Historical records matching Frank Bear
About Frank Bear
Frank was a Navajo (Diné) man
Biography:
-Born, according to the 1925 South Dakota State Census in 1902 in Arizona, identified in asylum male census records as Southern Navajo, Arizona Territory (Southern navajo would be in the jurisdiction of the Fort Defiance Agency=light green)
Arizona Territory 1910 Navajo Apache Old State Map Reprint @
https://www.etsy.com/listing/898450879/arizona-territory-1910-navaj...
Carla Joinson opens her book, Vanished in Hiawatha, Chapter 1: Where will all the Insane Indians Go?, this way...
Patients Frank Bear, a Navajo, and William Abdulhena, a Shoshone, faced off in the narrow hallway. They were nearly alone, for their attendant had locked the ward so he could leave the building. Bear hadn't been out much lately. Until a few days earlier he had been weak and needed rest, and attendants had conveniently padlocked him in his room. The newly released Bear may have been excited or just in a bad temper, or perhaps he said something to offend Adulhena. Perhaps it was the other way around.
It was the end of September and quite cold, but the rooms and hallway were stuffy as always. No one saw what happened next, but the two men fought until their noisy thrashing sent another patient scurrying outside to report the brawl. Frank Bear's taste of freedom ended badly- when attendant E.B.Colby returned to the locked ward, Bear's eyeball was lying on the floor. There is no record of an investigation, though the asylum's superintendent did report that both men were doing "as well as could be expected.[1]
While patients didn't routinely lose their eyeballs, the locked ward and lack of supervised care present a good snapshot of life at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians...
[1] Dr. Hummer to commissioner of Indian affairs, September 27, 1926, and report on the accident by attendant E.B. Colby, dated the same day, NARA, RG 75, box 17.
-Admitted to the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians on February 14, 1924, diagnosed with Psychosis, lethargic encephalitis (Encephalitis lethargica is a disease characterized by: high fever, headache double vision, delayed physical and mental response, and lethargy/fatigue The cause of encephalitis lethargica is unknown. An encephalitis lethargica epidemic occurred from 1917 to 1928, but no recurrence has since been reported.)
-Transferred to St. Elizabeth's Hospital on December 22, 1933, upon the closing of the Canton Asylum
-Buried in the St. Elizabeth's Hospital Cemetery West
Wikipedia contributors. "Saint Elizabeths Hospital East and West Cemeteries." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 Jul. 2023. Web. 24 Nov. 2023. @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Elizabeths_Hospital_East_and_We...
Research Notes:
-age 23 in the 1925 South Dakota State census therefore born in 1902
-father and mother born in Arizona
-Frank is indicated as a resident at the Canton Asylum in the male census from 1926-1933 annually.
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1924 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:688Q-XGVR : Fri Oct 06 08:37:19 UTC 2023), Entry for Frank Bear, 1924, pg. 515/522, line 1, Canton Asylum male census 1924
1925 - "South Dakota State Census, 1925", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMWG-VYW : Thu Oct 05 21:28:18 UTC 2023), Entry for Frank Bear, 1925, pg. 1865/3393, census taken in Bauer Township, McPherson, South Dakota, United States
1930 Apr 7 - "United States Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQVZ-1NG : Tue Oct 03 01:17:07 UTC 2023), Entry for Frank Bear, 1930, pg. 610/1062, line 1, Asylum for Insane Indians, Canton Township, Lincoln County, South Dakota
1938 Jan 16 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126678030/frank-bear: accessed 24 November 2023), memorial page for Frank Bear (1902–16 Jan 1938), Find a Grave Memorial ID 126678030, citing Saint Elizabeths Hospital West Cemetery, Anacostia, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA; Maintained by Cathy Porter-Maynard (contributor 47009361).
1938, Jan 22 - Evening Star. [Saturday Edition page A-9] (Washington, D.C.), 22 Jan. 1938. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. (See: Deaths Reported) <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1938-01-22/ed-1/...>
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Frank Bear's Timeline
| 1902 |
1902
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Arizona Territory, United States
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| 1938 |
January 16, 1938
Age 36
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Saint Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, United States
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| ???? |
Saint Elizabeth's Hospital, Saint Elizabeth's Cemetery, Section 15, Row 3, Grave 321, Anacostia, District of Columbia, United States
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