James Manahan

Description: The first male graduate with a bachelor of law degree from the University of Minnesota, James Manahan was born to Irish pioneer parents in 1866. His book "Trials of a Lawyer" is a collection of reminiscences and memories written in the waning years of his life. It affords the researcher commentary on a wide variety of political, economic, and governmental movements in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In particular, Manahan discusses the interests of farmers, consumers, and anti-railroad groups. He also provides anecdotes regarding some local political figures (i.e. Robert La Follette, John P. Altgeld, and William Jennings Bryan).

Source Information: Ancestry.com. James Manahan, Trials of a Lawyer [database online]. Orem, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc., 1999. Original data: Library of Congress. Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910. [database on-line] Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1999. Manahan, James. Trials of a Lawyer. Minneapolis, MN: Franham Printing Co., 1933. See Minnesota Historical Society archives.