Backstage Pass to North Dakota History

This blog takes you behind the scenes of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Get a glimpse at a day-in-the-life of the staff, volunteers, and partners who make it all possible. Discover what it takes to preserve North Dakota's natural and cultural history.

State Archives’ Fargo Forum Questionnaires Bring Subjects to Life

This summer, I was hired at the North Dakota State Archives as an intern working on manuscript collections donated by private individuals and organizations. I cataloged and digitized land patents, citizenship certificates, biographies, autobiographies, photographs, and short sketches of men and women from early North Dakota history.

These types of papers contain various elements, which create a comprehensive picture of lives that came and went in very different ways. Yet their stamp on North Dakota history cannot be taken for granted.

One of my favorite collections I worked on included some biographies that were done through the Fargo Forum. Consisting of four pages, these were intended “to obtain accurate knowledge of your life, when news stories justify inclusion of biographical matter pertaining to you.” This biography questionnaire is particularly unique because of the spotlight it shines on participants’ genealogical information.

These questionnaires were meant to inform future North Dakota-related stories. Now they are helping us fill in information about the lives of early North Dakota settlers.

Check out some examples below!

This first form contains information about Michael L. Keeley’s life filled out by his son, Ronald Keely.

black and white image of an older man wearing a white button up shirt, suit jacket, and bowtie

Photo of Michael Keely that appeared with his obituary in the Oct. 31, 1957, Hazen Star.

Michael (Mike) Keeley was born Sept. 24, 1873, in Winnipeg, Canada, to John Keeley and Elizabeth Moran, both originally from Ireland. In 1902, he married Alice Gallagher in Hazen; they had their only son, Ronald Keeley, in 1912. Mike and Elizabeth were pillars in the community, working as ranchers and farmers and later owning and managing a hotel.

Fargo Forum Biography Questionnaire for Michael L. Keeley....Mike Keeley

SHSND SA MSS 90033

A few fun elements of note:

  1. Ronald didn’t know his mother’s birthday because “she won’t tell.”

    Name of Wife - Alice Gallagher. His or her birthplace - Emmetsburg, Iowa. date - Not known (she won't tell). Where married - Hazen, North Dakota. Date - Oct. , 1902. Name of mate's father - John Gallagher. His birthplace - Ireland. Name of mate's mother - Katharine McNulty. Her birthplace - Ireland. Names of Your Children - Ronald Keeley. Birthdate - June 16, 1912. Residence and Occupation - Postmaster, Hazen, N. Dak.

    SHSND SA MSS 90033

  2. Mike “gave the land [for] and solicited to build the” St. Martin’s Catholic Church.

    Religious affiliations: Member of the St. Martin's Catholic Church - Hazen. Offices Held: Gave the land and solicited to build the church. Held the office Trustee.

    SHSND SA MSS 90033

  3. Mike talks about the experiences of his mother, Elizabeth Dunlavey Dolan, working as “head cook” for the Northern Pacific Railway in Dickinson and then Medora. He mentions that Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Morès were “frequent visitors” to her table at that time. But that “no one paid much attention to them then.”

    Miscellaneous. Please use the following space for additional information. Would appreciate here chronological data on your business, professional or other service, including various affiliations, other residences, etc. We would appreciate you using this space, and if necessary, additional space, to give us those facts that do not lend themselves to the straight biographical form. If the information is to be added to some of the items mentioned before. place the number of the item in front of the additional information. Mother whose name was Mrs. Elizabeth Dunlavey at the time was head cook for the N.P. Ry first at Pleasant Valley which is now known as Dickinson. and then at Little Missouri which is now known as Medora. Medora or Little Missouri was then but a tent town for the building of the bridge across the Little Missouri. Marquis de Mores and Teddy Roosevelt were frequent visitors to her N.P.Ry dinning table. Soldiers were then stationed about 1/2 mile from the Railway Bridge to protect the Railway from the indians. Roosevelt was generally referred to at that time as a dude because of his Eastern manner and speach. de mores was mentioned among the men as a rich Frenshman talking about starting a packing plant. No one paid much attention to them then. It was rumored authoritively that when a Mr. Paddock killed section form an Livingston that Marquis de Mores was present at Paddock's ranch where the incident took place. Buffalo hides and meat at that time were piled along the track like cord wood the hides being worth at that time about $2.50 a piece. Buffalo hunters were hired for $50. a month for which they were required to kill and skin 16 buffalo a day. Me and my bother Tom Keeley, and my mother whose name was then Mrs. Elizabeth Dunlavey Dolan came to Mercer County in 1884 and settled four miles East of the present city of Hazen. After North Dakota became a state I homesteaded here at Hazen and the present City of Hazen built on my pasture. I can also speak Indian and German language.

    SHSND SA MSS 90033

This second questionnaire contains information about William Oscar Ward’s life filled out by his daughter, Belle (Ward) Shute.

portrait of a man with a beard and mustache who is wearing a button up shirt, vest, and jacket.

William Oscar Ward. SHSND SA 2016-P-043

William Oscar Ward was born May 3, 1839, in Erie, Pennsylvania, to Jeremiah Ward and Emma Jeannette Loomis, both originally from the East Coast. He married Florence Jane Manley in 1869 and had seven children with her. A self-educated man, William fought in the Civil War and then worked as a rancher, farmer, and dairyman for most of his life.

Fargo Forum Biography Questionnaire for William Oscar Ward

SHSND SA MSS 90062

Some of his more interesting responses include the following:

  1. Asked “Where were you as a child?”, William noted: “In the woods of Northwest Pa.”

    Where were you as a child? In the woods of Northwest Pa.

    SHSND SA MSS 90062

  2. William’s Civil War military record includes participation in Sherman’s March to Sea and the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.

    Military record: All of Civil War -- 4th Minn. Volunteers, 2 Reg U.S.V. Place - Albert Lea, Minn. Regiment - 4th Minn. Voluno. Battles - Shermans March to Sea, Gettysburg, Vicksburg

    SHSND SA MSS 90062

  3. A letter from his daughter Belle regarding Jennette, his oldest daughter, notes that she and another girl were “the first students ever graduated from the Bismarck High School.”

    Penney Farms, Fla. Sept. 4, 1851. Mr. Roy P. Johnson, Staff Writer of Fargo Forum. Dear Sir, Your letter of Aug 28 has been received. I hasten to provide the missing information you ask for. Jennette Ward was the eldest child of S Oscar Ward. She was born in 1869, Sept. 8. She and one other girl, were the first students ever graduated from the Bismarck High School. She taught school in Mont. and Wyo. with excellent results. Later she married a ranchman. Her eldest son held, at one time,, the world's record for altitude in the U.S. Air Force, Stephen Callaway. The photograph has arrived. Thanks. Sincerely, Mrs. A Lincoln Shute

    SHSND SA MSS 90062

  4. William’s daughter listed “purposeful occupation, honesty, and justice” as his hobbies.
     

  5. Other interests included “community advancement, a city parking system, and a Protestant cemetery for the city.”

    Hobbies - purposeful occupation, Honesty and Justice. Recreation - hunting wild game. Other interests - community advancement, a city parking system, a protestant cemetery for the city.

    SHSND SA MSS 90062

It has been a joy to explore early North Dakota through the lives and stories people from the past took the time to write down for themselves or future generations. This aspect of history continues to intrigue me and pull me further into the world of archives. A big thanks to Manuscript Archivist Emily Kubischta and the rest of the State Archives and reference team for giving me space to learn and experience the personal side of history through these collections. 

A Few of Our Favorite Things: State Archives Staff Reflect on Best Part of the Job

This month, the State Archives marks American Archives Month by highlighting the memory keepers at work behind the scenes collecting, preserving, and sharing North Dakota’s documentary history. I asked some of our hardworking memory keepers—the amazing State Archives staff—what their favorite thing about being an archivist is and about the special moments that make this job worth doing. Check out their answers below!

Matt Ely, photo archivist

My favorite part of my job is working with obsolete photographic formats such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes.

Daguerreotypes were the first commercially viable and publicly available style of photography and capture an image directly on a piece of metal, which is then housed in a case. Wet collodion direct positives, such as tintypes and ambrotypes, came next. These types of photography use the same process as daguerreotypes but capture images on a thin sheet of metal or a piece of glass respectively.

It’s very interesting to see how much photography has changed over the years, both in the process and the product. I think it’s great to work with historical photographs so closely, and it’s also neat that examples of these processes in our collections range from over 150 years ago to just a couple months old!

An 1875 tintype of Ellen Malloy and Mollie Taggert next to one of Millie and Madeleine Hyatt at the Former Governors Mansion State Historic Site in Bismarck, created just this year by a photographer from Fargo

From left: An 1875 tintype of Ellen Malloy and Mollie Taggert next to one of Millie and Madeleine Hyatt at the Former Governors’ Mansion State Historic Site in Bismarck, created just this year by Kary Janousek from Fargo. SHSND SA 2010-P-025-00002, 2024-P-016-00013

Daniel Sauerwein, reference specialist

Working in reference allows me to use my research skills to assist people find records and answers to their questions. Helping them solve historical mysteries and leaving patrons better informed than when they entered is a great feeling. I especially enjoy aiding genealogy researchers and kids learn more about themselves and the history of North Dakota and its people. Working with the collections is also a wonderful part of being at the State Archives.

Megan Steele, local government records archivist

My favorite thing about being an archivist is browsing through the past. Seeing snapshots in time from someone else’s life can be an almost surreal realization. Second to that feeling is the joy and excitement I see when a volunteer or patron makes a connection or finds an interesting tidbit that they cannot wait to tell others about. I always encounter something fun or interesting when processing collections that makes me laugh or smile.

Sarah Walker, head of reference services

We take the term “memory keepers” quite seriously. The items held in our collections are direct collections and recollections of individuals who lived here, worked here, and loved here. We are keeping their memories alive for their family and friends and for future generations. How can you not get goosebumps thinking about that? What an honor to work in this field, at this agency, and help preserve the history of this state.

Two dark haired women taking a selfie in front of an old brick building

The author and coworker Lindsay Meidinger excited to capture oral histories for the State Archives’ collections while at the Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site in Jamestown, spring 2024.

Kylie Ward, newspaper archivist

As an archivist, my favorite part of the job is touching history. Our newspaper collection is extensive and having the opportunity to handle old papers from the late 1800s or early 1900s is always exciting. The pages are worn with age and detail the lives of countless North Dakotans who made an impact on their communities. From marriage announcements to crop harvests to the prices of products advertised—nearly every aspect of these historical newspapers is interesting to look through. One of my favorite finds is this cute dispatch from a dog show that ran in a 1950 edition of the Bowbells Tribune below.

Newspaper clipping showing a dog wearing a hat and bowtie while it smokes a pipe. The caption reads Man of Distinction...A pipe-smoking, bow-tied, self confident entry in the greater Miami dog show looks as if he might be listening to a debate on foreign policy or on the quality of a special brand of pipe tobacco.

Bowbells Tribune, March 9, 1950, p. 7

Ashley Thronson, reference specialist

As for me, my favorite thing about being an archivist is helping researchers access the State Archives' collections. So much history can be found within our collections, but it can be a confusing experience if you don’t know where to start looking or what topics/events we have information on. Talking to people about their research and helping them search our website and the resources we have available to navigate our collections is my favorite part of the job. Not only am I answering their questions, I am also helping patrons learn about the State Archives’ resources and teaching them skills they can take with them on their research journey.

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