A Correction of Great Importance
By the alley
The alley has been deeply honored to feature Sue Hunter Weir’s “Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery” column for 231 issues. Her extensive research into those buried in Minneapolis’ oldest Cemetery has revealed to readers hundreds of early residents who lived in and shaped our city.
Among those folks buried are an unknown number of early African Americans who lived in Minneapolis, most unnamed and in unmarked graves. They include those who escaped slavery or who helped the freedom seekers escape, and those who served in the Civil War. Sue has been working with Elyse Hill of Hill Research to tell the stories of all the African Americans buried in the Cemetery. The January issue of the alley highlighted one such person: Hester Patterson, a freedom seeker, whose story is at once both inspiring and horrifying.
And the correction? Hester’s last name was misspelled in print. The correct spelling of someone’s name is vital in historical records, particularly for a population whose humanity has long been cruelly repressed. Misspelling Hester’s name feels especially egregious to us for that reason. And we are truly sorry.
Related Images:
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 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 Rangers. On March 10, 1864, after he returned to Fort Snelling, he formally enlisted as a private in Company D of the U.S. Colored Troops.
His unit was sent to Nashville, but he was sick most of the time.… Read the rest “Woodford Anderson, Civil War Veteran and Freedom Seeker”
Consequences of War on Russian-Speaking Community: Part 3
By ALENA DOBRIAKOVA, Community Journalist-In-Training
War brings destruction, loss of loved ones, and cultural conflicts between people who were once like one family. In the context of the ongoing war, the internal experiences of Russian-speaking immigrants have become more acute. These people are stuck between cultures, facing feelings of guilt, fear, and isolation.
I interviewed Russian and Ukrainian immigrants to explore how their lives have changed since the war began. The main focus of the interview is on the consequences of the conflict in an emotional, social and cultural sense. Including internal conflict of identity, attitudes toward the dynamics of the society in which we live at the moment, and how people cope with the complexities of war.
To protect the identities of the individuals I interviewed, I have chosen not to use their full names, ensuring their privacy while sharing their experiences. K left Ukraine before the war began, L is a Russian immigrant who came to the U.S. after the war started, G has lived in the U.S. since 2017 and is now a citizen but originally from Ukraine, and A was born in the U.S. but spent most of her life in Russia.… Read the rest “Consequences of War on Russian-Speaking Community: Part 3”
