p2266.xml JAMES H. QUINN: An Inventory of His Reminiscences at the Minnesota Historical Society Finding aid prepared by Kathryn A. Johnson. Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul MN.

Manuscripts Collection

 Finding aid encoded by Lyda Morehouse, October 8, 1999. Finding aid written inEnglish August 2008Converted from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 by Monica Manny Ralston, Daniel Sher, and Joyce Chapman. OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Minnesota Historical Society Quinn, James H., 1857-1930. Some early Minnesota history from the autobiography of Judge James H. Quinn. 1928. Reminiscences (35 pp., typed) of James H. Quinn, a lawyer and associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (1916-1927) from Blue Earth County (Minn.). 1 folder. P2266. BIOGRAPHY OF JAMES H. QUINN

James H. Quinn was born in Kilbourne City, Wisconsin (June 23, 1857), the son of Andrew and Hannah (Mountford) Quinn. The family moved to Blue Earth County, Minnesota in 1863. He studied law under William N. Plymat of Mapleton (Minn.) and was admitted to the Minnesota Bar in 1884. He entered a law partnership (1886-1888) with Frank E. Putnam (Wells, Minn.), and was elected Faribault County Attorney (1888-1897), judge of the 17th Judicial District (1899-1916), and associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (1916-1927). He died in St. Paul on February 8, 1930.

 SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION

The reminiscences begin with background information on Quinn's parents, Andrew (1830-1897) and Hannah (1835-1896); the family's migration from Ohio to Chicago, to Portage City (Wis.), and finally to Medo, Blue Earth County, Minnesota.

There is information on farm life in Wisconsin; construction of sod houses and dugout houses (p.18-19); schools; timber resources; food; fishing; game and other animals; social life; farm work and machinery; his experiences in Poynette, Wisconsin, where he attended school for three years; and events in his life after his return to Minnesota in 1878.

Events and persons of interest include: the blizzards of 1873 (pp. 13-15, 33) and of 1887 (pp. 20-21); the grasshopper plague of 1875-1876 and the Reverend John W. Powell (pp. 16-18); sheep raising in Medo, mentioning wool spinning and clothes preparation (p. 21); soap making (p. 32); and vignettes of Martin J. Severance (pp. 23-24), Frank E. Putnam, and Morton S. Wilkinson (p. 25). The rest of the document (pp. 26-35) contains brief descriptions of legal cases brought before Judge Quinn.

Following the reminiscences are photocopies of Quinn's obituary from the Minneapolis Journal (February 15, 1930); his biographical sketch from Memorial Record of the Counties of Faribault, Martin, Watonwan, and Jackson (1885); and the accessions note from Minnesota History (December 1930).

 CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: Blizzards--Minnesota--Blue Earth County. Farm Equipment--Minnesota--Blue Earth County. Farm Life--Minnesota--Blue Earth County. Frontier and pioneer life--Minnesota--Blue Earth County. Irish Americans--Minnesota--Blue Earth County. Frontier and pioneer life--Wisconsin. Grasshoppers--Minnesota. Justice, Administration of--Minnesota. Law--Minnesota--Cases. Pioneers--Minnesota. Pioneers--Wisconsin. Schools--Minnesota. Schools--Wisconsin. Sod houses--Minnesota. Places: Blue Earth County (Minn.). Persons: Powell, James Walker, 1822-1904. Putnam, Frank E., 1857-1944. Severance, Martin Juan, 1826-1907. Wilkinson, Morton S. (Morton Smith), 1819-1894. Types of Documents: Reminiscences--Minnesota. Occupations: Lawyers--Minnesota. Judges--Minnesota. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. James H. Quinn Reminiscences. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

 Accession Information:

Accession number: 3250

 Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, January 1998

Catalog ID number: 09-00320374