‘Tales from Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery’ Archives
Woodford Anderson, Civil War Veteran and Freedom Seeker
from the series Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery... 231st in a Series By SUE HUNTER WEIR Woodford Anderson’s old marker, left, and his new repaired marker, right. PHOTOS: Tim McCall Woodford Anderson was not a young man when he ran towards freedom. He was enslaved when he was born near Burlington, Kentucky, on March 10, 1820. When he was 20 years old, he was sold to George Curtley. Curtley, a captain in the Confederate Army, took Anderson to Waverly, Missouri, where Anderson served as a cook. In the fall of 1862, when he was 42 years old, Anderson left Curtley and met up with Union Army soldiers. In a deposition that is included in his 60-page pension file, he said, “I was just following the Union Army as a contraband.” In May of 1863, Anderson was sent to Fort Snelling in Minnesota. Although he had not formally enlisted at that point, he was sent on Sibley’s expedition to the West where he served as a cook for the 1st Minnesota Mounted [...]
Hester Patterson: Freedom Seeker
from the series Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery... By SUE HUNTER WEIR 230th in a Series Hester Patterson was a remarkable woman with a remarkable story. 150 years after she died, her story, and those of a handful of others, earned the Minneapolis Pioneers & Soldiers Memorial Cemetery a place on the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The cemetery is one of two listings in the State of Minnesota. There are many gaps in her story, but in some ways, it’s amazing that we know as much about her as we do. There is little formal documentation about her—no birth certificate or census information, the types of documentation that are commonly used in genealogical research. But there is something even better: a memoir written by Dr. William E. Leonard, who was eight years old when Hester joined his household.Hester was born in Mississippi in the early 1800s and was enslaved on a cotton plantation until she was about 60 [...]
We Are So Honored
Number 229 from Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery... By SUE HUNTER WEIR Where to begin? October 2024 was one of the most exciting months in the Cemetery’s recent history. People, some born almost 200 years ago, finally received the recognition that they deserve for their bravery and resilience. There were three major events, each worthy of its own Cemetery Tale and those will appear in future issues of the alley. In the meantime… Northern Bedrock staff resetting and stabilizing the marker of Solomon Hare, African-American Civil War veteran and Buffalo Soldier. SOURCE: Sarah Musgrave Cemetery as ClassroomOn October 12, 2024, the Cemetery served as a classroom. Rethos and Northern Bedrock offered a class on marker restoration and repair. There were two sections of the class. The first was reserved for the Minneapolis Chapter of Wounded Warriors and the second for members of the general public who are interested in learning how to make sure that some of [...]
