Saturday, May 2, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: May 2

May 2, 1964 – The Minnesota Twins become the third club to hit four consecutive homeruns in one inning. Tony Oliva, Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall and Harman Killebrew did the damage in an 11th-inning explosion that gave the Twins a 7-3 win at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium on this date.





Tony Oliva1




Bob Allison2




Jimmie Hall3



Harman Killebew4


http://twinstrivia.com/today-in-twins-history/

1http://www.google.com/search?q=public+domain+images+of+Tony+Oliva&start=10&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=fa3KT8iiCcHq2AXm35DZCw&ved=0CHUQsAQ4Cg&biw=1166&bih=565
2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bob_Allison_1959.png

3http://classicminnesotatwins.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html

4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harmon_Killebrew_1962.png



               __________________________________________________________

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, May 1, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: May 1

May 1, 1917 – Two men brought in from an unnamed town in Mont. told St. Paul police today that Frank J. Dunn had tried to get them to kill his wife, Alice McQuillan Dunn, who was murdered in her bed last Thursday, April 26. The men say the proposal was made to them several months ago, but the original plot they said miscarried and their statement that they were 1,000 miles from St. Paul when the crime was committed was confirmed by the police.




The late Alice McQuillan Dunn and her husband Frank Dunn1


According to the officers who heard the confession today, the men say they were promised $10,000 if Mrs. Dunn was killed, and of that amount, $6,000 was paid after the agreement was reached. According to the men, the plot also included killing J. McQuillan, Mrs. Dunn’s father.

The most startling fact is how close the actual murder was to the original plan discussed in Mont. Mrs. Dunn was to be shot at night and the murder was supposed to appear as an attempted robbery.

Ten days after Dunn’s visit to Mont., one of the men came to Minneapolis, where he lived in a hotel. According to the confession, soon after, he came to St. Paul and boarded with Dunn at a house next door to 210 N. Smith Ave., where Mrs. Dunn was living. After the separation, Mrs. Dunn remained living in the Dunn property and her husband moved next door.



House at left is 202 N. Smith Ave., where men brought from Montana say they watched Mrs. Alice Dunn in murder preparations. House at right is 210 N. Smith Ave., where Mrs. Dunn lived alone after her separation from her husband. Figure 1 shows bay windows in dining room of rooming house where alleged blackmailers say they watched Mrs. Dunn's movements across the way. No. 2 , bathroom window, where observations are also alleged to have been made. No. 3, Dunn’s room, occupied after he and his wife separated. No. 4, bay windows in living room where Mrs. Dunn sat and sewed. No. 5, Mrs. Dunn's bedroom. No. 6, barn, used by Dunn in his teaming business. X, porch where Mrs. Dunn reclined in hammock when alleged blackmailers say Dunn pointed his wife out to them, saying, "There she is. Take a good look at her."2    


The man said that Dunn pointed out his wife to him so that he would be sure to “know her.” The confession goes on to say that Mrs. Dunn’s habits were told in detail to this man, everything she was accustomed to doing, the route she took when she visited her parents, the friends she visited, in fact every detail to assist the man who was hired to murder her.  

The second man then came from Mont. to St. Paul. Both men say they never intended to commit the crime, but decided to get as much money out of Dunn as they could, because they needed it badly at the time.

Once, Dunn showed his wife swinging in the hammock at the house next door to the two men. “There she is,” he said laughing. “Get a good look at her.”

The man who says he lived next door to Mrs. Dunn for 10 days was told by Dunn that the woman had forced him to fix up the house more elaborately than necessary, that besides this expense, there was also the alimony to pay and that Mrs. Dunn had never been anything but an expense to him.     

Dunn is being held in the Ramsey County jail. His wife, from whom he was separated and to whom he was paying $70 in monthly alimony, was shot to death as she lay beside her sister in their bed in her father’s home.


The Bismarck Tribune
; “Dunn Was To Pay $10,000 For Shooting; Two Montana Men Confess They Were Hired on Previous Occasion to Murder Wife; That Plot Failed But $6,000 Was Paid Down”; May 01, 1917; p. 1.

St. Paul Daily News; “Dunn Tells Names of Accusers. Says Al Brown and Man Named Ferdig Confronted Him at Police Station. Suspected Husband of Murdered Woman Becomes Haggard in Cell.”; May 1, 1917; pp. 1 & 2.



1St. Paul Daily News; April 27, 1917; p. 1.

2St. Paul Daily News; May 2, 1917; p. 1.



Murder of Alice McQuillan Dunn; see April 26, 2015 blog

St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor tells reporters he expects to arrest a man he thinks was paid a large sum to murder Alice McQuillan Dunn.; see April 27, 2015 blog

Elks are willing to pay the expenses of detectives; believe Dunn innocent; see April 28, 2015 blog

Two St. Paul detectives are in Mont. interviewing people who knew Mrs. Dunn when she worked there; see April 29, 2015 blog

Dunn and Connery murders linked; see May 4, 2015 blog

Chauffeur identified photos of Joe Redenbaugh and Frank McCool as the two men he drove out of St. Paul to Chaska the night following Mrs. Dunn’s murder; see May 8,2015 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   




Thursday, April 30, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 30

April 30, 1910 – Police of half a dozen cities tonight are searching for Miss Lillian Neuman, Appleton, Wis., 19-years-old, and Miss Sylvia Grimes, Grimes, Ohio, 17-years old, and persons who are said to be holding them captive. The girls, who are members of good families, were kidnapped from Milwaukee 10 days ago by alleged white slavers.

Detectives learned today that the girls and their alleged captors were at International Falls, Minn., and were on the way to Canada. A letter bearing the name of Miss Grimes but written in a man’s hand writing, was received today from International Falls, saying that the girls would be taken across the border into Canada at once.

At Milwaukee, according to the detectives, the party was joined by an elderly man and a gray-haired woman who furnished railroad tickets for the pair to Duluth, Superior, St. Paul and International Falls.

Prominent Appleton citizens are interested in the affair. Miss Neuman was prominent in church work. News of the disappearance was suppressed until today in the hope that the girls could be located without publicity.

Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Police Have Trace of Stolen Young Girls; Two Young Ladies Believed to Have Fallen Into ‘White Slavers’ Hands.”; April 30, 1910; p. 1.



http://www.lakesnwoods.com/images/LNWa%20131.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   




Wednesday, April 29, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 29

April 29, 1917 – Two St. Paul detectives, Peter Lavalle and George Dawson, are in Mont. meeting with and interviewing people who knew the late Alice McQuillan Dunn when she worked as a stenographer in Billings and Forsyth, Mont. last year. More specifically, they are searching for two men to whom Mr. Dunn is alleged to have paid money to murder Mrs. Dunn, and when that fell through, paid them blackmail money to keep silent regarding the alleged murder plot.



Forsyth, Mont., Train Depot1


If the men being sought are apprehended, the police must get their statement that they were approached with an offer of money to murder Mrs. Dunn, or must prove such an offer was made; or that theory fails.

While the media was unaware of where this information (and theory) came from at the time, it was given to St. Paul Police Chief John J. O’Connor by the mysterious Madam D, who had been married to one of the men in Mont., but was now divorced and living in St. Paul.


St. Paul Daily News; “Search narrows in Murder Case. Material Progress Made in Dunn Mystery, Say Police Authorities. Theory is Working Out. Encouraging Report Received From Detectives Working in Montana.”; April 29, 1917; p. 1.

St. Paul Daily News; “Montana Clues May Unravel Dunn Mystery. Two St. Paul Detectives in Western State to Trace Life There of Dead Woman and to Seek Two Alleged Blackmailers. Engagement to Lawyer is Reported and Denied. Solution of Strange Murder May Rest in Ability to Locate Men Now Sought by Chief Connor’s Force.”; April 28, 1917; pp. 1 & 2.1http://usgwarchives.net/mt/rosebud/postcards/fnpdep.jpg

Murder of Alice McQuillan Dunn; see April 26, 2015 blog

St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor tells reporters he expects to arrest a man he thinks was paid a large sum to murder Alice McQuillan Dunn.; see April 27, 2015 blog

Elks are willing to pay the expenses of detectives; believe Dunn innocent; see April 28, 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   





Tuesday, April 28, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 28

April 28, 1917 – Funeral services for murder victim Alice McQuillan Dunn were held today at St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Portland Avenue and Victoria Street, St. Paul.  Nearly 1,500 persons, including members of her family, other relatives, friends and curiosity seekers filled the church. 



Alice McQuillan Dunn’s Funeral1


After the service, her body was taken to Calvary Cemetery for burial. Her family chose to bury her as Alice M. McQuillan, with only her death date, April 26, 1917, on the footstone. There was not a flower, a message or a representative from the Dunn family at the funeral.



Alice McQuillan’s Headstone2


Meanwhile, a committee from the local Elks called on St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor yesterday afternoon. Dunn has excellent standing both in that organization and in the Knights of Columbus.

The Elks told O’Connor that they were “willing to pay the expenses of detectives to make a thorough investigation of this case both in St. Paul and in Montana.” J. L. Shiely, who headed the committee, said “We know Dunn so well that we cannot believe that he had anything to do with this crime.”

O’Connor told the committee it would be useless to spend any money on the case. “The police have evidence that will solve the whole mystery in a short time. Dunn cannot be released.”

O’Connor also refused to discuss rumors about Madam D and her purported testimony.

           ________________________________________________________

On the other side of the river, more than 1,000 volunteers, including Boy Scouts and Minneapolis school children, joined Minneapolis police in the search for missing Patrolman George Connery. The children are searching public parks, fields and swamps within the city limits, while police, firemen and other citizens are searching the area around New Brighton and farther north.


Minneapolis Patrolman George Connery3

Mrs. Connery has hardly slept or eaten since her husband disappeared. On behalf of herself  and her five children, she has appealed to the kidnappers and probable murderers to end her and her little ones’ heart-breaking suspense by at least letting them know whether their husband and father is alive or dead.  

Also announced today, Minneapolis patrolmen have raised $50 among themselves, which they turned over to Chief Lewis Harthill as a reward to the person finding Patrolman Connery.


St. Paul Dispatch; “Murder Clue Given By ‘Madam D.’ Mysterious Woman, Said to Be Related to Slayer, but Estranged. Gives Tip to Former Move to Kill Mrs. Dunn. Husband Denied Liberty. Police Chief Tells Delegation of Elks Who Believe Spouse Innocent That Prisoner Will Be Held Unconditionally. Murder Victim Called Martyr to Christianity. Funeral Services for Mrs. Alice Dunn Conducted at St. Luke’s Catholic Church—Curiosity Seekers Numerous.”; April 28, 1917; p. 1.

St. Paul Daily News; “Children Hunt Missing Officer. Hundreds Aid in Search for Policeman Connery’s Body. Wife Can’t Eat of Sleep. Patrolman Offer Reward—Seven Suspects Are Released.”; April 28, 1917; p. 1.


1St. Paul Dispatch; April 28, 1917; p. 1.

2Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain April 26, 2015, as long as acknowledgement included.  

3http://www.mpdfederation.com/george-connery/



Disappearance of Minneapolis Patrolman George Connery; see April 24, 2015 blog


Car Connery disappeared in found in St. Paul; see April 25, 2015 blog

Murder of Alice McQuillan Dunn; see April 26, 2015 blog

St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor tells reporters he expects to arrest a man he thinks was paid a large sum to murder Alice McQuillan Dunn.; see April 27, 2015 blog

Elks are willing to pay the expenses of detectives; believe Dunn innocent; see April 28, 2015 blog

Two St. Paul detectives are in Mont. interviewing people who knew Mrs. Dunn when she worked there; see April 29, 2015 blog

Two Montana men claim Dunn paid them to kill his wife; see May 1, 2015 blog

Dunn and Connery murders linked; see May 4, 2015 blog

Chauffeur identified photos of Joe Redenbaugh and Frank McCool as the two men he drove out of St. Paul to Chaska the night following Mrs. Dunn’s murder; see May 8,2015 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   







Monday, April 27, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 27

April 27, 1917 – St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor told reporters this morning that he expects to arrest a man he thinks was paid a large sum to commit the murder of Alice McQuillan Dunn. The chief also stated that while Mr. Dunn has proven to have an airtight alibi for the murder, he believes Dunn knows a great deal more about the murder than he has told police, and that Dunn will not be discharged from custody at this time.



St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor1

In truth, O’Connor has heard from a mysterious Madam D who claims to know who the murderer is and about a previous attempt on Mrs. Dunn’s life when she worked as a stenographer in Mont. about a year ago.

Frank J. Dunn, the estranged husband of Alice McQuillan Dunn who was murdered early yesterday morning, is being held in the Ramsey County jail. The police are tracing all of his movements and actions over the last few months.

Dunn is said to be weeping in his cell, reiterating his innocence in the murder of his wife. “I loved her and I still love the little girl and before God I swear I did not harm a hair or cause a single act against her.”




The late Alice McQuillan Dunn and her husband Frank Dunn2

At the same time, he has voiced his concern over the ruin of his reputation. “The disgrace has broken me and ruined my reputation I suppose, but I want to cooperate with the authorities in every way possible.”

According to Edward Dunn, his brother Frank J. Dunn first met his estranged wife Alice when she was about three years old. Alice’s father J. F. McQuillan farmed with Dunn about 25 years ago. “He watched Alice grow to girlhood and then to womanhood. And then he married her.

“He was an older man and she was just a girl, probably that is why they did not get along. It is horrible to think that she was killed that way. I knew her quite well and had often spent a pleasant hour with her and my brother.”

Alice McQuillan and Frank Dunn were married Aug. 14, 1914. On Sept. 7, 1915, Mrs. Dunn was granted a legal separation from her husband on grounds of cruelty by District Judge O. B. Lewis. Mrs. Dunn was also granted $70 per month for her support and attorney fees.



St. Paul Dispatch; “Slayer Known, Paid Big Sum Says O’Connor; Detectives Leave to Make Arrest in Case of Mrs. Dunn, and Police Chief Promises Solution of Mystery Tomorrow. Declare Killer Cornered. Blackmail, Intrigue, Threats and Failed Attempts at Assassination Expected to Be Revealed—Husband Still Held. Weeping Cell, Dunn Vows Love For Wife. ‘I Loved Her Always,’ Husband Says, ‘and Never Sought to Harm Her’—Bewails Loss of Reputation.”; April 27, 1917; pp. 1 & 9.

St. Paul Dispatch; “Murder Clue Given By ‘Madam D.’ Mysterious Woman, Said to Be Related to Slayer, but Estranged. Gives Tip to Former Move to Kill Mrs. Dunn. Husband Denied Liberty. Police Chief Tells Delegation of Elks Who Believe Spouse Innocent That Prisoner Will Be Held Unconditionally.”; April 28, 1917; p. 1.

St. Paul Dispatch; “Beautiful Woman of Old Family is Slain in Home; Night Crime on Hill One of Mystery; Mrs. Alice Dunn Shot to Death by Man Who Entered Room While She Slept by Sister”; April 26, 1917; pp. 1 & 2.


1http://www.mnopedia.org/thing/oconnor-layover-agreement


2St. Paul Daily News; April 27, 1917; p. 1.


Murder of Alice McQuillan Dunn; see April 26, 2015 blog

Elks are willing to pay the expenses of detectives; believe Dunn innocent; see April 28, 2015 blog

Two St. Paul detectives are in Mont. interviewing people who knew Mrs. Dunn when she worked there; see April 29, 2015 blog

Two Montana men claim Dunn paid them to kill his wife; see May 1, 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  
 


Sunday, April 26, 2015

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 26

April 26, 1917 – Alice McQuillan Dunn was murdered on this date at approximately 1:30 a.m. in her parents’ home on Selby Ave. in St. Paul. She was separated from her husband Frank Dunn, who was 16 years her senior, and at the time of her murder was sharing a bedroom and a bed with her younger sister Katherine in their parents’ home.



The late Alice McQuillan Dunn and her husband Frank Dunn1

The perpetrators—police believed there were two people involved—climbed through a side window of the house. Upon entering a hallway on the main floor, they cut the phone wires, then made their way up the stairs directly to the bedroom where Alice was sleeping with her sister because Katherine had been having nightmares about burglars the last couple of nights.



McQuillan House with Map2


Katherine told police that she woke upon hearing a noise, and then woke Alice, telling her there was a burglar in their room. Alice calmed Katherine, and fell back asleep. A few minutes later, Katherine, still awake, saw a man standing near their bed when the light from a passing street car flooded their room. 

She screamed for Alice to wake up, and the man shouted at her to be quiet. “I just want to do a little shooting,” he told her, then shot Alice three times in the head, completely shattering the left side of her head.


At the first sight of this man, Katherine had taken Alice’s hand, on which there were two diamond rings, and hidden it beneath the pillow. The murderer made no attempt to get the rings, nor did he go after the jewelry case or money lying in plain sight on a nearby dresser.


The shots and Katherine’s screams awakened the family, but the murderer ran down the stairs out the rear door and down the alley to Avon Street where a confederate waited with a high-powered car, which roared north on Avon Street.


Avon St.3


Dunn had an airtight alibi for his estranged wife’s murder: his landlady said he was in his room from sometime after 11 p.m. until she woke him up at 3 a.m. when a police detective called and asked Dunn to meet with him for questioning. He was then taken to the Central police station.

St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor announced he was going to take personal charge of the investigation.

St. Paul Dispatch
; “Beautiful Woman of Old Family is Slain in Home; Night Crime on Hill One of Mystery; Mrs. Alice Dunn Shot to Death by Man Who Entered Room While She Slept by Sister”; April 26, 1917; P. 1 & 2.

1St. Paul Daily News; April 27, 1917; p. 1.

2St. Paul Daily News; April 26, 1917; p. 1.

3Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain April 26, 2015, as long as acknowledgement included.



St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor tells reporters he expects to arrest a man he thinks was paid a large sum to murder Alice McQuillan Dunn.; see April 27, 2015 blog

Elks are willing to pay the expenses of detectives; believe Dunn innocent; see April 28, 2015 blog

Two St. Paul detectives are in Mont. interviewing people who knew Mrs. Dunn when she worked there; see April 29, 2015 blog

Two Montana men claim Dunn paid them to kill his wife; see May 1, 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