Carolyn Manketll Sowinski reads excerpts from her book “The Great Storm: Minnesota’s Victims in the Blizzard of January 7, 1873” detailing the severity of the storm.

NEW ULM – Carolyn Mankell Sowinski, author of “The Great Storm: Minnesota’s Victims in the Blizzard of January 7, 1873” was the guest speaker at Brown County Historical Society’s (BCHS) Thursday.

Sowinski’s gave lunchtime audience an overview of her research into her book, which she wrote for the 150th anniversary of the great storm. Sowinski said she refers to the blizzard as “The Great Storm” because in 1873, blizzard was not yet part of the vocabulary. Blizzard started a boxing term that later was adapted to describe a snowstorm.

The winter of 1872-1873 began early with the first snowfall occurring in October. The first snowstorm hit in November 1872. There were several other severe blizzards throughout the rest of the season. The worst hit on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 1873. The storm was especially devastating because it hit quickly, after a warm spell.

The temperatures on the morning of Jan. 7, 1873 were above freezing. Many people were outside taking care of chores they were unable to do during the colder weather. Sowinski said a lot of Minnesotans caught in the storm were chopping firewood when the storm arrived. Others were traveling to town to get supplies.

It was not until noon that the storm hit Minnesota. The southwest portion of the state was hit first. It reached Brown County around 2 p.m.

“It arrives suddenly,” Sowinski said. “It is described as a wall of white coming at them. The temperatures dropped suddenly, the wind picks up and darkness descend.”

Weather data for that day estimates the temperature dropped from 32 degrees to -40 in short time. Witness accounts say the snow was as fine as flour and spilled into homes. The storm did not diminish for two full days.

Sowinski explained at this time, there was little protection because southern Minnesota was all open prairie. In addition, since the storm hit suddenly, many of the people caught outside were not dressed for cold weather.

Sowinski said she began researching the blizzard because her great-great grandfather, who lived in Kandiyohi County, was caught in this blizzard. He was unable to get home during the storm, leaving his wife and infant son alone at home. Sowinski said her family had a happy reunion. Her great-great grandfather survived the storm and made it home to his wife and son, but not every family was as fortunate. Kandiyohi County had the highest recorded casualties of all the counties in Minnesota with 11 deaths.

In 2017, Sowinski published a book about the 11 people killed in Kandiyohi County from the storm. Two years after publishing the first book, Sowinski decided to expand her research to the entire state. She wanted to know how many Minnesotans were killed in the storm. Sowinski said some record listed the total Minnesota deaths at 54 deaths and others said it was in the hundreds.

“I would take up the challenge and try to identify how many died,” she said. “I came up with 84.”

Across 30 Minnesota counties, 82 people were killed. Two other Minnesota residents were killed in the storm, but had traveled out of state when they perished. One was in Dakota territory and another died in Iowa.

Early research said 70 people died in the blizzard. This number came from the Minnesota Governor’s office and was based on state assistance application after the storm. However, not every family who lost someone to the storm applied for state aid.

The impact of the Great Storm was enough that Gov. Horace Austin set aside $5,000 to help victim’s families.

Sowinski said most of the funds went to families of men who died in the storm, leaving wives and children destitute. Typically, the most a family would receive was $50. Families that were well off or not destitute enough, were denied funds.

Sowinski said a blacksmith killed in the storm had a $1,000 life insurance policy and the state decided his window did not need help.

In at least one case, a husband received aid after his wife’s death. Stephen Zutz in Faribault County received financial help after losing his wife Henrietta in the storm. Zutz wrote in the claim application that his wife was very important to survival of the farm because she took care of the children, allowing him to manage the farm. Zutz received $40 in assistance.

Through this claim application, Sowinski was able to identify two storm victims from Brown County: Zacharias Klitsch and Isaac Morehouse.

Klitsch lived in the Home Township. On the morning of Jan. 7, he left his home to cut firewood. On his way back to the farm, he got lost in the storm. His body was found a mile from his home. Klitsch’s widow did receive a $50 claim from the state. In addition to losing her husband, the family lost oxen in the storm and had an infant in poor health.

Morehouse was 16 years old in Stark Township. He was collecting wood when the storm hit with a team of oxen. He was driving the team home, but was unable to see the in the storm and went over a bank near the Cottonwood River. He tried to free the oxen, but was unable to escape the bank. Morehouse crawled into a snowbank to escape the storm, but the bank became crusted over, suffocating him.

Morehouse’s father applied for a state claim, but the liaison for the Governor’s office recommended denying aid because the family was considered too well off.

Some landowners applied for depredations due to lost animals. Of those who applied in Brown County, only Nicholas Laux received aid. Laux had previously lost most of his property during an 1871 prairie fire. During the 1873 storm, he lost cattle purchased on credit.

Sowinski said in researching Laux, she found his misfortunes would continue. Seven years after the 1873 storm, his wife Katie Laux was killed in the blizzard of 1880 near Lake Hanska.

At the end of her presentation, Sowinski acknowledge it possible the number of Minnesota storm victims was higher than 84. County death records were not always complete. There were also others who did not died right away. Some survived the storm, but died from complication regarding amputations or die of pneumonia. Pneumonia deaths were common in the 1870s. Sowinski said it is likely impossible to confirm if an individual caught pneumonia from the storm.

Sowinski said that even though the death toll from the storm was relatively high, most people survived the Great Storm of 1873. In addition to documenting the deaths in the storm, her book contains survival stories well. The book is a testament to the hardships and enduring spirits of those living on the Minnesota prairie in the 1870s.