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Wilhelmina and her husband, James Douglas, were among the earliest
settlers in Moorhead, MN arriving with the Northern Pacific Railway in
fall 1871.
Their house, built in 1873, still stands. It's among the oldest in
town. James was the first postmaster in Moorhead, had a dry goods store
and helped found a steamboat company which ran two steamboats on the Red
River of the North between here and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
They had four daughters: Jessie and Helen (aka Nellie), Minnie and Mary
who died here in Moorhead of consumption on July 6, 1876 at age 19.
Wilhelmina's mother Mary Wood Squire also died here in Moorhead, Feb. 23,
1876.
Part of the reason we're researching the Douglases is their house. It
stands just south of Moorhead's downtown in an area scheduled for
redevelopment. Fortunately, the city selected a developer with a strong
historic preservation sense. It's being restored. Last week, workmen
tearing out some masonry came upon a bunch of paper and artefacts stuffed
into an interior wall. The developer brought them to us hoping we could
shed some light on what they were and how they got into the wall. They all
seem to be connected to the Douglases. The items include a china head
doll, ca: 1865; three collars marked 'Jas. Douglas'; a stack (probably 14
inches high) of what appear to be a minister's sermon notes (Rev, Squire's
?); Minnie Douglas' note book from Mrs. Lay's Seminary, Saybrook Hall, in
Montreal from 1879; a rodent-eaten legal document regarding errors in a
deed to land in Quebec belonging to Isreal Wood, Sr., dated 1833. There is
also a school notebook marked “Andrew Bell, Queens College, Kingston”
1850-1851.
We have not yet figured out the Andrew Bell's connection with the
family. There are other items as well.
Mark Peihl
Archivist
Clay County Historical Society
7 Dec
2004
Help wanted!
We would welcome biographical details for this person.
Click to contribute
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