Over the past few months I have been pondering whether or not I should merge Beyond the Indian Rolls into Digging Up Your Family, and I finally decided it was the best decision. Over the next few weeks I will be relocating previously published posts about William Hendrix Yernipcut and his family, before finally closing out BIR for good. No worries, though! I still have plenty of new finding on the family for future posts!
This post was originally published on December 1, 2013:
William “Bill” Hendrix Yernipcut was born on June 5, 1922 in Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma, the fourth child of parents Herbert Yernipcut and Carrie Hendrix (the first two children, daughters, had passed prior to 1920). Bill’s father Herbert was an enrolled full-blood Comanche and his mother Carrie was enrolled in the Wichita Tribe, though she was Wichita, Seminole, and, possibly, Creek.
The first census Bill appears on is the 1922 Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Wichita, and Caddo Indians, and Apache Prisoners of War, or Fort Sill Apache Roll. The household, according to the Comanche roll, include:
1922 US Indian Roll, Comanche, Family Number 145 1/2
Yernipcut (Herbert) (Nah per che), head of household, male, born in 1892.
Phillip Yernipcut, son, male, born in 1920.
(handwritten) William Hendrix Yernipcut, son, male, born in 1922, born on June 5, 1922.
Also written off to the side is a note stating: married to 29 1/2 Wich., denoting Carrie’s family number on the Wichita roll.
From 1922 until 1928 Bill is found on the Indian Census rolls with his father, however in 1929 the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Wichita, and Caddo Indians, and Apache Prisoners of War, or Fort Sill Apache Roll offers more information (AAIN: Allotment, Annuity, Identification Number):
1929 US Indian Roll, Kiowa Reservation
Yernipcut (Herbert Nahperche), AAIN Y-19, male, born 1892, full-blood, married, head of household.
Yernipcut, Phillip, AAIN P-264, male, born 1920, full-blood, single, son.
Yernipcut, William H., AAIN W-414, male, born 1922, full-blood, single, son.
Yernipcut, Winifred, AAIN W-415, female, born 1924, full-blood, single, daughter.
Yernipcut, Frances Elizabeth, (no AAIN), female, born 1927, full-blood, single, daughter.
Note that Carrie still does not appear in the household, due to having been enumerated on the Wichita rolls. Interestingly enough, Carrie also doesn’t appear as living in the household on the 1930 US Federal Census. I can’t imagine why they would have enumerated her on a separate Federal Census, unless they were trying to keep tribes separate as on the Indian Rolls (please note each states that the children are full-blood Comanche, though they were not. This is due to claiming the tribe they were enrolled in, not their actual full blood lineage):
1930 US Federal Census, East McKinley Township, Caddo County, Oklahoma
Yernipcut, Herbert, head of household, rents home for $12 per month, male, Indian, 36 years of age, married for 23 years, can read and write, born in Oklahoma, full-blood Comanche, acts as a laborer for the Kiowa Agency (more information about Herbert will be provided in a separate post)
Yernipcut, Roderick (this is Phillip), son, male, Indian, 9 years of age, single, attends school, born in Oklahoma, full-blood Comanche
Yernipcut, William, son, male, Indian, 7 years of age, single, attends school, born in Oklahoma, full-blood Comanche
Yernipcut, Winifred, daughter, female, Indian, 6 years of age, single, does not attend school, born in Oklahoma, full-blood Comanche
Yernipcut, Elizabeth, daughter, female, Indian, 2 11/12 years of age, single, does not attend school, born in Oklahoma, full-blood Comanche
However, the Indian Roll enumerated just a couple of months prior to the Federal Census the same year does list Bill’s mother:
1930 US Indian Roll, Kiowa Reservation
Yernipcut (Herbert Nahperche), male, 38 years of age, Comanche, degree of blood listed as “m” though I think they meant “f” for full-blood, married, head of household
Hendrix, Carrie, female, 36 years of age, Wichita, full-blood, married, wife
Yernipcut, Phillip, male, 10 years of age, Comanche, single, son
Yernipcut, William H, male, 8 years of age, Comanche, single, son
Yernipcut, Winifred, female, 6 years of age, Comanche, single, daughter
Yernipcut, Frances Elizabeth, female, 3 years of age, Comanche, single, daughter
Through the 1930s I am able to find Bill on the rolls for ‘31, ‘32, ‘33, ‘34, and ‘37. I believe that no further rolls were taken for the Yernipcut family after 1937.
On December 31, 1935 Bill’s father Herbert died of pneumonia. His mother Carrie remarried on April 4, 1936 to Curtis Joseph Ryan in Anadarko.
The 1940 US Census lists the Ryan household with Bill in it:
1940 US Federal Census, 318 West Kansas Ave, McKinley Township, Anadarko, Caddo County, Oklahoma (address is now an empty lot across from Grace Christian Fellowship Church)
Ryan, Curtis J, head of household, male, White, 25 years of age, farmer
Ryan, Carrie, wife, female, Indian, 43 years of age
Yernipcut, Phillip R, step-son, male, Indian, 19 years of age
Yernipcut, William H, step-son, male, Indian, 17 years of age
Yernipcut, Winifred P, step-daughter, female, Indian, 15 years of age
Yernipcut, Francis E, step-daughter, female, Indian, 11 years of age
Yernipcut, Ramona M, step-daughter, female, Indian, 10 years of age
Hendrix, Winnie, mother-in-law, female, Indian, 70 years of age (this is Carrie’s mother)
In a book titled “Anadarko: Days of Glory” compiled by N. Dale Talkington and Pauletta Hart Wilson (1999) (link to book herefor full article), Bill’s name, as well as his brother Phillip’s is found on page 54 from a newspaper clipping. According to the authors of the book, the article came from The Anadarko Daily News, published on May 12, 1940:
ANNUAL JUNIOR-SENIOR BANQUET HELD IN HAWAIIAN SETTING
American Legion Building Is Scene Of Lovely And Colorful Affair Friday Evening When Juniors Are Host To Seniors
One of the loveliest and most colorful affairs of the season was that Friday evening when the junior class of the Anadarko high school entertained seniors, faculty members, members of the school board and additional guests at the annual junior-senior banquet at the American Legion building…
Juniors included…Howard Thompson, Gerald Walker, Oscar Webb, Harold Witten, Maurice Wood, Bob Wyant, Leon Yarnell, William Yernipcut, Marcella Abshere, Rosemary Brooks, Evelyn Brown, Dorothy Carruth…
Bill graduated from Anadarko High School in 1941. Found on Rootsweb (link) is a list of graduates that was published in the May 15, 1941 issue of The Anadarko Tribune:
Marcella Abshere, Virgil Bates, Billy Bell, Rosemary Brooks, Evelyn Brown, Dorothy Carruth, Eloda Chambers, Rodney Cherry, Jessie Coffman, Bob Colbath, Irwin Cox, Martha Cummings, O'Neal Delk, Carl Ellison, Verda Fletcher, Irene Gaddis, John Garcia, Manuel Garcia, Bennie Lee Gaylor, Margie Greer, Patricia Hamley, Billy Harry, Lois Hunnicutt, Helga Kaiser, Rosemary King, Irene Koch, Dean Letterman, Virgil McBride, Eugene Morgan, Johnny Parrish, Ward Penturf, Martha Phillips, Margaret Powell, June Ray, Ranora Rosser, Lois Smith, Mayme Taylor, Esther Thacker, Howard Thompson, Marylyn Thompson, Cleo Tracy, Mabel Wagner, Fern Weaver, Martha Weiss, Vivian Ann Williams, Harold Witten, Iona Wolf, Hazel Yarnell, William Yernipcut
to be continued…