Minnesota Family History Research: 11/11/18

Thursday, November 15, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 15

November 15, 1919 – Thirty-two Luverne, Minn., residents were welcomed home today by a large delegation, headed by a band, after being acquitted in federal court in Mankato on the charge of kidnapping, tarring and feathering of John Meintz.

John Meintz¹

Meintz had requested personal damages of $100,000 for the treatment he’d received on the evening of August 19, 1918. The jury denied him any damages, after deliberating one and a half hours.

Judge Wilbur F. Booth, in charging the jury, said that the evidence was overwhelming in support of the contention that Meintz was disloyal (by not supporting war bonds) and that there was a strong feeling against him in the community.

The action of the Luverne citizens in staging a celebration was taken as an indication of strong approval of the acquittal verdict.

The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune; “All Luverne Greets 32 Citizens Freed in Tar-Feather Case; Court Vindicates Men Accused of Punishing John Meintz as Disloyalist.”; November 16, 1919; p. 1.

http://www.historybyzim.com/2012/06/john-meints-wwi-anti-german-sentiment/

¹http://maryannkreitzer.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html

Luverne man sues townspeople who tarred and feathered and ran him out of town for not supporting war bonds; see Nov. 7, 2018 blog

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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.

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, November 13, 2018

On This Date in Minnesota History: November 13

November 13, 1982 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., “after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans. As a National Memorial it was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places the same day.”¹

There are 1,072 Minnesotans listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.²

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

²http://www.cantho-rvn.org/VN_Mem/Statetwn/mn.htm

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain November 13, 2012,

as long as acknowledgement included.

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, November 12, 2018

On this Date in Minnesota History: November 12

November 12, 1914 – The seven small children of Gideon Oinonnen, a victim of the Sibley mines disaster at Ely this past Monday, and whose mother is in the Fergus Falls insane asylum, will not have to face a winter of want and starvation alone. The protecting arm of the state has wrapped itself around the little colony of unfortunates and it is likely that all will be made wards of the state at the next sitting of the juvenile court.

Oinonnen, father of the children, is one of the six entombed miners buried beneath thousands of tons of rock and ore in a collapsed shaft of the Sibley Mine. Since the fatal accident, four forces of rescue workers have been working day and night in tunneling towards the imprisoned miners. None of the bodies have yet been discovered. It is believed that they are buried 200 feet below the surface.

Sibley Mine¹

All of the men who were caught in the death trap were married and leave families, but by far the most pitiable case is that of the Oinonnen family. The mother is insane and has been an inmate of the Fergus Falls state asylum since last May. Her seven children range in age from 12 to 1-1/2 years. The three oldest are boys, then come twin girls, aged 4, a boy, 3, and a baby sister, 18 months old.

Upon learning of the destitute circumstances of the Oinonnen orphans, R. D. McKercher, agent for the Duluth Humane Society, made a trip to Ely, where he found the youngsters in dire poverty. Today McKercher brought the seven children to Duluth and placed them in the Children’s Home, where they were fitted with clean and warm clothing and will be temporarily cared for.

As soon as the body of their father is recovered from the mine, McKercher will take the older children back to Ely to attend the funeral. He has also written to the Owatonna authorities to arrange for the commitment of the children to the state public school.

The young orphans have not yet fully realized their situation. The three older boys seem to understand that something has happened to their father, but seem to cling to the hope that rescuers at the mine will save his life.

The children look upon McKercher as their best friend and while coming to Duluth from Ely could not be coaxed away from their benefactor by passengers on the train. They clung to his side until he finally turned them over to the matron of the Children’s Home.

The children are bright for their age and it is possible that homes will be found for some of the unfortunates before they are committed and taken away to the state institution.

The Duluth Herald; “Mother in Fergus Falls Asylum; Father Entombed in Ely Mine; Children’s Home Takes Children”; Nov. 13, 1914; p. 8.
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The body of Gideon Oinonnen was found Saturday, Nov. 14. He was crushed to a pulp and with every bone in his body broken, lying about 70 feet from the surface, 113 hours after the accident.²

Wilhelmina Oinonnen, the children’s mother died in 1953 in the Anoka State Asylum, Grow Township, where she had lived as a patient since about 1915.³

¹https://www.ely.org/_site_components/uploads/item_files/file-1131.pdf

²Tower Weekly News; “Survives Terrible Experience”; Nov. 20, 1914; p. 1.

³https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53867425/wilhelmina-oinonen

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, November 11, 2018

On Ths Date in Minnesota History: November 11

November 11, 1857 – Stillwater Prison “Warden Douglass Rigg accepted a committee recommendation to discontinue the last uses of hickory striped clothing, and this the last vestige of an era in which prisoners everywhere wore clothing of coarse stripes has come to an end.

Hickory material was used most commonly for mattresses and pillow covers, has been used for clothing in some work assignments here, but will be replaced by khaki in the kitchen and chambray in the shops. The recommendation approved by the warden designates three standard uniforms, "Class A"(Dress khakis with green coat in winter); "Class B"(Work khakis); and "Class C" (work denims and blue chambray shirts). The hickory stripe shirts and trousers will be worn until they are no longer serviceable. When all extra hickory material is used up, no further supply will be purchased.”

http://projects.wchsmn.org/reference/events/tradition-stripes-prison-end/

http://nathanbyrne.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/get-out-of-jail-free-card.jpg

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