Minnie (Davis) LaCount (abt. 1878 - 1906)

Born about 1878 in Johnsonville, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory

Wife of Benjamin Carter LaCount — married 27 Jul 1899 in Chickasaw Township, Pontotoc, Oklahoma, United States [uncertain]

Died 5 Jul 1906 at about age 28 in The Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States

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Biography

Minnie was Chickasaw.

Minnie LaCount nee Davis was born to parents Joshua Davis and Laura Johnston about 1878. Her Dawes Census card 752 shows her to be 1/8th Chickasaw. She married Benjamin Carter LaCount at the U.S. Federal Court at Ardmore, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory in May 1896. They were later married on 29 July 1899 to conform to Chickasaw law. Benjamin Carter LaCount, a white man, was enrolled as an Intermarried Chickasaw giving him certain rights in the Chickasaw Nation, including an allotment of land in his own right.

Minnie lived with her parents at Johnsonville, Chickasaw Nation when the 1878 Chickasaw Annuity Roll was paid. Her father died in 1880 and it is presumed she resided with her mother, sisters and stepfather until her marriage to Benjamin in 1896.

Minnie was enumerated with Benjamin and his two sons in 1900. The family lived in Township 5 N R 1 W in the Chickasaw Nation. Benjamin's youngest daughter Julia (LaCount) Standifer resided close by.

Minnie was described by friends as having a "nervous disability." For that reason she was sent to the Canton Asylum where she was admitted on 27 September 1905. During her stay at the asylum, she developed tuberculosis and died on 5 July 1906.

Sources

• Joshua Davis and his family lived at Johnsonville, Chickasaw Nation in 1878 when they appeared on the 1878 Chickasaw Annuity Roll. [Joyce A Rex. "1878 Annuity Rolls and 1890 Census of Pontotoc County, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory" Purcell, Oklahoma: McClain County Historical Society, 1990. Page 3: Family #309.]

• 1900 United States Census, Population Schedule, T 5 N R 1 W, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory for Mennie Lacount. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/ITT623_1847-0832?pId=74909943

• Minnie LaCount. Find a Grave Memorial 14491651. Created by: Graveaddiction. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14491651/minnie-davis-lacount?

• To learn more about the of the work of the Dawes Commission, see: "The Dawes Commission and the Allotment of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1914" by Kent Carter. Orem, Utah: Ancestry, Inc., 1999. Also: History Hub. https://historyhub.history.gov/citizen_archivists/b/citizen-archivists-blog/posts/exploring-the-records-of-the-dawes-commission

Research Notes

It was through the nation's courts that he legally acquired most of Minnie's land in a complicated process as defined in the court records attached in the Media tab, and apparently, there was an attempt to reclaim lands given away during a contest!

She was living in Garvin County with her husband and two sons in 1900.

According to Carla Joinson in her book Vanished in Hiawatha, Minnie was admitted to the Canton Asylum from the Union Agency, on September 27, 1905, and diagnosed with Chronic dementia^[1] (Dementia is a chronic condition that describes an overall decline in memory and other cognitive skills severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. It is characterized by the progressive and persistent deterioration of cognitive function.)

In the letter dated February 17, 1934, from Dr. L.L. Culp to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Minnie died at the Canton Asylum on July 5, 1906, and was buried in the Canton Hiawatha Cemetery tier 5 plot 5.^[2]

-The 1880 census shows her Race as Black, as well as that of her father and mother. If she is also identified as 1/4 blood Chickasaw it means that one parent was 1/2 blood.

-Her original Dawes enrollment card under her parents was canceled when her husband's card Chickasaw by intermarriage #752 was issued....

-From the 1900 CHICKASAW NATION CENSUS, GARVIN COUNTY

A185�191 LaCOUNT, BENJAMIN HD W M FEB 1852 48 M�3 IN IN OH FARMER

A185�191 LaCOUNT, BERTIE F SON IN M MAY 1892 8 MO IN OH

A185�191 LaCOUNT, MENNIE WF IN F 1877 23 M�3 IT IT IT 2�CHILDREN

A185�191 LaCOUNT, WILLIAM SON IN F APR 1886 14 MO IN OH

Source: Maloney, Rebecca. “1900 Chickasaw Census, Garvin County Index.” Okgenweb.net, 1996, okgenweb.net/~okgarvin/kinard/gar1900index.htm. Accessed 7 Mar. 2024.

-Her husband Benjamin C LaCount (LaConte) is Chickasaw by marriage line #38 in the final roll page 236.

-Chickasaw (by Blood), Card 752 (Dawes Roll search)

Name Age Sex Blood Quantum Roll No. Enrollment/Card Group Note Card No. Minnie Davis LaCount 26 F 1/8 2222 Chickasaw by Blood Card 752 Benjamin C. LaCount 46 M IW 38 Chickasaw by Blood Card 752

• 1/2 blood means one parent was full-blooded Native and and a tribal member the other had no Native ancestry of a given nation or group.

• 1/4 blood means one parent was half-blooded and the other had no native ancestry. Another way to say this is that one grandparent was a member of a given nation and the other three weren’t.

• 1/8 blood means that one parent was 1/4 blood and the other parent had no ancestry. Or one great-grandparent was a member of the nation but none of the others was.

• For membership in a nation, the blood must be from that nation. People can have 12 of their 16 great-great-grandparents who are Native, but from different nations, and that will not allow them to join a nation, even though they are 3/4 Native. I’ve known people who have had grandparents who were reportedly 1/4 Nation X, but married somebody who was 1/4 Nation Y, while another grandparent had no Native lineage and the other was 1/4 Nation Z. That did not allow them to add up the 3/8 into more than a 1/4 and let them join a nation.

• Each nation gets to set its own rules, with guidance from federal law, as to who they will allow to join. The most common requirement is either 1/8, which is at least one great-grandparent that is full blooded or two great-grandparents who are 1/2 blooded, or 1/4, which is at least one grandparent that is full blooded or two grandparents who are half-blooded.

Source: Galt, Howard. “What Is the Difference between Half-Blood, Quarter-Blood, Eighth-Blood, Etc. In terms of Percentage of Native American Blood for Someone ...” Quora, www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-half-blood-quarter-blood-eighth-blood-etc-in-terms-of-percentage-of-Native-American-blood-for-someone-who-identifies-as-a-Native-or-other-American#:~:text=1%2F8%20blood%20means%20that. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Sources

1. ↑ Joinson, Carla. Vanished in Hiawatha: The Story of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians. University of Nebraska Press, 2016.
2. ↑ Culp, L.L. Culp to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 17, 1934, RG 75, CCF 1907-1939, box 4, folder 7448-150 Part 2, Canton Asylum, NARA-DC.

• 1880 Jun 8 - "United States Census, 1880", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNWD-D57 : Wed Oct 04 05:58:37 UTC 2023), Entry for Josh Davis and L. Davis, 1880, pg. 552/833, line 22, census of Kimbrough Township, Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States

(Note: the source above raises the possibility that Minnie was what is known as a "black Indian", notice that the source identifies her race as "black"' as well as that of her parents)

• 1900 Jun 19 - "United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSRR-QZ5 : Wed Mar 06 10:53:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Benjamin Lacount and Minnie Lacount, 1900, pg. 834/911, line 10, census of Chickasaw County, Oklahaoma
• 1905 Jul 5 - "South Dakota, Grave Registration Records, 1940-1941", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CY86-693Z : Fri Dec 15 05:36:38 UTC 2023), Entry for Mennie La-Count
• 1905 Jun 27-Jul 10 - "Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H9-GHMS : Thu Dec 14 19:43:15 UTC 2023), Entry for Minnie Davis Lacount, 1899-1907, pg. 189-209, Award of land transfer to contestant Maggie Carolina against Maggie LaCount
• 1905 Aug 18 - "Oklahoma Applications for Allotment, Five Civilized Tribes, 1899-1907", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H9-GHMS : Thu Dec 14 19:43:15 UTC 2023), Entry for Minnie Davis Lacount, 1899-1907. RE: "Oklahoma, United States records, Aug 4, 2018," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6XW9-6DT?view=explore : Mar 7, 2024), image 4 of 1305; United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Southwest Region.
• 1906 Jul 5 - "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVF-QB6B : 4 October 2023), Minnie Davis LaCount, ; Burial, Canton, Lincoln, South Dakota, United States of America, Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery; citing record ID 14491651, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com., Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14491651/minnie_davis-lacount: accessed March 6, 2024), memorial page for Minnie Davis LaCount (unknown–5 Jul 1906), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14491651, citing Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, USA; Maintained by Graveaddiction (contributor 46528400).
• 1906 Jul 5 - Hilton, M. (Ed.). (2023, July 10). Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians Historical Marker. Historical Marker. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=183486 Photo by Ruth VanSteenwyk, July 10, 2023, courtesy of HMdb.org Lucy Reed 4-19-07 · Minnie LaCount 7-5-06 · Sylvia Ridley 6-12-05
• 1910 Aug 4 - Camp Verde School: 1910-27; Canton Insane Asylum: 1910-22, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155854182?objectPage=675, line 60, Table 7 Form of mental disease of those admitted since opening of Asylum