Saturday, November 21, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 21

November 21, 1905 – Stella Brennan, accused of killing her three stepchildren, Elizabeth Brennan, 15; Alice Brennan, 10; and Arthur Brennan, 5, was indicted today by the Hennepin County grand jury for murder in the first degree. The coroner’s jury had found that Mrs. Brennan had done the killing and this made the work of the grand jury comparatively easy.

The principal witness against Mrs. Brennan is her stepson Tommy, 10, who was wounded at the time the other children were killed.


Brennan Children - Elizabeth, Tommy, Alice and Arthur
Minnesota Historical Society File Photo


The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Indicted by Grand Jury. Mrs. Brennan of Minneapolis Faces Murder Charge.”; Nov. 23, 1905, p. 4

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Jury Says Murder. Mrs. Stella Brennan Has Been Indicted on Charge of Killing Her Stepchildren.”; Nov. 22, 1905; p. 6.


Murder of three Brennan children while they slept; oldest son and stepmother shot; see Nov. 4, 2015 blog
Stella Brennan indicted by coroner’s jury for murder of stepdaughter; see Nov. 9, 2015blog

               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MHS records.  Both short searches and family history reports.

Website: 
TheMemoryQuilt.com ®  click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com  



Friday, November 20, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 20

November 20, 1909 – Declaring the Standard Oil Company a “combination and conspiracy in restraint of, and to monopolize commerce among the states and with foreign nations,” in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, the U. S. Circuit Court of this district handed down a decision simultaneously at St. Paul and St. Louis granting the government’s application for an injunction against the further continuance and operation of the colossal corporation.

The injunction becomes operative 30 days from the time of the filing of the decision, or on Dec. 20, unless suspended by an appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court.

It was announced at the offices of the Standard Oil Company in New York immediately after the news of the decision had been received that an appeal would be entered at once.

The decision constitutes a complete and sweeping victory for the government after a legal battle lasting three years.

The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey—the parent corporation—John D. Rockefeller, its founder and chief stockholder, six other high officials and all the subsidiary corporations composing the trust are enjoined from continuing or carrying into effect the “illegal combination” they have formed and also are enjoined from entering into any like combination or conspiracy the effect of which will be to restrain interstate commerce in petroleum or its products. Further than this the decree forbids the defendants from engaging or continuing in interstate commerce until they discontinue their illegal combination.

Effect of the Decision
Though the company is not put out of existence the powers that enabled it to operate the oil monopoly are taken away. The company can no longer vote the stock of the minor companies. It cannot control their directors or officers and the minor companies cannot pay dividends to the parent concerns. Further, the defendants to the original suit are instructed that they must not again form a combination that will be a monopoly of the oil business.

Judge Walter Henry Sanborn of St. Paul, the presiding judge, wrote the opinion and the decree, in which all the judges concur and sent them, with a concurring opinion of Judge Hook, to Judge Adams at St. Louis, who filed them and entered the decree in that city.



Judge Walter Henry Sanborn1


One of the attorneys that argued the case for the United States was Frank B. Kellogg of St. Paul.




Frank B. Kellogg2


On May 15, 1911, the US Supreme Court upheld the lower court judgment and declared the Standard Oil group to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act, Section II. It ordered Standard to break up into 90 independent companies with different boards of directors; the biggest two of the companies were Standard Oil of New Jersey (which became Exxon) and Standard Oil of New York (which became Mobil.*


New Ulm Review; “Enjoined From Doing Business. Standard Oil Company Declared to Be Illegal by Federal Circuit Court. Three Years in the Courts. Case Has Been Bitterly Fought by Rockefeller and His Associates.”; Nov. 24, 1909; p. 2.

*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil
1http://www.epsomhistory.com/epsom/biography/sanborn.html
2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FrankKellogg.jpg
               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MHS records.  Both short searches and family history reports.

Website: 
TheMemoryQuilt.com ®  click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com 


 

Thursday, November 19, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 19

November 19, 1903 - A large group of men worked for several hours [this evening] to extricate a horse belonging to N. B. Nellette, a farmer of White Bear, from a large hole in which he fell at the corner of Payne Avenue and Rose Street in St. Paul.

The excavation was made by M. J. O’Neil, who has a plumbing contract for the Harrison School. It was about eight feet deep and several feet wide. The horse sank in several feet.

The St. Paul Globe; “Extricate a Horse, Animal Falls into an Excavation at Payne Avenue and Rose Street”; November  20, 1903, p. 10.




Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain November 19, 2015,
as long as acknowledgement included.
                __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MHS records.  Both short searches and family history reports.

Website: 
TheMemoryQuilt.com ®  click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com 

 


Wednesday, November 18, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 18

November 18, 1918 – “Schools reopen as the influenza epidemic also known as the ‘Spanish Flu’ begins to subside. The epidemic had reached Washington County in October and resulted in the quarantine of 300 houses with at least six deaths reported. During this outbreak, 180 prisoners and 50 guards at the South Stillwater prison contracted the disease. In addition, one hundred men at the Twin City Forge Company in Stillwater fell ill.”

http://projects.wchsmn.org/reference/events/influenza-epidemic-subsides/




http://www.squidoo.com/spanish-flu

               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MHS records.  Both short searches and family history reports.

Website: 
TheMemoryQuilt.com ®  click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com 

 


Tuesday, November 17, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 17

November 17, 1914 – Mrs. Charlotte Sharpless was indicted today by the Hennepin County Grand Jury for murder in the first degree in connection with the killing of her husband Leaming Sharpless on the evening of Nov. 14.

Dr. and Mrs. A. W. Wright, who live in the apartment above the Sharpless’, were the first witnesses to appear before the Grand Jury. They told of being called by Mrs. Sharpless when she said she discovered her husband lying on a couch in their flat with a sword thrust through his heart. Their testimony was corroborated by Mrs. W. H. Harris; Ada Willis, Mrs. Wright’s sister; Fred Crisman, janitor at the place, and Crisman’s wife.

They told of finding the blood-stained sword standing near the couch on which Sharpless lay and of finding bloody clothing in the Sharpless apartment and in the alley nearby. Captain Galvin and Mathias Baldwin, first assistant county attorney, testified as to conversations with Mrs. Sharpless after her arrest. They declared she said she was in their apartment practically all evening, except for a few moments when she went to take out the garbage and again for a few moments when she visited the attic. 
When she returned the last time, the woman said that her husband lay on the couch apparently uninjured.



Leaming Sharpless*

Police Detectives Radclift and Bezanson also testified to conversations with Mrs. Sharpless. Dr. Gilbert Seashore, coroner, told of the nature of the wounds on Sharpless’ body and stated that it would have been impossible for the deceased to have committed suicide. Mrs. Sharpless will be arraigned before Judge Leary tomorrow morning.

While the Grand Jury was hearing Mrs. Sharpless’ case, the funeral of her husband was being held. Services were held at the home of Louis Sharpless, the brother of Leaming Sharpless. Mrs. Sharpless was denied permission to attend the funeral by the police in the absence of a court order. The woman had asked to be allowed to go to the burial.


The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Witnesses Tell How They Found Sharpless’ Body. His Wife, They Said, Declared She Discovered Him With Sword Through Heart. Mrs. Sharpless Not Allowed to Attend Funeral Held in the Afternoon.”; Nov. 18, 1914; p. 1.
*The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; Nov. 18, 1914; p. 1.

Leaming Sharpless murdered by saber; wife in next room hears nothing; see Nov. 14, 2015 blog.

Blood-stained imprint of fingers on the sword that killed Leaming Sharpless may be the principal means of determining the murderer; see Nov. 15, 2015.

               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including: 
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MHS records.  Both short searches and family history reports.

Website:  
TheMemoryQuilt.com ®  click on Family History

Contact me at: 
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com

Monday, November 16, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 16

November 16, 1854 – “The high school department of what is now Hamline University opened for business in Red Wing. It suspended operations in 1869, reopened in St. Paul in 1880, but its original founding date makes it the oldest college in the state.”

http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part1.pdf




Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Nov. 16, 2015,
as long as acknowledgement included.
               __________________________________________________________


If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MHS records.  Both short searches and family history reports.

Website: 
TheMemoryQuilt.com ®  click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com 

 

Sunday, November 15, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 15

November 15, 1914 – The blood-stained imprint of fingers on the sword that killed Leaming Sharpless yesterday evening may be the principal means of determining the murderer. No motive has been discovered as yet, and the police apparently are devoting their efforts to unraveling the motive-mystery rather than to making further arrests.

Mrs. Charlotte Sharpless, wife of the slain man, is still in custody and a charge may be placed against her tomorrow. The Coroner, Dr. Gilbert Seashore, returned a verdict of “Murder” today.

Two finger impressions survived a hasty cleaning that was given to the lodge ceremonial sword. One is almost perfect, and experts will be called into the case in presenting it to the grand jury. The sword was wiped while it was still wet with blood along almost its entire length.

Mrs. Sharpless continues to maintain her innocence, and showed no emotion in her cell at the County Jail today. She made no inquiry regarding her husband and when relatives of the deceased called to see her about arrangements for the funeral, she showed no interest.

The police are convinced that Sharpless was slain while he was asleep in his apartment. They claim to have ideas as to the motive, but have not substantiated them. They say it might have been jealously; that it may have been due to a domestic quarrel over money, or it might have been temporary insanity.

As to jealousy, the police worked upon an assumption that there were callers in the Sharpless apartment while Mr. Sharpless was away on his “run” as freight locomotive engineer on the Omaha Railroad.

As to a quarrel, the police questioned the neighbors on their observations of the Sharpless’ domestic life. Neighbors say they knew very little of the couple, and could relate no instances of trouble.

Suicide was not seriously considered by the Coroner. He found that one thrust of the sword penetrated the aorta and then passed through the right lung. Penetration of the artery would cause instant death. A second thrust passed through the diaphragm and the left lung, and would have also proved fatal. A third wound was not serious.

The fact that the police found the sword standing behind the couch where Sharpless lay, half reclining on the floor, indicated positively that the man could not have wounded himself and then placed the sword in the position where it was found, according to Dr. Seashore.
Mrs. Sharpless, police say, showed evidences of being under the influence of liquor when she was arrested.

Sharpless was industrious and held an excellent reputation among his associates. Neighbors said Sharpless was at home usually when not at work and that Mrs. Sharpless was given a free hand in the home management.


Leaming Sharpless*


As an engineer, Sharpless earned from $180 to $200 monthly, and this was turned over to his wife according to his brother Louis Sharpless, also an engineer for the Omaha Railroad.

Mrs. Sharpless was at one time a vaudeville actress at Mankato. She told Acting Captain Weare she was reading a motion picture magazine the night of the crime and had studied to become a motion picture actress.


A second police observation of the apartment taken today showed that there is no door between the bedroom and the living room. The foot of the bed is less than three feet from the doorway, against the opposite side of which the lounge stood. Mrs. Sharpless claims to have been in bed reading when she first heard her husband’s groans as he lay on the lounge.

In the position in which Sharpless was found, his body could easily be seen from any part of the bedroom. The police will present to the Grand Jury the underwear worn by the dead man and thrown from a window to the street where it was found by detectives; the suite of woman’s underwear and a night gown found in a closet and the clothing they say was worn by the woman when they reached the scene. These are also said to be blood-stained garments.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune
; “Finger Prints on Sword May Solve Killing. Mystery in the Slaying of Leaming Sharpless is Still Uncleared. ExpertsWill Scrutinize Telltale Marks on the Stained Weapon. Two Impressions Remain Despite Hasty Attempt at Cleansing. Motive Occupies Attention of Police—Coroner’s Verdict ‘Murder.’ Mrs. Sharpless Maintains Innocence—Displays Little Interest.”; Nov. 16, 1914; pp. 1 & 3.

*The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; Nov. 18, 1914; p. 1.


Leaming Sharpless murdered by saber; wife in next room hears nothing; see Nov. 14, 2015 blog.

               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including:
census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MHS records.  Both short searches and family history reports.

Website: 
TheMemoryQuilt.com ®  click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com