Rachel Caroline Eaton (born July 7, 1869, near Flint Creek, Cherokee Nation) was believed to be the first Native American woman from Oklahoma to be awarded a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Background

Rachel's father, George Washington Eaton, and her mother, Nancy Elizabeth Wared Williams, were married May 17, 1868. George was a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Veteran, born in the Republic of Texas. Nancy was part

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, and Nancy's mother walked on the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

. Rachel had three siblings: James Calvin, Martha Pauline, and John Merrit Eaton. James Calvin was a farmer near Oolagah, Oklahoma. Martha Pauline married James Morning York, who was elected Assessor of Rogers County in 1918.

Education

Rachel Eaton attended tribal schools and Cherokee Female Seminary in

Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-cent ...

. She graduated Seminary in 1887, but during her senior year the building burned down. For college, Rachel attended

Drury College Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and grad ...

in Springfield, Missouri, then went on to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, where she got her Ph.D. Her dissertation, '' John Ross and The Cherokee Indians'', was published in 1921, as a Cherokee history book.

Career

Rachel taught in public schools of Cherokee nation,

Cherokee Female Seminary The Cherokee Female Seminary, (not to be confused with the first Cherokee Female Seminary), was built by the Cherokee Nation in 1889 near Tahlequah, Indian Territory. It replaced their original girls' seminary that had burned down on Easter Sund ...

(the new building built after the fire),

Lake Erie College Lake Erie College is a private liberal arts college in Painesville, Ohio. Founded in 1856 as a female seminary, the college converted to a coeducational institution in 1985. As of the 2016–2017 academic year, the total enrollment was 1,177 stud ...

in Painsville, Ohio, and the Industrial Institute and College of Columbus, Mississippi. She also was the Dean of Women at Trinity University in Waxahachie, Texas. In 1920, Rachel was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction of

Rogers County, Oklahoma Rogers County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,240, making it the sixth-most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Claremore. Rogers County is included i ...

for 2 consecutive years. In 1936, she was inducted into the

Oklahoma Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Hall of Fame was founded in 1927 by Anna B. Korn to officially celebrate Statehood Day, recognize Oklahomans dedicated to their communities, and provide educational programming for all ages. The first Oklahoma Hall of Fame Induction Cer ...

as one of Oklahoma's outstanding women. Rachel died September 20, 1938 in Claremore, Oklahoma after a long battle with breast cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Rachel 1869 births 1938 deaths Deaths from cancer in Oklahoma Deaths from breast cancer Cherokee Nation academics 20th-century Native Americans