SS Sultana
On April 27, 1865, twelve days after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the SS Sultana, a Mississippi River steamboat, exploded and sank near Memphis, Tennessee, killing 1,547 passengers. Built to carry no more than 376, it was packed with over 2,000 passengers and crew, the majority of them Union Army soldiers recently released from Confederate prisons in Georgia and Alabama. As soldiers they survived combat and miserable conditions like those at Andersonville Prison only to die on their way home. Sadly, this tragic event, the largest maritime disaster in the United States, has received little notice, even though more if the Sultana’s passengers perished than on the legendary Titanic. Lincoln’s death and the hunt for John Wilkes Booth overshadowed this tragedy. We’ve been studying the lists of survivors and victims, many of them from the same towns and counties in Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio. We’ll be telling their stories later here or on our blog. The photo was taken near near Helena, Arkansas, about 80 miles down river from where it sank.
4 Responses
Hi my name is Oliver, living in Eureka CA…I was informed when I was little that I was lost blood line of the chief stalking turkey, I was informed when I was in my teen…I don’t know anything about any tribal side .. for my own understanding, I just wanted to know, who I really am…I need some blood test done…I never known my father side growing up… raised with a mother who was married to Wright family… please help me out to put some closure in my life…my mother is pacific Islander and Spanish origin… for my understanding my biological father is 50 percent Cherokee… that is all I know about my father side…I don’t know father side that well… only little information given to me when I was younger through a grandma I barely know…
Hi Oliver,
If you want your DNA tested, it’s much simpler than a blood test, you use a kit which can be purchased from different companies. Ancestry.com is one of them, and they have a broad sample base which is helpful once you get your test back, because you explore your family lines by comparing to others with similar DNA. We actually have a DNA specialist working for us who could assist you in the analysis.
The application requirements into the Cherokee nation are fairly specific. We recommend looking up the CIBD application packet on the Cherokee Nation’s website. Go to https://www.cherokee.org/all-services/tribal-registration/, click on downloadable forms and print out the “Cherokee Nation CIDB Application Packet.” You will want to read it very carefully. Also, consider calling the Tribal enrollment office, to confirm the online form is up to date. Based on the instructions, you only need to have concrete proof back to an enrolled ancestor with a citizenship number. So if your father, grandfather, or great-grandfather ever was a citizen of the Cherokee nation, you only need to document back to them.
As far as the Pacific Island and Spanish origin, the DNA could help with that; also filling out a questionnaire (which our company could provide) with everything you know about your family gives our experienced researchers a springboard to begin looking for your family and identifying them. You can email someone from our company or call and talk to us. Here are some numbers: 801-571-6122 Email: http://www.lineages.com or another option is 800-288-0920 or 801-531-0920 (For local callers). Email: price@pricegen.com
Thanks for browsing our website, and good luck!
Hi ,
I would love some additional information on the help you could provide in connecting the dots to my Cherokee Nation. Could you please send me information and pricing quotes. I would need help with the older death certificates.
Thank you
Tammy
Hi Tammy,
Our website has all the information listed about projects and pricing–here it is: https://lineages.com Once you reach the front page of our website, click on the word “products” and you will see a list of all the research packages with the pricing that we offer.
If you need help in verifying your family ancestral lines, we are here to help. Know that we give this kind of research our best effort, and we will search as far back in the past as there are records for your family, including locating death certificates. If you are serious about hiring us to do this, here is our number and email address: 801-571-6122 Email: http://www.lineages.com
Good Luck and hope to hear from you.