Daniel Lamont: (1798/99 - 1837)
He was the son of Colin Lamont Sr. & Jane Smith of Greenock, Scotland, baptized on 24 April 1798 at Greenock.
He married 1st.to Hushes ("The Night") (daughter of Dakota Lake Calhoun Band Chief, Cloudman) before 1824 and married 2nd.to Margaret [he was the son-in-law of Markpeemanee / "Walking-Cloud" who was an "old" Sisseton Chief in 1824], his children were: Jane (m.Moses J.Titus in 1867), Colin & Charles.
Daniel was working on Lord Selkirk's Red River Colony, but about January of 1817 returned home to Scotland by a Hudson Bay ship. He was back on the Red River in 1820/21, trading for the Hudson Bay Co.and in 1821/22 at Lac Traverse with Robert Dickson, Joseph Renville, Kenneth McKenzie & William S.Laidlow, where he co-founded the Columbia Fur Company. He was at St.Louis, where he apparently resided, in June of 1822 when he filed his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States. In 1826 he was at Fort Factory at the mouth of the Minnesota River and in the Upper Missouri Outfit the next year. In 1832 he was at Fort Tecumseh (Ft.Pierre) on the Missouri River, but in 1835 he quit the Upper Missouri Outfit.
The following is from his Will & Testament which he wrote at Fort Pierre on the Missouri in November of 1834: "...First I direct that in event of my dying in the Civilized World or at any of the Establishments of the Upper Missouri Outfit of which I am at present a Member my Body shall be Committed to its Mother Earth from whence it came with decency but no Parade; and with the usual forms of the Scotch Presbyterian Church in which I was Baptised and in infancy reared, tho' agreeably to the interpretation of its tenates in Missouri I cannot be a Member thereof: And as to such Worldly Estate as it hath pleased God to Intrust me with I dispose of the same as follows...I further direct that the Sum of Two Thousand Dollars shall be paid by my Executors to my much esteem'd Friend William Laidlaw at present one of associates in business out of the first Moneys accruing from my interest in the Upper Missouri Outfit...And I do hereby make and ordain my much esteem'd friends Pierre Chouteau Jr. and George Collier Esquires of St.Louis aforesaid Executors of this my Will and testament..."
users.usinternet.com/dfnels/lamont.htm LAMONT, DANIEL B. 1796, SCOTLAND
MARRIED MARGARET WALKING CLOUD, B. 1800. DAUGHTER OF CHIEF WALKING CLOUD "MAHPIYA MANI", B. 1780
MARGARET AND DANIEL PRODUCED THREE CHILDREN:
COLIN LAMONT, BORN ABT 1825. HE is 1/2 MINNESOTA CHIPPEWA. I FIND HIM THE FIRST TIME IN THE UNORGANIZED DAKOTA TERRITORY ON THE 1860 CENSUS.
31 yr old Father,
no wife listed, laborer, born in Dakota,
children: Jennie, Colin, Maggie, Pierre, Mary.--Living next to Cardinal LeGrand (future Father-in-Law) and Pierre Choteau a trapper born in Canada.
The LaMonte Organization of Charles Mix County, Dakota Territory
1862 - 1876 , Charles Mix County, Dakota Territory
Soon after the county was created by the territorial legislature in 1862, the county was organized, but no record of that organization can be found. Capt. Edward Allison says that he was one of the commissioners, who were probably appointed by the governor, since at that time the governor had authority to do so, and none were named in the bill creating the county as was frequently done later in organizing counties. Colin Lamonte was register of deeds and ex-officio county clerk during the entire existence of this organization, and was one of the few men who was instrumental in keeping it up. Charles E. Hedges was the most interested in the scheme among the prime movers, and he was regarded as the power behind the scenes which made the wheels of the county government move. The organization was undoubtedly at first legal in every way, and instigated by men who had bright hopes for the future of the county as well as themselves, and who expected to see this county settle up and take on its own community life in the 60's. A little later it was kept up for political purposes, especially in order to get the votes of the river men and people in the vicinity of the Whetstone agency for delegate in congress. The politicians of Yankton were as much interested as anyone here in keeping up the semblance of an organization in order to carry out their own political ends. After the first few years of this organization the acts of its officers was of doubtful authority.
Lamonte's earliest record as county clerk was in 1863 which shows that on Oct. 3 of that year the following qualified as county officers before F. B. Chadron, J. P.;--Joseph V. Hamilton, E. W. Wall and Chas. E. Hedges as county commissioners, Joseph V. Hamilton as probate judge (and an ex-officio county treasurer,) Frederick Carman, high sheriff, Colin Lamonte register of deeds, F.B. Chaldron and Felicia Fallas, justices of the peace. There is no further record of any kind until 1870, although Lamonte says the organization was kept up, there being practically no other business than to meet often enough to qualify for office and hold elections.
Colin Lamonte's record can scarcely be called a legal record, for such instruments and records of proceedings as are recorded are not authenticated and contain the records of elections, a few legal instruments, certificate of oaths of office, records of the proceedings of political conventions, bills of sale, and other miscellaneous proceedings. Mr. Lamonte still has in his possession the county seal used at that tiem which is as perfect as when first used. Buffalo county was at that time attached to Charles Mix for judicial and electoral purposes, and among the earlier instruments recorded is still a bill of sale from that county whereby George Trimmer sells to Margaret Boyna "one gray mare mule, one grey horse mule, two brown mares, one set harness and one Cooper wagon." Yet this record is an exceedingly interesting one for it sheds much light on the history of the county at that time. As Joe Ellis says, the object in view in keeping up this organization was to get all the votes that were here counted in the territorial elections and as many more as were required. The substance of the record will be given here as the names mentioned will show who many of the residents were at that time.
On Sept. 7, 1870, the county commissioners established the voting place at the house of Chas. T. Campbell, and appointed James Bordeaux, Charles P. Barbier and James Pullum judges of election.
A county convention was held at Campbell's ranch Sept. 28, 1870, at which the following county and legislative officers were nominated:
Colin Lamonte, register of deeds.
James Bordeaux, sheriff.
Bruno Cournoyer, judge of probate and treasurer
W. T. McKay, councilman
J. D. Flick, Joseph La Roche, representatives.
Joseph Ellis, Charles Marshall, Felicia Fallas, county commissioners.
Joseph Volin, county attorney.
William Holbrough, coronor.
Kerwin (Curnin) Wilson, James Pullman, justices of the peace.
There is no record of how these gentlemen fared at the election.The council and representativedistrict however embraced much more than Charles Mix county.
Sept. 8, 1872, Louis Obasaw and William Cunningham, commissioners, met and established two voting precincts; the first at Joseph Ellis' place with Colin Lamonte, Ferry Flick and Joseph Ellis as judges, and the second at Campbell's ranch with James Bordeaux, Foster T. Wheeler and Lewis Obasaw as judges.
On Oct. 28, 1872, Joseph Ellis and William Cunningham as county comissioners, and Colin Lamonte as register of deeds and ex-officio county clerk, met to canvas the vote cast the month before. For delegate to congress it was found that M. K. Armstrong had 349 votes, G.C. Moody; 30, and W.W. Brookings; 39. Armstrong must have been very popular with the people here, for the combined vote for the candidates for any one teritorial office did not exceed 200, and the number of votes cast for county officers was 55. However it will recalled that the Whetstone agency was then located just across the river from Wheeler with a considerable number of soldiers there.
But little question was raised as to the legality of the votes, and the people here were friendly to Armstrong. Soldiers, half bllods, and hangers-on around the agency were brought over and voted. Even Indians were temporarily dressed in citizens clothes and voted. The vote on the legilative and county tickets stood as follows:
Councilman, J. D. Flick 62; W. T. McKay 39.
Representatives, Foster T. Wheeler, 55; John Owens, 11; Wm Cox, 28; Joseph Ellis, 47; Joseph Langlois, 51; Wm. Houston, 4.
Probate Judge, Bruno Cournoyer, 55.
Register of deeds, Colin Lamonte 55.
Sheriff, John (Jack) Sully, 61; Wm. Holbrough, 1.
Justices Kerwin Wilson, 23; Jacob Herman, 10.
County Commissioners, Foster T. Wheeler, 53; Edward Allison, 51.
Coronor, Louis Obashaw, 50.
Constables, John Craven, 54; Jacob Herman, 29.
County attorney, W. T. McKay, 6.
The vote on county officers was confined to the voters living within the county, 55 of whom appear to have voted. Nevertheless, 61 votes appear to have been put into ballot boxes for Sully for sheriff. But elections were easily handled by men of nerve in those days.
At a special meeting of the county commissioners on Jan. 20, 1873, the following officers were appointed to fill vacancies: Jacob Herman, justice of the peace; John Sully, sheriff, Charles P. Barbier, assessor; Joseph Langlois (not Be) collector, William Holbrough, superintendent of schools, and James Craven and John Kinkaid as constables. The record of this meeting is duly signed by the commissioners who were: Joseph Ellis, chairman, Foster T. Wheeler, and Edward Allison.
The county board met again on Sept. 6th of the same year and apponted William Jones ( a son-in-lawof Cournoyer) assessor, William Holbrough collector and sheriff, and Charles P. Barbier treasurer of the county.
From this time to Nov. 25, 1876, there is another gap in the record, when the following men qualified as county officers: Charles P. Barbier and William A. Shunk county commissioners, Colin Lamonte register of deeds, Chas. T. Oldham sheriff, Foster T. Wheeler probate judge and treasurer, Joseph Ellis assessor, John M. Cook coronor, and Peter Martin, constable. The record would seem to indicate that the following officers had been elected but failed to qualify: N. B. Reynolds justice of the peace, John Reynolds constable, William emery county commissioner and Felicia Fallas justice of the peace.
Grant's order closing the land to settlement had been promulated in 1875 and the settlers were ordered away. Most of the settlers remained but the order was effectual in destroying the county organization.
It stands to thelasting credit of the people who managed the affairs of this organization that no bonds or other indebtedness was saddled upon the county, although some minor bills had been incurred which were in after years presented to the regular organization for payment but rejected.
Colin Lamonte who figured so prominently in this early organization is a quarter blood Indian of French extraction, modest in disposition, of sterling integrity, and a man with a fair education as his records indicate, his spelling, especially of names, having been more careful than any old record. He came to Dakota in 1842 in the employ of Pierre Choteau Jr. & Co. of St. Louis and settled at Pierre where he married Fannie La Grande. He came to White Swan about about 1860 and removed thence to Lake Andes where he now (1905) resides with his daughter, Mrs. C. Ed Anderson, at the old age of 86.
Ref. History of Charles Mix County, published 1906.
Colin LaMonte married, Yankton, Fanny Le Grande, daughter of Cardinal Le Grande, abt 1770, French-Canadain and Lucy Le Grande, abt 1798, Yankton but maybe, Santee.
The had ten children, all Yankton.
Jennie LaMonte m. TipiSapa Deloria
1848 – 1887
Colin Jr LaMonte
1851 – 1887
Annie LaMonte
1852 –
Maggie LaMonte
1853 –
Pierre LaMonte --I believe this just might be
John Pierre 1855 –
Duncan LaMonte
1857 –
Mary LaMonte
1858 –
Daniel Lamont m. Margaret, b. 1868
1866 –
Kate LaMonte
1867 –
Eliza LaMonte
1873 –