Category Archives: Minnesota Historical Society

The Stuff of Legend

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

The columnist who dubbed himself “The LeSueur Lyre” liked puns. Why anyone believed him is Gleek to me.  ***** In late June 1919, Samuel J. Brown of Brown’s Valley, Minnesota mailed a newspaper clipping to Warren Upham, the Secretary of the Minnesota Historical … Continue reading →

Posted in Doing Historical Research, Fiction, Minnesota Historical Society, newspapers, O. W. Smith, Warren Upham | Leave a comment

“We do not loan books &c,” 1885

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

Postcard c. 1910. ” ‘The Joy Ride’ at the California Alligator Farm, Los Angeles, California.” The Carter Museum of American Art via Google Images. ***** Before I return J. Fletcher Williams to the file cabinet, I want to share a … Continue reading →

Posted in J. Fletcher Williams, Minnesota Historical Society | 1 Comment

“Mister, haint you got no books about pirates, or killing Injuns?”

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

The Minnesota Historical Society’s Library-Museum in 1892 I’ve been reading the annual and biennial reports of the Minnesota Historical Society in the 19th century, most of them written by the Society’s stalwart Secretary/Librarian, J. Fletcher Williams. Williams had a high … Continue reading →

Posted in Commemorating Controversy, J. Fletcher Williams, Little Crow, Minnesota Historical Society | Leave a comment

To Whose Benefit?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

“The famous Lucius Cassius, whom the Roman people used to regard as a very honest and wise judge, was in the habit of asking, time and again, ‘To whose benefit?’” –Marcus Tullius Cicero, 80 BCE ***** “Answer the question of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Minnesota Historical Society, NAGPRA, Oceti Sakowin | Tagged | 1 Comment

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Posted on February 10, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

So why is the MHS photo purge a story? It is history in its own right. It is also emblematic of how history is made. Third, you voted it so. My Execution Artifacts Report, “A Veiled Cabinet of Curiosities: A … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Commemorating Controversy, Minnesota Historical Society | 2 Comments

The MHS Photo Purge

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

You know those photo Christmas cards than land in your mailbox every winter? The smiling third cousins posing on an ocean beach. The friend you haven’t seen since graduation who faithfully sends a visual pastiche of this year’s cute-kids-and-pets. Do … Continue reading →

Posted in Minnesota Historical Society | 2 Comments

A Fable Agreed Upon, part 3

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Timothy J. Sheehan (1835-1913) as profiled in the Albert Lea Tribune in 2011. Sheehan immigrated to the United States in 1850 at the age of 15, an orphaned survivor of the potato famine in Ireland. By 1857, he had settled in Albert … Continue reading →

Posted in Minnesota Historical Society, Return Ira Holcombe, Thomas J. Galbraith, Timothy J. Sheehan, William Watts Folwell | Leave a comment

A Fable Agreed Upon, part 2

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Solon J. Buck’s mistake went uncorrected. At the outset, it wasn’t influential. The Bulletin was read by MHS members and collected by libraries. But I doubt anyone lost sleep over an annotation error. Indeed, without any correction, there wasn’t any … Continue reading →

Posted in Minnesota Historical Society, Primary Sources, Solon J. Buck, William Watts Folwell | 1 Comment

A Fable Agreed Upon

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have mused, “What is history but a fable agreed upon?”  ***** In July, 1918 the Minnesota historical community was buzzing: the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) Bulletin had just published a recently discovered letter written by John P. … Continue reading →

Posted in Minnesota Historical Society, Primary Sources, Thomas J. Galbraith, William Watts Folwell | 2 Comments

“I am pained by the severe criticisms…upon Mr. Galbraith.”

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Missionary Mary Ann Longley Riggs wrote to her husband on September 18, 1862, “I am pained by the severe criticisms of the St. Paul Press upon Mr. Galbraith…. I am sure we have never had as good an agent since … Continue reading →

Posted in Doing Historical Research, Minnesota Historical Society, Primary Sources, Thomas J. Galbraith | Leave a comment