Old rail fence corners: Frontier tales told by Minnesota pioneers

by Daughters of the American Revolution

Personal stories of hardship and happiness told by 154 early Minnesota settlers re-create everyday frontier life from the 1840s to the 1860s. This remarkable collection of reminiscences was first published by the Daughters of the American Revolution in Minnesota in 1914.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

Paperback

First published May 1, 1976

About the author

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they work to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. The organization's membership is limited to direct lineal descendants of soldiers or others of the Revolutionary period who aided the cause of independence; applicant must have reached 18 years of age and are reviewed at the chapter level for admission. It currently has approximately 185,000 members in the United States and in several other countries. Its motto is "God, Home, and Country."

Since the late 20th century, following the civil rights movement and changes in historic scholarship, the organization has expanded its membership, recognizing minority contributions and expanding the definition of those whose work is considered to have aided the Revolution, and recognizing more ways in which women and other people served.

Reviews

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (liked a lot)

Having lived for some time in The Twin Cities, I found this book of recollections of Minnesota pioneers living in the mid-19th-Century very interesting, especially because the accounts are first-hand and because of the presence of the Native Americans.  The pioneers' observations of, and interactions with, the Native Americans, in addition to numerous tidbits about settlers' daily life, make this a well worthwhile read.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating collection of stories! I appreciate the women who, in the early 1900’s, realized that a lot of Minnesota history was dying with the people. They went far and wide throughout the state to talk to older people who came to Minnesota in the 1850’s (or before or after). They wrote down what they heard and much of it is quite interesting. Our lives are so different today, compared to the hardships that early pioneers suffered through, although they did not necessarily see these things as suffering at the time - it was all they knew. Many people recalled interactions with the Indian tribes, the Sioux (Dakota) and the Chippewa (Ojibway), who were constantly at war with each other. There’s a lot about the Dakota Uprising of 1862 from the perspective of the settlers, but there were no Native Americans interviewed to tell their stories. That would have been interesting, too.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this book. In so many ways.

In the early 1900s, Lucy Morris and her friends realized that the people who had originally settled the Minnesota territory after the Louisiana Purchase in the 1850s-60s were now very old and dying off, and their stories of life on the frontier would die with them. So, they set off to interview as many of these people as they could find, and compiled it into a volume that is today a heartbreaking treasure of history.

Some entries are very short, others several pages long. But they all have the power to transport the reader back in time to a land that sadly no longer exists as it did for these pioneers in Minnesota.

There are tales of first impressions of the wide open prairie. Tales of encounters with Indians, friendly and deadly. Descriptions of winters so harsh it's hard to understand how they survived. Stories of neighbor helping neighbor. Stories of the food people had to eat. Historical records of the prices of everything from a pound of butter to a barrel of flour. Accounts of how the capitol city was built. Recollections of wildlife so abundant as to block out the sun as flocks of birds flew by.

Reading this book while living in Minneapolis/St Paul and having grown up in Minnesota gave it an added dimension for me. I am familiar with all the places described in the book. Sometimes I would go to these places with the book in hand and marvel at how much things have changed. The beauty of the land as these people experienced in contrast to what exists today sometimes literally brought me to tears.

This book is a truly remarkable volume and a real treasure to not only historians but to citizens of Minnesota, and any state. It's absolutely beautiful.

[Curt Rude · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend loaned me this book because as Bob said . . . "I'd love it". Man was he right. It is not over edited and thus told in the language of the pioneers. The stories are interesting to say the least. I had to keep reminding myself that these events only took place just over 150 years ago. If you spot this review Mr Haymond, you'd love this book. I'd be suprised if you didn't encounter it when researching your book . . . The Infamous Dakota War Trials of 1862: Revenge, Military Law and the Judgement of History.

[Sluserfive · Rating 4 out of 5]

GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating collection of first person accounts of early Minnesota pioneers. Very thankful for the women who took the time to collect (and print) these memories before they were lost forever!

[Jeff Verthein · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the memory of my 97 year old Grandfather fades, I searched for something about old Minnesota history on the Kindle library - and Hey! This one just happened to be free, too!

At first I was perturbed when I realized that this was not the work of a trained historian, but instead a collection of (presumably) interview responses from the elderly people who originally pioneered the territory in the years when westward expansion was becoming policy - after the voyageurs and fur trappers but before the US Army completely cleared and quarantined the natives. The quality of the respondents varied greatly, and I had early doubts as I read far too many repetitive comments about how much butter cost and recollections of the Red River traders. But after reading it to the end, I think I talked more about this book than any of the others I read over that two week span when I was reading a book every day or two.

I loved the descriptions or winters, grasshoppers and mosquitoes, and wild game, and native behaviors, and of course I had plenty of local zeal when areas I am familiar with were mentioned, and especially from the one women who stated that such hardships made for amazing neighbors, and that those kind of neighbors were worth far more than the luxuries of the New York life she left behind. These were tough people, and it is amazing to contemplate what they went through and how they dealt with it. Winter in MN in a house with no windows?! Unreal. Some memories are so banal that instead of subtracting from the narrative, you can tell that pioneer life was almost overwhelming to the point where some things so small are forced to become memorable because it must have been the only break in the routine.

I happened to read this only a couple of months after the 150th anniversary of the mass hanging in Mankato, and so was especially intrigued by the recollections of Little Crow's uprising, and the one from the man who recollected how Little Crow's father, on his deathbed, warned that his son would be trouble. Some pioneers liked the natives, and some were disdainful, and I'm fascinated that there were so much variety in these responses. How casual these old timers would mention scalps and corpses in their stories. Crazy.

I could ramble more, but I'll just recommend this book, or something simialr about whatever part of the world you might happen to come from.

[Judy Evenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why on earth would any book club pick this as a monthly read for discussion????? Totally not worth the time to read or discuss unless the book club is specifically about history or some other intellectual/academic pursuit! Now if I were writing a thesis on Minnesota history there is a great deal of material worth taking a look at! But that's not what a book club is all about!

Please, let's never do this again!!!

[Forest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for research rather than fun, and with that mindset this is a really neat book, with lots of little tidbits of information everywhere. It does seem disorganized at times, but the person who recommended it to me pointed out that it seems to have been organized based on a set of interview questions which were not included (at least the Old Trails Chapter, later chapters seemed more random).

[Straw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happened across this at my local library. It is an outstanding collection of oral histories regarding the 1850's and 60's in Minnesota. It will come in very handy with my letter writing in the unit.

[Randy Wurm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll really enjoyed it. a period in our history I think would be fascinating to experience with NO knowledge of the future. Native American people would peak in Windows and walk into homes without knocking, and you get a feel for how they were repressed. I may need to check out. more on the war.

[Leaflet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminiscences of the early settlers of Minnesota back when it was wild and woolly.

[Jeanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started it but was put off by so many negative references to the American Indians. I know these are narratives from that time but I couldn't handle them.

[Kristie Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were many interesting facts about early life in Minnesota in this book, but since the various tales were so randomly told it was hard to stay engaged and follow the stories clearly.

[Kevin Bokay]

Good oral accounts of early settlers in Minnesota.

[Sunderbug · Rating 5 out of 5]

a free digital copy may be acquired at archives.org

[Susan P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good history of Minnesota settlers in their own words. Copyright 1916.