Madeline I. (Rakeman) Thomas (1894 - 1973)

Born 11 Jul 1894 in Nebraska, United States

Ancestors

Died 16 Aug 1973 at age 79 in Nebraska, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kecia Alaniz [send private message]

Madeline was Ho-Chunk.

Biography

Birth

Madeline was born on 11 July 1894. (Find a Grave) She was the daughter of Louisa Sampson. Madeline's surname is given consistently in the censuses as "Rakeman", but her husband's draft card gives it as "Rickman". The 1930 Federal census reports that her father was Winnebago. The closest to this set of names is Peter Rockman (b. ca. 1870), a Wisconsin Winnebago who had been involved in a number of serial marriages.

Name

The 1898 census gives as her Hocąk name only her birth order name, Hīnū́gā, "First Daughter".

However, in her Carlisle Indian School paperwork submitted by Angel De Cora, her Hocąk name is given as Hinpiwin, which is for Hį̄pį̄́wįga, "Good Fur", from hį̄, "hair, fur"; pį̄, "nice, good, possible"; -wį, a feminine gender infix; and -ga, a definite article suffix used in proper names. This is an attested Wolf Clan name.

Relatives

When she was growing up, she was next door neighbor to Angel and Julia DeCora who were her mother's half-sisters. Angel became famous as an artist and educator.

Education

Linda Waggoner tells us,

Angel returned from her trip west to New York City by the fall

of 1904, accompanied by her ten-year-old niece, Madelyn

Rickman, the daughter of Louisa Sampson. Angel took on the

task of finding a school for Madelyn, who may have been odd

girl out in a household headed by her stepfather. Angel felt duty

bound to remove her niece from the reservation. In September

she enrolled Madelyn in the progressive Ethical Culture School

in Manhattan, where she would remain for the next two years.

The school's mission statement must have appealed to Angel.

Established by Felix Adler, it emphasized ethical behavior over

"religious superstition." (Waggoner, 126)

Marriage

She married Joseph Thomas sometime between 1915, where in the census of that year he is listed as living alone, and 1918, when his draft card lists Madeline as his next of kin.

Sometime prior to 1967, she remarried to someone with the surname "Tebo". (Death Index)

1942 Marriage License July 6, 1942, Joseph Tebo and Mrs. Madeline Rickman, both of Winnebago. (The Pender Times 10 Jul 1942, Fri p.1)

Children

Madeline had the following children with Joseph Thomas (1934 census):

Death

She passed away on 16 August 1973, and is buried at Saint Augustine Mission Cemetery, Winnebago, Thurston County, Nebraska. (Find a Grave)

Sources

• Linda M. Waggoner, Fire Light: The Life of Angel De Cora, Winnebago Artist. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8061-3954-8.
• 1898 Indian census; Roll: M595_312; Page: 24; Line: 22; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. 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.
• 1899 Indian census; Roll: M595_313; Page: 28; Line: 12; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. 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.
• 1900 Indian census; Roll: M595_313; Page: 29; Line: 13; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. 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.
• 1901 Indian census; Roll: M595_313; Page: 28; Line: 23; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. 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.
• 1902 Indian census; Roll: M595_313; Page: 19; Line: 31; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. 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.
• 1905 Indian census; Roll: M595_663; Line: 11; Agency: Winnebago. 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.
• 1910 Federal Census for Winnebago, Thurston, Nebraska; Roll: T624_857; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0207; FHL microfilm: 1374870. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Student File of Madelon De Cora, Carlisle Indian School, 1906 - 1910. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 75, Series 1327, box 65, folder 3275.
• U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Thurston County, Nebraska. United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls.
• 1921 Indian census; Roll: M595_665; Page: 55; Line: 15; Agency: Winnebago. 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_666; Page: 54; Line: 4; Agency: Winnebago. 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 Winnebago, Thurston, Nebraska; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0016; Description: WINNEBAGO VILLAGE; FHL microfilm: 2341029. 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.
• 1934 Indian census; Roll: M595_669; Page: 92; Line: 2; Agency: Winnebago. 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.
• Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 24 January 2021), memorial page for Madeline Rakeman Thomas (11 Jul 1894–16 Aug 1973), Find a Grave Memorial no. 14807268, citing Saint Augustine Mission Cemetery, Winnebago, Thurston County, Nebraska, USA ; Maintained by kmapp (contributor 46799577) .