The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-07-20

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O FulIblood Chickasaw? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know William l. ByrdE A
Yes, sir.
Q. How 'o.s have Y u known HIM
A. I have known him since was boy
like; must be forty-five years, some
where In that neighborhood.
-. Did you know his parents? A. Yes
-. DO you know whether either OF
them was Chickassw? A His mothe.
was a Chickasaw.
Q. Do you know who she got hei
Chickasaw blood from? A. I didn't know
the old folks: I never saw them, bu'
everybody said she was Chickasaw
That is all I knew.
@ She was a recognized Chickasaw
A. Recognized Chickasaw; yes, sir.
Q You knew his father? A. Yes, sir
Jack Byrd.
Q. He was a white man? A Yes.
sir. he was a white man.
Q. At the time you knew his mother,
was there any question about her Cit
zenship ever raised? a No. sir
=. (By Commissioner Needless Did she
come from Mississippi-his mother? A
Yes. sir.
Q. And has been recognized as a Chick
asaw citizen here? A. Yes, sir.
=. (By Mr.. William L. Byrd You
never heard any doubt as to William L.
Byrd's citizenship? A. No. sir.
Q. Untn he became rather an aggres
sive politician? A. Never in my life,
until late years, when he was running
for governor. And several from the
Chickasaw nation have gone all the way
down to my house to find out from me
whether he was a Chickasaw or white
man, and 1 have always told them that
as long as I have known him he was
Jack and Mary Byrd's son.
Q. (By Mr.. Bixby) What was his
mothers name? a. Mary Byrd.
@. (By Mr.. Needles) What degree of
blood did she have? a. Must have been
half.
Q. By Mr.. Byrd Don't you believe
that the question OF William L. Byrd s
citizenship was made through party polit-
zeal prejudices? A. Yes. sir.
- Don't you believe that the opposition
Of William l. Byrd at that time saw
that the only chance to defeat him for
governor was 10 make him q white man?
a. Yes, sir.
Overton Love. being duly sworn by
Commissioner T. B. Needles, on his oath
testified on behalf of the applicant as
follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION.
By Commissioner Tams Bixby:
Q. What is your name7 A. Overtoh
Love.
Q. Where do you live? A. I live in
Pickens county, Cbickasaw nation.
Q. How long have you lived in the
Chickasaw nation? A. Flfty-fve years.
:. Do you know William L. Byrd !:
A Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know his parents? A. Yes
sir.
Q. Please tell US what you know about
his parents citizenship. A. Well,
know that his mother was the daughter
Of a woman that was an indian. 1 don't
know just what amount of Indian she
was. All I have OF it is tradition. We
are related. His mother and I were
cousins. Her mother was sister to my
father. Their father was a white man.
and whether he married a full blood
Indian or half breed 1 don't know. Ny
grandfather, Love. married an Indian
woman, but whether she was a half or
full blood I don't know; at least.
know she was half from the circum-
stances that came around.
Q. At least? A At least half.
.. Was William L. Byrd's maternal
grandmother half blood Chickasaw? A.
That is what I was talking about. I
don't know whether she was a quarter or
a half breed positive. His grandmother
was an own sister to my father, ana
1 am not positive whether she was a
full blood or half blood.
@ When his mother was alive, was
her citizenship as a Chiclasaw ever ques-
toned? a. Not to N knowledge.
Q. What proportion of Indian blood
in our estimation did she have? a. AT
least a quarter.
Q. You knew her very well, did you?
A. Yes. sir; raised with her.
@. Has William L. Byrd's citizenship
ever been questioned. to your knowledge2
a. I have heard ruInors around that
white people were proving him a white.
man; that's all. The Chickasaws never
did it,
Q. In your opinion, wha did these
rumors grow out Of? A. Prejudice
Q. Any politics in It? A Yes. sir
Really 1 think that 1t was during his
administration that these men were dis
franehised. I think they started it-thai
he was a white man. that is my idea
about it-for undertaking 20 disfranchise
the white man. 1t was political mat
ter.
By Commissioner Needles:
Q. Have YoI known William L. Byrd
all his life? a Yes, Sir
Q. You knew his mother intimately :,
A Knew his mother all along
Q. You know that she was .-hicka-
saw Indian? A. Yes, sir. as much %
as I am
Q. Had Indian blood enough in her To
be an Indian2 4 Yes. sir Outside Of
that We were differently situated from
most any family Of people. There was my
grandfather living. and all his children
living. and all his children living but one
and my mothers people. all OF them. liv-
ing in one neighborhood. and all went to
school together TO a missionary school H..
Mississippi from my earliest recollection
on up to the division and sale OF land
@---- a. mans IL Aa4 tlSu4al4S aCi{Ndllll-
ed with everyone.
.. by air. Byrd) You can almost, or
do. say that YOU knew William L Byrd
mother all her lffe2 \. All her life. and
William Byrd, too. knew where he was
born. / couldn't say Just how old he was
before saw him
.. What county in Mississippi? 4.
Marshall county. about seven miles south
east Of Holly Strings