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In 1914 war ripped apart Europe, ushering in the Great War, an event that would change the world and modern warfare forever. World War I would last for four years and claim the lives of over 8.5 million people. Though the war began in 1914, it wasn't until 1917 that the United States, many of them Minnesota soldiers, joined the European conflict on the side of the Allies. One such young man, 20-year old Guybert Marion Phillips of Saint Paul, would soon find himself in France within the next year.

Phillips was born in Dawson, Minnesota in 1896 and graduated from Central High School in St. Paul in 1914 or 1915. Following high school Phillips attended Hamline University and in his sophomore or junior year, volunteered for World War I. He enlisted on June 10, 1917 and was assigned to ambulance unit S.S.U. 568, joining the Hamline University Ambulance Unit made up of other young men his age from the university. Phillips served as a driver throughout France from 1917 to 1919, particularly in the Champagne and Ardennes regions. For his service Phillips was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

The Minnesota Historical Society recently acquired Phillips' photographic record of his time in Europe. Consisting of twenty-five black and white images, the images he recorded and assembled into a photograph album document both the destruction and devastation of the war in France as well as the contrasting beauty of iconic landmarks in the regions in which he served. Included are scenes from Paris, Reims, and the Champagne region in addition to photographs Phillips took following the war in England, Scotland, Nice, and Monaco before he returned to the United States.

Following the war, Phillips returned to the Twin Cities area and opened the investment firm Caldwell-Phillips. Phillips passed away on May 10, 1968 at the age of 72 from injuries sustained during an automobile accident.

Guybert Phillips washing his ambulance at the St. Louis barracks in Metz, France, 1919Guybert Phillips washing his ambulance at the St. Louis barracks in Metz, France, 1919


New and Updated Finding Aids - March 2015

Name/Abstract File No.
Adjutant General: An Inventory of Its Stees (Charles) Records gr00909
Captain Charles Stees, Adjutant for the 6th Regiment, Company G, compiled and maintained these records in the performance of his duties.
Arvonne S. Fraser: An Inventory of Her Papers 00034
Correspondence, schedules, speech files, draft and published writings, extensive background and conference files, audio and video recordings, and administrative and programmatic files related to Arvonne Fraser's involvement with women's organizations, Democratic party politics, government agencies, and educational institutions, both in Minnesota and nationally.
Chisago County: School District No. 40, Wyoming Township: An Inventory of Its Records gr00899
Records include attendance registers, clerk's and treasurer's books, minute book, school census, and petition to set off.
Compiled materials relating to Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies 00680
Print materials, including souvenir programs, promotional and advertising items, press manuals, sheet music, and a commemorative history; some correspondence and other papers; a few photographs; and microfilmed loose newspaper clippings and scrapbooks relating to the first professional traveling ice show, founded in Minnesota in 1936, which featured figure skating and ice dancing, acrobatic and comedic skating, music, costumes, lighting, and elaborate production numbers.
Donald MacKay Fraser: An Inventory of His Papers 00290
Donald M. FraserPapers of a Minneapolis lawyer and politician who served as Minnesota state senator (1954-1962), as U.S. congressman from Minnesota's fifth district (1962-1978), and as mayor of Minneapolis (1979-1994). The collection is particularly strong in its documentation of international relations, Democratic party policy and reform, human rights issues, environmental conservation, and women's issues in the 1960s and 1970s.
Economic Development Department: Commissioner's Office: An Inventory of Its Correspondence and Subject Files gr00897
Correspondence and subject files documenting the administration and duties of the commissioner's office, including those of the deputy commissioners.
Education Department: Deputy Commissioner's Office: An Inventory of Its General Correspondence gr00896
Correspondence, memos, reports, minutes, newsletters, legislation, financial records, and related materials documenting most aspects of the office's administration and activities.
First Covenant Church (Saint Paul, Minn.): An Inventory of Its Records 01201
Minutes of meetings of the congregation (1874-1938), of the trustees (1897-1930), and of a conference of young people's societies in Minnesota (1901-1914); correspondence (1902-1927); and church histories and anniversary booklets. Most original records are in Swedish; all have English translations.
Governor: Perpich: An Inventory of Its Board, Commission, and Task Force Files gr00894
News releases announcing the formation, mission, and appointments to many of the numerous boards, commissions, councils, and task forces appointed by Perpich; a number of their preliminary or final reports; and some miscellaneous background materials. Also present is a set of information sheets on boards and commissions, compiled by the governor's office in ca. 1987.
Henry Benjamin Whipple: An Inventory of His Papers P0823
Personal and semi-official papers, including correspondence, diaries, sermons, reminiscences, and other materials, of Henry Benjamin Whipple, the first bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota (1859-1901) and a reformer of the United States Indian service. The papers provide information on ecclesiastical policy, Diocese of Minnesota matters, Indian missions, government relations with the Indians, and the Indian rights movement of the latter 19th century.
Human Rights Department: Enforcement Division: An Inventory of Its Discrimination Case Files gr00895
Correspondence, worksheets, memos, transcripts of statements, and other material concerning the discrimination cases investigated and closed by the Human Rights Department. Most cases concerned discrimination in employment, in the provision of services, or in housing; some concern discrimination in education.
Intermedia Arts Minnesota: An Inventory of Its Chorus Records 00328
Materials documenting a nonprofit corporation organized in 1973 under the University of Minnesota by the merger of the West Bank Union Video Access Center and the Student Association video project.
Methven-Taylor Funeral Homes: An Inventory of Its Records 01200
Records of two Northeast Minneapolis funeral homes, Rainville Bros. Funeral Chapel and O.E. Larson Mortuary, both later part of Methven-Taylor, and a few files pertaining to the Minnesota Funeral Directors Association. Funeral record books, record sheets, and funeral arrangement sheets in the collection contain extensive biographical data on the deceased.
Natural Resources Department: Office of Planning and Research: An Inventory of Its Subject and Reading Files gr00898
Documenting the administration and duties of the office, the records include subject files, reading files (letters sent), policy directives, correspondence, proposals and plans, studies, minutes, reports, speeches, and other related materials.
R. Maturi Corporation (Chisholm, Minn.): An Inventory of Their Mining and Construction Photograph Collection sv000167
R. Maturi & Sons worker operating a bulldozer at Dunwoody Mine Photographs documenting construction and mining operations in northern Minnesota. Included are aerial photographs and geological land surveys of mines in the area, survey crews, and mining and construction equipment.

Includes digital content.
Ramsey County: Auditor An Inventory of Its Abstracts of Votes gr00394
Abstracts of votes for primary and general elections for national, state, and county officers for St. Paul and Ramsey County, and for primary and general elections for St. Paul city officers and city charter amendments. Also special primary elections and the April 2008 U.S. Senate recount results (Franken and Coleman).
Sherburne County: County Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Actions gr00900
The entry for each case gives the parties’ names and a chronological list of documents filed, orders issued, costs adjudged, and other actions by the court or the disputing parties.
Sherburne County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Plaintiff's and Defendant's Indexes gr00901
Plaintiffs and defendants indexes to District Court civil and criminal case files.
Sherburne County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Actions gr00902
The entry for each case gives the parties’ names and a chronological list of documents filed, orders issued, costs adjudged, and other actions by the court or the disputing parties.
Sherburne County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Judgment Books gr00903
Transcripts of judgments issued by the court. Includes county court judgments for October 1977-July 1981.
Sherburne County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Minutes gr00904
A record of documents filed, proceedings held, and actions taken at each day’s session of the court.
Sherburne County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Will Books gr00905
Copies or transcriptions of the complete texts of wills probated by the courts, accompanied by related probate orders and by certifications of authenticity and of filing signed by witnesses and clerks of court.
Sherburne County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Probate Actions gr00906
Registers of documents filed and actions taken in individual probate, guardianship, and insanity cases.
Sherburne County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Minutes gr00907
Record of documents filed and actions taken with regard to each case brought before the probate court.
Twin Cities Gay Mens Chorus: An Inventory of Its Chorus Records P2439
Newsletters, publicity material, and concert programs of the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus, organized in 1981 to provide the opportunity for a fellowship of gay and gay-sensitive men to build a community spirit by singing together.
Washington County: Baytown Township: An Inventory of Its Records gr00908
Chattel mortgage book (1858-1913) and township record book (1858-1875).

New and Updated Catalog Records

Knud Helling letters and photograph, 1862-1868.
Originals and English translations of Civil War letters (1862-1865) written in Norwegian by an immigrant to Minnesota who served with the Minnesota 4th Infantry Regiment, which took part in the siege of Vicksburg and Sherman's march to Savannah. The letters were written to Helling's best friend, Guul Guttormson, and discuss Helling's locations during the war, his unit's activities, battles, observations of the country, and his commanders. One of the last letters (1863) discusses the Norwegian settlement's experiences during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and was not written by Helling, since he was in the Civil War during this time. The last letter (1868) describes Helling's farming activities in Linden Township (Minn.). Topics also include the number of acres he cultivated, crop prices, a new house he built, the health of mutual friends, and the organization of a local church congregation. A photograph of Helling is also included.
Henry G. Hicks papers, 1861-1912.
Commissions, certificates, and correspondence documenting Hicks's experiences as an officer in Illinois regiments during the Civil War, as an officer in the Minnesota National Guard, and as a member of Masonic lodges in Minneapolis. Included is a diary (1863) kept while Hicks was serving with the 93rd Illinois Infantry in Tennessee, and information regarding his application for a pension.
Jackson County Library Board (Minn.). Minutes and meeting files, 1976-2011.
Lauritz M. Lange and family papers, 1864-1918.
Correspondence and related materials of Lange when he was a sergeant in the 165th Regiment of New York Infantry during the Civil War and thereafter in the 13th United States Infantry Regiment, in the Illinois and Minnesota National Guard, as notary public in Illinois and in Nobles, Lyon, and Cass counties (Minn.), and as county attorney and judge of probate in Nobles and Cass counties, respectively; and a few items from the papers of Lange's father-in-law, Harlow B. Comstock, including programs of the First Presbyterian Church of Canandaigua, New York.
Levi Longfellow papers, 1865-1926.
Correspondence (1910-1924), addresses and reports (1906-1926), news clippings (1913-1923), and memorabilia of Longfellow, a pioneer Minneapolis produce dealer, Grand Army of the Republic official, and member of the Sibley punitive expedition against the Dakota Indians in 1863. Correspondents include George G. Allanson, Knute Nelson, Jacob A. O. Preus, Maria Sanford, and Theodore Schwan. The letters include discussion of the execution of Little Six (Shakopee) and Medicine Bottle (Wa-Kan'-O-Zan-Zan) following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 (1915) which was supervised by Theodore Swan, and of a proposed memorial to Minnesota Civil War soldiers (1923). There are addresses by Longfellow on the 30th anniversary of the Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church (1906) and on Minnesota troops in the Civil War; his reports of activities as GAR patriotic instructor (1925-1926); and clippings and miscellany on Civil War and GAR matters.
Metropolitan Waste Control Commission (Minn.). Motions and resolutions, 1985-1993.
Minnesota Equal Franchise League papers, 1911-1917.
Correspondence with the National American Woman Suffrage Association and with the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage regarding methods of influencing federal and state legislation on woman suffrage; copies of bills considered by the Minnesota legislature to grant suffrage to women, with information on United States congressmen from Minnesota and their views; and two "Traveling Kampaign Kits."
Sherburne County. District Court. Torrens records, 1911-1982.
Torrens dockets (1911-1973) and torrens decrees (1911-1982), recording actions taken and orders issued in applications to register and clear titles to parcels of land.
Sherburne County. County Attorney. Registers of criminal actions.
Register of criminal actions initiated from the county attorney’s office.
Sherburne County. County Court. Probate Division records.
Miscellaneous record 19-D, final decrees and wills (1976-1978) and 19-E, wills (1978-1982).
Sherburne County. County Court. Plaintiff's and defendant's indexes.
Plaintiffs and defendants indexes to District Court civil and criminal case files. Entries may 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.

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