Embedded Files
Alice (Beaver) Atkins
(2/29/1876-5/12/1965)
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Tribal Town: Big Spring
By Katelyn Wiehe (TU, BA Class of 2026)
Early Life
Alice Mary Beaver was born on February 29, 1876, to Lydia (Perryman) Beaver (1849-1879) and David Milton Beaver, Sr., (1851-1880) in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Indian Territory.1 Alice was one of four children, along with Amos Beaver (1872-1891), Samuel Checotah Beaver (1874-1946), and David Milton Beaver (1878-1965).2 Alice is related to the extended Perryman line, which includes her grandfather, Lewis Perryman or Kochuk na Misso, who was a prominent figure in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as well as a successful rancher and landowner.3 Despite likely having African ancestry, Lewis and other members of the Perryman family relied on enslaved Black workers on their plantations.4 One of Alice’s maternal uncles was Legus Chouteau “L.C.” Perryman, who served as Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation from 1887 to 1895.5
Both of Alice’s parents were deceased by the time she was four years old, so Alice and her younger brother David were raised by another maternal uncle, George Beecher Perryman, and his wife Rachel Perryman.6 Evidence from Big Spring’s 1896 Colbert Census Roll indicates that Alice and her brothers, Samuel and David, lived in George Perryman’s household that year.7 George Perryman was a wealthy rancher with extensive real estate holdings in early Tulsa, and according to his obituary, he was the largest owner of Muscogee (Creek) pasture lands at the time of his death.8 Before attending the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls (PSIG), Alice attended the Wealaka Mission School located near present day Leonard, Oklahoma.9
“Alice Mary (Beaver) Atkins”
Image Credit: “Tracy Jobe,” provided by Findagrave.com.
School
Local newspapers in 1891 and 1893 mention Alice at ages fifteen and seventeen traveling between PSIG and her uncle’s home with cousins and fellow PSIG attendees Emma, Ella, and Marmie Perryman.10 In December 1891, The Weekly Chieftain reported that Alice, Emma, and Ella departed PSIG to return home to Tulsa after becoming ill.11 From April 8 through December 9, 1892, Alice earned a place on the PSIG Honor Roll every week as published in the Muskogee Phoenix, showing a remarkable level of academic consistency. She was also among some of the girls with the highest scores, frequently earning grades of 99 or 100 across subjects, making her persistent level of achievement particularly notable. Alice graduated from PSIG on June 5, 1894, and recited the poem “Three Kings” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow at her commencement.12
Alice Beaver, listed slightly below the halfway point in a PSIG Honor Roll for October 21, 1892.
Image Credit: The Muskogee Phoenix, provided by Newspapers.com.
Roll of Honor, For the Presbyterian School for Girls for the week ending October 21: S.D., Sch., G.A. [transcription]
Leah Johnson 98, 97, 97
Eva Johnson 99, 96, 97
Emma Coleman 100, 99, 99
Jennie Berry 100, 98, 99
Ella Harvison 100, 96, 98
Lucille Archer 98, 95, 96
Annie Turvin 99, 98, 98
Zora Harsha 98, 96, 97
Alice Reid 96, 97, 96
Grace Moore 98, 97, 98
Mirah Allen 99, 95, 97
Hattie McKline 100, 95, 97
Pearl Zufall 97, 100, 99
Belle Meagher 97, 100, 98
Susie Foreman 100, 97, 98
Olive Heath 100, 99, 99
Ida Perryman 100, 99, 99
Louisa Turnbull 100, 95, 97
Alice Beaver 99, 100, 99
Susanna Barnett 97, 99, 98
Nellie Holderman 100, 100, 100
Minta Foreman 99, 98, 98
Rebecca Sands 100, 95, 97
Lucy Sanson 99, 97, 98
Addie Adams 97, 95, 96
Maggie Quirk 99, 95, 97
Lucy Lane 95, 97, 96
Minnie Coleman 100, 96, 98
Adult Life
When Alice was twenty, she married fellow Muscogee citizen Robert “Bob” Daniel Atkins on December 13, 1896.13 Bob was a prominent peace officer in early Tulsa, as well as a farmer who raised livestock east of the Cushing Oil Field; in addition, Bob affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan by the late 1920s.14 Alice and Bob met in 1896 shortly after he moved to what is now Tulsa to live with his sister, Louisa Carol (Atkins) Clinton, and brother-in-law, Charles Clinton.15 According to an interview given to The Tulsa Tribune, the two met when Alice and a group of friends visited the Clinton home. Bob reportedly said that he knew “at once” that Alice was “the girl for him,” and the couple ultimately married at George and Rachel Perryman’s home.16 Alice and Robert had eight children together: Charles Clinton Atkins (11/16/1897-2/20/1901), Helen (Atkins) Lucyle (8/26/1899-3/9/1901), Louise Carol (Atkins) Sheffield (1/1/1901-10/12/1969), Nice Mildred (Atkins) Arrington (9/21/1903-9/1976), Virginia Lee (Atkins) West (4/23/1909-11/9/1997), Vera (Atkins) Ray (1/16/1913-11/29/1993), Cozetta Vivian (Atkins) Pfannkuche (2/24/1914-2/25/2007), and Doris Echasun (Atkins) Jobe (1/12/1916-12/30/2000).17
Census records indicate that in 1900, when Alice would have been twenty-four, she and Bob were living together in Township 18, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, and by 1910, Alice and her family had moved to Red Fork, Tulsa, where they would spend over thirty years.18 During her time in Red Fork, Alice was an active member of the Methodist Church.19 In 1944, she and Bob moved to Oakhurst, OK.20 Shortly after, in 1946, Alice and Bob celebrated their 50th anniversary with an open house at the home of their daughter, Louise Sheffield, and son-in-law, Glenn Sheffield.21 In an article announcing this event, The Tulsa Tribune reported that Alice had recently devoted much of her time to “fancy work,” or ornamental needlework, and caring for her husband’s health, which had been declining for months.22 Four years later, on December 11, 1950, Bob died due to an unknown, long-term illness just shy of his and Alice’s 54th wedding anniversary.23
Death and Legacy
Alice died on May 12, 1965, in a local Tulsa hospital, as noted in her obituary in The Tulsa World.24 At the time of her death, she was living with her daughter, Cozetta.25 Alice was a mother of eight children and spent her life raising a large family, while also being remembered for the care of her husband during his long illness.26 Throughout her many years in the Tulsa area, she was deeply involved in the Red Fork Methodist Church and remained a longstanding, respected member of her community. Funeral services were scheduled for Friday, May 14th, at 10 a.m. at the Epworth Methodist Church, and Alice was buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma.27
By all accounts, Alice’s children remained close after death, with an article from The Tulsa World in 1973 showing that Virginia, Cozetta, and Doris helped to organize Nice and Finis P. Arrington’s 50th wedding reception.28 Alice’s last daughter, Cozetta, passed away at age ninety-two in Sapulpa, Oklahoma on February 25, 2007.29
“Alice Mary (Beaver) Atkins”
Image Credit: The Tulsa World, provided by Newspapers.com
Cozetta Atkins and Jo Arrington displaying “authentic artifacts, tribal robes, and other items” from Arrington’s private collection at the Business and Professional Women’s Club banquet at the YWCA, March 23, 1975.
Photo credit: Sapulpa Daily Herald, provided by Newspapers.com
Tribal Enrollment
Information
Enrollment Number: 3566
Card Number: 1101
Enrollment Date: 1899
Photograph of tribal enrollment card and details for Alice and her family.
Image credit: National Archives Catalog, provided by Ancestry.com.
Residence: Red Fork, Post Office: Kellyville (crossed out) Ind. Ter., Creek Nation, Creek Roll, Card No. 1101, Field No. 1102: Dawes Roll No., Name, Relationship to Person first Named, Age, Sex, Blood, Tribal Enrollment: Year, Town, No., Tribal Enrollment of Parents: Name of Father, Year, Town, Name of Mother, Year, Town [transcription]
3566, 1 Atkins, Alice, 24, F, 3.4, 1890, Big Spring, Page 45, Beaver, Dead, Coweta, Lydia Beaver, Dead, Big Spring
3567, 2, “ Charles, Son, 2, M, ½, “”, Robert D Atkins, 1895, Broken Arrow, No.1
3568, 3 “, Helen C., Dau., 2 mo., F, ½, “ ”, “ ” ”1895, “ ”, No. 1
3569, 4 “, Robert D., Husb., 31, M, ¼, 1895, Broken Arrow, No. 301, James Atkins, Non Citizen, May Atkins, Dead, Broken Arrow
Citiz’p Certif. Issued for no.1 and 2 Nov. 8, 1899
Citiz’p Certif Issued for No. 3 (N.B #24) Nov. 8 1899
Citiz’p Certif Issued for No. 4 (unreadable) 25 1901
No. 1 on 1890 roll as “Alice Beaver”
“1” Big Spring Census Roll of 1895
Mary Atkins, mother of No. 4 on Creek Payroll of Mch. 13, 1867
No. 2 died Feby. 20 1901, Proof attached affidavit transferred to Cr. Land Office12-18-03
March 9, 1901
Testimony and affidavits, relative to to parties on this card are filed in jacket #1103, Card File
Enrollment of Nos. 2566-3569 hereon approved by the Secretary of Interior March 13, 1902
Date of Application
Nos. 1, 2 and 3 enrolled Nov. 8 1899
No. 4 enrolled Mch 25, 1901
Endnotes
1. Joan Case, “Alice Mary Beaver Atkins,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5205462, accessed February 5, 2026; U.S. Dawes Census Cards, Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Dawes Roll Number 3566, Card Number 1101, Field Number 1103, Application November 8, 1899. National Archives and Records Administration, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/; Amelia Crombie-Christy, “David Milton Beaver,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24746147, accessed February 5, 2026.
2. Amos Beaver Cemetery Records, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian and Pioneer Historical Collection, 1937, Ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9025/records/54463t; Samuel Checotah World War I Draft Registration Card, U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ancestry.com, accessed February 5, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6482/records/2459607; “Rites for Aged Indian Set Monday,” The Wewoka Times-Democrat, October 20, 1946, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/906798580, accessed February 19, 2026; Joan Case, “David Milton Beaver,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5208491, accessed February 19, 2026.
3. Reuben L. Partridge, “Biography of L.C. Perryman, Tulsa, Oklahoma,” https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cmamcrk4/crkst20.html.
4. Claudio Saunt, Black, White, and Indian: Race and the Unmaking of an American Family (Oxford University Press, 2005), 169-172, and Gary Zellar, African Creeks: Estelvste and the Creek Nation (University of Oklahoma Press, 2007), 176; Partridge, “Biography of L.C. Perryman.”
5. Patricia Mechling, “Judge Legus Chouteau Perryman,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5611258, accessed February 6, 2026; “L.C. Perryman, Twice Chief of Creek Nation,” Tulsa World, February 6, 1922, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/82688733, accessed February 6, 2026.
6. “First Public School Pupils Reminisce Little School on the Hill,” The Tulsa Tribune, January 13, 1960, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/900289457, accessed February 6, 2026.
7. Muscogee (Creek) Nation National Library and Archives, Big Spring 1896 Colbert Census Roll, Creek Nation.
8. “George B. Perryman of Tulsa,” The Daily Ardmoreite, April 26, 1899, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/902472042, accessed February 19, 2026.
9. “Mrs. R.D. Atkins, Tulsa Native Succumbs at 89,” Tulsa World, May 13, 1965, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/887944730, accessed February 5, 2026.
10. “The News at Tulsa,” The Weekly Chieftain, December 3, 1891, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611119446, accessed February 19, 2026; “Presbyterian School Notes,” Muskogee Phoenix, September 18, 1893, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611447248, accessed February 19, 2026.
11. “The News at Tulsa.”
12. Guy Williams Logsdon, The University of Tulsa: A History, 1882-1972 (University of Oklahoma Press, 1977), 32.
13. “Couple Wed on Courthouse Site to Mark Anniversary,” Tulsa Tribune, December 13, 1946, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/900180894, accessed February 11, 2026.
14. “Retired Peace Officer Dies,” Tulsa World, December 12, 1950, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/885726888, accessed February 11, 2026; Membership roster - Tulsa chapter, 1928-1931, 1993.001 Vault, Ku Klux Klan (KKK) collection, Special Collections and University Archives, the University of Tulsa.
15. “Couple Wed on Courthouse Site to Mark Anniversary.”
16. “Couple Wed on Courthouse Site to Mark Anniversary.”
17. Amelia Crombie-Christy, “Charlie Clinton Atkins,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24746200, accessed February 19, 2026; Amelia Crombie-Christy, “Helen Lucyle Atkins,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24746218, accessed February 19, 2026; Yonda Bailey, “Louise Carol Atkins Sheffield,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35818578, accessed February 19, 2026; U.S. Social Security Death Index 1935-2014, Ancestry.com, accessed February 19, 2026; Okie Bran, “Virginia L. Atkins West,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105632342, accessed February 19, 2026; “Virginia A West,” U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Ancestry.com, Accessed February 19, 2026; “Vera Ray,” U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Ancestry.com, accessed February 19, 2026; “Cozetta V Atkins,” U.S.Social Security Death Index 1935-2014, Ancestry.com, accessed February 19, 2026; Millie Belle, “Doris Echasun Atkins Jobe,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31753166, accessed February 19, 2026.
18. Alice H. Atkins, U.S. Census Bureau, 1900 United States Federal Census, Township 18, Creek Nation, Indian Territory. Enumeration District 0054, Roll 1853, page 17. Ancestry.com, accessed on February 5, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/75129560; Alice R. Adkins, U.S. Census Bureau, 1910 United States Federal Census, Red Fork, Tulsa. Enumeration District 0222, Roll T624_1274, page 15b, Ancestry.com, accessed on February 5, 2026, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/records/186392728.
19. “Retired Peace Officer Dies,” Tulsa World, December 12, 1950, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/885726888, accessed February 11, 2026.
20. “Retired Peace Officer Dies.”
21. “Couple Wed on Courthouse Site to Mark Anniversary.”
22. “Couple Wed on Courthouse Site to Mark Anniversary.”
23. Retired Peace Officer Dies.”
24. “Mrs. R.D. Atkins, Tulsa Native, Succumbs at 89,” The Tulsa World, May 13, 1965, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/887944730, accessed February 11, 2026.
25. “Mrs. R.D. Atkins, Tulsa Native, Succumbs at 89.”
26. “Mrs. R.D. Atkins, Tulsa Native, Succumbs at 89.”
27. “Mrs. R.D. Atkins, Tulsa Native, Succumbs at 89,” Joan Case, “Alice Mary Beaver Atkins,” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5205462, accessed February 11, 2026.
28. “The Golden Years Mr. and Mrs. F.P. Arrington,” The Tulsa World, November 11, 1973, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/889201479, accessed April 15, 2026.
29. “Deaths,” Sapulpa Daily Herald, February 26, 2007, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/662151231, accessed April 15, 2026.
Bibliography
Alice Atkins, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Dawes #3566, Field #1103, November 8, 1889, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S. Dawes Census Cards. National Archives and Records Administration, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/263906. Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S. Dawes Census Cards. Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/54548095.
Amos Beaver Cemetery Records. Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian and Pioneer Historical Collection. 1937. Ancestry.com.
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Case, Joan. “David Milton Beaver.” Findagrave.com.
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“Deaths.” Sapulpa Daily Herald. February 26, 2007. Newspapers.com.
“First Public School Pupils Reminisce Little School on the Hill.” The Tulsa Tribune. January 13, 1960. Newspapers.com.
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Vera Ray. U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. Ancestry.com.
Virginia A. West. U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. Ancestry.com.
Published in June 2026.
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