The 1880’s were drawing to a close and events were unfolding in Minnesota that would make for lots of change in the state. The next decade the 1890’s was going to be very busy and very eventful in Pine River and more.
Let’s take a quick review of the 1880’s.
Starting a Family:
George and Amarilla started the decade with the birth of their son, George Alexander, who died suddenly of an accident at 18 months in June 1881 . The following year they found happeniness in the birth of their daughter Grace born in April 1882.
Land More or Less:
They sold some land in a quit claim deed to a [Fred] Hitter/Hilter of Wright County on 25 October 1881. This deed was recorded 8 May 1882 in the Crow Wing County Courthouse for Cass County, Deed Book E, pg. 247.
Description: $175.00 – The southeast quarter (SE1/4) of the northeast quarter (NE1/4) of section ten (10) and the north half of the northeast quarter of section twelve (12) all in township one hundred thirty-seven (137) north range twenty nine (29) west. The total amount of acreage was not indicated in this deed?
They added to their land holdings by buying land from the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883 (82 3/4). In 1884 they received another patent #11834 (40 plus acres), and expanded by adding a storage building sometime around the early part of the decade.* The little settlement was growing with a total population of 29 people in 1885 per the Minnesota State Census. Another land patent came through in April of 1888 #16446 (160 acres).
A Mortgage Deed:
Things must have been going well for the Barclays in 1888 when George and Amarilla executed a mortgage deed with Michael Hagberg on September 25, 1888 for $2077.38.* It was filed for record January 11, 1889. George would pay two promissory notes due one year after the date, each for $1038.69 and interest. This mortgage was satisfied and on record in Book J, pg. 566 in the Crow Wing County Records.
On October 2, 1914, 25 years later this same mortgage satisfaction appears in Book W, pg. 372 in a typed form, not handwritten. It referred to M. Hagberg and Matilda Hagberg, his wife. It is also attested to for accuracy by the Register of Deeds. We think the court was updating its books.
Now it was suggested that “this deed was for equipment.”* Well, I do not think so. Instead it was for the purchase of about 5 pieces of land in T137 R 29 (Wilson); two pieces in T138 R29 (Barclay); and one piece in T130 R30 (Walden). Several lots were mentioned.
There is a Michael Hagberg buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Brainerd a link to his him is at FindAGrave. There is an article with the tombstone information stating he was a blacksmith in early Brainerd? If this is the same man he lived in the Brainerd area for a long time.
Boy do I love a mystery? What was George A. Barclay up to?
Well at some point I will do a summary of his land holdings and we will see what we come up with.
A Robbery:
Unfortunately they ended the decade of the 1880’s with a robbery at the Ranch. George Barclay reported a long list of items stolen in Pine River on April 20, 1889. Among the items taken were 2 Winchester rifles and 6 boxes of cartridges, lots of clothing, lots of yardage, 400 ratskins and 5 linx skins for a total of $512.30 ? *
I have often wondered what my great grandfather’s store might have looked like? I visited the Harkin Store in 2001 (eight miles northwest of New Ulm, MN). This museum is a period store set about 1870: http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/hs/ It is part of the Minnesota Historical Society historical sites.
Do you think George and Amarilla’s was this neat and tidy? The Harkin Store had a mail center, candy area, women’s items, flour bins, a place to sit by the pot belly stove and more. Depending on the clientele at George’s store there might be a difference in the inventory?
Harkins Store
*Some of these events mentioned above were inspired by the book: “Logsleds to Snowmobiles, A Centennial History of Pine River, Minnesota 1873-1973,” written by the Citizens of Pine River, edited by Norman F. Clarke, Pine River Centennial Committee 1979. Chapter: The Barclays, 102-129. Page 106 for the Robbery or the Brainerd Dispatch April 21, 1889 pg. 1. There is a copy of this book in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. A quick seach of WordCat and you will get 18 hits in various libraries across the country.
The Barclays of Pine River 