Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1856-1969 (Creation)
Extent
0.42 linear feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Jane Grey Cannon Swisshelm was born December 6, 1815, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, daughter of Thomas and Mary Cannon. At age 21 in 1836, Jane married James Swisshelm.
Swisshelm became involved with the abolitionist and feminist movements, founding a newspaper called Saturday Visitor in Pittsburgh in 1847. In 1857, after divorcing her husband, Swisshelm moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota and established another newspaper, St. Cloud Visiter. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River near the future site of St. Cloud State University, the newspaper became a focal point in local politics, especially local St. Cloud politician Sylvanus B. Lowery. Later, the Visiter printing press was destroyed by a mob. Soon after, Swisshelm founded another paper in St. Cloud, St. Cloud Democrat.
Despite writing articles advocating more freedom for some, Swisshelm also pushed for the complete extermination of Minnesota’s Dakota Indian population. During the Civil War, the federal government fought the Dakota in Minnesota, commonly known as the U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862. Defeated, the Dakota were expelled from Minnesota the next year.
In December 1862, Swisshelm moved to Washington, D.C., leaving her nephew, William B. Mitchell, to run the Democrat.
In September 1863, Swisshelm sold the Democrat to Mitchell, and then served as a nurse for the Union army for the remainder of the Civil War. Swisshelm died in Swissvale, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1884.
In 1852, Jane and James had a daughter, Mary Henrietta, who was called Zo or Nettie.
Swisshelm's sister Elizabeth married Henry Z. Mitchell, who were the parents of William B. Mitchell.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The Swisshelm collection contain letters, newspaper clippings, and photographs.
Most notable are the letters. Most of the letters are copies and transcripts of the originals. These letters were written by Henry Z. Mitchell, Henry Swisshelm, and Jane Grey Swisshelm. The letters from Jane Swisshelm were written to the Mitchell family in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Jane Swisshelm’s younger sister, Elizabeth, was married to Henry Z. Mitchell. They were parents to William B. Mitchell, who would later become the St. Cloud State University resident director (1877-1901) to the Minnesota State College Board.
There are two original Swisshelm letters, written in 1867 and 1883, both to the Mitchell family.
The collection also contains journal articles and newspaper clippings, as well as a small number of images, including three portraits of Jane Swisshelm.
To see the letters online, click on each letter in the finding aid and go to link in the Scope and Content Note. The letters can be found at https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/jswiss-letters/.
System of arrangement
Records are located at 27B.7d.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
There are no access restrictions.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Permission to publish, quote, and reproduce must be secured from the copyright holder.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Some of the material, especially the scrapbooks and the Swisshelm authored 1880 book Half a Century, were acquired through a gift from Ruth Mitchell in 1969.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
A book entitled Half a Century by Jane Grey Swisshelm, printed in 1880, was given to the St. Cloud State library in 1969 from Ruth Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell was the daughter of William B. Mitchell, who was the nephew of Jane Grey Swisshelm. According to a letter in the book, the volume was given to Ruth Mitchell's grandfather, Henry Z. Mitchell, by Swisshelm.
The book is part of the Rare Books collection in University Archives, call number E449. S97.
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Processed by Tom Steman in 2009.
Archivist's note
Processed by Tom Steman.