WILLIAM MORIN AND FAMILY:

An Inventory of Their Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator: Morin, William, 1827-1887.
Title:William Morin and family papers.
Dates:1852-1946.
Language:Materials in English.
Abstract:William Morin and family financial records, family diaries, memos, bank books, and other files consisting mostly of correspondence and related documents regarding the City of Albert Lea and surrounding communities, agriculture, railroads, banking, real estate, mining, miscellaneous business concerns, politics, and automobiles.
Quantity: 37.0 cubic feet (35 boxes, and 1 item in reserve).
Location:See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Expand/CollapseBIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Collapse/ExpandWilliam Morin

William Morin was born in 1827 in Maryborough, Ireland. Around the age of twenty he immigrated to America. Trained as a civil engineer, he found work with several New York railroad companies, including the Niagara Gorge Railroad, the Canadaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad, and the Lewiston Railroad.

In 1856 he moved to Minnesota, settling in Freeborn County. He quickly became one of the more influential citizens of Albert Lea. Morin served on the first city council and for a time was the County Auditor, the County Registrar of Deeds, and a County Commissioner. During the Civil War he was a United States Assessor and the United States Marshall.

In 1857, Morin established a real estate business and later acquired, along with George Mason, a 1600 acre farm near Alden, Minnesota. Morin sold farm produce, locally and nationally, as well as ran a sawmill and managed several warehouses.

In 1860, William Morin married Margaret Wedge and they had two children, William Albert and Margaret Belle, who later married Judge Milton D. Purdy. In his later years, Morin acquired a home in Los Angeles and at the time of his death in 1887 he was the largest landowner in Freeborn County.

Collapse/ExpandWilliam Albert Morin

William Albert Morin was born in Albert Lea on July 29, 1864. He attended Pillsbury Academy in Owatonna, graduating with the class of 1844. At the age of 22, after his father's death, he took over his father's real estate business and the running of the estate. Like his father, Morin held several county positions including County Commissioner and County Surveyor. He succeeded his father on the Albert Lea City Council.

The construction of the Illinois Central Railway into Albert Lea was due primarily to the efforts of William A. Morin. This in turn led to railway connections between Albert Lea and the Twin Cities. The construction and management of the Hotel Albert in southern Minnesota was done by William A. Morin. In addition to these concerns he was involved in many other local businesses including the Albert Lea Publishing Company, Consolidated Fire and Marine Insurance Company, his own Morin Brick and Tile Works, and several mining companies in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Morin belonged to the Republican Party and the Masonic Lodge. On August 6, 1893 he married Katherine Trusdell of Waverly, Iowa. They had two sons, William T., 1894-1967, and Richard W.

When William A. Morin died in May 1912 due to a heart condition Nate J. Whitney assumed management of the estate. Morin's widow, Katherine, married John F. Meighen in 1917.

Collapse/ExpandRichard Morin

Richard Morin was born in 1902 and served four years as American vice consul in Paris, practiced law in Albert Lea, ran for Congress in 1936, and eventually became librarian at Dartmouth College.


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Expand/CollapseARRANGEMENT

This collection organized into the following series:

City of Albert Lea and Surrounding Communities
Agriculture
Banking
Real Estate
Mining
Politics
Automobiles
Business and Miscellaneous Correspondence
Financial Records
Family Diaries, Memos, Bank Books
Reserve Items


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. William Morin. William Morin and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 9995

Processing Information:

NHPRC logo

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: 007527822


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Expand/CollapseCITY OF ALBERT LEA AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

Contains information concerning the construction of Albert Lea municipal water system and correspondence between the Morins and the city clerks of Albert Lea and the Village of Alden concerning real estate, elections, and other events.


LocationBox
146.L.18.6F1Albert Lea City Clerk, 1871-1916. 2 folders.
Albert Lea City Water Works, 1889-1905. 2 folders.
Alden (Village of) Clerk, 1889-1917.

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Expand/CollapseAGRICULTURE

Documents the activities of the Morin & Mason ranch and business affairs with grain merchants and flour milling companies. There is a file on attempts to introduce sugar beets in southern Minnesota and on The Grange, or Patrons of Husbandry. Files on the American Short Horn Breeders Association, horses, miscellaneous agricultural topics, and the University of Minnesota College of Agriculture also appear.


LocationBox
146.L.18.6F1Morin & Mason Ranch, 1889-1911. 2 folders.
Volumes 1-6: Morin & Mason Ranch, Volumes 1-5 in 1 folder:
Volumes 1-2: Crop record books, 1879-1881, 1889.
Volume 3: Abstract of coupons, 1894.
Volume 4: Bank book, 1889-1891.
Volume 5: Time book, 1881-1882.
LocationBox
142.F.6.2F25Volume 6: Cash journal, 1894-1909.
LocationBox
146.L.18.6F1Mason, George, 1888-1918.
Agriculture: General, 1890-1917. 2 folders.
Albert Lea Milling Company, 1894-1915.
American Short-Horn Breeders' Association, 1902-1906, 1917. 2 folders.
Cargill & Company, 1885-1905.
Cedar Falls Flouring Mills, 1885-1892.
Horses, 1891-1894.
H. H. King & Company, 1903-1904.
C. F. Listman & Company, 1886-1887.
North Star Farm (J. W. Beckman), 1915-1918.
Patrons of Husbandry, 1870-1878.
Sugar beets, 1897-1899.
University of Minnesota: College of Agriculture, 1878-1879.
G. W. Van Dusen & Company, 1885-1887.
Wickersham & Allport, 1866-1867.

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Expand/CollapseRAILROADS

Consists mostly of business correspondence between the Morins and the railroads often concerning rights of way, land transactions, and shipping of produce. Exceptions are the files regarding Albert Lea and Southern Railroad; the Duluth, Red Wing, and Southern Railroad; and the Owatonna & State Line Railroad, which contain director's minutes, stockholder information, and financial reports. Also included are three engineering and survey notebooks of the first William Morin from the 1850s concerning New York railroads.


LocationBox
146.L.18.6F1Albert Lea and Southern Railroad, 1889-1903. 7 folders.
Volume 7: Albert Lea and Southern Railroad letterpress book, 1 volume.
Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Northern Railroad, 1877-1902. 2 folders.
LocationBox
146.L.18.7B2Central Railroad of Iowa, 1873-1877.
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, 1880-1913.
Chicago and North Western, 1867-1903.
Duluth, Red Wing, and Southern, 1888-1902.
Duluth, St. Cloud, Glencoe and Mankato, 1900-1905.
Illinois Central, 1895-1909. 2 folders.
Mason City and Fort Dodge, 1900.
Minneapolis & St. Louis, 1870-1916. 2 folders.
Minneapolis, St. Paul, & Iowa, 1875.
Owatonna & State Line, 3 volumes in 1 folder:
Correspondence, 1867.
Volume 8: Level notes, 1868.
Volume 9: Secretary's book, 1867-1869.
Volume 10: Stock subscription book, undated.
Volumes 11-13: Railroad Engineering & Survey notebooks, 1852-1853. 3 volumes and 1 folder.
Red Wing, Duluth, & Sioux City Construction Company, 1888-1902.
Southern Minnesota Railroad, 1871-1879.

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Expand/CollapseBANKING

LocationBox
146.L.18.7B2Alden (State Bank of then First National), 1893-1921. 2 folders.
Albert Lea First National & State Bank, 1892-1918.
Bankers Life Association, 1891-1898.
Germania Bank of St. Paul, 1894-1898.
Minnesota Loan & Trust Company, 1891-1913. 2 folders.
Thompson Brothers, Bankers, St. Paul, 1864-1866.

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Expand/CollapseREAL ESTATE

Consists of tax deeds, tax sale certificates, and other documents filed under Freeborn County Auditor. Lennox Park Land Company files document a land development between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. that involved Morin and other Albert Lea citizens. D. W. Dwyer was the president of the Lennox Park Land Company and his correspondence with Morin is included. Other real estate correspondence and documents including quit claim deeds and mortgage deeds can be found with the business and miscellaneous correspondence series. Also several volumes of property records, 1858-1927, can be found in other series.


LocationBox
146.L.18.8F3Freeborn County Auditor (tax deeds, tax sale certificates), 1860-1893. 5 folders.
"Doings of the Syndicate," Freeborn County Standard, April 2, 1894.
Letter to the editor by William Morin regarding quit claim deeds.
Lennox Park Land Company, 1899-1912. 3 folders.
D. W. Dwyer, 1888-1908. 2 folders.
J. W. Russell, 1891-1895.
State of Minnesota Supreme Court: John H. Graham v The City of Albert Lea: Assignment of Errors and Points and Authorities on behalf of appellant..., October 1891.
Property records:
Volume 14, 1858-1874.
Volume 15, 1858-1882.
Volume 16, 1868-1887.
Volume 17, 1870-1883.
Volume 18, 1872-1886.
Volume 19, 1874.
Volume 20, 1880.
Volume 21, 1885-1887.
Volume 22, 1887-1903.
Volume 23, 1899-1900.
LocationBox
142.F.6.2F25Volume 24: Abstracts, Freeborn County, 1855-1870.
LocationBox
142.E.3.333Volume 25: Tax assessment roll, 1908-1919.
LocationBox
146.L.18.8F3Volume 26: Insurance record, 1902-1927.

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Expand/CollapseMINING

Includes a minute book, ledger, and stock certificates of the Alberta Mining Company. Also included is correspondence between Morin and Frank Trego and J. W. Thompson concerning zinc mining in the Platteville, Wisconsin area. Files on mica mining and gold mining activities in Colorado are also available.


LocationBox
146.L.19.1B4Alberta Mining Company:
Volume 27: Minute book, 1904-1905. 1 folder.
Stock certificate book, 1904.
Volume 28: Ledger, 1904-1906.
Correspondence, 1904-1907.
Manaimo Mining Company, 1887-1891.
Mica mining, 1893-1894.
Town Topics Gold Mining Company, 1901-1902.

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Expand/CollapsePOLITICS

Contains correspondence with political figures, but topics of discussion are often of a more personal nature. Letters from Cyrus Aldrich, Alexander Ramsey, William Windom, and James A. Tawney are included. Also included are documents regarding Richard W. Morin's 1936 Democratic congressional campaign and a file concerning the Republican Party.


LocationBox
146.L.19.3B6Aldrich, Cyrus, 1861-1865.
Morin, Richard W., 1936-1946. 23 folders.
Newspaper articles, 1861-1865.
Ramsey, Alexander, 1861-1881.
Republican Party, 1880-1913.
Tawney, James A., 1893-1912.
Windom, William, 1864-1877.

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Expand/CollapseAUTOMOBILES

Includes documents on the International Automobile League and the Northland Rubber Company, Inc., a tire manufacturer located in Buffalo, New York. Also included is correspondence with Nordyke & Harmon, the automobile firm from which William A. Morin brought an automobile.


LocationBox
146.L.19.3B6International Automobile League, 1911-1915.
Northland Rubber Company, Inc., 1913-1915.
Nordyke & Harmon, 1910-1914.
General file, 1911-1917.

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Expand/CollapseBUSINESS AND MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE

Included are files on the Alberta Publishing Company, Consolidated Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Morin Brick and Tile Works. Correspondents include David Conkling, J. C. Easton, Milton Purdy, Haldor Sneve, George Watson, and Asa G. and Albert Clark Wedge. Also included is the final report of the Commission on Naturalization, November 1905, of which Milton D. Purdy was the chairman.

Sets of chronologically arranged letterpress books and correspondence files spanning 1853-1932 are also included.


LocationBox
146.L.19.1B4Albert Lea Brick & Tile Company, 1910-1913.
Albert Lea College, 1891-1893, 1904-1912.
Albert Lea Commercial Club, 1892-1905.
Albert Lea Driving Association, circa 1892.
Albert Lea Federal Building, 1903-1905.
Albert Lea Hotel Company, 1899-1901. 3 folders.
Albert Lea Opera House Company, 1895.
Albert Lea Publishing Company, 1912-1915.
Albert Lea Tribune, 1897-1899.
Baldwin, Otway W., 1893-1895.
Bates, Henry W., 1868-1883.
Clark, E. D., 1903-1916.
Volume 29: Commission on Naturalization, 1905.
Conkling, David, 1864-1881. 2 folders.
Consolidated Fire & Marine Insurance Company, 1900-1917.
Eagle Works Manufacturing Company, 1861-1865.
Easton, J. C., 1864-1884. 2 folders.
Edelman, John Y., 1862-1878.
Hamm Brewing Company, 1906-1914.
Iowa Oil Tank Line, 1885.
Michigan Brick & Tile Machine Company, 1894-1903.
Minneapolis Brewing Company, 1910-1911.
LocationBox
146.L.19.2F5Morin Brick & Tile Works:
Volumes 30-31: Bank books, 1894-1900.
Volume 32: Ledger, 1894-1896.
Volume 33: Journal, 1895-1896.
National Guard, Second Infantry Regiment, Co. 1, 1896-1897.
Paul, John, 1885.
Peterson, P. N., St. Croix Marble Works, 1888-1889.
Provost Marshall, Minnesota District 1, Rochester, 1862-1865.
Purdy, Milton D., 1888-1917, 1932. 6 folders.
Volume 34: Sawmill ledger, 1860-1868.
Shattuck School, Faribault, 1910-1918.
Sneve, Haldor, 1890-1914.
Volume 35: Southern Minnesota Cigar Company, 1887-1888.
William H. Tallman, 1888-1895.
Thompson, J. W., 1894-1896.
Trusdell, M. W., 1903-1904.
Watson, George, 1861-1887.
Wedge, Asa G., 1862-1890.
Wedge, Albert C., 1888-1911.
Wedge, J. C., 1867-1893. 2 folders.
Wedge, D. J., 1888-1896.
Young, Ella, 1904-1912.
LocationBox
146.L.19.4F7Letterpress books:
Volume 55, 1875-1882.
Volume 56, 1885-1886.
Volume 57, 1889-1892.
Volume 58, 1892-1895.
Volume 59, 1895-1897.
LocationBox
146.L.19.5B8Volume 60, 1897-1899.
Volume 61, 1899-1900.
Volume 62, 1900-1902.
Volume 63, 1902.
Correspondence, undated.
LocationBox
146.L.19.6F9Correspondence and miscellaneous documents:
1853-1866.
LocationBox
146.L.19.7B10 1867-1875.
LocationBox
146.L.19.8F11 1876-1881.
LocationBox
146.L.19.8F12 1876-1881.
LocationBox
146.L.20.2F13 1888-June 1892.
LocationBox
146.L.20.3B14 July 1892-1895.
LocationBox
146.L.20.4F15 1896-June 1899.
LocationBox
146.L.20.5B16 July-1899-March 1902.
LocationBox
146.L.20.6F17 April 1902-September 1904.
LocationBox
146.L.20.7B18 October 1904-August 1906.
LocationBox
146.L.20.8F19 September 1906-October 1908.
LocationBox
143.J.1.1B20 November 1908-August 1911.
LocationBox
143.J.1.2F21 September 1911-June 1914.
LocationBox
143.J.1.3B22 July 1914-1932.

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Expand/CollapseFINANCIAL RECORDS

Financial records include cash books, day books, receipts and disbursements, trial balance accounts, ledgers, and journals. These focus on Morin's real estate, farm, and other businesses.


LocationBox
143.J.1.4F23Volume 64: Miscellaneous accounts, 1859-1876.
Volume 65: Invoice book, 1898-1906.
Volume 66: Trial balance book, 1907-1909.
Volume 67: Trial balance book, 1909-1911.
Volume 68: Trial balance book, 1912-1915.
Volume 69: Reports and disbursements book, 1895-1897.
Volume 70: Bills payable and accounts receivable, 1893-1898.
Volume 71: Bills payable and accounts receivable, 1898-1906.
Volume 72: Cash book, 1886-1888.
Volume 73: Cash book, 1889-1892.
Volume 74: Cash book, 1891-1892.
Volume 75: Cash book, 1913-1914.
Volume 76: Day book (labeled blotter), July 28, 1903-February 28, 1905.
Volume 77: Day book, 1887-1889.
Volume 78: Day book, 1891-1894.
LocationBox
142.F.6.2F25Volume 79: Day book, 1882-1888.
Volume 80: Ledger, 1857-1860.
Volume 81: Ledger, 1871-1878.
Volume 82: Ledger, 1872-1878.
Volume 83: Ledger, 1873-1878.
Volume 84: Ledger, 1875-1884.
LocationBox
143.J.1.5B24Volume 85: Ledger, 1877-1885.
Volume 86: Ledger, 1878-1886.
Volume 87: Ledger, 1880-1885.
Volume 88: Ledger, 1883-1885.
Volume 89: Ledger, 1885-1886.
Volume 90: Ledger, 1886-1887.
Volume 91: Ledger, 1888.
LocationBox
142.F.6.3B26Volume 92: Ledger, 1894.
Volume 93: Ledger, 1899-1905.
Volume 94: Ledger, 1905-1906.
LocationBox
142.F.6.4F27Volume 95: Ledger E, 1880-1895.
Volume 96: Ledger F, 1893-1901.
Volume 97: Ledger G, 1902-1907.
Volume 98: Ledger H, 1908-1911.
LocationBox
142.F.6.5B29Volume 99: Ledger I, 1908-1911.
Volume 100: Ledger J, 1916-1925.
Volume 101: Journal, 1910-1913.
Volume 102: Journal, 1906-1907.
Volume 103: Journal, 1908.
LocationBox
142.F.6.7B30Volume 104: Journal, 1909.
Volume 105: Journal, 1910.
Volume 106: Journal, 1889-1893.
LocationBox
142.F.6.8F31Volume 107: Journal, 1893-1905.
Volume 108: Journal, 1905-1907.
Volume 109: Journal, 1908-1910.
LocationBox
142.F.7.1B32Volume 110: Journal, 1910-1915.
Volume 111: Journal, 1916-1929.

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Expand/CollapseFAMILY DIARIES, MEMOS, BANK BOOKS

Contains information on the William A. Morin estate, certificates, and on the Masons and the Knights Templars. The Morins were members of the Masons.


LocationBox
146.L.19.4F7Certificates, 1862-1905.
Morin, William A. estate, 1912-1913. 2 folders.
Knights Templars, 1882-1908.
Masonic Lodge, 1879-1917.
Bank books:
H. D. Brown & Company, Bankers, Albert Lea:
Volume 36, 1871-1878.
Volume 37, 1878-1882.
Volume 38, 1883-1886.
Volume 39, 1886-1887.
Volume 40, 1886-1888.
Volume 41, 1890-1894.
Albert Lea National Bank:
Volume 42, 1894-1898.
Volume 43, 1898-1902.
Freeborn County Bank, Albert Lea:
Volume 44, 1876-1880.
Volume 45, 1884-1887.
Volume 46, 1887-1889.
Volume 47, 1889-1891.
Volume 48: Diary, 1884.
Memorandum books:
Volume 49, 1854-1855, 1878.
Volume 50, 1857-1858.
Volume 51, 1866-1873.
Volume 52, 1881-1882.
Volume 53, 1887-1888.
Volume 54: Notes on law, undated.

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Expand/CollapseRESERVE ITEMS

Location
Reserve 146Booker T. Washington to Mr. W. A. Morin, May 16, 1911. T.L.S.
Restricted.
A photocopy of this letter has been filed within the chronological series of correspondence and miscellaneous documents.
Signed form letter seeking scholarship funds to support students attending the Tuskegee Institute.

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Expand/CollapseCATALOG HEADINGS

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:
Agriculture -- Minnesota.
Banks and banking -- Minnesota.
Mineral industries -- Minnesota.
Railroads -- Minnesota.
Real property -- Minnesota.
Persons:
Morin family.
Morin, William Albert, 1864-1912.
Ramsay, A. (Alexander).
Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915.
Organizations:
Albert Lea and Southern Railroad.
Albert Lea Publishing Company.
Alberta Mining Company.
Duluth, Red Wing, and Southern Railroad.
Illinois Central Railway.
Morin Brick and Tile Works.
Owatonna & State Line Railroad.
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ).
Places:
Albert Lea (Minn.).
Freeborn County (Minn.).

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