Category: Research
Carver: Small City, Big History.
It is easy to overlook this tiny little town squeezed between the slightly more noticeable cities of Shakopee and Chaska, but for those who take notice there is a quaint little city with a rich history to be found. The City of Carver was named by Governor Alexander Ramsey after the British Explorer Jonathan Carver who passed through the area in the 1760s. In 1851 the present cite of the city was settled by Axel Jorgenson who established a hotel on his 415 acre parcel. A short 3 years later, a company (which Ramsey was a part of) called Carver… more
A Little Lesson in Irish Names
I have long known names can be tricky. Sources like a census, or even newspaper articles were often based upon oral descriptions, such as the subject telling the census taker the names of his family members. So it isn’t uncommon to find names misspelled, or abbreviated such as Jas. for James, or Jorg for George. Especially in the United States where there were large numbers of people immigrating each year, a census taker whose native language was not English might completely misinterpret the spelling, for example in an 1900 census of in Minnesota, Emily Craven becomes Emelie Greaven. Of course,… more
Research Trip to Winona
A couple weeks ago I took a trip to Winona to visit the research library and archives at the Winona County Historical Society. It was a truly great trip. I met a lot of great people who were extremely helpful at the historical society and came away with some great information in the end! I did a little site seeing! And then got to the Winona County Historical Society bright and early, which happens to be located in the beautiful 1915 Armory building. more
September
It seems like fall is always irrationally busy for us and something about spending all your time neck deep in old books while the leaves are turning feels right. While we’re hard at work, sometimes this little piece of online real estate can get a little neglected. But I promise, we won’t forget all about it! In the meanwhile, for any who might be interested, I have posted my most recent publication on the website under the “About Us – The Founder” section. It’s a fascinating story about an old police uniform held in the collection of the Dakota County… more
Make History Contest: Choosing a Project
We left off on Friday talking about how you should ALL enter the Make History Contest for your chance to win one of three of our $899.00 packages (your choice of a Heritage Package or Legacy Package). We talked about the two types of packages and different examples of how they can be used as well as the difference between them. Today, we are going to talk about how to choose a project, specifically for the purpose of taking advantage of the Make History Contest. First off, here is a look at what is involved in the creation of the… more
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