Box 33 - Rosewood Massacre

Box 32 contains materials from the Rosewood Massacre Collection dating from 1971–1995 and is arranged alphabetically by claimant surname, documenting individual compensation claims and supporting evidence submitted by survivors and their descendants. This box includes files for individuals such as Truitt Roberts; Thomas Willie Mae; Helen Taylor; Swanson Wendy D. Goins; Ronnie Hall; Sherman Harvey Jr.; Delray M. Sherman; Alfonso Rivers; Marie Randle; Clarence Pollard; Ollie Mae Parker; Ruby Rollie Mae (Bradley-Owens); Helen Orr; Sylvia Nicholson; Chris Nicholson; April Nicholson; Queenie Brown Myers; and Robbie Martin, among others.

The folders primarily consist of claims-related documentation, including Rosewood Claims Bill checklists, claims information forms, affidavits, and detailed Rosewood property affidavits describing property ownership, loss, and lineage connections to Rosewood survivors. The files also contain extensive correspondence between claimants and attorneys or state officials (including Robert A. Butterworth, Gregory Durden, and Frank M. Beisler), memoranda, handwritten notes, and transmittal records related to the claims process.

Supporting documentation varies by file but commonly includes vital records such as birth and death certificates, family trees, obituaries, envelopes, legal notices, and occasionally earlier historical documentation (such as birth records from the 1970s or earlier) used to verify generational connections.

For example, a typical folder—such as the Helen Taylor or Ollie Mae Parker files—may include a claims checklist from 1994, multiple affidavits confirming survivor lineage, correspondence discussing eligibility and claim status, and a multi-page property affidavit detailing land ownership and losses, along with supporting materials like birth certificates, obituaries, or family trees. Collectively, Box 32 reflects both the administrative processing of the Rosewood compensation claims and the personal documentation used to substantiate survivor and descendant eligibility.

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