baby Ruth Enas-Pah

(Baby) Ruth E-nas-pah was a Navajo child

Biography:
Born to mother E-nas-pah, a Navajo Indian, and an unknown father, Baby Ruth was born prematurely in the Canton Asylum in August 1909, and died there on October 14, 1909, one month after the death of her mother. According to records, she died of tubercular meningitis (Tuberculous meningitis, also known as TB meningitis, is a bacterial infection of the meninges, or membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

According to the letter from Dr. L.L. Culp to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs dated February 17, 1934, Baby Ruth died at age 2 months and was buried in the same grave with her mother, the Canton Hiawatha Cemetery, tier 5 plot 12.

"Known as Baby of E-nas-pah; mother and daughter are buried in the same grave. Hummer was “very anxious to dispose of the child,” and one month later, she was buried next to her mother in the cemetery adjoining Canton’s grounds. (43)"
Source 43 W.T. Shelton to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, October 11, 1909, RG 75, CCF 1907-1939, box 13, folder 26831, Canton Asylum, NARA-DC [16]

Her profile is part of the The Canton Asylum One Place Study.

Research Notes:
-A search for South Dakota records for the death of Baby Ruth turns up empty. It is likely that the Asylum, having to deal with the birth of a child out of wedlock within the asylum itself, simply swept the situation under the rug.
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Sources:

1909 Oct 14 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14491684/ruth_enas-pah: accessed March 22, 2024), memorial page for Ruth Enas Pah (unknown–14 Oct 1909), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14491684, citing Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, USA; Maintained by Graveaddiction (contributor 46528400).

1909 Oct 14 - 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

Alice Short 4-17-09 · Enas-Pah 9-30-09 · Baby Ruth Enas-Pah 10-14-09 · Agnes Sloan 2-14-10