M. 1 Jun 1891 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Husband: Louis LaBrie
D. 18 May 1922 in St. Paul, Minnesota
During the first few years of the 20th century, one household in St. Paul, Minnesota was a place of terror, all because of a brutish man who took out his frustrations on his family. And the one who bore the brunt of his beatings was his wife, Julia McGuire. This is the story of her life as a battered wife, and the better times that came after he was out of the picture.
Julia was born on March 30, 1871 in Green Isle, Minnesota to Patrick McGuire and Mary Toole, who were both immigrants during the Irish Potato Famine. Julia was their first child, although her father had three children from an earlier marriage. The family would grow to include two younger brothers and three younger sisters. Green Isle was a farming community, and no doubt Julia’s childhood was spent doing farm chores and helping around the house.
Everything changed when Julia was 11-years-old and her father died of typhoid fever. Her mother was forced to give up the family farm and move to Minneapolis, where Julia’s widowed grandmother already lived. At age 16, Julia contributed to the household by working as a seamstress. After being in a rural place, life in the city must have been challenging. The three-generation family moved several times over a short period, always to some form of low-income housing. All was made worse by the lack of an adult male in the household, and by a tragic accident in 1886 where Julia’s younger brother was hit by a train, losing three of his limbs.
Julia McGuire at about age 20
Julia’s path in life was set after she became a cook in a restaurant. This was where she met Louis LaBrie, a waiter, and a courtship led to their marriage on June 1, 1891. Louis was half-Irish and half-French-Canadian, and like Julia, he had moved to the city after growing up on a Minnesota farm. Julia gave birth to their first chid, a son, in 1892; by the turn of the century, another son and three daughters were added to the family, although the boy died as an infant.
It isn’t known when Louis revealed himself fo be a violent man. As the family grew, so did his periods of unemployment, and he never advanced beyond being a waiter. By 1910, two more daughters were born, and also a son that died at 10 months. In November that year, Julia gave birth to yet another girl, and it was said that Louis was so angry, he wouldn’t look at the baby for weeks. Another example of his behavior was told in a family story that when Julia’s younger sister Margaret was visiting once, Louis climbed in the window of where she was sleeping and had sex with her. No doubt that alcohol was a factor in much of what he did.
In about 1906, the LaBries moved from Minneapolis to St. Paul, purchasing a house that became the scene of violence. Presumably, Louis was hitting Julia often by this time, and their older daughters as well. The police were called several times, but this did nothing to stop him from his abuse. Then one night in early March of 1911, Louis went on an extreme rampage against his family. Those who saw the aftermath said that some of the furniture in the house was turned into kindling. The next day, March 4th, Louis was arrested again.
This would be the last time Louis would beat Julia because the next thing she knew was that he had taken his own life in his jail cell — he hung himself using a strip of blanket. The news must have been terrible for Julia; in spite of no longer being terrorized by a violent husband, she now had to figure out how to pay the bills. On top of that, the main newspaper in St. Paul, the Pioneer Press, splashed the story of Louis’ suicide on the front page of the next morning’s edition, exposing her embarrassing personal life to everyone in the city.
Did Julia have any love for Louis? It’s hard to say because such stories didn’t get handed down by her children, but with the amount of pregnancies she had, there was either something there or he was forcing himself on her every time. Most likely her Catholic religion and the times she lived in dictated that she accepted a role of total submission to the man she married. She probably also feared being on her own financially if she tried to leave him with the kids.
Julia with daughter Hazel in about 1918
In the years that followed Louis’ suicide, the family pulled together. Julia’s older children found work and contributed their incomes to the household; the siblings would form a strong bond with each other which continued throughout their lives. In about 1919, Julia opened a lunchroom in Minneapolis, something her husband never came close to doing. The place was called “The Little Radisson,” and it could be described as a stand that sold sandwiches to men who worked nearby. Even with the help of four of her daughters working behind the counter, Julia’s little business didn’t last much more than a year.
By the early 1920s, Julia’s four oldest children had married and were beginning to supply her with grandchildren. Every evidence showed that this was the best part of her life, though, sadly, it didn’t last long. On the afternoon of May 18, 1922, while alone in her house, Julia suffered a stroke that proved fatal. 11-year-old daughter Elsie discovered her mother’s body when she came home from school that day. Julia was only 51 when she passed away. She was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, but in a different place from her husband’s grave. This was done because of Louis’ suicide, not his status of being a wife beater, but it seems fitting that in death he is nowhere near her.
By the early 1920s, Julia’s four oldest children had married and were beginning to supply her with grandchildren. Every evidence showed that this was the best part of her life, though, sadly, it didn’t last long. On the afternoon of May 18, 1922, while alone in her house, Julia suffered a stroke that proved fatal. 11-year-old daughter Elsie discovered her mother’s body when she came home from school that day. Julia was only 51 when she passed away. She was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, but in a different place from her husband’s grave. This was done because of Louis’ suicide, not his status of being a wife beater, but it seems fitting that in death he is nowhere near her.
Julia's daughter Elsie standing in front of her mother's lunchroom, 1920
Children:
1. Frank R. LaBrie — B. 12 Jun 1892, Minneapolis, Minnesota; D. 7 Nov 1937, Shakopee, Minnesota; M. Anna Dorthea Oelrich (1899-1996), 28 Mar 1921, Nicollet County, Minnesota
2. Minnie Louise LaBrie — B. 3 Sep 1893, Minneapolis, Minnesota; D. 20 Jul 1950, Los Angeles, California; M. James John Bolheres (~1886-1941), 17 Jun 1918, St. Paul, Minnesota
3. John Louis LaBrie — B. 10 Feb 1896, Minneapolis, Minnesota; D. 17 Jul 1896, Minneapolis, Minnesota
4. Florence Ruth LaBrie — B. 18 Mar 1897, Minneapolis, Minnesota; D. 27 Oct 1982, Gardena, California; M. William Frederick Maxwell (1872-1941), ~1919
5. Lillian Anna LaBrie — B. 24 Sep 1899, Minneapolis, Minnesota; D. 30 May 1978, Hennepin County, Minnesota; M. Gustav Otto Fritz (1885-1954), 5 Jul 1932, Grant County, Minnesota
6. Hazel Helen LaBrie — B. 14 Nov 1901, St. Paul, Minnesota; D. 15 Nov 1996, Hennepin County, Minnesota; M. Axel William Swenson (1897-1985), 26 Oct 1920, Minneapolis, Minnesota
7. Julia Eleanor LaBrie — B. 9 Apr 1904, St. Paul, Minnesota; D. 26 Dec 1992, Santa Maria, California; M. Albert E. Ibsen (1901-1971), 13 Feb 1923, Hennepin County, Minnesota
8. H. George LaBrie — B. 1 Jan 1908, St. Paul, Minnesota; D. 2 Oct 1908, St. Paul, Minnesota
9. Elsie Margaret LaBrie — B. 4 Nov 1910, St. Paul, Minnesota; D. 20 Sep 1989, Costa Mesa, California; M. (1) Unknown; (2) John M. Toohey (~1918-?), 2 Jun 1935, Los Angeles, California; (3) Arthur Welch Alexander (1912-1989)
Sources:
Birth certificate of Julia McGuire, 30 Mar 1871, Green Isle, Minnesota
1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920 U.S. Censuses, Minnesota
City directories for Minneapolis and St. Paul, 1887-1922
Marriage certificate of Louis LaBrie and Julia McGuire
"Ends Life in Cell at Rondo Station," St. Paul Pioneer Press, 5 Mar 1911
Death certificate of Julia LaBrie, 18 May 1922, St. Paul, Minnesota
Letter from Hazel Swenson, 30 May 1977
Death certificate of Frank LaBrie, 8 Nov 1937
Minnesota Marriage Records database
Death certificate of Anna LaBrie, 23 Sep 1996
Social Security application of James John Bolheres, 26 Nov 1937
Death certificate of James John Bolheres
Marriage certificate of James Bolheres and Minnie LaBrie, 17 Jun 1918
Birth record of Minnie Louise LaBrie, 3 Sep 1893
Funeral memorial card of Minnie Bolheres, 23 Jul 1950
California Death Records index, 1940-1997
Death Certificate of William F. Maxwell, 21 Jul 1941
Letter from William Swenson, 14 Nov 1997
California County Marriages, 1850-1952
