GARVIN COUNTY INDIAN PIONEER PAPERS

OKGenWeb Indian Pioneer Papers Collection

Garvin County Indian Pioneer Papers

Sealy James Murphy

Interview 
Field Worker: Maurice R. Anderson
Date: 
Name: Sealy James Murphy
Residence: Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Date of Birth: September 5, 1870
Place of Birth: Calhoun, Oklahoma
Father: Jerry Mackey
Mother: Adeline Mackey

 

Her grandfather, Ellis Mackey, was the Medicine man of her tribe, Choctaw Indians.  He was total blind, her uncle then a small boy led him around and helped gather the roots and herbs to make medicine.  He died in 1880 and was buried beside her father in the front yard of their home. 

She remembers their ball game.  They wore only a cloth for a girdle and they would play ball all day and dance all night. 

They would paint a cross on their chest and forehead, when death occurred in their tribe.  They would be buried and later a day set, known as cry day.

She came to Garvin County in 1908.