Ramsey County History – Fall 1967: “Forgotten Pioneers: Women”

Forgotten Pioneers: Women

“Among the most forgotten of Ramsey County’s forgotten pioneers are the patient, courageous wives of the men who founded, settled, and built St. Paul and the surrounding communities in the county.” Mrs. Abraham Perry was among the very first, settling near Fountain Cave in 1838. Rose Perry had the distinction of participating in St. Paul’s first wedding; she married J.R. Clewett in April 1839, when St. Paul was still Pig’s Eye. Adele Perry married Vetal Guerin in 1841, with Father Lucien Galtier presiding; the descriptions of the wedding feast and honeymoon are memorable; Vetal and Adele survived both. Mary Turpin married Louis Robert, joining him in a life of fortune-seeking adventure. Matilda Rumsey built a school in St. Paul in 1845. Mrs. M.L. Stoakes had her own store in the city around 1850. Mrs. J. W. Selby toiled with her husband to build a fortune in the early 1850s.
PDF of Forgotten Pioneers