Catalog
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…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1974: “Macalester and Its First Forty Years”
Edward SwansonMacalester and Its First Forty Years Author: Edward Swanson Most of Macalester College’s first 40 years consisted of Edward Duffield Neill’s efforts to get it off the ground. Neill came to St. Paul as a young clergyman in 1849, founded the First Presbyterian and House of Hope churches, the…
Ramsey County History – Fall 1978: “The Dynamic Sister Antonia and the College of St. Catherine’s”
Sister Karen KennellyThe Dynamic Sister Antonia and the College of St. Catherine’s Author: Sister Karen Kennelly A description of the events leading up to the opening of the College of St. Catherine in January 1905 and its early history. The college grew out of St. Joseph’s Academy and was founded by…
Ramsey County History – Fall 1978: “James Henry Skinner’s Mansion Reflects Summit Avenue in Its Prime”
Caroline HarneyJames Henry Skinner’s Mansion Reflects Summit Avenue in Its Prime Author: Caroline Harney A history and description of the house at 385 Portland Avenue, St. Paul, designed by Clarence H. Johnston Sr. The design of the mansion “combines Georgian and neo-classical styles,” and the construction is all brick. “The…
Ramsey County History – Special 1976: “Minnesota Art and Artists: A Pictorial History, 1820–1914”
Rena Neumann CoenMinnesota Art and Artists: A Pictorial History, 1820–1914 Author: Rena Neumann Coen Excerpts from the author’s book, Painting and Sculpture in Minnesota (1976), which was a Bicentennial project, along with an exhibit at the University of Minnesota Gallery. Nineteenth-century American artists, such as Seth Eastman and George Catlin, memorialized…