Tales from the Territory: Looking for Sugar George

Today I want to share a few facts about an interesting man, an incredible man with an amazing history. He was a leader, in his community, in his nation. Thousands of people pass by his grave site every day. But unless we preserve his history and legacy he will be forgotten.

I am talking about a man called SUGAR GEORGE.
Sometimes called Sugar T. George.  In 1993 I looked at some records called the Claims of the Loyal Creeks. These were Creek Indians who were loyal to the Union in the Civil War. This man’s name was near the top of a document of 1100 people and it mentioned that he was a soldier. He had apparently was in the Indian Home Guards. The first 300 people were Freedmen–people once enslaved by Muscogee Creek Indians. I became curious about him and pulled his records. I looked up his military files and I saw that he had filed for a Civil War pension. There were many things in his file—including a duplicate Dawes card. (Strangely when I went back to pull the file earlier this year–that document was gone. Hmm…..)

There was a letter in his file that said that he was “the wealthiest Negro in Indian Territory.” How interesting.  But readind that he was a man of wealth and learning later that he was a man of influence, I had a question: Why was I not seeing his name in books about Oklahoma history? Several months later, I traveled to Oklahoma City, and visited the old state Archives—the Oklahoma Historical Society.

I asked about a file or any kind of information about Sugar George. The attendant recognized the name and said there was a file reflecting his name. I waited and a small file was given to me–containing 1 sheet of paper. It  was from an Indian Pioneer Paper interview reflecting a motion made in a meeting of  the tribal council of the Creek Nation, regarding Sugar George. The motion made was for him to simply remove a linen duster, or jacket that he was wearing. That was the only document bearing his name at that time,  in the small file. Nothing more.

So clearly, to learn more I would have locate resources on the tribal level, or in a collection among Creek documents, since his influence was in the Creek Nation and not in the state itself. And as I continued to educate myself more about the Oklahoma Indian Freedmen, I kept seeing his name. Dozens of people mentioned his name that they gathered at the home of Sugar George. Some were married at his home, some met for other meetings at his home. And clearly, Sugar George  did have some property before the war ended–because his claim among the Loyal Creeks reflected a loss of property. He had made a claim for $421 and received $228 when his case was settled.

Then I received an email from someone who asked me a question about Sugar George. He asked if it was true that Sugar George served in the House of Warriors and the House of Kings? The writer was referring to the two ruling houses of the Creek Nation. But wait—Sugar George—served in the government of the tribe?Then why is there little to no information about him in Okmulgee the Capital, and little of him in the state of Oklahoma?

If he served in both ruling houses of the Creek Nation including the House of Kings–that means t hat he was a “town king”, or the main leader of the town. He was said also to have been a lawyer, and he was also a a reverend. Sometimes one will find his name written as Rev. George T. Sugar.

And I learned from his pensin tha he was a soldier. He was also devoted to education. He was on the board of  the Tullahassee Colored School, once known as the Tullahassee Mission School, and later, the Tullahassee Manuel Labor School. He controlled the finances of the school, and I was able to find a document reflecting his signature pertaining to the expenses of the school.

\\\\\

 

 

 

 

 

Yet still,  is no mention and not one photo of this amazing man. Was he connected to Cane Creek Church in Okmulgee? His wife Bettie Sugar is buried there with a beautiful heart shaped marble stone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again—from the few interviews that survived from the Dawes era—the name of Sugar Georgie is found. I keep finding the footprints all over Muskogee, Okmulgee, and other parts of the Creek Nation.

Sugar George died in 1900 and is buried in Old Agency Cemetery in Muskogee. On highway 69, thousands of people pass this burial ground each and every day. On the edge of the city, behind a grove of trees—there is Old Agency Cemetery, every single day. And there, inside the thick brush, is a 10 foot marble headstone, now toppled over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearby, there is a smaller stone but stone mason crafted stone that also bears his name.

 

 

 

 

 

Both were well made stones, one more impressive, but now toppled over.  Nearby are others who are ignored by the people of Muskogee, by the Creek Nation. The fact is however, if you look for papers on this man you can’t find evidence that this man was ever there. A few miles northward,  outside of Muskogee, you might see an historical marker noting that the old Tullahassee School were Sugar George served on the board, was once nearby.  You can also travel up Fern Mountain road and see communities where Freedmen lived. Up Agency hill—you will see Evangel Mission, the old Creek Colored Orphanage—now the home of the Five Tries Museum. But if looking for Sugar George, you might not find evidence that he was ever present.

But, this man who was a lawyer, a reverend, a town king, a community leader, now lies in an abandoned burial ground, with his stone pushed over.  He is a man with an incredibly rich story. He was a man  of a many assets, who helped his people,  and who helped dozens of Creek Freedmen as they went through the Dawes process. His man who was a lawyer, was a man of the cloth– was said to be the “wealthiest Negro” in Indian Territory. All who are interested in Indian Territory history, Oklahoma history, Native American history, African American history–we should all be interested in his life and his story. I hope that  many of us will make a commitment to become involved in the search for Sugar George.

Thanks for listening to this episode of  Tales from the Territory.

Welcome back to this episode of the African Roots Podcast! You can reach me HERE.

As the Storm Approaches………..

Well hello everyone, I am coming to you from the Mid-Atlantic waiting for bands of rain to approach as Hurricane Florence is coming ashore. Prayers for the safety of our friends and family in the Carolinas who are in the path of the storm. Here in the Mid-Atlantic, we are awaiting that to move through bringing us mostly rain and lots of it. However we must think about those in the direct path of the wind and power, and pray that they will come through it safely.

Roots to Glory Tour  Underway………..

In the genealogy community, I want to give a shout out to a group of researchers who have traveled to West Africa as part of the Roots to Glory heritage tour. They are currently in the Ivory Coast, or Cote d’Ivoire as it is said in French. Among the travelers are Bernice Bennett and Patricia Glover Howard, who are participants in the Roots to Glory tour. They will be visiting the village of  where the mud cloth is made. Many of you are familiar with the beautiful mud cloth images. Best wishes for a wonderful and memorable trip.

A New Podcast Emerges: DeColonize The Mind ……… 

Congratulations to genealogist and researcher George Geder, who has joined the podcast community! So proud and so impressed with him. It is called De-Colonize the Mind. He is giving critical analysis to things that we have been taught over the years. He is active in social media, and for us, we consider George Geder to be the conscience of the genealogy community. Community and welcome to the podcasting community.

African American Family History Day ……………….

I am getting ready to travel to Poplar Forest in Virginia where I will be participating in the African American Family History Day. I am on the program with friend and colleague, Dr. Shelley Murphy. The event will occur next Saturday on September 22 from 10 am to 2:00 pm. Shelley will give the opening address, and there will be two poignant sessions—-1) Asking the Right Questions, and 2) Moving form Oral History to the Records. I am excited to be one of the presenters at Poplar Forest next Saturday. I am going to speak about one line of my family from Tennessee. I shall show how I moved from a story shot someone in Tennessee, who ran away to Texas. This was part of the oral history. How was I able to find anything about this ancestor? Well, I shall be talking about that.

In October and in November, I will give a presentation on getting started with family history. Both will be presented at the Community College of Baltimore County–in Essex and Catonsville MD. More about that to come later.

Shout out to the Curtis family who had their 50th family reunion in Prince George’s family, where over 400 people attended. One interesting chapter contains a family that left the family circle and passed, into another culture, but DNA brought the family back together. I have had the chance to research this family with amazing history, going back to colonial times to St. Mary’s County Maryland. So glad they had this reunion.

A Black Newspaper Archive will be a result of a collaborative effort to consolidate the various sites where black newspapers are held. The Chicago Defender, the Afro-American, the Obisidian website will host this parent project. Let’s keep our eyes open on this site that will put these historic publications in the hands of hundreds of more people.

 

Relative Race Begins……….
By the way—Relative Race begins this weekend. This show combine competition–a race—with genealogy. Four pairs of people are involved in a race across the country, as well as a race to find their family’s history. It combines genealogy with the excitement of a competition! Tune in, or watch it online as I do on www.byutv.org. Several people of color are on the teams so anxious to see what they explore and what they find!

 

Time for a Project
Have you ever felt burned out, or feeling empty about what to do next with your genealogy? Sometimes those discoveries are not as frequent as they used to be? Are  you feeling that you have run out of things to do? And do you love the process of looking? Well—perhaps it is time for you to initiate a project!!  Do you have a project? Perhaps  you can back up and look at those events that affected the entire community. You might find the next genealogy endeavor to become enriched by telling a larger story–the story of the community. The ancestors had numerous contacts. Pay attention to the societies that the ancestors were part of? Was grandpa a mason, or grandma a member of the Eastern Star? What do the old newspapers tell you?  What were the benevolent societies that they were a part of? Do their headstones reflect something? You can learn a lot by studying the community.  Perhaps the next story might be study the societies were active.  If you live in Lexington Kentucky—-there was the old Colored Orphanage, created by the society that created it? Did you ancestors attend the old academies, or Rosenwald schools? Look beyond the ancestral back yard..you may be surprised to see what you may find. Consider exploring those artifacts in the family and see what they can point you to. So many projects in which you can immerse yourself. Perhaps there was one group that was dominant. Have you ever driven through the old hometown and taken a photo of each and every black church? Some of those churches are over 150 years old. Take photos–document those old establishments. Find a project and you will probably stumble upon your own ancestors in a new way.

Well, going to wrap things up–on this stormy day, I hope that all of you will stay safe. If you have power, pull out a journal and write about  or record about what is happening as you go through things. In the meantime–please remember to keep researching, keep documenting and always keep sharing what you find.