Saturday, June 10, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 10

June 10, 1904 – When Hennepin County Deputy Sheriff John Wall regained consciousness at 9 this morning; the last thing he could remember was the crashing sound of broken spokes and the relentless chuff, chuff, chuff of a powerful automobile.

How he wound up on his home porch was a mystery to him.




In the dark of the early morning Wall was driving on Calhoun Blvd. near Lakewood Cemetery. He was bound for Edina Mills to serve papers. Somewhere behind him was an automobile coming rapidly. He thinks it must have been a powerful vehicle from the sound. Suddenly there was a crash; Wall’s buggy was demolished and all was blank to him until he regained consciousness.

Wall was found unconscious on his porch about 6 a.m. His papers lay beside him. The man had two broken ribs and looked as if he had been through a tornado. Numerous cuts and bruises were on his head and his clothes were torn.

About 5 a.m. his family heard an automobile pause for a moment near the house. Neighbors sleepily noted the auto containing two men and two women. They saw one man alight and assist the other man to the curb. This second man stumbled and wavered in his walk and leaned heavily on his companion. Thinking the incident marked the end of a “night out,” the witnesses paid no more attention to the party and did not notice where the stumbling man was taken.

So far as known this is the only clue to the “chuffing” party responsible for Wall’s injury. It seems probable that after running him down, the driver noted his names on his papers, looked up his address and took him home. His papers were also carefully gathered up

Feeling among the sheriff’s staff and Wall’s friends is running high and every effort will be made to identify and prosecute the operators of the automobile.

The Minneapolis Journal
; “Hit by an Auto on a Dark Road. Mysterious Chauffeur Carries Wall Home Senseless. Deputy Sheriff Heard an auto Coming Behind Him and Lost Consciousness in the Crash—Unknown Automobile Party Brought Him Home and Left Him on His Porch.”; June 10, 1904; p. 6.
               __________________________________________________________

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 MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com



Friday, June 9, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 9

June 9, 1904 – Three lumberjacks who attempted to beat a newsboy on Washington Ave. in Minneapolis this afternoon, found that the boy had a champion who was willing and able to take his part even at great odds.

The boy had in some way displeased the strangers and one of them caught him by the collar and struck him across the face. The boy cried help and a Negro man who was passing interfered. The lumberjacks resented the interference and an altercation followed that ended with one of the men striking at the Negro. His blow was deflected like lightning and an instant later he found himself stretched on the sidewalk by a heavy swing from the hero’s right.

As the lumberjack went down, the other two made a rush at the Negro. A right and a left in quick succession laid the two beside their companion and before they could regain their feet a policeman was on the scene. He learned the cause of the trouble and allowed the men to go, believing that they had been sufficiently punished.

The hero turned out to be Charles C. Smith, better known in sporting circles as “Thunderbolt,” the Negro prize fighter.

The Minneapolis Journal; “Three Bullies Badly Jolted. ‘Thunderbolt’ Smith Lays Boy Beaters Low in One, Two, three Order.”; June 10, 1904; p. 6.



Photo of unnamed newsboy

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2f/7e/40/2f7e4073613bce98cec8e67e9a7bc313.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 MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History


Contact me at: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com 



Thursday, June 8, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 8

June 8, 1904 – While swimming the river in an attempt to escape from the Minneapolis workhouse, Edward Harkins, serving an 80-day sentence for petty larceny, was drowned near Camden Place this afternoon. Whether he was hit by any of his pursers’ bullets will not be known until the body is found.

Harkins was at work in the cell block this afternoon when Hallmaster C. L. Deterly opened the outside door to allow some supplies to be taken to the kitchen. Harkins quietly removed his shoes and crept close to Deterly. Suddenly he dealt him a staggering blow and made a dash for the door. Deterly followed and saw Harkins running across the fields toward the river. He fired four shots at the fleeing man and started in pursuit. Superintendent McDonald and Guards Hoben and Reick joined him.

Harkins continued directly toward the river and Guard Hoben was scarcely a block behind when he reached the shore. Without hesitation the fleeing man plunged into the stream and swam to the second boom. There he paused for an instant and when he saw Guard Hoben take a boat and start toward him he plunged into the water and swam toward the other shore.

Reick fired three shots toward the man, but witnesses say that none of them hit the swimmer. An instant later, however, he threw up his hands and sank from sight. The river was watched closely, but the man did not appear again, and the rivermen at work on the shore say that he was undoubtedly drowned.




Minneapolis Workhouse1
50th and Lyndale Ave. N.


Harkins was in police court two days ago charged with the theft of a bicycle. Judge Holt sentenced him to 80 days and immediately upon his arrival at the workhouse he gave the guards notice that he would escape at the first opportunity. It was for this reason that Superintendent McDonald had assigned him to work in the cell block, one of the most secure rooms.

Harkins was 18-years-old and claimed that his home was in Scranton, Pa.

The Minneapolis Journal; “Pursuers See Prisoner Drown. Harkins Carried Out His threat to Escape. Eighteen-Year-Old Thief Fells Workhouse Guard and, Fleeing for Liberty, Plunges Into River—May Have Been Shot—Body Not Recovered.”; June 9, 1904; p. 5.

1http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/workhouse1902d.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 MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com



Wednesday, June 7, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 7

June 7, 1911 – John Smith, a 110-year-old Chippewa who resides on the reservation at Cass Lake, and who is thought to be the oldest living Indian in this country, visited Bemidji today.

His health is still perfect and he is almost as active as a young warrior. He never has been ill with the exception that this spring, when he says, his “legs were sick,” in referring to a light attack of rheumatism.

Smith, whose real name is Ka-Be-Na-Gwe-Wes, says that he was 68 years old when he first saw a white man. He has learned to speak English since that time.

He never fails to have his photograph taken at every opportunity, including today at the Hakkerup Studio.

He refers to himself as a “ladies man,” as he claims to have been married nine times.

To Bemidji residents Smith has been known during the past few years as Chief Wrinkle Face, having received the name because of the wrinkles that time has worked into his bronzed features.

Because of the assistance he gave the Great Northern Company when that railroad first built through this country, Smith has always been given transportation, but because of his love for liquor, the company has brought him to Bemidji only a few times, and then only under the care of a friend.

The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Indian 110 Years Old Here. Chippewa From Cass Lake Comes to Bemidji and Proudly Has His Picture Taken. Claims He Has Had Nine Wives.”; June 8, 1911; p. 1.




John Smith, whose real name is Ka-Be-Na-Gwe-Wes

from a postcard sent to my grandma

               __________________________________________________________

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 MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com





Tuesday, June 6, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 6

June 6, 1959 – Jimmy Jam Harris, one-half of the “R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team” Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, was born in Minneapolis on this date.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Jam_and_Terry_Lewis



Jimmy Jam Harris

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JimmyJamHWoFJan2012.jpg
Photo by
Angela George

               __________________________________________________________

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 MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com



Monday, June 5, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 5

June 5, 1942 - St. Paul native Captain Richard Eugene Fleming, a United States Marine, died on this date during the Battle of Midway in World War II. Fleming piloted a Vought SB2U Vindicator dive bomber in an attack on the Japanese cruiser Mikuma, and received a posthumous Medal of Honor for his heroism.

South St. Paul Municipal Airport, also known as Richard E. Fleming Field or simply Fleming Field, was named for him.


 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_E._Fleming

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_St._Paul_Municipal_Airport



Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain June 5, 2017,
a
s 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 MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.





Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow. 


 Website: TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com








Sunday, June 4, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 4

June 4, 2000 –“A statue was unveiled [on this date] in Periers, Normandy, France, of four American soldiers who died trying to free the town from the Germans during World War II. Citizens of the town and veterans of the Ninetieth Division raised funds for the monument. Two Minnesotans are commemorated in the statue: Virgil Tangborn of Bemidji and Richard Richtman of Minneapolis. It is unusual for statues dedicated to the memory of common soldiers to be of specific individuals.

http://www.mnopedia.org/thisday





http://www.uswarmemorials.org/admin/images/memorials/1369228081periers%20pic%201.1.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 MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                         


Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.


Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com