Is Seminole Medicine man Jones,  Ellen Jones born 1835 Father?

Hello,

Thanks for posting your question on the History Hub! 

Finding information for these specific individuals may be challenging; many Native American-specific census records only go as far back as the 1880s (see the Dawes Rolls [https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/rolls/final-rolls.html] for Seminole index entries). 

The National Archives has a guide to researching Native Americans in the census here [https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/census/research-indian-census.html]. If you know the location of these two individuals in 1840 or 1850, you may be able to find them/their household in the Federal population census [https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/census/research-decennial-census.html].  (Ancestry, FamilySearch, and Fold3 have digitized census records and can all be accessed for free on-site in National Archives research rooms.)  A cursory search for Ellen Jones born in 1835 in the Federal population census produces several thousand hits, so knowing the location of the individuals you are researching is going to be key to narrowing down your search. 

This series, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824 - 1880 [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/300331], created by the Bureau of Indian Affairs covers the time period you reference and may have information relevant to your topic.  The series has been reproduced on microfilm as M234, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1881. Microfilm rolls 800-807 include records about the Seminole Agency from approximately 1824-1876. You can view these rolls at many of the National Archives offices around the country. You can see a list of them via our web page at:  https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonline/start.swe?SWECmd=GotoView&SWEScreen=GPEA+Microfilm+MIF&SWEView=GPEA+Microfilm+Landing+Page+View+MIF.

We always suggest that you call before visiting any National Archives office to ensure that they have the specific rolls available. We should note that the records contained on M234 are complex and difficult to read. It may require several visits to review the particular rolls of interest.

You can also get more guidance by writing to the National Archives reference archivists in Washington, D.C. (archives1reference@nara.gov) and Fort Worth (ftworth.archives@nara.gov).

We hope this helps, and good luck with your research!

This response was compiled by Lauren Van Zandt.