On This Date in Minnesota History: January 26

January 26, 1942 – “Private Milburn Henke of Hutchinson was the first enlisted man to [disembark] with the first American Expeditionary Force in Europe in WWII [on Ulster soil on this date].” 

http://www.e-referencedesk.com/resources/state-facts/minnesota.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/78/a2058978.shtml

Milburn Henke

http://worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0193

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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

On This Date in Minnesota History: January 25

January 25, 2012 – Stillwater, Minn., native Denis McDonough was named President Obama’s Chief of Staff on this date; the first Minnesotan to fill this role. 

Star Tribune; “Obama taps McDonough as chief of staff”; Minneapolis, Minn.; Jan. 26, 2012; p. A2.

Denis McDonough

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Denis_McDonough.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: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com

On This Date in Minnesota History: January 24

January 24, 2015 – “Ghost Adventures” traveled to Duluth, Minn., where they become the first paranormal team to investigate the Nopeming Sanatorium, where thousands of lives were lost to tuberculosis. The episode was first shown on this night on the Travel Channel.

http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/ghost-adventures/episodes/nopeming-sanatorium

Nopeming

https://substreet.org/nopeming/5/

           __________________________________________________________

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

On This Date in Minnesota History: January 23

January 23, 1917 – William Coles, arrested in Austin, Minn., today by Sheriff Nicholson, charged with having escaped from the Wis. state prison at Waupun in Nov. 1914 while serving a life sentence, declared that he escaped from the prison to find the man of whose death he was convicted.

According to Sheriff Nicholson, Coles said he was convicted on circumstantial evidence. A farmhouse was destroyed by fire, a handful of bones were found in the ruins, and he was placed under arrest and convicted, Coles said. He refused to give the name of the man supposed to have died in the burning house, or the location of the farm.

He has admitted, according to the sheriff, that his name is not Coles, saying that the name he now uses is that of a deputy warden at the state prison, which he took following his escape after serving eight years. Officials of the Wis. prison are on their way to Austin to return Coles to Waupun. 

The Duluth Herald; “Made Escape to Find Man; Lifer in Search for One for Whose Death He Was Convicted. Got Away from Waupun in 1914, Caught in Austin Tuesday.”; Jan. 24, 1917; p. 1.

http://www.w0bsh.com/site/photos/SPAM_20031019/Spam01.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: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com

On This Date in Minnesota History: January 22

January 22, 1907 – A wreck, the third that has occurred on the Great Northern road within 10 days, all having happened within a radius of 20 miles of each other, took place at St. Michael’s station this afternoon. The east-bound passenger train was derailed, and three people were seriously hurt, one probably fatally, and many others badly shaken up. The wreck /was either due to a split rail or that the tracks spread.

Joe Nathan, St. Paul, was the most seriously hurt, and it is feared that he may not survive. It was considered miraculous that more people were not injured or killed, as the whole train left the tracks. The baggage and one passenger car were completely overturned.

All of those badly injured were in the passenger car that overturned. A panic ensued when the cars left the track, but the people were soon quieted.

A fire started in the baggage car, but with the aid of the passengers it was extinguished before it made any headway.

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Three Badly Hurt in a Train Wreck. Great Northern Passenger is Ditched at St. Michaels.”; Jan. 23, 1907; p. 1.

Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain 9/4/2013,
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 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

On This Date in Minnesota History: January 21

January 21, 1985 – Charter flight Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 to Minneapolis took off from Reno-Cannon International Airport at approximately 1:05 a.m. and crashed shortly thereafter.1 “Aside from the pilots and cabin crew, everyone on the plane was returning to Minnesota from a gambling and skiing Super Bowl weekend.”2 The lone survivor was “17-year old George Lamson Jr., who was thrown clear of the aircraft and landed upright, still in his seat, on South Virginia Street.”<sup>1

1</sup>1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Airlines_Flight_203

²2http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=74123

http://chicagofilmmakers.org/cf/content/sole-survivor 

Sole Survivor

“In the history of aviation, there have been 14 large-scale, commercial plane crashes with a sole survivor. Like most survivors of trauma, the sole survivor’s experience is often misunderstood. SOLE SURVIVOR is a feature-length documentary that follows the journey of George Lamson who, at 17 years old, survived the 1985 crash of Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 which killed 73 people in Reno, Nevada. Twenty-five years after the crash, George still struggles with the purpose of his own life and agonizes over whether or not he was spared for a reason. His quest to heal has been complicated by the media’s portrayal of him as a miracle and a hero—roles that bear little resemblance to the identity that he would claim for himself.

Through SOLE SURVIVOR, George has begun to reach out to the 13 other sole survivors, several of whom were also children at the time of their accident. His attempt to reach out to other survivors spans 11 countries, three generations and a distinct array of cultural backgrounds. His goal is to build a community of healing and support for himself and the others, and to give greater meaning to his own life. In doing so, George lays the groundwork for a broader exploration of survivor’s guilt. The film will include external perspectives from academics including statisticians, philosophers, religion scholars, physicists, engineers, media scholars and psychologists. To achieve director Ky Dickens’ desired aesthetic and heighten the audience’s engagement, the entire film will be set to an evocative instrumental score by French compose, Franck Rapp, and will incorporate original, hand-drawn animation.”


http://chicagofilmmakers.org/cf/content/sole-survivor

           __________________________________________________________

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

On This Date in Minnesota History: January 20

January 20, 1981 – L. Bruce Laingen, who grew up in Odin, Watonwan County, Minn., was one of 52 hostages released from the American Embassy in Teheran on this date after being held by Islamic militants for 444 days. Laingen was serving as the chargé d’affaires (head of diplomatic mission) at the U. S. Embassy in Tehran.

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

http://www.mnopedia.org/thisday

Bruce Laingen, President Jimmy Carter, Vice President Walter Mondale 

Ambassador Bruce Laingen was wearing this suit and the tie when he was taken hostage at the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran, and wore them again on his journey home from Iran to the U. S. in 1981.

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson at Minnesota Historical Society Exhibit.

           __________________________________________________________

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