Portraits of ten Minnesota State Officers, incorporated into a six-pointed star: Governor Ramsey; Lt. Gov Donnelly; Secretary Baker; Treasurer Scheffer; Dept of Instruction Neill; Auditor Kraft; Atty General Cole; Statistician Wheelock; Adjt General Acker; and State Printer Van Vorhes.
Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815-1884) was an abolitionist and advocate of women's rights. She ran the newspapers "The St. Cloud Visitor" and the "St. Cloud Democrat."
Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815-1884) was an abolitionist and advocate of women's rights. She ran the newspapers "The St. Cloud Visitor" and the "St. Cloud Democrat."
Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815-1884) was an abolitionist and advocate of women's rights. She ran the newspapers "The St. Cloud Visitor" and the "St. Cloud Democrat."
Portrait of Joe Whitford. Mr. Whitford built the first cabin on the townsite in the summer of 1857 and was responsible for naming the city in honor of his benefactor, James Fergus.
Orgins of St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. Mother Willibalda Scherbauer, OSB, led four sisters and two candidates, ranging in age from 18 to 26, from St. Marys, Pennslyvania, to the Midwest frontier (St. Cloud, Minnesota) in 1857. Mother Willibalda (Franciska) was born in Kastel, Bavaria in 1831. At an early age, her family took her to St. Walburg Convent in Eichstätt to be educated. There she professed her vows in 1851; four years later, she volunteered to join the sisters in America. Then in 1857, she volunteered to venture to the Northwest Territory and was appointed prioress of the St. Cloud community by Boniface Wimmer, OSB. Mother Willibalda was an accomplished musician of whom Jane Swisshelm, editor of a local newspaper, wrote, "The Lady Abbess is small, slight, delicate, graceful, and as accomplished a lady as you could meet in any circle...waking the first echoes of those broad prairies in a call (daily ringing of the church bell) to bow regularly at an altar of Christian worship..." (McDonald, page41). Mother Willibalda's able administration as leader gave the Benedictine sisters a firm monastic foundation, not only in St. Cloud, but also in St. Joseph, the nucleus of St. Benedict's Monastery. She is lovingly remembered for accepting Mother Benedicta Riepp into the St. Cloud community when she was misunderstood by authorities and some community members for upholding the rights of the sisters in America (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 12, 15-16, 19).
This is a photograph of Governor Henry Swift from St. Peter, Minnesota. Swift was the third Governor of Minnesota and served from July 10, 1863 to January 11, 1864.
Albert Dahlem was a Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Officer, seen here wearing his uniform. After the war, he moved to Sauk Centre, becoming an avid businessman.
Studio portrait of Alois and Louisa Wemerskirchen, members of a well-known Shakopee family. Handwriting on reverse reads: "Louisa Wermerskirchen" and "Alois Wermerskirchen."