Catalog
Ramsey County History – Spring 1989: “Minnesota’ First Art School: St. Agatha’s Conservatory and the Pursuit of Excellence”
Sister Ann Thomasine SampsonMinnesota’ First Art School: St. Agatha’s Conservatory and the Pursuit of Excellence Author: Sister Ann Thomasine Sampson Five pieces by the same author tell the story of St. Agatha’s Conservatory. Cousins Mother Seraphine and Mother Celestine of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet were major figures. St. Agatha…
Ramsey County History – Fall 1988: “The Fire and Marine: Facts, Fancies, Legends—The First 100 Years of Minnesota’s Oldest Business Corporation”
Ronald M. HubbsThe Fire and Marine: Facts, Fancies, Legends—The First 100 Years of Minnesota’s Oldest Business Corporation Author: Ronald M. Hubbs Businessmen generally prefer stability, but frontier towns are often shaky. The St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, born in 1853, helped create local stability. Its organizers were some of…
Ramsey County History – Fall 1988: “Love and Marriage on the Old Frontier”
Edward Duffield NeillLove and Marriage on the Old Frontier Author: Edward Duffield Neill This article consists of extracts from an address made by Edward Duffield Neill at Fort Snelling in 1889. Neill tells about romances born at the fort in olden days. Characters include Zachary Taylor, Seth Eastman, Joseph Plympton, and…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1988: “The American National Bank and the Bremer Brothers”
Thomas J. KelleyThe American National Bank and the Bremer Brothers Author: Thomas J. Kelley Many entered the field of banking in the 1880s, but due to the Depression of 1893, many of these institutions folded. The American National Bank was opened in 1903 by local businessmen led by Otto Bremer, owner…
Ramsey County History – Fall 1987: “Boxing in Minnesota in the Postwar Era—The Fighting Flanagans”
Scott WrightBoxing in Minnesota in the Postwar Era—The Fighting Flanagans Author: Scott Wright Glen and Del Flanagan were the most successful local professional boxers of their time. This article traces their careers. Glen began his professional career in 1946; Del in 1947; and, by 1948, both were often fighting in…
Ramsey County History – Fall/Winter 1976: “Kate Donnelly and the ‘Cult of True Womanhood’”
Gretchen KreuterKate Donnelly and the ‘Cult of True Womanhood’ Author: Gretchen Kreuter Ignatius Donnelly’s 1895 tribute to his late wife, In Memoriam. Mrs. Katharine Donnelly, praised her as a model of “true womanhood,” a 19th century “cult” of ideal femininity comprised of “purity, piety, domesticity, and submissiveness.” This essay explores…
Ramsey County History – Fall 1974: “The 1850s Shaping of St. Paul”
Virginia Brainerd KunzThe 1850s Shaping of St. Paul Author: Virginia Brainard Kunz An 1856 photo of a dogsled team beneath the Summit Avenue bluff displays “the disparity in housing and jumbled placement of buildings” that characterized the city at the time. Minnesota Pioneer editor James Goodhue advocated replatting the whole mess…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1979: “Letters to Fannie Higgins: The Courtship of Patrick O’Brien”
Michael MaherLetters to Fannie Higgins: The Courtship of Patrick O’Brien Author: Michael Maher The author has assembled a portrait of the Irish immigrant Patrick O’Brien, his life, work, and personality from surviving letters. The result is a portrait of life in St. Paul in the 1860s and ‘70s. The letters…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1979: “The Liberated Woman Patrick O’Brien Married”
Michael MaherThe Liberated Woman Patrick O’Brien Married Author: Michael Maher Fannie Higgins worked in her youth as a dressmaker in Hudson, Wisconsin. The same cache of family letters that inspired the previous article about Patrick O’Brien also yields a portrait of Fannie Higgins and her times. She was independent, a…