About Rachel Caroline Eaton
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. == Background == Rachel's father, George Washington Eaton, and her mother, Nancy Elizabeth Wared Williams, were married May 17, 1868. George was a Civil War Veteran, born in the Republic of Texas. Nancy was part Cherokee, and Nancy's mother walked on the Trail of Tears. 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. She graduated Seminary in 1887, but during her senior year the building burned down. For college, Rachel attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, then went on to the University of Chicago, 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 new building built after the fire), Lake Erie College in Painsville, Ohio, and the Industrial Institute and College of Columbus, Mississippi.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.