Emma John Mąnąhąbᵋwįga Decorah (1893 - 1945)

Born 1893 in Wisconsin, United States

Emma was Ho-Chunk.

Biography

Birth

Emma was born in 1893. She was the daughter of Sam Decorra and Mary Little John.

Name

The censuses give her Hocąk name as MaNoHumpAWinKah, which is for Mąnąhąbᵋwįga. It is from mąną, "the earth, the ground"; hąp, "to burrow through"; -wį-, a feminine gender infix; -ga, a definite article suffix used in personal names. So the name means, "She Burrows Through the Ground". This is an attested Bear Clan personal name that refers to the ursine practice of creating a hibernating den; but the Decorahs are of the Thunderbird Clan, so the name would likely refer to the idea that lightning stabs through the ground.

Emma said in 1938, “My mother was Mary Sam Decorah. You see, my father’s name was Sam, so mother was called Mary Sam. My man’s name was John, so I am called Emma John Decorah.” (CT 10a)

Marriages

Her first marriage was to a man named "Deer" with whom she had a son, Raymond (b. 1911). (1912, 1926 censuses) There were three brothers, Mess, Leo, and High Deer who were about Emma's age and who lived at the same agency. (1912 census)

Her second marriage was with George Fourcloud, with whom she had the following children:

Amon (11 Feb 1919 - 9 Jan 1929) (Find a Grave)

Eli (b. 1921)

Emily (b. 1923) (1926 census)

They had been married since at least 1917. (1917 census) They were divorced on 12 June 1926. (1926 NE census) A George Fourcloud of the Winnebago reservation had killed four women between 1902 and 1904, for which he served some time in Leavenworth Prison. (IR)

From about 1927 to 1930, she had a marriage with John Decorah (b. 1888), and took his name "John" as her own middle name. They had two children,

Corana C. (b. 24 Jan 1928)

Darie (b. 17 July 1931).

Land Allotment

Under the name "Emma Decora Fourcloud", she obtained a tract of land at Dixon, Nebraska as part of the partitioning of the Winnebago Reservation: T 029N R 005E, Tract 9 (NW¼ of Section 35), which is at 42.291740, -96.818061. (BLM) One of those receiving part of this allotment was Emma's ex-husband George Fourcloud.

Residence

1938 — Emma mentioned, “My sister Fannie ... lives at the Black Bridge, too, and I live on part of her ground in a small house and have a little garden.” (CL 10a)

Occupation

Emma says that she and her sister Fannie "make baskets, and we bring the black ash that we make them from, clear from Stevens Point. All kinds of baskets: market, lunch, picnic, clothes and all styles of baskets we make. They’re nice, too.” (CL 10a)

Death

She passed away in 1945, and is buried in Section: MAUSTON, Block: 55, Lot: 11, Space: 1, at Mauston-Oakwood Cemetery, Mauston, Juneau County, Wisconsin. (Find a Grave)

Sources

• IR — The Iowa Recorder (Greene, Iowa), 14 August 1904.
• 1912 Indian census; Roll: M595_570; Line: 13; Agency: Tomah Indian School. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1917 Indian census; Roll: M595_665; Page: 20; Line: 19; Agency: Winnebago (Nebraska). Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1926 Indian census; Roll: M595_168; Page: 12; Line: 17; Agency: Grand Rapids. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1929 Indian census; Roll: M595_570; Page: 18; Line: 1; Agency: Tomah. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1930 Federal census for Post, Allamakee, Iowa; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0019 (POST TOWNSHIP EXCLUDING POSTVILLE TOWN); FHL microfilm: 2340375. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.
• 1926 Indian census; Roll: M595_666; Page: 18; Line: 12; Agency: Winnebago (Nebraska). Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• General Land Office Records, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Accession Nr: 1063992; Document Type: Serial Patent; State: Nebraska; Issue Date: 5/5/1933.
• CT — Madge Yohn, "All Around the Town," The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, Sunday, 13 November, 1938, page 10.
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 20 September 2020), memorial page for Amon Fourcloud (11 Feb 1919–9 Jan 1929), Find a Grave Memorial no. 198424342, citing Mauston-Oakwood Cemetery, Mauston, Juneau County, Wisconsin, USA ; Maintained by Kari Olson (contributor 47416912) .
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 16 September 2020), memorial page for Emma Decorah (1893–1945), Find a Grave Memorial no. 186593566, citing Mauston-Oakwood Cemetery, Mauston, Juneau County, Wisconsin, USA ; Maintained by Bob (contributor 47155955) .