Christie (Dawson) Derrisaw 

Christie (Dawson) Derrisaw

(ca. 1875–1/18/1898)

Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Broken Arrow Tribal Town

By Yaeli Almader, (TU, BA Class of 2026)

Preface

This biography is briefer than most, sharing all the information that is available at this time. If you are a descendant or know a descendant, we encourage you to reach out to us at thepsigproject@gmail.com, as we are still seeking out information about the life of Christie (Dawson) Derrisaw.

Early History

Christie (Dawson) Derrisaw was born ca.1875 to Annetta (McIntosh) Dawson (ca. 1853–1903), a Muscogee (Creek) citizen, and Mr. Dawson, who is only identified by his surname in current available records.1 Christie’s maternal grandparents were John McIntosh and Susan (Davis) McIntosh.2 She also had at least one younger sister, Etta (McIntosh) Cox (1894–1950).3 Among Christie’s maternal family were notable figures such as her great-grandfather, the Honorable Roley McIntosh, who served as head chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (1837–1859).4

School

The earliest record of Christie’s attendance at PSIG is in the December 1890 Honor Roll, however, it is possible she attended the school prior to this date.5 She excelled academically, earning a grade of ninety-six for scholarship and a hundred for deportment.6 Christie is listed on multiple honor rolls from 1890 to 1891, obtaining high academic scores throughout the year.7 She attended PSIG at least until April 1891, as the last found record of her attendance is in the April 1891 honor roll, with Christie earning nearly perfect scores.8 Apparently, Christie transferred to another institution, because in June 1892, the Muskogee Phoenix reported her as a graduate of Coweta Industrial School, receiving the awards “best in spelling” and “best penmanship.”9

The institution was named after the Koweta school Robert M. Loughridge opened in 1843, which was in operation until 1861 in Coweta, Muscogee (Creek) Nation.10 Besides the namesake, the exact connection between these schools is unclear at the moment, since Coweta Industrial School was located in Choska, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and not in Coweta.11

Adult Life

To date, little documentation has been found about Christie’s adult life after her graduation from Coweta Industrial School in 1892, until her untimely death at age twenty-three.12

In 1896, Christie Dawson was listed on the Broken Arrow Town Pay Roll along with her mother and grandparents, suggesting she may have resided in the area of present-day Broken Arrow.13 Because no additional documentary evidence has been located, it remains unclear when Christie Dawson married Mr. Derrisaw or when they had their child, as his first name and their child’s name does not appear in any currently known sources.14

Christie’s obituary, however, provides a glimpse into her personal life as she is on her deathbed. The obituary, which quotes her mother’s description of her last moments, emphasizes her closeness to her mother, husband, and child, and notes her Baptist faith.

She [Christie] said to me, mother, may be it is you that don’t want me to go? I said mamma hates to give you up, but she has to; you can go; I will go with you. She said to me, well, come on, mamma, let’s go, let me go; let me go! She bade us farewell, She talked to her husband about Jesus. She advised him to pray. She told him It was time for them to part, and she was ready. She said to him, “If you want to see me, you must pray.”15

Although no records have been found that detail potential community involvement or other accomplishments in her adult life, both the obituary and a letter regarding her death found in the Alice Robertson Papers suggest that her death deeply affected her family and the wider circle connected to PSIG.

[Transcription]

Those who knew Christie as a member of the “Presbyterian school for Girls at Muskogee,” with her many other friends, will be interested in the account of the closing scene of her life as given by her mother, Annetta Dawson. She writes:

I am in sorrow and full of sadness. It seems like I can’t stand it, but, when I think over it I am well satisfied and happy to have heard the words of my loving child, Christie. She died in her good senses, and was willing to die. She prayed for us all and for her little baby. The only thing she troubled her mind about was her poor little baby, and her grandmother talked to her and encouraged her, and I talked to her about Jesus, too. She asked me to sing for her and I sang, “There’s a land that is fairer than day.” When I got through singing, she said thank you, mamma, that is good, and that is enough.

Death and Legacy

Photographs of Letter (front and back) about Christie Dawson Derrisaw’s Death

Image Credit: photographs provided by Midge Dellinger, April 17, 2026

[Transcription] (front)

Christie Dawson Derrisaw great grand-daughter, of the former Creek Chief, Roley McIntosh, and granddaughter of John McIntosh of Tullahassee died of consumption at 12 am, Jan, 18th [illegible marks] 98.

Those who knew Christie Dawson when she was a member of the “Presin [Presbyterian] School for Girls” at Muscogee”, with her many other friends, will be trusted with the account of the closing scene of her life as given by her mother, she writes,

“I am in sorrow and full of sadness it seems like I can’t stand it, but when I think over it, I am well satisfied and happy—to have heard, the words of my loving child, Christie, xxx She died in her good senses, and was willing to die. She prayed for us all, and for her little baby. The only thing that troubled her mind about was her poor little baby, and her grandma talked to her and encouraged her, and I talked to her about Jesus too. She asked me to sing for her, and I sang, “There’s a land that is fairer than day,” for her, and when I got through singing she said, ‘Thank you Mama, that is good, and that is enough’.

She left her little baby in the care of her grandma, and said to her, ‘God will bless you’.

She said to me, ‘Mother, maybe it is you that don’t want me to go”. I said ‘Yes, Mama hates to give you up, but she has to, you can go, I will go with you’. She said to me, [letter continued on back]

[Transcription] (back)

“Well, come on, Mamma, let’s go, let me go, let me go’! She bade us farewell. She talked to her husband about Jesus. She advised him to pray. She told him it was time for them to part, and she was ready. She said to him “If you want to see me, you must pray, to go to sabbath. I sat by their bed and read the Bible to her, but now she is sleeping in Jesus. She often said ‘God is our refuge’.

She thanked us for everything we did for her, even if it was a little thing, and spoke with honor for all to the last—. She was a good and obedient child and had among friends”.

She died at 12 o’clock, am. Jan. 18th, 1898. Mrs. Derrisaw, as I understand, was a member of the Baptist church.

Image Credit: Alice Robertson Papers, TU Department of Special Collections and University Archives. ID: 1931.0001.1. 3. 2

Christie died at approximately twenty-three years of age of tuberculosis complications on January 18, 1898.16 Many of her family members survived her, including her maternal grandparents, mother, sister, husband, and child. Susan McIntosh, Christie’s grandmother, took care of her baby after Christie’s death, but the name of the child has yet to be found due to limited records.17

Because Christie died in early 1898, she did not receive a Dawes Roll number, but her mother Annetta and sister Etta (McIntosh) Cox were enrolled March 13, 1902.18 Annetta died in 1903, a year after her official enrollment.19 Etta married Milo Cox when she was eighteen years old, in January 1911.20 At the beginning of their marriage, Milo and Etta lived in Broken Arrow, but the couple later moved to Wagoner County, Oklahoma, where they had their family.21 According to the 1930 U.S. Census, Etta and Milo had seven children together: Abbie (Cox) Raunch (c. 1912–1992), Ruby (Cox) (c. 1914–unknown), Margarette (Cox) Reed (c. 1917–1990), Noah Wilson Cox (c.1919–1996), Dewey Calvin Cox (c.1924–1993), Louis Cox (c. 1926–unknown), and Dollie M. (Cox) Peak (c. 1929–1958).22 The memorial page for Etta on Findagrave notes that she and Milo had another child in 1933 named Richard Lee Cox (1933–2018).23

Christie’s grandparents, John and Susan McIntosh, received land allotments in Township 16 North, Range 18 East, which is near present-day Tullahasee, Oklahoma, as recorded in Hastain’s Township’s Plats of the Creek Nation.24 It appears that her maternal family remained close and maintained their notable position within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

[Transcription] (from left to right)

Residence: Broken Arrow, Okla

Post Office: Wagoner, Ind Ter (crossed out)

Creek Nation Creek Roll.

Card No. 116

Field No. 116

Dawes’ Roll No. 422, McIntosh, Annetta (dead in faint writing), 44, F, Full, 1890, Broken Arrow, Page 220, John McIntosh, 1895, Broken Arrow, Susan McIntosh, 1895, Broken Arrow

Dawes’ Roll No. 423, [McIntosh], Etta, Dau [daughter], 7, 1895, 6, Dawson, Dead, Tokpaskee, No 1

No 2 now Etta Cox Porter Route #1

Enrollment of Nos. 422 and 423 Hereon Approved By The Secretary of Interior March 13, 1902

12/13/04-No. 1. Died December 29 1903: Proof transferred to Creek Land Office

No. 2, on 1895-roll as Etta Brown

Nos 1 and 2 also on Broken Arrow Pay Roll of 1895.

Citiz’p Certif. Issued for No. 2 April 5th-1899.

Citiz’p Certif. Issued Sept. 21-1899

Date of Application for Enrollment April 5/99.

Tribal Enrollment Information:

Since Christie Dawson (Derrisaw) died before the passage of the Curtis Act of 1898, which was implemented in June of that year, no federal documentation exists of her membership in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Endnotes

1. Christy McIntosh, U.S. Indian Census and Rolls, 1851-1959, Muscogee (Creek) Census, 1882, Broken Arrow Tribal Town, Page 4, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8810/records/427756; Annetta Dawson, U.S. Census Bureau, 1900 United States Federal Census, Township 16, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, Enumeration District 50, Sheet Number 45. Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/75120543, accessed January 29, 2026; J. B. Campbell, Campbell's Abstract of Creek Indian Census Cards and Index, 19, Muskogee, Oklahoma, 1915, https://www.loc.gov/item/15015542/.

2. “In Memoriam,” Muskogee Phoenix, February 10, 1898, https://www.newspapers.com/article/189705588/; Dawson, 1900 U.S. Census, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, sheet 45.

3. Campbell, Campbell’s Abstract, 19; Cox, Milo and Etta McIntosh. Marriage certificate, no. 1716, January 31, 1911, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61379/records/96387766, accessed July 2, 2026; Donna Rankin, “Etta E. McIntosh Cox (1894-1950),” Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35608121/etta-e.-cox, accessed April 2, 2026.

4. “In Memoriam,” Muskogee Phoenix; Grant Foreman, The Five Civilized Tribes (University of Oklahoma Press, 1934), in The Civilization of the American Indians Series, vol. 8  (University of Oklahoma Press, 1984), 166-7, 216, EBSCOhost, https://research-ebsco-com.utulsa.idm.oclc.org/c/vdq3qo/.

5. “Presbyterian School for Girls,” Muskogee Phoenix, December 18, 1890, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611429339/.

6. “Presbyterian School for Girls,” Muskogee Phoenix, December 18, 1890.

7. “Presbyterian School Report,” Muskogee Phoenix, January 29, 1891, https://www.newspapers.com/article/muskogee-phoenix-thu-jan-29-1891-page/151020441/; “Presbyterian School Report,” Muskogee Phoenix, February 19, 1891, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611430146/; “Presbyterian School Report: Roll of Honor,” Muskogee Phoenix, March 5, 1891, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611430254/.

8. “Presbyterian School Report: Roll of Honor,” Muskogee Phoenix, April 30, 1891, https://www.newspapers.com/article/muskogee-phoenix-thu-apr-30-1891-page/151021611.

9. “About Town,” Muskogee Phoenix, July 7, 1892, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611435606/.

10. Norma Walters, “Coweta,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CO078.

11. “Purely Personal,” Muskogee Phoenix, February 11, 1892, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611433959/; “Coweta School,” Muskogee Phoenix, March 17, 1892, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611434308/; “Purely Personal,” Muskogee Phoenix, May 11, 1893, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611446004/.

12. “In Memoriam,” Muskogee Phoenix; “Pay Roll,” U.S., Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959,” Muscogee (Creek) Rolls, 1890-1896, Accessed through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8810/records/559873.

13. “Pay Roll,” Muscogee (Creek) Rolls, 1890-1896, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8810/records/559873.

14. “In Memoriam,” Muskogee Phoenix.

15. “In Memoriam,” Muskogee Phoenix; “Christie Dawson Derrisaw, great grand-daughter of the former Creek Chief R—McIntosh,” 1931.0001.1. 3. 2. Papers of the Robertson and Worcester Families, 1815-1932, Special Collections, McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK.

16. “In Memoriam,” Muskogee Phoenix.

17. “In Memoriam,” Muskogee Phoenix.

18. Annetta McIntosh, U.S. Dawes Census Cards, Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Dawes Roll number #422, Card number #116, Field number #116, March 12, 1902. National Archives and Records Administration.

19. Annetta McIntosh, Dawes Roll number #422, Card number #116, National Archives and Records Administration.

20. United States of America, Tulsa, Oklahoma, County Marriage Records, 1890-1995, “Marriage License January 1911,” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61379/records/963877661; “Four are Joyful,” Tulsa World, February 11, 1911, https://www.newspapers.com/imge/882977924/

21. Etta Cox, U.S. Census Bureau, 1920 United States Federal Census, Tullahassee Township, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Enumeration District 186, Sheet Number 1B. Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/records/99116562.

22. Etta Cox, U.S. Census Bureau, 1930 United States Federal Census, Tullahassee Township, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Enumeration District 73-21, Sheet Number 1B. Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/records/95416745; Rankin,“Etta E. McIntosh Cox.

23. Rankin, “Etta E. McIntosh Cox.”

24. E. Hastain,  Hastain’s Township Plats of the Creek Nation. Muskogee, OK: Model Printing Co., 1910. https://archive.org/details/hastainstownship00hast/, accessed March 5, 2026; “Oklahoma Section Township Range Map,” randymajors.org Research Hub, https://www.randymajors.org/township-range-on-google-maps, accessed April 3, 2026. 

Bibliography

“About Town.” Muskogee Phoenix, July 7, 1892. Newspapers.com.

Campbell, J. B. Campbell's Abstract of Creek Indian Census Cards and Index. Muskogee, Oklahoma, 1915. https://www.loc.gov/item/15015542/.

“Coweta School.” Muskogee Phoenix, March 17, 1892, Newspapers.com

Foreman, Grant. The Five Civilized Tribes (University of Oklahoma Press, 1934). In The Civilization of the American Indians Series, vol. 8  (University of Oklahoma Press, 1984). EBSCOhost.

Hastain, E. Hastain’s Township Plats of the Creek Nation. Muskogee, OK: Model Printing Co.,

1910.

“In Memoriam.” Muskogee Phoenix, February 10, 1898. Newspapers.com.

Marriage certificate for Milo Cox and Etta McIntosh, certificate no. 1716, January 31, 1911, Tulsa, Oklahoma, County Marriage Records, 1890-1995, Ancestry.com, accessed July 2, 2026. 

McIntosh, Annetta. U.S. Dawes Census Cards, Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Dawes Roll number #422, Card number #116, Field number #116, March 12, 1902. National Archives and Records Administration.

McIntosh, Christy. U.S. Indian Census and Rolls, 1851-1959. Muscogee (Creek) Census, 1882, Broken Arrow Town, Page 4, National Archives and Records Administration.

Papers of the Robertson and Worcester Families, 1815-1932, 1931-001. Special Collections, McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK.

“Pay Roll.” U.S., Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959.” Muscogee (Creek) Rolls, 1890-1896. Accessed through Ancestry.com.

“Presbyterian School for Girls,” Muskogee Phoenix, December 18, 1890. Newspapers.com.

“Presbyterian School Report,” Muskogee Phoenix, January 29, 1891. Newspapers.com.

“Presbyterian School Report,” Muskogee Phoenix, February 19, 1891. Newspapers.com

“Presbyterian School Report: Roll of Honor,” Muskogee Phoenix, March 5, 1891. Newspapers.com.

“Presbyterian School Report: Roll of Honor,” Muskogee Phoenix, April 30, 1891. Newspapers.com.

“Purely Personal.” Muskogee Phoenix, February 11, 1892, Newspapers.com

“Purely Personal.” Muskogee Phoenix, May 11, 1893, Newspapers.com

Randymajors.org. “Oklahoma Section Township Range Map.” randymajors.org

Rankin, Donna. “Etta E. McIntosh Cox (1894-1950).” Findagrave.com.

U.S. Census Bureau. Annetta Dawson. 1900 United States Federal Census, Township 16, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, Sheet Number 45; Enumeration District 50. Accessed through Ancestry.com.

U.S. Census Bureau. Etta Cox. 1920 United States Federal Census, Tullahassee Township, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Sheet Number 1B; Enumeration District 186. Accessed through Ancestry.com.

U.S. Census Bureau. Etta Cox. 1930 United States Federal Census, Tullahassee Township, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Sheet Number 1B; Enumeration District 73-21. Accessed through Ancestry.com.

Walters, Norma. “Coweta.” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.

Published in June, 2026.