I'm trying to trace my great-great grandparents, the father and mother
of Nancy (Cartier) Benton. Nancy was born in March 1866 in Arkansas
(no other info), married Thomas Jefferson Benton on/about 1885, died
on January 25, 1927 in Florida. According to family lore, Nancy was of
Cherokee descent, and according to the 1900 census both her parents
were born in Tennessee, which could put them on the Trail of Tears in
the 30's. I need documentation for that small branch of the family
tree, including any verification of the Cherokee lineage.

Hi,

I believe her obituary is online. Here's the URL in case you don't
have the obit already:

http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/pageload.cgi?benton::cartier::200.html

Her death record should indicate her parents names. This web page will
tell you how to get the death record:

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/planning_eval/vital_statistics/birth_death.htm

Good luck with your research!
fsw

I haven't signed up yet with Google as a research provider, but I am a
genealogy buff myself and was able to find some answers for you. The
reason you have been having problems locating Nancy is that her last
name was always listed as Carter in the census records, not Cartier. 
Here's what I have (starting in 1880 and working backwards):

Census Place:	White River, Washington, Arkansas
Source:	FHL Film 1254058  National Archives Film T9-0058     Page 576A

	Relation	Sex	Marr	Race	Age	Birthplace
Benjamin F. CARTER	Self	M	M	W	49	TN
	Occ:	Farming	Fa: TN	Mo: TN
Lucy C. CARTER	Wife	F	M	W	42	TN
	Occ:	Keeping House	Fa: TN	Mo: TN
Sarah L. CARTER	Dau	F	S	W	16	AR
	Occ:	At Home	Fa: TN	Mo: TN
Nancy C. CARTER	Dau	F	S	W	14	AR
	Occ:	At Home	Fa: TN	Mo: TN
George T. CARTER	Son	M	S	W	12	AR
	Occ:	Works On Farm	Fa: TN	Mo: TN
Manerva A. CARTER	Dau	F	S	W	9	AR
	Occ:	At Home	Fa: TN	Mo: TN
John CARTER	Son	M	S	W	2	AR
	Occ:	At Home	Fa: TN	Mo: TN


1870 Census – Washington County, AR
BH? Carter, 39, TN
LC, 32, TN
TD?, 15, TX
WF?, 8, AR
SL, 6, AR
NC, 4, AR
GT, 1, AR
Floyd, W K, 14, AR

1860 Census – Washington County, AR (all listed as White)
Benjamin Carter, TN (I forgot to write down the age of Benjamin and
Lucy)
Lucy Carter, TN	
Tennessee Carter, 5, TX
Elaine or Elvira Carter, 1, AR

Benjamin H. Carter was born December 7, 1830 in Tennessee, the son of
George Carter and Nancy Hasty (see
http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi).  He died before 1886 and is
buried in the McCord Cemetery in Elkins, AR.  His wife was named Lucy
C. Young.  I have no other information about her.

As for the Cherokee connection, the census listing show that the
family was white, but that wouldn't be unusual even if they were
Indian. I searched the National Archives site (NARA.gov) and found a
listing for a Nancy C. Carter from IT (Indian Territory i.e. Arkansas)
in the Guion Miller Rolls (Eastern Cherokee applications).  I'm not
sure if this was her, but it is worth looking into.

Guion Miller Rolls
26813 Nancy C. Carter  I.T. (Indian Territory – Arkansas)

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at
debrapatek@zoomtown.com

Debra Patek