Nina Etta (Porter) Brook 

Nina Etta (Porter) Brook  

ca.1878 - 05/29/1899 

Muscogee (Creek) Nation   

Big Spring Tribal Town   

By MaKayla Jolene Davis, (College of the Muscogee Nation, ABA Class of 2025) and  

Midge Dellinger, Oral Historian, Muscogee (Creek) Nation 


Early History 

Nina Porter was born ca.1878 to Benjamin Edward Porter Jr. (unknown birth date - 1883), a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and Sarah (Butler) Porter (1858-1899), a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.1 Benjamin Jr.,’s parents were Benjamin Porter Sr., and Phoebe (Perryman) Porter, both Muscogee citizens, who had four children, Benjamin Jr., Pleasant (1840-1907), Elizabeth (1844-unknown death date), and Nancy (1851-1915).2 Nina’s maternal heritage includes Edward (non-Native) and Elizabeth Butler (Cherokee), and Tookah (Butler) Turner, an aunt who had a daughter named Tookah.3 Benjamin Jr., and Sarah Porter shared three children. Nina was the oldest, followed by Edward B. Porter and Ben E. Porter. Nina’s Muscogee tribal town was Big Spring. Her name is listed on the 1882 Big Spring Tribal Town Roll, along with other family members, including Nina’s uncle, Pleasant Porter, Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation from 1899 until his death in 1907.4 Nina’s name is also on the 1895 Big Spring Tribal Town Roll.5


In The Road to Disappearance, A History of The Creek Indians, author Angie Debo writes that Nina’s father, Benjamin Jr., was murdered in June of 1883.6 After Benjamin Jr.’s, death, Sarah married John Wesley Sanders, and they had three daughters and one son. Nina’s half-siblings were Edna (ca. 1887-unknown death date), Elizabeth (1891-1938), Maude (1893-1967), and Millard Sanders (1895-1975).7 


School 

Nina Porter Brook attended the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls (PSIG) in the 1880s.8 She excelled academically and was noted for her exemplary behavior. Her dedication to her studies and adherence to the school’s standards of conduct did not go unnoticed. In May 1889, when she would have been approximately eleven years old, Nina is mentioned in the Muskogee Phoenix as earning grades of 97 and 90 for scholarship and deportment.9 In June of 1889, Nina’s name is listed as a participant in PSIG’s end of the school year program.10 

There is no documentation regarding Nina’s school life between the years 1889 and 1893. An article in the Muskogee Phoenix dated September 5th, 1889, reported a fire and explosion in the home of Nina Porter, in which she was severely injured.11 Cherokee census records indicate that Nina was living in Tahlequah with her mother, step-father, and half-siblings between 1889 and 1893.12 

Title: Harrell’s Entertainment Last Friday evening the people of Muskogee were treated to a magnificent entertainment at Turner’s Opera House, given by Harrell Institute. One of Muskogee’s best audiences greeted the Harrell forces, who had come to profit and delight them with their music and recitations. The first to appear was Miss Mattie Fears, who skillfully and most charmingly rendered the “Second Mazurka.” Then came a vocal solo by Miss Nina Porter. Miss Nina has accommodated the church people of Muskogee so often with her splendid solos that something good is expected when she appears. Next came a recitation, (END OF TRANSCRIPTION)

Newspaper clipping from Newspapers.com detailing Nina’s Vocal Solo Performance.

Image Credit: Our Brother in Red, April, 4, 1895. Newspapers.com 

Black and white image of Nina Porter Brooks as a child circa 1890-1891.

Photograph of Nina Porter Brook, c. 1890-1891 by J.F. Standiford, Alice Robertson Collection, 1874 - 1953. 

Photo Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society, 1982.086.

Based on newspaper documents, in 1893, Nina was back in Muskogee and a student at the Harrell International Institute, a Methodist school. During her time at Harrell, Nina was celebrated for her vocal performances, regularly participating in school recitals where her talent shone brightly. Her peers, teachers, and the larger school community recognized her exceptional vocal abilities, and Nina often received commendations for her achievements in this area. Nina achieved many vocalist awards and performed many times in her church. Her highest profile performance on record was one held at Turner’s Opera House on April 4th, 1895, before “one of Muskogee’s best audiences.”13 The newspaper Our Brother in Red reported that “Miss Nina has accommodated the church people of Muskogee so often with her splendid solos that something good is expected when she appears.”14 At the end of the 1893 school year, she participated in the three-day closing program, singing multiple songs and receiving an award for “greatest proficiency in music for the 1893 school year.”15 On June 4th, 1895, when she would have been approximately seventeen years old, Nina Porter graduated from Harrell International Institute with high honors.16 


Adult Life 

After finishing her schooling, Nina continued to entertain the public with her vocal talents in the Muskogee area.17 In the summer of 1897, she attended the Teacher’s Institute in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.18 By October, 1897, she was teaching in Okmulgee.19 

In Okmulgee, Nina met and was courted by Eck Eugene Brook, born in Emory, Texas, on August 25th, 1875.20 Brook initially practiced law in Texas, then he moved to Eufaula, Indian Territory and subsequently relocated to Muskogee.21 He became a distinguished attorney and later in his career attained the position of Oklahoma state senator, soon after statehood,  thereby playing a significant role in shaping the state’s legislative framework.22 

 

Nina Etta Porter and Eck Eugene Brook married on December 1st, 1897, at her mother’s home in Muskogee.23 At the time of their marriage, Nina was 19 years old, and Eck was 21.24 

 
Early in 1899, Nina gave birth to her only child, a daughter, Nina Tookah Brook.25 

Death and Legacy 

A brief notice of Nina’s death, published in the Muscogee Phoenix on May 18th , 1899, described her as “one of the most loved young ladies of the city,” noting that “she possessed one of the most extraordinary voices and her nature was widely known because of her memberships in the church choirs.”26 Interestingly, this death announcement came prematurely, as Nina held on to life for another eleven days, taking her last breath on May 29th, 1899, at the young age of 21 years old.27  

 
Nina was soon to be joined in death by her daughter, Nina Tookah Brook, who passed away July 3rd, 1899, at only six months old.28 

Nina and her baby daughter, Tookah, are both buried at Greenhill Cemetery, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma.29 


Posthumous Tribal Enrollment  

In September of 1901, two years after their passing, Nina and her daughter were enrolled with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation through the Dawes Commission.30 Nina’s widower, Eck E. Brook, initiated the enrollment process. 


Eck Brook also applied in September of 1901 with the Creek Nation Land Office in Muskogee to inherit the land that would have been allotted to his wife and daughter if they were living.31 Nina’s family, including her uncle, Edward Porter, argued against the legality of the decision to award Eck Brook, a non-Muscogee citizen, Nina and Tookah’s allotted land.  


In what became known as “The Brook Case,” 1905, Edward Porter and other relatives of Nina and Tookah filed a bill for partition claiming the entire 320 acres of land that the Dawes commission had allotted to Nina and Tookah, post-death, based on the standard allotment size of 160 acres per citizen. In his decision, Judge C. W. Raymond of the Western District ruled in favor of Eck E. Brook as the living heir to Tookah Brook.32 This decision was based on then current law in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation regarding “descent and distribution.”33 On September 9th, 1908, an appeal to Judge Raymond’s decision was dismissed by the state supreme court due to a lack of movement on the appeal by Nina’s family.34 The Brook case and the decision became famous as it set a precedent going forward for Indian Territory attorneys arguing land issues.35 

 
Creek Nation (Dawes Roll) Enrollment Card
 Enrollment Number: Nina E: 8569    
Nina T: 8570
 Card Number: 3005 


Caption: Photograph of Enrollment Details for Nina Porter Brook

Image Credit: National Archives and Records Administration 

Acknowledgment 

Living descendants include Brittany Postoak. Brittany’s great-great-grandmother, Lilly Mae, was a cousin to Nina Porter, through Nina’s aunt Elizabeth (Porter) Buster, sister to Benjamin E. Porter Jr., Nina’s father. We sincerely appreciate Brittany’s assistance with our research, especially by providing us with family genealogical information.  

Endnotes




Bibliography

“Brook Case Dismissed.” Muskogee Phoenix. September 10, 1908. Newspapers.com.

Brook, Eck E. Application for Allotment and Homestead. Cherokee Land Office. Familysearch.org. Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes.  

“Brook-Porter.” Kansas City Journal. December 3, 1897. Newspapers.com.

“Commencement Day Programmee.” Indian Methodist. June 8, 1893. Newspapers.com. 

“Condensed Text of Eck Brook Decision.” Muskogee Phoenix. September 8, 1905. Newspapers.com.

“Could Not Be Ignored. Bro. Butler Called to a Bedside of Death.” The Daily Chieftain. May 29, 1899. Newspapers.com.   

Debo, Angie. The Road to Disappearance: A History of the Creek Indians. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967.   

“Died.” Muskogee Phoenix. May 18th, 1899. Newspapers.com.  

“Eck E. Brook, Attorney at Law.” Muskogee Phoenix. October 5, 1905. Newspapers.com. 

“Eck E. Brook Dies at Home Here on Friday.” Muskogee Phoenix. September 18, 1959. Newspapers.com. 

“Epworth League-An Open Meeting.” Muskogee Phoenix. February 13, 1896. Newspapers.com. 

“Harrell Commencement.” Muskogee Phoenix, 1895. Newspapers.com. 

“Harrell’s Entertainment.” Our Brother in Red. April 4, 1895. 

“Judge C. W. Raymond Decides Brook Case.” Muskogee Phoenix. September 7, 1905. Newspapers.com.

Keeltann. “Nina (Porter) Brook.” Findagrave.com.

“Lawyers and Others interested in the Law of Descent.” Muskogee Phoenix. September 13, 1905. Newspapers.com.

“Local Items.” Muskogee Phoenix. May 30, 1889. 

“Local Items.” Muskogee Phoenix. September 5, 1889. Newspapers.com. 

“Literary Social.”  Muskogee Morning Times. December 19, 1896. 

“Music and Pleasure,” Muskogee Morning Times. January 9, 1897. Newspapers.com. 

Nina E. Porter, Cherokee Census, Tahlequah, 1893, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S., Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959, accessed through Ancestry.com.

Phoebe (Perryman) Porter, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Dawes Roll #1483, Card, Field, App date, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S. Census Cards.

Porter, Nina. U.S. Dawes Census Cards, Oklahoma and Indian Territory.  Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Dawes Roll #8569, Card #3005, Field #3412. 1901. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.  

“Presbyterian School for Girls,” Our Brother in Red, June 8, 1889. Newspapers.com. Accessed September 9, 2024. 

“Purely Personal.” Muskogee Phoenix. July 8, 1897. Newspapers.com. 

“Purely Personal.” Muskogee Phoenix. October 7, 1897. Newspapers.com. 

RootsWeb.com. “1882 Big Spring Tribal Town Roll.” Genealogy , n.d.

RootsWeb.com. “1895 Tribal Towns.” RootsWeb, n.d.

Sandlin, Robert. “Eck E. Brook.” Findagrave.com

Sarah E. Sanders, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Dawes Roll #2402, Card #729, Field #731, August 23, 1899, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S. Census Cards. Accessed through Ancestry.com.  

“Some Prominent Men of Muskogee.” Muskogee Phoenix. November 2, 1899. Newspapers.com. 

Turner (Butler), Tookah Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Dawes Roll #1048, Card #315, Field #315, May 3, 1899, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S. Census Cards. Accessed through Ancestry.com. 

Wimmer, Neal. “Checotah Enquirer.” Oklahoma Historical Society, September 8, 1905, 1st edition, sec. Vol. 9, No. 46. The Gateway to Oklahoma History. 

United States of America, Oklahoma. County Marriage Records, 1890-1995. “Eck. E. Brook Marriage License.” Ancestry.com.