The Guion Miller Roll is the best place to start for genealogical purposes. It’s later than the Baker Roll and contains newer and often additional/different information. It also lists all applicants, not just those accepted, even listing reasons for denial. Being denied does not necessarily mean the indiviual(s) were not Cherokee descendants. It can mean that they had lived apart from the tribe going back generations, certainly prior to 1835.
I have seven relatives on it, but only one in my direct maternal line. My great grandmother.
This would be a great-great grandfather or possibly HIS father. The family (six sons) moved down from Western VA to WNC and ETN in the 1790s. Needless to say, records are spotty, so I'll probably have to run other branches of the family down and work my way back up.
My best guess is that we will find that the relationship is collateral to my ancestor - possibly a marriage with one of his five brothers. Oral history is always a little vague.