O'siyo!  Tohitsu.  I have been doing Genealogical Research for a number of years  now,about 40, with a focus on Cherokee Genealogical Research for about the last 20 or so,  serving for a while as my state-recognized tribe's Genealogist.  I am also involved for the last 8 or so years in teaching seminars  in the SouthEast on Cherokee Genealogical Research.   Most recently I taught the Seminar at the Sequoyah birthplace Museum in Vonovre, TN, which iw owned and operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee.  This is about the 4th or 5th time I have taught it there.  I have also taught in Chattanooga, Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee and in several cities in North Alabama and also in Douglasville, Ga.  One way I honor my ancestors is by helping others to document their own. 

 

I would assume that the number you were told of was some sort of an enrollment number.  However, there was no listing kept of the families to be removed as they were being gathered for Removal.  The 1851 Drennan Roll is the first listing of those persons in the West, who were there as a result of to the Removal.  The 1835 Henderson Roll was an enumeration of Cherokee in the East, but it can be confusing as it does not list every person in the family, only the Heads of Household, and sometimes they are listed by their Cherokee name and are usually written phonetically..  Where did your family live pre-Removal?  Have you documented your ancestry back to the person or persons who were listed as Cherokee on some kind of primary source document or governmental record? 

 

Lorna