Sylvia Ridley nee Thornton (Morrison)

Sylvia was a Choctaw by Blood woman

Two Tribes: The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (those who migrated to Indian Territory) and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (those who stayed behind in Mississippi).

The Oklahoma (west of the red line) and Indian Territories (east of the red line) in 1890
Source: United States Bureau Of The Census. Map of Indian Territory and Oklahoma. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1890] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2012586269/>.

Not yet citizens of the U.S., Choctaw Native American Indian members of the American Expeditionary Forces were asked to use their Native language as a powerful tool against the German Forces in World War I, setting a precedent for code talking as an effective military weapon and establishing them as America’s original Choctaw Code Talkers.
“US of A, you did everything you could with your ‘kill the Indian, save the man’ policies to erase all Native languages. But of course, you found it convenient to use Native Code Talkers and their language which have played a critical role in winning the wars…Did you ever protect those Native Warriors or did you only protect the Code at whatever Cost necessary??? For your grandeur…for your fame…”
~Adrien Heckstall

Further Reading:
1. Wikipedia contributors. "Choctaw." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 27 Feb. 2024. Web. 6 Apr. 2024.
2. Kidwell, Clara Sue. “Choctaw (Tribe) | the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.” Www.okhistory.org, 15 Jan. 2010, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CH047.
3. “Early Choctaw History .” Www.nps.gov, U.S. National Park Service, 26 June 2023, www.nps.gov/natr/learn/historyculture/choctaw.htm.
4. Yarbrough, Fay A. “Choctaw Confederates.” The National Endowment for the Humanities, 11 Jan. 2023, www.neh.gov/article/choctaw-confederates.
5. Ancestry, I. Love. “America’s Choctaw Code Talkers from the Choctaw Nation.” I Love Ancestry, 30 July 2017, iloveancestry.com/topics/ancestry/historical-events/20th-century/original-choctaw-code-talkers-america-choctaw-nation/. Accessed 6 Apr. 2024.
6. https://www.facebook.com/AbandonedOklahoma. “Old Choctaw Nation Indian Hospital | 40+ Photos | Abandoned Oklahoma.” Abandoned Oklahoma, 26 Nov. 2020, abandonedok.com/choctaw-nation-hospital/. Accessed 6 Apr. 2024.

Biography:
Sylvia was half-blood Choctaw, born to William (Choctaw) and Rebecca (Becky) (White) Morrison c. 1871 probably in the Choctaw Nation. She had several, at least 3 husbands, maybe a 4th. The early Choctaw Rolls has her name as Sophia Nelson but there is no indication where that surname came from, but since her parents were named Morrison, it is surmised that the name is her first married name for which there is NO documentation (yet). Then she married William Goforth and had one son Andrew born on April 17, 1898. this marriage concluded sometime before November 16, 1901, when she married secondly, Ed A. Thornton, with whom she had one son Luther, born on July 25, 1900. She divorced Ed on May 13, 1901, and married thirdly, Henry M. Ridley on August 12, 1902, with whom she had one son William Monroe Ridley, born on August 12, 1902, died on November 1, 1902, living only 11 weeks. Her marriages for some unexplained reason were in Texas.

Sylvia was a Choctaw woman, despite frequently claiming to be Chickasaw and even requesting to have herself and her children "correctly" added to the Chickasaw Roll, which the Commission of the Five Civilized Tribes refused to do, as can be seen through a series of communications with Ed Thornton and the commission in the attached file.

According to Carla Joinson in her book Vanished in Hiawatha, Sylvia was admitted to the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians after February 8, 1905, and diagnosed with neurasthenia (neurasthenia is sometimes considered similar to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). It's attributed to "tension in the higher nervous system, more than its capacity, thus causing a weakening in the functioning capacity of the brain tissues and a lack of balance or confusion in nervous activity".)

The US Marshal's office in Ardmore, Indian Territory was ordered to deliver Sylvia to Canton on February 1, 1905. In the letter dated February 17, 1934, from Dr. L.L. Culp to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, it states that Sylvia was committed from the Union Agency in Oklahoma, died on June 12, 1905, at age 34, and was buried in the Canton Hiawatha Cemetery, tier 5, plot 6.

Her profile is part of the The Canton Asylum One Place Study.

Research Notes:
-Some early records show her born in Oklahoma County, but in 1871, neither the State of Oklahoma nor Oklahoma County existed, nor was the county ever located in the Choctaw Nation, so one must remain circumspect on this information. For now, until there is further evidence, she was probably born in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, United States.
-Early commission records indicate the name recorded for Sylvia was Sophia who married William Goforth and was mother to their son Andrew. This was later clarified by Mr. Ed A. Thompson in a letter to the commission dated December 18, 1901.
-Her son Luther Thornton was confused and listed by the commission twice with birthdays of July 25, 1900, and November 25, 1901
-On March 9, 1903, Ed Thornton advised that his wife Sylvia claimed she was Chickasaw and not Cochtaw and desired that she and all her children be transferred to the Chickasaw Roll, to which the commission advised that she and her husband William Goforth and their son Andrew had been enrolled on the Choctaw roll, and on April 22, 1903 indicated it was not possible for her now claim to be Chickasaw and change rolls.
-A note appended to the file indicates that Sophia Goforth age 26 is in the Chocktaw roll as Sophia Nelson, page 383, CCR#2, 3rd District, Blue County. The name Nelson comes from the FamilySearch page for William Harrison Goforth who married Sophia Nelson Morrison, inferring a previous marriage by Sylvia.
-It is presumed that Henry divorced after February 8, 1905, after the date she was admitted to the Canton Asylum, he remarried later that same year
-Much of the information used in this profile comes from "Dawes Enrollment Jacket for Choctaw, Choctaw by Blood, Card #319 Ridley" in the media tab: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://media.geni.com/p14/46/dd/56/4f/534448659f2d301e/dawes_enrollment_jacket_for_choctaw_choctaw_by_blood_card_319_ridley_original.pdf?hash=1b51145a88694a0e2817206141e9e68f09f3183f597e7bd77349448ef87540b7.1746341999
-The Oklahoma Land Records document which reflects Sylvia Thornton's application to relinquish lands to sons Andrew and Luther, by Joe F. Robinson, Guardian for Sylvia Thornton is identified below as a 1903 Oct 10 document, the entire document being 120 pages long.
-Numerous Oklahoma Land transactions • Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907 for Sylvia under the names of Nelson, Goforth, Thornton, and Ridley. Sylvia was very active in land transfers to her children, after being adjudicated insane, effected land transfers via guardian Joe F. Robinson. Some if not much of the land she owned was in the Chickasaw Nation.
__________
Sources:

1900 Jul 25 - "United States, Native American, Five Civilized Tribes Enrollment Records, 1898-1914", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:625F-M7JJ : 23 January 2024), Sylvia Thornton in entry for Arthur Thornton, 1901, pg. 1527/2053, Application for enrollment to the Five Tribes by his mother Sylvia Thornton on the date of his birth

1902 Aug 12 - "United States, Native American, Five Civilized Tribes Enrollment Records, 1898-1914", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:625F-M7JX : 23 January 2024), Silvia Ridley in entry for William Munroe Ridley, 1902, pg. 1525/2053, Birth Affidavit for son William Monroe Ridley, Five Civilized Tribes Enrollment Records, 1898-1914

1902 Sep 18 - "United States, Native American, Five Civilized Tribes Enrollment Records, 1898-1914", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:625F-M7JX : 23 January 2024), Silvia Ridley in entry for William Munroe Ridley, 1902, pg. 1525/2053, Application for enrollment as citizen of the Choctaw Natiom, affidavit of mother Sylvia Ridley

1903 Apr 24 - "Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H9-TBXR : Sat Mar 09 09:51:24 UTC 2024), Entry for Sylvia Thornton, 1899-1907. pg. 185/612, testimony of Sylvia Thornton in the matter of Allotment of lands to Andrew Goforth

1903 Oct 10 - "Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H9-TY9Q : Fri Mar 08 16:35:21 UTC 2024), Entry for Sylvia Thornton, 1899-1907, pg. 165/612, allotment of lands (in the Chickasaw Nation, citizen by blood and intermarriage

(Curator Note: This page is extracted from the entire 120 page document, item follows)

1903 Oct 10 - "Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H9-TY9Q : Fri Mar 08 16:35:21 UTC 2024), Entry for Sylvia Thornton, 1899-1907, pg. 123-243, Joe F. Robinson, Guardian for Sylvia Thornton's application to relinquish lands to sons Andrew and Luther
1st page: Last page:
(Curator Note: the entire file is 120 pages in length and begins here: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-62XS-HR1?view=inde...)

1903 Oct 13 - "Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H9-YMY6 : Fri Mar 08 11:40:51 UTC 2024), Entry for Sylvia Thornton, 1899-1907, pg. 130&131/612, Application for allotment of lands homesteaded BHS since October 10

1905 Jan 6 - “National Archives NextGen Catalog, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian AffairsSeries: Case Files on Insane Indians.” Catalog.archives.gov, catalog.archives.gov/id/104369397. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024. Case 05 Sylvia Ridley, court order adjudging Sylvia insane (Uploaded to the Media tab)

1905 Jan 11 - "Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H9-Y9FD : Sun Mar 10 21:12:50 UTC 2024), Entry for Sylvia Thornton Ridley, 1899-1907, pg. 136/612, line xx, the appointment of a guardian for Sylvia Ridley, lunatic.

1905 - "South Dakota State Census, 1905", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM4K-VL8 : Fri Mar 08 16:27:40 UTC 2024), Entry for Sylvia Riddley, pg. 1902/3775, card #557 (Widowed), South Dakota State census 1905

1905 May 12 - "South Dakota, Grave Registration Records, 1940-1941", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CY84-NC2M : Sat Mar 09 13:53:00 UTC 2024), Entry for Sylvia Ridley, no image
Name Sylvia Ridley
Sex Female
Age 34 years
Birth Year (Estimated) 1871
Death Date 12 May 1905
Event Type Burial
Event Place Presho, Lyman, South Dakota, United States
Cemetery Indian Asylum

1905 Jun 12 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14491654/sylvia-ridley: accessed April 4, 2024), memorial page for Sylvia Ridley (unknown–12 Jun 1905), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14491654, citing Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, USA; Maintained by Graveaddiction (contributor 46528400).

1905 Jun 12 - Hilton, M. (Ed.). (2023, July 10). Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians Historical Marker. Historical Marker. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=183486 Photo by Ruth VanSteenwyk, July 10, 2023, courtesy of HMdb.org

Minnie LaCount 7-5-06 · Sylvia Ridley 6-12-05 · Edith Standingbear 5-13-05

1910 Oct 12 - Camp Verde School: 1910-27; Canton Insane Asylum: 1910-22, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155854182?objectPage=674, line 40, Table 7 Form of mental disease of those admitted since opening of Asylum