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Sheriff John R. Meining
MEINING, JOHN R. (1857-1947).
Meining served as sheriff of St. Louis County from 1911 to 1918, and was active in civic affairs. He ran for re-election in 1918 but lost the primary election which was on June 17, 1918.
| About | 1911 Sheriff's Personnel | 1916 Strike | 1918 Sheriff's Residence | Meining Store
 Photo: Meining Store, 1894, NEMHC S3127b1f4
Northeast Minnesota Historical Center
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Sheriff Meining appointed the following deputy sheriffs when he was elected in 1911:
Victor A. Dash - Chief Deputy; William Merrill; Charles Gonberg; Harry Little; George R. King; Frank Magie; Darwin E. Stevens; O. J. Larson; Seig Levy; Edwin Slocum; Duncan Buchanan; John Moren; John H. LaVaque; and Roger S. Lerch.
Source: NORTHEAST MINNESOTA HISTORICAL CENTER
Personnel in later years included the following:
Deputy Sheriffs – Victor A. Dash, R. T. Serrurier, Joseph Burdash, Edward Schubisky, Charles Evans, Sieg Levy, Frank Carlson, J. W. McDonald , Geo. W. Power, Duncan Buchanan, John H. LaVaque, Roger S. Lerch, John Movern, Michael Boyle, Fred C. Witte, Charles Gronberg, Andrew Moilan, Arthur O’Dea, Peter Ring, Alf Gustafson, E.L. Lockhart, Joseph Allen. |
The strike-breakers of 1907 became the strikers of 1916 in the iron mines of Minnesota. Half of the strikers left the range to take up other lines of work.
The "gunmen" or armed mine guards in the pay of the mining companies, yet sworn in as deputy sheriffs, and the large number of deputies under Sheriff Meining of St. Louis county are generally admitted to have been recruited from the worst elements of society. Stationed at frequent intervals along the roads, silhouetted against the sky as they stand, gun in hand, on the tops of the surrounding hills, stationed at the very doors of the miners' cottages, sometimes drunk and often brutal, they are a constant source of irritation to the miners and an undoubted cause of much of the trouble which occurs.
There were only two serious disturbances: one resulting in the shooting of a striker on the picket line in Virginia and the other in the death of Deputy Sheriff Myron who went with two other deputies to the home of a miner, Philip Mesanowitch, to arrest him for some minor offense. A general affray resulted and although the coroner's jury could not fix the responsibility, the police arrested several IWW organizers far from the scene of the shooting as "accessories after the fact".
Mrs. Mesanowitch, leaving four little children behind and taking with her a seven-months' old baby, was also thrown into jail accused of murder in the first degree. (Source: The Survey, Volume 36)
Deputy James Myron: Deputy Myron was a fifty-nine-year-old salesman and former city assessor from Duluth. Officials brought murder charges against four Montenegrin miners: John Orlandich, Joe Cinnogomenich, Joe Michech, and Philip Masonovich, all of whom were present in the house where Myron was killed. Myron, along with other deputies was investigating a report of illegal sale of alcohol. Mrs. Mikela Masonovich, the wife of Philip Masonovich, was also charged with murder. The circumstances surrounding the death of Deputy Myron were murky. The coroner's jury refused to name anyone responsible for the death. Eventually charges against the IWW leaders, Mrs. Masonovich, and two of the miners were dropped and it was agreed to sentence the remaining three miners to terms of one to three years for manslaughter. The miners agreed to this plea bargain only to have Judge Cant unexpectedly hand down sentences of five to twenty years.
(Source: By the Ore Docks; A working people's history of Duluth) |
Sheriff's Residence and Jail
Photo: 1918 Residence and Jail
Northeast Minnesota Historical Center |
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