What's New -- December 2019

Thomas J. Meighen and Family Papers

William and Felix Meighen were Irish-American brothers who moved westward from Pennsylvania to Illinois before making their homes at Forestville, a small and growing town on the banks of the Root River in Fillmore County. Among their many activities, William Meighen operated a hotel and Felix opened a general store, each in separate partnerships with Felix's brothers-in-law Major and Robert Foster.

Thomas J. Meighen, the son of Felix and Eliza Jane Foster, was born in 1855 and was the first of the Meighen children to be born in the Minnesota Territory. In 1868 when Robert Foster decided to concentrate on farming, he sold his interest in the general store to Felix. Thomas left school and began working full-time for his father and helped expand the family's interest in farming and land holdings. Ten years later, Thomas assumed full management of the store.

When the Southern Minnesota Railroad bypassed Forestville in 1868, many merchants and farm families started to leave the town. In the following decades, other railroads bypassed Forestville and the little town eventually dried up. By 1905, Thomas and his family were living in Preston where Thomas served as president of the First National Bank. Thomas closed the store in 1910 and much of the merchandise was simply left on the shelves. Following Thomas' death in 1936, the Forestville townsite, historic buildings, and other land holdings were transferred to the Department of Natural Resources. Forestville State Park was formed in 1963, and, in 1978, the store and what remained of the town became Historic Forestville, an historic site operated by the Minnesota Historical Society within Forestville State Park.

The Thomas J. Meighen and Family Papers include business and personal correspondence, photographs, clippings, pamphlets and cards, political literature, diaries, a scrapbook, memorandum books, music books, and subject files. Financial and accounting records include bills and accounts, ledgers, day books, cashbooks, and other materials. Some files related to the Meighen Store historic site are also included.

Learn more about the history of the town of Forestville and the Meighen family and their store by visiting Historic Forestville.

Ronald M. Hubbs Papers

Saint Paul insurance executive and philanthropist Ronald M. Hubbs served as president and CEO of the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company and subsequently as chairman of the board of The St. Paul Companies, Inc., Minnesota's oldest business corporation, dating from the territorial period (1853).

In addition to his insurance career Hubbs served as a director and trustee of several foundations and a variety business, charitable, arts, and educational organizations in the Twin Cities. Hubbs served for a time as president of the Minnesota Historical Society. The microfilm reading room in the Gale Family Library at the Minnesota History Center and the Ronald M. Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning in Saint Paul are both named for him.

The Ronald M. Hubbs papers contain correspondence and memoranda, minutes, newspaper clippings, speeches, printed material, and other papers related to Hubbs' involvement in the business, educational, and cultural life of St. Paul and the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area as well as the St. Paul Companies.

New and Updated Finding Aids - December 2019

Name/Abstract	File No.
Elmer L. Andersen: An Inventory of His Papers	00436
Personal papers of a Republican state senator and governor of Minnesota, H.B. Fuller Company president, newspaper publisher, and philanthropist, focusing on his business and political career, service on corporate boards and the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, and involvement in several foundations.
Tela B. Burt: An Inventory of His Papers	00352
Papers related to the life and careers of a prominent figure in the Twin Cities (Minn.) African American community. Includes digital content.
Conservation Department: Forestry Division: An Inventory of Its Numerical Photograph Set	gr01669
Black and white snapshot photographs (and negatives) of items and events related to the various operations and interests of the Conservation Department, Forestry Division.
Cottonwood County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil and Criminal Registers of Actions	gr01660
Registers of civil (1873-1941) and criminal (approximately 1871-1928) actions. Each entry may include the calendar (case file) number, names of the parties in the case, papers filed, names of persons subpoenaed, date files, fees, and remarks.
Cottonwood County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Plaintiffs and Defendants Indexes	gr01659
Plaintiffs and defendants indexes; entries include case file number, parties to the case, type of action, date and amount of judgment, and citation to the register of action volume and page number indexed.
Fairview Hospital (Minneapolis, Minn.): An Inventory of Its Records	01341
Maternity registers, death records, and post-mortem registers of Fairview Hospital and an alphabetical index created by the Minnesota Genealogical Society.
Freeborn County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Coroner's Records	gr01658
Coroner's inquest register (1895-1943); coroner's certificates (1900-1964); and coroner's inquest hearing transcripts (1886-1903).
Furness Colony: An Inventory of Its Records	01340
Minutes of the meetings of this emigration society founded at Barrow-in-Furness, England, whose members emigrated to the United States and settled at Wadena, Minnesota. The collection includes newspaper clippings, maps, a timetable of events taking place in the colony, a list of major persons involved with the colony, a letter of transmittal from F.J. Bailey, and a handbill for a farewell tea.
Health Department: An Inventory of Its Maternal and Child Health Advisory Task Force Records	gr01290
Annual reports, manuals, correspondence, meeting agenda packets, photographs, files concerning the Betty Hubbard Award, and other records of the task force.
Health Department: An Inventory of Its Published Records and Reports	gr01397
Reports, newsletters, and miscellaneous print and near-print items of or about the department.
Hennepin County: Board of County Commissioners: An Inventory of Its Journals	gr01661
The record set of journals (minutes) of the board of county commissioners. All were unbound for microfilming by the county, and many have subsequently been removed from their original volume covers and housed in file folders. Available for public use.
Hennepin County: Minneapolis: Minneapolis Public Schools: An Inventory of Its Parent Teacher Association Records	gr01270
Minutes, scrapbooks, photographs, and other records of the parent teacher associations of Schiller School, Windom School, Horace Mann School, Clinton School, Eugene Field Elementary School, Nathan Hale School, Irving School, McKinley School, and Page School.
Koryne Horbal: An Inventory of Her Papers	01243
Files documenting the feminist and political activities of Koryne Horbal, one of the founding members of the DFL Feminist Caucus, United States representative on the Commission on the Status of Women of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, as well as former chairwoman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Includes correspondence and memoranda, photographs, speeches, news clippings, and similar material. Includes digital content.
Ronald M. Hubbs: An Inventory of His Papers	00052
Correspondence and memoranda, minutes, newspaper clippings, speeches, printed material, and other papers relating to St. Paul insurance executive Ronald M. Hubbs, and to his involvement in the business, educational, and cultural life of St. Paul and the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. There is some material relating to the St. Paul Companies, and to related and predecessor companies. Includes digital content.
League of Women Voters of Minnesota: An Inventory of Its Records	00191
Records documenting the activities of the state league founded in 1919, its local leagues, and their participation in the national League of Women Voters. Includes digital content.
League of Women Voters of St. Paul: An Inventory of Its Records	00217
Historical information, bylaws, minutes, correspondence files, annual reports, financial and membership records, league publications, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and program-related files of a local League of Women Voters chapter organized in November 1919. Includes digital content.
Leisure Activities in Bemidji, Breezy Point, Saint Paul, and Wayzata Film Footage: An Inventory of the Film	sv000482
Scenes of swimming in Bemidji; cabins, activities, and animals at Breezy Point Resort; polo match, spectators, and trophies at Fort Snelling; and horseback riding and jumping at Woodhill Country Club in Wayzata. Includes digital content.
Thomas J. Meighen: An Inventory of His Family Papers	01339
Business, financial, political, and personal materials related to Thomas J. Meighen, a Fillmore County (Minn.) farmer, merchant, bank president, and populist politician, and to various members of the Meighen family.
Mille Lacs County: Milaca Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records	gr01655
Birth and death registers (1889-1907), birth (1908-1913, 1931-1941) and death (1931-1953) certificate registers, and reports of birth (1893-1907) and deaths (1907-1910).
Mille Lacs County: Page Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records	gr01656
Birth and death register (1902-1907), birth and death certificate records (1903-1953), and permits for burial/removal of corpse (1910-1919).
Mille Lacs County: Princeton: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records	gr01657
Birth (1908-1911) and death (1901, 1906, 1908-1910) certificates and birth (1914-1953) and death (1923-1953) registers.
Minnesota Reading Association: An Inventory of Its Records	00832
Records of the Minnesota branch of a national and international organization which advances literacy through the promotion of teaching standards and teacher training, encouraging research, and serving as a clearinghouse for information on literacy.
William Pitt Murray and Family: An Inventory of Their Papers	01342
Correspondence, articles and addresses, assorted historical data, and other materials of William Pitt Murray, a St. Paul (Minn.) lawyer, territorial and state legislator (various years), member of the St. Paul city council (1861-1879), and city attorney (1876-1889).
Murray County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil Case Files	gr01665
File nos. 1-6624.
Murray County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil and Criminal Registers of Actions	gr01663
Registers of civil (1905-1951) and criminal (1879-1961) actions. Each entry may include the calendar (case file) number, names of the parties in the case, papers filed, names of persons subpoenaed, date files, fees, and remarks.
Murray County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Criminal Case Files	gr01664
File nos. 1-568.
Murray County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Plaintiffs and Defendants Indexes	gr01662
Plaintiffs and defendants indexes; entries include case file number, parties to the case, type of action, date and amount of judgment, and citation to the register of action volume and page number indexed.
Public Safety Commission: An Inventory of Its Farm Crop and Labor Reports	gr00953
Data collected during a statewide farm census conducted by the Public Safety Commission in order to determine the adequacy of Minnesota's food supply during World War I. There are report forms for individual farms, and for statistical summaries. Includes digital content.
Scott County: County Court: An Inventory of Its County Court Records	gr01672
Civil docket (1970-1972) and civil registers and judgement books (1960-1979).
Scott County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil and Criminal Case Files	gr01670
File nos. 1-9450 (1858-1932), and several unnumbered files (1854-1860). Civil and criminal cases interfiled.
Scott County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil and Criminal Registers of Actions	gr01667
Registers of civil and criminal action (1862-1921) and criminal action (1886-1945). Each entry may include the calendar (case file) number, names of the parties in the case, papers filed, names of persons subpoenaed, date files, fees, and remarks.
Scott County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Land Registration Dockets	gr01668
File nos. 1-508.
Scott County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Plaintiffs and Defendants Indexes	gr01666
Plaintiffs and defendants indexes; entries include case file number, parties to the case, type of action, date and amount of judgment, and citation to the register of action volume and page number indexed.
Scott County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Probate Actions	gr01671
Registers of documents filed and actions taken in individual probate, guardianship, and insanity cases. Includes title of case, case number, list of documents filed, and citations to volume and page where selected documents are recorded (transcribed).

New and Updated Catalog Records