Category Archives: Fanny Huggins Pettijohn

The Cunningham Clan Comes West

Posted on November 8, 2019 by lois

On April 17, 1848, the Williamson family, which had been on furlough in Ohio since fall of 1847, left Ripley, Ohio, and began their journey back to Kaposia village in Minnesota. With them were Sylvester Cook, who was coming out … Continue reading →

Three Dakota Daughters – Nancy McClure, Julia LaFramboise and Helen Sibley

Posted on October 2, 2019 by lois

Throughout the story of Minnesota’s territorial past we often encounter individual stories of women whose mothers were Dakota and whose fathers were white traders, soldiers or adventurers. These women share many things in common, including a sense that they did … Continue reading →

Posted in Dakota Mission, Eliza Huggins Holtzclaw, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Hazlewood Mission, Helen Hastings Sibley Sawyer, Jane Smith Williamson, Julia Ann LaFramboise, Kaposia Village, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Magdelaine LaFramboise, Mary Ann Longley Huggins Kerlinger, Nancy Jane Williamson, Nancy McClure Faribault Huggan, Sarah Steele Sibley, Sophia Josephine Marsh Huggins Hanthorne, Tahshinaohindoway aka Red Blanket Woman, Traverse des Sioux, U.S. Dakota War of 1862, Women in Minnesota | 1 Comment

Life of a Legend – The Story of Jane Smith Williamson – Part IV

Posted on September 26, 2016 by lois

Jane had been at Lac qui Parle just about a year when Thomas submitted his annual report to the A.B.C.F.M. in September 1844. He reported that Dakota men and boys had attended school an average of 20 days each; females … Continue reading →

Posted in Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Jane Smith Williamson, Joseph Renville, Kaposia Village, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Madeline Renville, Mary Ann Longley Huggins Kerlinger, Women in Minnesota | Leave a comment

Life of a Legend – The Story of Jane Smith Williamson – Part III

Posted on September 10, 2016 by lois

Jane Williamson didn’t come to the Dakota mission at Lac qui Parle as a missionary. Her intention was to stay one or two years to help Thomas and Margaret with their children and teach her nieces and nephews and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agnes Johnson Hopkins Pond, Catherine Tatidutawin, Cordelia Eggleston Pond, Dakota Mission, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Harriet Bishop, Jane Smith Williamson, John Baptiste Renville, Joseph Kawanke, Joseph Renville, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lorenzo Lawrence, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Magdalena Renville, Margaret Poage Williamson, Marguerite Renville, Mary Little Crow aka Tokanne, Rosalie Renville, St. Peter, Traverse des Sioux, Wawiyohiyawin/Sarah Hopkins | Leave a comment

Heartbroken Heroine – Agnes Carson Johnson [Hopkins] [Pond] – Part II

Posted on February 27, 2014 by lois

On April 4, 1844, Agnes, Robert and 6-month-old Mary Frances, left the mission at Lac qui Parle to join Stephen and Mary Riggs at the new mission at Traverse des Sioux, 110 miles to the east on the Minnesota River. … Continue reading →

Posted in Agnes Johnson Hopkins Pond, Dakota Mission, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Julia Kephart, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Margaret Poage Williamson, Mary Ann Clark Longley Riggs, Minnesota History, St. Peter, Traverse des Sioux, Women in Minnesota | Leave a comment

Heartbroken Heroine – Agnes Carson Johnson [Hopkins] [Pond] – Part I

Posted on February 21, 2014 by lois

On July 19, 1838, Alexander Huggins and Dr. Thomas Williamson wrote a letter to their mutual cousin, Robert Hopkins. Alexander and Thomas were at the Dakota Mission at Lac qui Parle, Minnesota, where they had been working for three years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Agnes Johnson Hopkins Pond, Dakota Mission, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Julia Kephart, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lorenzo Lawrence, Mary Ann Clark Longley Riggs, Women in Minnesota | Leave a comment

Fearless Fanny – The Story of Fanny Huggins Pettijohn – Part II

Posted on November 16, 2013 by lois

Fanny and Jonas had been at Lac qui Parle a little over a year when major changes came to the mission. The Williamsons left to open a new mission at Kaposia on the Mississippi River just four miles south of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dakota Mission, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Hazlewood Mission, Nancy McClure Faribault Huggan, Women in Minnesota | 2 Comments

Fearless Fanny – The Story of Fanny Huggins Pettijohn – Part I

Posted on November 15, 2013 by lois

One of the most rewarding things about investigating the women whose stories are told in Dakota Soul Sisters is uncovering details about their lives and personalities that are not always immediately evident in the readily accessible historic records. All I … Continue reading →

Posted in Dakota Mission, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Minnesota History, Underground Railroad, Women in Minnesota | 1 Comment

Contrary Mary – The Story of Mary Ann Clark Longley Riggs – Part VI

Posted on November 3, 2013 by lois

No matter how many times I read or write about the tragic events of August 18, 1862, I continue to be struck with the emotional toll that the attack at the Lower Sioux Agency that morning had on the families … Continue reading →

Posted in Dakota Mission, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Hazlewood Mission, Mary Ann Clark Longley Riggs, Women in Minnesota | Leave a comment

Tatidutawin – A True Dakota Soul Sister – Part II

Posted on March 26, 2013 by lois

By the summer of 1851, Catherine, now sixty years old and widowed, took great pleasure in studying the Bible and reading everything she could find that was written in the Dakota language. Fanny Huggins, who had known Catherine since 1839, … Continue reading →

Posted in Catherine Tatidutawin, Dakota Mission, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Joseph Kawanke, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lorenzo Lawrence, Minnesota History, Robert Hopkins Chaska, U.S. Dakota War of 1862, Wawiyohiyawin/Sarah Hopkins, Women in Minnesota | Leave a comment