LUGENBEEL COUNTY, SD HISTORY AND LOOKUP (EXTINCT COUNTY, 1875-1909)

County History Books

*None Listed

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Lugenbeel County, South Dakota: A Genealogical Overview

Lugenbeel County was a short-lived, unorganized county that existed on paper but never functioned as a government entity. Its entire territory was located within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and its history is inseparable from that of the Oglala Lakota people. For genealogists, the key to researching ancestors in this area is to ignore the “Lugenbeel” name entirely and focus on the federal Indian agency records and the administrative counties to which the land was later assigned.

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I. County Formation and Evolution

Lugenbeel County’s existence was a temporary designation for a tract of land that was later absorbed by its neighbors.

• 1875: County Formed: The county was created by the Dakota Territorial Legislature on January 10, 1875, from a portion of the Great Sioux Reservation.
• Parent Entity: It was carved out of unorganized territory and the original lands of the Great Sioux Reservation.
• Dissolution and Successor Counties: Lugenbeel County was never organized with its own government. On November 2, 1909, it was officially dissolved and its territory was divided:
  • The western portion was absorbed by Shannon County (renamed Oglala Lakota County in 2015).
  • The eastern portion was absorbed by Washabaugh County (which was also an unorganized county, later abolished in 1979 and absorbed by Jackson County).Therefore, genealogical research for individuals in the former Lugenbeel County area must be conducted in the records of modern Oglala Lakota County and Jackson County.
• Name Origin: The county was named for Colonel Pitcairn Lugenbeel, a U.S. Army officer who served at posts in the Dakota Territory.
• County Seat History: As an unorganized county, Lugenbeel never had a county seat or any county government buildings.

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II. Settlement and Early History

• Early Inhabitants: The land is the historical and present-day home of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux), one of the seven bands of the Titonwan (Teton). The history of the area is the history of the Oglala people.
• Settlement and Governance: There was no significant non-native settlement. The population consisted almost entirely of Oglala Lakota residents. Life was centered around traditional communities and the Pine Ridge Agency, which was established in 1878 as the administrative headquarters for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the region. The agency, along with associated trading posts, schools, and Christian missions, were the only non-tribal entities.
• Key Historical Events:
  • Great Sioux War of 1876-1877: The county was created in the midst of the conflicts over the Black Hills. Following the war, the U.S. government increased its administrative control over the Lakota lands.
  • Establishment of Pine Ridge Reservation (1889): An act of Congress officially defined the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which completely encompassed Lugenbeel County.
  • Wounded Knee Massacre (1890): This pivotal and tragic event in American history occurred just to the west of the former Lugenbeel territory (in Shannon County) but profoundly impacted every Oglala Lakota family and community across the entire reservation.

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III. Genealogical Records and Resources

No records of any kind will be found under the name “Lugenbeel County.” Research must be directed to federal and successor county repositories.

• Federal Records (Primary Resource): The most important records for anyone living in this area are held by the U.S. government.
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): The records of the Pine Ridge Agency are the single most valuable genealogical resource. These include:
    • Indian Census Rolls (1885-1940): Annual censuses listing names, ages, family relationships, and tribal ID numbers.
    • Allotment Records: Documents detailing land allotted to individual tribal members.
    • Agency Vital Records: Records of births and deaths kept by BIA employees.
  • National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): The original BIA records are held at NARA’s Central Plains Region facility in Kansas City, Missouri.
• Successor County Records: For any civil matters (which were rare), records might have been filed in the counties that Washabaugh and Shannon were attached to for judicial purposes. Modern records would be found in:
  • Oglala Lakota County (formerly Shannon) Clerk of Courts in Hot Springs (Fall River County)
  • Jackson County Register of Deeds and Clerk of Courts in Kadoka.
• Church and School Records:
  • Holy Rosary Mission (Red Cloud Indian School): Established in 1888, the mission’s Catholic church kept extensive and meticulous sacramental records (baptisms, marriages, burials) that often serve as the primary vital records for many Oglala Lakota families. These are an essential resource.
  • Other mission and BIA school records may also contain valuable family information.
• State Records:
  • South Dakota Department of Health: Holds birth, death, marriage, and divorce records from July 1, 1905, to the present. However, registration for events on the reservation may have been inconsistent in the early decades.
• Bordering Jurisdictions (during its existence):
  • Washabaugh County (east)
  • Meyer County (east, also extinct)
  • Shannon County (west)
  • The state of Nebraska (south)