245th in a series from Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery…

By SUE HUTNTER WEIR

Agnes Frier’s story has been a challenge to research. She was one of the 250 adults (only eight of them women) buried in the cemetery whose remains were unclaimed by family or friends and became the property of the county coroner. He, in turn, was required by law to turn them over to the University’s Anatomy Department to be studied by medical students. When Agnes died in 1915, very few people, primarily for religious reasons, donated their bodies for research.

Agnes died in Anoka State Hospital on September 5, 1915. She was born in Germany around 1860 and emigrated with her husband Joseph in 1887. Their oldest son, Sam, was born in New York in August 1887. They had five more children: Mollie was born in Pennsylvania, Alma was born in Illinois, Daisy in Minnesota, George and Frank were born in Wisconsin.

Agnes’ death certificate listed her occupation as “gypsy,” which at first seemed like a reference to her having run away (which she did) from the hospital in Fergus Falls. She had been declared insane and institutionalized around 1909. When the 1910 Federal Census was taken, she was described as one of the hospital’s “inmates.” Sometime in 1913, she was transferred to Anoka State Hospital which is where she died.

It turns out that Agnes was not the only member of her family who was described as a “gypsy.” When the 1905 Iowa State Census was taken, her husband was identified as a gypsy. And when their daughter Alma married in 1909, local papers referred to her as a “gipsy [sic] bride.” When Agnes’ mother-in-law died from heatstroke in 1910, the papers reported that she had “spent almost her entire life in the camp of the Gypsies, and during the great number of years only had the wagon of the Gypsy as her home.”
A common stereotype about “gypsies” in the early part of the 20th century was that they were a carefree band of people who traveled the countryside in colorfully painted wagons, stopping along the way to tell fortunes. But over time, the term became associated with untrustworthy behavior and became an ethnic slur.

The Real Story
Joseph Frier was a horse broker, traveling throughout the Midwest buying and selling horses. There is no record of him being involved in any kind of dishonest dealings. They appear to have been simply a family that was always on the move.

Their nomadic lifestyle is part of what makes Agnes and her family difficult to trace. Even with the on-line resources that we have today, it’s difficult to track them, and in some cases, technology not only doesn’t help, it adds to the confusion when family members or volunteers post and repost incorrect information. One family tree on ancestry.com attached an obituary claiming that Joseph was a member of a Cherokee band in Oklahoma when his other records show that he was born in Germany and became a naturalized U.S.citizen in 1899. His age at the time of his death matches other vital records, and the names of his surviving children match the names of his and Agnes’ children, so it is unclear where the idea that he was Native American came from. Joseph and four of their six children are buried in Hunter’s Creek Cemetery, Lapeer County, Michigan.

While it is possible that Agnes’ family didn’t claim her because of the stigma of mental illness, it is also possible, perhaps even probable, that the county coroner was unable to locate her family. She was among those who were buried on June 20, 1916, in the paupers’ section, Lot 44/60, Block H of Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery. The University of Minnesota placed a beautiful marker on the grave of those, who like Agnes, made a contribution to medical science. There was a dedication ceremony to honor them on September 9, 2012. (See https://alleynews.org/2012/09/reparation-for-350-in-potters-field-sept-9th-130-pm/)

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