Title: Osborn Strahl Family Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1824-1909

Creator:

• Strahl, Osborn, 1818-1902

Call Number: River Falls Mss A

Quantity: 0.5 cubic feet (1 archives box and 1 oversize folder)

Repository:

Housed at the University Archives and Area Research Center, Chalmer Davee Library, University of Wisconsin-River Falls; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

UW-River Falls, Chalmer Davee Library / River Falls Area Research Ctr. (Map)

COLLECTIONS MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of Osborn Strahl, a Clifton, Pierce County, Wisconsin, lumberman, consisting mainly of family correspondence (1860-1909), containing information on Strahl and MacDonald family genealogy. Included are letters which describe agricultural life in the Los Angeles area in 1892, early twentieth-century life in the state of Washington, the Seattle harbor, and the Oregon and Washington Indian wars. There is also material relating to school experiences of the Strahl family, including essays, speeches, and class notes, (circa 1845-1858); three land certificates (1854-1855); and reminiscences by Strahl of Pierce County settlers.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-rf000a

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Osborn Strahl (1818-1902) was born in Belmont County, Ohio. In 1838 he moved to Galena, Illinois and seven years later pioneered in the vicinity of Mauston and Stevens Point, Wisconsin. In 1847 he moved to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. During these years Strahl followed the lumbering industry. In 1850 he settled in the town of Elizabeth, St. Croix County, Wisconsin, which after subsequent divisions of towns and counties finally became Clifton. In 1860 he married Rebecca MacDonald. They had five children: Wm. Day, who moved to the Dakotas; Howard P., who lived in River Falls; Mabel, the wife of Joseph M. Smith, a banker at River Falls; and two other daughters. Brief biographical sketches about Strahl are in William Folson's Fifty Years in the Northwest (Pioneer Press Company, unknown place, 1888), p. 201; and in August E. Easton (editor), History of St. Croix Valley (2 volumes, H.C. Cooper Jr. and Company, Chicago, 1909), Vol. 1, p. 511.

The Strahl papers consist of some incoming correspondence, between 1860 and 1909, to Osborn Strahl and his wife Rebecca, and miscellaneous family papers. The Correspondence is primarily concerns family matters. Some of the letters, however, contain information of interest to the genealogist and the historian. Included is a letter from S.R. Gumm [or Gum], a friend of Strahl's, December 7, 1892, which contains a description of agricultural life in the Los Angeles, California area, the training of horses, and a commentary on prohibition. Scattered letters from the Strahls' relatives in the state of Washington give comments on early twentieth century life in that area. A letter, June 7, 1909, to Rebecca from her brother, M. MacDonald, tells of Seattle's harbor life. As most of the letters are primarily informational about family matters and family members, the Strahl family genealogy is well explained within the correspondence. For example, a letter from Strahl's cousin, Emily Todd Byre, of Springdale, Iowa, February 14, 1895, gives a full account of family history.

In addition, for June, August, and September, 1863, there is correspondence referring to the settlement of claims arising out of the wars between the United States and the Native American tribes in the Oregon and Washington territories.

Included in the Miscellaneous Family Papers are reminiscences by Osborn Strahl of early settlers of Pierce County, Wisconsin; land certificates (1854); financial records; obituaries; a few photographs; and other family papers. The reminiscences are undated and were rewritten and condensed by Mabel Strahl Smith. They concern Charles Cox, A.P. Manning, and Smith R. Gunn, among others. Some of the family papers consist of essays, speeches, and school and class notes, circa 1845-1849, for Salem and Mt. Pleasant [Illinois?] schools. Included are essays on “Liberty,” “On the Pleasures of Horse-Back Riding,” an address delivered to their teacher (April 1846), and similar topics. Many of these papers are signed by Phillip or Sarah Lee Strahl. Also included is a land indenture for property near Zanesville, Ohio (January 23, 1824). There are also several unsigned, undated, and unidentified materials in this collection. All, however, relate to school and educational experiences of various members of the Strahl family.

Acquisition Information

River Falls Mss A presented by Walker D. Wyman, River Falls, Wisconsin, April 16, 1962. Source of River Falls SC 415 is unknown.

River Falls Mss A Box   1 Folder   1	Reminiscences / by Osborn Strahl, undated Note: Formerly River Falls SC 415.
Box   1 Folder   2	Strahl Family papers, 1824, undated
Box   1 Folder   3-4	Correspondence, 1860-1909
Box   1 Folder   5	Account book, 1850-1871
Box   1 Folder   6	Financial journal, 1861-1865
Box   1 Folder   7	Photographs, undated
Box   1 Folder   8	Gems from the Proverbial Philosophy of Martin F. Tupper, Esq., M.A. after 1848
Oversize Folder   1	Indenture between George Newcomb and Casper Strahl, 1824 January 23
Oversize Folder   1	Land certificates, 1854
Oversize Folder   1	Attendance sheet, Clifton Hollow School circa 1858
Oversize Folder   1	Marriage certificate of Osborn Strahl and Rebecca MacDonald, 1860 February 24
Oversize Folder   1	David Strahl obituary, 1891
Oversize Folder   1	Mary H. Todd obituary, 1899
Oversize Folder   1	Certificates from the Order of the Eastern Star, for Rebecca and Osborn Strahl undated