Saturday, June 8, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 8


June 8, 1910 – A. O. Clyde, employed at the sawmill of Grimn & Stewart at Orth, two and one-half miles south of Northome, was accidentally killed this afternoon while at work in the mill. According to the reports received from there, Clyde met his death while trying to replace a belt that slipped off a pulley. In some manner his arm caught in the belt and before anyone could reach him or the plant could be shut down he was drawn in between the friction pulleys and was almost ground to pieces. Clyde was about 40 years old and leaves a wife and four small children.

The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Clyde Killed in Sawmill; Ground to pieces by Friction Pulleys In Plant Near Orth.”; June 9, 1910; p. 1.

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

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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

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Friday, June 7, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 7

June 7, 1987 – “St. Paul's August Wilson's play Fences won four Tony Awards including Best Play. Born in Pittsburgh, he came to Minnesota in 1978 and began to write award-wining plays that chronicled African American experiences during the 20th century.” 

http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part3.pdf


August Wilson


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Wilson#/media/File:August_wilson.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, June 6, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 6

June 6, 1902 – Mrs. Albert Spencer, better known in Minneapolis as Dottie Farnsworth, died this evening in Salamanca, NY, of blood poisoning due to a bicycle accident.

Born and raised in Minneapolis, her real name was Leona Marie Farnsworth. She began bicycling professionally after graduating from high school, and became a prominent bicycle rider, winning many prizes all over the country.


1


After her marriage to Albert Lester Spencer in April 1899, Farnsworth stopped racing for a while, but had recently begun again; she was in the East to fulfill engagements.


1


2”While performing a non-racing "cycle razzle" exhibition near Dunkirk, NY on June 6, 1902, she went over the side of the track and was gravely injured. Farnsworth was taken by train to a Salamanca, NY hospital where doctors determined that she'd suffered peritonitis among her injuries. Dottie died that night.”

The Minneapolis Tribune; “Dottie Farnsworth Dies in New York; Was in East to Fill Engagements on Cycle Track. Right Name Was Mrs. Albert Spencer, She Having Been Married for Several Years.”; June 7, 1902; p. 9.

1https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77699245/leona-marie-farnsworth

2https://mnthen.com/leona-dottie-farnsworth-c-1873-1902/

__________________________________________________________

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, June 5, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 5


June 5, 1911 – The Oliver Mining Company made a settlement with the heirs of the victims of the March 11, 1911, Norman Mine accident on this date. One of the men killed was the sole parent of seven children; their mother having died the year before, the children aged two to 12 years of age, are now orphans. The mining company not only paid $5,000, the minimum legal amount under the law for the death of their father, but the company also paid off remaining indebtedness against the family home and certain other obligations so that the orphans could have their home and the $5,000 with no claims against it. The mining company also arranged to pay $10 per month for the support and education of each child until they have reached the age of 18 years-old.  

Duluth News-Tribune
; Duluth, Minn.; June 5, 1911  



http://dplreference.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/mine13.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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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 4

June 4, 1903 – The Ramsey County grand jury this afternoon listened to evidence regarding the manner in which the detention hospital for smallpox patients is conducted. Some serious charges have been made of late regarding the treatment of patients, and the grand jury will probe the matter to the bottom.



1Smallpox patient


One of the witnesses who will be called upon to tell what he knows about the treatment of patients at the hospital is John Welch, a steamboat fireman, who was released from the hospital two weeks ago. Welch speaks bitterly of his treatment, and when he was released he went to the health department to complain, but says his complaints were of no avail.

“When I was taken to the hospital,” Welch said, “I was placed in a room with many others and we were so crowded that the nurses could scarcely pass between out cots. The room we were in was filthy and the nurses who cared for us were incompetent.

“One day one of the nurses came along with a sponge with which to wipe of our faces. Before he reached me, he washed the face of a man who was covered with scabs and then without changing the water in the sponge, washed my face. It was something terrible. Food was placed before us., but if we were too ill to eat, no attention was paid to us.


When a patient leaves the hospital he is almost forced to sign a statement that he was well cared for, and if he refused to sign any such statement, he is told that he cannot go. I refused to sign any such statement myself, knowing that I had not been treated right. The conditions are such that the authorities certainly should look into them.”


2St. Paul City Hospital was the Pest Hospital for many years

Mr. Welch says the hospital is altogether too small for its present needs and that as a result the patients have to suffer. Sheriff Justice and one or two of the others, he says, were given especially good care and were placed in rooms separate from the “common herd.”

Mr. Welch does not attach any blame to Supt. Weiss, whom he says is overworked and handicapped by lack of facilities.

It is stated that the grand jury was astounded at some of the stories told them of the hospital today, and a further investigation will be made Monday. Subpoenas were issued today for Sheriff Justus, Dr. Anker, health Commissioner Ohage, Health Inspector Sinks and Supt. Weiss, a number of whom who were before the grand jury today.

The charges regarding the hospital will be personally investigated by Health Commissioner Ohage, as well as by the grand jury.

The Saint Paul Globe; “Grand Jury Probes Tales Against Pest House; Officials and Former Patients Will Be Subpoenaed to Explain Charges—Matter Will Be Thoroughly Sifter and Any Abuses Righted.”; June 5, 1903; p. 2.


1http://www.amnh.org/explore/science-topics/disease-and-eradication/countdown-to-zero/smallpox

2https://publishing.rchs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/RCHS_22-01_1987_Czerwonka.pdf
__________________________________________________________

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






Monday, June 3, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 3


June 3, 1983 - The Northwestern Knitting Company Factory, also known as Munsingwear Corporation and later as International Market Square (IMS), was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on this date.1 “The company was founded in 1888 by George D. Munsing, who invented a method of plating wool fibers with silk and cotton to make the union suit more comfortable.

“This style of underwear, patented in 1891, proved to be very popular, and the company eventually became the world's largest manufacturer of underwear. The company changed its name in 1919 to Munsingwear.




“The company built five brick and concrete buildings between 1904 and 1915, eventually creating a complex covering 650,000 square feet and employing up to 2000 workers. The five- to eight-story buildings had long rows of windows, and although the buildings mostly had a plain appearance, the architects added some details such as slightly projecting cornices, fretwork friezes, and fluted Doric columns. The oldest of the buildings, along Glenwood Avenue, is notable for being the city's first entirely reinforced concrete building. Engineer C.A.P. Turner used concrete columns shaped like a mushroom on top, and he eventually patented this process, which was widely used.

“The factory eventually closed in 1981 when the economy reduced demand for Munsingwear's products. In 1985, the buildings were renovated and the complex was renamed International Market Square, which housed offices, shops, and over 100 showrooms for home and office products. The renovation included a five-story atrium created by roofing over an old courtyard where rail tracks once served the complex. In 2005, some portions of the building were renovated into 96 loft apartments. This was a leading example of adaptive reuse in Minneapolis.” 2








1http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRDetails.cfm?NPSNum=83000904

2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwestern_Knitting_Company_Factory_building

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Oct. 12, 2012, 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:
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Sunday, June 2, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: June 2

June 2, 1904 – Two military prisoners made an attempt to escape from Fort Snelling this morning, and one of them, a military convict, Tony G. Wisch, was shot dead by Private Kennedy, Twenty-first Infantry. Wisch is a known incorrigible, who has been convicted of violation of the rules seven times. He belonged to the Thirtieth Battery of Field Artillery. Along with Private Reilly, who is awaiting trial for desertion, Wisch was employed in cleaning up the grounds, under the watch of Kennedy. Suddenly the pair attacked the private, who succeeded in beating them off. The two prisoners then broke for liberty.


Page 62 (see bridge upper left)


Wisch and Reilly escaped from the sentinels and crossed the bridge leading to St. Paul. Reilly was retaken and led the way to a saloon, where Wisch was found. The party started back across the bridge to the fort and when in the center, the prisoners tried to throw Kennedy over the railing into the river below. The private shot Wisch, who lived but two minutes. Reilly belonged to the Nineteenth Infantry.

______________

The evil genius of Wisch apparently threatened to pursue his body to the grave.

The following morning, when Undertaker D. W. D. W. Hurley had secured the body from the post authorities and was driving to St. Paul at 1 a. m. with the corpse, his wagon was struck by a Fort Snelling car at West Seventh and View Streets, the vehicle was smashed, three men riding in it were dashed to the ground and badly bruised, and the dead soldier was hurled through the air.

The rig being broken, it was necessary to take the box containing the body on the car, which then carried it to Seventh and Wabasha Street, where a wagon met it and carried it to Hurley’s undertaking rooms on South Robert Street.

*

George Sulske, of South St. Paul, cousin of the dead man, had his shoulder dislocated; D. W. Hurley’s knee cap was badly bruised; and John Devlin, his assistant, was so seriously shaken up he was unable to walk.

Duluth Evening Herald; “A Soldier Shot Was Attempting to Get Away From Fort Snelling. Tried to Throw Guard Over Bridge, Who Shot Him.”; June 2, 1904; p. 1.

The Saint Paul Globe; “Body Thrown in Air; Street Car Strikes Wagon Carrying Wisch, Dead Soldier.”; June 3, 1903; p. 1.

*http://www.naturescasket.com/Images/Unassembled3.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