But What About the Alligator???

 A curious article appeared in the 26 August 1905 Minneapolis Star Tribune. 

“Excelsior,” Star Tribune (Minneapolis), 26 August 1905, p 6, col 1; digital image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com: accessed 19 January 2021).

Birth and Early Life

Horace Edward Brisbin was sixteen years old when he received this odd gift. Born 3 May 1889 in Excelsior, Minnesota, he and his twin sister Hattie came along seven months after the death of their father, H.E. Brisbin. (1) Their mother, Hattie Sampson, who was widowed just two years into her marriage, was the daughter of Leroy Sampson, owner of the Sampson House. She was just 22 years old when she became the widowed mother of twins.

Horace grew up in Excelsior, attending school there. He graduated from the newly built Excelsior High School and worked at the Sampson House, which was a family business. First known as the Slater House, Leroy Sampson, Horace's grandfather, bought it in 1885 and renamed it. After burning to the ground in 1893, it was rebuilt and reopened in 1895 and continued to operate until 1960. 

The Sampson House was one of the large hotels that were common around Lake Minnetonka in the late 1800s and early 1900s. People from all over the United States (especially the South) would spend their summers in the area. Sampson House had 40 rooms and operated year-round. Entertainment included boating and fishing parties. It was a grand hotel and likely required a good-sized staff to manage it.

1920 - 1930. "Sampson House, Excelsior, Minnesota." Westonka Historical Society, Accessed March 11, 2023. https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/whs:173.

Marriage and Adult Life

Horace's mother and sister moved to Texas after his mother had remarried. Horace stayed behind. In 1910, he lived with his paternal uncle George Spaulding and worked on the railroad. (2) In 1913, he married Mabel E. Seamans, the daughter of Charles and Ida (Moeschler) Seamans. (3) 

Horace got a job in 1914 as a stock manager and later as a salesman for McDonald Brothers, a wholesale merchandise company. They moved to 3320 Longfellow Avenue, living with Mabel's mother, Ida. The home would remain in the family for many years. 

In about 1923, the family moved to Owasso, Michigan,  where Horace got a job working for J.C. Penney.(4) By 1930, they moved to New Rockford City in Eddy County, North Dakota. (5) The store went bankrupt during the depression, and the family moved back to Minneapolis, again living at 3320 Longfellow. Horace Brisbin died on 5 December 1943 at the age of 89. (6)

But What About the Alligator???? 

    No further mention was found about this "pet." Alligators can live to be 30-50 years old. Did Horace let him go in nearby Lake Minnetonka or Christmas Lake?? Would the alligator have been able to survive a cold Minnesota winter? Was it kept as a pet until it got too big? Or did Horace Brisbin find himself with a smart pair of boots?? We'll likely never know.

This week's #52 Ancestors Prompt was Animals. (And yes, I know alligators are reptiles.)

(1)    “Killed in a Runaway,” Star Tribune (Minneapolis), 1 November 1888, p 5, col 2; image copy, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com: accessed 19 January 2021.

(2)  1910 U.S. census, Hennepin County, Minnesota, population schedule, Minneapolis, Enumeration District (ED) 0124, page 13a, visit #188, Family #279, George B. Spaulding household; digital image, Ancestry (:https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/31111_4330227-00483: accessed 19 January 2021).

(3)  "Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKNY-BXR: accessed 22 January 2021), entry for Horace E Brisbin and Mabel E Seamans, 1913, Hennepin County, Minnesota.GS Film #1380413, DFN 4540679, image #1013.

(4)  Polk’s Owosso (Michigan) City Directory 1928, including Shiawassee County, R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers, Directory Bldg., Detroit, Michigan. My Heritage. accessed 1/22/2021 

(5)  1930 U.S. census, Eddy County, North Dakota, population schedule, New Rockford, Enumeration District (E.D.) 0012, sheet 5b, dwelling 86, family 86, Horace E. Brisbin household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com:viewed 19 January 2021).

(6) "Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Z82T-DF2M: accessed 22 January 2021), entry for Horace Edward Brisbin, 5 Dec 1943; citing Death, Minnesota State Department of Health, St. Paul. No image.