What's New
Our latest list highlights recent additions to two collections. The first is a small addition to the correspondence of Minnesota novelist and short story writer Sinclair Lewis that motivated us to scan the entire collection. The second is a diary added to the family papers of Stephen R. Riggs that was also scanned.
In his letters Lewis talks about his writing activities, stories and ideas for stories, and his travels and extended stays in various places around the United States. The letters are lively and interesting.
Much of the material consists of correspondence with Saturday Evening Post editor George H. Lorimer. There is also some correspondence with novelist Jack London, memoranda relating to the possibility of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer making his novel Gideon Planish into a motion picture, and a few other letters.
The most recent addition is an undated note to an unknown recipient commenting on an unidentified review in which Lewis exclaims:
Goddlemighty, you ought to have made that review as follows, to make it self-explanatory for certain pussons [sic]: 'This is the greatest novel for a generation... it is thrilling, gripping, dramatic, moving, optimistic, dainty, virile, vigorous, vital, absorbing, big, clever, charming, delightful, amusing, American, thoughtful, realistic, romantic, and this we say without fear of contradiction in this day when we are deluged with such a flood of decadent so-called realism, Clean and Wholesome. It is in fact a humdinger.' Then folks would have understood.
Stephen R. Riggs and Family Papers
Back in April, we released a complete digital version of the correspondence of Presbyterian missionary Stephen Return Riggs. Over the past month we scanned and added a diary kept by Charles Henry Riggs, a nephew of Stephen R. Riggs who worked as a banker and lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The diary contains long, but sporadic, entries detailing his work in the banking industry, his service with the 15th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Militia during the Civil War, and family matters.
He quotes from family letters about the purported death of the Riggs family during the U.S.-Dakota War and details of their escape (pages 45-50) and describes in detail his visit to Minnesota in October 1864, including the steamboat voyage up the Mississippi River from LaCrosse through St. Paul, St. Anthony, Minneapolis, and Minnehaha Falls to Fort Snelling (pages 115-132).
Civil War entries include materials about Unionist orator Parson Brownlow (pages 18-19), Antietam (pages 49-63), Lee's surrender (pages 133-135), and President Lincoln's assassination (pages 135-136).
New and Updated Finding Aids - July 2017
| Name/Abstract | File No. |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Society: An Inventory of Its Century Farm Applications | gr00094 |
| Application forms for residents who wished to have their farms declared century farms, signifying that the farm had been in the same family for 100 or more years. This was begun as a joint project between the State Fair and the Farmer magazine; later the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation became the co-sponsor. Beginning in 2009, sesquicentennial (150 years) farms forms are included. | |
| ALAN R. WOOLWORTH: An Inventory of His Papers | 00339 |
| Personal papers and research files of Alan R. Woolworth, a Minnesota historian and archaeologist, primarily concerning events and individuals from nineteenth century Minnesota. Research files and other records of his and his wife's consulting business, Woolworth Research Associates, are included. | |
| ANDREW GRINDELAND: An Inventory of His Papers | 00539 |
| Correspondence and letterpress books of a Warren, Minnesota, attorney, land dealer, and state district court judge, relating especially to his law practice (1882-), judgeship (1903-1930), and real estate business in the Red River Valley. Includes some personal and family correspondence, and letters concerned with Republican Party politics and Norwegian-American Lutheran church affairs. | |
| Brynhild Rowberg: An Inventory of Her Papers | 00793 |
| Photograph albums, correspondence, a scrapbook, and reminiscences of a woman from Northfield, Minnesota, documenting her time in the employ of the U.S. State Department as a foreign service officer in Europe at the close of World War II and during the post-war occupation. | |
| Cole J. Benedict: An Inventory of His United States Marine Corps Tours Photograph and Moving Image Collection | sv000244 |
 Images from two of Cole Benedict's active duty tours with the Marines in 2007-2008 and 2009. Views include Marines, locals, and military equipment around Afghanistan, Djibouti, Kuwait, and Dubai as well as the USS Tarawa (LHA-1).Includes digital content. |
|
| Itasca County: Trout Lake Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01327 |
| Birth (1894-1951) and death (1895-1953) records, and permits for burial or removal (1915-1952). | |
| Jackson County: Ewington Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01328 |
| Birth (1887-1946) and death (1888-1952) records, and permits for burial or removal (1907-1947). | |
| Jackson County: Jackson: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01329 |
| Birth and death certificates (1908-1953). Include indexes for records (1941-1947, 1950-1953). | |
| Jackson County: La Crosse Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01330 |
| Birth and death registers (1882-1941), and birth (1941-1943) and death (1908-1920, 1941-1952) certificates. | |
| Jackson County: Middletown Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01331 |
| Birth (1882-1896) and death (1882-1895) register, and birth (1905-1952) and death (1907-1953) certificates. The latter are partially indexed. | |
| Jackson County: Petersburg Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01332 |
| Birth (1872-1915) and death (1872-1914) register, and birth (1915-1951) and death (1915-1953) certificates. Includes indexes for 1872-1899 and 1915-1942. | |
| Jackson County: Round Lake Township: An Inventory of Its Records | gr01333 |
| Birth (1892-1907) and death (1900-1907) register, and birth (1913-1940, 1942-1950) and death (1913-1937, 1940-1953) certificates. Includes index for 1913-1940. | |
| Jackson County: Wisconsin Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01334 |
| Birth (1892-1908) and death (1892-1898, 1900-1907) register, and birth (1914-1946) and death (1907-1952) certificates. Includes index for 1914-1946 birth and 1914-1952 death certificates. Also includes township cash book entries (1948-1953) in birth and death register (1892-1900). | |
| Jean L. Ames: An Inventory of Her Ames Family Genealogical Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society | 01249 |
| Charts, articles, letters, and photographs relating to the Ames (Eames) and related families, compiled by Jean L. Ames. The genealogy dates back to 1548. Indexes to related families (Adams, Alden, Baker, Bass, Bryant, Damon, Demorest, Ewer, Hatch, Hawke, Jacob, Lane, Little, Oakman, Paine, Penniman, Pierce, Pratt, Robinson, Sherman, Sprague, Squire, Strout, Tyler, and Wilder) are also included. | |
| Kanabec County: Brunswick Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01337 |
| Birth (1885-1900) and death (1885-1899) register, birth (1900-1943) and death (1900-1953) certificate records, and burial and removal permits (1927-1947). The birth and death register includes a set of essays by S. A. Wiltmer on hypnotism. | |
| Kandiyohi County: Colfax Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01338 |
| Birth (1871-1907) and death (1872-1907) registers and birth (1907-1952) and death (1908-1952) certificates. | |
| Kandiyohi County: Dovre Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01339 |
| Birth (1871-1907) and death (1871-1907) registers and birth (1908-1951) and death (1909-1953) certificate records. | |
| Kandiyohi County: East Lake Lillian Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01340 |
| Birth (1893-1945) and death (1894-1950) records and burial and removal permits (1907-1936). | |
| Kandiyohi County: Green Lake Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01341 |
| Birth (1871-1939) and death (1871-1949) records and burial and removal permits (1907-1944). | |
| Kandiyohi County: Lake Lillian Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01344 |
| Birth and death registers (1872-1907), birth and death certificate records (1908-1953), and burial permits (1908-1937). | |
| Kandiyohi County: Mamre Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01345 |
| Birth (1881-1945) and death (1885-1952) records and burial and removal permits (1946). | |
| Kandiyohi County: New London: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01346 |
| Birth and death register (1899-1915), and birth (1908-1911, 1915-1950) and death (1908-1911, 1915-1953) certificate records. | |
| Kandiyohi County: Norway Lake Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01347 |
| Birth, 1871-1912, 1923-1952, and death, 1871-1912, 1916-1953, records, and burial/removal permits, 1912-1933, 1947. | |
| Kandiyohi County: Whitefield Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01348 |
| Birth (1871-1950) and death (1872-1953) registers. | |
| Kandiyohi County: Willmar: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01349 |
| Birth and death certificates (1908-1952), birth and death registers (1914-1936), and burial permits (1911-1926). | |
| Legislative Auditor: An Inventory of Its Investigation Reports and Reviews | gr01343 |
| Reports of investigations of misuse (usually theft) of public funds or other state resources by state agency employees, undertaken by the Legislative Auditor's Office at the request of agency administrators or staff members. From 1987 to some time after 2003, the reports are labelled "special reviews" and were conducted by the Financial Audit Division. If evidence of misuse of state resources was found, it was reported to the Attorney General, the appropriate county attorney, and the Legislative Audit Commission. Also includes preliminary reviews or assessments on state funded agencies or programs. | |
| Legislative Auditor: Financial Audits Division: An Inventory of Its Audit Reports | gr00705 |
| Audit reports conducted annually by the Financial Audit Division to assess the state's major financial operations and determine whether the state's financial statements comply with generally accepted accounting principles. | |
| Legislative Auditor: Program Evaluation Division: An Inventory of Its Program Evaluation Reports | gr00239 |
| Published reports that describe state programs or the operations of state agencies, analyze management problems, evaluate outcomes, and recommend alternative means of reaching program goals. | |
| Minnesota Bluegrass Music Oral History Project: An Inventory of Its Oral Histories | oh156 |
Project includes 11 interviews with bluegrass musicians selected for their representative viewpoints of Minnesota bluegrass culture and its history. Topics discussed revolve around the development of bluegrass style and its musical culture, its connection to country and folk music, the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association, personal and musical influences, other musicians, and musical events and festivals. Includes digital content. |
|
| National Association of Letter Carriers (U.S.). Branch 28 (Saint Paul, Minn.).: An Inventory of Its Records | 01247 |
| Minutes (1889-1990), correspondence (1909-1980s), financial reports (1913-1976), convention and program material (1909-1990), newspaper clippings, printed material, photographs, and miscellany relating to a local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers and to its Retired Letter Carriers Club. It also includes minutes of the Saint Paul Letter Carriers Mutual Benefit Association (1889-1922), a predecessor. | |
| Pardon Board: An Inventory of Its Pardon Application Registers | gr01336 |
| Registers of applications for pardon or commutation of sentence submitted to the Pardon Board by inmates of state, and some county and local, correctional institutions. They consist of filled-in forms, one for each separate application (many inmates submitted several applications at various times). Each volume is indexed. | |
| PHILANDER PRESCOTT: An Inventory of His Reminiscences and Related Papers | P2285 |
 Reminiscences (1861?) and an account of actions in the Old Northwest during the War of 1812 (undated) by Philander Prescott, a fur trader and Indian interpreter who came to the Fort Snelling (Minn.) area in 1820. Includes digital content. |
|
| Ramsey County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Criminal Case Files | gr00184 |
| File Nos. 1-13475. | |
| Secretary of State: An Inventory of Its Petitions | gr01335 |
| Petitions for establishment of new counties, petitions relating to teachers' retirement (to change 1915 law), nominating petitions for convention delegates, and petitions for and against the repeal of the 18th amendment. | |
| Sinclair Lewis: An Inventory of His Correspondence | 01001 |
 Collected letters, including correspondence with Saturday Evening Post editors, primarily George H. Lorimer; some correspondence with Jack London concerning plot themes and scenarios developed by Lewis; memoranda relating to the possibility of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer making Lewis' novel Gideon Planish into a motion picture; and some personal correspondence with various individuals.Includes digital content. |
|
| STEPHEN R. RIGGS AND FAMILY: An Inventory of Their Papers | 00797 |
 Letters, reminiscences, genealogical data, and miscellany of this Presbyterian missionary, his wife Mary Ann Longley Riggs, and other family members, focusing on the Riggs' missionary service at Lake Harriet (now Minneapolis) and Lac Qui Parle, Minnesota (1837-1862), his work as an interpreter during the U.S.-Dakota War (1862), and his subsequent activities as an author of Dakota-language teaching materials. Includes digital content. |
|
| Transportation Department: Commissioner's Office: An Inventory of Its Emergency Orders | gr01342 |
| Arranged in order of agency-assigned order number, which is roughly chronological. | |
New and Updated Catalog Records
| Certificate of appointment to Lance Corporal received by Cole J. Benedict, 2006 April 1. |
| Certificate signed by Lieutenant Colonel J. E. Merna on April 1, 2006 appointing Cole J. Benedict a Lance Corporal in the United States Marine Corps, First Battalion, Fifth Marines. |
| Country Entertainers Association of the Upper Midwest (U.S.). Association records, 1973-1981. |
| Minutes, bylaws, membership records, clippings, flyers, and other materials of or relating to the Country Entertainment Association of the Upper Midwest, formed in 1973 to promote live country music in the upper Midwest. Members apparently included both entertainers and "fans." Clippings and flyers contain information about, and often pictures of, local and regional country music performers. |
| Johnson, Glen. Northwest Paper Company and Potlatch Corporation logging industry slide collection. |
| 102 slides photographed by Glen Johnson, a forester based in Ely working for Northwest Paper Company and Potlach Corporation documenting the logging industry in the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Images include but are not limited to equipment demonstrations, machinery expositions, planting, burning, as well as employee outings and area tours. |
| McCleary, J. T. (James Thompson), 1853-1924. James T. McCleary Papers, undated and 1898-1908. |
| Correspondence and miscellany (1898-1906) document McCleary's service as a U.S. congressman (Republican) from Minnesota's second district. There are letters pertaining to Civil War pensions, requests for positions in the U.S. postal service and other federal agencies, and manuscripts on monetary policy. Two letterpress books kept by McCleary as second assistant Postmaster General (1907-1908) deal with pensions, appointments, and other routine departmental business. |
| Meier, Peg, 1946- . Peg Meier Kensington Rune Stone papers, 1976-2006 (bulk 2000-2004). |
| Papers and research materials regarding the Kensington Rune Stone, compiled by Peg Meier, who was a writer for the Minneapolis Tribune and Star Tribune. Included are correspondence and miscellaneous papers (1976-2006), which include Meier's articles on the Kensington Rune Stone and related correspondence; six reporter's notebooks (2000-2004), and background materials on the Kensington Rune Stone. |
