Figure 40. Scan of the Last Page of the Taggart Roll, Showing the Signature of Samuel L. Taggart, Special Indian Agent. Reprinted from “Taggart Roll,” by S. L. Taggart, 1904.
During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, Phineas Pamptopee, the chief of the NHBP, was active in prosecuting claims activity, as regularly noted in the “Indiantown Inklings” newspaper articles (Summary Under the Criteria and Evidence for Proposed Finding Huron Potawatomi, Inc., 1995, p. 322). These claims involved lawsuits against the federal government for its failure in honoring financial obligations to tribes under various treaties, most of which involved the cession of lands by the tribe. The lawsuit organized by Phineas Pamptopee was successful and resulted in a financial award to certain Potawatomi bands, including the Nottawaseppi Huron Band. In order to distribute this payment to eligible Potawatomi, a census roll was prepared, which became known as the 1904 Taggart Roll.
In 1899, the court held that the Huron Potawatomi had been named on annuity rolls from 1843 and 1844. Given that the members of the Pine Creek settlement (and other Huron Potawatomi people residing in Michigan) were direct descendants of people named on those rolls, the NHBP was entitled to payment (Summary Under the Criteria and Evidence for Proposed Finding Huron Potawatomi, Inc., 1995, p. 325).
In 1904, Special Indian Agent Samuel L. Taggart traveled to many places, including Coldwater, Michigan, to prepare the payment roll. The funds were distributed to 267 persons on the “Taggart Roll,” which the Secretary of the Interior approved on November 11th, 1904 (Summary Under the Criteria and Evidence for Proposed Finding Huron Potawatomi, Inc., 1995, p. 325).
This Taggart Roll is considered the “base roll” for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi’s present Tribal membership. Present members must show that they descend from persons listed on the Taggart Roll (Summary Under the Criteria and Evidence for Proposed Finding Huron Potawatomi, Inc., 1995, p. 325).
References:
Summary Under the Criteria and Evidence for Proposed Finding Huron Potawatomi, Inc. (1995). United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch of Acknowledgement and Research. https://www.bia.gov/sites/bia.gov/files/assets/as-ia/ofa/petition/009_hurpot_MI/009_pf.pdf
Taggart, S. L. (1904). Taggart Roll.