Pleasant Luther “Duke” Berryhill and Jeanetta May Grayson Berryhill
Three generations of Mvskoke ancestors
This post has the immediately preceding direct-line Mvskoke ancestors of mine, with some of their photographs and historical documents that I have managed to collect. Other ancestors before this will be in another post.
Pleasant Luther “Duke” Berryhill
My great-Grandfather Pleasant Luther “Duke” Berryhill. He was of mixed Mvskoke and European heritage, and from a prominent Mvskoke family. Duke was born January 1852 in the Mvskoke Nation, Indian Territory. He went to his ancestors August 29, 1929.
He was Dawes Roll #117. He lived through boarding school, the Dawes Commission, Tribal land allotment theft and Oklahoma statehood.
Duke was Captain of the Mvskoke Nation Okmulgee District Lighthorse and active in the Mvskoke Nation Government in Indian Territory. He was an extremely good sharpshooter.
Jeanetta May Grayson Berryhill
My great-Grandmother Jeanetta May Grayson Berryhill. She was of full blooded Mvskoke heritage. Jeanetta was born April 18, 1878 in the Mvskoke Nation, Indian Territory. She went to her ancestors in 1926.
She was Dawes Roll #7144 and lived through the Dawes Commission, Tribal land allotment theft & Oklahoma statehood.
Jeanetta had 5 children, my grandmother being her first.
Her parents were Gibson and Judah Grayson.
Pleasant and Jeanetta’s Marriage License
My great-Grandfather Pleasant Luther “Duke” Berryhill & great-Grandmother Jeanetta May Grayson Berryhill’s Indian Territory marriage license (Feb 11, 1903) and certificate of marriage (Feb 22, 1903).
Pleasant’s Dawes Rolls Page
Dawes Rolls page from the Indian Territory land allotment tragedy with my great-Grandfather Pleasant Luther “Duke” Berryhill at #117.
Jeanetta’s Dawes Rolls Page
Dawes Rolls page from the Indian Territory land allotment tragedy with my great-Grandmother Jeanetta Grayson Berryhill at #7144.
Pleasant’s Dawes Rolls Card
Copy of the actual handwritten Dawes Rolls card from the Indian Territory land allotment tragedy. My great-Grandfather Pleasant Luther “Duke” Berryhill is #117.
Jeanetta’s Dawes Rolls Card
Copy of the actual handwritten Dawes Rolls card from the Indian Territory land allotment tragedy. My great-Grandmother Jeanetta Grayson Berryhill is #7144.
Jeanetta and Pleasant Berryhill
A picture of my great-Grandmother Jeanetta Grayson Berryhill & my great-Grandfather Pleasant Luther “Duke” Berryhill that was displayed in the Creek Council House in Okmulgee, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Capitol.
Girl and Pleasant Berryhill
My great-Grandfather Pleasant Luther “Duke” Berryhill and a teenage girl, possibly my Grandmother “Lee”, but it could be her sister or half-sister.
This picture appears to have been taken at the same place and time as the above photo.
I’ll update if I ever definitively confirm identity.
Me and my Grandmother Leola “Lee” May Berryhill
My Grandmother Leola “Lee” May Berryhill was born May 24, 1904 in the Mvskoke Nation, Indian Territory before the establishment of the so called State of Oklahoma in 1907 and went to see her ancestors October 25, 1989.
She was the youngest member of our family on the Dawes Rolls when she was 1 year old. She was Dawes Roll #814.
She had 2 children, my mother being her first.
Leola’s Dawes Rolls Card
Copy of my Grandmother Leola May Berryhill’s actual handwritten Dawes Rolls card from the Indian Territory land allotment tragedy.
Leola’s Muscogee (Creek) Nation land allotment documents
Some of my Grandmother Leola May Berryhill’s Muscogee (Creek) Nation land allotment documents from 1905 and 1924.
My mother Mona Lee Smith
All these people deserve a book, but especially my mother, Mona Lee Smith. She is the most amazing person in all history for sure.
She was born July 26, 1930 and went to see her ancestors May 9, 1992.
She had 3 children, and I was her first child. After raising her kids, she became a business woman and owned a fabric shop in a local Chicago area mall.
I will add more later.
Mvto!
-Yehuda
This post is subject to content updates/additions. If you think any content should be updated or added, please leave a private comment on Bluesky @Yehuda.TurtleIs.land or Mastodon TurtleIsland.social/@Yehuda. Mvto!
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