet. She also had more patience than anyone I have ever met in my life. You never knew what she was doing or thinking, but somehow she always managed to take care of everyone and get every thing done. She taught me how to churn butter and to can food and put up preserves. There were always quilting parties and 4-H Club meetings and I took part in all of that.

At the Fanning ranch Rosella worked outside with her mother's father, Sammie "He taught me to work with the horses and livestock. I learned to ride, check the fences, distribute feed and water and help when the animals gave birth. We also gathered eggs, killed the snakes we found in the hen house, and patched holes to keep the chickens in and everything else out. " Except for church on Sunday, which she remembers as more of a social affair than a religious experience, Rosella recalls there were as many outside diversions as there were idle moments.

Durwood, five miles east of the Fanning place, was and remains today little more than a cluster of churches, a cemetery, and a school-house. Nine miles to the west lies Ardmore, where the railroad once served as the only link for area farmers and ranchers to markets across the nation. With diminished rail service, one-thriving processing plants for local pecan and dairy products became rusted and deserted beside the tracks. During the 1920s, stores along Main Street offered what could not be bought by mail order and the town's single movie theater did a booming business.

As hard as the family worked, life in Carter County was a constant struggle. Sitting up straight in her chair, Rosella comments, "I was lucky because I learned the value of a dollar early. There was no such thing as an allowance in those days. For a long time my dad gave me ten cents a week for the work I did. Finally, it got up to twenty-five cents, which was enough for one movie a week. Of course, I forgot most of what I learned to do on the farm, but being able to darn pointed shoes, meant practice clothes, and exist on small amounts of money proved essential during the early years of my career. What comes to mind when I think about Oklahoma is the image of what you dream about when you imagine running away from everything. Learning to work the land and handle the animals was fun, and there was always something new to do. Most of my cousins were boys, and when we finished our chores we would go off into the woods to find good places to fish and explore the countryside. It!

was a special time

This fascinating story of Rosella Hightower continues in "American Indian Ballerinas " and is available as shown on the special pink book order form. Send order to: University of Oklahoma Press Attn: Marketing ISAH 1005 Asp Ave. Norman, OK 73019-0445

:47 AM

To: HIGHTOWER-L@rootsweb.com

Subject: Re: [Hightower] HIGHTOWER family from AL & GA

Hi, Shirley.

I don't know of any Native American Hightower ancestors.

I know that Rosella Hightower is 1/2 Cherokee/Choctaw. Maybe

her father is related to your ancestors. Her information is listed

by Leah at w.heiden@cox.net.

Carl Hightower

hitower@west.net

Kerrenhappuch

Keren-Happuch Keren-Happuch

Scripture References—Job 1:2; 42:14

Name Meaning—Beautifier or horn of paint

This was the name of the last of Job’s three daughters, and she shared with her two sisters the paternal inheritance (see href="/id/45443444-3539-3546-2D44-3738302D3343">Jemima). Her name speaks of “box of paint” which was a vessel containing liquids frequently made of horn, and called “horns.” Such a name is indicative of beautiful eyes made so from the dye used to tinge the eyelashes and make the eyes more lustrous (2 Kings 9:30; Jeremiah 4:30).