From the beginning, the United States vacillated on how to 

enumerate American Indians. The U.S. Constitution 

specifically excluded “Indians not taxed” (defined as those 

living in tribal relations as part of a sovereign community) 

from the census count. However, the federal government 

soon recognized that they would have to count the 

American Indian population, even if the numbers were not 

part of the apportionment decisions. In 1850, the United 

States began sporadically conducting separate censuses for 

these communities, a practice that continued for almost 

100 years. In 1860, for the first time, American Indians not 

living on tribal lands had their own racial category on the 

census. The 1880 Census contained the first full count of 

Alaska Natives, while the 1900 Census was the first to count 

and classify all Indians living in the United States, regardless 

of their status. Throughout the evolution of the 

enumeration of American Indians and Alaskan Natives, 

census officials have embraced the hiring of a diverse 

workforce representative of the local communities. 

Preeman Johnson McClure was born September 11, 

1864 near Bryan County, Oklahoma, to Laura Ann

Ashford, a white woman, and Isaac McClure, a Choctaw 

Indian. Preeman attended the Spencer Academy, a 

boarding school for Choctaw Indians administered by 

the Presbyterian church which gained fame for 

employing Wallis Willis, who wrote several famous 

spirituals such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” The 

1885 Choctaw Census listed Preeman as living with his 

parents, most likely helping his father farm the family’s 

40 acres.

In addition to his reputation as a succesful farmer and stockman, Preeman represented his 

community as a politician by serving multiple terms in the Territorial Congress in the 1890s. 

Preeman’s first census taking experience came in 1896, 

when he enumerated Tobucksy County. The 1896 

enumeration also served as Choctaw citizenship rolls due to 

the requirements of the Dawes Commission, which 

attempted to allocate lands to members of the Five Civilized 

Tribes in exchange for the tribal titles. Although this 

resulted in land for all tribe members, it also meant that the 

land could now be sold to outsiders. 

 Choctaw Politician, Leader, Census Taker

From the Gateway to Oklahoma History (accessed 1 Sep 2017)

crediting the Oklahoma Historical Society

Muskogee Phoenix (Muskogee, OK) 24 Sep 1896

Preeman’s 1910 Census
Following his recent 1896 experience, Preeman also enumerated his community in the 1900 

Census. Compared with earlier censuses, like those of 1880 and 1890 which only counted Indian 

Territory due to later amendments to the authorizing census act, the 1900 Census accounted for 

the enumeration of Indian Territory in the initial census act. The 1899 Census Act limited the 

census to questions regarding population, mortality, agriculture, and manufacturing, with special 

censuses conducted later for topics such as disabilities and mining. In 1902, Congress authorized 

the creation of a permanent U.S. 

Census Bureau to conduct surveys, in 

addition to the decennial census, and 

deal with the increasing statistical 

analysis.

In November of 1906, Preeman worked towards the statehood of Oklahoma when he travelled to 

Guthrie as the representative of the 111th District for the state constitutional convention. The 

convention completed the majority of their work by March 1907, with a few minor revisions 

added during that summer. At the same time, the new Census Bureau conducted one of its first 

special surveys—the 1907 Census of Oklahoma—by special order 

of President Theodore Roosevelt. A group of 25 census clerks 

traveled from census headquarters in Washington, DC, to 

Guthrie, OK, to assist with the enumeration. In addition to five 

supervisors, over 1,400 enumerators worked from July 1 through

September 10, 1907, counting 1,414,177 people in the former 

Oklahoma and Indian Territories. Although Preeman received a 

recommendation to work in this census as an enumerator, it is 

impossible to verify his records. The only surviving schedules 

from the 1907 Census of Oklahoma are those for Seminole 

County. 

On September 17, 1907—120 years to the day after founding 

fathers signed the U.S. Constitution in 1787—the people of 

Oklahoma voted and approved their state constitution by 71 

percent. On November 16, 1907, having completed all 

requirements for statehood, including a current census, 

Oklahoma became the 46th state. 

The addition of Oklahoma, and the five seats allotted to the state 

in the House of Representatives, revealed a minor paradox using 

the apportionment method devised by Alexander Hamilton. 

Although Congress originally intended to simply add five seats to 

the total in the House of Representatives, the total population of 

Oklahoma skewed the distribution numbers between states so that 

Maine gained a seat while New York lost one. The apportionment 

method continued to evolve to avoid these unintended results until 

1941, when the current Huntington-Hill/Equal Portions 

apportionment method and a stable 435-seat legislator became 

the law of the land.

Preeman married twice: first to Caroline Schermerhorn in 1886 and 

secondly to Laura Dyer in 1898, with each marriage resulting in 

three children who reached adulthood. Preeman passed away on 

September 22, 1910, on his land near Broken Bow, a town 

incorporated a year after his death. 

The Census Bureau is thankful for Preeman’s contributions to our nation and his community. 

Preeman’s signature on one of his 1900 census schedules.

The Wichita Beacon (Wichita, KS) 9 July 1907

The Oklahoma State Capital 

(Guthrie, OK) 15 Dec 1906

HB-18-0003