Saturday, July 13, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: July 13

July 13, 1890 – Two markers in Red Wing’s Levee Park memorialize the Sea Wing Disaster, which happened on this date.



                                                

The Sea Wing Disaster

On July 13, 1890 the steamer Sea Wing, heavily loaded with 215 passengers and crew, left the steamboat landing here for a Sunday excursion down the Mississippi River to Lake City. 

The Sea Wing, based in Diamond Bluff, Wisconsin, was usually employed as a log-rafter, but for this trip captain and co-owner David Wethern had lashed a barge to his ship to increase its passenger capacity. Citizens of Red Wing were interested in the excursion since Lake City was the site of the Minnesota National Guard summer encampment, and the guard’s Company G was made up largely of Red Wing men. 

At 8 p.m., after a day of festivities in Lake City, the Sea Wing began the return trip. After it had travelled four miles, increasing winds from the Minnesota shore began buffeting the vessel. Suddenly a heavy gust caused the top-heavy steamer to roll over. Passengers in the cabin were trapped and drowned, and others were thrown into the water and imperiled. 

Volunteers from Lake City and the National Guard camp braved treacherous waters to rescue some of the Sea Wing’s passengers. Those on the barge were saved when their craft remained upright. 

During the next four days, 98 bodies were recovered from the wreckage and the lake. Of the dead, 77 were from Red Wing and surrounding townships. Captain Wethern, who lost his wife and youngest son in the accident, survived but was later found guilty of negligence by federal steamboat inspectors. 

The loss of the Sea Wing and 98 of its passengers ranks among the worst accidents recorded on the nation’s inland waterways. 


Erected by the Goodhue County Historical Society
July 13, 1990






Victims
of
The Sea Wing Disaster
July 13, 1890


Adams Mamie, 20; Willie, 16; Ella, 14 Adams John, 19 Anderson A. O. • Bearson Phoebe, 15 Behrens Dorothea, 33; John, 33 • Blaker Phoebe, 35 (mother); Cena, 18; Delbert, 15 • Brenn Louis, 25 • Brown Charles, 19 • Burkhard Katie, 20 • Carlson Joseph, 21 • Christ Fred J., 22 • Crawford Eliza J., 27 • Daily Katie, 21 • Dinslage Charles, 33 • Fisher Minnie, 18 • Flynn Mattie • Fulton Ira, 37 • Gerken Peter, 45 (father); Maria, 39 (mother); Henry, 15; Emil, 13; Alvina, 10; Amandus, 7; George, 5 • Green Eliza, 36 (mother); Ida, 18 • Harrison Melissa, 17 • Hartman George, 44 • Hattemer Fred, 25 • Hempftling Mary, 43 (mother); Frederick, 19; Lizzie, 17 • Hempftling Herman, 24; Mary, 21 • Holton Mabel, 13 • Horwedel Theodor, 27 • Humpert Johanna, 23 • Ingebretson Edward, 18 • Ingebretson John, 13 • Johnson Corden, 25 • Jurgensen Willie • Kremer Leon; Millie • Larson Mrs. Ed • Leeson Thomas, 17 • Lillyblad Gustaf Lenus, 10 • Mero Roderic L., 51 (father); Austin, 19; Myrtle, 14 • Nelson Emma C., 21 • Nelson George, 29 • Nelson Mary, 37 • Newton Henry, 14 • Niles Millie, 16 • Olson Mary, 16 • Olson Peter, 30 • Olson Randina, 24 • O’Shaughnessy Martin, 26 • Oskey Oren, 17 • Palmer Alice; Nettie • Persig Julia, 29; Anna, 26 • Peterson Charles, 16 • Peterson Knute, 30 • Rehder Rosa, 11; Henry, 8 • Scherf Martin, 23 • Schref Mary, 36 (mother); Hattie, 16 • Schneider Annie, 19 • Schoeffler John (father); Kate (mother); John Jr.; Frederick • Schulenberg Sophia, 40 (mother); Henry, 11; Minna, 7 • Seavers Fred, 50 (father); Ida, 16 • Skoglund Mary, 17 • Smith Florence, 28 • Staiger Annie, 20; Frances, 18 • Steffenson Henry, 18 • Strope John F., 14 • Vieths Rikka, 10 • Way Adda, 21; Ednah, 14 • Wethern Nellie, 31 (mother); Perley, 8 • Wilson James • Winter Bertha, 13

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=49445


Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain December 1, 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:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com


Friday, July 12, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: July 12

July 12, 1920 – W.K. Wagner and Eldon Hendrixson, arraigned this morning in municipal court in Bemidji before Judge J. F. Gibbons on the charge of wearing indecent dress in a public street and making indecent exposure of their persons, were summoned for trial this afternoon. Attorney C. W. Scrutchin represented Wagner and Attorney P.J. Russell appeared for Hendrixson. Wagner was sentenced to a fine of $25 or 20 days in jail and Hendrix son was sentenced to a fine of $10 or 10 days in jail. The fine was paid in both cases.

The charge was made against these men on Saturday night when they were seen by one of the local policemen on a downtown Bemidji street clad only in their bathing suits.

The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; “Wear Bathing Suits Downtown and Pay Fine”; Bemidji, Minn.; July 13, 1920; p.1




Typical swimwear of the 1920s

http://amtvintageblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/indecent-exposurevintage-bathing-suits.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





Thursday, July 11, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: July 11

July 11, 1907 - Walter Bannister Congdon, the oldest son of Chester A. Congdon of Duluth, “was run over by a loaded ore car at the washing plant at the Canesteo mine at Coleraine” about 2 p.m. “His foot was crushed under the wheels, making amputation above the ankle necessary. Mr. Congdon was employed by the Oliver Mining company and the performance of his duties took him to all parts of the plant.”

A recent graduate of Yale, Mr. Congdon is 24 years of age and “just starting at the practice of his profession. He is a mining engineer, having taken that course at the Minnesota School of Mines, in addition to his studies at Yale.”

Duluth News-Tribune; “W.B. Congdon, Struck By a Car, Loses Foot”; Duluth, Minn.; July 12, 1907; p. 1.



Walter Congdon

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/16679325/person/406071683/photox/7d6c9db3-8344-4b7c-8f4d-701b9aaaecbf?src=search
__________________________________________________________

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




Wednesday, July 10, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: July 10

July 10, 1978 – James M. Savage, confessed murderer of 14-year-old Kathleen Bodie in the Cloquet High School band room on November 17, 1966, killed himself and injured a deputy sheriff by driving his car 100 miles an hour into a parked Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s car.

Earlier in the day, Savage had stopped two 19-year-old girls in Pine County, exposed himself, and then “told the girls to get in his car. The two girls refused, and Savage took out a 22 semiautomatic rifle and shot one of the girls twice in the chest and left her for dead. He forced the other girl in his car, raped her and physically threw her out of the car in a cemetery two miles north of Brook Park. She reported the incident to the Pine County Sheriff’s office and an all-points bulletin was put out for Savage.”

He was later spotted driving through Ogilvie, and the Mille Lacs County Sheriff Russ Iverson and Deputy Sheriff Tom Boser gave chase. Iverson and Bose got their car sideways on Highway 23 as “Savage came over a hill about a quarter mile away. Iverson told Boser to jump clear of the car. Savage crashed into the left side of the patrol car, pushing it 100 feet sideways down the highway. Boser was thrown out of the car.”

Seconds after the crash, the two cars erupted in flames. “The force of the impact was so great that the bumper of Savage’s 1972 Pinto was touching the steering wheel of the patrol car, a 1977 Ford LTD. Savage still had the 22 rifle in his hands after the crash.”    

Mille Lacs County Times; “Fleeing Gunman Killed Ramming Sheriff’s Car”; July 13, 1978; p.1.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MN-23.svg




http://www.odmp.org/agency/2497-mille-lacs-county-sheriffs-department-minnesota

__________________________________________________________

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, July 9, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: July 9


July 9, 1968 - Harmon Killebrew ruptured his right hamstring in his eighth American League All-Star appearance at the Houston Astrodome and was disabled July 10 – Aug. 31. Killebrew was stretching for a throw from shortstop Jim Fregosi and the clay gave away. Harmon said “he could hear it split like a rubber band.” The NL ended up winning the game 1-0. 

http://twinstrivia.com/today-in-twins-history/



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harmon_Killebrew_1962.png

__________________________________________________________

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, July 8, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: July 8

July 8, 2012 – “Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw made history with their “Brothers of the Sun” tour in Minneapolis on [this date]. A sell-out crowd of more than 40,000 fans filled the Twins ballpark for the first-ever concert at Target Field.”

http://www.bringmethenews.com/2012/07/09/country-music-hits-a-grand-slam-target-field/





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_of_the_Sun_Tour#/media/
File:Brothers_of_the_Sun_Tour_poster.png
__________________________________________________________

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




Sunday, July 7, 2019

On This Date in Minnesota History: July 7

July 7, 1995 – The First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, Minn., was placed on the list of the National Register of Historic Places on this date. The church was organized in 1856, and the first worship services held at this site in 1876. 

http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRDetails.cfm?NPSNum=95000822






Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Oct. 15, 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:
pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com