43 Facts About Bula Croker

Bula Croker, birth name Beulah Benton Edmondson, was a Native American teacher and women's suffrage activist.

Bula Croker rode a horse while dressed in Native attire in the 1913 suffrage parades in Washington, DC and along New York City's Fifth Avenue.

The children claimed that Bula Croker was not of Cherokee ancestry and accused her of fraud, but evidence proved that she was registered on the rolls of the Cherokee Nation.

In each claim, Bula Croker eventually prevailed; however, the string of lawsuits, costs associated with her defense, and delays on being able to sell the properties, led her to file bankruptcy in 1937.

Bula Croker was reported to be the first Palm Beach resident to allow Black beach-goers to use her beach.

Bula Croker was appointed to Governor David Sholtz's staff in 1932, becoming one of the first women to serve as staff to a governor in Florida.

Bula Croker was often covered in the international press before her death in 1957.

Bula Croker's mother was the daughter of Louisa J and Joseph Lynch Williams, granddaughter of Mary and John Williams, great-granddaughter of Rachel and Jeter Lynch, and great-great-granddaughter of Susannah and John Martin.

Bula Croker attended the Cherokee public schools and graduated from the Cherokee Female Seminary near Tahlequah on May 29,1902.

Bula Croker attended the Boston School of Expression and upon completing her studies in 1911, opened a school to teach dramatic expression in Muskogee.

Bula Croker joined the Equal Franchise Society of New York and participated in various rallies.

Bula Croker began taking music and voice lessons and to pay for them, she supplemented her income from the farm on her allotment, by giving drawing-room performances that were popular with New York society.

Bula Croker used the stage name Ketaw Kaluntuchy, or Ketaw Kaluntchy Sequoi.

Bula Croker gave lectures at girls' camps throughout New England.

When in Florida, Bula Croker served as a colorful and active hostess, but they spent most of their time in Ireland.

In 1919, the children claimed that Bula Croker was a fraud and was not Cherokee but was Jewish.

Bula Croker was able to substantiate her Cherokee heritage with her enrollment number.

Bula Croker's children appealed and while the appeal was pending, Richard died in 1922 and was buried on the estate at Glencairn.

Bula Croker studied to gain knowledge for the on-going litigation with her step-children.

Croker's former roommate testified in Dublin that she and Bula lived together in Muskogee at the time when the children claimed she was living in Massachusetts.

In March 1924, Bula Croker prevailed and was awarded the $2 million estate.

The children's next suit against Bula Croker focused on whether their father had established his homestead in Ireland or Palm Beach.

The children petitioned in 1925, for a series of contracts between Richard and Croker to sell some of their property to John B McDonald and the Palm Beach Estates and other property to be sold to an entity called Eccleston should be declared null and void.

Bula Croker appealed, arguing that her and Richard's primary domicile was in Ireland because they spent the last years of his life there, built his crypt there, and saw him buried there.

Bula Croker continued to live in Ireland and winter in Florida until 1930, when she returned full-time to Palm Beach.

Bula Croker's mother lived with them, but their father had died in 1927.

Bula Croker was interested in liberal politics and became a supporter of Franklin Roosevelt in the early 1930s.

Bula Croker was said to be the first Palm Beach resident to allow Black beach-goers to use her beach.

Bula Croker gave numerous programs focused on her Native heritage to raise funds for the Red Cross and other charities, and often lent her home as a venue for charitable causes.

In 1933, Bula Croker was appointed as staff by Governor David Sholtz.

Bula Croker took out mortgages to pay her creditors and avoid having to take losses on the properties, but eventually she had to try to sell them to avoid foreclosures on the mortgage debts.

Ultimately, in 1937, Bula Croker filed for bankruptcy, but was able to retain the Wigwam for several years.

The bankruptcy was fully discharged in 1943, and Bula Croker lost both the Wigwam and Glencairn Castle.

Bula Croker went to Stillwater, Oklahoma where her sister Cherrie Garrett and her family were living to retrieve some of her husband's effects that they had taken from Glencairn.

The Garretts had Bula Croker arrested for attempted burglary claiming she had attempted to force her way into their home.

Bula Croker countered that the items were worth $60,000, were willed to her, and asked the court for damages.

The burglary charges were dismissed when the Garretts acknowledged that Bula Croker was not trying to burglarize their home.

Bula Croker took out a treasure hunting license for Florida in 1945, which allowed her to search in Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton Counties.

In 1948, Bula Croker announced that she had secured treasure maps in 1936 which showed two hoards of pirate loot worth $76,000,000 off the Florida coast near Pensacola and was looking for a reputable partner to help her retrieve it.

Bula Croker's plan was to locate the smaller cache of $4,000,000 and use those funds to finance excavation of the larger treasure.

Bula Croker made around a dozen attempts to retrieve the treasure, before entering a partnership with Hugh Ridenour in 1952.

Bula Croker died on March 16,1957, at her home in West Palm Beach.

Bula Croker's fame brought with it numerous stories about her life, making it difficult to separate what was truthful from what was mythical.