Category Archives: Lydia Pettijohn Huggins

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

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

Mrs. Aiton Times Two – Nancy Hunter Aiton and Mary Briggs Aiton

In June of 1925, Miss Margaret Aiton of Minneapolis donated “some twelve letters” to the Minnesota Historical Society. Minnesota History Magazine described the gift as follows: “Some twelve letters written by Jane Williamson, Sister of the missionary Dr. Thomas S. … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Hunter, Dakota Mission, Hazlewood Mission, Hugh Doak Cunningham, Jane Smith Williamson, Kaposia Village, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Marilla Hancock Holiday, Marion Robertson Hunter, Martha Houghton Hancock, Mary Napexni, Mary Smith Briggs Aiton, Minnesota Historical Society Photo Purge, Moses Newton Adams, Nancy Hunter Aiton, Nancy Jane Williamson, Nancy Rankin Adams, Sarah Rankin Hancock, Traverse des Sioux, Underground Railroad, Willie Hancock, Women in Minnesota | Leave a comment

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

When the Williamson’s arrived in St. Peter, Minnesota, on August 25, 1862, the town was bursting at the seams with refugees pouring in from all over the surrounding area. Many had left everything behind and saw their houses and farm … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Hunter, Eli Huggins, Elizabeth Means [Voris] Burgess, Elizabeth Williamson Hunter, Jane Smith Williamson, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Margaret Poage Williamson, Mary Ann Clark Longley Riggs, Nancy Jane Williamson, Nancy Rankin Adams, Peter Tapaytatanka, Robert Hopkins Chaska, Rufus Huggins, Sarah Hopkins Chaska, Sophia Josephine Marsh Huggins Hanthorne, Wawiyohiyawin/Sarah Hopkins, Women in Minnesota | 2 Comments

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

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 III

Agnes, Robert and the children returned to the Dakota mission at Traverse des Sioux after little Nancy’s death in November of 1849, and resumed their work with Alexander and Lydia Huggins. Despite their ongoing frustration at their lack of success … Continue reading

Posted in Agnes Johnson Hopkins Pond, Dakota Mission, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Minnesota History, St. Peter, Traverse des Sioux, Women in Minnesota | 2 Comments

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

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

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

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

Getting There – Fort Snelling to Lac Qui Parle

All of the women whose stories are part of Dakota Soul Sisters shared many challenging experiences, not the least of which was the trip from the bustling social and military hubbub of Fort Snelling in present day Mendota, Minnesota, to … Continue reading

Posted in Dakota Mission, Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Margaret Poage Williamson, St. Peter, Traverse des Sioux, Women in Minnesota | 1 Comment

Sophia’s Story – The Captivity of Sophia Josephine Marsh Huggins

Sophia Huggins, always called Josephine by her friends and family, doesn’t really qualify as a woman of the Dakota mission but in terms of her experiences and close relationship to the women of “Soul Sisters,” her story definitely belongs here. … Continue reading

Posted in Lac Qui Parle Mission, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Minnesota, Minnesota History, Sophia Josephine Marsh Huggins Hanthorne, St. Peter, Traverse des Sioux, U.S. Dakota War of 1862, Women in Minnesota | 4 Comments

Lydia Huggins Pettijohn Part III

You can find Part I of Lydia’s story at http://dakotasoulsisters.com/2012/07/11/learning-about-lydia/. Part II is at http://dakotasoulsisters.com/2012/08/15/learning-about-lydia-the-life-of-lydia-pettijohn-huggins-part-ii/ Lydia and Alexander Huggins’ family home in Traverse des Sioux, Minnesota, was over 100 miles from the Lower Sioux Agency near present-day Morton, Minnesota. Still, … Continue reading

Posted in Dakota Mission, Fanny Huggins Pettijohn, Lydia Pettijohn Huggins, Minnesota, Minnesota History, St. Peter, Traverse des Sioux, U.S. Dakota War of 1862, Women in Minnesota | 3 Comments