‘Tales from Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery’ Archives
A Sister Remembered #199
By Sue Hunter Weir Carolyne's grave. Her name was most often spelled Carolyne but is spelled Caroline on her marker. Photo credit Sue Hunter Weir Captain Nudd / Minnesota Historical Society Maude Wiggin is the forgotten sister in the Wiggin family tree even though she isn’t really all that hard to find. She was named in the 1870 census and when she died on December 12, 1877, her obituary appeared in the Minneapolis Tribune and it is easily accessed online. Maude died from something called “spinal disease,” most likely spinal meningitis. She was 13 years and nine months old. Her sister, Carolyne, was 12. There were also two other younger sisters, Nancy and Mae. Carolyne, Nancy and Mae appear on several family trees on ancestry.com but there is no mention of Maude. It’s almost as though she never existed, yet she is buried in the Wiggin-Nudd family plot near her grandmother, Nancy Wiggin Nudd. Her cousin, Captain Charles Nudd, a Civil War veteran, is buried there, as [...]
# 198 Jack Ferman
Tales from the Cemetery by Susan Hunter Weir November 20, 2021, was a bittersweet day in the history of Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery. It was a sad day because it was the day that his wife and daughters buried Jack Ferman. It was a sweet day because he was buried where he wanted to be—in his family’s plot near the cemetery’s Lake Street gates. Jack’s was our first burial in 22 years and the first in the 21st century. If you attended one of the movies that we’ve shown in the cemetery and bought some snacks, there’s a good chance that you bought them from Jack. He attended every Memorial Day program for at least the past 20 years and possibly before that. He was at all of our fundraising events, always present and always helping out. He was on the Board of Friends of the Cemetery. He wrote about his immigrant grandparents who are buried in the cemetery in an Alley story published in January 2016. He followed politics, both local and national, [...]
Memorial Day 2022
The Tradition Continues By SUE HUNTER WEIR After a two-year hiatus, Memorial Day will be observed in Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery (corner of Cedar Avenue and Lake Street). The program begins at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 30th. Highlights include music by the Seward Community Concert Band (they begin playing about 9:40). Our keynote speaker is Milt Schoen, Vice Commander of American Legion Post #1. This event is supported by numerous groups and organizations including students from the Minnesota Transition School, Scout Troop #1, and American Legion Post #1 and Team Rubicon. We have a limited number of chairs so if you are able to, please bring a lawn chair. We hope to see you there. At 1 p.m., there will be an hour-long presentation about the history of the cemetery. Guests will be seated for the talk but are welcome to explore the grounds before or after the program. All events are free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome.
