Thursday, February 19, 2009

Anton Rost and the Dakota War of 1862

As I promised, here are the bare bones of the story of my ancestor during the Dakota War of 1862. His name was Anton Rost, and he and his family were living in Henderson, Sibley County. Anton was a butcher, and his wife Rosina ran the local hotel. The story was published in Rosina's obituary in 1913 [St. Peter Free Press, 11 Oct 1913] (but not in his!), after the family had moved to St. Peter, Nicollet County.

"In attempting to drive across the ice of the Red River it gave way and precipitated him and team into the icy water. Mr. Rost was unable to swim but managed to unhook the horses. The team, however, got away from him and left him struggling alone in the water. He succeeded to keep afloat until he reached a clump of willows in mid-stream and after being in the water for several hours attracted the attention of an Indian who rescued him. This Indian never afterwards failed to recall the attention of Mr. Rost to the fact that he had saved his life. Just before the Indian outbreak his recuer came to him and told him of the plans of the Indians, and requested Mr. Rost to take him and his family with him until the uprising had been put down. This Indian and family stayed with Mr. Rost at Henderson until hostilities were at an end."

I had a lot of questions. Is the story true? How did they take in the Indians? Who were they? Since Anton's mishap happened on the Red River in NW Minnesota, it's most likely the Indian family were Upper Sioux. When had Anton gone through the ice and specifically where? Basically, I wanted to know what was fact in the story, and what was oral tradition?

The first step was sorting out what information could be found in other records. Census records assured me that the family was in Henderson, and various other sources told me he was a butcher and she ran the hotel. Since he was reportedly delivering beef to the Indians, I looked for a contract with the U.S. Government. I found payment records for deliveries for the Upper Sioux, on order of John Grininger, as well as deliveries to the Lower Sioux. Nothing about going through the ice, nor a rescue by an Indian, however. On the other hand, it did mean that he could have developed relationships with individual Dakota, and could have known his rescuer. There are many stories of such relationships, including other warnings of the outbreak by Indians to settlers.

I looked at the newspapers for Henderson for the last part of 1862, and found no pertinent reference. Though the family had arrived in the U.S. in 1855, they lived first in Washington county, before heading for Henderson. His first land purchase in Henderson was in January 1858 [land records, Sibley county], but they could have been there earlier.

Was the hotel operational during the Dakota War? The answer to that is unequivocally "Yes!" Anton received payments for board and room provided to the military forces that stayed there [Claims from the Dakota Conflict, in 4 volumes], but he and/or Rosina are not mentioned in the 5th volume to be published in March on Emergency Aid for the Refugees. They didn't move to St. Peter until 1865.

So soldiers were staying at the hotel as they passed through town. That could be scary for an Indian, even if a non-combatant with a family. Could it be a mixed-blood family, who was fleeing from the necessity to join Little Crow? How would Anton protect them? The story suggests they remained in the Minnesota River valley. Where did they go afterwards? Even after my attempts to find evidence to prove the details of the family story, my questions haven't gone away.

Is this family story factual or true? While I couldn't identify collaborative evidence for all of the facts in the story, I didn't find any that suggests that it didn't happen either. And there is definitely enough other supporting evidence for a few of the facts to make me a believer of the truth in it.

Incidentally, any light you can shed on this story would be welcome! I'd still like to know who that Indian was and what happened to him and his family.


Your stories wanted

Has your ancestors' stories about the Dakota Conflict been passed along in your family? Share it with others, and pass it along here. You just may find a cousin who holds the key.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Where were your ancestors?

The Minnesota Genealogical Journal #41 is now at the printers, and will be mailed in early March. It includes a compiled list of those who likely fled for safety at the Hutchinson stockade, almost 450 people. (You can read the Editor's letter here.) It also includes a challenge in the Editor's letter for those whose ancestors were in Minnesota at the time of the U.S./Dakota War of 1862.

Most of those in the Hutchinson stockade were 'ordinary' people -- children ranging in age from a few days to teenagers who helped take care of the wounded in the hospital, at least two adults who decided to marry, women and the elderly, and farmers, in addition to the members of the militia. And the same type of scene happened all over central Minnesota, as the panic spread. For the most part, their stories haven't been told. Is your ancestor among these ordinary people?

The literature neglects them and the stories of their daily activities, because only the more sensational stories were published. What were they able to save when they fled? How did they feed their families? Where did they go after the crisis was over? I invite you to share their stories, and I'll include them on this blog, and perhaps in an upcoming issue of the Journal.

This may even be a way for you to meet up with others who are researching families from the same area, and perhaps cousins you don't know yet.

Mary

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Local historical societies

One of my favorite places is the library at the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS). The Society is a combination of a museum, state library (e.g., all the state's newspapers are sent there, and are on microfilm, and most of the books published in the state as well), and the archives for state and local governments. The range of resources is very wide, and I love poking around the on-line catalog for materials that are relevant to my current project.

But at the same time, there are other sources in the state which are goldmines in their own right--the local historical societies and groups that focus on smaller areas. I grew up in Freeborn County, and there are four smaller historical groups in addition to the county historical society. And the county historical society has a relationship with the county genealogical society as well. And the same is true in many of Minnesota's 87 counties. There are local groups that have local collections with materials that can help further your family history.

Here is the on-line list of local historical societies:
<www.mnhs.org/localhistory/mho/chsclo.html>

Check out your county at to see if there is a local organization for your area of interest. And thanks to MHS for providing the information!

Mary

Minnesota Genealogy

I've been publishing on-line research notes for Minnesota since 1994, and have been the Ramsey County MnGenWeb coordinator since the USGenWeb hit Minnesota. 2008 was Minnesota's 150th birthday, and the anniversary for the Civil War and the U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862 is soon approaching. (Minnesota was the first state to offer troops to President Lincoln, after war was declared.) A new state perhaps, but her citizens were heavily involved in the nation's history!

I'm finding that waiting for the monthly notes or just responding to Ramsey County questions takes care of a few of the things I'd like to share with family historians doing research on the Minnesota-area relatives. So, I'm going to try blogging. You can expect research hints, notices of new and old resources, upcoming meetings, and more. I hope you'll join me on this adventure.

Mary