What's New
NHPRC Grant
The Minnesota Historical Society is the recipient of a Basic Project grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) which will significantly support the cataloging of the Society's unprocessed archival collections. The project targets 4,600 cubic feet of government records and manuscript collections.
This month the NHPRC team will process new collections such as Governor Tim Pawlenty's papers, the Anita C. Hill papers, and the Alan Weinblatt papers, and make additions to existing collections such as the Commerce Department records, and the Kenneth Tilsen papers.
Several recently processed manuscript and state archives collections have sound and visual components that include sound reels, film reels, sound discs, and audio cassettes. The image below shows a processing assistant with materials from the Republican State Central Committee.
Learn more about the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and how its strategic plan helps support non-Federal institutions like the Minnesota Historical Society through grants.
New and Revised Finding Aids - January 2011
| Name/Abstract | File No. |
|---|---|
| Julian B. Baird: An Inventory of His Family Papers | 00815 |
| Correspondence, speeches, congressional committee minutes, photographs, clippings, and other material largely documenting Baird's tenure as U.S. Treasury undersecretary, 1957-1961. Also included are the papers of Julian's sons, Duncan and John Braden Baird, an aerial gunner in the Army Air Force who flew in combat missions over Northern France and Germany during World War II and received the Purple Heart. | |
| Joseph R. and Samuel Brown: An Inventory of Their Family Papers | m0595 |
| Correspondence and other papers, including letters, historical reminiscences and articles, speeches, financial records, newspaper clippings, and photographs (undated and 1826-1856); financial records (1862-1916); and volumes, including letterbooks, account books, memo books, and a diary (1838-1908) relating to the lives and careers of the prominent Minnesota pioneer Joseph R. Brown, his son Samuel J. and daughter Ellen Brown Allanson, and other members of their immediate and related families in what is now Minnesota and South Dakota. | |
| Carol Connolly: An Inventory of Her Family Papers | 00149 |
| The Carol Connolly papers include correspondence, minutes, memoranda, legal documents, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and other printed material documenting the activities of St. Paul poet, playwright, columnist, activist, and politician, Carol Connolly. Family papers include World War II correspondence and other materials from Connolly's cousins Clayton Kenneth Brubaker and Russell Edward Mund as well as a memorial resolution honoring Connolly's grandfather James A. Larson. | |
| Robley D. Cramer: An Inventory of His Family Papers | 00834 |
| Genealogical and biographical data as well as correspondence and subject files, newspaper clippings, and other personal and family papers of Robley D. Cramer, editor of the "Minneapolis Labor Review" and a member of the Upholsterers' Union. | |
| Janet M. Deming: An Inventory of Her Papers | 00825 |
| Personal papers of the owner and president of a Minneapolis-based employee-assistance firm, reflecting her personal interest in and study of social services, feminism, and civil rights in the 1960s and 1970s. | |
| Education Department: Vocational Technical Education Division: An Inventory of Its Van Tries (Assistant Commissioner Robert P.) Subject Files | gr00186 |
| Correspondence, financial materials, background reports, memos, agendas, resolutions, photographs, news clippings, and related materials documenting the duties and activities of the assistant commissioner's office. | |
| Elijah Evan Edwards: An Inventory of His Civil War Journals | 00803 |
| Three-volume set of journals (typescript compilation and two volumes of photocopied originals) kept by Edwards, chaplain of the 7th Minnesota Infantry during the Civil War. The journals contain observant and articulate descriptions of scenery, towns and villages, people, and the war in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Edwards documents camp life and marches, as well as the Battles of Tupelo (July 14-15, 1864), Nashville (December 12-13, 1864), and Mobile Bay (April 1865). He also comments on the attitudes, behavior, and morality of the people involved in the conflict. | |
| Thaddeus C. Field and Family: An Inventory of Their Papers | 00830 |
| Correspondence and related papers, clippings and obituaries, reminiscences, and photographs of three generations and branches of the Field and Shields families, early residents of St. Paul. | |
| Ellery A. and Marion G. Foster: An Inventory of Their Papers | 00829 |
| Biographical material, correspondence, mimeographed and print materials, articles, reports, research materials, a doctoral dissertation, and other papers of Minnesota natives Ellery A. and Marion G. Foster relating to his work in forestry and to her work as a newspaper reporter, as a social worker, and as a sociology professor. | |
| GOP Feminist Caucus of Minnesota: An Inventory of Its Records | 00828 |
| Administrative and subject files of an organization founded in 1973 for the purpose of bringing together men and women who wanted to expand the platform of the Republican Party to include equal rights for women; protection of reproductive privacy rights for women; separation of church and state; and support for progressive Republican men and women choosing to run for public office or to advance within the political system. | |
| Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches: An Inventory of Its Records | 00416 |
| Records documenting the administration and activities of a voluntary association of Christian churches organized to work together for the welfare of the community and to foster cooperation among Minneapolis area Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox churches. | |
| Health Department: Health Services Division: An Inventory of Its Maternity Hospital Records | gr00174 |
| Records for maternity hospitals scattered throughout the state; a list (post-1917?) of maternity hospitals licensed by the state Board of Control; and additional records for the Iverson Maternity Home in Echo. | |
| Peter A. Heegaard: An Inventory of His Political Papers | 00826 |
| Papers of a Minnesota Republican Party activist in the third district of Hennepin County, including information on the Douglas Head campaign for Minnesota attorney general and on politics in the Minnetonka area. | |
| Hennepin County: Three Rivers Park District: An Inventory of Its Records | gr00165 |
| Records of the Three Rivers Park District, documenting the administration and operation of this agency dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system. | |
| Highway Department: An Inventory of Its Miscellaneous Papers | gr00167 |
| Minnesota highway laws; highway engineering construction manual; drawing guides for the interstate highway system; correspondence regarding drivers license and traffic and oil regulations and policies; and files relating to the Highway Research Board, Minnesota Commission on Interstate Cooperation, Interstate 94 through Prospect Park in St. Paul, public hearings on highway construction and upgrading, traffic observations on trunk highways, and Minneapolis and Southdale area conference reports. | |
| Highway Department: An Inventory of Its State Road Files | gr00168 |
| Files documenting the early planning and construction of Minnesota's state highway system. | |
| Highway Department: Planning and Programming Division: An Inventory of Its Status of Interstate Routes | gr00169 |
| Route maps with charts describing the construction status of interstate highways in Minnesota; prepared in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration. | |
| Highway Department: Planning and Programming Division: An Inventory of Its Studies and Surveys | gr00170 |
| Working papers, reports, manuals, correspondence, and forms relating to origin and destination studies, highway capacity studies, traffic studies, motor vehicle use studies, and highway planning surveys. | |
| Hudson's Bay Company: An Inventory of Selected Records. | 00823 |
| Microfilm, photocopies, and transcripts of miscellaneous documents relating to the Hudson's Bay Company, collected at various times by the Minnesota Historical Society. | |
| Legislature: House: An Inventory of Its Minnesota House Redistricting Committee Records | gr00173 |
| Committee records and other materials relating to legislative and congressional redistricting (reapportionment) in Minnesota following the 1990 census. | |
| Marshall County: County Court: An Inventory of Its Records | gr00190 |
| Civil Division (1973-1982) and Family Division (1972-1982) registers of actions. | |
| Marshall County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil Case Files | gr00185 |
| Case file nos. 1-2188. | |
| Marshall County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Coroner's Inquest Files | gr00192 |
| Coroner's inquest registers, indexed (1888-1925, 1953-1988) and inquest reports (1929-1951). The latter document several accidental death and murder cases. | |
| Marshall County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Minutes | gr00189 |
| Record of documents filed, proceedings held, and actions taken at each day's session of court. | |
| Marshall County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Miscellaneous Records | gr00188 |
| Records include ordination credentials and officials' bonds (1898-1921), justice's criminal convictions index and register (1903-1952), and land registration docket (1918-1981). | |
| Marshall County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Criminal Actions | gr00187 |
| The entry for each case gives case file number, name of defendant, names of attorneys for defendant and State of Minnesota, and a chronological list of each document filed or other action taken in the case, with the date and any associated fees. | |
| Marshall County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Probate Actions | gr00191 |
| Registers of documents filed and actions taken in individual probate, guardianship, and insanity cases. | |
| Mediation Services Bureau: An Inventory of Its Transcripts of Representation and Fair Share Hearing | gr00142 |
| Transcripts of hearings held by the bureau to investigate and certify collective bargaining units and representatives, determine fair share fee assessments, and mediate disputes between labor unions and employers connected with these matters. | |
| Francis R. Meisch: An Inventory of His Photography Scrapbooks, Memorabilia, and Drawings | 00835 |
| Photographs of landscapes, cityscapes, and architectural subjects throughout Minnesota, the Midwest, the western United States, and northeastern United States taken by artist and architect Francis R. Meisch. Architectural drawings are also included of the chancery and residence buildings for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and the St. Paul Armory Building. | |
| Minnesota Association for Adult Continuing Education: An Inventory of Its Records | 00814 |
| Minutes (1958-2007), correspondence, treasurer's reports (1954-2006), subject files (1951-2004), committee reports (1966-2006), newsletters (1960-2007), photographs, and printed material of an organization concerned with all phases of adult education, which began in 1919 to help educate immigrants. Membership included county and local school systems, libraries, the Minnesota Department of Education, the University of Minnesota, parent-teacher associations, and other agencies. | |
| Minnesota Occupational Therapy Association: An Inventory of Its Records | 00071 |
| Minutes, reports, conference planning and program materials, committee files, membership handbooks and directories, photographs, publications, newsletters, and other records of an association of professional occupational therapists founded in Minnesota in 1932. | |
| 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. The records include constitutions and bylaws, board and committee records, presidential files and local council records. | |
| Minnesota State Band: An Inventory of Its Records | gr00166 |
| Records documenting the band's activities including several European tours. | |
| New Century Club (St. Paul, Minn.): An Inventory of Its Records | 00073 |
| Historical information, articles of incorporation and bylaws, minutes, financial records, papers delivered at meetings, printed yearbooks, and miscellaneous records of a women's literary and study club organized in 1887 to promote social and literary activities and to provide intellectual stimulation for its members. | |
| Oral History Association of Minnesota: An Inventory of Its Records | 00827 |
| Records of the Oral History Association of Minnesota (OHAM), a volunteer organization formed in 1985 to promote the use of oral history and to provide communication, education, and professional growth opportunities and resources for people interested in oral history in Minnesota. | |
| Arthur Herman Pera: An Inventory of His Flood Plain Management Papers | 00821 |
| Publications, newsletters, correspondence, notes, diagrams, and studies pertaining to Pera's work for the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Corps activities in Minnesota. | |
| Public Safety Department, Criminal Apprehension Bureau: An Inventory of Its Criminal History Files | pubsaf08 |
| Fifty-one criminal history files, mainly documenting high-profile 1930s gangsters, including Arthur (Doc) and Fred Barker, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, John Dillinger, Arthur Flegenheimer (Dutch Schultz), Alvin Karpis, Frank Mitchell (Pretty Boy Floyd), George Nelson (Baby Face Nelson), Clair Ralph Gibson, Robert W. Markwood, Fred Ryan, Rocky S. Lupino, and Homer Van Meter. | |
| Ramsey County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Criminal Case Files | gr00184 |
| Criminal case files numbers 1-13475. | |
| Red Wing State Training School: An Inventory of Its Inmate Case Files and Commitment Papers | rwsts10 |
| Institutional case files and commitment papers for boys and girls considered to be delinquents by the state of Minnesota. Initially, inmates were homeless, neglected, and dependent children (mostly boys ages nine to fourteen). In 1895 a court conviction for crime (except murder) became a prerequisite, and beginning in 1911 the facility housed delinquent boys only. | |
| Saunders Family: An Inventory of Proal and Saunders Families Papers | 00831 |
| Family correspondence, genealogical materials, reminiscences, historical and biographical sketches, scrapbook materials, and newspaper clippings relating to the Proal and Saunders families of St. Paul, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and elsewhere. | |
| Otto A. Silha: An Inventory of His Papers | 00833 |
| Biographical information, speeches, articles, correspondence, and other papers of Otto A. Silha, a Twin Cities journalist, president (1973-1979), publisher (1975-1976), and chairman (1979-1982) of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune newspaper, and chairman of Cowles Media Company (1982-1984) who, after retiring from Cowles, formed Silha Associates, a national media and management consulting organization. | |
| Josiah Snelling: An Inventory of His Papers | 00824 |
| Photocopied letters written by Josiah Snelling, military commissions and related documents from his service in the Massachusetts militia (1803-1808) and the United States infantry (1809-1820), documents relating to the Connecticut state militia during the Revolutionary War, and a journal kept by Colonel Snelling as commandant at Fort Snelling. | |
| Split Infinitive, Inc.: An Inventory of Its Records | 00090 |
| Minutes, correspondence, reports, financial information, and printed matter found in client files (1970-1979) and in files of the National Association of Women Business Owners (1978-1982), Council on Quality Education (1972-1979), and the Committee of 200 (1981-1982, a NAWBO project). Split Infinitive is an advertising firm owned by Marlene Johnson, also Minnesota's lieutenant governor (1979-1991). | |
| St. Croix River Association: An Inventory of Its Records | 00542 |
| Constitution and bylaws, minutes, correspondence and miscellaneous papers, newspaper clippings, and other printed materials documenting an organization devoted to the preservation of the St. Croix River, a federally designated wild and scenic river. | |
| Supreme Court: An Inventory of Its Administrative Orders | gr00151 |
| Administrative orders concerning court rules for the State of Minnesota judicial system. | |
| Transportation Department: An Inventory of Its Highway Estimates | gr00171 |
| Estimates of the cost of completing the national system of interstate and defense highways, and a 1966 estimate of the cost of carrying out the provisions of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965. | |
| Transportation Department: Rates and Regulations Office: An Inventory of Its Rail and Motor Carriers Annual Reports | gr00172 |
| Annual reports of rail and motor carriers operating in the state of Minnesota. | |
| Wabasha County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil and Criminal Registers of Actions | gr00175 |
| Registers of actions for civil (1859-1953) and criminal (1861-1937) cases. | |
| Wabasha County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil Case Files and Indexes | gr00176 |
| Indexes and case file nos. 1-16578. The files may include criminal case files to 1880. | |
| Wabasha County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Criminal Case Files | gr00177 |
| Files numbered 116-1619; files prior to 1880 may be interfiled with the civil case files. | |
| Wabasha County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Miscellaneous Records | gr00178 |
| Includes registers of assignments, register of disability cases, bar memorials, records of ordinations, notarial commissions, and marriages performed; bonds, correspondence, and miscellany. | |
| Wabasha County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Naturalization Records and Indexes | SAM105 |
| Personal name index, declarations of intention, final papers, petitions, and related records. | |
| Wabasha County: Lake City: Municipal Court: An Inventory of Its Records | gr00179 |
| Criminal dockets and registers of actions, civil docket, and marriage records. | |
