Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2023

Josephine Sand was born Dec. 23, 1854, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Her father was Heinrich Henry Sand who was born Dec. 25, 1824, in Schrondweiler, Canton de Mersch, Luxembourg, and died June 13, 1911. He is buried at Marystown Cemetery. Her mother was Katharina Klehr Sand, who was born Feb. 8, 1822, in Vichten, Canton de Redange, Diekirch, Luxembourg, and died Aug. 6, 1895, in Marystown, and was buried at St. Mary’s of Marystown Cemetery.

When she was one year old, Josephine and her parents headed to Marystown, Minnesota Territory, crossing in a covered wagon drawn by oxen. They built a farm located southeast of Marystown village.

Josephine lived with her parents and her siblings, including Michael (1852-1912), John (1857-1924), Catherine Sand Pieper (1860-1934), Nickolous (1863-1926), and Henry N. Sand (1864-1930).

Josephine married John Baptist Grommesch, who was born Sept. 26, 1831, in Consdorf, Canton d’Echternach, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, and died Nov. 20, 1885, at 54 years old. J.B. and Josephine married on June 20, 1857, at the Church of St. Mary of the Purification in Marystown, according to the Family Ancestry of Rademacher-Thomas and Grommesch Family by Gladys Thomas on Dec. 1, 1980.

John’s first marriage was to Katherine Mechtel (1939-1872). She was the daughter of John Mechtel (1810-1878) and Katherina Mallet Mechtel (1805-1885), who were both born in Luxembourg, where they were married on May 1, 1830. Katherine Mechtel Grommesch’s parents are buried at Marystown Cemetery.

John and Katherine lived together in a large log cabin which they built without a single nail. They had three boys: John Baptist in 1860, Mathias in 1862, and John in 1865, all born near Marystown. Katherine died in January 1872 and was buried at the Church of St. Mary of the Purification in Marystown Cemetery.

After J.B. Grommesch and Josephine Sand Grommesch married in 1857, they had seven children: John Francis (1873), Henry (1875), Catherine (1878), Mary (1880), Cecelia, called Susan (1883), an infant who died at birth (1885), and Cecelia (1886).

John Baptist Grommesch died in 1887 and was buried at Marystown Cemetery. Josephine moved to Shakopee. While in Shakopee, she met and married Jake Clemens.

Jake was born in Germany in November 1837. His first marriage was to Cecelia Sander. He married Josephine on Sept. 3, 18XX. They lived in Shakopee until Jake and Josephine moved to St. Paul in 1908. The two of them had no children. He died there Nov. 4, 1924.

According to an article in the Shakopee Argus-Tribune on May 29, 1930 called “Pioneer woman is laid to rest,” Josephine had been in a fair state of health until last Christmas Day. “She had attended a Christmas dinner at the home of her daughter…in St. Paul. Afterwards while descending the stairs she missed a step and fell fracturing her right hip. She was taken to the hospital where she remained for three weeks. She was then brought to her home and her hip healed alright, but other complications set in as a result of which she gradually failed and on May 20 (1930) she quietly passed away.”

Josephine was “a most hospitable and friendly woman and made new friends easily and always retained her old friends. She was naturally ambitious and whatever she undertook to do she did it well. She was a kindly neighbor and friend, a good mother, and an ideal homemaker.”

Josephine was survived by her three sons and four daughters, 24 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. She took pride in the distinction of being the godmother of 18 children.

According to the Shakopee Argus-Tribune article on May 22, 1930 called “Mrs. Josephine Clemens Died in St. Paul,” the funeral was held from her home in St. Paul, with Fr. Klein of St. Mary’s church officiating. Josephine was buried at the Church of St. Mary of the Purification in Marystown Cemetery.

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

John Robert Gilbert was born Oct. 3, 1930 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the middle child of Wayne Charles Gilbert, Sr. (1895-1959) and Gladys Irene Bambery Gilbert (1901-1993). His oldest brother was William Charles Gilbert (1928-2008) and his youngest brother was Wayne Charles Gilbert, Jr. (1933-2010).

John’s grandparents were William Charles Gilbert (1860-1942) and Florence Emma McCord Gilbert (1862-1957); and Richard Joseph Bambery (1856-1904) and Mary Ann Mollie Feely Bambery (1862-1960).

Great-grandparents of John included William Mardick Gilbert (1834-1872) who died when he was 38 years old when he drowned in the falls in Mosince, Wisconsin, and Helen Smith Gilbert Bruneau (1832-1913). Helen’s second husband was Jeremiah Bruneau (1837-1890); Myron Hawley McCord, Sr. (1840-1908) and Maria Anne Murray McCord (1844-1917) and John Bambery and Mary Moran, and John Feely (1831-1913) and Bridget Gartland Feely (1829-1890).

In the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Aug. 6, 2001, an obituary talked about Fr. Jack.

St. Mary’s Church of the Purification in Marystown was started in 1855. A log cabin church was built in Marystown, but burned before completed. A second church was finished in 1856. A stone church was built in 1870. In addition, in 1881 and 1882, enlarging the church caused the real wall to collapse. In 1882 the present church was completed. On Feb. 28, 1917, it was destroyed by a fire, but the stone walls were okay, and so the church was rebuilt. In 1987, Fr. Jack became pastor of the Church of St. Mary of the Purification, 15850 Marystown Road.

John graduated from Cretin High School, Nazareth Hall Seminary, and graduated from Louvain, Belgium with a S.T.L. degree in theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 1, 1956 for the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis.

Fr. Jack served in educational ministry of the Archdiocese from 1968-1990 as Director of Education and Director of Continuing Education for clergy. He served as associate pastor of St. Michael’s parish in St. Michael, and as pastor of Nativity of Mary in Bloomington. Fr. Jack was the pastor of the Church of St. Mary of the Purification from 1987-2001.

He made many contributions to the advancement of Catholic education in his position as Director of Education in Catholic elementary and secondary schools and the religious education of the youth in the public schools. Under his leadership, the religious education of adults emerged as a model for the rest of the country. Fr. Jack developed a continuing education program for the priests for the archdiocese and taught catechetics at the St. Paul Seminary. He served on many regional and national boards of education.

Fr. Jack always was remembered for his compassion and gentleness in his pastoral guidance of people of all ages.

On Aug. 2, 2001 in Shakopee, Fr. Jack Gilbert died. After a celebration of Christian burial at St. Mary’s Church of the Purification in Marystown, he was buried in the cemetery near the church.

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

James B. Heth, Jr. was born Feb. 10, 1841 in Buffalo, New York, son of James Heath, Sr. (1808-1880) and Augusta Aviah Cheney Heth (1811-1890).

In 1862, at the beginning of the Civil War, James B. Heth Jr. was living with his parents and siblings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Like his great-great grandfather, Zebediah Heath (1731-1777), James and James’s older brother joined the military.

In fact, his great-great grandfather was killed at the Battle of Hubbardton, Vermont, British Colonies, on Aug. 7, 1777!

James B. Heth, Jr. and his brother enlisted into Wisconsin 24th Infantry Regiment, according to Julie Wiese and Neil Wingert for the Chaska Historical Society in an article, “A Civil War Artifact.”

In the article, the Chaska History Center has a sword from the Civil War. “The battles where he fought are inscribed on the scabbard: Chaplin Hills, Kentucky, Oct. 8, 1862; Stones River, Tennessee, Dec. 31- Jan 1, 1863; Chickamauga, Georgia, Sept. 19-20, 1863; Missionary Ridge, Tennessee, Nov. 26, 1863. In 1864, he was promoted to second lieutenant and was transferred to the Wisconsin 38th Infantry located around the capital – Washington City (before it was named District of Columbia).

“Smaller battles and skirmishes continued to the end of the war, and his regiment witnessed the execution of the Lincoln assassination conspirators and marched down Pennsylvania Avenue as part of the Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac before being disbanded and returned to Wisconsin. James was mustered out as a First Lieutenant, surviving four years of infantry combat without apparent physical injury or permanent disability or sickness.”

Once James B. Heth, Jr. was discharged from service, he moved to Shakopee, and on Oct. 29, 1865 James married Jennie Brown (1840-1905). Jennie’s mother, Lucelia, died in 1844, and her father, David S. Brown (1808-1883) married Julia Ann Kellogg Brown (1821-1912), and moved from Pittsfield, Michigan to Eden Prairie, and then moved to Shakopee. They managed the National Hotel, which the Shakopee Argus in a Feb. 14, 1867 advertisement noted, “This large house is now open for public entertainment and patronage. It has the advantages of being centrally located, convenient and comfortable in its arrangements with many large and airy rooms. Every thing is new and the house thoroughly renovated,” said David Brown, the proprietor.

James and Jennie had a son, James Heth III, who was born in 1868. “Little Jimmy” felt sick for one day and then died of scarlet fever in December 1880. A daughter, Nellie Jane Heth Faber, was born June 30, 1873, and died Sept. 18, 1957. Both were buried at Valley Cemetery in Shakopee.

James B. Heth, Jr. worked as a railway depot agent. Then, he managed the National Hotel with his wife Jennie until it was destroyed by the Great Fire on Oct. 2, 1879.

From then until his death, James worked in mercantiles and handyman jobs where he could find the work.

He was active in the community within the Grand Army Post and Shakopee Fire Department.

James B. Heth, Jr. was stricken with “paralysis” in June 1892 and died April 16, 1893, leaving his daughter Nellie to help care for her mother until Jennie’s death in July 1905.

Valley Cemetery has tombstones for James and his two children.

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

Jabez William Flavel was born Oct. 4, 1828 in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire, England, and was baptized Jan. 27, 1829. His parents were William Flavel (1776-1838) and Elizabeth Anderson Flavel (1793-1867).

When he was 23 years old, Jabez William Flavel arrived at New York on Dec. 4, 1850 from Liverpool on the ship Washington from Great Britain.

In an undated story by Gertrude M. Flavel Rice about her grandparents Jabez and Agnes Wilson Flavel (1827-1916), Jabez came from England to visit her [Sarah] and lived there with her working at various things. Jabez nursed Edward Ruston’s brother, Richard (1808-1900) who needed care. Richard was very old. Eventually, Jabez worked at logging, on boats and other jobs. He finally took homestead in Rice County, where he was a settler-colonist in Minnesota.

According to Gertrude M. Flavel Rice, Agnes Wilson, her mother Margaret Fulton Wilson (1794-1856) and brother, James Wilson (1833-1911), had moved to Wheatland, Minnesota where her brother, Will Wilson and his wife, Nellie Goodge Wilson had a homestead. They were moving from St. Paul to Wheatland when they drove by Jabez’s homestead. According to the granddaughter, “The first time Grandma saw him, he was sitting on his claim shanty making the roof.”

In Belle Plaine and Other Towns (1882) “About the same time (Fall 1854) Wm. Flavell and John Anderson arrived in Credit River, the former locating in the south-east quarter of section 19, and the latter in the north-east quarter of section 18.” According to the Scott County Historical Society, the post office was the first municipal building in 1856. It was initially called the New Dublin Post Office. The early Irish families claimed land through the Homestead Act or the Territorial Land Act. All this land had been claimed by 1870. The European American settler-colonists in the northern part of the township were almost exclusively Irish, according to the Scott County Historical Society. In 1870, as the land had been “claimed,” records show that the township was 2/3 Irish and 95% Catholic.

When Margaret died, Jabez and Agnes Wilson married on Aug. 22, 1856 in Credit River, Minnesota. They were farmers in Wheatland, Minnesota. They had three children in Wheatland: Mary Margaret Maggie Flavell (1858-1932); Robert Flavel (1859-1928); and Sarah F. Flavel (1860-1949). They lived in Wheatland until Sarah was 3 1/2 years old. (Sarah later married Frank Cole). Jabez, Agnes, and Sarah moved to a new log house on Will and Nellie’s farm in Spring Lake, where Alexander Eck Flavel (1861-1934).

Agnes’s brother, Will, and Jabez joined the Civil War, and were there until 1865. Jabez joined Company H, 11th Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer Infantry.

According to MNopedia’s “Eleventh Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment,” the Eleventh Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, organized in late 1864, was the last infantry unit to be raised by the state. It was formed in response to President Abraham Lincoln’s last call for troops. The officers and men were organized and mustered into service at Fort Snelling in August and September of 1864.

The men initially were issued no weapons and had to borrow muskets from the fort. “By late September the regiment was full, with just over a thousand officers and men. On September 20, 1864 the regiment departed First Snelling and marched to St. Paul lower levee. Here, while waiting for the boats that would take them south, the men finally received their arms and accoutrements.

“Due to the Mississippi’s low water level, the Eleventh’s officers traveled to La Crosse on a very small steamboat with a shallow draft. The enlisted men went downriver on two large, uncovered barges. At La Crosse, the regiment took the railroad to Chicago. The regiment remained in Chicago for just over a week, and then headed towards Nashville.

“The Louisville and Nashville was a major conduit for troops and supplies for the Union Army of the Cumberland. Therefore, the Eleventh Minnesota was tasked with the important job of guarding the railroad against attacks by Confederate guerrillas. The men spent the following winter on picket, guard duty, and patrol…By November of 1864 the railroad was operating at full capacity, with troop and supply trains constantly running to Nashville. During the battles of Franklin and Nashville, cannonading was distinctly heard all along the Eleventh’s section of railroad. Some curious members of the regiment even managed to witness part of the Nashville battle.”

“On June 26, 1865, the Seventh Minnesota started for home. The regiment arrived at St. Paul on July 5 and was mustered out of service on July 11. Throughout its service, the Eleventh lost three enlisted men killed, and one officer and twenty-one enlisted men died of disease.”

Other children were born in Spring Lake, including William Henry (1865-1929) and James Flavell (1867-1878).

They family also lived in Shakopee. When the three boys, William, Robert Bob Flavel, and Alexander Eck Favel (1861-1934) got married, Agnes and the three sons (and wives) took homesteads at Hewitt, Minnesota. Later, Robert and Alexander moved to Washington state because of health, and to get away from the cold winter. Jabez did not go to Washington because he promised Agnes that he would stay in Minnesota.

Jabez died March 20, 1896. He was 67 years old. He was buried at Valley Cemetery in Shakopee.

After Jabez died, Agnes moved to Minneapolis, where she stayed with her daughter and her family.

Agnes went to live at Wahkon on Mille Lacs Lake with her daughter, Sarah Flavel Cole, and died there Dec. 28, 1916 at age 89. She was buried in Mile Lacs County.

The last widow pension check, given to widows from the Civil War, was returned to the federal government after she died.

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ Soft Scarlet Down of a Swan Susan Frénière was born Dec. 25, 1819 in Brown County, Minnesota Territory. Her parents were Narisse Cakpa LaFrénière (1792-1858) and Madeleine Winona Abigail Mazardewiŋ Tickling Iron Crawford (1805-1897).

Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ met Joseph Renshaw Brown at Lake Traverse in 1835. During the 1840s, they lived in Wisconsin Territory at a town site that he platted and named Dakota. The town is now known as Stillwater, Minnesota.

Joseph (1805-1870) was the son of Samuel Brown (1785-1828) Emily Renshaw Brown (1780-1806). His first two wives were Helen Dickson Brown Arconge (1808-1884), Margaret McCoy Bush (1816-1885). and his final wife was Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ Soft Scarlet Down of a Swan Susan Frénière. They had 12 children.

In the 1850s, they lived at Henderson, Minnesota, which was also platted by her husband. Joseph served as secretary of the Territorial Council, chief clerk of the House of Representatives, and member of both the State House and Senate. He edited the Minnesota Pioneer and published his own newspaper at Henderson.

In 1857, Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ’s husband was appointed by Henry Sibley to serve as U. S. Indian Agent for the Dakota, a federal political appointment. Her home between 1857 and 1861 was at the Upper Agency (Yellow Medicine).

In 1861, Joseph was replaced by Thomas Galbraith, a Republican appointee, who was living in Shakopee. Galbraith was unfamiliar and unsympathetic with the Dakota people and their needs. Many historians believe that the removal of Joseph from the position of Indian Agent was a major factor in the increased tension which fueled the Dakota War of 1862.

Joseph and Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ built a large house made of stone from granite quarries in Minnesota. Construction began in June 1861. The house was three and a half stories and had 19 rooms and about thirty windows!

Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ’s kitchen, dining room, and pantries were on the first floor. She furnished the house with upholstered furniture, heavy damask curtains, bronze and crystal chandeliers, a piano, and the latest cooking and serving utensils.

The house had just been completed when the Dakota War broke out on Aug. 18, 1862. On August 19, Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ, her 12 children, people who were hired help in the house, and neighbors abandoned the house and fled to Fort Ridgely for safety. Sometime during the war, the house was destroyed by fire.

On the way to Fort Ridgely, they were surrounded by Dakotas, including Ṡakpedaŋ, Marpiya Okinajin He Who Stands in the Clouds Cut-Nose, and Do wan’ s’a, the Singer.

Ṡakpedaŋ, on horseback, galloped ahead, then turned to whoop and yell. “Mother did not like this,” said Samuel Jerome Brown (1845-1925), son of Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ. “She told him that she wanted none of his foolishness around her, and that he must either shoot and kill or stop his antics. He would reply that we were his prisoners and should not talk so much, and then commenced singing the war song…When he saw that mother was not afraid of him he quit his foolin.”

Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ was part Dakota, and she made her influential connections with many Dakota leaders, including Sisseton and Wahpeton, known. She stood up in the wagon, waved her shawl and cried in a loud voice, in the Dakota language, that she was a Sisseton and a relative of Wannaton, Scarlet Plume, Sweet Corn, and Ah-Kee-Pah, and the friend of Standing Buffalo, and that she expected protection.

One of the warriors recognized her as the daughter of the woman who had saved his life the previous winter and jumped into the wagon and testified on her behalf. Dakota leader Thaóyate Dúta (Little Crow) then brought her and her family and some of their neighbors to his own house, where he said he would treat them like family. Over the next few days, he spent a great deal of time talking to her, and he protected her and her family during their time of captivity. Six weeks later, they were freed at Camp Release.

After Joseph died in 1870, Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ spent her remaining years living at the Sisseton Agency near her son Joseph.

Hinyajice-duta-wiŋ Soft Scarlet Down of a Swan Susan Frénière Brown, who was born Dec. 25, 1819, died at age 84 on Dec. 23, 1904. She was buried at St. Mary’s Episcopal Cemetery in Sisseton, South Dakota. The inscription noted:

Susan Frenier
Wife of the late Joseph R Brown
Born Christmas Day 1819
Buried Christmas Day 1904.

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces bombarded Fort Sumter which was held by a dedicated group of Union soldiers.

With the news of the attack, Minnesota was the first state to answer President Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to serve in the Union army. Scott County citizens gathered for a meeting on April 20 at the Shakopee Courthouse. Immediate support was given to defend the union of the nation, according to The Shakopee Story by Julius A. Coller, II, p. 58.

Harrison Lyons was born in Chautaqua County, New York on May 31, 1841. In 1855, the family, including his parents, Alexander H. Lyons (1806-1898) and Eliza A. Lyons (1811-1888) moved to Shakopee.

Steven was 22 and Harrison was 19 when they enlisted in Company A of the First Minnesota Volunteers. George Lyons served in the 9th Minnesota and John Lyons, the youngest, served in the 11th Minnesota.

Steven, the oldest, was promoted to corporal and then sergeant in Company A. On June 29, 1862, at Savage Station, while charging a Confederate artillery battery, Steven was wounded by a piece of shell cutting the right side of his right knee. The regiment retreated.

He was left on the field and eventually captured. The hospitals were full of sick and wounded. He lay on the battlefield without shelter for ten days, all the time being exposed to heat, cold and rain. He was then moved to the Libby prison hospital in Richmond. He was exchanged six weeks after his capture. He mustered out with the regiment on May 5, 1864. Steven never recovered from his wound. His leg was permanently in a bent position, and he used crutches for the rest of his life. In his diary on Aug. 1, 1894, Daniel Storer noted, “Steven Lyons was here today. He is all out of shape by blood poison. He gets around on crutches.”

Harrison was wounded the day after Steven, during the repulse of Picket’s charge. He was sent to recover at the hospital located at Fourth and George Streets in Philadelphia. He was there during August and September 1862. Dr. Gross, who treated him, told him that he would have a weak knee for the rest of his life.

Both Harrison and Stephen were mustered out with the regiment on May 5, 1864, though Harrison was absent sick at the time.

Shortly thereafter, Harrison enlisted as a substitute for someone who had been drafted. That person would have paid Harrison a cash fee of some amount for him to take his place in the Army. He was placed in the 9th Minnesota Infantry, thus serving with his brother, George. Harrison was the drillmaster for the 9th. He was mustered out at Fort Snelling, for the second and final time, on May 11, 1865.

After the war Harrison settled back into the life of a farmer. He lived in Shakopee for a while. On Dec. 3, 1866, Harrison married Sarah Lisa Elizabeth Moore. He and Sarah settled in Duluth. They had three children. In 1875, they decided to move to Wadena. Sarah died in Wayzata, on Oct. 20, 1875, during the trip.

Harrison started his farm in the small community of Aldrich. He soon married an Irish girl named Ann Gillespie. There were no children by that marriage. Later they divorced.

Harrison developed rheumatism because of his war-time injury. By 1887 he could not work as a farmer more than half the time. In 1888, he was confined to his bed for most of the winter. In 1889, he was stricken again and laid up for nearly a year. With that he gave up farming altogether and moved from his farm to the village of Verndale.

On March 6, 1890, Harrison married for a third time, to Flora Wright, in Hubbard, Minnesota. He was 49. Having been born in 1853, she was 37. They had two children. Minnie died, as an infant, on June 13, 1890. The other, Isaac, grew up to also be a soldier. Unfortunately, Isaac died in battle in the Argonne Forest during World War I. The only child to survive Harrison was Effie Lyons Castle, from his first marriage. She lived in Woodburn, Oregon.

Harrison lived for a while at the Soldiers’ Home in Minneapolis. He was there from June 5 to 15, 1890. Apparently, he had difficulty writing because of a bad arm. His handwriting on the admission papers was practically illegible. At the time the doctor wrote that “unless God intervenes in a dramatic way he (Harrison) will lose his arm at the shoulder.” But Harrison didn’t lose his arm. He kept it for the remaining 35 years of his life. He asked to be discharged after only 10 days and returned to his home near Verndale, just outside the town of Wadena.

He became destitute when his health prevented him from working his jobs. By the late 1880s his circumstances were so bad that the First Minnesota Association collected money to aid him. He attended many reunions and is pictured in several of the reunion photos. He was a Commander of the CC Parker GAR Post in Verndale. He enjoyed attending the reunions of the First Minnesota veterans. His last reunion was in 1923, when only three veterans attended. They had a large bottle of wine the “Last Man” was to open and drink a final toast to his comrades. The last three decided it would be a shame if they all died in the same year, so they opened it to have a toast together. Once they had opened the bottle and sampled the wine, they were disappointed to find out that it had turned sour! That bottle of wine is now on display in a glass case at the state capital in St. Paul.

Harrison died at the Wesley Hospital in Wadena on April 25, 1925. He was 83 years old. He was buried in the Verndale Cemetery. The local newspaper, the Verndale Sun, called him “The Grand Old Man of Wadena County.”

According to Daniel Storer’s diary, Storer mentioned on April 15, 1857, “There is considerable excitement here about the Indians. We hear that they have killed fifty white people at Spirit Lake, Iowa.” On April 18 Daniel noted “It is not a general outbreak of the Indians by any means….”  Later, on June 23, Daniel noted, “Saw Miss Gardner who was captured by the Indians last spring at Spirit Lake. She was bought from Ink-pa-du-tah by friendly Indians. There are four captives taken, two of them were killed. Miss Gardner had to be wife to one of the Indians while she was with them.” Abigail (Abbie) Gardner was in Shakopee to be photographed by William S. Judd, a daguerreotypist who did his work in Shakopee. In another entry, Daniel noted, “They are going up into the Indian country to try to find Ink-pa-du-tah.” Harrison Lyons, at age 16, was part of a party that chased the Dakota leader Iŋkpáduta (1787-1881).

A whiskey trader, Henry Lott, murdered Iŋkpáduta’s brother, but the U.S. authorities did not bring Lott to justice. In 1857, a severe winter starved Iŋkpáduta’s band, and so he asked for food from the colonist-traders to stop starving. At first, they did, but later they refused and so the band headed to Spirit Lake, where thirty people were killed. Iŋkpáduta eluded capture while engaging in more skirmishes against U.S. forces, earning him an almost mythic reputation. Following the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Iŋkpáduta fled with others into Canada and never returned.

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2023

Gerald Alois Stang was born Sept. 3, 1938 in Marystown, Minnesota. His parents were Albert Mateias Stang (1907-1995) and Alvina Elizabeth Geis Stang (1909-2005). He was the third of four children, and Gerald’s siblings were Arlene Mae Kathryn, Corrie Clara, and in 1944, Albert Edmund Stang.

Gerald’s grandparents were Peter Stang (1863-1945) and Elizabeth Lizzie Mahowald Stang (1869-1947) and Jacob Geis (1881-1966) and Catherine Katie Hennen Geis (1878-1968). Gerald’s great grandparents were John Stang (1823-1895) and Elizabetha Jackals Stang (1829-1903); Nicholas Mahowald (1832-1917) and Anna Maria Rosen Mahowald (1832-1905); Private Adam Geiß Geis (1841-1933) and Barbara Brück Brick Geiß Geis (1845-1934); and Mathias Math Hennen (1833-1891) and Margaretha Mary Wolff Hennen (1841-1909).

On their farm near Marystown, Albert Stang was in his truck in the farm yard. Gerald, who was two years old, ran to his father, yelling out, “Goodbye!”

Unbeknown to Albert, his son, Gerald stumbled and fell forward into the path of the rear wheel.

Gerald fell beneath the rear wheel of the truck. He was killed instantly, according to an article in the Shakopee Argus-Tribune on Oct. 3, 1940 called “Marystown Child Fatally Injured.”

Not too far away was Gerald’s grandfather, Jacob Geis, who saw the fatal accident but was helpless to prevent it.

The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Father Ziskovski at St. Mary’s of the Purification Church in Marystown. The pallbearers, four cousins, were LeRoy Geis, Richard Geis, Richard Stang, and Robert Stang. Four flower girls were also cousins: Marie Geis, Anita Stang, Marie Stang, and Ruth Stang.

Gerald was buried at the St. Mary’s of the Purification Cemetery, which is located next to the church.

Among the relatives from the distance present at the funeral were Mr. And Mrs. Leo Stang, son Robert, and daughter Ruth of Belgrade; Joseph and Leo Spanier; Mr. Hennen of St. Martin; Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hennen, Mrs. Louis Bolt, Paynesville; Mr. And Mrs. Alois Stang, St. Paul; and other relatives and friends from the Twin Cities and surrounding community.

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

On Aug. 22, 1954, in Yellow Medicine, Minnesota, George Meredith Crooks was born to parents Norman Melvin Crooks and Edith Eleanor Ross Crooks. He was the second youngest of their seven sons. During his childhood, George’s family lived in Granite Falls and Mendota before moving to the Twin Cities.

George attended Shakopee Senior High, where he graduated in 1972.

He continued his education at Dakota County Technical College. George worked many jobs over the years. He worked for Cargill before becoming a surveyor and in casino management as part of Little Six Inc. in Prior Lake. Little Six Casino is owned and operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, Minnesota, southwest of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The casino features slots and live dealer blackjack tables. With 4,100 employees, the SMSC, Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, and Little Six Casino combined are the largest employer in Scott County.

In 1979, George married Kim Cerise. George and Kim had two daughters, Rebecca and Tyanna. Although George and Kim parted ways, he remained a loving and dedicated father.

George later married Kathleen McElligott and was blessed with Samantha. While George and Katie ended their marriage, they remained close friends.

A charismatic man, George lived his life surrounded by those he loved—his family, friends, and pets. He laughed easily, loved deeply, and always treated others with kindness. No matter the situation, George was ready with a joke or a one-liner. His dry sense of humor even influenced the names of his pets…his golden retriever John “after the son he never had,” as well as Rat and Ricky his beloved cats.

In his free time, George enjoyed golfing, visiting the casino, and boating along the Minnesota River. He especially enjoyed time with his grandchildren.

Maureen McElligott noted, “George was an easy to love kind of guy, sense of humor and his jokes is something I will always remember about him.”

“I have been living with him for the last four years. And during those four years we grew to become very close friends. The pain I feel inside is deep. I learned a lot about who your father really was as a human being. And he was and always will be the most kind hearted and non judgmental person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. I am truly blessed for having had the great honor and pleasure of being able to share that little part of his life with me,” Michael Emerson noted.

At age 67, George Meredith Crook journeyed to the Spirit World on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. George was laid to rest at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Cemetery. Pallbearers were Mike Crooks, Skipper Crooks, Randy Crooks, Jacob Crooks, Damian Redlegs, Timmy McElligott, Eric Svane, Larry “Stu” Housley.

After struggling with complications of COVID-19, George left his family’s side too soon. Yet he leaves an enduring legacy with his daughters, Rebecca (Dan) Crooks-Stratton, Tyanna (Damian) Crooks, Samantha (Dever) Crooks; grandchildren, Gabby, Lauren, Thomas, and Dire; brothers, Danny “Skipper” Crooks and Mike Crooks; many other loving relatives and friends.

George is preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Norman “Woody” Crooks, Stanley “Jim” Crooks, Alfred Crooks, and infant brother, Alec Crooks.

Tom Rust from the Shakopee Class of 1972 recalled, “I am sorry that he had COVID and was unable to continue creating memories with his friends and family. However, he will not be forgotten since he has family and friends to remember him.”

Mario Hudson said that George “didn’t know how to say no to anyone. He would let anyone lay their head at his home and didn’t want anything in return. George and I had a REAL friendship that I’ll never be able to experience or duplicate again in my lifetime.”

Gary Spohn said George was a kind, true friend, mentor, and so much more. “You touched so many of our lives in such a positive way. I’ve never met a more kind and generous person than you. I will never forget about all the conversations we had sitting in your office passing on your wisdom to me.”

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2024

George Buchanan Clarke, Sr. was born in 1841 in Rochester, Pennsylvania, son of Hamilton Fred Clarke (1807-1882) and Sarah Jane Walker Clarke (1816-1896). By 1860, George was living in Eagle Creek, Minnesota.

George enlisted as a private on May 17, 1861 in Shakopee. He was mustered into Company A, 1st Minnesota Infantry. The 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment was a Union infantry regiment active during the American Civil War. The 1st Minnesota participated in the battles of First Bull Run, Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg. The regiment’s most famous action occurred on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg when Major General Winfield Scott Hancock ordered the 1st Minnesota to charge into a brigade of 1200 Confederate soldiers. This action blunted the Confederate attack and helped preserve the Union’s precarious position on Cemetery Ridge.

He was 23 years old, stood 5’ 8-3/4” tall, had a florid complexion, light hair and blue eyes. George was a dutiful soldier, who was present at all the battles in which the regiment was involved. At the Battle of Antietam, George became separated from his company and was captured. He was released during a prisoner exchange, which meant that all men involved could go back to their respective units, according to American Civil War Research Database.

George survived the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the desperate charge at Gettysburg, but was not so fortunate at Bristow Station. During this time George was wounded by a bullet that penetrated his left hip. He was helped off the field and spent the next two months in Grosvenor Hospital in Virginia.

George returned home that winter and was one of only 58 veterans to re-enlist in May when the 1st Minnesota Infantry was mustered out and the new 1st Minnesota Infantry Battalion was formed.

At the battle of Petersburg the battalion found itself in an advanced position, in trenches directly in front of the Confederate Army. They were waiting for other units of the V Corps to support them. For some reason the support never came and the Confederates attacked where there was a gap in the line, cutting off the battalion. Some, like George, tried to make a stand but it was no use and they were soon captured.

George, along with twenty other men from the battalion, was soon carted off to prison for what would be the most trying time of their military duty. He was a POW for eight months. He was confined in Richmond on June 24, and then sent to Andersonville Prison in Lynchburg, Virginia, on June 29. Later he was sent to prison in Florence, South Carolina. Upon his release, he was sent to the hospital in Annapolis, Maryland. He was there for about five weeks before being sent to a hospital in Baltimore.

When he was discharged, George returned to the battalion and was promoted to sergeant. Frank Houston recalled later that Clark “looked like a ghost of the man, who was captured in June 1864, and that he complained of having no teeth and always felt exhausted.”

George was discharged at Jeffersonville, Indiana, on July 14, 1865.

Fifteen years later, George married Cora Viola Low Clarke Mitchell (1860-1909), daughter of Benjamin Evans Low (1826-1904) and Laura J. Gould Low (1826-1890) in Des Moines River Township in Murray County, Minnesota. They had three children: Hamilton Fred (1882-1950); Sumner Lowe (1884-1987); and George Buchanan, Jr. (1886-1941).

George Buchanan Clarke, Sr. was in poor health and spent his last months at the Old Soldiers’ Home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This was before the Soldiers’ Home was built in Minneapolis. He died of “softening of the brain” caused by his sickness on March 16, 1887. He was 46 years old.

George was buried at Valley Cemetery in Shakopee.

Contributor Nancy E. Gertner noted that that his widow, Cora Viola Low Clarke Mitchell, married her widower neighbor, John Mitchell, two years after George died, and Cora and John had six more children. Cora died Jan. 15, 1909 in Des Moines River Township, Minnesota.

Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2023

The deer hunting season was in full swing on Saturday, Nov. 18, 1989, but Gary Geis was not out to get one. So, when a deer jumped out in front of his truck as he was traveling west on County Road 14, south of Shakopee, near the Minnesota Valley Garden Center, at around 7 p.m., Geis swerved to miss it, according to an article by Claire Robling in an article in the Shakopee Valley News on Nov. 30, 1989.

That action nearly cost him his life.

According to the article, “Area man survives accident, nearly 9 hours in ravine” in the Shakopee Valley News, Geis lost control of his truck, and it apparently rolled end-over-end down a steep embankment into a ravine. During the descent, Geis was thrown from his vehicle, apparently going through the windshield on the passenger side. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

Knocked unconscious, Geis estimates he woke up several hours later. He said he was aware of where he was, but he was also aware of the intense pain in his leg and arm.

“He tried to get up, but discovered he couldn’t move. He could see his smashed truck about eight feet below him. Its engine and lights were off, and he knew he was hidden from view in the ravine,” said Claire Robling.

He could occasionally see headlights pass by on the road, and he kept yelling for help. But none of the passing vehicles slowed down. Cold, and in pain, he took two lighters out of his pocket. Fortunately, he was dressed warm.

“He had been helping his cousin fix some fence posts in his cow yard on a farm near Marystown before heading home toward Carver. Unfortunately, one of his boots had come off during the crash, and he could not locate it. And his gloves were still in the truck.”

Geis said he was using the lighters to keep his hands warm, when it occurred to him that perhaps he could gather some dry grass to make a fire, and signal for help. “I had a long branch right by me, and I thought maybe I could get it burning and wave it around so someone would notice,” said the 35-year-old, son of Elmer Geis and Valeria Von Bank Geis, and born in Shakopee in 1953. However, the grass and branch were too wet, and he couldn’t get a fire going.

“I was beginning to think I wouldn’t be found until at least daylight, and I know I must have been slipping in and out of consciousness,” he said.

He may have been unconscious when his wife, Vicky Skoug Geis, drove by the accident site at 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. looking for him.

“I was expecting him home earlier. We were planning to go to a movie, and I couldn’t figure out where he was. I was pretty worried,” said Vicky, who learned from her husband’s cousin, Marvin Geis, that her husband had left their farm about 7 p.m. “I thought maybe he had stopped in Marystown, so I called the bar there, but they said they hadn’t seen him. Then I called his brother, Jim, in Shakopee, and he hadn’t been there either. That is when I went out looking for him,” she said.

But her searches were unsuccessful, and she went home to wait for the phone to ring.

Meanwhile, Geis said he prayed and kept waiting for an opportunity to call for help. At about 4:30 a.m., after lying in the ravine for more than eight hours, he saw a car moving slowly down the hill on County Road 14. It stopped at the mailboxes. He started yelling as loud as he could.

In the car were Larry and Barbara Pals, of Shakopee. They were delivering the Sunday paper.

At a stop in the middle of the hill, Larry said he thought he heard someone yelling. At their stop at the bottom of the hill, he said he was sure he heard someone, and he shut off his tape, and he and his wife listened, according to Sarrasin: A Family History by Margaret Elftmann.

The couple quickly discounted their original thought that it might be some kids playing a joke. “They were desperate cries,” said Barbara.

The couple took a flashlight and looked down in the ravine and saw the truck and Geis. Geis cried out for them to get an ambulance, and Barbara headed for the nearest house, which was Emily Fahrenkamp’s home, to call for help. Larry stayed and talked to Geis, according to the Shakopee Valley News.

The ambulance arrived and the rescue workers had to get down the ravine, strap Geis on a board, and carry him out. Geis remembers being removed as the most painful experience he’s ever had.

Geis was taken to St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, where an emergency room nurse contacted his wide-awake wife to tell her about the accident. “When the nurse called and identified himself as being from St. Francis, I just asked, ‘How bad is it?’ She asked me if I already knew about the accident, and I told her ‘I told her I knew something had happened, because he hadn’t come home,’” said Vicky.

“Geis’s injuries were serious, but as he and his wife acknowledge, they could have been a lot worse. His leg and elbow were badly broken, and required a transfer to Hennepin County Medical Center for lengthy orthopedic surgery. He also required well over 20 stitches around his mouth for an injury of which he wasn’t even aware of as he lay in the ravine. He also lost one tooth, chipped another, and has several more loose teeth. And he suffered abrasions on his head.”

But his foot was not frostbitten, as was originally feared, and he didn’t have any internal injuries. He was even allowed to come home from the hospital Monday afternoon and recovered at the home of his parents, Elmer and Larry Von Bank Geis, and their single-level home in Shakopee.

“Each day is getting better,” said Geis, who hoped for a full recovery, and had some advice for others. “Wear your seat belt,” he said. “If I had been wearing mine, I might have walked away from the truck, instead of laying in that ravine for nearly nine hours, and now lying in bed for weeks. I know I’ll have my seat belt on after all this.”

Five years later, Gary Geis, who was 40, went on a fishing trip with four friends when he apparently fell from the boat as he was cleaning it before heading out after camping in a remote site for five days, according to an article, “Shakopee man presumed to have drowned in Ontario” by the Shakopee Valley News on May 27, 1993.

After waiting for 15 minutes, his friend Tony Robling looked for Gary, but all he saw was an empty boat against the shoreline with the motor running. After searching for several hours, the group went back to their camp and found that Gary’s life jacket was packed with his gear. And Gary did not know how to swim, according to the Shakopee Valley News on June 3, 1993.

Survivors included his wife, Vicki, and sons Eric and Ethan. Fr. John Gilbert and Fr. Gerard Rowan officiated, with pallbearers including Mark Dellbow, Kenny, Tim, and Mark Geis, Brian Von Bank, and Steve Wermerskirchen. He was buried next to the Church of St. Mary of the Purification in Marystown.