Minnesota Family History Research: 12/11/16

Saturday, December 17, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 17

December 17, 1886 - The Town of Golden Valley, Hennepin County, Minn., was incorporated on this date. What began as a farming community, is today home to General Mills Corporate Headquarters, KARE 11, an NBC affiliate TV station and Allianz Life.

http://www.crystalmn.gov/about_crystal/city_history.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Valley,_Minnesota

Upham, Warren; Minnesota Geographic Names, Their Origin and Historic Significance; Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, Minn., 1969); pp. 221-222.

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Dec. 17, 2016,
as long as acknowledgement included.

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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.

Website: TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com

Friday, December 16, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 16

December 16, 2011 – “The last white Ford Ranger rolled off” the assembly line at the Twin Cities [Ford] Assembly Plant – “86 years, seven months and 12 days after the first boxy Model T was manufactured along the Mississippi River in St. Paul.”

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/135727668.html

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/12/last-ford-ranger-off-the-line-photos.html

Thursday, December 15, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 15

December 15, 1864 - The 5th, 7th, 9th & 10th Minnesota Infantry Regiments charge Confederate lines during the Battle of Nashville to conclude the end of the Civil War in the West.

http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/history/this_month.php#December

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ma2hn19GLw4/maxresdefault.jpg

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 14

December 14, 1886 – The commission charged to locate a third hospital for the insane, after visiting several proposed sites and hearing the claims and propositions of the friends of each, determined the question today in favor of Fergus Falls.

The commission had carefully examined all the sites proposed, including Brainerd, Fergus Falls, Sauk Centre, Alexandria and several others. Since the existing hospitals in St. Peter and Rochester were in southern Minnesota, the new hospital needed to be north of the Twin Cities.

The reasons for choosing Fergus Falls were first, because it accommodated the northwestern part of the state and the Red River Valley; second, the commission thought it possible that Fergus Falls would become a large and prosperous city, and third, that a fourth hospital would at some time again be located near the Twin Cities.

The site of the Fergus Falls hospital would lie north of the city, being 916 acres, and was offered for $31,440, or $31 per acre. It had a frontage of about a mile facing the city and included the old county fair grounds and joined the county poor farm.

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Fergus Falls Wins. The Commission Locaters the Third Insane Hospital There.”; Dec. 15, 1886; p. 3.

Fergus Falls Hospital in 1915

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fergus_Falls_Hospital_1915.jpg

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 13

December 13, 1906 – James Brennan, husband of Stella Brennan, now serving a life sentence in the Stillwater penitentiary for the murders of three of her step-children, has been ordered out of Chicago by the police for attempting to kidnap his son, Tommy Brennan, the only surviving child.

Tommy was shot by his stepmother when the other children were murdered, but quickly recovered. The courts refused his father permission to take him and he has been living with an uncle in Chicago.

A short time ago Brennan told his friends that he was going to get the boy. He went to Chicago and tried several times to capture Tommy, but the boy escaped each time. Finally the matter was reported to the police and Brennan was ordered to leave the city. Since then he has not been seen by acquaintances.

The Minneapolis Journal; “Brennan is Ordered to Leave Chicago”; Dec. 14, 1906; p. 7.

Tommy Brennan

The Minneapolis Journal; Nov. 20, 1905

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, 2015 blog

Stella Brennan indicted by Hennepin County grand jury for murder of her three stepchildren; see Nov. 21, 2015 blog

County Attorney outlines the state’s theory of the Stella Brennan murder case in his opening statement; see Dec. 19, 2015 blog

Stella Brennan spends Christmas in hospital room of the Hennepin County Jail; see Dec. 25, 2015 blog

Stella Brennan Found Guilty; sentenced to the State penitentiary for life; admits she is in a family way; see Dec. 30, 2015 blog

Daughter is born to Stella Brennan in Stillwater State Prison; see July 26,2016 blog

The prison-born babe of Mrs. Stella Brennan leaves for Mich. today with her maternal grandmother; see Oct. 18, 2016 blog.

Monday, December 12, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 12

December 12, 2010 – “The inflatable roof of the Metrodome collapsed [on this date] after a snowstorm that dumped 17 inches on Minneapolis. No one was hurt, but the roof failure forced the NFL to shift the Vikings-Giants game to Monday night at Detroit's Ford Field.”

http://article.wn.com/view/2010/12/12/Minn_Metrodome_roof_collapses_after_snow_storm_9/

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/media/images/50407000/jpg/_50407559_jex_899211_de27-1.jpg

Sunday, December 11, 2016

On This Date in Minnesota History: December 11

December 11, 1979 – The Simon Weldele House, a historic house in Delano, Minn., was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on this date for having local significance in the theme of architecture. Built in 1893, it was nominated as one of the few architecturally significant residences surviving in Delano, and a well-preserved example of the restrained Queen Anne houses once common in Wright County.

Weldele was born in 1860 in nearby Buffalo Township and moved to Delano, a growing railroad town, in 1884, where he opened a saloon. This house, constructed in 1893, was the first in Delano to have a hot water heater. Weldele is remembered for being active in civic and church affairs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Weldele_House

Simon Weldele House

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Dec. 11, 2016,

as long as acknowledgement included.