Finding Aids
February Highlights
Alexander G. Huggins and family papers
Correspondence, historical background materials, reminiscences, photographs, and other papers relating to the work of Presbyterian missionary Alexander G. Huggins and his family, have recently been digitized and are available for viewing online.
Thomas Cheetham and family papers
Features newly digitized written correspondence principally between a Minnesota homesteader and his wife regarding their move to Anoka and his service with the Minnesota Eighth Regiment, Company A during the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War.
Browse Finding Aids by Name
Select a letter below to browse an alphabetical list of finding aids by the names of creators.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I-K | L
M | N | O-Q | R | S | T | U-V | W-Z
What is a Finding Aid?
A finding aid is a users guide to a collection at the Minnesota Historical Society. Its purpose is to help you discover specific materials within each collection and identify where those materials are located.
A finding aid may describe personal or family papers, business or government records, photographs, sound recordings, moving images, oral histories, sheet music, or print publications.
A finding aid has at least two parts. The first is an overview that explains what the collection is, who created it, when, and what materials or topics are included. The second is a detailed description that lists the contents of the collection. The list will not identify every item, but it will give enough detail to help you discover parts you can explore further by visiting the Library.
The finding aids represent less than 15% of our collections. To learn more about other collections, search our catalog.
Featured Finding Aids
James C. Christie Papers - Addition
New addition includes a Civil War-era letter from William G. Christie to his brother, written while stationed at the St. Louis Arsenal as part of the First Minnesota Light Artillery, January 19, 1862.
Thomas and Carmelite Christie Papers - Addition
This recent addition showcases newly digitized biographical material - a genealogical chart tracing the Thomas D. Christie lineage from James Christie (1554-1651) of Balbenchlie.
Reed and Hyde Families - Addition
Several hundred nitrate negatives from the Reed and Hyde families papers are newly digitized and available to view online. These images illustrate the home of Jane Reed Dwight and Arthur Dwight, Great Neck, New York, and a trip to Australia.
Louis W. Hill - AdditionNewly digitized images from original nitrate negatives have been added to the Louis W. Hill papers and can be viewed online. Views of various family homes in Minnesota and California, hunting and fishing trips, and vacations are included.
Eugene McCarthy PapersA new finding aid for Eugene McCarthy's papers is now available online. This collection provides wonderful insight into Eugene McCarthy's political, senatorial, and writing career and covers topics such as the 1968 political campaign, Vietnam, Minnesota politics, and foreign relations.
Allen White Tiffany LettersThis recently acquired collection includes two digitized letters and one envelope of 2nd Lieutenant Allen White Tiffany of Company H, Ninth Minnesota, while a Confederate prisoner-of-war in Charleston, South Carolina.
Northfield (Minnesota) Bank Robbery of 1876 Selected Manuscript Collections
The Minnesota Historical Society maintains a significant cache of Northfield Bank Robbery material-from first-person testimonies and reminiscences to government records-documenting the attempted robbery and its aftereffects. Much of this material has been digitized and is accessible via the Web.
Thomas S. Williamson PapersNewly acquired and digitized pieces of this collection feature correspondence from Gideon H. Pond to Thomas S. Williamson regarding John Other Day and Indians taken prisoner during the Dakota Conflict.
Dakota Conflict of 1862 Manuscripts Collections
Digital versions of this microfilmed compilation of letters, reports, diaries, and reminiscences detailing the experiences of both white and Dakota participants was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.
Louis W. Hill PapersDigital content has been added to the inventory of Louis W. Hill papers. These includes scans of St. Paul Winter Carnival materials, Glacier National Park papers, Prince of Wales hotel blueprints, maps, and other ephemera.
Ransom Chadwick's Andersonville Prison diary
Chadwick's 2-volume diary has been digitized. The diary was written mostly while in Andersonville Prison, Georgia, as a member of the Eighty-fifth New York Infantry. Digital versions of a typed transcription of the diary's narrative portion and ephemera are also available.
William W. Folwell and Family Papers
Digital content has been added to the finding aid for the Folwell family papers, including scans of Cole Younger's handwritten account of the Northfield bank robbery, and a commission issued to Jonas Hubbard by John Hancock in 1775.
William D. Hale and Family Papers
Digitized handwritten letters from Hale to his family that recount an expedition into Indian country and the surrender of the Third Minnesota Volunteer Regiment at Murfreesboro are featured in the finding aid.
Elijah Edwards Civil War Journals
The collection includes a three-volume set of journals (typescript compilation and two volumes of photocopied originals) kept by Edwards, chaplain of the 7th Minnesota Infantry during the Civil War. The first volume has been digitized in pdf format.
Harold Stassen PapersFeatures newly digitized materials, including speeches, reports, correspondence, commission files, HUAC investigations, United Nations materials, and Stassen's war diary.
Pierre Chouteau and Family Papers
Includes correspondence, contracts, accounts, and other related documents concerning the fur trade, fur companies, the Dakota, Sac, and Fox Indians, and similar matters. Ten original letters are available as PDF copies.
Josiah Snelling PapersFeatures newly digitized materials, including a journal kept by Colonel Snelling as commandant at Fort Snelling providing information on the Fifth United States Infantry's activities at Forts Crawford and Snelling.
Governor Pawlenty RecordsGovernor Tim Pawlenty's records were recently acquired and are now available. They include executive orders, state of the state addresses, legislative actions logs and letters, resolution and chapter files, correspondence, daily schedules, press releases, photographs, and sound and video recordings. Some finding aids include digital content.
Walter F. Mondale PapersNewly digitized speeches, correspondence, memoranda, reports, and administrative files provide immediate access to content within Walter F. Mondale's Papers.
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension: Criminal History Files
Fifty-one newly digitized criminal history files, mainly documenting 1930s gangsters. The files contain photographs, fingerprint cards, correspondence with the FBI and law enforcement agencies, wanted posters, criminal history transcripts, and news clippings.
Winter Carnival Association Records
Minutes, correspondence, financial information, administration files, and printed materials of a voluntary association which has sponsored a mid-winter festival in St. Paul, Minnesota since 1885.
War Records Commission: World War I Soldiers' Photographs
Contains photographs of soldiers, some of which include the geographic location where enlistment occurred. The majority of the photos in this collection represent World War I soldiers, however, there are a few images of soldiers from other wars.
Collection of Songs and Music by Minnesota Composers
Contains songs and music published in Minnesota or songs and music published elsewhere by composers residing in Minnesota.
Minnesota Dept. of Transportation Audio Visual Materials
Photograph prints, negatives, and movie reels depicting highway construction and repair projects; equipment and technology; road crews; project sites; bridges; historic site markers; and miscellaneous Transportation Department activities.
Published Material by James J. Hill
New digital resources have been added to the James J. Hill Papers. They include Hill's Highways of Progress, speeches, and other publications that are contained within the Speeches and Writings of his personal papers.
Charles A. Lindbergh Photograph Album
Views of Lindbergh's Army air cadet training at Ellington Field and Kelly Field, and views of towns in Texas and Mexico compiled by Charles A. Lindbergh.
Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Edina Newspaper Photographs Collection
Contains photographs from the primary St. Paul and Minneapolis newspapers in their various incarnations and the Edina Sun newspaper. 176 boxes of images are arranged into five series: St. Paul Dispatch/Pioneer Press portraits; St. Paul Dispatch/Pioneer Press photographs arranged by subject; Edina Sun photographs; Minneapolis Star Tribune portraits; and Minneapolis Star Tribune photographs arranged by subject. The images provide views of people, places, and events from various locations around Minnesota, the United States, and elsewhere that were taken by staff photographers as well as images supplied by others.
With generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, we are pleased to introduce a new page that lists all the new collection inventories that were added or revised over the last month. What's New will be updated each month so you can learn more about new collections and additions to existing materials.
Twin Cities African American Community
Professional photographer Charles Chamblis took numerous photographs of people and events in the Twin Cities African American community in the 1970s and 1980s. Views of musicians, nightclubs, businesses, local celebrities, and weddings are included.
Hennepin County Marriage, Birth, and Death Records
Copies of marriage certificates (1853-1996), birth certificates (1866-1902), and death certificates (1870-1909) are now available on microfilm for use in the library.
Brenda Ueland and Family Papers
A recent addition of family papers and correspondence doubled the size of this collection and includes letters to Brenda Ueland from Sinclair Lewis, Langston Hughes, and Carl Sandburg.
Songs and Music about Minnesota Places, Institutions, Businesses, and Themes
These 37 scores include a mix of waltzes, marches, rags, and songs for piano and voice. While some promote summer destinations such as Lake of the Woods, others celebrate the Aquatennial or promote the Minnesota Boat Club. Cover art and advertising enhance the rich, multi-dimensional aspect of the collection.
Hill Family Collection Card Index
A digital version of the card index to the papers of James J. Hill and Louis W. Hill has been added to the Hill Family Collection.
James D. LaBelle PapersSacrificing his life on March 8, 1945 to protect two other soldiers during the assault on Iwo Jima, James D. LaBelle was one of ten Minnesotans to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War II. LaBelle's letters sent home to his sister and his Medal of Honor citation signed by President Harry Truman are included in this collection.
The business activities and personal lives of three generations of the James J. Hill family are revealed in this collection of correspondence, diaries, financial records, maps, printed material, photographs, scrapbooks, railroad, land, mining, and other corporate records.
U.S. General Land Office. Registers of Indian Allotment Entries
Included in the U.S. General Land Office records, Crookston, Duluth, and St. Cloud districts, are indexes to allotments made under the 1887 Dawes Act and the 1889 Nelson Act. The indexes can help you find information about individuals who applied for allotted acreages on several of the state's reservations.
Gordon & Ferguson RecordsPhotographs, scrapbooks, sales catalogs, stock certificates, financial and other business records focus on the products and history of Gordon & Ferguson and several other related furriers and outerwear manufacturing companies.
National Defense Vocational Training Photographs
Images from the 1940s show men and women taking aptitude tests and training and working in various occupations.
Norton & Peel Photograph Collection
Over 21,000 negatives, photoprints, and albums that focus on the commercial photography of C.J. Hibbard, Walter Norton, and Clifford Peel are detailed in a new inventory to the Norton & Peel photograph collection.
Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association Records
An alphabetical index (in PDF format) has been added to the records of the Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association. The index can help you find information about public school teachers who applied for retirement funds between 1915 and 1931.
Stillwater State Prison Convict Registers
Alphabetical indexes (in PDF format) have been added to the finding aid for the Minnesota State Prison Convict Registers. These indexes can help you find the inmate number for individuals imprisoned at Stillwater, 1854-1902.
Hubert H. Humphrey PapersAn inventory to the papers of Minneapolis Mayor, United States Senator, and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey has been updated. The collection includes materials from all three public offices as well as his family and personal life, 1968 presidential campaign, and 1970 senatorial campaign.
Marvin Krinke World War II Photograph Collection
Images captured by a US Army photographer feature a self-portrait, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, destruction outside Rome and Marseilles, soldiers, St. Peter's Altar, European towns, a snow scene, and bullet tracer trajectories at night
James J. Hill Papers: Selected Digital Items
Digitized versions of selected correspondence, clippings, and reports from the General Correspondence and Northern Pacific Reorganization series of the James J. Hill papers.
David Ramsey Dakota War Letter
A private in Company B of the Sixth Minnesota wrote to his cousin about prairie life and the Union's cause while he was stationed at Forest City, Minnesota to build a stockade during the U.S.-Dakota Conflict.
Richard Ferrell Flour Milling Industry History Collection
Marketing and promotional items, cookbooks, newsletters, architectural drawings, and photographs provide a 140 year overview of flour milling, milling companies, and mill products. Particularly strong in its coverage of Minnesota-based millers, especially Pillsbury, the collection also includes materials from neighboring states, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada.
Photographs from this collection are available in the Photo & Art Database.
Edward D. Neill and Family Papers
48 carte de visites and tintypes have been added to the Edward D. Neill and Family Papers.
Selected images are available in the Photo & Art Database.
Edward A. Walker Civil War Letters
Two letters (June 25, 1861 and September 9, 1863) written by Edward A. Walker, a private in Company D of the First Minnesota Infantry, to his friend George W. Knight provide a soldier's perspective on troop movements, camp life, and the cities of New York, N.Y. and Alexandria, Virginia.
A volume of handwritten sermons originally presented to the Bishop Seabury Divinity School in Faribault, Minnesota has been added to the papers of Bishop Henry B. Whipple.
Arthur H. Jensen Minneapolis-Moline Negative Collection
More than 14,000 black and white negatives provide a thirty year glimpse of the Minneapolis-Moline Company, its products, offices, manufacturing facilities, executives, employees, and enthusiasts.
Finding Aids: Numerical | Topical
Selected images are available in the
Photo & Art Database.
