African Americans | Page 45

Judge Charles E. Vanderburgh

Judge Charles E. Vanderburgh c.1872. Vanderburgh presided over the Eliza Winston court case in August 1860.

Entrance to Winslow House, St. Anthony

Entrance to Winslow House, St. Anthony. 1860 photo by William H. Jacoby.

Winslow Hotel and Seven Corners, 1861

Winslow Hotel and Seven Corners, 1861.

Black and white photograph of Winslow House, St. Anthony, 1860.

View of Winslow House, Upton Block and Jarrett House, St. Anthony

View of Winslow House, Upton Block and Jarrett House, St. Anthony. 1858, photographed by Benjamin Franklin Upton. On the left is the elegant Winslow House, perched above the Mississippi River; at center is a store selling iron and steel nails, groceries, and other provisions; and on the right is the Jarrett House, where Ralph Grey had a barbering business.

Winslow Hotel, St. Anthony

Winslow Hotel, St. Anthony, c.1865. Visitors playing croquet. Until 1860, the Winslow Hotel was popular among vacationing Southerns who brought the enslaved people they owned with them. Eliza Winston came to the Winslow Hotel with her owner, Richard Christmas, and his family.

Eliza Winston Court Case

On August 21, 1860, enslaved African American Eliza Winston was freed from her Mississippi slaveholder in a Minneapolis court. After being granted legal freedom, however, Winston faced white mob violence and was forced to leave the area. The event showed that although slavery was illegal in Minnesota, many white Minnesotans supported the practice when it economically benefited them.