The current header photo of this blog was taken at the Lake Itasca State Park south of Brainerd in 2000. When I was in Minnesota we followed the Mississippi as much as we could as we traveled throughout the state of Minnesota in search of family history. This is of the headwaters of the Mississippi. The old header was me walking along the banks of the Mississippi at the Crow Wing State Park. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a great website that gives information about these wonderful parks. This link is to the Lake Itasca page.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/index.html
This blog is about my great grandparents Amarilla and George Angus Barclay. George is given the credit for being the founder of the city of Pine River, Minnesota. Pine River is located about the center of the state of Minnesota. It is north of Brainerd and before you get to Walker the county seat of Cass County.
This blog will cover their lives:
- George’s origins as best I can report at this time.
- His Civil War experiences including his brother Alexander and his father John.
- George’s life in Minnesota after the Civil War up to 1873.
- George’s Trading post in Pine River and his land purchases
- The Marriage of George and Amarilla
- Various events that happened in the life of George and Amarilla in Pine River
- Their son George Alexander Barclay and his death.
- Grace their daughter, her marriage to Ronald S. McDonald and a little on the children.
- George’s father John Barclay and his two families.
- George’s Murder – Coroner’s Inquest, trial and the aftermath.
- Amarilla’s birth in Iowa and migration to Minnesota.
- Amarilla’s family – The two marriages of her father Daniel D. Spracklin.
- Amarilla’s Mayflower and DAR connections.
- Amarilla’s other grandparents John Keller and Mary Delano
- Amarilla’s father Daniel D. Spracklin and mother Elizabeth Keller
- Daniel D. Spracklin and his second wife Sarah Blacketer Allgood and her first family
- The two families of Daniel D. Spracklin and the children of both.
Working in Walker
Here is a list of surnames associated with my family. I will probably add to this list as I go along, but we will start with this surname list for now:
- MacDonald/McDonald/McDonell/Macdonell/Macdonnell
- Barclay, Barkley, Barckley
- Boardman, Bordman
- Brown
- Ward
- Spracklin, Spracklen
- Goss
- Keller
- Delano
- Cooley
- Wolcott
- Hayward
- Bliss
- Vassall
- Hopkins
- Prescott
- White
- Andrews
- Scott
- Kendall
- Richardson
Locations covered will be: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington State. In Canada we have New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and British Columbia.
Thanks for stopping by: Bonnie Jean MacDonald
If you would like to contact me you can cut and paste this email into your email: bjmcdonell@gmail.com
Good info there!
I’m also doing some research into wagoners and trying to find out if the wagoner could have been a local person or was always a part of the army. I’m using an unpublished diary from the MN 7th Reg.
Any idea?
Hello: How nice of you to stop by. From what I can make out from George’s pension and service records he was somewhat independant of the 9th Regiment. He wrote that he was never attached to any regiment but I have no idea what he meant by that. I believe that records for the Quartermaster Dept. are at NARA (National Archives) but I have not done anymore digging in that area. What a great treasure to have that unpublished diary you are very lucky. I believe they could be local as well as part of the army but you would have to talk to an expert on the army at that time. Sorry I cannot be of further help! Good luck on your quest.
Hi, I am one of three grandchildren of Dorothy Elizabeth (Heffernen) Spracklin. Her parents were Harry Spraklin and Frieda Ackerman. I am trying to find out more information in my grandma, Dorothy, and her son, Patrick Heffernen. Have you found out any of this information or have any ideas where I could find more info? I have searched for Patrick Heffernen online and have found nothing. Apparently, he died before Dorothy.
Elizabeth: I am so glad to hear from you. At some point I will share what I know about Harry and Frieda on this blog but that may be a while because most of what I have on Harry and Frieda is in the 1900′s and up to about 1945. I do have listed on my database that Dorothy married a Thomas Sievert and then probably second Heffernen, if I have that correct, but that is about all I have on her marriages. Harry and Frieda’s family and what happened to them is very interesting. Harry’s children were easily confused with his father Henry and Elizabeth. It took me some work to figure out who belonged to whom. Henry is Amarilla’s my great grandmother’s full brother. So Harry would be her nephew, if I have that correct. I will email you directly and we can chat. Bonnie
Yes, Bonnie. I would love to talk more. Please email me. Thanks!