Born in Scotland in 1791, Ellen McConnell was 70 years old and  living near Birch Coulee with her son, David, when the war broke out. On the late afternoon of August 18, Ellen was alone in her house when two Dakota men broke in. Ellen was unharmed during the attack, but her 13-year-old grandson (Thomas Brooks) was killed and her daughter (Martha Clausen) and infant grandchildren were captured. Her son-in-law, Fred, and his father, Charles, were also killed. Martha Clausen witnessed the murder of her husband.

The day after the attack, Ellen and David began walking to Fort Ridgely, 12 miles away. There they met Ellen’s other son, Joseph, who had been working as a plasterer at the Lower Agency and escaped on the morning of the attack. They were at Fort Ridgely during both battles that took place there.

Ellen never returned to Birch Coulee. She received $112 in compensation for the belongings listed on her depredation claim, including a family Bible. She and David moved to Houston County, where she died in 1868.

Generations of settler families were affected by the war. All were forced from the land they worked so hard to improve. My great-great-grandmother’s mind was ‘shattered,’ according to historical reports, and she was never the same after her losses.

--Mary McConnell, 2012

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