Saturday, September 9, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: September 9

September 9, 1911 – Early this morning burglars broke into the saloon of Albert Jance at Fisher, 14 miles west of Crookston, blew the safe door completely off and got away with about $250, without leaving a trace except some automobile tire tracks not far from the depot, which cannot be accounted for except on the theory that the burglars had a vehicle to get them away. No one heard the explosion. It was evidently a clean job by professionals.

The Great Northern Depot window was also broken, but the burglars took nothing from there and it is believed they were frightened away.

The job was not discovered until the bartender went to open up at 6 this morning.

Four men who arrived at Fisher on the 7:45 train last night from Grand Forks are believed to have done the job. Deputy Sheriff Kelly is at Fisher working on the case.

The burglars cast aside about $100 in checks that they found in the cash drawer. They carried the cash drawer to the railroad yards before removing its contents. The saloon was badly wrecked.

The Duluth Herald; “Yeggs Blow Saloon Safe. Get About $250 Out of Burglary at Fisher, Minn. Do Clean Job and Get away in Automobile, Unnoticed.”; Sept. 9, 1911; p. 1.




http://data.websitebox.com/data/users/0006/071/uploads/fisherMN.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

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Friday, September 8, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: September 8

September 8, 2008 – The investigation into Tom Petters’ businesses began “when co-conspirator Deanna Coleman and her attorney reported to federal prosecutors that she had been assisting Petters in executing a multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme during the previous 10 years. Coleman claimed she, Petters, and co-conspirator Robert White fabricated business documents to entice investors into lending Petters money purportedly to buy electronic goods to be sold to big-box retailers, such as Costco and Sam’s Club.”

http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48757212-federal-jury-finds-tom-petters-guilty-in-365-billion-ponzi-scheme



Tom Petters
https://www.wayzata.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/41ce3-tom-petters.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:
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Thursday, September 7, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: September

September 7, 1913 – Under a pile of brush where she had subsisted for four days and nights by eating grass and dirt, little Beulah Ganthorn, aged two and a half years, the daughter of William Ganthorn, was found this afternoon. Searchers were led to her by bloodhounds from the St. Cloud, Minn., reformatory, which faithfully tracked the child along the path she took last Wednesday when she disappeared from the Ganthorn home, eight miles west of Erskine.

1


Still conscious, despite the four day’s hardship, the little child’s appeal to searchers who found her was for her mother.


“I want to go to mama,” cried the child, piteously, her face and clothing covered with dirt, and lying almost helpless on the ground blackened by her own efforts to keep alive by eating grass. A space of several feet square had been blackened in this manner.

Her face and arms were scratched and sore and her whole body bore evidence of the frightful experience through which she had passed.

The baby’s escape from death during the exposure is declared by physicians to be one of the most remarkable on record. To reach the place where she was found, she traveled at least a mile through the thickest kind of underbrush.

Twice the dogs covered the route taken by the girl. Saturday afternoon they led the searchers to a hay stack but there they lost the scent. The searchers spent some time there and this morning sent the dogs out again from the residence where the baby started on her adventure.

Once again they led to the same hay stack and over two hundred men this afternoon took up a search covering every foot of ground in the immediate neighborhood of the place where the dogs stopped. Less than six rods from the hay was a pile of underbrush, placed there in clearing land. Into this two of the searchers plunged and there they found the child, entirely concealed from view. Many of the searchers had passed within a few feet of her before but the child had been too weak to attract attention.

Last Wednesday afternoon around 4:30, Mrs. Ganthorn first noticed that her daughter had disappeared. She immediately began a search and informed the neighbors within an hour.

By 6 p.m., many had joined the search and during the entire night over a hundred men were engaged in the hunt. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nearly two hundred men were in the fields and underbrush searching for the child and many of them underwent fearful hardship during the terrific heat.

Stores were abandoned by merchants and clerks, fields were abandoned by farmers and their men and all joined in the search for the baby girl.

The fact that a panther or leopard had recently escaped from a circus at Crookston and is supposed to be at large in the timber in this district led to the belief that the child had fallen prey to an animal, but that fear was dispelled when the first day’s search failed to reveal anything of her.


2


The Minneapolis Morning Tribune
; “Child, Missing 4 Days, Found by Bloodhounds. Erskine, Minn., Tot, 2-1/2 Years Old, Starving and Conscious in Brush. Dogs Twice lead Searchers to the Vicinity of Her Hiding Place. Baby Girl Had Subsisted on Grass and Dirt—Cries for Mother.”; Sept. 8, 1913; p. 1.

1http://pics2.city-data.com/city/maps5/frt4442.png


2http://www.ci.erskine.mn.us/images/PICT4854.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:
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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: September 6

September 6, 1904 – Rev. Father Matzursky, pastor of the Catholic Church of North Creek, Wis., while deranged, undertook to take his life in a sensational manner this evening at Weaver, Minn., a short distance from Wabasha.

He started from Winona for St. Paul, but left the train at Weaver and went out a short distance until the work train approached from the other direction, when he deliberately walked to the middle of the trestle and waited for the train to run him down.

Engineer Adams guessed his intention and slowed down. The priest, seeing he would not be struck, then jumped from the trestle into the stagnant water 15 feet below. The trainmen went to his rescue, found him lying face down under the water and pulled him out in time to save his life. He was taken to the Wabasha Hospital, afterwhich he will be sent to some Catholic institution. He is 39, has been at North Creek nine months and before that filed charges in North Dakota and Duluth.

The Minneapolis Journal; “Insane Priest Courts Death. Matzursky Planted Himself in Front of Approaching Train at Weaver, Minn.”; Sept. 7, 1904; p. 1.




http://www.west2k.com/mnpix/weaver.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:
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Tuesday, September 5, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: September 5

September 5, 1908 – Thousands of acres of agricultural lands and millions of feet of standing timber were laid to waste, one town, Chisholm, was wiped out, three more towns may have been destroyed, several mining locations were burned and at least 10,000 people are homeless as the result of forest fires, which swept through many districts in Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin this afternoon and around 6:00 this evening. Nothing but smoldering ruins marked the town of Chisholm two hours later. The only building still standing was the new $125,000 high school.


Chisholm after the fire1

Citizens fought the flames until human endurance could no longer withstand the rush of smoke and heat, then they were forced to retreat to Hibbing, leaving behind everything they owned for the flames to feed upon.

Three train loads of refugees were hurried to Virginia. Those not fortunate enough to get away by rail hurried to places of apparent safety by team and on foot, some vainly endeavoring to save various articles of value.

The wind howled over the tree tops, driving the tongues of flames into Chisholm. Building after building fell prey to the onrush, until every structure had been leveled. Then the fire again jumped into the dry forest and continued on in unabated fury.

The total loss by midnight was estimated at $2,000,000, with every indication that before morning this figure would be greatly increased.

The mining locations of Shenando, population 2,000; Hartley, 1,000, and Pillsbury, 1,000, were completely destroyed, immediately following the destruction of Chisholm.



Chisholm First National Bank after Fire1

Lodge halls, churches and homes of Hibbing were thrown open to the refugees, even while the citizens were, themselves, packing up their valuables in case they needed to leave their city should the flames approach much closer. At midnight the advance guard was not more than a mile away and the fire fighters had been utterly unable to check the onslaught at any point, but a little later the wind shifted and Hibbing was safe.

Fortunately, no one died in this fire. Afterwards, Chisholm’s building codes were enhanced, and by the next summer more than 70 fireproof buildings had been erected.

The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune
; “10,000 Made Homeless by Forest Fires, Northern Minnesota Towns in Ashes. People Flee Before Onrushing Flames; Property Loss Will Reach Millions. Town of Chisholm, Minn., Completely Razed With Loss Estimated at over $2,000,000. Ashawa and Many Mining Centers Devastated—Bayfield, Wis., Still Burning—Several Other Towns and Hamlets in this Sate Surrounded by Flames and Their Total Destruction Seems Possible.”; September 6, 1908; pp. 1-2.

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

1http://www.lakesnwoods.com/ChisholmGallery.htm

               __________________________________________________________

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:
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Monday, September 4, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: September 4

*September 4, 1911 – In the face of a rainstorm and other conditions so adverse as to make the attempt appear foolhardy, Howard Gill, the Wright aviator, soared aloft in his aeroplane at the Minnesota State fair grounds today and skillfully glided down to safety from a hazardous height in midair when his motor stopped, after he had been up almost a quarter of an hour. Gill gave his exhibits in the same plane that stopped powerless in the air several weeks ago at the Chicago meet with another aviator at the wheel.



Howard Gill1

The plane came here direct from Chicago without the engine being overhauled. Gill came from Boston where he won prizes last week in another plane. He found the cylinders of the plane working badly today with pieces of carbon crust in them.

In the crank case was a type of oil that should not have been used. Gill was not aware of the condition of the plane until it stood on the track in front of the grandstand. He removed the oil with his handkerchief. Despite all these drawbacks, any one of which might have meant death, Gill continued with the flight with an unconcern that amazed spectators.

With his engine working poorly at its best, and sprinkles of rain falling as he made ready and part of the time he was in the air, Gill gave an exhibition of nerve and daring that brought cheers from thousands.

Gill added another name to the list of aeroplanes. The hydro-plane, built to rise from water, was outdone with the aero-mud-plane, the name Gill’s plane received after the flight. Gill made his flight from a start, thick and stringy with three inches of black Minnesota soil. His final stop was made in the same mud, and mud was splashed over every part of the plane and himself.


Gill piloting a hydroplane
2

Early in the afternoon hundreds were gathered round the big tent on machinery hill, where the two Wright planes were housed, when the two navigators reached the fair grounds. The aviators had visited the grounds early in the morning and looked over the field and track but were dubious whether a flight could be made any time that day. The flights scheduled to take place in the morning were abandoned and it was not until 3 p.m. that the two birdmen decided to attempt one.

Mud half a foot deep surrounded the tent and covered a big hill down which the planes had to be dragged before being taken to the field from which it was planned to make the flights. A hard wind blew from the east, but Gill laughed and said he’d try to make the flight. Spectators, watching the moving of the plane out of the tent, scoffed. The plane, number 37 of the Wright planes, was dragged down the hill and onto the track, three inches deep in mud. The shoes of the attendants, William Burnes and Henry Hoefle, sank deep into the stringy mess.

When the plane had been taken in front of the grandstand, the engine, started to make the skidding trip around the track, died. Examination showed it was in bad condition and Coffyn declared the flight should not be made with it in that shape. Gil laughed again. Rain was pouring steadily while Gill was fixing the engine. The mud of the track made it difficult to ascend.

At 4:51 p.m. Gill made his start. Into the teeth of a wind that was turning umbrellas inside out and flying hats to all corners, Gill started down the track, east, to get his plane into the air. A run of 100 feet lifted the plane from the ground. Mud fell from the tires but the plane soared steadily into the air. Up, up, he went and 2,000 people gathered on machinery hill huddled under umbrellas and in the grandstand, cheered him on.

At the east end of the track, Gill veered to the left and turned with his back to the wind. Swifter than an arrow he shot westward and the attempt had become a real flight. He circled the track seven times, giving one spiral dip that brought a gasp to everyone. When he had been in the air 11 minutes and two seconds, the engine gave a wheeze. He was at the west end of the track over the grassy paddock.

His engine stopped. Coffyn, his brother aviator, standing in the mud on the track in front of the grandstand gave a gasp. “The engine’s dead!” he yelled. Gill apparently was undisturbed by the accident. Down he coasted alighting on a grassy knoll outside the track.


The crowd cheered and cheered and thought that it was part of the show, that he had purposely killed his engine.

In five minutes they were given a surprise that took them off their feet. Gill had turned his plane upward from the tall grass on the knoll. He made two circles of the track, then alighted before the grandstand where applause and cheers of the crowd told him his efforts had been appreciated. He was in the air a few seconds more than 13 minutes.



Howard Gill3

To Gill his performance meant nothing. He laughed about the weather and said he would do some real flying tomorrow. “We just made a flight to show the people we could, even in mud and rain like that,” he said after alighting. “We’ll do some real stunts tomorrow.”

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “Aviator Gill Defies Storm, Wind and Rain. State Fair Crowds Amazed by Perilous Feats of Air Navigator. Dead Engine Has No More Serious Result Than to Stop Flight. Real Flying Stunts Promised for Today by Aeroplane Sailors.”; Sept. 5, 1911; p. 8.
______________________

Close to one year later, on Sept. 14, 1912, Howard Gill was killed during another air show, this one in Chicago. He was fatally hurt on the Cicero aviation field when fellow aviator George Mestach’s monoplane collided with his biplane. They were participating in a race seventy-five feet in the air; the two men and their planes fell to the earth in the dark. Mestach was injured, but recovered. Much of the blame for the collision was put on the darkness at the time of the race.4



Announcement of Gill’s Death5

1http://earlyaviators.com/gill01.jpg

2The Philadelphia Inquirer; Philadelphia, Penn.; Dec. 24, 1911; p. 4.

3http://lincolnbeachey.com/gill01.jpg

4http://earlyaviators.com/egill.htm

5The St. Louis Star and Times; St. Louis, Mo.; Sept. 15, 1912; p. 1.

               __________________________________________________________

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:
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Sunday, September 3, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: September 3

September 3, 1901 – Nevers Dam on the St. Croix River is currently closed four days a week, when the water falls several feet and the bottom is very near the top. This makes the search for clams very easy, and old and young have been wading the stream gathering shells.

Several small pearl finds have been reported, but this afternoon Johnnie Emery, St. Croix Falls, found a shell in the river, above the old dam, which contained a pearl as large as a marble, perfectly round and of that peculiar luster that makes it very valuable. Those who claims to be in the know say it is the finest ever found in the west, and worth at least $2,000.

The Minneapolis Journal; “$2,000 Perl Found by Boy”; Sept. 4, 1901; p. 2.



1915 view of Nevers Dam

http://riverroadrambler.blogspot.com/2012/02/nevers-dam.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 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