Saturday, April 30, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 30

April 30, 1914 – A woman’s foot, severed just above the ankle, was found under the Plymouth Ave. Bridge today.

A woman’s body was found floating in the river near the Plymouth Ave. bridge yesterday, but was not recovered.

Working on the theory that there is some relation between the foot and the body, the police are making an investigation that may lead to the development of a murder mystery.

Railroad men saw the body floating in the river, towed it to shore and fastened it to a pier until notice could be given to the police. When they returned the body was gone. It had been washed away from its fastenings.

Detectives searched this evening for the men who discovered the body. It is d=said they first reported that it was unclothed.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Murder Hinted in Finding of Woman’s Severed Foot. Police Work on theory That It Has Some Relation to Body Seen in River. Detectives Search for Men Who Discovered and Fastened Body to Pier.”; May 1, 1914; p, 1.




Plymouth Ave. Bridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Avenue_Bridge#/media/File:PlymouthAveBridge.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 

 


Friday, April 29, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 29

April 29, 1861 – While St. Paul and most of Minnesota generally acknowledge Josiah King to be “the first to volunteer for the Union cause,”1  the Anoka County Historical Society believes that the first volunteer was Anoka's Aaron Greenwald.

“According to Vickie Wendel, the history center's program director, Gov. Alexander Ramsey was in Washington, D.C., when the shooting started at Fort Sumter in South Carolina's Charleston harbor. After offering to provide the first troops to the Union, Ramsey sent a telegram back to Minnesota by horseback -- a missive delivered to attorney Willis Gorman, who was trying a case in Anoka's Fourth District Court.

During a recess, Gorman read aloud in the courtroom the request for volunteers. Greenwald happened to be there and was the first to respond, Wendel said.

‘That night, in St. Paul, there were militia meetings and Josiah King was the first to put his name down,’ Wendel said. ‘We figure Aaron beat him by four or five hours.’"2

1
http://www.1stminnesota.net/1st.php?ID=0052
2http://www.startribune.com/local/north/136160828.html?refer=y




Aaron Greenwald
http://firstminnesotafilms.org/2011/12/featured-soldier-josias-king-and-aaron-greenwald/

               __________________________________________________________

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 28, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 28

April 28, 1908- Duluth Police Lieutenant Arthur Briggs suffered a fatal heart attack while struggling with a drunk man in an alley behind a local business.

The drunk man had been creating a disturbance inside of the business and Lieutenant Briggs had been called to remove him. When Lieutenant Briggs entered the business the man fled out a back door. Lieutenant Briggs chased after him but suffered a heart attack after catching and struggling with him.

Lieutenant Briggs had served with the Duluth Police Department for 21 years. He was survived by his wife and seven children.

http://www.odmp.org/officer/21235-lieutenant-arthur-briggs



               __________________________________________________________

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 27, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 27

*April 27, 1895 – The opening of the Hastings Spiral Bridge was commemorated on this date.

Erected 1895                                                                             Demolished 1951

Inscription:
Hastings Spiral Bridge Only One of Its Kind in America 

“April 27 1895 eight thousand people commemorated the opening of the new "High Wagon Bridge" across the Mississippi River.

It was built in seven months at a cost of $39,050 by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Works of Milwaukee, replacing the inadequate rope ferry which served the city of 3,848 people and its trade area.

Four men claim credit for its design. The traditional straight approach by-passed the business area, thus this spiral ramp deposited off-coming traffic at the foot of Sibley Street half a block from the city's commercial district.

Motorized heavier traffic required a new bridge completed in 1951, at a cost of $2,500,000. Efforts to save the spiral approach failed.”

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=49690




Hastings Spiral Bridge Memorial, Hastings, Minn.



Spiral Bridge 1895 - 1951

This footing is all that remains of the unique bridge that once spanned this river.

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain April 27, 2016,
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 

 








Tuesday, April 26, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 26

April 26, 1871 – On this date the Wabasha County Sentinel printed the first known article on the sighting of a sea monster in Lake Pepin:

“LIVING CURIOSITY

Giles Hyde and C. Page Bonney, report having seen some sort of sea monster, on Monday last, in the lake, between this and Stockholm. It was the size of an elephant and rhinoceros, and moved through the water with great rapidity. It is understood now, since they have told the story, that the same thing whatever it may be, has been seen on one or two other occasions. The water in the lake is known to be very deep, whales might live in - but this is not likely to be a whale, the question is, what is it?”

Since then, there have been enough additional sightings that the “monster” has been given a name: Pepie.

Lake Pepin is the largest lake on the Mississippi River, over two miles wide and 22 miles long. It forms the natural border between Minnesota and Wisconsin and is located about 60 miles south of the Twin Cities. Surrounded by scenic bluffs and quaint villages, Lake Pepin is widely described as one of the most scenic spots in North America!

http://www.pepie.net/1871_Sightings.html

http://pepie.net/




Anonymous photo, pepie_swimming_below_maiden_rock 2008-06-20

http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2013_08_01_archive.html


               __________________________________________________________

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 25, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: April 25

April 25, 1959 – The St. Lawrence Seaway, “a system of locks, canals and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, as far inland as the western end of Lake Superior,”1 opened on this date.2

1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_Seaway

2http://visitmnhistory.org/blog/day-minnesota-history-may-3-1959




St. Lawrence Seaway

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Saint_Lawrence_Seaway.aspx

               __________________________________________________________

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