SAUNDERS FAMILY:

Proal family papers (undated and 1842-1884) consist largely of letters to Charles Proal and his wife from Charles' brothers and sisters regarding family illnesses, deaths, and other matters and Charles Proal's business ventures in various parts of the United States; letters written by Charles describing his travels while on business trips; and letters of other family members.

Saunders family papers (undated and 1852-1971) include family and genealogy related correspondence, the latter dealing with attempts to determine the relationship between the Proal and Cassatt families; genealogical charts, notes, and other papers relating to the Saunders, Conyers, and Sturtevant families; and newspaper clippings reporting business involvements, social and community activities, and deaths of members of the Saunders and related families, as well as notable historical events.

There are also historical and biographical narratives written by members of three generations of the Saunders family, including two reminiscent accounts (1937?) by Mary Proal Saunders (Mrs. Edward Nelson Saunders, Sr.) of the family's experiences on a train trip through the 1894 Hinckley (Minn.) fire area and at the Winneboujou [Camping] Club on the Bois Brule River (Wis.), 1884-1929, with an edited version of the latter (1962) by her daughter Caroline Saunders Lindeke (Mrs. Albert W.); two items by E. N. (Edward Nelson) Saunders, Jr. — an historical sketch (undated), "Custer's Last Battle" at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, 1876, and a biographical sketch (1938) of his father, Edward Nelson Saunders, Sr.; and a biographical sketch (1971) of Caroline Saunders Lindeke by her daughter Mary Proal Lindeke.

Also present are the contents of a scrapbook, "Civilian Remobilization Week" (January-February 1945), documenting efforts in Minnesota to recruit renewed home front support for the United States war effort. The scrapbook was compiled by Mary Proal Lindeke, who was actively involved in the drive as director of the state Citizens Service Corps.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Saunders family. Proal and Saunders Families Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 9116; 9274; 9934; 11407; 11416; 16143

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 990065162240104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Banks and banking -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Camping -- Wisconsin.

Civil defense -- Minnesota.

Forest fires -- Minnesota.

Fuel trade -- Minnesota.

Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876.

World War, 1939-1945 -- War work -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Cassatt family.

Conyers family.

Lindeke, Caroline Saunders.

Lindeke, Mary Proal.

McGraw, Elizabeth.

Proal, Augustus, -1879.

Proal, Charles, -1883.

Proal family.

Saunders, E. N. (Edward Nelson), 1877-1953.

Saunders, Edward Nelson, 1845-1913.

Saunders, Mary Proal, 1851-1937.

Saunders family.

Sturdivant family.

Organizations:

Minnesota. Citizens Service Corps.

North Western Fuel Company (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Winneboujou Club (Brule, Wis.)

Places:

Bois Brule River (Wis.)

Hinckley (Minn.) -- Fire, 1894.

Wisconsin -- Description and travel.

Document Types:

Genealogies.

Reminiscences.

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