GEORGE N. HILLMAN:
An Inventory of His Reminiscenes at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Hillman, George N., creator. | |
| Title: | George N. Hillman reminiscences, | |
| Dates: | 1933-1934. | |
| Abstract: | Reminiscences documenting the life and career of George Nelson Hillman (1852-1934), the first shorthand court reporter in Minneapolis and St. Paul. | |
| Quantity: | 0.4 cubic feet (1 box). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for shelf location. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
George Nelson Hillman, a court reporter, was born in Center Falls, New York, on July 14, 1852, the son of George Washington (1812-1882) and Chloe Ann Dayton (1816-1904) Hillman. He was educated in the public schools in Center Falls and at Greenwich Academy and the Fort Edward Institute, both in New York, and at an early age became interested in and proficient in the Pitman method of shorthand. His brother, Silas, also a shorthand reporter, moved to Olmsted County, Minnesota in 1867, and in 1874 George arrived in Minneapolis where he was appointed the first official district court reporter. In 1875 he moved to St. Paul where he held the same position, and lived there for the remainder of his life. From 1875 to his retirement in 1929, he recorded many civil and criminal cases, including the impeachment trials of judges E. St. Julien Cox and Sherman Page. He married Mary E. Cutter, also a shorthand reporter, on July 4, 1872, and died in St. Paul on July 7, 1934.
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. George N. Hillman Reminiscences. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 3812, 4087
Processing Information:
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, April 1998
Catalog ID number: 990017349850104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| Box | |||||||||||
| P2278 | 1 | Biographical and background information. | |||||||||
| Biographical sketch of Hillman from Theodore Christianson's Minnesota the Land of the Sky-Tinted Waters, 1935; Hillman's obituary from the St. Paul Dispatch, July 7, 1934; and accessions note from Minnesota History, June 1934. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| P2278 | 1 | "Wheel of Fortune: Recollections of a Shorthand Court Reporter," August 1, 1933. Typed copy. 160 p. bound. Includes photographs. | |||||||||
| A detailed account of Hillman's family and early life in New York State: his education; his relocation to Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1874-1875; accounts of the trials in which he was a court reporter; and vignettes of prominent Minnesota citizens, judges, and lawyers. | |||||||||||
| The first part (pages 1-24) contains information on Hillman's family background; his birth in Center Falls, Washington County, New York; and three of his brothers who also were court reporters in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Samuel, Silas, and William. There are descriptions of life on the family farm, with information on food and clothing production; books owned by the family; raising honey bees; the family's involvement in the Methodist Church; and learning the shorthand method. | |||||||||||
| There are also descriptions of Center Falls and Greenwich Village, the family's association with Susan B. Anthony, her family, and her father's sawmill; temperance and anti-slavery movements; descriptions of some of the men from Center Falls who fought in the Civil War; George's teaching experiences in Battenville, New York (1870); and the relocation of the Hillman brothers to Minnesota. | |||||||||||
| The following topics dominate the Minnesota portions of the reminiscences: | |||||||||||
| Impeachment of Judge Sherman Page of Austin for incompetence in office (p. 37-49); Celebration of the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad, September 3, 1883, with information on its president, Henry Villard, and transcripts of speeches made by him and other participants (p. 50-52); destruction by fire of the State Capitol building, March 1881 (p. 53-54); impeachment trial in the Minnesota Senate of Judge E. St. Julien Cox, of St. Peter, on charges of intoxication while on duty (p. 55); construction of the new St. Paul court house, 1889 (p. 62); the U.S. Senate race between William D. Washburn and Dwight M. Sabin, 1889 (p. 66); trial of Walter F. Horton for the murder of his wife, St. Paul, 1892 (p. 68); trial of Fleury and others for robbery of the First National Bank, 1983 (p. 74); and the railroad rate case, 1908. In 1906, the Minnesota Railroad and Warehouse Commission lowered rates for passengers and goods, which was approved by the 1907 legislature. Great Northern Railway chairman James J. Hill and others opposed this (p. 76): trial of Frank J. Dunn for the murder of his wife, 1917 (p. 78); brief sketches of judges and lawyers, including Hascal R. Brill, Walter H. Sanborn, and Charles E. Flandrau (p. 89-95); brief sketches of prominent speakers who appeared in St. Paul, including Henry Ward Beecher, Archbishop John Ireland, James J. Hill, Cushman K. Davis, William Jennings Bryan, and Theodore Roosevelt (p. 96-102); a biographical sketch of Hillman's son, George Benjamin (1874-1932), who was also a court reporter (1874-1932)(p. 111), and of his brother William Oren (1859-1932)(p. 112); the dedication of the new St. Paul Court House-City Hall, 1932 (p. 130); and niographies of the judges of the district court, St. Paul (p. 135-144). | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| P2278 | 1 | Other Versions of "Wheel of Fortune:" | |||||||||
| First Draft. 3 folders. | |||||||||||
| There are nine chapters missing. | |||||||||||
| "Materials not included in Final Form, incomplete draft." | |||||||||||
| "Recollections, Reminiscences and Reflections of a Shorthand Court Reporter," March 1, 1934. | |||||||||||
| Similar in content to the volume, and also contains photographs as found in the volume. | |||||||||||
CATALOG 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:
- Courthouses -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Courts -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Officers and employees.
- Courts -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Crimes -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Impeachment -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Justice, Administration of -- Minnesota.
- Law reporters -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Methodist church -- New York -- Washington County.
- Railroads -- Minnesota -- Rates.
- Railroads -- United States -- Design and construction.
- Schools -- New York -- Washington County.
- Shorthand reporting.
- Temperance -- New York.
- Judges -- Minnesota -- Discipline.
- Places:
- Minneapolis (Minn.).
- Minnesota -- Politics and government -- 1858-1950.
- New York (State) -- Description and travel.
- New York (State) -- Politics and government -- 1861-1965.
- New York (State) -- Social life and customs.
- Ramsey County (Minn.).
- Washington County (New York).
- Persons:
- Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906.
- Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887.
- Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925.
- Cox, E. St. Julien, 1835-
- Davis, Cushman K., 1838-1900.
- Hill, James J. (James Jerome), 1838-1916.
- Page, Sherman.
- Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919.
- Hillman family.
- Organizations:
- Minnesota -- Legislature -- Senate.
- Minnesota State Capitol (Saint Paul, Minn.: 1883-1905.)
- Northern Pacific Railroad Company.
- Types of Documents:
- Reminiscences -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Occupations:
- Judges -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Lawyers -- Minnesota --Saint Paul.
Collapse
All