Saturday, December 9, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 9

December 9, 2008 – “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will pay up to $54.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged the discount giant cut workers' break time and didn't prevent employees from working off the clock in Minnesota.”

http://timelinVikingses.ws/states/MINNESOTA.HTML




http://www.twincities.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/walmart_store_sign.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





Friday, December 8, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 8

December 8, 1914 – John McCarthy, 75 years old, lost his life this morning when he attempted to rescue a young woman who had thrown herself in the path of a passenger train. The woman was unhurt.

McCarthy, who was a flagman stationed at the Eagle Street crossing of the Milwaukee Road in St. Paul, was in his shanty at about 7 a.m. when he saw a girl lie down across the rails in front of a Milwaukee passenger train. McCarthy rushed from his shack, but before he could reach the would-be suicide he was struck by a Soo Line train going in the opposite direction on the other track.

McCarthy’s head was cut off. The young woman, who gave her name as Minnie Sellman, changed her mind at the last minute and rolled away from danger.

Miss Sellman is believed to be demented. She told the police that she was unemployed and in want, but investigation showed that she has been employed at a Midway hotel, and has $196 in a savings bank.

McCarthy had no family.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Aged Flagman Gives Life Trying to Save Woman. Sees Girl Throw Herself on the Track Before Milwaukee Passenger Train. He Is Struck by Another Train, While Girl Rolls Out of Danger.”; Dec. 9, 1914; p. 4.



https://www.american-rails.com/images/MILW_Logo.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, December 7, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 7

December 7, 1908 – The throttle clutched in the vise-like grip of a senseless and dying engineer, who lay half out of his cab window, blood streaming from a ghastly wound in his head, the Oriental Limited, the crack train of the Great Northern railroad, tore into the city limits of Minneapolis late this afternoon.


1


Past speed-warning signs, gates and semaphores it rushed at a terrific speed, while 250 home-coming passengers from the West began to don their fur coats and waited expectantly for the moment that would land them among waiting friends—all unconscious of their danger.


Half a mile outside the station the fireman, alarmed by the terrific speed, shouted at the engineer. No answer—then he turned and saw his chief’s face covered with blood. He leapt across the cab and, prying apart the nerveless fingers in their death clutch on the heart-strings of the giant locomotive, hauled back the throttle and ran the string of Pullmans into Clearwater Junction.

There he detached the train and, in a race with death, drove the great engine to the Minneapolis and St. Louis depot. Pale and haggard, he dropped from the engine and shouted for help—but too late. The veteran of the throttle breathed his last as he was lifted from the cab.

The accident that cost Engineer George P. Irvin his life occurred at a steel bridge about two miles east of Robbinsdale.


2


The train was about an hour late out of that station, and in an effort to make up time, he drew the throttle wide. Forgetting caution as the train neared the bridge, it is believed he stuck his head out of the window to look backward and was struck by one of the spans.

The top of his skull was crushed and a ghastly wound several inches in length inflicted. Sinking back into his seat, in a half reclining position, the dying engineer still kept his grip on the throttle, unnoticed by the sweat grimed fireman, Rudolph Doerr, who was furiously stoking coal into the roaring jaws of the steel monster.

Four nearly four miles the engine rushed on and then the accident was noticed simultaneously by the fireman and Brakeman Westcott, who looked out and saw part of the engineer’s limp figure hanging from the cab. Westcott threw on the air brakes as Fireman Doerr leaped to the throttle and a disastrous wreck was avoided.

The train was stopped and Brakeman Westcott and Conductor Marston ran forward to the engine. The train was then put in motion and ran to Clearwater Junction with the fireman at the throttle, where the engine was detached.

The body of the dead engineer was taken to the undertaking rooms of M. J. Gill on Second Ave. S., where they were viewed by the coroner. His verdict was “death due to accident.”

Irvin was one of the old timers in the employ of the railway company and during his 18 years of service his record was unblemished. He was 55 years old and leaves a wife and three children, an aged mother, two sisters and two brothers.

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Senseless Man at Engine’s Throttle. Oriental Limited Tears Into Minneapolis, Its Guide Unconscious. Brained by Bridge Support, Trainman Sticks to Duty as He Dies. George P. Irvin Killed in Cab and Cars Speed Onward.”; Dec. 8, 1908; p. 1.

1https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Great_Northern_Oriental_Limited_1912.JPG

2
Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Dec. 7, 2017, 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 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, December 6, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 6

December 6, 1886 – Mary Weishar, who was sentenced Nov. 29, 1880, for life, from Le Sueur County, for the murder of her husband, had her sentence commuted on this date to ten years. She worked for a number of years in the family of Warden Reed, and was outside the prison daytimes. She is currently a prisoner in the female department.

St. Paul Daily Globe; May 8, 1887; p. 9.




The Warden's House and Stillwater Prison in 1895

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTRrBx_L6ng/UX9fU_jhPtI/AAAAAAAAFao/oytJ2_pEu40/s1600/Stillwater+Prison+and+Warden%2527s+House+in+1885.jpg

Murder of Mary Weishar’s husband; see April 11, 2015 blog


 Mary Weishar convicted of first degree murder; see Nov. 26, 2015 blog


Mary Weishar delivers baby in prison; see May 7, 2016 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 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, December 5, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 5

December 5, 1905 – The third crossing accident to take place in St. Cloud in the past ten years occurred just before noon today, when a heavily loaded Great Northern freight train crashed into No. 5, west-bound, Northern Pacific local at the East side crossing.



http://www.manifestauctions.com/wp-content/uploads/imported/auction-005-402_1.jpg


The passenger train was 25 minutes late and did not get under way until a few minutes before noon. The crossing is about a thousand feet west of the station, and as the engineer pulled out he noticed the freight approaching the crossing slowly. He was almost upon the crossing when he was horrified to find that the freight could not stop, and to save being cut in two with the incident and great loss of life, he pulled the throttle wide open in the hope of clearing with the train before the freight struck the crossing. The train leaped forward, but the Great Northern engine caught the front end of the last car, known as the Bemidji Coach, tipping it over on its side, and dragging it a few feet.


The car was packed with passengers and great excitement followed. The passengers were thrown in every direction, many coming in contact with broken window glass.


http://www.railfanguides.us/system/northernpacific/northern-pacific-railway-4.gif


Those in the forward cars and the uninjured in the Bemidji car immediately busied themselves extricating the wounded and removing them to the ambulance for the hospital and hotels.

Three doctors and trained nurses were sent from the Northern Pacific sanitarium, Brainerd, but arrived too late. The local physician did everything possible, and the train crew and local representatives of the company exerted every effort to assist the injured.

Cool-headedness and good judgement on the part of Engineer Willis doubtless averted a terrible loss of life. Engineer A. B. Kenyon of the Great Northern freight, says he did everything in his power to stop his train, but could not do so. He had a heavy train behind him and had just come down the Elk River hill, but insists he had the train under control on the hill and was creeping along slowly.

He says there must have been something wrong with the air. He stuck to his post, but the fireman jumped.

The Great Northern engine was derailed and the front end wrecked.


The Minneapolis Tribune; “Many Are Injured in St. Cloud Wreck. Several Twin City People Meet with Minor Accident in Train Collision—T. A. Taylor, Minneapolis, Was Most Seriously Hurt.”; Dec. 6, 1905; PP. 1 & 2.
               __________________________________________________________

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, December 4, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 4

December 4, 1913 – How necessity is the mother of invention was emphasized in Winona today when a huge threshing machine engine was backed up to the plant of the Minnesota Harness Company here and became the heating plant for the big concern.

The boiler of the heating apparatus has been forced to capacity since an addition was made to the plant, with the result that it became cracked. A crew of plumbers was sent to work with the idea of repairing the damage, but the only solution was securing a new boiler. The operation would require ten days before it could be installed and the officers of the institution faced closing down during the busiest time of the year.

The threshing engine was suggested. It was placed at the rear of the factory, the pipes from the boiler room were connected, and the steam is being forced from the engine’s boiler into the radiators throughout the large buildings and the operations were uninterrupted.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Threshing Engine Keeps Radiators Warm When Boiler Becomes Cracked”; Dec. 5, 1913; p. 1.




Example of an old threshing machine

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/hjelle/t1.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





Sunday, December 3, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 3

December 3, 1903 – Washington County Sheriff Ostrom and Deputy Sheriff Jarchow went to Minneapolis today, where they arrested Miss Helena McIntosh. They returned with their prisoner in the afternoon.

Miss McIntosh was charged with having thrown the body of her new-born infant into the pig yard at the home of her brother, John McIntosh, on the north shore of Square Lake, where it was found last Friday by boys.

Miss McIntosh at first denied the charge, but later confessed and told the following story:

For some months she had been employed as a house servant in Arcola, but was discharged when her condition was discovered. She went to her brother’s home, where the child was born without the knowledge of her brother or his family. She says the baby was born alive, but lived only 30 minutes, and was dead when she hid it in the fodder pile in the pig yard.

When the body was discovered she fled to Minneapolis, where her hiding place was discovered by the sheriff. She is now in the Washington County jail in Stillwater.

Mackintosh is 24 years of age and a native of Buffalo, NY.

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Young Woman Is Arrested. Miss Mackintosh, Charged With Having Thrown Away Body of Infant Is Taken to Stillwater Jail.”; Dec. 4, 1903; p. 2.
_________________________

The Dec. 8 Washington County grand jury refused to indict Helena McIntosh, charged with having murdered her child. According to the Stillwater Messenger, “No doubt she had the sympathy of the jury in her trouble. She certainly had the sympathy of the public generally.”

Stillwater Messenger; Dec. 12, 1903; p. 4.


The historic Washington County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of 
Historic Places on Aug. 26, 1971.

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Aug. 26, 2014, 
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 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