Title: Minnie D. Craig
Dates: ca. 1928-1955
Collection Number: MSS 11279
Quantity: .25 feet
Abstract: Consists of a draft and typed autobiography by Minnie (Davenport) Craig (1883-1966) detailing her childhood and education in Maine, her life in North Dakota, and her political experiences, including the agricultural and economic situation in North Dakota during the depression of the 1920s-1930s, the creation of the North Dakota Mill and Elevator, and the founding of the Bank of North Dakota. The collection also includes a speech given at the 1928 Indian Fair, Fort Totten (N.D.) about the history of Fort Totten and Devils Lake, a speech against a 1928 proposed constitutional amendment that would have required the state to cover the $25 million worth of deposits lost by insolvent banks, a speech by Edward O. Craig advocating against the Independent Voters Association (I.V.A.), the manuscript "How the State Protects Its Children," and part of a speech about the history of public schools (common schools).
PDF documents and photocopies of the original documents in the collection - the Fort Totten speech and autobiography - are available for reference use; the original documents are fragile and should remain with the collection. The remaining documents in the collection are photocopies.
Provenance: The Minnie D. Craig Papers were formerly assigned MSS 20721. They consisted of photocopies of Craig's speeches, papers, and autobiography. The provenance of these photocopies is unknown.
The original typed copies of Minnie D. Craig's speech at Fort Totten and autobiography were donated to the State Historical Society of North Dakota by Jack Swenson on December 30, 2015.
Property rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to the collection.
Copyrights: Copyrights to materials in this collection remain with the donor, publisher, author, or author's heirs. Researchers should consult the 1976 Copyright Act, Public Law 94-553, Title 17, U.S. Code and an archivist at this repository if clarification of copyright requirements is needed. Permission to use any radio or television broadcast portions of the collection must be sought from the creator.
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
Related Collections:
MSS 282 Minnie D. Craig Papers. North Dakota State University Institute for Regional Studies.
OGLMC1059 Minnie Craig Papers University of North Dakota, Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Minnie D. Davenport was born at Phillips, Maine, on November 4, 1883, the daughter of Marshall and Aura (Prescott) Davenport. Following high school graduation at Phillips, Minnie attended Farmington State Normal School and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She married Edward O. Craig in July, 1908. Although a native of Maine, Edward was president of the bank at Esmond, North Dakota, where the couple resided while in North Dakota. After becoming interested in politics during the 1919 Legislative Session, Mrs. Craig was elected in 1923 to the North Dakota House of Representatives where she served for six terms, culminating in 1933, as the first woman speaker of a House of Representatives in the nation. Minnie also was the state president of the Nonpartisan Clubs for two years and Republican National Committee woman from 1928 to 1932. In 1933, Mrs. Craig was appointed state worker for the Federal Emergency Relief Agency. In the 1935 Legislative session, Minnie was named assistant to the chief clerk and was chief clerk in 1937 and 1939. In 1946, Mr. & Mrs. Craig retired to California where he died in 1947. Mrs. Craig continued to live there until moving to her original home at Phillips, Maine, in 1959. She died on July 2, 1966 at Farmington, Maine
Source: the finding aid to the Minnie D. Craig Papers (Mss 282) at the North Dakota State University Institute for Regional Studies.
BOX / FOLDER INVENTORY
Box 1:
1 Handwritten draft of Minnie D. Craig's autobiography, ca. 1955 (photocopy)
2 Minnie D. Craig's typed autobiography, ca. 1955
3 Minnie D. Craig's typed autobiography, ca. 1955 (photocopy)
4 Speech against a proposed constitutional amendment to require the state to cover the $25 million worth of deposits lost by insolvent banks, 1928 (photocopy)
5 Speech given at the 1928 Indian Fair, Fort Totten (N.D.) about the history of Fort Totten and Devils Lake, October 3, 1928
6 Speech given at the 1928 Indian Fair, Fort Totten (N.D.) about the history of Fort Totten and Devils Lake, October 3, 1928 (photocopy)
7 Speech by Edward O. Craig advocating against the Independent Voters Association (I.V.A.), ca. 1930 (photocopy)
8 "How the State Protects Its Children" manuscript (photocopy) , n.d.
9 Part of a speech about the history of public schools (common schools), n.d. (photocopy)
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