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 m 12 
 
 Progressive Men of Minnesota. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 LEADERS IN BOSINESS, POLITICS AND THE PROFESSIONS; 
 
 TOGETHER WITH AN 
 
 HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH OF THE STATE. 
 
 Edited by MARION D. SHUTTER, D. D„ and J. S, MeLAIN, M. A. 
 
 MINNEAPOLIS: 
 
 The MlNNEAPOI-IS JOI-KXAL. 
 
 1897.
 
 4 F606: 
 
 Copj'righted by The Minneapolis Journal. 
 1S97
 
 PKKFACE. 
 
 Il is a generally accepted proposition that the growth and development ot any coin- 
 munit)- along right lines depend more upon the character of its ])o])ulalion than upon any 
 other causes; and to a correct understanding of the forces which have contributed to the 
 upbuilding of this commonwealth some knowledge of the' men who have been instrumental 
 in making Minnesota what it is, is necessar\-. The population of the state is increasing at a 
 rapid rate and man)- thousands from other states and countries become resiilents every ,\'ear, 
 who are unfamiliar with its history and unacquainted with the men who lia\e made that 
 history. The purpose of this \olume is to furnish a con\-enient and trustworlh)- source from 
 which accurate knowledge of the histor\- of the state may be obtained. .Special efforts have 
 been made to collect information with regard to the men active and foremost in business, 
 professional and official life to-day, and also with regard to those who ha\c.: in the past pla_\-ed 
 leading parts in the making of a great state. In addition to the biographical sketches, 
 the" reader will find here a carefully pre])ared description of Minnesota, \-iewed from the 
 standpoint of its natural resources and from that of its pulilic historw
 
 MINNESOTA; 
 
 Its History and Resources. 
 
 MARION D. SHUrTER. 
 
 '"Should you ask me, Whence these stories, 
 Whence these legends and traditions? 
 
 I should answer, I should tell you, 
 hVom the forests and tlie prairies, 
 I'Voni the g^reat lakes of the Nortldand, 
 From the land of the ( )jil)\vays, 
 hVom the land of the Dakotas." 
 
 — Lonjrfellow. 
 
 The writer has undertaken to jiresent, in the 
 following pages, a brief historical sketch of the 
 state of jMinnesota and some account of its pres- 
 ent resources. 
 
 Just thirt\-eight years have elapsed since the 
 star representing the "land of the sky-tinted 
 water" was placed upon the national banner. 
 There are those living to-day whose nieuKiries go 
 back be\'ond the ftirniation of the state, and even 
 back to the times that antedatetl the organization 
 of the territory. The first governor elected after 
 the state had been admitted to the union is still 
 with us in a hale aiul vigorous old age. He has 
 just presided at the annual meeting of the State 
 Historical Society. Many of those survive who 
 helped to shape the early affairs of the state and 
 to lay the foundations of its after greatness. Some 
 of these are mentioned in this sketch, and also in 
 the body of the ]iresent work. It is, however, 
 more the object of this x'olume to set forth what 
 is being done by those who are making history 
 
 to-day, who are now directing the course of 
 e\ents. The lives and deeds of the hathers are 
 elsewhere recorded. They have laljored, and the 
 present generation has entered into their labors. 
 They have laid the corner-stone, and it is for those 
 who are taking their places to build a structure 
 that shall be worthy of their toils and sacrifices. 
 L.et us face the future in the same hope and 
 courage with which (.)nr fathers con(|uered the 
 past. 
 
 That future is bright with promise. The geo- 
 graphical position and natural resources of this 
 state are prophetic of destiny. Some such intima- 
 tion seems to have danced through the brain of 
 the Aborigine : for the Dakotahs used to claim su- 
 periority over their other savage brethren, because 
 their "sacred men asserted that the mouth of the 
 Minnesota river was immediately over the centerof 
 the earth and immediately under the center of 
 the heavens." Dismissing this tribal fancv. it 
 is wortln' of note that liarou D'.Vvagour, while
 
 10 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 guvenioi" of Canada, sent to the French govern- 
 ment (August 14, i663ja message in which, after 
 leferring to Lake Huron, he wrote: "JJeyond is 
 met another called Lake Superior, the waters ot 
 which, it is believed, flow into New Spain, and 
 this, according to the general opinion, ought to 
 be the center of the country." To come to more 
 modern times, the words of William H. Seward, 
 at St. Paul in i860, though often quoted, may be 
 referred to once more. "T now believe," he said, 
 after a survey of the country, its place, and its 
 resources, "that the ultimate seat of government 
 on this great continent will be found somewhere 
 within a radius of not very far from the spot on 
 which I now stand, at the head of navigation on 
 the ^lississippi river." These are some of the pre- 
 dictions of Minnesota's destiny, from the wild 
 dreams of the original savage to the sober 
 words of the recent distinguished statesman. 
 
 But for the present, we must turn from specula- 
 lions concerning the future, to review the history 
 of the past. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE ABORIGINES. 
 
 On the 13th of January, 1851, when Alexander 
 Ramsey was taking the chair as president of the 
 Historical Society, he said: "Minnesota has a 
 history and that not altogether an unwritten 
 one, which can unravel many a page of deep, 
 engrossing interest; which is rich in tales of 
 daring enterprise, of faithful endurances, of high 
 liopcs; which is marked l)y tiie early traveler's 
 foot-prints, and by the ancient explorer's pencil; 
 which is glowing with the myths and traditions 
 of our aboriginal races, sprinkled over with their 
 battle-fields, with the sites of their ancient vil- 
 lages, and with the wah-kaun stones of their 
 teeming mythology.'' With these "original races" 
 our sketch must begin. 
 
 Even earlier than the year 1634, the Indians 
 arounrl the great lakes had learned to carry their 
 furs to Quebec, where they received in cxcliange 
 such articles of European manufacture as suited 
 tlicir needs or pleased their fancy; but in this 
 \ear (1634), two priests named Brebocuf and 
 Daniel, (ired with zeal ff)r the Church, accom- 
 panied a party of Hurons from Quebec back to 
 their distant home. Neil tells us that they were 
 
 the first Europeans who erected a house in the 
 neighborhood of Lake Huron; and that "seven 
 years later, a bark canoe containing priests of the 
 same order, passed through the river Ottawa and 
 coasted along the shores of Lake Huron to visit, 
 by invitation, the Ojibways, at the outlet of Lake 
 Superior." It required seventeen days from the 
 time of starting for that bark canoe to reach the 
 l^alls of St. Mary; and here the priests found two 
 thousand of the tribe assembled, waiting to re- 
 ceive them and listen to their message. 
 
 It was upon this missionary journey that the 
 white men heard, for the first time, of the tribe of 
 the Dakotahs, on the site of whose lodges and 
 wigwams the cities and towns of Minnesota have 
 arisen. 
 
 The Ojibways informed the priests that the 
 Dakotahs lived eighteen days' journey farther 
 towards the west. This was in 1634. It was 
 twenty years later before the white man pene- 
 trated the Dakotah territory. In this year two 
 young men, "connected with the fur trade, fol- 
 lowed a party of Indians in their hunting excur- 
 sions," and were finally thus conducted to the 
 borders of the Dakotahs. This was in 1654. 
 When they returned to Quebec, they gave such 
 glowing accounts of the lands, lakes, rivers, peo- 
 ple, resources, that both trader and priest became 
 enthusiastic for its conquest. The trader at first 
 fared better than the priest; for good Father 
 Mesnard -was lost in attempting to reach the newly 
 discovered savages; and tradition asserts that only 
 his cassock and prayer-book completed, in some 
 mysterious way, the journey, and were kept for 
 many years by the Dakotahs as amulets. 
 
 The word Dakotah, by which the original occu- 
 pants of the soil of Minnesota designated them- 
 selves, signifies allied, or joined together, or 
 federated. Nearly two centuries ago, it was writ- 
 ten of them, "For si.xty leagues from the extremity 
 of the up[)er lake towards sunset, and, as it were, 
 in the center of the western nations, they have 
 all united their force by a general league." The 
 name .Sioux which is most familiar to us, origi- 
 nated with the early French discoverers. The 
 Ojibways of Lake Superior had, from time im- 
 memorial, waged war against the Dakotahs, and 
 natm-ally always referred to them as enemies. The 
 term they used was Nadowaysioux. The French, 
 according to Charlevoix, abbreviated this term by
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEM OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 11 
 
 using t)iily tlic latter ])ai"t of it. He sa)s: ''Tlic 
 name of Sioux that we give to these Indiaii.s is 
 entirely of our own making; or, ratlier, it is the 
 last two syllal)les of the name of Xadouessionx, 
 as many nations eall them." 
 
 There have been three great divisions of the 
 Dakotalis, or Sioux; and these have been still 
 farther sul)clivided. These subdivisions are too 
 numerous to mention in such a sketch as the 
 present one. The lir.st of the three ))rincipal divi- 
 sions was called the Isanyati, whose chief i)and 
 was the .M'dewakantonwan, and tluir territory 
 was around the shores of Alille Lacs and along 
 the borders of Rum river. The second of these 
 divisions was the llianktonwan. most connncjnly 
 called Yankton ; and they are said to have occu- 
 pied the region west of Mille Lacs and north of 
 the Minnesota river. The tliird division is the 
 Titonwan, wIkj dwelt at Lac i|ui I'arle and !'>ig 
 Stone lake. 
 
 The language of the Lakotahs was different 
 from that of other Indian tribes, and was no more 
 understood by those tribes than by the white 
 men. The first mention of a 1 )akotah word in 
 a Euroijean 1)ook is found in bather Hennepin's 
 accoimt. \\'hen the savages saw him reading his 
 breviary they exclaimed, "W'akan-de!" His com- 
 panions interpreted it as an expression of dis- 
 pleasure and begged b'ather Hennepin to be less 
 public in his devotions, fearing that the Lidians 
 would murder them all. The father complied, 
 althcnigh they afterwards discovered that the word 
 was simpl\- an exjiression of surprise and wonder. 
 A granunar and dictionarv of the Dakotah lan- 
 guage, compiled l)y Rev. S. R. Riggs, of Lac qui 
 Parle, has been published bv tb.e .Smithsonian 
 Institute, under the auspices of the JNIinnesota 
 Historical Society. The language, as embodied 
 in these works, reflects the surroundings, the 
 mental habits, and the state of progress of these 
 savages. Their vocabularv of trees and shrubs 
 "covers probably all, or nearly all, the varieties 
 which grow in their country, . . but they 
 have very few specific names for flowers." The 
 sense of beauty is almost cntireh- lacking. One 
 can not make bows and arrows and tent-poles 
 out of flowers. Fish and liirds all have names, 
 and there are words which show an intimate ac- 
 quaintance with their habits. Engaged in con- 
 stantly dissecting wild animals, "their vocabulary 
 
 of terms denoting the different parts of the body 
 is extensive and definite." Hut "in terms to de- 
 note abstract ideas, the Dakotah language is un- 
 douljtedly defective," The ideas themselves were 
 absent. In this ctjnnection, Mr. Riggs says: "It 
 is only just to reniark that the language under 
 consideration is possessed of great flexibility; 
 almost all words expressing (piality ma}- be so 
 changed as tcj stand for those (puilities m the 
 abstract." The Dakotah noun is not properly 
 declinable. X'ariations are denoted by afifixing 
 and suffixing pronouns. These are of great num- 
 ber and power of expressicju. ".Xothing can be 
 found anywhere more hill and flexible than the 
 Dakotah verb. The affixes and reduplications 
 and ])ronouns and prepositions all come in to 
 make it of such a stately i)ile of thought as is to be 
 found nowhere else. .\ single paradigm presents 
 more than a thousand variations." In the arrange- 
 ment of predicate and substantive in a sentence, 
 "the Dakotah language is eminently simple and 
 natural. The .sentence 'f iive me bread," a Dakotah 
 transposes to 'Bread me give.' Such is the genius 
 of the language that in translating a sentence or 
 verse from the F.ible, one expects to begin not at 
 tlie beginning, liut at the end. And, such, too, is 
 the conunon practice of their best interpreters; 
 where the person who is speaking leaves off, 
 there they usually commence and jjroceed back- 
 ward to the beginning. In this wav, the connec- 
 tion of a sentence is more easily retained in the 
 mind and more naturally evolved.'' 
 
 Passing on to the religion of the Dakotahs. 
 \vithout entering into the details of their belief and 
 worship, we may use the comprehensive state- 
 ment of General Sibley: "The religion of the 
 Dakotahs is a mere myth. It has been asserted 
 that the Indian race are monotheists, and there- 
 fore far in advance of other jiagans who believe 
 in a multijilicity of deities; that thev look for- 
 ward to a future state and to its retributions. I 
 regret to be obliged to express an o]iinion on this 
 subject which must conflict with such favorable 
 impressions. The belief attributed to the eastern 
 tribes of a happy lumting-ground for the good 
 and wastes devoid of game for the bad, in another 
 sphere of existence finds no response in the breast 
 of a Dakotah. He seeks to propitiate what he 
 calls the Great .'spirit and a multitude of minor 
 spirits, especially those eiubodied in oval-shaped
 
 12 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 stones, by sacrifices of tobacco and other trifling 
 articles, not because he hopes or cares for reward 
 in a higher state of being, but Ijecause he depre- 
 cates the visitations of their anger upon the earth 
 in the form of disease, accident, or death, to him- 
 self or his family. I have no reason to believe 
 that any Dakotah, among the very many with 
 whom I have conversed on the subject, was ever 
 deterred from the conunission of a crime by a 
 fear of pimishment in another world, nor have I 
 been able to satisfy myself that their impressions 
 of a future state are anything but shadowy, uncer- 
 tain and unsatisfactory." 
 
 The manners and customs of the Dakotah 
 tribes present an interesting field of research ; but 
 our present sketch must lie confined to a hurried 
 survey. The Dakotahs were fond of war, and so 
 relentless in battle that other tribes feared theiu. 
 Their children were cradled to the sound of bat- 
 tle-music: and the first playthings were miniature 
 bows and arrows. War and the chase were the 
 Dakotah's chief employments; and in the intervals 
 he observed the feasts and dances of religion. The 
 domestic life was that of all savages. The wife or 
 wives — for they were polygamous — was ol^tained 
 by purchase and devoted to the service of a slave 
 or drudge. In moving from place to place, the 
 Dakotah wuman carried the lodge, camp-kettles, 
 axe, babies and small dogs upon her back. She 
 erected the teepee, cut the wood, built the fires, 
 and cooked the meals. She was subject to all the 
 whims of her husband, and was usually treated 
 w'ith harshness and cruelty. .'Xs a result, suicides 
 were frequent among Dakotah women. The food 
 of these Indians was principally fish, venison, buf- 
 falo and dog-meat. One of the old chiefs once 
 declared to a party of explorers: "The savage 
 loves dog-meat as well as the white man loves 
 pork." They did not cultivate the soil. -Some- 
 times they used a species of wild rice that grew 
 in the swamps. Dependent upon the stream and 
 the chase, they were constantly oscillating be- 
 tween starvation and gluttony. Without regular 
 hours for eating, they were also without regular 
 hours for sleep. In person they were filthy and 
 full of vermin. Their bodies w'cre more familiar 
 witli paint than with water. .Xdultrrcms and 
 thievish, they were at 'last compelled to enter 
 into certain compacts for self-preservation — upon 
 Sir John Falstaff's ]irincipk' that "thieves nuist 
 
 be true to each other." "The Siou.K nation," says 
 Culbertson, "has no general council, but each 
 tribe and band determines its own affairs. These 
 bands have some ties of interest analogous to 
 our secret societies. The "Crow-feather-in-cai)' 
 l)and are pledged to ];)rotect each other's wives 
 and to refrain from violating them. If the wife 
 of one of their number is stolen from another of 
 their number, she is returned, the band either 
 paving the thief to restore the stolen property or 
 forcing him to do it. The 'Strong-Heart' band 
 is pledged to protect each other in their horses.' 
 And so on. The Dakotah had his hours of recre- 
 ation, as well as his battles and chase and religious 
 dances. His favorite pastime was a game of 
 l)all CDrrespduding with what school-bovs used to 
 call "shinney." lietting ran high, luindreds of 
 dollars' worth of property was often lost and won 
 on a single game. Guns, horses, blankets, belts 
 and ornaments used to change hands with marvel- 
 ous rapidity. The game usually broke up, as 
 games in more modern times occasionally do, in 
 clamorous disputes and altercations. When, after 
 his precarious existence, enlivened bv war and 
 chase and dance and ])lay, the Dakotah died, his 
 nearest friend was always anxious to go out and 
 kill soniel)ody, especially an enemy, Neil relates 
 that "a father lost his child while the treaty of 
 1 85 1 was pending at Alendota, and he longed to 
 go and kill an Ojibway." The corpse was always 
 wrapped in its best clothes, and some one ac- 
 quainted with the deceased would harangue the 
 unseen powers as well as the friends of the de- 
 jiarted, upon his virtues. The friends woidd sit 
 with Ijlack ])igment, the sign of mourning, on their 
 faces. Loud lamentations rent the air, and the 
 mourners cut their thighs and legs with their 
 finger-nails or pieces of stone. "The corpse is 
 not buried, but i^lace<] in a box u])on a scaffold 
 some eight or ten feet fi-oni the ground. Hung 
 around the scaffold are such things as would please 
 the spirit, if it were still in the flesh, such as the 
 scalp of an enemy or jxits of food. After the 
 corpse has been exposed for some months, and 
 the bones onI\- remain, they are buried in a heap, 
 and ])rotecled from the wolves by stakes." 
 
 Such were the tribes who dwilt upon the soil 
 of .Miimesota before the axe of the white man 
 rang Ihrough its forests or his ])lough-sliare had 
 tm-ncd the soil of its ]irairies. So lived the Da-
 
 I'KDCRIiSSlVE MBN nl' M INNIiSOTA. 
 
 13 
 
 ki.)tali, and so lie tlicd. Sonic nf tlic legends of 
 this primitive people still lingci' in unr literatufc, 
 and naines of Dakotali origin arc still Ijorne by 
 our towns and lakes and rivers. These are pleas- 
 ant memorials of a time that is gone and a race 
 that is almost extinct. I'ut, tm the other hand, 
 as we shall see later, the savagery of the 1 )akf>tali 
 has written the record of his conflict with civiliza- 
 tion in letters of Ijlood. Among the historic 
 places of our state are battle-fields where the 
 heroic settler bravely met the insane fury (jf the 
 Dakotah's merciless attacks. There arc men ;ind 
 women living to-day who remember scenes of 
 massacre in which tlieir own friends and relatives 
 went down under the tomahawk and scaljiing- 
 knife! 
 
 II. 
 
 VOYAGE AND DISCO\'ERY. 
 
 We have already described how the white men 
 originally heard of the land of the Dakotahs. and 
 how they first made their way to its borders. Let 
 us now return and follow up the story of voyage 
 and discovers-. Little by little the area of sav- 
 agery is to be opened to civilization. In this 
 work the initiative is always taken by traveler and 
 trader. The emissaries of commerce prepare the 
 way for the priest. The trading-])ost is the center 
 around whicli, later, clmrchcs and schools are 
 built. It will be interesting to trace the processes 
 by which section after section of what is now the 
 state of Minnesota was added to the map of the 
 world. 
 
 In May, 1671, the most notalde gathering that, 
 uji to that time, had been held upon this con- 
 tinent, assembled at .Sault Ste. Marie. For months 
 before, Nicholas Perrot, at the request of the 
 Canadian authorities, had lieen visiting the vari- 
 ous tribes of the Northwest, inviting them to this 
 council. For months before, DeLusson had been 
 exploring the country around the great lakes 
 to find out its resources — planting the cross of the 
 church and the arms of France wherever he went. 
 The French and the Indians must now have an 
 understanding in regard to trade. At this great 
 conference they meet to form a compact. There 
 were present, on this occasion, the most noted 
 travelers and ecclesiastics of the <lav. De Lusson, 
 Perrot and Joliet were there; and there also were 
 
 Fathers Alloucz and Dablon. Before them sat 
 the representatives of the various tribes. They 
 were freshly decorated with paint and feathers, 
 and wrapped in their best furs of beaver and 
 buffalo, bather Allouez, the first priest who had 
 seen the Dakotahs face to face, and who had 
 founded the Ojibway mission at La Pointe, 
 ii|H'iHcl the proceedings. He addressed the In- 
 dians, telling them of the Great King beyond the 
 sea, describing the monarch's power and grand- 
 eur. Two holes were then dug, in one of which 
 was ])Ianted a cedar column, in the other a cedar 
 cross. Then the Europeans sang one of the 
 Latin hymns of the Church, after which, to col- 
 unni and cross were fastened metal plates en- 
 graved with the arms of France. De Lusson 
 then addressed the Indians in French, and Perrot 
 acted as interpreter. The Indians listened with 
 approval, a treaty of mutual good will and assis- 
 tance was made, certain stipulations were agreed 
 u])on in regard to trade; and the ceremonies were 
 followed by a grand discharge of musketr}-. The 
 Te Deuni sung by the whole council terminated 
 the proceedings. Thus was the region arcjund 
 the great lakes formally introduced to French 
 dominion, and the gates of exploration and traffic 
 thrown open. 
 
 The great river of Minnesota is the Mississippi ; 
 and it was but natural that the first explorations 
 should be made along this highway of waters. 
 Father Allouez first heard the name of this stream 
 in the fall of 1665, while visiting the Minnesota 
 shores of Lake .Superior. He wrote it as he 
 thought the Chippeways pronounced it, "Messipi." 
 Father Marquette ("whose statue lias just ijeen 
 |)laced in the capitol at Washington), during his 
 missionary tours in the neighborhood of Lake 
 Superior, heard so much of this great river of the 
 Sioux country, that he determined to go in search 
 of it. He and his companions left the mission at 
 Green P>ay on the loth of July, 1673, and went 
 up the Fox river in birch-bark canoes. They 
 made a portage to the ^^'isconsin: then placed 
 their canoes upon its waters and floated down to 
 the Mississippi, a seven days' journey. Entering 
 the ^lississippi, they went down to the Illinois, 
 and returned to Green Bay by way of the Illinois 
 and Lake ^Michigan, arriving at the place whence 
 they started, the last of September — a remarkable 
 feat.
 
 14 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 This voyage of Father Marquette was deeply 
 interesting to a native of Rouen, named La Saile, 
 who was Hving at his trading post, F'ort Frontc- 
 nac, Canada, on the site of tb.e present city of 
 Kingston. La Salle believed that there was a 
 short route to China and Japan from the iiead- 
 waters of the Mississippi. He sailed to France 
 to obtain the patronage of Louis XI\'., and in 
 1678 received permission "to make discoveries 
 in the western part of New France, to build forts 
 wherever they were necessary, and to enjoy the 
 exclusive right to the trade in buffalo skins which 
 were just beginning to be known and valued in 
 Europe." One of the first things La Salle did, 
 after his return from France, was to build a large 
 vessel for navigating the lakes. It made but 
 one voyage. On its return from Green Bay to 
 the Niagara river, it was lost; for no tidings of it 
 were ever received. After sending out this ship 
 that never returned, La Salle and his followers, 
 among whom was Father Hennepin, coasted with 
 their four birch-bark canoes along the eastern 
 shore of ^^'isconsin, and at last descended the 
 Illinois river to the present site of Peoria, where 
 they built a fort. They also constructed here a 
 vessel for navigating the Mississippi. In this 
 vessel La Salle sent Father Hennepin to discover 
 the sources of the wonderful stream — confident 
 that when he had found these sources, he would 
 also find the new route to China and Japan. 
 
 On the 29th of February, 1680, with two com- 
 ])anions, Richard du Gay and Michael Accault, 
 Hennepin embarked. He did not discover the 
 sources of the great river or the new loute to the 
 Orient; but he did make discoveries that have 
 identified his name forever with the histoi"\' of 
 Minnesota. It is not easy to determine the order 
 in which ilennepin made his discoveries; but it 
 is proliable that the first of these was Lake Pepin. 
 In the neighborhood of the mouth of the Wis- 
 consin he and his companions were captured by 
 a i)arty of Indians. With them he passed through 
 the Lac des Pluers, which was shortly afterwards 
 called Pepin. He thus describes his experiences: 
 "About thirty leagues above I'lack river, we found 
 the Lake of Tears which ue named so, because 
 the savages who took us, as it will be hereafter 
 related, consulted in this place, what they should 
 do with their prisoners, and those who were for 
 murdering cried all night upon us. to oblige by 
 
 their tears, their companions to consent to our 
 death. The lake is formed by the 'Aleschasipi,' 
 and may be seven leagues long and five broad." 
 Some miles below the site of St. Paul the Indians 
 landed, at a point opposite Reil Rock, and thence 
 journeyed by trail to Mille Lacs. Afterwards, 
 with a hunting party, Hennepin descended the 
 Rum river, and camped at its mouth. Here they 
 nearly perished of famine, and at last, yielding to 
 his earnest entreaties, the Indians allowed him 
 to go free. After some days' traveling, he came 
 to a cataract which he says "indeed of itself is 
 terrible and hath something very astonishing." 
 He reported this cataract to be sixty feet high. 
 "Near the cataract,'' he says, "was a bearskin upon 
 a pole, a sort of oblation to the spirit in the 
 waters." After carving the cross and the arms of 
 France upon a tree, he called the falls by the 
 name of the patron saint of his expedition. Saint 
 Anthony of Padua. The first white man who 
 looked upon the mighty torrent, now harnessed to 
 the machinery of a great city, was Louis Henne- 
 pin. This was in the month of July, 1680. 
 
 To this same time belong the names and deeds 
 of several other discoverers. Leaving his post on 
 Lake Superior in the month of June, 1680, Du 
 Luth explored the country to the Lake of the 
 Issati, JNIille Lac, which he afterwards called Lake 
 Buade, from the family name of Frontenac, gov- 
 ernor of Canada. He also ascended the St. Louis 
 river, then called the "Bois Brule," to its source, 
 exploring the country drained by its waters. His 
 name is preserved in the name of the young and 
 vigorous city that has sprung up in the field of 
 his activities. He was the first to plant the arms 
 of France in the land of the Dakotahs. 
 
 In the spring of 1683, the first trading-]K)st was 
 established in Minnesota, on Lake Peiiin, by 
 Nicholas Pcrrot, and a fort was liuilt which for a 
 long time bore his name. A few \ears later, the 
 Indians, instigated by the Tuiglish, began to make 
 trouble for the French farther cast, and Perrot 
 and his followers, leaving a fi.'w halfbrccds io 
 ]irotect their goods at the trading-post, joined 
 T)u Luth who was in conunand at Green Hay. 
 l\elnrning with fort\- men to Lake Pe])in, in 1688, 
 the next year he formally claimed the cmuitry for 
 France. The document in which this claim is 
 luade is called the Proces-A^erbal. and is the first 
 official docmnent in relation (o Minnesota: for
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 15 
 
 while its buundarics were not yet defined, it was 
 pari oi ihc immense territory ineluded in llie 
 claim of Xicholas i'errot. \n the ijeginning-, tins 
 document "recites tlie origin and history ol i'er- 
 rot's authority; tiien tells how he and his com- 
 panions entered the counlr) ; enunierales the 
 tribes encountered on the hanks of the upper 
 Mississippi and its l)ranches, the Wisconsin, St. 
 Croix, and Minnesuta; and takes possession of 
 the whole region in the name of the king." 
 
 In i6y5, Le Sueur established a post on one 
 of the islands of the Mississippi, imt far from tlie 
 present town of Red Wing. He also ascended 
 the Alinnesota river to the mouth of the Man- 
 kato, or Blue Earth river, about 150 miles above 
 the site of Fort Snelling, where he erected an- 
 other fort and estaljlished a trading-post. Le 
 Sueur explored the entire Blue Earth region. 
 With him the h'rench discoveries in Minnesota 
 appear to have ceased. Eor half a century, these 
 enterprising Frenchmen had been penetrating 
 into the country along the great water-courses, 
 and establishing their trading-posts and forts at 
 strategic points. And yet the hold uf the French 
 upon the new territory was slight. D'lberville, 
 in a memorial addressed to the government, says: 
 "The Sioux are too far removed for trade while they 
 remain in their own country," and suggests a plan 
 for their removal to the ^Missouri. He also men- 
 tions the tendenc}- of the voyageurs to become 
 roaming hunters and the interference of Canadian 
 traders with those of Louisiana, as great ditti- 
 culties in the way of securing a stable system of 
 commerce between the tribes and the latter col- 
 ony. However the I'rench government heeded 
 neither the atlvice of l)"Ibervillc nor the schemes 
 of others; but discouraged by its ill success, 
 abolished the system of licenses, and withdrew its 
 garrisons from all the points west of Mack- 
 inaw. This condition of afifairs existed for nearly 
 twenty years. liut, after all, this great territory 
 was not to be relinquished or pernianeiUh- neg- 
 lected; for events were shaping themselves which 
 revived the waning interest. 
 
 The eyes of the English were upon this part of 
 the continent and they worked through the In- 
 dians to accomplish their designs. A h'rench 
 document of the da\- thus refers to the matter; 
 "It is more and more obvious that the English 
 are endeavoring to interpolate among all the 
 
 Indian nations, and to attach them to themselves. 
 The)' entertain constantly the idea of becoming 
 masters of Aorth America, pursuaded that the 
 luiropean nation which will be possessor of that 
 section, will, in course of time, be masters of all, 
 because it is there alone that men live in health 
 and have strong, robust children." "Thus it 
 came to pass," says Kirk in his history, "that the 
 song of the Canadian lioatman was again heard 
 on the streams and lakes of .Minnesota, and the 
 fathers of the mission once more performed their 
 sacred ministrations within its borders. But 
 l)riest and vo^ageur were not left to battle alone; 
 for the I'"rench authorities instituted means for 
 the re-establishment (jf the deserted posts and the 
 building of new ones." During the period of 
 struggle which followed, other parts of the ter- 
 ritory to the westward were opened, and more 
 adequate ideas of the extent and resources of the 
 country obtained. I'revious to the breaking out 
 of what is know n in history as the "h'rench and In- 
 dian War,'' the dominion of France was reasserted 
 and her power again became supreme. And 
 even though later, in 1763, the country was ceded 
 to England by the treaty of \ersailles, the French 
 had so strong a hold upon the Indians that the 
 English never established trading-posts west of 
 Alackinaw. 
 
 An expedition was organized under English 
 auspices l)y Jonathan Carver, a native of Con- 
 necticut, who had been a conunander in the royal 
 service during the I'rench and Indian wars. Leav- 
 ing IJoston in the month of June, 1766, he arrived 
 at Mackinaw in the month of August. Carver 
 simply went over the routes that others had 
 marked out and visited posts and villages already 
 in existence. He added nothing to the area of 
 discovery; but he observed some things in his 
 travels that had escaped the eyes of others, and 
 has given us information that we find nowhere 
 else. He w'as the first one who called the atten- 
 tion of the civilized world to the existence of 
 earthworks or mounds in the valley of the Missis- 
 si])pi. He discovered the cave which bears his 
 name, some miles below the city of St. Paul — 
 a cave whose sides were carved with Tntlian hiero- 
 gly])hics. He tells us that the little island now 
 lielow the Falls of St. Anthony was then in the 
 middle of the cataract. He describes the ])ictur- 
 esque beauty of the country around the falls; he
 
 16 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 foresees something of the future greatness of this 
 region. "The future population," he declares, 
 ■■\viJi be able to carry tlicir produce to the sea- 
 ports with great facihty, the current of the river 
 from its source to its entrance into the Gulf of 
 Alexico, being extremely favorable for doing this 
 in small craft. This might also in time be facil- 
 itated by canals or shorter cuts, and a communica- 
 tion opened by water with Xew York by way of 
 the lakes." Carver went to England and inter- 
 ested a member of parliament by the name of 
 Whitworth, in his projects, and would have re- 
 turned to renew his travels had not the breaking 
 out of the Revolutionary War prevented. Xotli- 
 ing further of importance was accomplished until 
 after that portion of .Minnesota lying east of tlie 
 ^Mississippi came into possession of the Lnited 
 States, by the Treaty of Paris, 1783. And this 
 event opens a new chapter in the history of .Min- 
 nesota and of the Northwest Territory. 
 
 III. 
 
 THE TRANSITION PERIOD. 
 
 We have just seen that by the treaty of 
 Paris, that portion of what is now the state of 
 Aiiiinesota, which lay east of the Mississippi, was 
 ceded to the United States. The French-Ameri- 
 can territor}-, assigned to Spain in 1763, was re- 
 turned to Prance in 1800, and by the French, 
 almost immediately after, ceded to the United 
 .States; so that the immense domain west of the 
 .Mississippi, including the other part of our pres- 
 ent state, also came into the hands of the govern- 
 ment. But as yet no boundaries are defined. 
 
 This whole region, at the beginning of the 
 present century, was just emerging from savagery. 
 The Indians still remained and had always to be 
 reckoned with. The I'Vench were still an im- 
 portant factor in the sparse p<i])ulati<ni. Ilalf- 
 breeds abounded. English traders were in pos- 
 session of the posts. I'or some years after the 
 country had come into American ownershij), tlie 
 English kept their garrisons in the forts along the 
 iriMitier; they even went so far as to erect new 
 trading-posts wiiich floated the English colors. 
 'I'lie traders sought to iiold the Indians loyal to 
 Jiritish rule and to embitter them against the new- 
 regime. 
 
 'ihe authorities at Washington found it neces- 
 sary to become acquainted witn the new soil, curu 
 tne insolence ot tlie JJritisli traders, and conciiiaie 
 the savage tribes. I lie hrst mission ot tins kind 
 was unaertaken by Eieutenant Pike in 1805. 
 "With Ills small command ol twenty men,' sa_)s 
 General Sibley, "lie penetrated into the midst ol 
 tne powerful tribes ol the Dakotah and Chippewa 
 inuians, arrested tneir hostile movements towards 
 each other, negoiiated a treaty ot cession witii the 
 former, threatened evil-disposed tribes and In- 
 dians with punishment, tore down the British flag 
 wherever displayed, and elicited the respect and 
 admiration ot savages who were entirely under 
 British influence, and wdio had but a faint knowl- 
 edge of the power of the American government. ' 
 As a result of his work, our government acquired 
 from the Uakotahs the first tract of land ceded 
 b\- any Indian tribe within the limits of new ter- 
 ritory. Notwithstanding all that had been ac- 
 complished by Lieutenant Pike, the traders, dur- 
 ing the war of 1812, enlisted the Indians upon the 
 side of England. They assisted in the attacks 
 upon Fort Alackinaw in 1812, Fort j\leigs in 
 1813, and Fort Shelby in 1814. Only two chiefs 
 of the Dakotahs remained loyal to the Americans. 
 The results of the war were disappointing to the 
 Indians, as the English had made them golden 
 promises they were unable to fulfill; and these 
 wild children of the forest learned to despise the 
 power and authority of the United States no 
 longer. 
 
 The expedition of JNIajor Stephen H. Long in 
 1817 resulted in the selection of the present site 
 of Fort Snelling, where three years later the 
 corner-stone of that military structure was laid. 
 The post was at first called Fort St. Anthony, but 
 through the influence of General Winfield Scott, 
 who was there on a visit of inspection in 1824, 
 the name was changed according to the following 
 recommendation: "The work of which the 
 War Department is in possession of the j)lans, 
 reflects the greatest credit on Colonel Snelling, 
 his officers and men. The defences, and for (ho 
 most part the public storehouses, shops and 
 ipiarters, being constructed of stone, the whole is 
 likely to endure .so long as the post shall remain 
 a frontier one. I wish to suggest to the general- 
 iii-chief, and through him to the War Dcjjart- 
 iin-iit, the i)ropricty of calling this w«jrk h'ort
 
 PROGRESSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 17 
 
 SnclHiig, as a jnsi i ninpliiiK'nt to llif iiicrituriuus 
 vvarricji" tinder wIkuii il has ]>vvu erected." 
 
 While the ft^rl was l)uil(Hii,i;-, the Arts of lY-ace 
 were alstj Iteing cultivated. The seeds of a future 
 civilization were being S(n\'n. In i(S2i,tlH- .\orth- 
 western and Jindsou Hay I'ur ( 'oin[)aiiies^ 
 hitherto at war — united, and the C'ohunhia h'ur 
 Company, with head(|uarters at Lake Traverse, 
 was fcjrnied. The llrst mills erected on .\liniu-- 
 sota soil were huilt by the g(.)vernnient at the 
 l-'alls of St. Anthony, in 1821 and icSjj to manu- 
 facture flour and hunljer for the garrison at I'ort 
 Snelling. This latter year also witnessed the be- 
 ginning of steam navigation on the waters of the 
 upper Mississippi. During the same year, the 
 first distinctively scientific expedition entered 
 Minnesota, under the direction of Major Long. 
 Among the explorers were Samuel Seymour, art- 
 ist; I'rofessor \V. H. Keating, of Pennsylvania 
 University, mineralogist and geologist, and 
 Thomas Say, of the Philadelphia Academy of 
 Sciences, zoologist and anti((uarian. It is said 
 that, "the scientific obser\'ations, though rapidly 
 taken, were of great value. The geological and 
 geographical descriptions of the Minnesota and 
 Red rivers were particularly interesting; and to 
 these some information was added relative to the 
 fauna and flora of those valleys." Still later, the 
 labors of Nicollet, in these directions, were im- 
 portant. Progress was also being made in the 
 management of the Indians. On the Kjth of 
 August, 1825, the Northwestern tribes met at 
 Prairie du Chien, where the government was 
 represented by Lewis Cass, of Michigan, and Gov- 
 ernor Clarke of Missouri. The Dakotahs and 
 (Jjibvvays here consented to have definite bounds 
 placed between their hunting-grounds, to prevent 
 future contention. The year following, Mr. Cass 
 attended a council of the Ojibw^ays at Fond du 
 Lac. On the 5th of August a treaty was sealed 
 in which "the Ojibways projnised to sever all 
 allegiance to Great Britain, and acknowledge at 
 all times the United States' supremacy." 
 
 Still further progress towards the coming civil- 
 ization must now be noted. The year 1833 marks 
 the beginning of schools and mis.eions among the 
 Protestants. They t)riginated with Rev. W. T. 
 Boutwell, among the Ojibways at Leech Lake. 
 In 1834, S. W. Pond and his brother opened a 
 mission for the Dakotahs at Lake Calhoun. In 
 
 Jiuie, 1835, a Presb)terian church was organized 
 at Port Snelling. [n 1836, Dr. Williamson, Mr. 
 iiiggins and .Miss Poage, located at Lac qui 
 Parle and (jrganized a cinncli. In 1837, they were 
 joined b\' Rev. S. R. Riggs and wife. These 
 were the humlde begiimings. 'J"he toils and sacri- 
 fices of thesefirst teachers and missionaries laidthc 
 found;itions for the work ui others. On these 
 foundations si-hoojs and churches have multi- 
 plied. 
 
 'jhe yvdr 1837, eventful in the history of mis- 
 sions, is also eventful in commercial histrjry. 
 (Kitside capital began to llow towards the North- 
 west and towards this [larticular spot of the 
 Northwest. .\ council of the ( Jjibways, held at 
 Port Snelling, this year, ceded to the United 
 States all the pine lands of the St. Croix and its 
 trilnitaries. "Capitalists innnediately began to 
 improve the water power at the P'alls of St. Croix 
 and this was the beginning of the now extensive 
 manufacturing of lumljer, ,so closely related to 
 the conmiercial welfare of the state. 'Die Pal- 
 myra, Captain Holland commander, the first 
 steamer to navigate the St. Croix, brought the 
 machinery for the projected mills. A delegation 
 of the Dakotahs at Washington also ceded to the 
 government all their .Minnesota lanrls east of the 
 Mississippi." 
 
 The principal event in the closing part of this 
 period was the founding of St. Paul, in 1840. A 
 chapel of that name was first erected, and a small 
 village sprang up around it. Dr. Williamson, 
 writing in 1843, gives a description of the settle- 
 ment as it then appeared: "My present residence 
 is on the utmost verge of civilization, in the north- 
 west part of the United States, within a few miles 
 of the principal village of white men in the terri- 
 tory that we suppose will bear the name of Min- 
 nesota. The village referred to has grown up 
 within a few years in a romantic situation, on a 
 high blufi' of the Mississippi, and has been bap- 
 tised by the Roman Catholics with the name of 
 St. Paul. They have erected in it a small chapel, 
 and constitute much the larger portion of its in- 
 habitants. The Dakotahs call it Im-ni-jas-ka, or 
 'White Rock,' from the color of the sandstone 
 which forms the bluff on which the village stands. 
 The village contains five stores, as they call them, 
 at all of which intoxicating drinks form a part, 
 and I suppose the principal part, of what they
 
 18 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 sell. I would suppose the village contains a 
 dozen or twenty families living near enough to 
 send to school." 
 
 The period condensed into these few para- 
 graphs, to use the words of Mr. Kirk, "May well 
 be called the period of transition between the 
 times of the voyageurs and the settlements; of 
 romantic adventure, yielding to scientific re- 
 search; of slowly shifting scenes in the prologiie 
 of yet another great drama of modern American 
 life, for which the forces of civilization were stead- 
 ily arranging themselves while the outside world 
 began to look with eyes of eager expectancy for 
 the opening of the first act." 
 
 IV. 
 THE TERRITORY. 
 
 That part of Minnesota lying west of the Mis- 
 sissippi came successively under the jurisdiction 
 of Louisiana Province in 1803, Louisiana territory 
 in 1805, Alissouri territory in 1812, Alichigan ter- 
 ritory in 1834, Wisconsin territory in 1836 and 
 Iowa territory in 1838. The part east of the 
 Mississippi secured, as already mentioned, by the 
 treaty of Paris, belonged to the Northwest terri- 
 tory in 1787, Indiana territory in 1800, Illinois ter- 
 ritory in 1809, Michigan territory in 1834, and 
 Wisconsin territory in 1836. 
 
 Territory after territory, state after state, was 
 organized out of this innnense domain. I'inall}', 
 in 1848, Wisconsin, with boundaries not so in- 
 clusive as those of Wisconsin territory, was ad- 
 mitted as a state. The act was jsassed on the 2ytli 
 of May. The following July, a meeting was held 
 at St. Paul which "proposed the calling of a con- 
 vention to consider the steps proper to be taken 
 by those citizens of the old Wisconsin territory 
 l)eyond the boundaries of the new state of Wis- 
 consin." The first public meeting for this pur- 
 pose was held August 5th, at Stillwater, and 
 Franklin Steele and Ilenry H. Sibley were the 
 only ones who attended from the west side of 
 the Mississippi. At tliis time a call was issued 
 for a general convention to meet at the same place 
 on the 26th of the same month. Si.xty-tvvo dele- 
 gates were present and Ilenry PI. Sibley was aj)- 
 jjointed to proceed to Washington and mge tiic 
 immediate passage of a bill for the organization 
 of Minnesota territory." In the meantime, Mr. 
 
 Sibley was elected to the House of Representa- 
 tives, and finally succeeded in having a bill passed 
 for the organization of the territory of Minnesota, 
 with the present boundaries, and St. Paul as the 
 capital. L)n Alarch 3, the bill was signed by the 
 president. j\lr. Sibley will always be remembered 
 for this service. He had to battle hard in the 
 House. The measure was opposed on various 
 pretexts, and hampered with embarrassing 
 amendments. An eff^ort was made to append the 
 Wilmot Proviso. "By great exertions on the part 
 of myself and my friends," says Mr. Sibley, "the 
 House was at length persuaded to recede from 
 its amendment." The news was brought to St. 
 Paul by the first packet-boat of the season, which 
 ploughed its way through the icy river in early 
 April. There was great rejoicing in the new- 
 capital. A few days later, James M. Goodhue 
 appeared with his printing press and established 
 the "Pioneer," the first newspaper in the territory. 
 
 Alexander Ramsey, of Harrisbnrg, Pa., was ap- 
 pointed governor by the president. He arrived 
 before the close of April, and June i issued his 
 first proclamation, declaring the new government 
 duly organized and directing all citizens to hold 
 themselves obedient to its laws. Three judicial 
 districts were formed: The first was the old 
 county of St. Croix ; the second, the northeast 
 section, or La Pointe county, north of the Minne- 
 sota and the right line drawn westward from its 
 headwaters to the Alissouri; the third, comprised 
 the remaining region to the south and westward of 
 tlie former stream. Stillwater, St. Anthony Falls, 
 and Mendota, were the places in which the re- 
 spective courts were held. In July, the governor 
 proclaimed the division of the territory into seven 
 council districts, and issued an order for the first 
 election of members of the council, representatives 
 of the house, and a delegate to congress. The 
 congressional election resulted in the choice of 
 Henry H. Sibley. At this time the population of 
 the territory was only 4,680; but the eyes of mul- 
 titudes from all parts of the country were begin- 
 ning to turn towards the .Star of the North. 
 
 The first legislature CDUvened Se|)tember 3, 
 1849. The sessions were held in the Central 
 House, which served the doubU' pur;)<ise of 
 capitol and hotel. "On the first fioor of the main 
 Ijnildiiig," says Neil, "was the secretary's otfice 
 and representative chamber, and in the second
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 19 
 
 sU)rv was tlic lilirary and council chanil)er. As 
 the Hag was nui up llic staff in front of the house, 
 a nuinlicr nf tinliaiis sat on a nicky lihiff in the 
 vicinit)' ami jL;a/.cil at what to them was a novel 
 and ])erhai)s saddening- scene." The new terri- 
 tory is now fully orq'anized .-nul all llic machinery 
 of pjovcrment is in motion. 
 
 lender the administration of ( Invernor Kamse\', 
 immense progress was made. '1 he lirst legisla- 
 ture created the followini;' counties: Itasca, 
 Wabasha, Dakotah, Wahnatah, Alankato, Pem- 
 bina, Washington, Ramsey, and I'.entou. F.efore 
 the close of 1849, the citizens of St. Paul were 
 considering the establishment of the first public 
 school in the territory. Treaties were made with 
 the Indians in 1850 and 1851, by which they 
 relinquished their titles to large areas of the ter- 
 ritory to make way for the advancing tide of im- 
 migration. The summer of 1850 witnessed the 
 beginning of navigation on the Minnesota river. 
 Meanwhile the capital city was growing. About 
 this time, Fredericka Bremer, the Swedish novel- 
 ist, wrote: "The town is one of the youngest of 
 the great West, scarcely eighteen months old, and 
 yet it has, in a short time, increased to a popula- 
 tion of two thousand persons, and in a very few 
 years it will certainly be possessed of twenty-two 
 thousand. As yet, however, the town is but in 
 its infancy, and people manage with such dwell- 
 ings as they can get. The drawing-room at Gov- 
 ernor Ramsey's house is also his office, and In- 
 dians and work people, ladies and gentlemen, are 
 alike admitted. The city is thronged with In- 
 dians. The men, for the most part, go about 
 grandly ornamented, with naked hatchets, the 
 shafts of which serve them as pipes." 
 
 The second legislature, which met in 1851, 
 made .St. Paul the permanent capital, located the 
 territorial prison at Stillwater, and established the 
 University of Minnesota at St. Anthony Falls. 
 The third legislature, in i85;2, created the county 
 of Hennepin. At this time settlements were 
 made at Shakopee,Traverse des Sioux, Kasota and 
 Mankato.in the IMinnesota vallev: and the largest 
 one of all was made in the vallev of the Rolling- 
 stone at Winona. So rapidly was the new terri- 
 tory filling with settlers, so great were the strides 
 in material progress, that when Governor Ramsey 
 in 1853 addressed the fourth legislative assembly, 
 he said: "In concludincf mv last annual message 
 
 permit me to observe that it is now a little over 
 three years and six months since it was my hap- 
 piness to first land upon the soil of .Minnesota. 
 -\'ot far from where we now are a dozen frame 
 houses not all conipletc, with scjme eight or ten 
 log buildings, with bark roofs, constituted the 
 capital of the new territory, over \vhose destiny I 
 had been connnissioned to preside. One county, 
 a remnant from Wisconsin territorial organiza- 
 tion, alone afforded the ordinary facilities for the 
 execution of the laws: and in and around its seat 
 of justice resided the bulk of our scattered popu- 
 lation. Within this single countv were embraced 
 all the lands white men were privileged to till, 
 while between them and the broad, rich hunting- 
 grounds of untutored savages rolled the River of 
 Rivers. * * * Ti,e few bark-roofed huts 
 have lieen transformed into a city of thousands. 
 In forty-one months, have condensed a whole 
 century of achievements, calculated by the old 
 world's calendar of progress — a government pro- 
 claimed in the wilderness, a judiciary organized, 
 a legislature constituted, a comprehensive code of 
 laws digested and adopted, our population quin- 
 tupled, cities and towns springing up on every 
 hand, and steam, with its revolving arms, in its 
 season, daily fretting the bosom of the Missis- 
 sippi, in bearing fresh crowds of men and mer- 
 chandise within our borders. Nor is that least 
 among the important achievements of this brief 
 period, which has enabled us, bv extinguishing 
 the Indian title to fortv million acres of land, to 
 overleap the Father of Waters, and plant civiliza- 
 tion on his western shore." 
 
 Franklin Pierce had now become president of 
 the I''nitcd States, and following strictly the prin- 
 ciple that to the victors belong the spoils, he 
 removed Governor Ramsev and appointed as his 
 successor Willis A. Gorman, of Indiana, a Ken- 
 tnckian bv birth, who had served as an officer in 
 the IVTexican war. This vear Henrv M. Rice was 
 elected to congfress in place of Henn' H. Sibley. 
 The fifth legislature met in t8;4, and Governor 
 Gorman, in his first annual messafrc. urecd 
 "speedv legislation in behalf of education, and the 
 construction of railroads to meet the constantly 
 increasing demands for transportation towards 
 the eastern seaboards." The question of railroad 
 construction soon became the all-absorbinfr topic 
 of the hour. The bill, incorporating the Minne-
 
 20 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 sota & Xorthwesteni Railroad Company, was 
 passed during the last moments of the legislative 
 session. In their anxiety to foster commercial 
 interests, the legislature had promised to grant 
 this company "all lands which should thereafter 
 be given Alinnesota by the national government 
 to aid in constructing railroads, as well as all 
 those lands of that character then possessed by 
 the territor\-." This action of the legislature was 
 destined to prove a source of contention for many 
 years. In this same year, 1854, the sur\'ey of the 
 original town of Minneapolis was made. 
 
 In 1855 the wire suspension bridge across the 
 Mississippi, between St. Anthony and Minne- 
 apolis, was completed — the first bridge that ever 
 spanned the great river. The 29th of March, 
 this same vear, witnessed the formation of the 
 republican party. The year 1857 was marked by 
 some Indian atrocities in the southwestern part 
 of the terrtorv. The whole section was in terror. 
 Soldiers from Fort Ridgely were sent to the scene 
 of slaughter. They found and buried thirty dead 
 bodies, but the nuirderers were never captured. 
 The contempt which the Indian learned for the 
 soldier and the power he represented. lia<l its 
 influence later in the terrible uprising of 1862. 
 
 Through all these years — years of creating 
 C':)unties, of building towns, of accjuiring land 
 for agricultural purposes, of founding schools and 
 universities — the territorv is steadil)' moving for- 
 ward towards the state. On the 26th of February, 
 1857, the I'nited States senate passed an act "en- 
 abling the people of Minnesota to form a state 
 constitution previous to its admission into the 
 L'nion. l'>y this act the boundaries of the state 
 were defined as at ])resent, and it was granted 
 lands for the sujiport of schools and the erection 
 of i)nblic buildings." By another act of the same 
 session "alternate sections of land were granted 
 for the construction (A railroads within the state." 
 Governor (iorman immediatelv called aii extra 
 session of the legislature; but before it convened. 
 1 'resident Buchanan appointed .Samuel Mcdary 
 to take his ])lace as governur. A coustitntinnal 
 convention agreed upon a constitution for the 
 coming state, August 29; and October 13 it was 
 ratified by almost unanimous vote of the citizens. 
 On the 7tli of April, 1858, the bill for the admis- 
 sion of Minnesota was carried, and on the i itli of 
 
 May was signed by the president. Thus Minne- 
 sota entered the great sisterhood of states; and a 
 new star was placed upon the national banner. 
 
 V. 
 
 THE STATE. 
 
 Dark and troubled was the time when Minne- 
 sota entered upon her career as a state, and nearly 
 the whole of the first decade of state history was 
 a period of depression and discouragement. The 
 panic of 1857 had made it almost impossible for 
 the new commonwealth to negotiate loans for 
 the development of its resources. Then, there 
 were mistakes in legislation thai produced evil 
 consequences in after years. I<"or example, the 
 first legislature (1858) pledged the public credit 
 to the amount of five million dollars "to further 
 subsidize the delinquent railroad companies." 
 The constitution of the state was amended so as 
 to permit this to be done. Governor Sibley re- 
 fused to issue the bonds, but was compelled to 
 do so by a mandamus of the Supreme Court. 
 More than two millions of dollars worth of bonds 
 were then thrown upon the luarket, although not a 
 rail I if tliepn ijected road hail lieen laid. Then came 
 the Civil \\'ar in 1861, and the Sioux outbreak 
 in 1862. Calamities followed thick upon the heels 
 I if bkmders, and it was nut until after the close 
 of the war that the state began her real career. 
 
 We must not conclude, however, that there 
 were no bright spots in this period of our liis- 
 torv. This first state legislature passed the act 
 creating our present Normal .Schools at \\'inona, 
 Mankato and St. Cloud. In lieu of better trans- 
 l>ortation facilities, an overland route was opened, 
 June. 1859, between .St. Paul and Pireckenridge, 
 on the Red River, l-'roni this point a steamer 
 carried goods to the Hudson Hay Comi)any's 
 territory. The failure of the railroad companies to 
 keej) their pledges could not whoUv check the 
 spirit of enterprise. I'ut the attention paid to 
 educational matters is one of the most significant 
 things of this earlv day. We have just mentioned 
 the establishment of normal schools. In the fall 
 of 1851), .'\lcxandcr Ramsey, first governor of the 
 territory, was elected second governor of the 
 state. ( )ne of the first incidents of his adiuinis- 
 tration was the repeal of the old act estal)lishing
 
 rKU(;KESSIVli MUN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 21 
 
 a territorial university, and on tiic basis of a new 
 grant from congress, the founding of the State 
 University of to-day. Acts were also passed regu- 
 lating the sale of the public school lands, of which 
 "there were two sections in each township ex- 
 clusively devoted to the suppcjrt of the lower or 
 common schools, besides tiie special grants made 
 in favor of the higher education." The founders 
 of Minnesota realized that the jjrosperity and 
 gl(ir\' of a state must he based upim ihi eihuatiim 
 of its children. 
 
 During Ciovernor Ramsey's first term, the Civil 
 War began; and while the struggle was at its 
 height, and thousands of citizens away from 
 their homes on the fields of battle, the Siou.x 
 perjjetrated their bloody massacres. It was a 
 black and stormy time. So far as the Civil War 
 is concerned, it is a matter of record of which we 
 may lie justlv proud, that Minnesota led the van 
 in the great conflict for the preservation of the 
 Union. Governor Rainsey was in Washington 
 when the flag that waved over Sumter was fired 
 upon. Before the sun went down on that fateful 
 day, he had off'ered — first of all the governors — 
 the aid of the state troops, and President Lincoln 
 had accepted. The news was flashed to the ca])i- 
 tal of Minnesota; the lieutenant governor at once 
 issued a jiroclamation, and by the 2ist of June 
 the First Alinnesota fullv organized and equippeil, 
 under conmiand of Col. W^ A. Gorman, started 
 for the seat of war. From that time onward to 
 Lee's surrender, the Minnesota troops were 
 potent factors in the armies of the North. Twenty- 
 five thousand and fift)'-two, all told, the settlers of 
 Minnesota numbered who enlisted in the cause 
 of freedom and union. Minnesota regiments 
 fought in every great battle of the long contest. 
 The First Minnesota won its initial honors in the 
 first battle of Bull Run; then down to the second 
 battle of Fredericksburg, down to Gettysburg, 
 down to Appomattox, where manv of its original 
 members took part in the closing fight, all along 
 the course of the war the noted regiment made 
 memorable record. The Minnesota sharpshooters 
 were at Malvern FTill, .\ntietam and l*"redericks- 
 burg. The Fourth and Fifth regiments won hon- 
 orable distinction at .Shiloh and Corinth. The 
 Fifth was at the siege of ^^icl<sburg. The Fifth. 
 Seventh, Ninth and Tenth regiments, under Gen. 
 A. J. Smith, helped to defeat Forest at Tulepo, 
 
 Mississi])pi. They afterwards fought at Talla- 
 hatchie and pursued the retreating rebels under 
 Trice. The .Second regnnent helped to storm 
 the enemy's works on the sunnnit of Mission 
 i-iidge, and was with the first battery in the 
 .\tlanta campaign. Space will not permit us to 
 enter more fully into detail. Among the first on 
 the theater of war, among the last to leave the 
 scene, the Irodps of .Minnesota added lustre to 
 the name of the state; though for the time mater- 
 ial interests languished and industrial progress 
 was check(.'(|. When llic life of the nation was 
 at staki', all other considerations might well be 
 subordinatcii. 
 
 ^^ bile thousands of citizens were away fight- 
 ing for the union, suddenly, in 1862, the Sioux 
 descended upon many of the un])rotected settle- 
 ments and ]ier])etrated a massacre ap])alling even 
 for savages. .Many reasons have been assigned 
 for this bloody uprising, and there were doubt- 
 less many causes at work. There was delay in 
 the p.ayment of annuities; many of the Indians 
 had insufhcient food in the meantime; there were 
 some encroachments of settlers upon Indian res- 
 ervations; there was ill-feeling lietween the un- 
 converted Indians and those under missionary in- 
 fluence; liut above and beyond all, perhaps, was 
 the desire to regain their lost territory and re- 
 conquer the land from the whites. This desire 
 was fostered by the predictions of their medicine 
 men that the Sioux would defeat the Americans 
 in battle and again occupy the country, after 
 clearing it of the whites. Secret leagues had been 
 formed among the warriors. The wished-for end 
 had long been considered. All thmgs seemed to 
 indicate that the time was ripe. Thousands of 
 young and able-bodied men were away helping to 
 crush the rebellion. They remembered, too, 
 these Indians, that no steps had l)een taken by 
 the government to punish Ink-pa-du-tah and his 
 band, and this fact was interpreted as weakness. 
 Thus the way was prepared, and conditions 
 seemed favorable. The first blow was struck at 
 Acton, in Meeker county, where five persons were 
 remorselessly slaughtered. The next day the gen- 
 eral work of murder, under Little Crow-, began, at 
 the agencies and spread through the surrounding 
 country, until terror reigned supreme through the 
 valley of the Minnesota. "The unarmed men of 
 the settlements," says Capt. Charles Br^^ant,
 
 22 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 "offered no defense and could offer none, but fled 
 before the savage liorde, each in his own wav, 
 to such place as the dictates of self-preservation 
 gave the slightest hope of safety. Some sought 
 the protection of the nearest slough; others 
 crawled into the tall grass, hiding in many in- 
 stances in sight of the lurking foe. Children of 
 tender years, hacked and Ijeaten and bleeding, 
 fled from their natural protectors, now dead or 
 disabled, and by the aid of sonic trail of l^lood, 
 or by the instincts of our common nature, fled 
 awav from fields of slaughter, cautiously crawling 
 by night from the line of smoke and fire in the 
 rear, either towards Fort Ridgely or some town 
 on the ^Minnesota or the ^lississippi. Over the 
 entire border of the state, and even near the 
 jiopulous towns on the river, an eye looking 
 down from above could have seen a human ava- 
 lanche of thirty thousand, of all ages, an<l in all 
 possible pliglit, the rear ranks maimed and bleed- 
 ing and faint from starvation and the loss of 
 blood, continually falling into the hands of in- 
 human savages, keen and fierce on the trail of 
 the white man." The uprising was promptly met 
 by the governor, who at once sent Gen. Sibley 
 to the scene of massacre. After a successful 
 campaign the decisive battle was fought at Wood 
 Lake, not far from the upper agency at the ford 
 of the Yellow Medicine. Within a month from 
 the first blow struck by the Sioux, their hopes 
 vanished in smoke from the white man's guns, 
 their white captives were restored to friends and 
 three hundred of their guilty tribesmen had been 
 taken. These criminals were tried by a military 
 commis.sion and condemned to death, but Presi- 
 dent Lincoln commuted the sentences of all but 
 thirty-eight, who were htmg at ATankato on the 
 26th of December. The following year ri86.^) 
 under the administration of Governor H. A. 
 Swift, Gen. Sibley drove the remaining hostile 
 Sioux from the state and they fled beyond the 
 Missouri. The same year the notorious Little 
 Crow, who had ventured back, was shot l)v a 
 vnuner settler named Chauncev Lampson, in the 
 r>ief Woods, six miles from LTutchinson. Thus 
 ended one of the saddest chapters in the history 
 of the young commonwealth. 
 
 The year 1865 marks the close of the war. The 
 surviving troops retm-n to take up again the avo- 
 cations of peace. The Indian f|uestion is settled, 
 
 and immigration turns once more towartl the 
 North Star state. A new era begins with the ad- 
 ministration of Governor W. R. Marshall, ex- 
 tended through two successive terms. Educa- 
 tional and charitable institutions are founded. The 
 first hospital for the insane is located at St. Peter. 
 Buildings for the school for deaf, duml) and blind 
 are erected at Fariliault. The normal institute at 
 Winona is finislied. The reform school is founded. 
 The state is brought into line with the results of 
 the Civil War, by striking the w'ord "white" 
 from the constitution. It is an epoch of railroad 
 construction. Grants of land for the Southern 
 Miimesota and the Hastings & Dakota are made. 
 The Northern Pacific is begun. The right of the 
 state to 500,000 acres of land for internal im- 
 provements is established. "I am profoundly 
 grateful," says Governor Marshall, in his last 
 message, "to the Providence that connected me 
 with the state government during so interesting 
 and prosperous a period." Under his successor, 
 Governor Horace Austin, there was a steady and 
 rapid growth of the commonwealth. Inmiigra- 
 tion increased, railroad construction was pushed 
 with vigor, and real estate rose rapidly in value. 
 Several important amendments to the constitu- 
 tion signalize Governor Austin's term of office. 
 One provided for increasing the public debt of 
 the state to maintain more effectively our chari- 
 table institutions. Another prevented any city or 
 village or county from granting a bonus of more 
 than ten per cent of its property valuation to any 
 railroad asking for aid. (This was subsequently 
 made five per cent.") Still another amendment 
 preserved the sale of internal improvement lands 
 at the rate obtained for school lands, and pro- 
 vided for the investment of funds so obtained in 
 TTnited States and Minnesota state lionds. The 
 administration of Cushman I\. Davis ("elected in 
 1873), was characterized by railroad legislation. 
 The regulation of rates and the relation of the 
 railroad to the public, were freelv discussed. Gov- 
 ernor Davis himself says: "The most important 
 political event of my admim'stration was undoubt- 
 edly the culmination of the controversy which had 
 been carried on for some years between the rail- 
 road companies and the ))cople, on the questi<in 
 of the legislative power to control the former in 
 the performance of their duties towards the pub- 
 lic, cspecialh' in regard to fixing rates for trans-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 23 
 
 purlaliuu." The rcsull was a slatule aulhorizing 
 the governur to appoint a comiiiission of three, 
 "who had power to fix the rates of the various 
 companies within the state." During Governor 
 Davis' term of office the state was divided into 
 judicial districts and women were granli-d ihl- 
 right of suffrage in school elections. 
 
 In 1875, Juhn S. i'illsbury was elected. lie 
 held the position for three successive terms, hav- 
 ing been twice re-elected. During his administra- 
 tion the amendment to the constitution was passed 
 forbidding the use of school funds for the support 
 of sectarian schools (1877), and the (juestion of 
 railroad bonds was finally and honorably settled 
 (1882.) Selah Chamberlain, in behalf of himself 
 and a majority of the holders of railroad bonds, 
 otTered to make a settlement, taking new bonds 
 of half the face value of the eld. An extra 
 session of the legislature decided lo accept Mr. 
 Chamberlain's oflfer. Governor i'illsbury will 
 always be remembered with gratitude for insisting 
 upon maintaining the credit of the state, against 
 a strong and persistent sentiment of repudiation. 
 His own words deserve to be recorded here: "In 
 my opinion, no public calamity, no visitation of 
 grasshoppers, no wholesale destruction or insidi- 
 ous pestilence, could possibly inflict so fatal a 
 blow upon our state as the deliberate repudiation 
 of her solemn obligations. * * * With the 
 loss of public honor, little could remain wortliy 
 of preservation." Governor I'illsbury has in many 
 ways done much for the state of his adoption; 
 but his firm and noble stand for the public credit 
 of itself entitles him to the respect of coming gen- 
 erations. 
 
 The administration of Governor Lucius F. 
 Hubbard (elected in 1881), covers two terms, dur- 
 ing which schools of every grade were multi- 
 plied and public charities flourished, while the 
 material prosperity of the state continued to grow. 
 To use his own words: "In population, wealth 
 and the development of all the industries of our 
 people, Minnesota made a decided advatice dur- 
 ing 1882 and 1883. The extension of our railroad 
 system, particularly the completion of the North- 
 ern Pacific Railroad, gave a decided impetus to 
 our commercial centers. The adoption of more 
 diversified methods infused new life into our agri- 
 cultural interests, and with large accessions to 
 our population, and active capital, all industrial 
 
 pursuits felt the inspiration of a healthy and sub- 
 stantial progress." 
 
 Andrew K. AIcGill succeeded Air. Hubbard. 
 In 1887 a system of high license was adopted by 
 the state for those places that do not prohibit 
 liquor selling under the local oi«ion law, fixing 
 the license at $1,000 for cities of 10,000 inhabi- 
 tants and over, for all other places half that sum. 
 Une-third of all the saloons in the state went out 
 of business, while from the remainder the state 
 received 50 per cent more revenue than previously 
 from the entire number. The act creating the 
 railroad commission, under Governor Davis, w'as 
 repealed and a new act was passed which em- 
 bodied many of the provisions of the old and 
 added new features. Among these were provis- 
 ions to prevent rebates and pooling, recj^uiring 
 charges to be equal and reasonable, to prevent 
 hindrances to through transportation and undue 
 discrimination for longer or shorter hauls. Other 
 acts were passed requiring all railroads, not sub- 
 ject to special tax laws, to pay a percentage of their 
 gross earnings in lieu of taxes; forbidding the 
 sale of watered stock, and making companies 
 liable for the negligence of their servants. During 
 this year, in spite of this stringent legislation, 196 
 miles of railroad were built in the state. In 1888 
 a fourth normal school was established at Moor- 
 head, and the buildings of the Soldiers' Home, 
 provided for by an act of the previous year, were 
 completed near Minnehaha Falls on a site pro- 
 vided by the city of Minneapolis. The Farm 
 and Labor party, whose influence was to be in- 
 creasingly felt in politics, was organized August 
 28 of this year, at St. Paul. 
 
 The next governor was William R. Merriam, 
 who began his term of office in i88y. At the 
 first session of the legislature W. D. Washburn 
 was elected to the United States senate to suc- 
 ceed Dwight M. Sabin. The Australian system 
 of voting was adopted for all cities of 10,000 in- 
 habitants or over. The Supreme Court pro- 
 nounced the legislation of the preceding admin- 
 istration, regulating railway charges, unconstitu- 
 tional. "Railroads," said the Court, "are entitled 
 to a judicial determination of the facts whether 
 the rates established are just and reasonable" — a 
 right denied them under the law. At the close of 
 Governor Merriam's second term in 1892, the 
 finances of the state were in a sound and pros-
 
 24 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 perous condition. Progress was everywhere being 
 made. The population was rapidly increasing. 
 Business corporations were multiplying. New 
 territory was being settled. ^Manufactures flour- 
 ished. Prosperity reigned. 
 
 The administration of Knute Nelson began in 
 1893. During this year gold was discovered in 
 Alinnesota. Special Agent Gray, in his report, 
 says: "One vein with evidence of gold, which is 
 about seven feet wide and extends throughout the 
 length of the island, and another ten feet wide 
 and 1,700 feet long, were found. The section 
 embraces onl) a narrow strip, extending along the 
 shore of Rainy Lake for about twenty-five miles, 
 and not more than three or four miles wide at 
 any point, including a large number of islands." 
 This ) ear is also made memorable by the opening 
 of the transcontinental line of the Great Northern 
 in June. The event was celebrated with great 
 rejoicing in St. Paul. The road is operated in 
 connection with a fleet of Pacific steamers. The 
 northern part of Minnesota was tliis year visited 
 l)y forest tires that rendered 2,000 peciple home- 
 less. An International Reciprocity Convention 
 was held in St. Paul June 5. l)etween representa- 
 tives of the United .States and C-anada. Resolu- 
 tions were passed favoring reciprocity in trade, 
 improvement of the great lakes to tide-water, so 
 as to admit the passage of ocean steamers and 
 open competition between the railroads of both 
 countries. This year Minnesota was represented 
 at the World's Fair Exposition in Chicago. "Be- 
 sides its own building, the state had exhibits in all 
 the general buildings. The forestry and mining 
 displays were particularly fine. More than 200 
 awards were received for cereals, with only a lit- 
 tle more than 3(X) samples shown ; 40 for mining 
 exhibits, 66 for flour. ]'"ifty premiums were re- 
 ceived for draught horses, 48 for cattle and 21 
 for poultry." During the legislative session of 
 Mr. Nelson's first term, Cushman K. Davis was 
 elected to succeed himself in the United States 
 senate. Bills were passed appropriating money 
 for a new capitol, placing the State University on 
 a more independent footing by a slight increase 
 in taxation, extending the benefit of state inspec- 
 tion of grain to the fanners and granting them the 
 riglit to erect elevators on railroad right of way, 
 providing for safeguards to all dangerous machin- 
 ery, and placing all manufacturing and other es- 
 
 tablishments employing large numbers of people 
 under the inspection of the Bureau of Labor. In 
 1894 forest fires again ravaged a large part of the 
 state centering in the vicinity of Hinckley. Over 
 .]00 lives were lost, many persons were maimed, 
 2,QOO were left destitute and $1,000,000 of prop- 
 erty was destroyed. Prompt action was taken by 
 a relief committee appointed by the governor and 
 $25,000 were spent in providing for the needy. 
 
 Gov. Nelson was re-elected in 1S94, but the 
 legislature early in 1895 niade him United States 
 senator, and lieutenant governor, David M. 
 Clough, took the governor's chair. During 1895, 
 $50,000 was appropriated to execute a stringent 
 measure for the eradication of the Russian thistle, 
 another $50,000 to continue the drainage of lands 
 in the Red River \'alley. Some measures looking 
 to road improvements also became laws. The un- 
 sold lands of the defunct Hastings & Dakota 
 Railroad corporation to the extent of 55,000 acres, 
 were declared forfeited. A bounty of i cent per 
 liuund was offered on sugar made from sorghum 
 or beet roots. Some laws of iinportance to the 
 cause of labor were passed. Contract labor in 
 prisons was done away, and provision made that 
 the number of prisoners engaged in any pro- 
 ductive occupation shall not e.xceed ten per cent 
 of the free labor employed. Children under four- 
 teen are not to be employed in an_\- factory, work- 
 shop or mine; nor sliall any such child be em- 
 ployed outside of the family where he resides 
 before 6 o'clock in the morning or after 7 at 
 night. If under compulsory school age, he can 
 not be employed anywhere tluring school hours. 
 
 With this year our sketch closes. The panic of 
 1893 *til' continues, and business is prostrate. But 
 the history of the past encourages us to believe 
 that the cloud will lift and prosperity return. The 
 growth of the state has been marvelous. Its re- 
 sources, as we shall see, are almost without limit. 
 Its future is assured. 
 
 VI. 
 RESOURCES OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 Let us now turn from contemplating the his- 
 tory of the past to examine the foundation upon 
 which the future must be based. What are our 
 resources? What has nature done for us? 
 
 First of all, let us speak of the .soil. "Every 
 factor in nature," says Prof. Snyder, of the State
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 2t 
 
 University, "seems to have been at work in luak- 
 iiig the soils of Alinnesuta rich in plant food. They 
 are mainly drift soils derived from liie very best 
 rock materials, pulverized by the action of gla- 
 ciers, and enriched for centuries by the natural 
 workings of vegetable and animal life. A great 
 deal could be said about the fertility of Aiinne- 
 sota soil, but about the most convincing proof 
 that can be given is tlie fact that the soils ex- 
 hibited as specimens at the Col anibian Mxposition 
 received the award from the United States gov- 
 ernment for soils rich in plant foods. The same 
 authority also says: "The fertility of the soil of 
 the state has a marked effect upon the quality 
 of the products. In the case of wheal, the average 
 amount of gluten in the wheat raised in the 
 United States is ii.y per cent. The average 
 amount of gluten in the wheat raised in Minne- 
 sota is 13.75 P*^"" cent. Other crops are in the 
 same proportion. The crops raised on the rich 
 soil of Minnesota have a greater food value than 
 crops raised on the poor, worn soils of older coun- 
 tries." It goes without saying that, in addition 
 to wheat, all the other cereals produced in other 
 lands can be grown in JNIinnesota. The vege- 
 tables of other climates flourish here. The fruits 
 of the temperate zones, notwithstanding our se- 
 vere winters, find here a congenial home. The 
 strawberry takes front rank in value of product; 
 but large quantities of raspberries, blackberries, 
 currants and gooseberries are also grown. Min- 
 nesota also annually produces 185,000 bushels of 
 apples, the number of trees growing at the pres- 
 ent time being 452,665. In 1893, there were gath- 
 ered from 77,450 vines, 283,839 pounds of grapes. 
 It must be borne in mind that vast areas of our 
 territory are not yet under cultivation. The imm- 
 ber of acres that had been touched by the plow 
 in 1894 was only 7,000,000; but the total gov- 
 ernment land not yet occupied — to say nothing of 
 railroad lands — is 10,000,000 acres, greater in area 
 than all the ploughed land of Ireland and Scotland, 
 equal to nearly one-half the cultivated area of 
 New England, and to 70 per cent of the total 
 arable land of Old England. Of these tracts 
 about one-half are surveyed and ready for the 
 homesteader. These government lands lie, for 
 the most part, in the northern portion of central 
 Minnesota. From its remarkable abundance of 
 
 lakes, rivers and forests, this section of the state 
 is called the Lake Park Region of the .Mississippi 
 \ alley. When the railroad lands, in ilil'ferent 
 liicalilics, are taken into account, the total acreage 
 )el awaiting the advent of the farmer is raised 
 to 20,000,000. The possibilities that lie hidden 
 in this innncnse domain may be conjectured 
 from the size and variety of the crops raised upon 
 the cultivated fields. 
 
 In addition to agriculture and horticulture, 
 stock-raising and wool-growing occupy much of 
 the attention of the farmers of Minnesota; and 
 a competent authority says: "There is room for 
 the profitable development of the live stock in- 
 dustry to any extent that may be desired." The 
 climate is favorable, and food is easily and cheaply 
 produced. "In nearly all parts of Minnesota and 
 the Northwest, clover in one or the other of its 
 forms may be successfully grown. Soiling crops 
 can be produced in great perfection. Corn for 
 feeding cattle can be grown right up to the Cana- 
 dian boundary line. Alillet finds a favorite home 
 within the state, and the same is true of flax. 
 Mangels may be raised everywhere, and all kinds 
 of cereals for stall feeding are plentiful and cheap." 
 As to sheep raising, "In Minnesota there are some 
 160 varieties of native grasses and plants, a large 
 proportion of which are suitable as food for sheep. 
 * * * There is great room for the extension 
 of sheep husbandry in the state of Alinnesota." 
 It is an industry which brings quick returns. 
 "The first season after the investment, there is a 
 return on wool." In the spring of 1894, 1,347,052 
 pounds were sheared. 
 
 When we leave the sections cultivated or capa- 
 ble of cultivation and enter the forests, we begin 
 to understand what is back of the lumber in- 
 dustry. Nearly half of the northwestern portion 
 of the state is or has been more or less covered 
 with pine forests. This comprises an area of 
 21,000 square miles. "The special hardwoods of 
 Minnesota," says J\Ir. J. O. Barrett, "known as 
 the Big Woods, lie south and west of the conifer- 
 ous district, extending within 50 or 60 miles of 
 the international boundary, and south 300 miles 
 and 20 or nuire miles wide. This hardwood belt 
 — largely red and white oak and hard maple — is 
 on the extreme western body of timber of any 
 considerable value east of the Rockv Mountains."
 
 26 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 Ill 1894, nearly one billion feet of pine timber 
 were cut, and about one hundred million feet of 
 hardwood. 
 
 But there are resources within the soil as well 
 as on top of it. In 1894 Minnesota rose to the 
 position of second state in the Lake Superior re- 
 gion and even in the United States, in the pro- 
 duction of iron ore. The output of the mines in 
 this year was 2,742,146 tons. In 1896, Minnesota 
 rose to the first position with an estimated output 
 of 4,000,000 tons. Her stone quarries are 
 annually producing more and more building 
 materials. \o later figures are at hand than 
 those of the census of 1890; but these show that, 
 while in 1880 there were only 41 quarries for all 
 kinds of stone, whose total product was worth 
 $255,818, in 1889, there were 102 quarries pro- 
 ducing limestone, granite and sandstone valued 
 at $1,102,008. There is also wealth in the clay 
 of certain localities; and bricks, sewer pipe and 
 pottery are manufactured in large quantities. The 
 stoneware made at Red Wing alone amounts in 
 capacity to 7,000,000 gallons annually. 
 
 This is but the merest suggestion of the re- 
 sources of our state. Space will not admit of 
 further detail. Only the principal industries have 
 
 been named. There are others that can not even 
 be mentioned. When we consider how brief has 
 been the career of the state, how much has been 
 accomplished in that short existence, what events 
 have been crowded into it, what industries have 
 been established, what territory put under culti- 
 vation, what products have been forced from the 
 earth, and then survey the land yet to be pos- 
 sesssed, we can only wonder what the future may 
 be, what further strides will be taken. The ma- 
 terials for greater development than has yet been 
 attained are abundant. We may well believe that 
 they will be wisely used. We have never yet for- 
 gotten the importance of education as our schools 
 and university attest; nor of religion, as our 
 churches witness. And so long as the scheming 
 brain and the skilled hand go forward side by- 
 side with culture and conscience, their achieve- 
 ments can not be too numerous or great. "As to 
 the future of this great central district of North 
 America," says Bancroft, "no one who has not 
 seen it can form an adequate conception, while 
 those who have examined and studied the subject, 
 only become sensible how much farther reason 
 may sometimes go than imagination can venture 
 to follow." 

 
 PKOGKBSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 21 
 
 ALEXANDER RAMSEY. 
 
 Alexander Ramsey, one uf the must distin- 
 guislietl eitizens uf Alinnesula, was Ixjrn near 
 iiarrisbury, i'enn.-) Ivania, un Sepleiiiljer 8, 
 1815. Ills fatlier, J'hunias Ramsey, was 01 
 Scoteh descent, and his mother was ut a German 
 I'amil}' which early in the iMghteenth cen- 
 tury settled in l'enns)hania. Irom his par- 
 ents he , inherited a strong constitution and 
 a taste for stud_\-, which was developed 
 during his boyhood by his schoolmaster, Isaac 
 D. Rupp, who afterwards became prouiinent as 
 a historical writer in Pennsylvania. His father 
 dieil when he was about ten years old, and Ered- 
 erick Kelker, a grand uncle gave the orphan boy 
 a home. I'or a time he was employed in Air. 
 Kelker's store, and later he acted as clerk in the 
 office of the register of deeds. \\ hile engaged in 
 these and other employments, }oung Ramses 
 was diligently pursuing his studies, and when 
 eighteen years f)ld was ])repared to enter Lafay- 
 ette College, at Easton, Penns)lvania. In 1837 
 he left college and commenced studying law 
 with the Hon. Hamilton Alricks, of Harrisburg, 
 and two years later, when he was twenty-four 
 years of age, he was admitted to the bar. With- 
 in a short time he had established himself in 
 practice at Harrisburg, and devoted himself 
 largely to the settlement and administration of 
 estates. He became quite successful and secured 
 a large clientage. While paying strict attention 
 to his business, he also found time to engage in 
 the active political campaign of 1840, and in the 
 following year he was elected chief clerk of the 
 Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Li 
 1843 Mr. Ramsey was nominated and elected to 
 congress from the district composed of Dauphin, 
 Lebanon and Schuylkill Counties. In congress 
 Mr. Ramsey was a useful rather than ornamental 
 member, making no attempt at oratorical dis- 
 play. He exhibited unusual practical ability, 
 and was noted for attending to the interests of 
 his district. In the following year he was again 
 elected, and would undoubtedly have received 
 a third term had he not declined a renomination. 
 On retiring from his congressional duties Mr. 
 Ramsey resumed his law practice, but could not 
 entirelv withdraw from politics, for in the fol- 
 low in<:- ^■ear he was chosen chairman of the \\'hig 
 
 state committee, during the important cam- 
 paign which resulted in the election of Taylor 
 as president. This campaign also afifected Mr. 
 Ramsey's destinies to an important degree, for, 
 in March, 1849, shortly after I'resident Taylor 
 came into office, he appointed Mr. Ramsey gov- 
 ernor of the Minnes(jta Territory, then recently 
 estaljlished. The appointment was accepted, and 
 Mr. Ramsey at once came to St. Paul, arriving 
 there un Ma)' 2"], 1849. Eour days afterwards, 
 the other territorial officers having arrived, he 
 issued a proclamation, declaring the territory 
 organized. During that summer the governor 
 was much occupied in the details of organiza- 
 tion. The territory was to be developed into 
 legislative districts, elections were to be ordered, 
 county officers appointed, the executive govern- 
 ment put in order, and the affairs of the numer- 
 ous tribes of Indians supervised. The first ter- 
 ritorial legislature, which convened in the fol- 
 lowing September, bestowed on one of the first 
 counties created the name of their new governor. 
 The first legislative body of Minnesota convened 
 in two small rooms of a hotel on the banks of 
 the Mississippi in St. Paul. The governor read 
 his first message to the joint convention of the 
 two houses, twenty-seven members in all, as.sem- 
 bled in the hotel dining-room. Among the first
 
 2S 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 acts of Governor Ramsey were ettorts iii the 
 direction of extinguishment of the Indian titles 
 by treaty, and the negotiations made at Alendota, 
 and at iraverse de bioux in 1851, brought some 
 forty mDlion acres of what is now tlie most valu- 
 able portion of the state into settlement. Later 
 in the same year Governor Ramsey visited the 
 Red River country, and at Pembuia, made a 
 treaty with the Northern Ghippewas for the ces- 
 sion of tliirty miles on each side of the Red river. 
 This treaty was not ratified by the senate, but 
 some years later Governor Ramsey, then senator, 
 made another treaty, accomplislnng the same 
 results, and thus threw the great Red River val- 
 ley open to settlement. In 1S53, Governor Ram- 
 sey's term of office ended. He gave his attention 
 for some years to making investments and con- 
 ducting business transactions, especially in St. 
 Paul. He was elected ma) or of St. Paul in 1855, 
 and when Alinnesota was admitted to the Union, 
 Governor Ramsey was nominated for state gov- 
 ernor by the Republican party, but was not 
 elected. Two years later he was again nomin- 
 ated and received a handsome majority. He 
 entered his office on January 2, i860. At that 
 time the state was in debt and the treasury was 
 empty, taxes were difficult to collect, and there 
 were many difficulties connected with the ad- 
 ministration of a young state in war time, but the 
 administration was successful. At the time of 
 the fall of Fort Sumter, Governor Ramsey was 
 in Washington on official business. Upon see- 
 ing the necessity for troops he at once called 
 upon President Lincoln and tendered him a 
 regiment of one thousand men from Minnesota. 
 This was the first offer by any state of armed 
 troops to the government, the president not yet 
 having issued his proclamation calling for troops. 
 During that year five regiments were recruited 
 and equipped and sent to the front by the state of 
 Minnesota. Governor Ramsey was re-elected in 
 the fall of 1861, and his second term was more im- 
 portant and more trying than the first. There were 
 repeated calls for troops from the government, 
 and five regiments were recruited in 1862. In 
 the midst of this activity occurred the Sioux 
 massacre in the southwestern part of the state. 
 With the rare executive ability which always 
 characterized Governor Ramsey, he organized a 
 battalion to go to the front to the relief of the 
 
 besieged settlers. The campaign was short and 
 sharp, and the Indians were soon defeated and 
 dispersed, never again to menace the Alinnesota 
 frontier. In January, 1863, Governor Ramsey 
 was elected United States senator from Minne- 
 sota, and in 1869, at the close of his term, he 
 was re-elected for six years more. His service 
 in the senate was marked by the introduction of 
 many important bills, mcluding measures for the 
 improvement of the Aiississippi river, aiding of 
 the Xorthern Pacific railroad, the repeal of the 
 franking abuse, and various measures for the 
 benefit of the Northwest. Being chairman of the 
 senate committee on postoffices he was especially 
 interested in postal reforms. In both houses of 
 congress and among national leaders. Senator 
 Ramsey won the highest regard and confidence 
 of the best men. For a few years after the close 
 of his congressional term he enjoyed a period of 
 rest from official life, but on December 10, 1879, 
 President Hayes tendered him the portfolio of 
 secretary of war. This position he filled with 
 much honor during the remainder of Hayes' 
 administration. Under "the Edmunds law,'" 
 which created a commission of five to control 
 the affairs of the polygamists in Utah, Senator 
 Ramsey was appointed, in 1882, to serve on this 
 board, and was elected its chairman. He filled 
 this position for four years, resigning in 1886. 
 It was his last public service. During his long 
 and active life as a public man in Minnesota, 
 Governor Ramsey has been active in many 
 movements for the benefit of his city and state 
 not connected with official affairs. He has been, 
 since 1849, one of the most active members of 
 the Minnesota Historical Society. He is presi- 
 dent and director of the St. Paul public library, 
 and a leading member of the Old Settlers' Asso- 
 ciation, and an honored member of the Minne- 
 sota Commandery, Loyal Legion. On Septem- 
 ber 10, 1845, Governor Ramsey married Miss 
 Anna Earl Jcnks, a daughter of the Hon. 
 Michael H. Jenks, a judge and congressman of 
 Bucks County, Pennsylvajiia. They had two 
 sons, both of whom died in infancy, and one 
 daughter, now Mrs. Charles E. Furness. Mrs. 
 Ramsey, who was for forty years a conspicuous 
 figure in social life, both in St. Paul and Wash- 
 ington, died on November 29, 1884, at the age 
 of fifty-eight years.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 29 
 
 AUSTIN HILL YOUNG. 
 
 Austin Hill Young served on the judicial 
 bench of Hennepin County for more than eigh- 
 teen years. He was born at Fredonia, Chau- 
 tauqua County, New York, December 8, 1830, 
 the son of Abijali Young and Rachel Hill 
 ('S'oung). His parents were natives of Vermont. 
 His father was a cabinet maker by occupation, 
 a man in moderate financial circumstances, but 
 a great reader and of considerable literary attain- 
 ments. His wife was a woman of strong per- 
 sonal character, an earnest Christian, who im- 
 pressed herself deeply upon her children. Soon 
 after their marriage in Rutland County, Vermont, 
 they removed to Fredonia, New York, where 
 they resided until Abijah Young's death in 1837. 
 IMrs. Young believed that the new West would 
 afford more favorable conditions under which to 
 rear her family of five bovs, and removed to 
 Dupage County, Illinois. Two years later she 
 was married again and removed with her family 
 to Cook County, where the subject of this sketch 
 grew up on an Illinois farm. Austin H. attended 
 the common schools of the neighborhood in win- 
 ter, working on the farm in summer. At the 
 age of seventeen he took a course at Waukegan 
 Academy, Waukegan, Illinois, then one of the 
 best schools of its kind in the West. This, with 
 the experience of six terms of school teaching, 
 comprised his early educational advantages. In 
 1853, at the age of twenty-three years, he began 
 the study of law in the office of Ferry & Clark, 
 of Waukegan. In 1854 he removed to Prescott, 
 Wisconsin, and for a time was engaged in mer- 
 cantile business. He was also elected clerk of 
 the circuit court and held that office for several 
 vears. In i860 he began the practice of law, 
 forming a partnership v,-ith M. H. Fitch. Soon 
 afterward he was elected district attorney for his 
 county, which office he held till the fall of 1863, 
 when he was elected to the State Senate. In 1866 
 Mr. Young removed to l\Tinncapolis and began 
 the practice of his profession here in partner- 
 ship with W. D. Webb. In the spring of 1870 
 he formed a partnership with Thomas Lowry, 
 which continued until June i, 1872. when he 
 was appointed judge of the court of common 
 pleas. This court had recently been establish.ed 
 by the legislature, and in November of the same 
 year Judge Young was elected for a term of five 
 
 years. In 1877 the Legislature united the dis- 
 trict court and the court of common pleas and 
 Judge Young was transferred to the district 
 bench and was continued in that ofhce until i8c)0, 
 when he resumed the practice of law in Minne- 
 apolis, forming a partnership with Frank M. Nye. 
 That firm has since been dissolved, and Judge 
 Young is now in partnership with Daniel Fish. 
 His continuance on the bench for eighteen years 
 is in itself sufficient evidence of his ability, in- 
 tegrity and fidelity to his official duties. He has 
 long occupied a pnmiincnt and influential posi- 
 tion in Minneapolis, where he is esteemed alike 
 for his professional attainments and his high 
 character. In politics he is a Republican, but 
 on account of his official position has not taken 
 a ven,' active part in party affairs. He is a mem- 
 ber of Plymouth Congregational Church and 
 one of the officers of that society. Judge Young 
 was married in 1854 to l\Tiss ]\rartha IMartin. at 
 Waukegan, Illinois. She died in 1868. He was 
 married again, and again lost his wife by death. 
 His present wife was IMiss Leonora ^Martin, 
 daughter of Milton Martin, of Williamstown, 
 \^ermont, to whom he was married April 9, 1872. 
 He has had five children, offspring of his first 
 wife, two of whom, Edgar A., and Alice M.. are 
 still living.
 
 30 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 A. R. :^rcGILL. 
 
 Andrew Ryan McGill, Governor of Minnesota 
 during the years of 1887-88, is of Irish descent. 
 His father, Charles Dillon McGill, was tlie young- 
 est son of Patrick McGill, who came from 
 County Antrim, Ireland, about 1774. He served 
 in the struggle for independence, and after the 
 war was over settled in Northumberland County, 
 Pennsylvania. With his wife and family emi- 
 grating in 1800 to the western part of the state, 
 he there secured several hundred acres of land 
 in what was subsequently organized as Crawford 
 County. This became the home of the McGills. 
 The first house was erected on the sight of Saeger- 
 town, where the subject of this sketch was born, 
 Feb. 19, 1840. Charles Dillon McGill married 
 Angelina Martin, of Waterford, Pennsylvania, 
 daughter of Armand Martin, a soldier of the war 
 of 1812 and granddaughter of Charles Martin, 
 a soldier of the Revolution, and after the 
 war an officer of the Second United States 
 infantry, Init Andrew's mother died when 
 her son was but 7 years of age, not. however, until 
 she had made a deep impression upon his young 
 mind. She was a woman of strong character 
 and high Christian living. In 1840 Saegertown 
 was a fiuaint, retired village in the secluded valley 
 pf the Venango, almost a stranger to the bustle 
 
 and traffic of commerce. Good schools, how- 
 ever, had been established, and Andrew iMcGill 
 was given such educational advantages as was 
 afiforded bv them. He also attended Saegertown 
 .\cademy, which completed the schooling re- 
 ceived in his youthful days. In 1859 he went to 
 Kentucky where he secured a position as teacher, 
 but it was just upon the outbreak of the war, 
 and Kentucky did not afTord a pleasant place of 
 residence for a man of Xorthern sentiments. In 
 1861, when the war broke out, times became 
 more turbulent, and the successful prolongation 
 of educational work was out of the question. Mr. 
 McGill then returned North and on June 10, 
 1861, arrived in Minnesota. His education and 
 experience qualified him for the position of 
 teacher and he was made principal of the public 
 schools of St. Peter. But the country was call- 
 ing for soldiers, and in August, 1862, he enlisted 
 in Company D, Ninth Minnesota ^'olunteers, 
 and became first sergeant in his company. Be- 
 fore going South his regiment was sent to sup- 
 press the Indian outrages of that year. The 
 following year he was discharged on account of 
 failing health, and soon after was elected County 
 Superintendent of public schools for Nicollet 
 County, and filled the position two terms. In 
 1865 and 1866 he edited the St. Peter Trilnme, 
 a paper which he continued to publish for a num- 
 ber of years afterward. He was also elected clerk 
 of the district court of Nicollet County which 
 position he held for four years devoting much of 
 his time to the study of law under the direction 
 of Hon. Horace Austin by w-hom he was admit- 
 ted to the bar in 1868. Two years later Jvidge 
 Austin became governor of this state, and Mr. 
 McGill was appoited his private secretary. In 
 1873 he was chosen for the office of Insurance 
 Commissioner for the state and discharged the 
 duties of the office for thirteen years with great 
 efficiency, his reports being accepted as among 
 the most valuable issued on that subject. In 
 1886 Mr. McGill was nominated for the office 
 of Governor by the Republicans. It was a crit- 
 ical time for his party; the temperance question 
 cut a large figure, and the Republican i)arty had 
 declared in favor of local option and high license. 
 This was sufficient to array all Prohibitionists 
 against the j)arty and enlist all friends of the 
 saloon solidly against the Republican ticket. 
 Governor McGill was a young man of unassail-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 31 
 
 able character and conducted his campaign upon 
 a dignified plan. lie had for an opponent Dr. 
 A. A. Ames, of Minneapolis, who had no dififi- 
 culty in securing the support of all the liquor 
 interests. However, Mr. McGill was elected, and 
 the records of his term of office show much 
 accomplished. Of the important measures 
 enacted during his term of office were the high 
 license law, the railroad laws relating to transpor- 
 tation, storage, wheat grading watering of rail- 
 road stock, etc. The temperance legislation was 
 materially strengthened. Amendments simplify- 
 ing the tax laws, regulating the control of the 
 liquor traffic, abolishing contracts detrimental to 
 labor, establishing the Soldiers' Home and the 
 bureau of labor statistics were passed, the state 
 reformatory was established and other measures 
 of importance were undertaken during his ad- 
 ministration. On his retirement from office at 
 the end of his two years' term, he organized the 
 St. Paul and Minneapolis Trust Company (now 
 Northern Trust Company), of which he is pres- 
 ident. Mr. McGill is a resident of St. 
 Anthony Park, a suburb of St. Paul, where 
 he has a pleasant home. He has been married 
 twice. His first wife was Eliza E. Bryant, daugh- 
 ter of Charles S. Bryant, a lawyer and an author 
 of some prominence. She died in 1877, survived 
 by two sons and one daughter, Charles H,, Robert 
 C. and Lida B. In 1880 Governor McGill mar- 
 ried Mary E. Wilson, daughter of Dr. J. C. Wil- 
 son, of Edinborough, Pennsylvania, Her children 
 are two sons, Wilson and Thomas. 
 
 THOMAS DILLON O'BRIEN. 
 
 Thomas Dillon O'Brien is a lawyer in 
 St. Paul. His father, Dillon O'Brien, was an 
 author and lecturer. His mother's maiden naiue 
 was Elizabeth Kelly. His ancestors on both his 
 father's and mother's side were Irish; people of 
 education and good standing. The subject of this 
 sketch was born at La Point, Madeline Island, 
 Lake Superior, Wisconsin, February 14, 1850. In 
 1863 he with his parents moved to St. Anthony, 
 Minnesota, and after a residence there of two 
 years went to St. Paul. Thomas attended the com- 
 mon schools, but was also assisted in his 
 
 education by instruction received from his par- 
 ents. In April, 1877, he began the study of law with 
 Young & Newell, at St. Paul. After three years' 
 application to his studies he was admitted to the 
 bar by the supreme court of the state on the 17th 
 of April, 1880. Shortly afterwards he became a 
 member of the firm of O'Brien, Eller & O'Brien, 
 composed of John D. O'Brien, Homer C. Eller 
 and T. D. O'Brien. Subsequently he withdrew 
 from the firm and formed a co-partnership with 
 his brother, C. D. O'Brien, under the firm name 
 of C. D. and T. D. O'Brien. Mr. O'Brien w^as as- 
 sistant city attorney of St. Paul for several years, 
 while W. P. Murray held the office of city attor- 
 , ney. He was elected county attorney of Ramsey 
 County in 1890, and served from January i, 1891, 
 to January i, 1893, when he returned to his pri- 
 vate practice, having declined a re-election. Mr. 
 O'Brien has taken an active interest in the militia 
 of the state, and was for two years captain of Bat- 
 tery "A," of the Minnesota National Guard. In 
 politics he is a Democrat and an active partici- 
 pant in the promotion of the interests of his party. 
 He is a member of the Roman Catholic church. 
 Mr. O'Brien was married April 24, 1888. at Phil- 
 adelphia, to Miss Mary Cruice, daughter of Dr. 
 W. R. Cruice, of that cit^^ They have four 
 children, Nellie, Dillon, Louise and William R.
 
 32 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 LOREX WARREN COLLINS. 
 
 Loren Warren Collins is associate jus- 
 tice of the supreme court. Mr. Collins is of New 
 England birth, and traces his ancestry back to 
 the early settlers of that section. He was born 
 August 7, 1838, at Lowell, Mass. He attended the 
 common schools and the high school, but never 
 enjoyed the advantages of a college education. 
 This did not prevent him, however, from becom- 
 ing a member of the supreme court and one of 
 the leading lawyers of this state. Judge Collins' 
 father was, for many years, an overseer at the cot- 
 ton factories in Lowell and Chicopee, Mass. The 
 family moved from Lowell to Chicopee in 1840, 
 when the subject of this sketch was only two 
 years old. They transferred themselves again 
 from Chicopee to Pahncr in 1851. In 1853 the 
 family came to Minnesota, locating on Eden 
 Prairie, Hennepin County, and engaged in farm- 
 ing. Jvulgc Collins had (|ualificd himself for the 
 work of a teacher, and his first money was earned 
 as a teacher of a country school near Cannon 
 I'alls in the winter of 1859 and t86o. ITc taught 
 four months for $60 and board. In 1859 Judge 
 Collins began the study f)f law with the firm of 
 Smith, .Smith & Crosby, at Hastings. He cidislcd 
 in 1862 in the Seventh Minnesota infantry. These 
 were troublous times on the borders, and in 1862 
 
 and 1863 Mr. Collins served in the campaign 
 against the Sioux Indians. The Indian campaign 
 being concluded, his regiment was sent South 
 in the fall of 1863, Judge Collins going with it and 
 serving with it to the end of the war in the Third 
 Brigade, First Division, Sixteenth Army Corps. 
 He was mustered out as first lieutenant, August 
 12. 1865. On his return from the war he resumed 
 the practice of law at St. Cloud in May, 1866. In 
 1868 he formed a partnership with Charles D. 
 Kerr, which lasted until 1872, when Col. Kerr 
 moved to St. Paul. In 1879 he formed a partner- 
 ship with Theodore Bruener, which was dissolved 
 in 1881. Judge Collins has always taken an ac- 
 tive interest in politics and has held a number of 
 important public positions. He was a member of 
 the legislature in 1881 and 1883, and judge of the 
 district court in 1883 to 1887, when he was ap- 
 pointed justice of the supreme court by the gov- 
 ernor to succeed Justice Berry. He was elected 
 in 1888 and has been on the supreme bench 
 ever since. While serving in the legisla- 
 ture in 1881, he was chairman of the normal 
 school committee and a member of the judiciary 
 committee. In 1883 he was chairman of the 
 finance committee, chairman of the committee on 
 temperance legislation and a member of the judi- 
 ciary committee. At the extra session of 1881 he 
 was one of the board of managers on the part of 
 the house in the impeachment of Judge Cox. He 
 was elected county attorney of Stearns county 
 for several years prior to 1 881, and held the office 
 of mayor of St. Cloud in 1876, 'jj, '78 and '80. 
 When elected associate justice of the supreme 
 court in 1888, he ran against George W. Batch- 
 elder, a Democrat, and his majority was 46,432, 
 the largest received up to that time by any can- 
 didate on the state ticket, but in 1894 he increased 
 it to 49,684 over John W. Willis, who was nom- 
 inated by both the Populists and the Democrats. 
 This is the greatest majority ever received 
 by any candidate on a state ticket. Judge 
 Collins is a member of the Masonic order, 
 of the G. A. R., and the Loyal Legion. lie be- 
 longs to the Unitarian church, and was married 
 September 4, 1878, to Ella M. Stewart, at Berlin, 
 Wisconsin. His wife died IMay 31 1894. Judge 
 Collins' residence is at St. Cloud. He has three 
 children living, Stewart Garfield, Louis Loren and 
 Loren Fletcher.
 
 PKOGRKSSIVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 33 
 
 CUSHMAN KELLOGG DAVIS. 
 
 Cushiiian Kellogg Davis is the senior 
 senator of Minnesota in the senate of the United 
 States. He is a descendant of Thomas Cushnian 
 and his wife, Mary Allerton. She was the last 
 survivor of those who came in the Mayflower. 
 Thomas was the son of Robert Cnshman, 
 the I'nritan, wlio was tlic financial agent 
 who lilted out the .Mayflower and the 
 Speedwell, and who was largely instrumental in 
 procuring the Massachu.setts grants from King 
 James L His fathei, Horation Nelson Davis, 
 and his mother, aged respectively eighty-five and 
 eighty-two, live with him in St. Paul. He, 
 H. N. Davis, served for nearly four years 
 as a captain in the ^Var of the Rebellion. 
 He was a state senator from Rock County, Wis- 
 consin, for several years, and was one of the 
 pioneers of that state, having removed there from 
 New York in 1838. His wife, Clarissa Cushman 
 (Davis) was a direct descendant of Robert Cush- 
 man. Senator Davis was born at Henderson, 
 New York, June 16, 1838. He first went to school 
 in a log school house at Waukesha, Wisconsin, to 
 which place his parents removed when he was 
 a child. Subsequently he attended Carroll Col- 
 lege, at the same place, completing the junior 
 year, after which he entered the University of 
 Michigan, where he graduated in 1857, in the 
 classical course. When he was in college he was 
 a member of the Delta Phi fraternity. In 1862 
 Mr. Davis enlisted in the army and was made 
 first lieutenant in Company B, of the Twenty- 
 eighth Wisconsin Infantry. He sensed in the 
 Vicksburg campaign, and in that in which Little 
 Rock was taken. \Vhile his military career was 
 not particularly eventful he was always on duty 
 and has an enviable record as a brave soldier. 
 In 1864, after having served nearly three years 
 in the war and being very nuich broken in health 
 on account of the hardships of the service, he 
 came to Minnesota in search of health and was 
 successful. He settled in St. Paul and began the 
 practice of law. He had no influential friends 
 to advance his interests, and owes his success to 
 his natural abilities, to his professional equipment 
 and to his fidelity to his clients. He obtained his 
 professional start in this state in defending, in 
 St. Paul, in 1866, George L. Van Solen, on the 
 
 charge of murder. This was one of the most in- 
 teresting cases of circumstantial evidence ever 
 tried, but Mr. Davis was skillful, and his client 
 was acquitted. In 1878 occurred the famous im- 
 peachment trial of Judge Sherman Page, before 
 the senate of Minnesota. Mr. Davis was em- 
 ployed to defend Judge Page, and had associated 
 with him Hon. John A. Lovely, of Albert Lea, 
 and Hon. J. W. Losey, of La Crosse, Wisconsin. 
 Judge Page was acquitted. Senator Davis has 
 been actively engaged in his legal practice nearly 
 all the time since his residence in the state, ex- 
 cept when his public duties required his atteii- 
 tion, and has been engaged on one side or the 
 other of a great deal of the most important liti- 
 gation in the history of Minnesota. But in all his 
 practice, he has never received a salary from 
 anv corporation, but has tried cases for and 
 against corporations, the first side to apply 
 for his services being the one on which 
 he appeared. He is senior member of the 
 firm of Davis, Kellogg & Severance. Sen- 
 ator Davis has always been a Republican, and his 
 first political preferment was as a member of the 
 Minnesota House of Representatives in 1867. In 
 1868 he was appointed L^nitcd States district at- 
 torney, and held that ofifice until 1873 when he 
 resigned to accept the nomination for governor.
 
 34 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 He made his campaign en an issue which he was 
 largely instrumental in bringing to the front in 
 this state — the right of the state to regulate rail- 
 road rates for passengers and freight by legisla- 
 tion. He recommended such legislation in his mes- 
 sage to the legislature and a statute to that effect 
 was passed during his term, was signed by him 
 and duly enforced. Senator Davis declined a re- 
 nomination for governor and upon the expiration 
 of his term of office returned to the practice of 
 his profession. He took an active part, how- 
 ever, in every political campaign until 1887, when 
 he was elected to the United States .senate by the 
 unanimous vote of his party. He was re-elected 
 in 1893, ^"d is now serving his second term in 
 the senate of the United States. He was chair- 
 man of the pension committee during his entire 
 first term in the senate, and was chiefly instru- 
 mental in preparing and securing the passage of 
 the present pension law, which is so just to the 
 government and the soldiers as to have practically 
 terminated the agitation for pension legislation. 
 One of the most important services rendered to 
 his constituents by Senator Davis was his cham- 
 pionship of the improvement of the "Soo" canal. 
 About five years ago tlie necessity of larger 
 locks and a deeper chaimel there became impera- 
 tive, owing to the greatly increased traffic. The 
 usual practice, since the foundation of the gov- 
 ernment, of paying for government work, has 
 been by annual appropriation, each year's \vork 
 being covered in separate and generally insuffi- 
 cient appropriations, causing a delay, some times 
 of a year and sometimes longer, for additional 
 appropriations. Senator Davis conceived the 
 idea that such an important work as this should 
 be done by contract, made in advance of the 
 appropriation, the contractor relying upon the 
 pledge of the government to be paid as the 
 work progressed. His idea was adopted; tlie 
 work is now nearly completed, deepening the 
 channel from 15 to 20 feet, and securing this re- 
 sult in a reasonable time. It is unnecessary lure 
 to enlarge upon the importance of this work to 
 the commercial and agricultural interests of the 
 Northwest. For four years Mr. Davis has been on 
 the foreign relations committee, and last year 
 made a speech criticising the policy of the Cleve- 
 land administration respecting Hawaii, which 
 
 attracted general and favorable attention. His 
 speech on the questions at issue between Great 
 Britain and the United States respecting Vene- 
 zuela, laid down the lines upon which the recent 
 treaty between Great Britain and \'enezuela was 
 formed. He also discussed the general foreign 
 policy of the administration in the North Amer- 
 ican Review a few months ago. Some 
 three years ago he advocated in the Forum the 
 construction of locks around the falls of Niagara 
 and the opening of a deep waterway from the 
 head of Lake Superior to the Atlantic. He has 
 been a member, and is now chairman of the com- 
 mittee on territories since he became a senator, and 
 took a conspicuous part in the admissionof thetwo 
 Dakotas. He is a member of the senate commit- 
 tees on judiciary, census, foreign relations. Pacific 
 railroads, territories and forest reservations. He 
 is recognized as one of the ablest men of that 
 body, and no public utterance in the halls of 
 congress in the last quarter of a century has 
 attracted more attention or fired the public heart 
 with a feeling of loyalty toward institutions more 
 than his famous reply to Senator Peffer in de- 
 fense of the president in the exercise of his power 
 for the suppression of violence and the mainte- 
 nance of the dignity and honor of the govern- 
 ment at the time of the Chicago riots in 1894. 
 Senator Davis is a member of the Grand Army 
 of the Republic, and, while not a member of any 
 church, his affiliations have always been with the 
 Congregational body. He was married in 
 1880 to Anna Malcolm Agnew, of St. Paul. 
 
 CHARLES A. SMLfH. 
 
 Charles A. Smith is a good sample of 
 what a resolute, industrious, intelligent boy, 
 unaided by fortune or friends, can accomplish in 
 commercial life in the Northwest. He is the son 
 of a soldier in the regular army of Sweden, and 
 was born December nth, 1852, in the County of 
 Ostergottland, Sweden. After thirty-three years 
 service in the army, his father, in the spring of 
 1867, left .Sweden with Charles and an elder sister 
 and came to America, arriving in Minneapolis 
 on the 28th of June. Two older brothers had 
 already preceded them and were located here. 
 Charles' education commenced in a small country
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 35 
 
 school in Swctlcn, where more importance was 
 attached to conimitting- the catechism and Biljle 
 history to memory than to writinjj and tlie 
 knowledge of mathematics. Mis first lessons in 
 English were taken in a small log school honse 
 in Wright County. Shortly after his arrival in 
 this city from the old country aiTangements 
 were made for him to make his home with a 
 fanner living in IJU' snuthiTn part of what is now 
 the city of Minneapolis, near the Milwaukee rail- 
 road shops. He was to work for his board ami 
 clothing, and was em|ilii\i'd chiclly in tending 
 cattle. While thus employed on the farm he 
 picked a large quantity of hazelnuts.which he sold 
 for seven dollars, loaning the niiine\' to his broth- 
 er at ten per cent. This was the first money he 
 had ever earned. He had made good use of his 
 
 time also in studv, and 
 
 th 
 
 .f 1872 h 
 
 entered the State L'niversity with the intention of 
 taking the regular course. He a]Ji)lied himself 
 very closelv to his studies and his health soon 
 failed, so that lie was obliged to leave school at 
 the end of the first year. In 1873 he obtained 
 employment in the general hardware store of 
 J. S. Pillsbury & Co., of this city, where he con- 
 tinued for five years. He, then, in the fall of 
 1878, witli the assistance of ex-Gov. Pillsbury, 
 built a grain elevator at Herman, Minnesota, and 
 under the name of C. A. Smith & Co. he 
 continued the grain and lumber business there 
 until Tnlv, I8'^4, when arrangements were made 
 to begin the manufacturing and wholesaling of 
 lumber in Minneapolis. He again took up his 
 residence in this city, and the partnership with ex- 
 Gov. Pillsbury was continued until 181)3, at which 
 time the C. A. Smith Lumber Comijany was in- 
 corporated, of which Mr. .Smith is the president 
 and general manager. In addition to the saw 
 mill and lumber manufacturing l)usiness of this 
 city, this company has the controlling interest in 
 a number of retail lumber yards and general 
 stores in different parts of the state and in North 
 and .South Dakota. ■Nfr. Smith says the secret 
 of his success has been his adoption of Franklin's 
 advice, which he learned with his first English 
 lessons, viz., ''To take care of the pennies, and the 
 dollars will take care of themselves." He has 
 tried to follow that advice ever since he sold his 
 
 hazelnuts in the fall of 1867. l'>ut Mr. Smith's 
 activities have not been confined to the firm, of 
 which he is a member. He was one of the incor- 
 porators of the Swedish-American National 
 Bank, the Security Savings and Loan Associa- 
 tion, and other enterprises in this city and else- 
 where. Like most Swedish Americans, Mr. 
 .Smith is a Keiniblican in politics, and devotes as 
 much attention to it as his business will ]:)ermit. 
 He has never held any office or asked for any, but 
 is prominent in the counsels of his party, having 
 been a member of city, county, state and national 
 conventions. He is a member of the Englisii 
 Lutheran Salem Congregation, of Minneapolis: 
 one of its organizers and one of its trustees. Ho 
 is also a member of the board of flirectors of the 
 English Lutheran seminary, of Chicago, and is 
 treasurer of the l^vangelical Lutheran Synod of 
 the Northwest. He was married February 14th. 
 1878, to I(>lianna .\iidersnn, a daughter of Olaf 
 .Vndersdii, who. after serving in the Swedish 
 riksdag for a number of years, emigrated with 
 his faniil\- to this country in 1857. and located in 
 Carver county. Mr. .^mith has five children, two 
 boys and three girls. Nanna .\.. .\ddie J., Myrtle 
 E., \'ernon A. and Cam ill W.
 
 36 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OP MINNESOTA. 
 
 NATHAN CURTIS KINGSLEY. 
 
 Nathan Curtis Kingsley is a resident of 
 Austin, Minn., where he is engaged in the prac- 
 tice of law. His father, Alonzo Kingsley, is a 
 carpenter by trade, who enlisted in August, 1862, 
 as a private soldier in the War of the Rebellion an<.l 
 served until the close of the war in the Fifteenth 
 and Tenth Illinois Cavalry. Alonzo Kingsley 
 was a lineal descendant of one of three brothers 
 who emigrated from England in the early Colonial 
 days and settled in \'ermont, and his grand father, 
 Wareham Kingsley, w-as a private soldier in the 
 Revolutionary War. Alonzo Kingslcy's wife was 
 Marilla Cecelia Pierson, a direct descendant of 
 Stephen Pier.son, who emigrated from England in 
 1656 and settled at New Haven, Conn. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch was boni at Sharcjn, Litchfield 
 County, Conn., September 10, 1850. His family 
 removed to Illinois not long afterward, and Na- 
 than received his early education in the country 
 district schools. His first money was earned as 
 a farm laborer in La Salle County, 111. In March, 
 1869, he came to Minnesota and was employed 
 as a farm laborer near Chatficld. In 1870 he 
 leanied the miller's trade and worked at that 
 business in Olmsted County until 1874, when he 
 went to Rushford, Minn., continuing his trade 
 
 there until February, 1877. While working as a 
 miller he began the study of law, and in Novem- 
 ber, 1876, was admitted to the bar, though he did 
 not give up his trade until some time afterward. 
 In February, 1877, he formed a partnership for 
 the practice of law with C. N. Enos, under the 
 firm name of Enos & Kingsley, and opened an 
 office at Rushford, where he remained until De- 
 cember, 1878. He then dissolved the partnership 
 with Mr. Enos and removed to Chatfield, where 
 he formed a partnership with R. A. Case. He 
 continued the practice of law at Chatfield until 
 April, 1887, when he removed to Austin, where 
 he now resides. While a resident of Fillmore 
 County, in 1880 he was elected county attorney, 
 and in 1882 was re-elected. Although solicited 
 to accept a renomination in 1884 he declined to 
 be a candidate. After dissolving partnership with 
 Mr. Case he formed a partnership with R. E. 
 Shepherd, which association still continues. From 
 June, 1879, until his removal from Chatfield, he 
 was president of the board of education of that 
 town. Mr. Kingsley has been identified with con- 
 siderable ven,- important litigation and has been 
 instrumental in establishing some important prin- 
 ciples of law. Among other things the fact that 
 a bank certificate of deposit in the ordinary form 
 is, in substance and legal effect, a promissory 
 note, and that no demand is necessary in order 
 to set the statute of limitations running against 
 it (Mitchell vs. Easton, 37 Minn. 335"): also that 
 the legislature may provide for constructive serv- 
 ice of process in actions to dctcrniine adverse 
 claims to real estate where personal service is 
 impracticable, and may clothe the district court 
 with power to adjudicate the title and ownership 
 of real property upon such constructive service 
 (Shcpard vs. Ware, 46 Minn., 174): also that 
 Chapter 196, of the Laws of 1887, relating to the 
 sale of foreign-grown nursery stock in Minne- 
 sota, is in violation of the constitution of the 
 United States, as being an attempt to regulate 
 commerce among the states and depriving citi- 
 zens of other states of the privileges and immuni- 
 ties of citizens of this state. Mr. Kingsley is a 
 Republican in politics, and has taken an active 
 part in public affairs for the last fifteen years. For 
 four years he was a mcmbcr-at-large of the State 
 Republican Central Committee, and of the exec-
 
 rKOGKKSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 37 
 
 utive committee of that body. He has been a 
 delegate to nearly all the state conventions for 
 the last ten years, and to nearly all other con- 
 ventions in which his county has been interested. 
 He has been a h'ree Mason for nearly twenty- 
 four years, and is a nieniijcr of a number of 
 lodges of that order; also of the A. O. U. W., 
 the K. of P., the Elks and the Masonic Veterans' 
 Association. He has also laid important offices 
 in the order of Masonry, and in 1886 was Grand 
 High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Minnesota. 
 He is at present General Grand Royal Arch Cap- 
 tain of the G. G. R. A. C of the United .States. 
 He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal 
 church. Mr. Kingsley was married January 14, 
 1873, to Miss Clara .Smith, a native of New \'ork. 
 They have one child, Cora Marilla. 
 
 GEORGE BECKER EDGERTON. 
 
 George Becker Edgerton is the assistant 
 attorney general of Minnesota, and resides 
 in St. Paul. His . father, A. J. Edgerton, was 
 the United States district judge of the district of 
 South Dakota. Judge Edgerton was appointed 
 chief justice of the Territory of Dakota by Presi- 
 dent Arthur, in 1881, at which time he was a 
 resident of Dodge County, JMinnesota, having 
 lived there since 1855. When Hon. William 
 Windom left the senate to take a position in the 
 cabinet of President Garfield, Governor Pillsbury 
 appointed Judge Edgerton to fill Mr. Windom's 
 unexpired term. Judge Edgerton's wife was 
 Sarah C. Curtis. Three of his ancestors served in 
 the Revolutionary War, two as privates by the 
 name of Palmer, and one by the name of White, 
 who held the rank of captain, and was taken pris- 
 oner and conveyed to Canada. The subject of 
 this sketch was born at Mantorville, Dodge 
 County, Minnesota, June 11, 1857. He attended 
 private and public schools in his native town, 
 and attended Lawrence University, Appleton, 
 Wisconsin, from 1872 till 1875. I" the fall of 
 1877 he entered his father's law office and studied 
 with him two years. He then attended lectures 
 in 1879 and 1880 at the Columbia Law School, 
 of New York City. In June of 1880 he was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in the Fifth judicial district of 
 Minnesota, and formed a partnership with his 
 father. In 1884 he was elected county attorney 
 of Dodge County, serving one term. He con- 
 
 tinued the practice of his profession in Dodge 
 County until April i, 1890, when he was ap- 
 pointed assistant United States district attorney 
 and removed to St. I'aul. In January, 1893, he 
 resigned that position to accept the office of as- 
 sistant attorney general, tendered him by Hon. 
 H. W. Childs, which office he still holds. In 
 these several public positions JNlr. Edgerton has 
 been engaged in a number of very important 
 cases. His private practice has also been pros- 
 perous and successful. He is at present a mem- 
 ber of the law firm of Edgerton & Wickwire, of 
 St. Paul. Mr. Edgerton has always been a Re- 
 publican, and has taken an active part in different 
 campaigns. He was a delegate to the Republican 
 national convention ni 1888 from the First Con- 
 gressional district of diis state, and in that cam- 
 paign took an active part on the stump. He is a 
 member of the Church Club, of the Diocese of 
 Minnesota, an Episcopal organization; also a 
 member of the Connnercial Club, of St. Paul, and 
 the Masonic Order. He was married July ii, 
 1883, to Josie A. Godwin of Appleton, Wiscon- 
 sin. They have had five children, ^largaret God- 
 win, Lillian Clark, Katharine Godwin, Josephine 
 Godwin and George Godwin, all of whom are 
 living, except Katharine. Mr. Edgerton as a 
 boy learned the value of self-reliance, and has to 
 a great degree been the architect of his own 
 fortunes.
 
 38 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 LOREX FLETCHER. 
 
 Loren Fletcher is the representative of 
 the Fifth district of Minnesota in the congress of 
 the United States, and is now serving his second 
 term in that body. He is one of the pioneers 
 of MinneapoHs, his identification with the city 
 dating back to 1856, when as a young man of 
 twenty-three he brought his newly wedded wife 
 to the rural village of St. Anthony and made his 
 home there. His father, Capt. Levi Fletcher, was 
 a prosperous farmer in the town of Mount Ver- 
 non, Kennebec County, i\laine, where he lived in 
 a state of comparative prosperity, giving his four 
 sons and two daughters the best educational ad- 
 vantages which the neighborhood afforded. Loren 
 was the fourth son, and was born April 10, 1833. 
 The usual attendance at the village school was 
 supplemented by two years at Kent's Hill Semi- 
 nary. At the age of seventeen he had determined 
 to learn a mechanical trade, but a short experience 
 as a stone cutter satisfied him that a mercantile 
 life was more to his taste. So he went to Bangor, 
 where he obtained a situation as a clerk in a shoe 
 store, and where he remained for three years. 
 Although earning but small wage.s, he had already 
 acquired habits of thrift and economy, and with 
 his savings he sought new fields of activity in 
 the West. After a few months spent at Dubuque, 
 where the prospects did not appear inviting, he 
 
 joined the tide of inmiigration to Minnesota, and 
 arrived at St. Anthony in the summer of 1856. 
 He found temporary employment as a clerk in a 
 store, and the loUowing year entered the services 
 of Dorilius Morrison, who was then carrying on 
 an extensive lumber business. Loren s occupa- 
 tion was sometimes in cliarge of lumber yards at 
 Hastings and St. I'eter; at other times in the 
 woods supervising the winter's cut of logs, and 
 tlien on the drive, and again in the mills at the 
 falls. He was thus occupied for about three 
 years. In i860 he purchased an interest in the 
 dry goods store of E. L. Allen. The following 
 year he associated with himself in the mercantile 
 business, Charles M. Loring, and the}- established 
 a general store on the present site of the old city 
 hall. They dealt chiefly in lumbermen's sup- 
 plies. This business was carried on for more 
 tlian fifteen years at the same stand. It extended 
 liowever, to other lines of activity and investment, 
 uicluding dealings in pine lands, in lumbering, in 
 farm lands, iii contracts, in Indian supplies, in 
 town and city lots and finally in milling. In this 
 latter particular his firm has been prominent for 
 man\- years. At first they were interested with 
 the late W. F'. Cahill; afterwards they were the 
 proprietors of the Galaxy mill and the iMinne- 
 tonka mills. Their business was prosperous and 
 both members of the firm became wealthy. It 
 is a noteworthy tribute to the sterling qualities 
 of Air. Fletcher and Mr. Loring that this partner- 
 ship has continued for thirty-five years without a 
 break and with the completest cordiality between 
 them. But Mr. Fletcher has not devoted all his 
 energies to the massing of a fortune or the service 
 of his own interests. For ten years he was a 
 member of the lower house of the state legislature, 
 having been elected as a Republican from Min- 
 neapolis, and during three successive sessions was 
 chosen speaker of the house; the last time by the 
 unanimous vote of the house, receiving every 
 vote of all parties, an instance of political 
 favor rare in the history of any state. His 
 services as a member of the legislature were 
 marked by distinguished ability and substantial 
 benefits to his con.stituency, a fact to which his 
 long service in that capacity bears the best testi- 
 mony. After a number of years of retirement 
 from [Hiblic service he entertained the laudable 
 ambition to represent his city in the national con- 
 gress, and when Minneapolis and Hennei)in
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 39 
 
 County were first constituted a district by them- 
 selves he was noniinatetl Ijy tlie RepubHcans and 
 elected in i8y2. lie was re-elected in 1894 by 
 a largely increased majority, and has acquired a 
 position among his congressional colleagues 
 which enables him to be of peculiar service to 
 his constituents. j\lr. Fletcher is not an orator 
 and maizes no pretentions to display on the floor 
 of the housf, but his long experience in legisla- 
 tive service, his thorough knowledge of affairs, 
 his cai)acity for making friends among his col- 
 leagues, and his adroit management of the in- 
 terests of his district make him a must valuable 
 member. The year before coming West, Mr. 
 Fletcher married Amerette J. Thomas, daughter 
 of Capt. John Thomas, (jf Bar Flarbor. Mrs. 
 Fletcher was a most estimai)Ic lady, and the gentle- 
 ness and kindliness of her character endeared her 
 to a large circle of friends. The loss of their 
 only child in early girlhood and the death of 
 Mrs. Fletcher, in 1892, were afflictions which have 
 borne heavily upon a strong and courageous 
 spirit. 
 
 GEORGE HENRY PARTRIDGE. 
 
 George Henry Partridge, a member of 
 the firm of Wyman, Partridge & Co., whole- 
 sale dry goods merchants of Minneapolis, is a 
 splendid example of the wide-awake, progressive, 
 enterprising and yet shrewd and judicious busi- 
 ness man. He is the son of George H. Part- 
 ridge and Mary E. Francis (Partridge), and was 
 bom at Medford, Steele (bounty, Minnesota, 
 August 21, 1856. His father was a farmer who 
 responded to the call of his country when it was 
 menaced by war and died in the service. Mr. 
 Partridge's parents moved from Wisconsin in the 
 early days to Minnesota, and his education 
 was commenced in the public schools of Steele 
 County. Subsequently he graduated at the State 
 Normal School at Winona, and finally entered 
 the State University of Minnesota and graduated 
 with the class of 1879. During his school years 
 he was dependent very largely upon his own 
 resources, and displayed in that time the pluck 
 and perseverance which have contributed in so 
 large a degree to his remarkable business suc- 
 cess. Upon the conclusion of his university 
 course he obtained employment with the firm 
 of Wyman & Mullen, wholesale dry goods 
 
 merchants in .Minneapolis, and was given charge 
 of the department of credits. He developed ex- 
 traordinary business capacity and made himself 
 invaluable to this firm. His ability and industry 
 were recognized in 1890, when Mr. Mullen re- 
 tired on account of ill health and Mr. Partridge, 
 who had then been nearly ten years in the employ 
 of the firm, came in as a partner, the style of the 
 firm being Wyman, Partridge & Co., and com- 
 posed of O. C. Wyman, George H. Partridge 
 and Samuel D. Coykendall. This is the largest 
 wholesale dry goods house in the Northwest, and 
 its business has grown within a decade from 
 half a million a year to probably ten times that 
 amount. Mr. Partridge is a democrat and takes 
 an active interest in local and national politics. 
 He is relied upon by his party for important 
 service on committees and in campaign work, 
 and never shirks his duty as a citizen in that 
 respect. Mr. Partridge was married January 24, 
 1882, to Adelaide Wyman, daughter of O. C. 
 Wyman, and has three children, Helen, Marion 
 and Charlotte. He is constantly strengthening 
 his position in business circles in the Northwest, 
 and not only has already achieved a brilliant 
 commercial career, but has a prospect of still 
 greater success in the future. This he has ac- 
 complished by his ability and fidelity in a respon- 
 sible business position and unaided by the in- 
 fluence of friends or the possession of wealth with 
 which to pave the way.
 
 40 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ROBERT GRENAP EVANS. 
 
 Robert Grenap Evans is a lawyer and 
 leading member of the ^Minneapolis bar. His 
 ancestry is Welsh and English, bnt both his 
 parents were born in this couutr}-, in Kentucky. 
 His father, Joseph S. Evans, in the early '50's, 
 while yet a young man, went from Kentucky to 
 Indiana, and located at Troy. He was first em- 
 ployed on a farm, but afterwards engaged in mer- 
 cantile business, having removed to Rockport, 
 Indiana, in 1856. He continued in the mercantile 
 business until 1874, except for a few years, when 
 he was engaged in farming. IMore recently he has 
 been in the insurance business at Rockport. At 
 Troy he married Mary C. Cotton, a daughter of a 
 physician practicing his profession in Indiana, and 
 a member of the constitutional convention which 
 revised the constitution of that state in 1852. 
 Robert Grenap was born while his parents re- 
 sided at Troy, March 18, 1854. He attended the 
 village schools of Rockport until his eighteenth 
 year, when he entered the sophomore class of the 
 state university at Bloomington, and completed 
 the junior year in that institution. His inclina- 
 tions were toward the law as a profession, and 
 in 187s he entered the law ofifiice of Charles L. 
 Wedding, of Rockport, and began his legal edu- 
 cation, at the same time practicing before the jus- 
 
 tice courts of Spencer County. In 1876 he was 
 
 admitted to the bar. He left Rockport soon after 
 and settled in \ incennes, where he formed a law 
 partnership with Judge F. W. Viehe, which con- 
 tinued until April, 1884, when ]\lr. Evans came 
 to Minneapolis. In July of that year he formed 
 a partnership with Judge Daniel Eisli, which con- 
 iinued until November, 1887, when it was dis- 
 solved on account of the retirement of Judge Fish 
 from general practice to become the attorney of 
 the Minnesota Title Insurance Company. j\lr. 
 Evans then formed his present business connec- 
 tion with Messrs. A. M. Keith, Charles T. 
 Thompson and Edwin K. Fairchild, under 
 the firm name of Keith, Evans, Thomp- 
 son & Fairchild. This firm is regarded 
 as one of the strongest in the state, and 
 enjoys an extensive and lucrative practice of 
 a general business character and largely an office 
 practice. Air. Evans was also the local attorney 
 for the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha road from 
 the time he came to Minneapolis in 1884 until 
 January i, 1895. He is a Republican and has 
 always taken an active interest in politics, both 
 in Indiana and in Miiuiesota. He has never sought 
 an office and has never held one, but has done a 
 great deal of valuable and effective work for his 
 party. He served on the state central committee 
 in Indiana for two years including the campaign of 
 1S80, but dechned reappointment at the end of 
 the second year. He was in Minnesota when the 
 vigorous campaign of 1884 opened, and, although 
 a new arrival, he threw himself into the work of 
 the campaign with the same enthusiasm and de- 
 votion to the cause which he has always mani- 
 fested. He niade a number of speeches in that 
 campaign and has stumped the state at every gen- 
 eral election since. Mr. Evans is a man of rare 
 geniality, courteous in his treatment of every one, 
 generous and sincere, and he is the trusted frieml 
 of probably more public men than any other man 
 of the state. These qualities of good fellowship, 
 kindliness and square dealing in politics, are re- 
 sponsible for the friendly familiarity which has 
 caused him to be known everywhere as "Jjob" 
 Evans. Never asking for political preferment for 
 himself, he is always ready to sacrifice his time 
 and private interests to the good of his party aiul 
 the advantage of his political friends. He had 
 been in the state scarcely two years before he
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 41 
 
 was selected as a nieniber of tlic Republican state 
 central committee, assisting in the conduct of the 
 McGill campaign in 1886. In December, 1887, 
 Senator Uavis resigned from the National Re- 
 publican committee and Mr. Evans was selected 
 to fill the vacancy. He was elected for the period 
 of four years again in 1888, and re-elected in 
 1892. He has always been an active member of 
 the Union League, and was president of that 
 organization in 1885 and 1886. He is a member 
 of the Commercial Club and the Minneapolis 
 Club, and an attendant of the jMethodist Church. 
 He was married in 1877 to Mary Graham, at 
 Evansville, Indiana, and has three children living, 
 Margaret, Stanley and Graham. His home is in 
 the suburb of Kenwood. 
 
 JOHN" ALBERT SCHLENER. 
 
 John Albert Schlener is a merchant engaged 
 in the stationery trade in Minneapolis. He 
 was born in Philadelphia, February 24, 1856, 
 but his parents removed the following year to 
 St. Anthony, Minnesota. His father, John A. 
 Schlener, and his mother, liertha Sproesser 
 (Schlener), were of German descent, industrious 
 and frugal people, who taught their son the habits 
 of economy, industry and thrift. The father 
 opened a bakery in St. Anthony, which he con- 
 ducted until his death in 1872. The son was 
 sent to a private school and afterwards to the 
 public schools in St. Anthony, and also attended 
 a commercial school, where he received a business 
 training. He was only twelve years old, however, 
 when he left school to engage m such enterprises 
 as were open to boys of his age. He was em- 
 ployed for a time in the toll house of the sus- 
 pension bridge, and assisted the toll gatherer 
 in the care of the bridge and in the keeping of 
 the accounts. This position brought him a wide 
 acquaintance, and was of no small value on that 
 account. At the age of sixteen young Schlener 
 was employed as a clerk in the book and sta- 
 tionery store of Wistar, Wales & Co. The firm 
 changed several times, Mr. Wales having difter- 
 ent partners, but Mr. Schlener continued in con- 
 nection with the firm, and on the organization 
 of the firm of Bean, Wales & Co., he was given 
 a third interest in the business. Mr. Wales sub- 
 sequently retired, but Mr. Schlener continued in 
 
 the business with Kirkbride and Whitall until 
 1884. He then opened a store on his own ac- 
 count, and is carrying on the business very suc- 
 cessfully. He has proven himself to be pos- 
 sessed of superior business qualifications, and is 
 looked upon as one of the successful merchants 
 of the city. He is also public-spirited, and has 
 taken an acti\-e interest in various efTorts to pro- 
 mote the general good of the community, serv- 
 ing as director of the Business Union and 
 as a member of other commercial bodies. He 
 early became a Mason, and his sterling qualities 
 and deep interest in the work of that organiza- 
 tion have led him through the various degrees 
 from the lowest to the highest. He is frequently 
 honored with the office of delegate to Masonic 
 conventions, and with positions of trust in differ- 
 ent aid and insurance associations connected with 
 the order. In politics ]\Ir. Schlener is a Repub- 
 lican, and takes an active part in the management 
 of his party affairs locally, and in 1896 he was 
 elected a member of the school board. His 
 parents were Lutherans and he was baptized in 
 the Lutheran Church, but his personal prefer- 
 ence has been the Congregational society, and 
 he is an attendant at Plymouth Church. He has 
 a pleasant home on Nicollet Island, where he 
 resides with his mother and his wife, formerly 
 Miss Grace Holbrook. of Lockport. to whom he 
 was married in March, 1892.
 
 42 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM PFAENDER. 
 
 The name given above is that of one of the 
 founders of New Llm. W'ilham Pfaender is a 
 native of the city of Heilbronn, in Germany, 
 where he was born July 6, 1826. His father was 
 Jacob Pfaender, a cooper by trade. He served in 
 the Light Artillen,- from 1806 to 1812, during the 
 Napoleonic wars. William's mother's maiden 
 name was Johanna Kuentzel. The ancestry of 
 both parents was German, and the antecedents 
 were plain people of moderate circumstances. 
 \Villiam attended the common schools of his 
 native town, but the limited resources of his 
 I)arents did not permit of his attending any higher 
 schools or colleges. He arrived in New York 
 in the spring of 1848, proceeding from that city 
 to Cincinnati, where in 1855 he became interested 
 in the colonization .society and came to Minne- 
 sota in the spring of 1856 as one of the commit- 
 tee selected to choose a site for the headtjuarters 
 of the German Land Association, which consisted 
 mostly of members of the North .\nierican Tur- 
 ncrbund. In September, 1856, New I Im was 
 settled and Mr. Pfaender was made the manager 
 of the German Land Association, and afterwards 
 president of the same for several years. But, not 
 to anticipate too rapidly: After leaving school at 
 the age of fourteen years. William was appren- 
 ticed in a mercantile house, where he spent four 
 
 years and served as a salaried clerk in the city of 
 Ulm. He left for America in the spring of 1848 
 on account of political trouble, having been sus- 
 pected of revolutionary connections. He had 
 earned a moderate salary, but being conscripted 
 into military service he sacrificed nearly all of 
 his savings to get release. Ready to do almost any- 
 thing he secured employment in the factory of 
 the Urban Safe Company at Cincinnati, at the rate 
 of $2 a week and board. Afterwards he served as 
 hotel waiter, and in 1849 was employed as a 
 bookkeeper in the printing establishment of the 
 German Republican, a daily and weekly Whig 
 paper, \\here he remained, with few interruptions, 
 until he removed to Minnesota. At New Ulm he 
 conducted the affairs of the German Land Asso- 
 ciation, and, taking charge of the postoffice, 
 served as postmaster and as register of deeds un- 
 til he enlisted in September, 1861. Mr. Pfaender 
 served in the L^nion army for four years. He 
 enlisted as a private in the First ^Minnesota Bat- 
 tery, was elected first lieutenant at the organiza- 
 tion of the same, and during the battle of Shiloh, 
 April 6 and 7, 1862, assumed command of the 
 battery shortly after the commencement of the 
 action, the captain having been seriously 
 wounded. Mr. Pfaender remained in command 
 during the siege and subsequent occupancy of 
 Corinth, Mississippi, until August 26, 1862, when, 
 on receiving the news of the destruction of New 
 Ulm by the Sioux Indians, he was given an order 
 by General Grant to proceed to St. Paul on the 
 recruiting service. He was, however, immediately 
 put on the detached service at St. Peter and Fort 
 Ridgely, and at the latter post acted as quarter- 
 master and commissary until the First Regiment 
 Minnesota Mounted Rangers was organized. JMr. 
 Pfaender was commissioned as lieutenant colonel 
 of the regiment, and during the summer of 1863 
 remained in CDUimand of the cavalry serving on 
 the frontier. At the expiration of the term of 
 service of the regiment he went into the Second 
 Regiment .Minnesota Cavalry, with the same rank, 
 assuming connuand of the second sub district of 
 Minnesota, occupying all the frontier posts from 
 Alexandria to the Iowa state line, with headquar- 
 ters at Fort Ridgely, and was nuistcrcd out with 
 the regiment on December 7, 1865. After rc- 
 tm-ning from service in the army Mr. Pfaender 
 went back to his farm. Tn 1870 he established a 
 lumber yard at New Ulm, ami in company with
 
 PROGRESSIVE MIvN OE MINNICSOTA. 
 
 43 
 
 Other parties built a plaiuuy mill and sash factor}'. 
 From the time of the organization of the state 
 Mr. I'faender had become interested in politics. 
 His affiliations were with the Republican party, 
 and he was elected to the legislature of 1859 and 
 i8to; was then made register of deeds of Hrown 
 county; was one of the first four presidential 
 electors of Minnesota, in i860, casting the vote of 
 the state for Abraham Lincoln. In 1870, 1871 
 and 1872 he served as a member of the state sen- 
 ate, and in 1875 was elected state treasurer, occu- 
 pying that position two terms. On his election 
 as state treasurer Mr. Pfacnder sold out liis inter- 
 est in the lumber business and removed with his 
 family to St. Paul. He returned to New Ulm in 
 1880 and engaged in the real estate and insurance 
 business, in which he is still engaged, and at the 
 same time running his farm. He has always 
 taken an active interest in the organization of 
 societies for physical and mental development, 
 forming the North American Turnerbund, of 
 which he is president for the district of Minne- 
 sota. He is a member of the board of trade and 
 the commercial union of New Ulm. He was 
 twice mayor of the city and served several times 
 as member of the city council. Mr. Pfaender was 
 married at Cincinnati, December 7, 1851, to 
 Catherine Pfau. They have had fifteen children, 
 of whom ten are living, viz: William Pfaender, 
 Jr., who is engaged in business with his father; 
 Kate (Mrs. Albrecht, Wabasha street St. Paul); 
 Louise Stamm, wife of Dr. G. Stamm; Josephine 
 Pfaender, Frederick Pfaender, register of deeds 
 in Brown county; Amelia, wife of Dr. Fritsche; 
 Emma, wife of Charles Hauser, of the Hauser 
 Malting Company, St. Paul; Minnie Pfaender, 
 Herman Pfaender, manager of his father's farm, 
 and Albert Pfaender, a student at the state uni- 
 versity. 
 
 EDWIN J. JONES. 
 
 Among the substantial business men of [Morris 
 is Edwin J. Jones, dealer in lumber, hardware, 
 paints and other building materials. Mr. Jones 
 was born August 22, 1858, at Beaver Dam, Wis- 
 consin, the son of Evan J. and Julia Ackerman 
 Jones. His father was engaged in the lumberbusi- 
 ness, and Edwin was afforded such educational 
 advantages as were provided bv the conunon 
 
 schools. After being employed In his father for 
 a time as a bookkeeper in his wholesale lumber 
 business in Winneconne, Wisconsin, Edwin came 
 to Minnesota and located at Morris, in August, 
 1878, where he took charge of a lumber yard 
 w'hich his father had established there. In 1884 
 he bought out the business, and in 1895 added a 
 complete hardware stock, which he handles in 
 connection with his lumber trade. Mr. Jones has 
 always been a Republican, and was elected by the 
 Republicans state senator for the Forty-ninth 
 Legislative District in 1894. He has also been 
 drafted into the public service by his fellow towns- 
 men, having served as village recorder in 1881 
 and 1882, and having been elected member of the 
 city council in 1883. In 1884 he was president 
 of the village. Mr. Jones' election to the legisla- 
 ture w-as a triumph. He received 700 majority 
 over the fusion candidate, carrying every precinct 
 in his own county. Mr. Jones is a Mason and 
 belongs to the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Com- 
 mander}', ]\Iinneapolis Consistory No. 2, and 
 Zurah Temple, of Alinneapolis. He has also held 
 several important offices in these bodies. He is 
 a member of the Knights of Pythias and the 
 A. O. U. W. He is an attendant of the Congre- 
 gational church, although not a member. May 
 29th, 1883. he was married to Nellie A. Butter- 
 field, of Waupun. Wisconsin. They have one son, 
 ten years old. Henr}- Butterfield Jones.
 
 44 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAMES THOMAS WYAIAN. 
 
 James Thomas Wyman may be describetl 
 as one of the makers of Minneapohs. No 
 one is more active in every good work for the ad- 
 vancement of the interests of this city than he. 
 Like many of the leading citizens of Minneapohs, 
 Mr. Wyman is a native of Maine. He was bom 
 at Millbridge, (October isth, 1849, the son of 
 John Wyman, a dealer in Iniilding materials and 
 a merchant who. though not accomited wealthy, 
 was in comfortable financial circnmstances. Mr. 
 Wyman is of old Puritan stock, his ancestry hav- 
 ing come from England about 1640, and settled in 
 Wobum, Massachusetts. He attended the public 
 schools of his native town, but enjoyed no further 
 educational advantages until he came to Minne- 
 sota in 1868 when he located at Northfield and at- 
 tended Carleton College for one year. In 1869 
 he went into business in that town witli his 
 brother, operating a .sash, door and blind factory 
 and saw mill. This establishment was burned 
 March 12th, 1871, without insurance. Mr. Wy- 
 man had already established such a reputation 
 for integrity and straight-forward business meth- 
 ods that he was able to borrow money to pay off 
 his debts. He then came to ^ilinneapolis and was 
 made superintendent of a sash, door and blind 
 factory, operated liy Jothan Ti. Smith and L. I). 
 Parker, wlicrc he demonstrated the possession of 
 such business capacity that in 1874 he became a 
 
 partner, under the firm name of Smith, Parker 
 & Co. This same business is now conducted 
 under the firm name of Smith & Wyman, the 
 partners being H. Alden Smith and Jaines T. 
 Wyman. From this it appears that ]\lr. Wyman 
 has been a manufacturer in ^Minneapolis 
 for upwards of twenty-five years, and a 
 very extensive employer of labor, having 
 on his pay rolls at different times from 
 two hundred to two htindred and fifty men, and 
 during all that time the most cordial and friendly 
 relations have been maintained between employes 
 and employer. Mr. Wyman helped to organize 
 the Metropolitan Bank in 1889, and has been the 
 president of that instittttion since 1890. He was 
 president of the Board of Trade in 1888 and 1889 
 and was one of the organizers of the Btisiness 
 Union in 1889 and a member of its board of di- 
 rectors. He is president of the Clearing House 
 Association of the associated banks of Minneapo- 
 lis, and ail active promoter of ever}' enterprise for 
 the benefit of the city. Politically he is a Repub- 
 lican, and was honored by his party with election 
 to the lower house of the legislature in 1893, and 
 to the senate in 1895, '^ both of which bodies 
 lie has been recognized as a leader. He was the 
 author of the Minnesota factory inspection act, 
 of the university tax act, of the new Minnesota 
 banking law, and many other important meas- 
 ures. He is a member of the Minneapolis Club, 
 of the Conuiiercial Club, and also vice-president 
 of the Associated Charities, to which splendid or- 
 ganization he has given the benefit of his business 
 experience and wise counsel. He is a member of 
 the Hennepin Avenue AT. E. church, which 
 counts him one of its most active and faithful 
 supporters, and he serves the church as one of its 
 trustees. He is also a trustee of Hamline Uni- 
 versity, the leading Methodist educational insti- 
 tution in the Northwest. Mr. Wyman, in spite of 
 all his numerous interests and activities, is a man 
 wlio is well known in Minneapolis societs', always 
 in demand and acc(ntnted one of the most pleas- 
 ing after dinner speakers of the state. He is now 
 in his prime and enjoys the esteem and confi- 
 dence of his t'ellow citizens in a remarkable de- 
 gree, lie was married .'>cptem1)cr 3d, 1873, to 
 Rosa Lamberson, daughter of a Methodist Epis- 
 co])al clergyman at Northfield. They have seven 
 cliildren, Roy L,, (!uy A., Grace Alice, James C.y 
 .Maucl fv, Earle F., and Ruth.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY EUSTIS. 
 
 William llcnry Euslis furnishes in his own 
 career a good illustration of tiic possibilities 
 before a capable, energetic and self-reliant young 
 man in America. He is the son of a mechanic, 
 reared in the humble home of a mechanic and 
 destined by his [Jarents for a mechanic's life. Un- 
 fortunately, and yet, perhaps, fortunately, a severe 
 afflietiini, the result of an accident, changed his 
 purpose in life from that of a mechanic, and 
 openeil the door to a wider field for the develop- 
 ment of his talents and the employment of his 
 faculties. Mr. Eustis was born at the little village 
 of Uxbow, New York, July 17, 1845. i^'* father, 
 Tobias Eustis, was a native of Cornwall, England, 
 and emigrated to America while a young man 
 and learned and followed the trade of a wheel- 
 wright. His ancestors were miners in Cornwall. 
 His mother, Mary Marwick, was also of Englisli 
 descent. William Henry was the second of afamily 
 of eleven children, and at an early age contributed 
 to the family's support by such employment as 
 he could pick up in the neighborhood, the chief 
 of which was grinding bark in the village tan- 
 nery. He was fifteen at the time of the accident 
 above referred to. His recovery was due largely 
 to the strong constitution, resolute will and the 
 study which he gave to his own case and the care 
 he exercised in applying the treatment. He 
 eventually became able to teach district school in 
 the winter months and finally entered the semi- 
 nary at Gouverneur, St. Lawrence County. The 
 most his parents hoped at this time was that he 
 might be able to follow some lighter occupation, 
 as, for instance, shoe making or harness making. 
 But he had applied himself to learn bookkeeping 
 and telegraphy, and by the aid of these prepared 
 himself for a more complete literary education. 
 By teaching bookkeeping and telegraphy and 
 soliciting life insurance he earned enough to pay 
 his way through the seminary and through his 
 preparation for college. In 1871 he entered the 
 sophomore class of Wesleyan L^niversity, of Mid- 
 dletown, Connecticut, and while absenting him- 
 self during the winter in order to teach school 
 kept up with his class and completed his course in 
 1873. He then went to New York and took the 
 law course at Columbia Law School, where he 
 graduated in 1874, having accomplished two 
 vears' work in one. He was now ready for the 
 
 J^ 
 
 practice of his ijrufession, but he was a thousand 
 dollars in debt. ( )n account of this debt he pro- 
 cured a position as teacher, and at the close of 
 the year paid the obligation and had money 
 enough to buy a railroad ticket to Saratoga 
 Springs, a new suit of clothes and a surplus of 
 $15 with which to connnence the work of his 
 life. At Saratoga he made the acquaintance of 
 John R. Putnam, who offered him a partnership, 
 which he accepted, and Mr. Eustis remained there 
 in partnership with ^fr. Putnam for six years, 
 sharing a large and lucrative business. In the 
 spring of 1881 Mr. Eustis sailed for Europe to 
 be gone two years. He had taken an active part 
 in the convention of 1882 and stumped the state 
 of New York for Garfield. When the news of 
 Garfield's assassination was received by him he 
 was so impressed by its significance that he felt 
 obliged to return home, and did so. Mr. Eustis 
 had made up his mind that the best field for 
 success in life was to be found in the West, and 
 he set out on a prospecting tour, including Kan- 
 sas City, St. Louis, Dubuque and other ambitious 
 Western places, ultimately reaching Minneapolis, 
 which pleased him most, and here he settled on 
 the twenty-third of October, 1881. He com- 
 menced the practice of law w ithout a partner. He 
 had brought with him a small sum, the savings of 
 his earlier years, and by the judicious use of it
 
 46 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 has acquired considerable property. He built the 
 brick block on Sixth Street and Hennepin, the 
 Corn Exchange and the Flour Exchange, be- 
 sides other less important structures. He has 
 alwavs been identified with enterprises for the ad- 
 vancement of the city, and is largely interested in 
 various industrial undertakings. He is one of 
 the original incorporators of the Minneapolis, 
 Sault Ste. :\Iarie & Atlantic Railway, and one of 
 Its board of directors. He was a director and 
 member of the building committee of the Masonic 
 Temple. He was one of the originators of the 
 North American Telcgrapli Company, a director 
 and its secretary, a line established to furnish 
 people of the Northwest with competition in 
 telegraphic service. He has been actively identi- 
 fied with everything which is calculated to ad- 
 vance the interests of the city. In 1892 Miv 
 Eustis was elected mayor of Minneapolis by the 
 Republicans, and his administration is frequcnth^ 
 referred to as the most notable in the histor_\- 
 of the city. He made a very careful study of the 
 saloon question and the laws relating to the liquor 
 traffic at the beginning of his term of ofifice and 
 sought to enforce them in such a way as to 
 secure the best results. His theory of adminis- 
 tration did not call for the strictest enforcement 
 of the law in accordance with the letter, but for 
 such enforcement as, while granting more license 
 to the saloon than the law specified, sought to 
 enlist the saloonkeepers in a general effort for 
 the suppression of crime and the diminution of 
 drunkenness. The statistics of the police depart- 
 ment and the workhouse for the two years of 
 his administration show that his theory was well 
 founded. Drunkenness diminished, commit- 
 ments to the workhouse were cut down, the sale 
 of liquor to minors was noticeably reduced and 
 the evils resulting from the liquor traffic gen- 
 erally minimized. Mr. Eustis grew up under 
 Methodist influences, and is a member of the 
 Methodist church. He was never married, but 
 occupies comfortable bachelor quarters in his 
 Sixth Street building and boards at the West 
 Hotel. ?Ie is the possessor of a fine library, and 
 derives much pleasure and enjoyment among his 
 books. Mr. Eustis is an orator of grace and 
 power, and has rendered invaluable services to 
 his party in campaign work. He was a delegate 
 to the Rcpul)lican National Convention in 1802, 
 
 and voted for Blaine. His gift as a public 
 speaker makes him in great demand on public 
 occasions, and he has probably but one equal and 
 no superior in the state as a graceful after dinner 
 speaker. He is a man of genial manners and 
 agreeable personality, and a welcome guest on 
 every public occasion. 
 
 CHARLES MORGRIDGE LORING. 
 
 Charles Alorgridge Loring is known as the 
 father of the park system of Alinneapolis, and 
 while he has always been prominently identified 
 with nearly every important movement for the 
 benefit of the city, he will be held in especial 
 esteem by the citizens of jNIinneapolis for the 
 invaluable service which he has rendered in plan- 
 ning and securing for the city its admirable park 
 system. Mr. Loring is a native of New^ England, 
 where the family name is v.-ell known. The first 
 of the family was Thomas Loring, an early set- 
 tler from England. The grandfather of C. M. 
 Loring was a successfid and honored teacher in 
 Portland, IMaine, where he was known as "IMaster 
 Loring." His son, Captain Horace Loring, was 
 a shipmaster, voyaging to the West Indies. He 
 married Sarah Wiley, wdiose mother, ^largaret 
 Smith Wiley, was a niece of "Parson Smith," a 
 noted clergyman of Portland, Maine. She was 
 of Scotch descent. Charles M. Loring, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, and a son of Horace Loring 
 and Sarah Wiley (Loring), w^as born at Port- 
 land Maine, November 13, 1833. His father took 
 him while yet a lad on his voyages and destined 
 him to bt a navigator. He became a mate on 
 his father's ship and spent some time in Cuba, 
 but the life of a shipmaster was not to his taste, 
 and he, to the great disappointment of his friends, 
 relinquished that which was the height of every 
 Maine bov's ambition, a chance to become a sea 
 captain, and started for the West in 1856. He 
 located first at Chicago and engaged in whole- 
 sale business with B. P. Hutchinson, the well- 
 known grain speculator. Ill health at that time 
 brought '\]\-. Loring to Minneapolis, when 
 through the aid of his friend, Lorcn I'letcher, 
 he obtained employment with Dorilus Morrison 
 as the manager of his supply store in connection 
 with his lumber business. This was in i860. The 
 following year he joined Mr. Fletcher in the
 
 I'UOCRRSSIVE MEN' OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 4-7 
 
 general im-rcliaiidisc husiiR'ss in AliniK-apolis, un- 
 der tlic lirni name of I ,. l-lctclicr & Co., which firm 
 is still in existence, and the oldest in Minneap- 
 olis. Fletcher & C"o. were ver\- successful in 
 their business, and the firm became one of the 
 strongest in the city. In 1868, together with W. 
 F. Cahill, ihey purchased the Holly Mill ami 
 operated it until 1872, when they sold it 'and 
 bought the Galaxy mill, which they successfully 
 operated for a number of years. In 1873 they also 
 became the principal owners of the Minnetonka 
 mill, located near Lake Minnetonka. Since 1880 
 Mr. l.oring has not given active attention to 
 his interests in the milling business, but has de- 
 pended in that respect chiefly upon his son. He 
 has, however, been active in other lines of busi- 
 ness, and has become a large owner of real estate 
 and other property which required his attention. 
 Mr. Loring is a man of refined tastes, and a 
 great lover of nature, and is devoted to horti- 
 culture in its most artistic aspect, and when the 
 first board of park conmiissioners was selected 
 his name was placed at the head of the list, 
 although he was absent at the time in Europe. 
 This board was organized in 1883, and for the 
 next seven years Mr. Loring gave largely of his 
 time and ability to the acquirement and develop- 
 ment of the system of parks and boulevards for 
 which the city of Minneapolis is justly famous. 
 In recognition of his great services in this re~ 
 gard, the name of Central Park was changed and 
 that beautiful pleasure ground of the people will 
 always be known as Loring Park. When the 
 state decided to establish a state park at ilinne- 
 haha he was appointed one of the commissioners. 
 This property has since become a part of the 
 park system of Minneapolis, and the acquirement 
 of that tract around the romantic and historic 
 waterfall was due to Mr. Loring. Notwithstand- 
 ing his impaired health in later years, Mr. Loring 
 has been actively interested in various business 
 enterprises. He was one of the projectors of 
 the North American Telegraph Company, ami 
 has been its president since its organization in 
 1885. In 1886 he was elected president of the 
 Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, and held 
 that office until 1890, when he declined a re- 
 election. Upon the organization of the North- 
 western Consolidated Milling Companv, includ- 
 ing the Calaxy mill of which he was part owner, 
 he wa'; made a director of the companv. and still 
 
 retains that position. He has also been 
 identified with various financial institutions of 
 the city. Notwithstanding the activity of his 
 business life, Mr. Loring has found time to 
 gratify his refined tastes, and is a gentleman 
 of culture and attainments. Never of very 
 rugged physique, he has of late years found it 
 desirable, owing to the severity of the Minnesota 
 climate, to spend his winters on the Pacific coast, 
 where he has acquired, at Riverside, California, 
 a fruit ranch. He has also spent considerable 
 time in travel abroad as well as in this country, 
 and has availed himself of the opportunity thus 
 afforded to gratify his tastes for art and learning. 
 He is a man of most kindly manners and is held 
 in liighest esteem by his fellow citizens. He is 
 a Republican in politics, and in religion liberal, 
 yet sincere. He cast his first vote for |ohn C. 
 Fremont. He recalls with pleasurable recollec- 
 tion the fact that the first money he ever earned 
 was by selling the New Year's address of a news- 
 paper carrier, from which his receipts were $7.32. 
 Mr. Loring was married in 1855 to Emily S. 
 Crosman, of Portland, Maine, who died March 
 13, 1894. Their children were Eva Maria, deceased, 
 and Albert C, who is the secretary and treasurer 
 of the Consolidated Milling Company. Mr. Lor- 
 ing was married again, November 28, 1895, to 
 Miss Florence Barton, daughter of A. B. Barton, 
 of !\rinneapolis.
 
 48 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 MARTIN B. IvUON. 
 
 Martin B. Koon is a lawyer practicing his 
 profession in r^linneapolis. His ancestry on liis 
 father's side is Scotcli, and on his mother's side 
 Connecticut Yankee. His father, Alanson Koon, 
 was a farmer in moderate circumstances, in 
 Schuyler County, New York, a man of sterling 
 Christian character. His mother's maiden name 
 was Marilla Wells, and Mr. Koon is wont to 
 speak of her in terms of deep affection and the 
 most profound reverence for her memory. She 
 was a woman of strong character, and deeply im- 
 pressed herself upon her children. The most 
 valuable legacy which his parents bequeathed to 
 him was habits of industry, indomitable perse- 
 verance, never failing energy and a mind naturally 
 active and studious. Martin B. was born Janu- 
 ary 22, 1841, at Altay, Schuyler County, New- 
 York. While he was yet a lad his father removed 
 with his family to Hillsdale County, Michigan, 
 where the subject of this sketch grew up on a 
 farm. He recalls that the first money he ever 
 earned was for riding a horse for a neighbor 
 while plowing corn. Mr. Koon attended the win- 
 ter schools, as most farmer boys did in those 
 days, and worked on the farm in the smnmcr. 
 He prosecuted his studies, however, with such 
 diligence that, at the age of seventeen, he was 
 
 prepared to enter Hillsdale College. During his 
 college course he supplemented his limited re- 
 sources by teaching school several terms, 
 but kept up his studies and completed his 
 course in 1863. He had, however, labored 
 so hard as a student as to seriously im- 
 pair his health, and in 1864 a change 
 i)f climate became necessary, and he made a trip 
 to California by way of the Isthmus. The 
 change was beneficial, and after remaining two 
 years in California, engaged in teaching, he re- 
 turned to Michigan to take up the study of law 
 in the office of his brother, E. L. Koon. In 1867 
 he was admitted to the bar in Hillsdale, Jilichi- 
 gan, and soon afterward entered into partner- 
 ship with his brother, which association continued 
 until 1878. While he did not go actively into 
 politics, he was elected to the office of prosecut- 
 ing attorney in Hillsdale County in 1870 to 1874. 
 In 1873 he spent four months in travel in Europe. 
 He had become persuaded, however, that Hills- 
 dale did not offer a sufficient field for the exer- 
 cise of his talent, and in 1878 he removed to 
 Minneapolis, where he formed a partnership 
 with E. A. Merrill, to which firm A. M. Keith 
 was afterward admitted. This firm enjoj'ed an 
 extensive and profitable business until the fall of 
 1881, when, owing largely to overwork, Mr. Koon 
 fell a victim to typhoid fever, and on his partial 
 recovery he went to California in search of 
 health. In 1883, after his return. Judge J. M. 
 Shaw resigned from the district bench, and Gov. 
 Hubbard appointed ]\Ir. Koon to fill the vacancy. 
 This was entirely without Mr. Koon's solicitation 
 and wholly unexpected. He accepted the office 
 with much reluctance, doubting his cjualifications 
 for the position. He filled it with such eminent 
 satisfaction, however, that in the following fall 
 he was vmanimously elected to the same office 
 for the term of seven years. But he did not find 
 the duties of the office congenial to him, and May 
 I, 1886, he resigned. His resignation was re- 
 ceived with general and profound regret. His ad- 
 ministration of the office had been marked by 
 singular abilit}-, and his retirement from the 
 bench was regarded as a misfortune by the whole 
 comnnmity. During his occupancy of that posi- 
 tion he tried a number of important cases, among 
 them the Washburn will case, the St. Anthony 
 water power case, the King-Remington case, the
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 49 
 
 Canticny imirdcr case, and others scarcely less 
 important. This work involved an enormous 
 amount of study and research, which he most 
 conscientiously performed. On his retirement 
 from the bench he resumed the practice of his 
 profession, and is now the senior member of the 
 firm of Koon, Whelan & liennett. The practice 
 of the firm is mainly in the line of corporation 
 law. They are attorneys for the Minneapolis 
 Street Railway Company, the "Soo" Railway 
 Company, the Pillsbur}- -Washburn Company, the 
 G. W. Van Dusen Company, the Washburn- 
 Crosby Company, the Northwestern National 
 Bank, Gillette-Herzog Company, the Millers' and 
 Manufacturers' Insurance Company, the London 
 Guarantee and Accident Company, and others. 
 Judge Koon is a member of the Minneapolis 
 Club, the Commercial Club, the Chanil)er of 
 Commerce and a trustee of the Church of the 
 Redeemer. He was married November, 1873, to 
 Josephine \'andermark and has two daughters, 
 Catherine Estelle and M. Louise. 
 
 FREEMAN P. LANE. 
 
 Freeman P. Lane is a lawyer of IMinneap- 
 olis, the son of poor but eminently respectable 
 people of that city, who were able to give him 
 only those educational advantages afforded by 
 the common schools of the city. His father, 
 Charles W. Lane, is a mechanic, his trade being 
 that of carriage maker and blacksmith. His 
 mother and father are both living in this city. 
 They are of Scotch and Irish descent, honest 
 people who have lived quiet and uneventful but 
 useful lives. Beyond this brief statement ]\Ir. 
 Lane claims to know little about his ancestors, 
 although, as he uniquely puts it, he has been a 
 candidate for office. Freeman P. Lane was born 
 in Eastport, Maine, April 20, 1853. He came 
 with his parents to ^Minneapolis in 1861. From 
 1862 to 1865 he was the official bill poster of 
 the town, and served his apprenticeship in busi- 
 ness as a bootblack and newsboy, where he 
 learned self-reliance and was trained in the 
 severe school in which lads in his circumstances 
 often acquire those qualifications which make for 
 success in after life. During the summers of 
 1868 to 1 87 1, inclusive, he was employed in 
 building telegraph lines through Minnesota, Iowa 
 and Dakota Territorv. His ambition, however. 
 
 was for professional life, and he began the study 
 of law with Albee Smith in the old Academy of 
 Music building, in 1872, and tried his first case 
 before J. L. Himes, a justice of the peace. He 
 attended the Albany Law School, at Albany, 
 New York, in 1873 and 1874, and was admitted 
 to jiractice in Albany in May of the latter year. 
 He returned to Minneapolis and began the prac- 
 tice of his profession with George W. Hael, the 
 style of the firm being Lane & Hael. Subse- 
 quently James H. Giddings became Mr. Lane's 
 partner. He remained in partnership with 
 Mr. Giddings for nine and a half years. He then 
 formed a partnership with Fred B. Dodge, the 
 style of the firm being Lane & Dodge. This 
 partnership lasted for five years, after which the 
 firm became Lane & Johnson, the new partner 
 being Benjamin F. Johnson, with whom Mr. 
 Lane was associated for two years. Since the 
 dissolution of that firm ^Ir. Lane has been asso- 
 ciated in business with Frank P. Nantz, under 
 the name of Lane & Nantz. He has always taken 
 an active interest in local and state politics, and 
 was elected to the lower house of the legislature 
 in 1888 as a Republican. Mr. Lane was married 
 at Minneapolis, July 6, 1875, to Mollie Lauder- 
 dale, daughter of William H. Lauderdale. They 
 have four children, Bessie, wife of Thomas F. 
 Maguire, Ina, wife of John E. Christian, Mabel 
 and Stuart.
 
 50 
 
 I'ROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 TAMS BIX BY. 
 
 Tains Bixby is an excellent example of a 
 self-made man, and an instance where the making 
 reflects credit upon the maker. Mr. Bi.xby is a 
 resident of Red Wing. He was born December 
 2, 1856, at Staunton, \'irginia, and is a sun of 
 Bradford \V. and Susan Jane Bixby. His parents 
 were poor and Tarns conmienced a career, which 
 has proved to be a very successful one, unaided 
 by personal fortune or by influential friends. It 
 was in the fall of 1837 that his parents came to 
 Minnesota and settled at Red Wing. As soon as 
 he was old enough he was sent to the parisli 
 school there, and continued his attendance until 
 he was thirteen years of age. Beyond that his 
 educational advantages have been such as an act- 
 ive mind can derive from the educational facilities 
 which it creates for itself, through reading, experi- 
 ence and observation. Possessed of a remarkable 
 degree of energy and entcqirise, he was not slow- 
 to employ his l)usiness talents in whatever lionor- 
 able enterprise promised i)n>lita1>lr returns. The 
 result has been that he has liecn engaged in the 
 business oi news agent, hotel keeper, baker, 
 broker, and is now editor and i)nl)lisher of one of 
 the most flourishing dailies of .Minnesota, the 
 Red W^ing Republican. His editorial duties, 
 however, arc rmly incidental to his more impor- 
 tant duties as private secretary of Gov. Clough. 
 
 By dint of perseverance, superior business ability 
 and energy he has become connected with a num- 
 ber of important concerns in this and adjoining 
 states. Among other things his present business 
 connections have brought him the position of 
 president of the Red Wing Printing Company, 
 president of the Pierre, South Dakota, W^atcr, 
 Light and Power Company, and vice-president of 
 the West Duluth Light and Water Company. 
 Mr. Bixby has a genius for politics, and has had, 
 of late years, superior opportunities for the devel- 
 opment of his ability in that field. He began his 
 career in politics as chairman of the Republican 
 county committee of Goodhue County. His ex- 
 cellent work in that capacity attracted the atten- 
 tion of Republicans in other parts of the state to 
 him, and when the Republican League of Alinne- 
 sota was organized he was made secretary of that 
 organization. .Subsequently he filled the position 
 of secretary of the Republican State Central Com- 
 mittee, from which responsible position he was 
 promoted to that of chairman. In that capacity he 
 has conducted several important campaigns with 
 signal success, and established for himself the rep- 
 utation of being one of the most skillful and adroit 
 politicians in the state. At the same time he has 
 added to his list of acquaintances many warm 
 friends, who have come to appreciate his ability 
 and devotion to the public interest. In the way 
 of political office the only positions 'Sir. Bixby 
 has ever held are those of secretary of the rail- 
 road and warehouse commission in the earlv days 
 of that body, and later the office of private secre- 
 tary to Gov. Merriam during the two terms in 
 which he occupied the otTice of chief executive; 
 also to Gov. Nelson, Gov. Merriam's successor, 
 and at this writing he occupies the same relation 
 to Gov. Clough, who succeeded Gov. Nelson. 
 Mr. liixby has sustained his confidential and im- 
 portant relation to the chief executive of the state 
 for a period of eight years, and has made himself 
 invaluable to the occupant of that office. He pos- 
 sesses rare qualities of sociability and geniality, 
 and attaches men to himself in warm friendship. 
 He is a member of the Connucrcial Club at Red 
 Wing, the Connnercial Club of St. Paul; is a Ma- 
 son and Knight Templar, and is also a member of 
 the T. O. ( ). V. I Ic was married April 27th, 1886, 
 to Clara Mues, and has three sons, Edson K., 
 born AprU oth. 18R7: Joel IT., born November 
 3ot!i, 18XS, anil Tams, ]v.. born Sriilcnilier i_'th, 
 i8<n.
 
 rROGKESSlVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 SI 
 
 ji >ii.\ \\i';siJ':v A.\i)ki-:ws. 
 
 J dim Wesley Andrews is a ])liysician, jjrac- 
 ticing liis profession at Mankatu. Ills father, 
 John R. Andrews, was a Methodist minister, and 
 one of the pioneer messenji^ers of the gospel in 
 Southwestern Minnesota. John R. Andrews and 
 his wife, l^elilah Armstrong (Andrews), came to 
 Minnesota from Illinois, in the autmnn of 1856, 
 and located hrst near .'^t. Peter, hut the (ollowing 
 spring Mr. Andrews pre-empted one hundred and 
 sixty acres of what is known as the Big Woods. 
 The business depression of 1857 came on and for 
 the next two years the Andrews family, in com- 
 mon with their neighbors, endured great priva- 
 tions. I'lour was $9 a barrel, and had it not been 
 for the high ]jrice of gingseng and the abundance 
 of that root in their region, many would have 
 sufifered for food. The Andrews family is of 
 English descent, the father of John R. being an 
 English sea captain. The subject of this sl<ctcii 
 was born at Russcllville, Lawrence County, Illin- 
 ois, April 6, 1849. The country district schools 
 of that time were poorly equipped, and the educa- 
 tional advantages he enjoyed were of a very in- 
 sufficient and limited character. After comi)let- 
 itig the course afforded by the public schools, he 
 entered the State Normal Schodl at Mankato, 
 but at the end of his course and before gradua- 
 tion he was taken sick with typhoid fever and was 
 not able to return. He became a teacher in the 
 high school at St. Peter, where he was engaged 
 for three years, when he took up the study of 
 medicine and prosecuted it as diligently as his 
 means would permit. He attended the medical 
 department of Michigan University, and later 
 Rush Medical College, where he graduated in 
 Februar}-, 1877. After practicing in Minnesota 
 for about two years he went to New York and 
 entered Bellevue Hospital Medical C(_)llege, 
 where he took the regular course in medicine and 
 surgery and the allied branches of study, and 
 was graduated in March, 1880. He again re- 
 turned to the practice of his profession, which 
 he continued until the summer of 1886, when he 
 went to Europe for a year of study in P.erlin and 
 Menna. Upon his return to Mankato he re- 
 sumed his professional work, and has contiiuied 
 it up to the present time, with intervals of six 
 weeks or two months spent every two or three 
 
 years in study and observation in some of the 
 larger cities for the purpose of familiarizing him- 
 self with any new discoveries or methods which 
 may have been adopted in his profession. Dr. 
 Andrews is a member of the Minnesota Medical 
 Society, of the Alinnesota Valley Medical Society, 
 and of other medical organizations. He has taken 
 very little interest in politics, although he was 
 nominated for mayi;r of Mankato in 1893 and 
 came within seven votes of being elected. In the 
 spring of 1895 '^^ ^^'^s induced to take a seat in 
 the council as a representative of the Fourth 
 ward of that city, and now occu]:)ies that posi- 
 tion. He has always been a Republican and 
 identified with that party, lie is a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity and was for two yiars senior 
 warden and then for four con.secutive years mas- 
 ter of the Blue Lodge, Mankato No. 12. He is 
 a member of the Mankato Board of Trade, of the 
 Commercial Club, of the Humane Society and of 
 the Social Science Club of Mankato. He was 
 reared in the Methodist church and became a 
 member of that society when about twenty years 
 of age. He was married April 4, 1877. to Miss 
 Jennie French, formerly of W'ellsville Xew York, 
 but at the time of her marriage residing in Mar- 
 .shall, Minnesota. They have one child. Roy X. 
 .Andrews.
 
 52 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 IRWIX SHEPARD. 
 
 Irwin Shepard is president of the State 
 Norma! School at Winona. Prof. Shepard is a 
 native of New York, having been born in the 
 town of Skaneateles, Onondaga County. July 5, 
 1843. His father, Luman Shepard, was a farmer 
 in New York and later in Michigan. He was 
 prominent in agricultural societies, and made a 
 scientific study of his business. He was for one 
 session a member of the House of Representa- 
 tives in the Michigan legislature. Irwin She[5- 
 ard's mother was Betsy I. Pangburn (Shepard.) 
 His descent on his father's side is EnglisJi, the 
 family having come from England in 1640. His 
 mother's ancestors came from Holland in 1700. 
 He attended the rural schools in .\'ew York until 
 thirteen years of age, when his parents removed 
 to Chelsea, \\'ashtena\v County, Michigan. He 
 there attended the village school until 1851;, when 
 he entered the State Normal School at Yjjsilanti. 
 In 1862 a company of soldiers for the War of 
 the Rebellion was formed in that school and Mr. 
 Shepard enlisted. He served through the war 
 and was nnistercd out in 1865. I'pon his return 
 from the war he entered ( )livet College, in Mich- 
 igan, and graduated in 1871, receiving the degree 
 of A. P.. In 1874 he received tlie degree of A. M. 
 from tlie same institution, and in i8v-2 the degree 
 of Ph. I). After his graduation in 1871 he was 
 
 appointed superintendent of the public schools at 
 Charles City, Iowa and served until 1875. In 
 the latter year he came to Minnesota having se- 
 cured the position of principal of the high school 
 of Winona. Three years later he was made city 
 superintendent of schools and in 1879 was ap- 
 pointed to the presidency of the State Normal 
 School at \Vinona, a position which he now holds. 
 ;\Ir. Shepard has been a member of the National 
 Educational Association since 1883 and was 
 president of the normal department of that as- 
 sociation in 1889. He has been elected vice 
 president and state director several times and 
 in 1892 was electetl general secretary of the asso- 
 ciation, and holds that of^ce at the present time. 
 Mr. .Shepard has a very honorable war record. 
 He enlisted with his fellow students at Ypsilanti 
 in August, 1862. They were mustered in as 
 Com])any "E'' of the .Seventeenth Regiment 
 Michigan Infantry A^olunteers, a regiment which 
 for gallantry in their first battle on South Moun- 
 tain,was called the "Stonewall Regiment" of Mich- 
 igan. He served first as a private, then corporal, 
 a member of the color guard, sergeant and or- 
 derly sergeant until 1865, when he was discharged 
 on account of wounds received at the Battle of 
 the A\'ilderness, on May 6, 1864. His promotion 
 from the color guard to the rank of sergeant was 
 made for nieritorius service in leading one 
 division a special detail through the enemy's 
 lines in front of Fort Sanders, at Knox- 
 ville, Tennessee, on the night of November 
 2^, 1863, and burning the house and barns of 
 Judge Reese, from which sliaq)-shooters were 
 annoying the gunners of Fort Sanders. He was 
 engaged in the following battles: South ^loun- 
 tain, Antietam, Brandy Station, Fredericks- 
 burg, Virginia ; Green River, Kentucky; Vicks- 
 burg and Jackson, Mississippi; Blue Springs, 
 Loudan, Campbell's i^tation, Siege of Knox- 
 ville. Strawberry Plains and Blain's Cross 
 Roads, Tennessee, and the Wilderness. While Mr. 
 Shepard wa-; in the hospital at Detroit under 
 treatment for wounds received in the service, he 
 served as clerk to the Assistant Adjutant General 
 of the Department of Michigan, later as chief 
 clerk of the same department, and, subsequently, 
 was appointed as mustering out ofificer at Jack- 
 son, Michigan. He is a member of the John P)all 
 Post No. 45, G. A. R., Department of ^Minnesota, 
 and has served as aide on the staiT of the depart-
 
 rKocKKssivE mi;n or Minnesota. 
 
 53 
 
 nicnt cuiimiandcr and (j1 the Xatimial cuni- 
 mander-in-clii(jf. Mr. Shepard has been a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church since 1859, and 
 for sixteen years, prior to January i, i8()2, was 
 superintendent of the Sabbath school of tlie I'irst 
 Congregational Church at Winona, .Minnesota. 
 He was married in .Vngust, 187 1, to .Miss .Mar_\- 
 J J. h.lmer, a graduate of Olivet College, and a 
 daughter of Rev. Mirani J-Ilnier, pastor of the 
 Congregational Chuch of that place. They have 
 two sons, Irwin Mlmer, aged seventeen years, and 
 Ernest Kdward, aged thirteen years. 
 
 Joll.X 'I AYL( )R l-R.Vri':R. 
 
 In one connuunity at least in this state can it 
 be said that the faithful performance of pulilic 
 duty is appreciated and rewarded. John Taylor 
 Frater, of Brainerd, is serving his fourth term 
 as county treasurer of Crow Wing County. Mr. 
 Frater is of Scotch descent on both sides of the 
 family line. His grandfather, George l-rater, was 
 born in Ro.'<burghshire Scotland, and came 
 to America in 1818, locating in Wood 
 County, \'irginia. Subsecjuently he removed 
 to Harrison County, Ohio. His business 
 was that of farming and stock raising. He 
 was an ardent anti-slavery advocate, and ac- 
 tive in what was known as the underground rail- 
 road service. Xo fugitive slave ever applied at 
 his "station" without receiving shelter and assist- 
 ance to the next place of safety. John Taylor, 
 grandfather of the subject of this sketch on the 
 other side of the family line, was also a native of 
 Roxburghshire, Scotland, and came to America in 
 1819, settling in Livingston County, X^ew York, 
 but subsequently removed to Wood County, Vir- 
 ginia. Mr. Frater holds the good name of his 
 ancestors in high respect, and takes just priile in 
 their sturdy character and homely virtues. John 
 Taylor Frater was born April 19, 1S48, on a 
 farm near L^niontown, Belmont County, Ohio. 
 His early educational advantages were very mea- 
 gre, consisting of a country school, and much 
 of the time only three months in the year. The 
 year 1869 he spent in the preparatory course in 
 the Ohio Central College at Iberia, Ohio, but left 
 there just when he got fairly started because of 
 lack of means. Subsequently he took a course 
 in bookkeeping in Duffs Conunercial College 
 at Pittsburgh. He first taught school in the 
 winter of 1870 and 1871. by which he earned the 
 first money he ever possessed as a result of his 
 
 own efforts, and h\ this means accumulated about 
 $400, which he sjjent on his education. In 1875 
 he went into a grocery business in Iberia, and 
 continued it with moderate success for about five 
 years. In 1881 Mr. I'"rater came to Minnesota, 
 arriving in December, and locating at Brainerd, 
 where he has been a resident since that time. He 
 came West believing that there was better oppor- 
 tunity for young men here than in his native 
 state. His first business connections were with 
 the Northern Pacific Railroad Company as clerk 
 forthechief road master, and he was employed by 
 the company until X'ovember i, 1883, at which 
 time the force of employes was greatly reduced. 
 He then secured a situation as a bookkeeper and 
 held it for five years, until June i, 1889, when 
 he was elected to the ofifice of county treasurer, 
 which position he has held continuously, having 
 been elected four times, the last three elections 
 without opposition. It is needless to say that 
 Air. Frater is a Reiniblican, and is an active 
 W'Orker for his party's success. He has been hon- 
 ored by his fellow Republicans with numerous 
 elections to important local and state conventions. 
 Mr. Frater is president of the Republican League 
 Club, has recently been elected chairman of the 
 Republican county committee, is a member of 
 the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of 
 Pythias. He is not a member, but is an attendant 
 and supporter of the Congregational church. Mr. 
 Frater was married October 14. 1874, to Miss 
 Julia ."X. \'. ^^vers, of Iberia. Clhio
 
 54 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HALVOR STEENERSON. 
 
 The people of Theleniarken, Norway, are 
 mountaineers, and are noted for their great stat- 
 ure and physical strength. Halvor Steenerson, 
 of Crookston, Minnesota, is a descendant of tliat 
 sturdy people. His father, Steener Knudson, was 
 a schoolmaster in Hvidseid, Thelemarken, who 
 afterwards became a farmer. He bought the 
 estate in Silgjord commonly called "Aleaas," and 
 was usually known among his countrymen as 
 Steener Meaas. He came to the United States 
 with his family in 185 1 and settled in Dane 
 County, Wisconsin. Two years later he moved 
 to Houston County, Minnesota, and was one of 
 the earliest pioneers in that section. When the 
 war broke out he enlisted in Company K, Elev- 
 enth Minnesota infantry, and offered his services 
 to his adopted country. In 1875 he removed to 
 Polk County, where he died in 1881. He was 
 active in public affairs and held many positions 
 of trust. He was an active member of the Luth- 
 eran Church, and hel])ed to organize the firs! 
 congregations in Houston and Fillmore coun- 
 ties. His wife's maiden name was liergith 
 Roholt, a daughter of Leif Roholt, in Hvidseid, 
 Thelemarken, Xorway. Roholt is a large estate 
 and has been held in the same family for gen- 
 erations. The subject of this sketch was born on 
 
 a farm in the town of Pleasant Springs, Dane 
 County, W isconsin, June 30, 1852. He attended 
 the country schools of Sheldon, Houston County, 
 after the family came to this state, and the high 
 school at Rushford. While teaching school, 
 which profession he followed for the most part 
 in 1871, '"2, 'jT, and '74, he began the study of 
 law. After he quit teaching he entered a law 
 office in Austin, Minnesota, and read law there 
 for two years. He then went to the Union Col- 
 lege of Law at Chicago and took the course 
 there until June, 1878, when he was admitted to 
 the bar in the supreme court of Illinois. He 
 returned to Austin late in September, 1878, was 
 admitted to the bar of I^Iinnesota, and opened a 
 law office on his own account in October, 1878, 
 at Lanesboro. He practiced successfully there 
 until 1880, at whicli time he moved to Crook- 
 ston, Minnesota, his parents and five of his 
 brothers having settled there several years be- 
 fore. Mr. Steenerson speedily built up a lucra- 
 tive practice and was elected county attorney, 
 which office he filled for two years. He was 
 elected to the state senate and served in the 
 sessions of 1883 and 1885. j\lr. Steenerson's 
 position in the state, especially among his own 
 countrymen, has become an influential one. He 
 has been very successful as a lawyer. Perhaps 
 the most important litigation which Mr. Steener- 
 son has conducted was the application made be- 
 fore the raihoad and warehouse commission, in 
 behalf of his brother Elias, for a reduction in 
 grain rates from the Red River A'alley to IVIin- 
 neapolis and other markets. The application was 
 granted by the railroad commissioners, but was 
 appealed to the supreme court by the railroad 
 company and is still unsettled. It is a case of 
 great importance to the farmers and business 
 men of the Red River Valley, and the effort to 
 secure a reduction in rates attracted wide atten- 
 tion. The case involves the question of the 
 power of the state through a commission to 
 regulate and fix charges for railroad transporta- 
 tion. Mr. Steenerson is a Republican, but be- 
 sides the offices already indicated, has never 
 held any political ])osition except tliat of delegate 
 to state and national conventions. He sat in 
 the Republican national conventions of 1884 and 
 1888. He was one of the framcrs and active 
 promoters of the railroad legislation <>f the state
 
 PROGRHS.SIVH MEN OF MI.NNlvSO lA, 
 
 at tlio session (if 1SX5, and aiiU-i| in (li'aflint; the 
 law wliicli created tlie railroad and warehouse 
 coniniission and which has formed tiie basis of 
 all Icgislaticin of that kind since. Mr. Steenerson 
 is a member of the Xorwe,i;ian Lutheran S\ni)d 
 cliurch, and was married in iHyH to Miss Mary 
 Christt)fferson. They ha\e two children living, 
 Clara X. and l'>enjaniin G. 
 
 LOUIS A. EVANS. 
 
 Louis A. Evans, of St. Cloud, is a native 
 of Pennsylvania. He was born at Philadelphia, 
 November 22, 1822, a sun of Levi Evans and 
 Elizabeth Wills (Evans). He attended the pub- 
 lic schools of Philadeli)hia, but was not favored 
 with the advantages of a college education. While 
 jet a young man he left his native state and went 
 South, where he resided until the fall of 1856, 
 when he was attracted by the alhnenients of 
 frontier life. In the fall of that \ear he began 
 the long and tedious journey with ox teams which 
 ended at what is now St. Cloud, I)t-ct-niber 15, 
 the same year. Here Mr. Evans has re- 
 sided ever since. He has been repeatedly elected 
 to offices of various degrees of ini])ortance and 
 responsibility, administrative, legislative and 
 judicial, and it is conceded that he has filled 
 them all with credit to himself and to the satis- 
 faction of the public. When the city of St. Cloud 
 was incorporated in 1862 he was chosen as its 
 first mayor, since which time he has held the 
 saiue office four times, wdiich of itself is an indi- 
 cation of the high esteem in which he is held by 
 his fellow citizens. After coming to Mimiesota, 
 Mr. Evans pursued the study of law and was 
 admitted to the bar in October, 1866. In i860 
 and 1861 he served as the representative of his 
 district in the house of representatives, and in 
 ."867 was promoted to the u])pcr house in the 
 state legislature. In 1862 Mr. Evans was elected 
 citv justice, which office he subsequently resigned 
 to accept that of judge of ])robate. After the 
 expiration of his term as probate judge he was 
 again elected city justice, only again to resign 
 to accept the office of judge of probate, to which 
 he had been elected and which he held without 
 a break for nearly twent\- years, as he did that 
 of city justice nearly as long after being re- 
 elected to that office. In politics Judge Evans 
 is an old-line Democrat, and has alwavs been 
 
 regarded as one of the reliable adherents of that 
 political faith, e\en when iiis party w'as so de- 
 cidedly in the minority in this state that it cut 
 but little figure in ])ublic affairs. As a leader 
 among men, howe\-er, he was often honored by 
 Minnesota Democrats with the position of dele- 
 gate to party conventions, and represented the 
 state in the national convention at Cincinnati in 
 1880, which nominated General Hancock for 
 president. During all this period of his public 
 life in St. Cloud, the duties of which have de- 
 manded most of his attention, he has conducted 
 privately the business of real estate and insur- 
 ance, in which lines of activity he exercised the 
 same energy and displayed the same qualities of 
 uprightness and reliability which characterized 
 his public acts. He has for many years been 
 one of the directors of the I-"irst Xational Bank, 
 and has been identified in many ways with enter- 
 prises for the promotion of the interests of St. 
 Cloud. In early manhood he became a member 
 of the Independent Order of Odd Eellows. and 
 helped to organize the first lodge of that order in 
 St. Cloud. Although now in his seventy-fourth 
 year, Judge Evans is an active and vigorous man, 
 in the full enjoyment of all his faculties, and 
 actively engaged in the conduct of his profes- 
 sional and business interests. He was married 
 in June, 1871, to Elizabeth \\'. Libby. They have 
 no children.
 
 56 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES ALFRED PILLSBURY. 
 
 Charles Alfred Pillsbury is a name more 
 widely known than that of any man in Min- 
 nesota. He was for a long time the head 
 of the famous milling firm of Charles A. Pills- 
 bury & Company, and is now manager of the 
 Pillsburj-Washburn syndicate, the largest flour 
 milling organization in the world. Mr. Pillsbury 
 is a native of New Hampshire, having been born 
 at Warner, ;\Ierrimac County, October 3, 1842, 
 the son of George A. Pillsbury, a merchant of 
 that place, now a resident of Minneapolis, ex- 
 mayor of the city, a member of the milling firm 
 of C. A. Pillsbury & Co., and identified with 
 many of the important enterprises of this city. 
 Charles A. Pillsbury graduated from Dartmouth 
 College at the age of twenty-one. His collegiate 
 course was interrupted somewhat by teaching 
 school as a means of partial self-support while 
 in college. Soon after the completion of his col- 
 lege course he went to Montreal, where for six 
 years he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, the 
 greater part of the time as a clerk. In 1869 he 
 came to Minneapolis, where he bought an inter- 
 est in a small flouring mill at the Falls. There 
 were then four or five mills lucatcd thirc, of the 
 old-fashioned pattern, using liuhr stones for 
 grinding grain. .Mr. l^illsl)ury's business haV>its 
 
 led him to a thorough investigation of the 
 methods of the business in which he is engaged 
 and he applied himself industriously to master- 
 ing the details of flour milling. This was about 
 the time of the invention of the middlings puri- 
 fier, a Minneapolis device which greatly im- 
 proved the quality of the flour and increased the 
 profits of the milling business. Mr. Pillsbury 
 was among the first to adopt the new invention 
 and reaped a rich harvest on account of the 
 reputation which his celebrated "Pillsbury's 
 Best" attained before the new device came into 
 general use. Simultaneously with the invention 
 of the middlings purifier came the introduction 
 of the roller mill, which took the place of the 
 buhr stone and substituted steel rollers. The 
 ^Minneapolis mills enjoyed a practical monopoly 
 of this new process for a number of years and 
 profited by it. These improvements enabled the 
 millers to manufacture from spring wheat the 
 finest quality of flour and stimulated the wheat 
 growing industry of the Northwest. Li 1872 'Sir. 
 Pillsbury associated with him his father, George 
 A. Pillsbury, his uncle, John S. Pillsbury having 
 been with him since the beginning, and enlarged 
 the scope of his operations. At a later period 
 his brother, the late F. C. Pillsbury, was ad- 
 mitted to the firm which continued as Charles A. 
 Pillsbury & Co., until the acquisition of the mill- 
 ing property of this firm and that belonging to 
 W. D. Washburn by an English syndicate, under 
 the name of the Pillsbury-Washburn syndicate. 
 .\lr. Pillsbury's phenomenal success in the man- 
 agement of this business led to his engagement 
 as manager for the syndicate, in which he also re- 
 tained a large interest. Lender the ownership of 
 the firm of C. A. Pillsbury & Co., the original 
 mill had been added to by ])urchase and lease 
 until it included the great mill called "Pillsbury 
 A," with a capacity of over 9,000 barrels a day, 
 and other mills making up a total capacity of 
 about 15,000 barrels. The consolidated property 
 has a capacity now of over 20,000 barrels a day. 
 The milling industry at the Falls has taken up 
 all the water power available under present con- 
 ditions, and last year the English syndicate un- 
 dertook, upon Mr. Pillsbury's recommendation, 
 the construction of another dam below the Falls 
 which will adil m.cxx) lior.se power to the capac- 
 itv .nlroadv pn ividcd. .'\n important fcattu-e of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEM OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 57 
 
 the adininistraliun of this iniiuciisc business has 
 been the introduction of the profit sharing plan 
 by Mr. Pillsbury, under which as high as $25,000 
 have been chvided among the employes in one 
 year. Mr. Pillsbury is identified with numerous 
 other important enterprises and is prominent in 
 benevolent and philanthropic undertakings, his 
 large resources and liberal hand contributing to 
 the support of many charitable institutions, both 
 public and private. While Mr. Pillsbury is 
 a prominent Republican ami has never sought 
 ])olitical honors he lias not shirked his 
 political duties, and for ten years he served 
 his city as state senator. During most of that 
 time he occupied the position of chairman of 
 finance committee and had charge of the bill 
 which his inicle, then governor, had recom- 
 mended for the adjustment of state bonds. Mr. 
 Pillsbury is a man of robust health and buoyant 
 spirits, popular with all classes, readily accessible 
 at all times, alive to the interests of his city, and 
 devotes a great deal of time for so busy a man 
 to the promotion of its best interests, politically, 
 economically and educationally. He is an at- 
 tendant of Plymouth Congregational Church, 
 was for a long time trustee of that society and 
 is a liberal supporter of its work. He w-as mar- 
 ried September 12, 1866, to Mary A. Stinson, of 
 Gofifston, New Hampshire, a daughter of Cap- 
 tain Charles Stinson. Thcv have two sons. 
 
 ALF E. BOYESEN. 
 
 Alf E. Boyesen, a lawyer of St. Paul, was 
 born in Christiania, Norway, April 21, 1857. His 
 fatlier, Capt. S. F. Boyesen, of Christiana, was 
 an officer in the Norwegian regular army. Capt. 
 Boyesen's father was a landed proprietor of Nor- 
 way, and the owner of "Hovin," one of the 
 largest estates in Norway. "Hovin" is situated a 
 few miles out of Christiania, Norway's capital, and 
 is famous as one of the most attractive country 
 seats in that region. The maternal grandfather 
 of Alf E. was Judge Hjorth, of Systrand, on 
 Sognefjord, Norway. Alf Boyesen attended the 
 pul)lic schools in Norway, and also studied 
 with his father, who was a man of fine educational 
 attainments, until he came to the United States 
 at the age of twelve years. On his arrival in 
 this countrv he went to Urbana I^niversit\-, at 
 
 Urbana, Ohio, where his brother, the celebrated 
 author and philologist, the late Hjalmar Hjorth 
 Boyesen, was then engaged as an instructor. In 
 1878, having comjjleted his university course, 
 Mr. Boyesen came to Minnesota, located in Min- 
 neapolis, and was taken into the law' office of 
 Shaw, Levi & Cray, as a law student. He was 
 admitted to the bar of Hennepin County in 
 1880, and shortly afterward went to Fargo, North 
 Dakota, to engage in the practice of his pro- 
 fession. He continued there in that business 
 until 1887, when he returned to Minnesota and 
 located at St. Paul, where he has been engaged 
 in the practice of law ever since. He is now 
 a member of the firm of Munn, Boyesen & 
 Thygeson. This partnership was formed in 1890, 
 and constitutes one of the leading law firms of 
 the state. Mr. Boyesen is what may be called 
 a Cleveland Democrat in politics, is a thorough 
 believer in sound money, in a low tarifif and ad- 
 heres to the principles of civil service reform. 
 He has, however, never aspired to any political 
 office, and has no desire to achieve honors or 
 responsibilities of that kind. His political ac- 
 tivities consist chiefly of a leading membership 
 in the Civil .'^er^'ice Reform Association, of St 
 Paul. Mr. Boyesen was married in 1883 to Miss 
 Florence Knapp, of Racine. AMsconsin. They 
 have no children.
 
 58 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 THO^IAS BARLOW WALKER. 
 
 Thomas Barlow Walker is one of the 
 most honored names in the city of [Minneapolis, 
 where he is known not so much for his large 
 fortune a.s for his numerous philanthropies, pub- 
 lic and private. ;\lr. Walker was born February 
 I, 1840, at Xenia, Ohio, the second son of Piatt 
 Bayless and Anstis K. Barlow (Walker). His 
 maternal grandfather was Hon. Thomas Barlow, 
 of New York. When the subject of this sketch 
 was a child his father fitted out a train for the 
 newly discovered gold fields in California, in- 
 vesting all his means in that enterprise. While 
 on his way to California he fell a victim to the 
 cholera scourge. This threw the lad upon his 
 own resources and the remainder of his boyhood 
 was a hard struggle with poverty. He had a 
 natural aptitude for study, however, and notwith- 
 standing tile adversity which he suffered man- 
 aged to acquire an excellent education. I'rom 
 his ninth to his si.Kteenth year he attended only 
 short terms in the public schools. At that time 
 his family removed to I'erea, ( )hio, for the better 
 educational advantages to he attained at Baldwin 
 L'niversity. Here he was obliged to devote mf)st 
 of his time to a clerkship in a coiuitry store in 
 
 order to support himself, so that he was able 
 to attend the university only one term of each 
 year. His industry and capacity were such, how- 
 ever, that he soon outstripped many of the 
 regular students. At nineteen he was employed 
 as traveling salesman by Fletcher Hulet, manu- 
 facturer of the Berea grindstones. His travels 
 brought young Walker to Paris, Illinois, where 
 he became engaged in the purchase of timber 
 land and in cutting cross ties for the Terre Haute 
 & St. Louis Railroad. Unfortunately, after 
 eighteen months of successful work, he was 
 robbed of nearly all his earnings through the 
 failure of the railroad company. He then re- 
 turned to Uhio and during the next winter 
 taught a district school with much success and 
 was subseciuently elected to the assistant profes- 
 sorship of mathematics in the Wisconsin State 
 University. This position he was obliged to de- 
 cline, however, because of arrangements already 
 made to enter the service of the government sur- 
 vey. While at ^McGregor, Iowa, Air. Walker 
 clianced to meet J. AI. Robinson, a citizen of 
 the then young but thriving town of Alinneap- 
 olis. Mr. Robinson presented the attractions 
 and prospects of the young city with such per- 
 suasive elc>ciuence that jMr. Walker determined 
 at once to settle there, taking passage on the 
 first steamboat for St. Paul and bringing with 
 him a consignment of grindstones. There he 
 met an unusually intelligent and energetic young 
 man enu^iloyed by the transportation company 
 as clerk and workman on the wharf, of whom 
 he has been a firm ami trusted friend ever since. 
 That young man was James J. Hill. From St. 
 Paul Mr. Walker came over the only railroad in 
 the state, to Minneapolis, and within an hour 
 after his arrival entered the service of George B. 
 Wright, who had a contract to survey govern- 
 ment lands. The surveying expedition was soon 
 abanduneil owing to an Indian outbreak, and 
 returning to ^Minneapolis Mr. Walker devoted 
 the winter to his books ha\ing desk roc mi in 
 the oftice of L. M. .Stewart, an attorney. The 
 following summer was occupied in examining the 
 lands for the .St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. In 
 the fall lie returned to his C)liio home at Berea, 
 where he uas married December ig, 1863, to 
 1 larrirt ( J , the youngest daughter of Hon.
 
 PROGRESSIVE ME\ OF MINXKSOTA. 
 
 59 
 
 Fletclier Unlet, a lady whose name is a synonym 
 in Minneapolis for good works. Returning to 
 Minneapolis, Mr. Walker entered ujxin an active 
 career which made him not only a j)artici])ant in 
 but the chief promoter of many good works and 
 enteq^risos in this city. In the summer of 1864 
 he ran the first trial line of the St. I'aul and 
 Duluth Railroad, after which he gave attention 
 for years to the government survey. In 1868 
 he began to mvest in pine lands and thus laid 
 the fomidation for the large fortune which he 
 subsequently accjuired. His first partners in the 
 business were L. I'.utler and Howard \V. Mills 
 under tlic firm name of Butler, Mills & Walker, 
 the first two furnishig the capital while Mr. 
 Walker supplied the labor and experience. This 
 led also to the extensive manufacture of lumber 
 by the old firm of Butler, Mills & Walker, after- 
 wards L. FiUtler & Co., and later I'.utler & 
 Walker. (,.)t later years his most important oper- 
 ations in this regard have been his large lumber 
 mills at Crookston and Grand Forks, both of 
 \ which have been leading factors in the develop- 
 ment of the Northwest. Mr. Walker's business 
 career has been characterized by strict integrity 
 and honorable dealing, but he has not been con- 
 tent to acquire money simply. At the time of 
 the grasshopper visitation he not only labored 
 for the inmiediate relief of the starving but or- 
 ganized a plan for the raising of late crops which 
 were of inestimable value. One of the most 
 creditable examples of his public spirit and 
 munificent influence was his organization of the 
 public library. It was due to his efifort that this 
 institution became a public instead of a private 
 collection and was made available to the public 
 without even so nuich as a deposit for the privi- 
 lege of using the books. To him also the city 
 owes more than to any one else the possession 
 of the magnificent library building which it now 
 owns. As would seem right and proper under 
 the circumstances, Mr. Walker has been con- 
 tinuously president of the library board since its 
 organization in 1885, to the present time. To 
 him also is due the credit for the inception and 
 principal support of the School of Fine Arts, of 
 wdiich Society he is president. Mr. Walker's 
 love for art is fully exemplified in 
 
 the splendid collection of pictures in 
 his own private gallery, a collection 
 which has few if any ecjuals in this country, 
 among private individuals. His home library is 
 also an evidence of the scholarly tastes and stu- 
 dious habits of its owner. The Minnesota Acad- 
 emy of .Vatural Sciences is another institution 
 much indebted to him for its past sujjport and 
 present fortunate situation. Xot the least im- 
 portant of the services rendered by him to Min- 
 neapolis is his devotion to the building up of the 
 material interest (jf the city in the line of manu- 
 factures, jobbing, etc. It was through his in- 
 strumentality that there was organized the Busi- 
 ness Men's I'nioii, which has accom])lished a 
 great deal for the material interests of the city. 
 The Minneapolis Land and Investment Com- 
 jiany is another institution at the head of which 
 ^Ir. Walker stands ancl upon wliich he has ex- 
 pended nnich lime and money. This enterprise 
 is located a short distance \\'est of the city, where 
 a company organized by Mr. Walker purchased 
 a large tract of land and established a number 
 of important industries. This manufacturing 
 center is directly tributar\- to Minneapolis and 
 will no doubt in the course of a few years be- 
 come a part of the city. The Flour City National 
 Bank was organized in 1887, and a year later 
 Mr. Walker was elected, without his knowledge 
 or consent, to the office of president. He ac- 
 cepted the duties and responsibilities of his posi- 
 tion, against his protest, and discharged them 
 until January i, 1894, when he peremptorily re- 
 signed. Three years ago Mr. Walker also or- 
 ganized a company of which he is president for 
 the construction of the Central City Market, 
 proljably one of tlie finest market buildings in 
 the United States. This necessarily brief sketch 
 but imperfectly outlines the numerous activities 
 and beneficent public ser\-ices of a man who has 
 been identified very largely with nearly every 
 good work and public enterprise in the city of 
 Minneapolis. No man was ever more favored 
 in the marriage relation. Mrs. \\'alker has been 
 the inspiration and participant of her husband's 
 useful and successful life, and as a leader in 
 every philanthropic effort has brought honor to 
 his name.
 
 60 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNE&3TA. 
 
 LUCIUS FREDERICK HUBBARD. 
 
 Hubbard County, Minnesota, is named after 
 the man who for two successive terms filled the 
 office of governor with distinguished ability. 
 This man was Lucius Frederick Hubbard, of 
 Red Wing, who was born January 26, 1836, at 
 Troy, New York, the eldest son of Charles F. 
 Hubbard and Alargeret \'an \'alkenberg (Hub- 
 bard.) At the time of his father's death Lucius 
 was but three years of age, and was sent 
 to live with an aunt at Chester, \'erniont, 
 where he remained until twelve years of age, 
 when he was placed at school at the academy 
 at Granville, Xew York, for three years. At the 
 age of fifteen he went to Poultney, X'ermont, and 
 began an apprenticeship to the tinner's trade, 
 subsequently completing his apprenticeship at 
 Salem, New York, in 1854. Then, a young man 
 of eighteen years of age, he resolved to go West, 
 and moved to Chicago, where he worked at his 
 trade for three years. With the exception of the 
 school facilities already descril)ed he was self- 
 educated. Having literary tastes and studious 
 habits he devoted all his spare time to systematic 
 and careful stufly in reading, and in this way ac- 
 quired an excellent practical education. In July, 
 1857, Mr. Htihbard came to Minnesota and lo- 
 
 cated at Red Wing. Although without experi- 
 ence in the publishing business, he started the 
 Red Wing Republican, the second paper in 
 Goodhue County, and by reason of his energy, 
 perseverance and good practical judgment made 
 the paper a success from the start. In 1858 he 
 was chosen by the people of Goodhue County 
 as Register of Deeds. In 1861 he became the 
 Republican candidate for the state senate, but was 
 defeated. In the meantime the War of the Re- 
 bellion had broken out and Mr. Hubbard was 
 just the kind of a man to feel the responsibility 
 and obligation resting upon him of service to his 
 country. In December, 1861, he sold his paper 
 and enlisted as a private in Company A, 
 Fifth Minnesota, and on the fifth of the fol- 
 lowing February was elected captain. The 
 regiment was organized March 20, 1862, 
 when Air. Hubbard was advanced to the rank 
 of lieutenant colonel. The following May it was 
 divided, three companies being ordered to the 
 Minnesota frontier, the other seven to the South. 
 Mr. Hubbard went with the division sent South, 
 and four days after its arrival at its destination 
 was engaged in the battle of P'armington. Alissis- 
 sippi, then in the first battle of Corinth, where 
 Col. Hubbard was severely wounded. In August, 
 1862, he became colonel of full rank. He was in 
 connnand of the regiment at the battle of luka, 
 at the second battle of Corinth, and at the battles 
 of Jackson, Mississippi Springs, Mechanicsburg 
 and Satartia. Afississippi; Richmond, Louisiana; 
 and the assault and siege of \'icksburg. After 
 the fall of Vickslnirg, Col. Hubbard was given 
 cunuiiand of the Second iM'igade, first division. 
 Sixteenth Armv Corps, ^^'ithin a very short time 
 the brigade had been in seven battles on Red 
 River in Louisiana and in Southern Arkansas. 
 ( )n returning to Memphis, Col. Hubbard's com- 
 mand took part in several engagements in the 
 northern part of Mississippi, Arkansas and Mis- 
 souri, enciiuntering Gen. Price. Col. Hubbard, 
 with his brigade, was ordered to reinforce Gen. 
 Thomas at Nashville, and was engaged in the bat- 
 tle of Nashville, December 15 and i(<. 1864. Here 
 the brigade was badly cut to jjieccs, Col. Hub- 
 bard having two horses killed under him, and 
 being severelv wounded. The brigade, w hicli had 
 long cnjovcd a wclI-carncd reputatinn under its
 
 PROGKESSIVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 61 
 
 gallant coiiiiiiaiukT fur endurance ami brav(.-r\-, un 
 this occasion added to its honors by capturing 
 seven pieces of artillery, many stands of colors, 
 and forty per cent more prisoners than there were 
 men in the connnand itself. The military records 
 of the Fifth Minnesota contain this official entry: 
 "Col. Lucius I'rederick Hubl^ard breveted briga- 
 dier general for conspicuous gallantry in the bat- 
 tles of Xashville, Tennessee, Dccemljcr 15 and 16, 
 1864." -Subsequently Gen. Hubbard was en- 
 gaged in ojjerations in the vicinity of New Or- 
 leans and Mobile, and was mustered out in 
 September, 1865. He was engaged in thirty-one 
 battles and miudr engagements, and has a mili- 
 tary record of which his state had reason to be 
 proud. Returning to his home in Red Wing the 
 latter ])art of ICS65 with shattered health he rested 
 for a time, anil the following year his health iiav- 
 ing improved he engaged in the grain business, 
 his operations subsequently extending into 
 Waliasha County and becoming ()uite extensive. 
 In 1876 he became interested in railroad building 
 and completed the Midland Railway from Waba- 
 sha to Zumbrota. This road was purchased by 
 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, but resulted 
 in the construction and operation of a competing 
 line by the Northwestern Railway. Subsequently 
 Mr. Hubbard projected and organized the ]\lin- 
 nesota Central from Red Wing to Mankato. 
 More recently he projected the Duluth, Red 
 Wing and Southern, which is now under his 
 management. In politics Mr. Hubbard has al- 
 ways been a Republican. In 1868 he was nom- 
 inated for congress from the Second District 
 of Minnesota, but, a question of the regularity 
 of the nomination having arisen, he declined it. 
 In 1872 he was elected to the state senate, and 
 again in 1874, but declined a re-election in 1876. 
 In 1881 he was nominated for governor of Min- 
 nesota and was elected by a majority of 27,857, 
 the largest ever received by any candidate for 
 governor up to that time. In 1883 he was re- 
 nominated and re-elected. He discharged the 
 duties of his responsible office throughout his 
 entire incumbency with marked abilitv and dig- 
 nity. Among the important measures of Gov. 
 Hubbard's administration enacted in response to 
 his recommendation, were: The creation of tlie 
 present Railwav and \\'arehouse Commission: 
 
 the existing system (jf state grain inspection; 
 state inspection of dairy produces; the present 
 state sanitary (jrganization for protection of the 
 inibiic health; the creation of the state board of 
 charities and corrections; the establishment of 
 the state i)ublic school at ()watonna: the organi- 
 zation of the State National (juard, and the 
 change from animal In biennial elections. The 
 state finances were also administered on business 
 pnnci])les of a high order. During the five years 
 Gov. Hubbard was in office, the ta.xes levied for 
 state purposes averaged less than for the ten 
 preceding years or for any period since. The 
 rate of taxation was largely reduced, while the 
 public debt was materially decreased and at the 
 same time the trust funds were increased from 
 $6,278,911.72 to $9,001,637.14. Gov. Hubbard 
 also held other important positi(jns of trust. He 
 was on the commission appointed by the gov- 
 ernor in 1866 to investigate respecting the 
 status of the state railroad bonds and ascertain 
 the terms on which holders would surrender 
 them; on the connnission appointed by the legis- 
 lature in 1874 to investigate the accounts of the 
 state auditor and state treasurer; in 1879 on the 
 commission of arliitration appointed by the legis- 
 lature to adjust difTerences between the state and 
 the state prison contractors, and in 1889 he ser\-ed 
 on the commission appointed by the legislature 
 to compile and publish a history of Minnesota 
 military organizations in the Civil War and In- 
 dian war of 1861-65. ^Ir. Hubbard is a member 
 of Acker Post, G. A. R., St. Paul, Minnesota 
 Commandery of the Loyal Legion, the Minnesota 
 Society Sons of the American Revolution, So- 
 ciety of the Army of the Tennessee. Red Wing 
 Commandery of Royal Arch Masons, and 
 the board of trustees of Minnesota Soldiers" 
 Home. Mr. Hubbard was married in May, 
 1868, at Red Wing, to .Amelia Thomas, daughter 
 of Charles Thomas, a lineal descendant of Sir 
 John Moore. They have three children, Charles 
 F., Lucius \'. and Julia M. Mr. Hubbard is 
 descended upon his father's side from George 
 Hubbard and .Mary Bishop who emigrated from 
 England to America during the Seventeenth Cen- 
 tury, and on his mother's side from the \'an 
 \'alkenburgs of Holland, who have occupied the 
 valley of the Hudson since its earliest historv.
 
 62 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOEL PRESCOTT HEATWOLE. 
 
 Joel Prescott Heatwole is the Representative 
 in Congress of tlte Third Congressional District. 
 He is of German descent, his great-grandfather, 
 on his father's side, Mathias Heatwole, having 
 come to this country September 15, 1748. He 
 settled in Pennsylvania. His son, David Heat- 
 wole, grandfather of Joel, emigrated to \'irginia, 
 where Henry Heatwole, Joel's father, was born, 
 the youngest of eleven children. In 1835 Henry 
 Heatwole moved to Ohio, where he married 
 Barbara Kolb. Henry Heatwole was born in 
 1813. He studied medicine and built up a suc- 
 cessful practice. He became active in politics, 
 and was a captain in the state militia. Subse- 
 quently he joined a religious denomination called 
 the New Mennonites, closely allied to the ortho- 
 dox Quakers. He then renounced politics, con- 
 scientiously obeying the teachings of the church. 
 He died in 1888. Barbara Kolb was descended 
 from George Kloebber, born in Germany. He 
 came to this country when a boy, and his daugh- 
 ter, Elizabeth, married Henry Kolb, grandfather 
 of the subject of this sketch. The Kloebbers and 
 Kolbs were enlisted on the Colonial side in the 
 Revolutionary War. .\Ir. Heatwolc's mother is 
 still living at Goshen, Indiana. Joel Pre.scott 
 was born at Watcrford, Elkhart County, Indiana, 
 Augu.st 22, 1856. His education was received in 
 
 public and private schools. Before the age of 
 seventeen he became a teacher in the district 
 schools of Northern Indiana, and in 1876 was 
 elected principal of the graded schools at Millers- 
 burg. He had already learned the printer's 
 trade, and in August, 1876, began publishing his 
 first newspaper, the Millersburg Enterprise, and 
 for two years he conducted the Millersburg 
 graded schools and at the same time published 
 the Enterprise as a weekly newspaper. He then 
 decided to discontinue his work as teacher, and 
 moved to Middlebury, where he established a 
 printing office and began the publication of a 
 weekly paper called the Record. This paper 
 was conducted successfully for three years, when 
 in 1881 he sold it and removed to Goshen, Indi- 
 ana. There he became a part owner of the 
 Times, and was engaged in newspaper work 
 until 1882. He then sold out, and in August, 
 of the same year, came to Minnesota, settling 
 first at Glencoe, where he purchased a half inter- 
 est in the Enterprise, which he edited until the 
 next July. He then sold his interest and went 
 to Duluth and was employed on the Lake Su- 
 perior News. In November, 1883, he returned 
 to Glencoe and resumed charge of the Enterprise 
 until April, 1884, when he bought the Northfield 
 News, with which he also consolidated the North- 
 field Journal. He has built up this paper to one 
 one of the finest weekly newspaper properties in 
 the state. He is prominent among the editors of 
 Minnesota, having been elected first vice-presi- 
 dent of the State Editorial .\ssociation in 1886, 
 and president in 1887, 1888 and 1889. He has 
 always been a Republican and has taken an act- 
 ive part in politics. He was made a member of 
 the Republican State Central Committee, and sec- 
 retary of that body in 1886, which position he 
 held until 1800. In 1888 Mr. Heatwole was 
 unanimously elected a delegate-at-large to the 
 Republican National Convention. In i8()o he was 
 elected chairman of the State Central Committee 
 and conducted the second campaign in which Mr. 
 Merriam was a candidate for re-election as gov- 
 ernor. Mr. Heatwole was made regent of the State 
 University in December, i8gi. He was nominated 
 for Congress from the Third District in 1892, and, 
 although defeated, succeeded in reducing his op- 
 ponent's plurality nearly forty-three hundred. 
 He then ran fur mayor <if Xortlificld and was 
 elected l)y a vote of nearly three to one. In 1894
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 63 
 
 he was renoniinated for Congress and was eleeted 
 by a plurality of 5,268, and upcm the organization 
 of Congress was given a place on the I'oreign 
 Affairs connnittec of the House. Mr. Heatwole 
 is a member of the .Minnesota Club, of St. Paul, 
 and a gentleman of genial maimers and dignified 
 bearing. He was married December 4, iSgo, to 
 Mrs. Gertrude L. Archibald, of .Xorlhtield, Alinn. 
 
 EDWARD J. DARRAGH. 
 
 Edward J. Darragh is the corporation attor- 
 ney of the city of St. Paul. He was born at 
 Painesville, Ohio, June 20, 1869, and he entered 
 the Catholic schools of that city until he was 
 thirteen years of age, when he was placed in 
 what is known as the x\rchibald Business Col- 
 lege in Alinneapolis. His father, Edward Dar- 
 ragh, was a railroad contractor, and aided in the 
 construction of several of the most important 
 railroads in the East, notably the greater part of 
 what is known as the Nickel Plate, also a large 
 part of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. 
 He was the contractor and builder of the stone 
 arch viaduct belonging to the Great Northern 
 Railroad at Minneapolis, and it was while his 
 father was engaged in this work that the family 
 removed to Minneapolis and Edward J. attended 
 the Archibald College. He graduated from that 
 college at the age of fourteen, and was then sent 
 to Notre Dame University at South Bend, In- 
 diana. He completed the course undertaken 
 there at the age of fifteen, but remained at the 
 university two years longer for post-graduate 
 work. His father had died in 1883, and in 1887 
 his mother also died, at which time he returned 
 to Minnesota, and in September of that year 
 obtained employment in the wholesale grocery 
 house of P. H. Kelly & Co., in St. Paul. He 
 was engaged there as bill clerk. Here he earned 
 his first dollar, his salary being the modest one 
 of $30 a month. He was employed for seven 
 months by this firm, when he was appointed fore- 
 man of street work in the city of St. Paul. In 
 1888 he began the study of law in the office of 
 C. D. and T. D. O'Brien, in St. Paul, and after 
 two years' work was admitted to the bar in Sep- 
 tember. i8qo. In Tanuar\-, 1801, he was ap- 
 pointed deputy clerk oi the district court, but re- 
 
 signed the following October to begin the prac- 
 tice of law, which he did with a partner under 
 the firm name of Barnard & Darragh. This 
 firm was subsequently changed to Westfall & 
 Darragh, and this business association still con- 
 tinues. Mr. Darragh is a Democrat in politics, 
 and in 1894 was nominated for congress from 
 the Fourth district, one of the largest and most 
 important in the state. He made a brilliant cam- 
 paign, but went down under the general land- 
 slide. He is said to be the youngest candidate 
 ever nominated for congress in the Cnited States. 
 In March, 1895, he was elected corporation at- 
 torney of the city of St. Paul, an office which pays 
 a salary of $5,000 a >'ear, and still holds that posi- 
 tion. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, 
 the Irish-American Club and the St. Paul Com- 
 mercial Clul). He was married in September, 
 1892, to Aliss Nellie Agnew, daughter of ex- 
 Sheriff Francis Agnew, of Chicago. They have 
 two children, Agnew Charles and Dorothy Marie. 
 It is an unusual thing for a man of Mr. Darragh's 
 years to be entrusted with such weighty responsi- 
 bilities as those which attach to his present office, 
 and that he should have been selected for this 
 position when scarcely twenty-six years of age, 
 and with but brief experience professionally, ar- 
 gues the recognition of superior ability and at- 
 tainments.
 
 64. 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ALBERT ALONZO AMES. 
 
 Alljert Alniizo Ames is one of the best 
 known names in the city of MinneapoUs, and 
 at various times during his career has been the 
 leader of a larger and more enthusiastic follow- 
 ing probably than has ever been attached to 
 the fortunes and person of any single citizen of 
 that city. He was born at Garden Prairie, Boone 
 County, Illinois, January i8, 1842. He was the 
 fourth son of a family of seven boys. His par- 
 ents were Alfred Elis'ha Ames, M. D., who died 
 in .Minneapolis in 1874, and Martha A. Ames, 
 who still resides in ^Minneapolis. Dr. Alfred 
 Elisha Ames came with his family to JMinneap- 
 olis in the spring of 1852, before the locality 
 had a name and while it was still a portion of 
 the Ft. Snelling reservation. The subject of this 
 sketch was then a lad of ten years. He attended 
 the public schools until sixteen, graduating 
 from the high school, which was at that time a 
 department of the Washington school, then 
 located on the block now occupied by the new- 
 court house and city hall. In 1857, while still 
 attending the high school, he served as "printer's 
 devil" and as a newspaper carrier for 
 the Northwestern Democrat, published by 
 Maj. \V. A. I-Iotchkiss, the first paper 
 issued in Minneapolis on the west side of 
 the river . The building where the Democrat 
 was published is still standing nn the southeast 
 
 corner of Third Street and Fifth Avenue South. 
 It was in his capacity as "printer's devil" that 
 Albert Alonzo Ames earned his first dollar. In 
 the summer of 1858 he commenced the study of 
 medicine and surgery with his father, and after 
 attending two preliminary and two regular 
 courses at the Rush Aledical College, Chicago, 
 he graduated with the degree of M. D., February 
 5, 1862, at the age of twenty. In the following 
 August, Dr. A. A. Ames, who had returned to 
 Minneapolis to begin the practice of his pro- 
 fession, at the call of President Lincoln helped 
 to organize Company B, of the Ninth Minne- 
 sota Regiment, enlisting himself as a private. 
 That was the time of the Indian troubles on the 
 frontier, and the men of the Ninth Regiment, 
 who had been given fifteen days' leave of absence 
 after enlisting, in which to return to their homes 
 for the purpose of settling up their affairs, were 
 ordered hurriedly to the front against the 
 Indians, who were rapidly advancing on Minne- 
 apolis. Dr. Ames had been appointed orderly 
 sergeant, a musket was issued to him, which 
 he still possesses, and he was ordered to gather 
 up the men of his command for active duty. A 
 few days afterward he was commissioned assist- 
 ant surgeon Seventh Minnesota Regiment In- 
 fantry Volunteers, and was ordered to report to 
 that regiment then en route to Fort Ridgeley, 
 which the Indians were infesting. Dr. Ames 
 served with his regiment during its three years 
 of hard service, and was promoted to the rank 
 of Surgeon IMajor in July, 1864, when he was 
 only twenty-two years of age. Dr. Ames re- 
 turned to Minneapolis at the close of the war, 
 but being of an adventurous and ambitious spirit 
 he set out for California by way of the Isthmus 
 in 1868. In California he went into the news- 
 paper business and soon became managing 
 editor of the Alta California, the leading paper 
 on the Pacific Coast. In the fall of 1874 he was 
 summoned back to Minneapolis to the death-bed 
 of his father, and In- has been a resident of the 
 citv almost continimusly ever since. He has 
 always taken an active interest in politics, his 
 political sentiments lieing those urdinarily en- 
 tertained by those who are known as "war 
 Democrats." In the fall of 1867 he was elected 
 a member of the legislature from Hennepin 
 County on what was called the "soldier's ticket." 
 In 1876 he was elected "centennial mayor" of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 65 
 
 Minneapolis. lu 1882 he was again elected to 
 the same office, and in 1886 was for the third 
 time chosen mayor of the city. In the latter year 
 he was nominated by the Democratic party for 
 governor and in the race for the latter office 
 reduced the previous large Republican majorities 
 to only 2,600, the actual result being in doubt 
 for some days. He was also defeated as Demo- 
 cratic nominee for congress and for lieutenant 
 governor, having the misfortune to belong to 
 the minority party in the state. At this writing 
 Dr. Ames maintains an independent stand re- 
 garding politics, his Democracy meaning Jeffer- 
 sonianism and his interest in politics being 
 directed chiefly by his sympathy for the masses. 
 In accepting the nomination for Governor in 
 1886, Dr. Ames asked the Democratic conven- 
 tion to pledge the party to the support of a bill 
 for the establishment of a Soldier's Home in 
 Minnesota. This resolution was adopted, and, 
 although his party was unsuccessful, the Re- 
 publicans accepted his suggestion and the result 
 is the commodious and well appointed retreat 
 for the aged and indigent veterans on a com- 
 manding site at the junction of the romantic 
 Minnehaha with the majestic Mississippi. Dr. 
 Ames served as surgeon of this institution for 
 nearly five years after its establishment when his 
 professional duties necessitated his resignation. 
 Dr. Ames has been Master of Hennepin Lodge, 
 No. 4, of the Masonic order; High Priest of St. 
 John's Chapter, No. g; Eminent Conmiander of 
 Zion Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, and 
 Grand Chancellor of the Grand Connnandery 
 Knights Templar of Minnesota. He has 
 been Chancellor Commander of Minneapolis 
 Lodge, No. I, Knights of Pythias, Grand Chan- 
 cellor of Minnesota and Supreme Representative 
 to the Supreme Lodge of the world from this 
 jurisdiction. He was on the charter list of No. 
 44, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, 
 the pioneer lodge of the Northwest, and its first 
 Exalted Ruler. He is a member of the G. N. 
 Morgan Post, No. 4, G. A. R. 
 
 I 
 
 CASPER ERNST. 
 
 Casper Ernst is engaged in the bankings 
 and investment business, with offices in Minneap- 
 olis and St. Paul. Mr. Ernst is a son of Jacob 
 
 Ernst, who was a surgeon in the German arm}-, 
 and whose wife was Anna Sophia Van iSer- 
 gen. The subject of this sketch was born in 
 Aacken, Germany, March 9, 1867. He attended 
 the parochial school, which, in this instance, hap- 
 pened to be a very excellent one, until he was ten 
 years old. At that time he went to the gym- 
 nasium, which corresponds to the American col- 
 lege, antl graduated with honors, August 12, 1884. 
 Casper lias a brother in the banking business in 
 Germany, whose business is the care of the large 
 estate left by his father, and after he graduated 
 in 1884, he spent a year with that brother in the 
 banking business. In 1887 he came to America 
 and located in St. I'anl. He regarded the outlook 
 there as very favoral;)le, and opened an office in 
 1888 as an investment banker, with connections 
 in Germany, which enabled him to establish him- 
 self in a large line of investment business. He 
 prosecuted this business with great diligence 
 until 1892, when its proportions justified him in 
 opening a branch office in Minneapolis, and ^Ir. 
 Ernst is now conducting the banking and invest- 
 ment business with great success in both cities, 
 giving his personal attention, as far as possible, 
 to both offices, which he has thoroughly organ- 
 ized with competent assistants. He was married 
 in 1894 to Man,' Burke, of St. Paul. They have 
 one child, Loretta.
 
 66 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES B. ELLIOTT. 
 
 Charles B. Elliott is one of the judges 
 of the district court of Hennepin County, and is 
 now serving his second term in that ofTice. Judge 
 Elliott is a native of Ohio. He was born in 
 Morgan County, January 6, 1861, the son of 
 Edward Elliott, a farmer of limited resources. His 
 ancestry is English, and settled in New England 
 in the early history of the countrv. Soon after 
 the Revolutionary War the town of Marietta, 
 Ohio, was founded, and Judge F.llii)tt's people 
 were among its early settlers. His education was 
 commenced in the common schools of Morgan 
 Cciintv, and cimtimied in the high school of 
 Pennsville, a Quaker village of that county. Be- 
 fore the age of sixteen he had ([ualified himself 
 as a teacher, and after pursuing that ])rofession 
 for a short time he entered the T'repara- 
 tory Department <pf Marietta College. With 
 the exception of short intervals occupied in 
 teaching, in order to earn money to pay his ex- 
 penses, he continued in school there for three 
 years. In the meantime his father remi ived to Iowa, 
 and Charles B. FJlir)tt followed him and en- 
 tered the law de])artment of the Iowa Slate I'ni- 
 versity, from which he graduated with a degree 
 of LL. !!., in 1881, at the age (jf twenty years. 
 He entered the law office of Barnan & Jayne, at 
 
 Muscatine, Iowa, where he remained a year. Dur- 
 ing this time he had become a contributor to 
 the Central Law Journal, of St. Louis, and his 
 contributions were received with such favor that 
 in April, 1882, he was ofifered a position on the 
 editorial stafif and removed to St. Louis. For 
 eighteen months he devoted his time to writing, 
 inaiul} for the Central Law Journal, the South- 
 ern Law Review and the A\'estern Jurist. About 
 this time his eyes began to fail him and he was 
 obliged to abandon his editorial work in St. Louis 
 and went to .•\berdeen. South Dakota, w-here he 
 opened a law office and became the representative 
 of the Muscatine Mortgage and Trust Company. 
 January, 1885, found him in ^ilinneapolis engaged 
 in the practice of law, and here he pursued his 
 profession until he was appointed judge of the 
 municipal court, January 15, i8go, by Governor 
 Merriam. During this time he also pursued a 
 post graduate course in history and international 
 law for three years at the LTniversity of Minne- 
 sota, from which he received the degree of Ph. 
 D., in 1888. In 1892 he was re-elected to the 
 municipal bench by the largest majority given to 
 any candidate on his ticket, and served in that 
 ofifice until January 4, 1894, w'hen he was ap- 
 pointed judge of the district court by Governor 
 Nelson, to fill an unexpired term. He was elected 
 again to the district bench in the fall of 1894, 
 for a term of six years, and is now serving in 
 that capacity. He was lecturer in the college of 
 law at the University of Minnesota from 1889 to 
 i8()4, and since Septeni1)er I, 1894, has been head 
 of the department of corporation and international 
 law in the same school. Judge Elliott is a 
 student and a man of high attainments, and 
 although now but thirty-five years of age, has 
 come to 1)C recognized as an authority on ques- 
 tions of intcrnaticinal and public law. He has 
 written extensively on these subjects, and a list 
 of his writings fills two pages of the report of 
 the .American Historical Association. Notable 
 among his works were, the treatise in 1888 on the 
 ''I'nited States and the Northeastern Fisheries"; 
 "Principles of the Law of Private Corporations," 
 1894; "Outline of the Law of Instirancc," 1895, and 
 a work on "International Law," now in press. His 
 b("ik (in the .Xnrthwestern Fisheries is regarded 
 as the highest authority on that subject. George 
 I'ancroft pronounced it "admirable, exact, thor-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 67 
 
 ough and free from prejudice." Henry Cabot 
 Lodge wrote: "It is the best and clearest history 
 of the question I have seen." Political Science 
 Quarterly pronounced it "One of the most ex- 
 haustive articles on this question." Judge Elliott, 
 while accomplishing so much in his profession 
 and as an author, has not been a recluse, but has 
 founil time to mingle freely among men and is 
 held in high esteeni by all, not only on account 
 of his intellectual qualifications, but also on ac- 
 count of his social qualities. He is a Mason, 
 Knight Templar, a member of Zuhrah Temple, 
 also a member of the I. O. O. F. He belongs to 
 the Congregational Church and takes an active, 
 practical interest in all current questions, local as 
 well as general. On iSIay 13, 1884 he married 
 Edith Winslow, and has four children. He has 
 recently been complimented by the Iowa State 
 University with the honorary degree of LL. D. 
 
 HENRY C. BELDEN. 
 
 Henry C. Belden is one of the judges of 
 the district court of Hennepin County. He is 
 a son of Haynes W. Belden and Lydia P. Blake 
 (Belden.) His father was a farmer in poor circum- 
 stances in A'ermont. His father's ancestry was 
 English and was among the early settlers of Con- 
 necticut. His mother's family was Scotch, and 
 among the earlier settlers in New Hampshire. 
 Henry C. Belden was born at Burke, 
 Caledonia County, Vermont, on August 30th, 
 1841. The financial circumstances of his 
 family were such that he could not have 
 the advantages of college training. His 
 early education was confined to the common 
 schools and the village academy. Henry C. Bel- 
 den has, however, not depended upon teachers 
 and the class room for an incentive to study. He is 
 widely read, and general scientific studies have 
 been his favorites. He had not, however, neg- 
 lected the study of politics and current eco- 
 nomic questions. He began the study of law in the 
 office of Hon. Thomas Bartlett at Lyndon, Ver- 
 mont, where he remained from 1861 to April, 
 1864. He was then admitted to the bar and began 
 the practice of law at Lyndon. Subsequently he re- 
 moved to St. Tohnsbury, A'ermont, where he re~ 
 mained until December, 1884. He there formed a 
 partnership in 1873. the stjde of the firm being 
 Belden & Ide. This firm did a verv extensive busi- 
 
 ness and was one of the strongest law firms in the 
 state. Mr. Belden has always been a Republican 
 and served the people of Caledonia County, A'er- 
 mont, as their representative in the state senate 
 for two terms, from 1876 to 1880. He was also 
 made a delegate to the National Republican Con- 
 vention at Chicago in 1880 and voted for the 
 nomination of Garfield. In December, 1884 he re- 
 moved to Minneapolis, where he formed a part- 
 nership with John B. Gilfillan and C. A. 'Willard. 
 and continued the practice of his profession with 
 great success. Judge Belden had never taken a 
 very active part in Minnesota politics until 1894, 
 when he was nominated by the Republicans to 
 the office of district judge, and was elected. He 
 owes his choice for the nomination to his recog- 
 nized ability as a lawyer and to the reputation 
 which he maintains as a gentleman of high char- 
 acter and sterling integrity. Judge Belden is a 
 member of the Minneapolis Club ; is a gentleman 
 of broad and liberal views, and possesses those 
 qualities which constitute in largest measure 
 the equipment of a wise and successful judge. He 
 is not a member of any church, as he regards 
 church creeds too narrow to fit his ideas of re- 
 ligion. He is, however, a man of upright life, and 
 highly honored in the community. He was mar- 
 ried April, 1865, to Carrie H. Kimball. They have 
 five children. Mary, George, Helen, Agnes and 
 Harry.
 
 68 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 1)( ).\ALI) GRANT. 
 
 The fame of Donald Grant does not rest 
 upon that fact alone, but it is interesting to note 
 at the begiiming of this sketch that to Mr. Grant 
 is due the credit of having, as a contractor and 
 railroad builder, laid more miles of track in one 
 da\- than were ever built by any other road 
 builder in the country. In the construction of 
 the Great Northern from Minot to Helena, dur- 
 ing the year 1887, he laid in one day ten and one- 
 half miles of track and on several occasions laid 
 over eight miles a day the same season. Donald 
 Grant was bom December 10, i8_^7, in Glengarry 
 County, Ontario. His father, .Mexander Grant, 
 was for thirty years .sherifif of that cf)imt\-. His 
 mother was Catharine Cameron, a native of Scot- 
 land. Both father and mother were Highlanders, 
 the ancestors on both sides having come from 
 that sturdy race of people. .Mr. Grant is si.x feet 
 four in height, but so well proiwjrtioned that his 
 lunisual stature is not often noted excei)t as he 
 ajjjjears with men of ordinary size. Donald's first 
 dollar was earned working at seventy-five cents a 
 day on an ( )liio farm, where he had gone as a 
 young man in search oi his fortune. Carefully sav- 
 ing every jiossible penny he finally accnnnilated 
 several hunflred dollars. Iletouk the money home 
 to his parents in Canacla, only to find when he 
 
 arrived there that it was the issue of "wild cat" 
 banks that had failed before he had the oppor- 
 tunity to use the money. Mr. Grant began the 
 business of railroad building in 1865. His first 
 contract was a small one for ties for the ;\linne- 
 sota Central, now the Iowa «& ^Minnesota Divis- 
 ion of the Milwaukee road. He was also engaged 
 in track laying on the same road from Faribault 
 to the Iowa boundary. From that time until 
 the present, over thirty years, he has been a rail- 
 road contractor. For the first fifteen years 
 his career was one of varying success. The re- 
 maining fifteen years have been attended with re- 
 markable success. Mr. Grant belongs to a class 
 of men now passing away who introduced the 
 railroad into the wilderness and the frontier, the 
 forerunner of civilization. He was engaged in 
 the Iniilding of parts of the Iowa & Minnesota 
 road, the Hastings & Dakota, the Minneapolis & 
 St. Louis, the Dnluth & Winnipeg, the Southern 
 Minnesota, the Wisconsin Central, the Canadian 
 Pacific, the ]\lesaba road, the Winona & South- 
 western, the St. Paul & Duluth and the Northern 
 Pacific. Mr. Grant is a Republican, but has never 
 sought political preferment. He was, however, 
 induced bv the citizens of Faribault to accept the 
 olfice of mayor. He accepted it for two terms, 
 iS()2 and 1803, cliict1\- from a sense of duty, 
 being intlorsed by both Democrats and Repub- 
 licans for both terms. His business interests are 
 large. The principle of economy and thrift which 
 he ado])ted at the outset, together with his great 
 business sagacity, has enabled him to accumulate 
 a handsome fortune. He is interested in manu- 
 facturing enterprises, and is director in three 
 banks. Notwithstanding the multiplicity of his 
 business connections, he is a man of genial na- 
 ture, and his success is largely due to his agree- 
 able manners and superior business ability. He 
 enjoys an enviable reputation as a man of integ- 
 rity, and has the confidence of business men in a 
 large degree. He is the chief owner of the Vene- 
 zuelan concession to the companv of capitalists, 
 known as the Orinoco Companv, and is also 
 largely interested in the Rio ^'erde Canal Com- 
 pany, of Arizona. Donald Grant's wife's maiden 
 name was Mary C"ameron. They have had seven 
 children, si.x daughters and one son. Their names 
 are .Samuel, Fllen, Katherine, Isabella, F.mma, 
 AIar\' ,'nid Margeret Jane.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MH.M OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 G9 
 
 DWICIir MAY SAliiX. 
 
 Dwight Alay Sabin, cx-Uiiitcd Stales Senator 
 of Minnesota, was born at Manlius, Illinois, 
 April 25, 1843. Air. Sabin was the eldest son 
 of Horace Carver Sabin and Maria Elizabeth 
 Webster (Sabinj. The Sal)in family were of 
 Scotch descent and came to America in 1740. 
 Thev settled in New Hampshire and t'onnecticut, 
 and Horace Carver Sabin was born in Windiiam 
 County, Connecticut, on a l^eautifid farm owned 
 by his father, Jedediah Sabin. In early man- 
 hood, Horace Carver Sabin moved to the West- 
 em Reserve, Ohio, and later came farther \\ est 
 to Ottawa, Illinois, then a thriving trading vil- 
 lage at the head of navigation on the Illinois 
 river. Here he engaged in farming and became 
 an extensive breeder of blooded cattle, having 
 the first business of this kind established in the 
 state. He was one of the original abolitionists, 
 and his protection and services were often ac- 
 corded to fugitive slaves passing through that 
 section on their perilous \vay towards safety and 
 liberty. The Sabin residence was in fact, one of 
 the important stations on what was known as 
 the underground railroad to which escaped ne- 
 groes were directed for assistance and where 
 they invariably received help and a heartv "God 
 speed." Horace Carver Sabin was a friend and 
 co-laborer with ( )wen Lovejoy and John F. 
 Farnsworth, and was an acquaintance and great 
 admirer of Abraham Lincoln. All of these gentle- 
 men were frequently guests at his house when 
 on professional and political trips made in those 
 days generally on horse back, railroads being as 
 yet unknown in that new country. Mr. Sabin, 
 although evincing a deep interest in the afifairs of 
 the state and the nation, declined strictly political 
 offices. He held, however, for many years posi- 
 tions of trust and responsibility on county and 
 state boards, and was at one time member of 
 the state canal and land commission. He was 
 also a delegate to the Republican national con- 
 vention at Chicago which nominated Abraham 
 Lincoln for president. On account of his fail- 
 ing health Air. Sabin, with his wife and twa 
 sons, Dwight Alay and Jay H., returned to the 
 old home in Connecticut at the urgent request 
 of his father, Jedediah, who in his declining 
 years wished for the presence of his onlv son. 
 Jedediah died in 1864. \Miile living on the Con- 
 
 necticut farm, Dwight Alay attended a little 
 district school for three years, when, his own 
 father's health becoming seriously impaired, the 
 care of the farm and the somewhat extended lum- 
 ber business devolved largely upon the young 
 man. He continued in this work imtil he was 
 seventeen years of age, when he went to Phillips 
 Academy for one year in order to pursue a 
 course of study in higher mathematics and civil 
 engineering, after which he returned to the man- 
 agement of his father's business. His life re- 
 mained thus uneventful until Lincoln's call for 
 volunteers in 1862, when his patriotism prompted 
 him to offer his services to Gov. Buckingham, 
 of Connecticut, who sent him to W'ashington to 
 join a Connecticut regiment. He was unable to 
 pass the medical examination, however, and was 
 rejected for active service on account of pul- 
 monary weakness and his youth. He was then 
 assigned to the (|uartermaster's department, and 
 was afterwards given a first class clerkship in 
 the third auditor's office in Washington, which 
 position he retained until June, 1863. At that 
 time he was transferred to the commissarv depart- 
 ment of Beaufort's Cavalry Brigade, and reached 
 the scene of action inuuediatelv prior to the 
 battle of Gettysburg. He remained with this 
 brigade during many subsequent engagements, 
 following Lee's retreating army. The following 
 year he was called home bv the death of his
 
 70 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 father, and was appointed executor of the family 
 estate, together with his mother. He was occu- 
 pied with these affairs and other business enter- 
 prises until 1867. In the autumn of that year 
 the delicacy of his constitution becoming more 
 apparent, physicians ailvised a change of loca- 
 tion, and Minnesota was chosen for climatic rea- 
 sons. He first located in Minneapolis, where, 
 during the ensuing winter, he busied himself 
 investigating the lumber outlook. In the spring 
 of 1868 an opportunity to enter this busine.ss in 
 .Stillwater presented itself and he settled there, 
 where he has since continued to reside. In con- 
 nection with the lumber business he carried on 
 other enterprises, building up the manufacture 
 of threshing machines, engines and railway cars. 
 This business gradually assumed immense pro- 
 portions, giving employment at one time to over 
 thirt\--five hundred men. He also became a pro 
 moter and partner in lumljer operations at C'lo- 
 quet, Minnesota, on the St. Louis river. Mr. 
 Sabin, as his ancestry would indicate, has always 
 been a Republican and in 1870 he was elected to 
 the state senate, where he served until i883,when 
 he was sent to the United States senate to succeed 
 the late William Windom. While a member of the 
 senate, Mr. .Sabin was the chairman of the railway 
 committee, member of the Indian and pension 
 committees, and secured pensions for over eight 
 hundred old soldiers. He made no pretense to 
 oratory, and was not known as a speech-making 
 senator, but rather a hard working member in 
 the interest of his state, especially in the line of 
 transportation. Through his efforts, aided by 
 Senator Palmer,of Michigan, he was able to secure 
 large appropriations for the .speedy completion 
 of the new canal at Sault Ste. Marie. He was 
 also instrumental in securing large appropriations 
 from congress for the improvement of the Mis- 
 sissippi and other rivers. IMr. Sabin was promi- 
 nent in the councils of his party, and for several 
 years previous to his election as United States 
 senator he w-as Minnesota's member of the Re- 
 pul)lican National Committee, and at the death 
 of Gov. Jewell, in December, 1883, was elected 
 liis successor to the chairmanship, and in this 
 capacity presided over the Republican National 
 Convention in Chicago in 1884. Mr. Sabin is 
 married and has three adopted daughters. Since 
 his retirement from the senate he has been ac- 
 tively interested in business, especially in the 
 lines of Iuml)cr and iron. 
 
 NATHAN PIERCE COLBURN. 
 
 The name at the head of this sketch is that 
 of a man who has helped in the upbuilding of 
 this state since its infancy, having served as a 
 member in its constitutional convention and 
 having been a prominent member of the legal 
 profession of the state since 1856. Nathan Pierce 
 Colburn was born at Hebron, New Hampshire, 
 December 22, 1825, the son of Abel Colburn 
 and Deborah Phelps (Colbum.) His ancestors 
 on his fathers side were of English descent, and 
 on his mother's, English and Irish. His maternal 
 grandfather, Samuel Phelps, was one of the first 
 settlers of Hebron, New Hampshire, a soldier 
 in the Revolutionary War, and a skilled worker 
 in ^\■ooden ware. Abel Colburn, the father of 
 the subject of this sketch, was a farmer and 
 stone cutter, in moderate financial circumstances. 
 He was a soldier in the war of 1812. Nathan 
 holds the memory of his mother in filial rever- 
 ence. She was a woman of strong mental and 
 physical powers, well informed, and reared a fam- 
 ily of nine children. She died at the age of 
 ninety-three, retaining her mental faculties to the 
 last. The subject of this sketch received his early 
 education in the public schools of Hebron, 
 Campton and Plymouth, New Hampshire. He 
 was obliged to discontinue his studies, however, 
 at the age of fourteen. \Mien he was about 
 fifteen he removed with his parents to Ouincy, 
 [Massachusetts, and at the age of sixteen was 
 apprenticed to learn the cabinet trade at Reading. 
 He followed this line of business for nearly 
 twelve years, a part of the time working at the 
 bench, and for a time engaged in business for 
 himself. The latter five years of this time he 
 resided at South Reading (now Wakefield), and 
 while there was made justice of the peace and 
 twice elected a member of the board of select 
 men, assessor and overseer of the poor. In the 
 early part of 1854 he was appointed deputy 
 sheriff of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and 
 held that office mitil he came West. Pie located 
 at Waukokee, Fillmore County, ^Minnesota, in 
 October, 1855, where he ;uid his brother Joseph 
 erected a steam sawmill, nno of the first in th;it 
 ])art of the coimtry. He sold imt his interest to 
 his brother in IMarch, 1857, and entered the law 
 office of the late H. C. P)Utlcr, of Rochester, then 
 located at Carimona, and resumed the re;iding 
 of law, which he had pursued while deputy sheriff 
 in Massachusetts. In the fall of 1857 he was
 
 PKOCiKKSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 71 
 
 admitted to the bar. In June, 1858, he removed 
 to Preston and commenced the practice of his 
 profession. He has since practiced in the state 
 and United States courts up to five years ago, 
 when he retired from active business. From 
 1865 to 1870 he was in partnership with Judge 
 H. R. Wells; from 1881 to 1883 with Judge 
 Henry S. Bassett, and from 1883 to 1888 with 
 his son, Warren E. Colburn. He removed to 
 Rushford, ]\Iinnesota, in Septemljer, 1883, where 
 he has since resided. In his early life Mr. Colburn 
 took a great deal of interest in military affairs. 
 He was elected first lieutenant of an independent 
 company when twenty-two years of age at 
 Reading, Afassachusetts; at twenty-four was 
 elected major of the Fourth Regiment, and at 
 twenty-five was elected colonel of the Seventh 
 Regiment, which regiment he connnanded five 
 years, and up to the time of his removal to Min- 
 nesota. The Seventh being one of the best regi- 
 ments in the state w^as ordered out on most pub- 
 lic occasions, and had the honor of escorting 
 Daniel Webster through the cit}- of Boston on 
 the occasion of his last speech in Faneuil Hall 
 on his return from Wasliington in 1852. In the 
 summer of 1862, at the time of the Indian out- 
 break, Mr. Colburn was in St. Paul, and at the 
 request of Gov. Ramsey returned home and or- 
 ganized a company of one hundred and 
 twenty mounted men, which started west, 
 making headquarters at Winnebago City. For 
 five -weeks the company was engaged in 
 scouting and building earthworks, and was 
 then relieved by a company of regulars: but they 
 had no skirmish with the Indians, as they kept 
 beyond their reach. On March 2, 1863, at the 
 request of Hon. William Windom, President Lin- 
 coln commissioned Mr. Colburn as paymaster 
 in the army, and he joined the Department of 
 the Missouri. He served in that department 
 about one year, when failing health made his 
 resignation necessary, and he returned to Min- 
 nesota and resumed his law practice. Air. Col- 
 burn followed in the footsteps of his father and 
 affiliated with the Democratic party when he 
 first became a voter, but being opposed to the 
 extension of slavery he left the party during the 
 administration of Franklin Pierce. For a time 
 he acted with the Free Soil party, but in the 
 sunnner of 1855 he assisted in organizing the 
 Republican party in Aliddlesex County, Alassa- 
 
 chusetts. Although always interested in politics, 
 Afr. Colburn has never sought office; what offi- 
 cial honors he has received have come to him 
 unsought. In 1857 he served as a member of 
 the constitutional convention. In the following 
 year he was elected to tlie lower house of the 
 legislature, but the former legislature having pro- 
 vided by law that no session should be held the 
 ne.xt year unless called together Ijy the governor, 
 no session was held. He served as a member of the 
 house in the legislatures of 1866 and 1871, at 
 both sessions serving as chairman of the judi- 
 ciary connnittee. He has also served ten years 
 as county attorney, twenty-four years as a mem- 
 ber of the board of education at Preston and 
 Rushford, and one year as nia3'or of the latter 
 place. Mr. Colburn is a Master Mason, a mem- 
 ber of the Eastern Star, and has belonged to the 
 Odd I-"ellows, Sons of Temperance and Good 
 Templars. He is a Universalist in belief, but 
 not a member of any church. In April, 1850, 
 Mr. Colburn was married at South Reading, 
 Massachusetts, to Mary Jane Fames. Four chil- 
 dren were born to them, only one of whom is 
 now living, Warren E. Colburn, senior member 
 of the firm of W. E. Colburn & Co., of the Aler- 
 chants' Exchange Bank, South Chicago. Illinois. 
 Airs. Colburn died at Preston, July 9, 1874. Sep- 
 tember i6th, 1877, ^Ir. Colburn was married to 
 Airs. Helen AI. Tinkham, his present wife, at 
 Ratavia, Xew A'ork.
 
 72 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ANDREW H. BURKE. 
 
 The subject of tliis sketch is in the truest 
 sense of the word a seU'-made man. Born in New 
 York City, May 15, 1850, of humble parentage, 
 he was left by the death of both father and 
 mother at the age of four years a homeless and 
 friendless child in a great city. That beneficent 
 institution which has done so much for unfortu- 
 nate childhood, the Children's Aid Society, took 
 him in charge, and at the age of eight years he 
 was sent West, where a home had been found 
 for him with a farmer who lived near Noblesville, 
 in Indiana. Here he lived and developed into a 
 I)romising lad of exemplary habits until he 
 reached the age of twelve years. In 1862 he ran 
 away to enlist in the service of his country as a 
 drummer boy in the Seventy-fifth Indiana volun- 
 teers. After serving in the war he returned home 
 to take advantage of such educational facilities as 
 he was able to procure, with the money he had 
 saved from his pay as drummer, lie was enrolled 
 as a student at Asbun,-, now Dc 1 'auw University, 
 at Greencastle, Indiana. From lack of means, 
 however, he was unaldc to pursue his studies 
 there as long as he desired, and was obliged, 
 therefore, to lay aside his books and seek em- 
 ployment in business channels. Anu)ng his im- 
 
 portant business engagements was that of busi- 
 ness manager of the Evansville, Indiana, Courier. 
 Subsequently he removed to Cleveland, where he 
 was employed in the service of a commercial 
 agency. In 1877 he came to Minneapolis and 
 was for two years employed as a bookkeeper by 
 N. B. Harwood & Co., wholesale dry goods mer- 
 chants. He was a fellow employe with S. E. Olson, 
 now one of the prominent department store mer- 
 chants of Minneapolis, and formed a close per- 
 sonal friendship with that gentleman which has 
 continued ever since. Later he was employed by 
 a lumber firm at New York ;\lills. In 1880 he 
 removed to Casselton, North Dakota, where he 
 was for a time engaged in commercial business, 
 and subsec|uently became cashier of the First 
 National Bank at that point. While holding this 
 position he was elected treasurer of Cass County, 
 and was twice re-elected and resided at Fargo, the 
 county seat, during his six years incumbency of 
 said office. In 1890 he was nominated by the Re- 
 publicans for governor of North Dakota and 
 elected, being the second officer of that rank in 
 the new state. Flis administration was a very suc- 
 cessful one, highly creditable to himself and ad- 
 vantageous to the state. Upon the expiration of 
 his term as governor he removed to Duluth, 
 where he now resides, and is engaged in the gran) 
 commission business. In this he has been highly 
 successftd, his honorable record both public and 
 private in North Dakota having served to bring 
 him business in his chosen line in larger volume 
 than he would otherwise have enjo}-ed. Governor 
 Burke, as he is still known, is a gentleman of 
 high character, genial manners, and creditable 
 literary attainments, and is held in great esteem 
 by the people of North Dakota and Minnesota, 
 who admire him for his sterling qualities and his 
 native ability, and the distinguished success which 
 he has achieved in spite of the adverse circum- 
 stances of his youth. He was married in Minne- 
 apolis in 1880 to Miss Carrie Cleveland, who was 
 then a teacher in the public schools of that city. 
 He has two daughters, who are twins, born in 
 October, 1885. Governor Burke is a thirty-third 
 degree Mason, and, although not a member, is 
 a lil^cral supporter of the Episcopal church, to 
 which his wife and daughters belong.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 73 
 
 CYRUS NORTHROP. 
 
 It is but a moderate statement of fact and but 
 a just recognition of wortli to say that to Cyrus 
 Northrop, more than to any otlier one person, is 
 due the wonderful success of the University of 
 Minnesota. Dr. Northrop was elected president 
 of the university in 1884. At that time the insti- 
 tution had less than three hundred students, 
 counting a large number in the preparatory de- 
 partment and in almost entirely detached classes 
 of evening technical study. In 1896 the enroll- 
 ment of the university will reach two thousand 
 and six hundred. When President Northrop 
 took up the management of the university it had 
 but one important building; it now has a score 
 of well equipped structures adapted to the needs 
 of a modern institution of learning. In 1884 the 
 school was a university only in name; now its 
 colleges embrace all the departments usually 
 deemed essential to a university in fact. But 
 more than all this, the university in the past 
 twelve years has risen from the position of an 
 unknown Western college to the second rank 
 among state universities in point of attendance 
 and to an equal rank with the leading educa- 
 tional institutions of the country in scholarship. 
 Dr. Northrop brought to the work of building 
 up a Western college an experience of twenty 
 years in a leading professorship at Yale, a mind 
 ripened by long study not only of books, but of 
 men and affairs, and genial, engaging traits of 
 character and the faculty of making friends every- 
 where. From the moment he entered the univer- 
 sity he has been its leading spirit. From the first 
 he has been loved and respected by students and 
 faculty. President Northrop is a native of 
 Connecticut. He was born on September 
 30, 1834, at Ridgefield. His father, whose 
 name was also Cyrus Northrop, was a 
 farmer. His mother, whose maiden name 
 was Polly B. Fancher, was a native of 
 New York. He attended the common school 
 in Ridgefield until he was eleven years old, and 
 then went to an academy in the same town. This 
 school was held in a building which was the birth- 
 place of Samuel G. Goodrich, commonly known 
 as Peter Parley. At this academy he was imder 
 the instruction of H. S. Banks and Rev. Chaun- 
 cey Wilcox, both graduates of Yale. In 1851, at 
 the age of seventeen he entered Williston Semin- 
 
 ary, Easthampton, Massachusetts, then under the 
 principalship of Josiah Clark, and graduated at 
 the end of the year. The next fall he entered 
 Yale. During his college life he lost one year 
 by illness, so that his graduation did not occur 
 till 1857. His rank upon graduation was third 
 in a class of one hundred and four. During his 
 college life he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, 
 Skull and Bones, Delta Kappa Epsilon and 
 Alpha Sigma Phi. He was first president of 
 the "Brothers in Unity," one of the literary soci- 
 eites, which embraced half the students in the col- 
 lege. In the fall of 1857 he entered the Y^ale Law 
 School and graduated in 1859. While in the law 
 school he taught Latin and Greek in the school 
 of Hon. A. N. Skinner in New Haven, and fitted 
 two classes for Yale. At this time Dr. Northrop 
 had no other career in view than that of the law. 
 Upon completing his course at the law school 
 he entered the law office of the Hon. Chas. Ives 
 in New Haven. But the stirring times just before 
 the breaking out of the war were at hand, and the 
 young man was irresistably drawn into the polit- 
 ical battle for the Union and freedom, which had 
 as its visible object the election of Lincoln. Dr. 
 Northrop took an active part in the campaign, 
 speaking in many places in Connecticut and New 
 Y^ork. In the spring of 1S60 he was elected 
 assistant clerk of the Connecticut House of Rep-
 
 7-t 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 resentatives, the next 3ear was made clerk, and 
 in the following year he \\as chosen clerk of the 
 senate. He had opened a law office in Norwalk 
 in 1861, and expected to return to it, but in 1S62 
 he was called to the editorial chair of the New- 
 Haven Daily Palladium, and for a }ear wrote all 
 the editorials and had entire charge of that paper. 
 This year, President Northrop admits, was one 
 of the hardest of his life. The paper was a prom- 
 inent one and at times required extensive and 
 unceasing editorial comment on the great events 
 then transpiring. Papers had not then the mod- 
 ern conveniences and facilities now thought es- 
 sential, and the mechanical details of the work of 
 an editor were exhausting. In 1863 Dr. North- 
 rop was called to the chair of rhetoric and Eng- 
 lish literature in Yale, a position which he held 
 till 1884, when he was called to the presidency of 
 the University of ^Minnesota. Neither of these 
 positions was sought by him, and he was not 
 aware that he was under consideration as a candi- 
 date for either position until it was actually ten- 
 dered to him. He visited jNIinnesota with his 
 family in 1881, but had, at that time, no thought 
 of becoming a resident of the state. While 
 a professor at Yale, durinig the war and 
 the subsequent agitation respecting reconstruc- 
 tion, Dr. Northrop took an active part in politics, 
 making many addresses, and in 1867 he was a 
 candidate for Congress in tlie New Haven dis- 
 trict. Since 1876 he has not taken any part in 
 politics except to cast his ballot. During the ad- 
 ministrations of Presidents Grant and Hayes he 
 was the collector of customs of the port of New 
 Haven. During the twelve years in which Presi- 
 dent Northrop has lived in Minneapolis, though 
 devoting his time and energies to building up the 
 university, there have been many demands for 
 his presence on the public platform, and he has 
 made many addresses, delivered numerous lect- 
 ures and has frequently occupied leading pul- 
 pits. He is a direct, straight-forward si)eaker, 
 using no tricks of oratory to make his points, 
 but often making an almost homely i^hrase or a 
 humorous statement of a propositidn count for 
 more than studied eloquence. As an after dinner 
 speaker he is easily the foremost in the North- 
 west, and has been so much sought after in this 
 capacity that he has been obliged to refuse all 
 but a very few invitations for such occasions. 
 Though not, as he asserts, in pnlitics, President 
 
 Northrop, through his influence on hundreds of 
 young men who have graduated from the uni- 
 versity and become voting citizens almost at the 
 same time, has exerted an influence on the stand- 
 ards of citizenship which will be far reaching in its 
 effects. President Northrop was married Septem- 
 ber 30, 1862, to Aliss Anna Elizabeth Warren, 
 daughter of Joseph D. Warren, of Stamford, Con- 
 necticut. Their eldest daughter, Minnie, died at the 
 age of ten }ears and six months. Their son, 
 Cyrus, Jr., is a graduate of the University of Min- 
 nesota. Their daughter, Elizabeth, entered the 
 university, but on account of ill health, did not 
 graduate. I'resident Northrop is a Congrega- 
 tionalist, and has been very prominent in the 
 affairs of that denomination. In 1889 he was 
 moderator of the National Council, held that 
 year in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was also 
 a delegate to the International Congregational 
 Council, held in London, England, in the smn- 
 mer of 1891, and he was one of the two vice- 
 presidents appointed from .\merica. 
 
 JOHN OUINCY FARMER. 
 
 John Quincy Farmer, of Spring \'alley, Min- 
 nesota, has cut an important figure in the history 
 of Southeastern ?iIinnesota during the last thirty 
 years. He was born in Burke, Caledonia County, 
 Vermont, August 5, 1823. The family residence 
 was a log house on Burke Hill. The Farmers 
 were of English descent. The grandfather, Ben- 
 jamin Farmer, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 army, and his grandson, the subject of this sketch, 
 recalls having heard him describe several battles 
 in which he participated, among them being the 
 battle of Lexington. On his moiiier's side the 
 descent is from a Scotch family by the name of 
 Snow, and Grandfather Snow was engaged in the 
 mercantile business. John Quincy was the son 
 of Hiram and Salina Snow (Farmer), who re- 
 moved from \'ermont to Madison, Lake County, 
 Ohio, in 1833, and settled on a farm near the 
 shore of Lake Eric. His opportunities for edu- 
 cation were cjuite limited, his father being unable 
 to afford him any other facilities than those of the 
 district school during the winter months. \\ hen 
 he arrived at the age of seventeen, however, he 
 began to realize that he was deficient in the mat- 
 ter of schooling, and, having nbtaineil permission:
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 75 
 
 from his father to attend an academy, set about 
 earning money to pay his expenses, receiving 
 only about fifty cents a day. He first attended an 
 academy in the neighborhood, next at l^ainsville, 
 and finally at Grand I\iver institute, Ashtabula, 
 County, C_)hio. But the most important part of 
 his education was received at Twinsburg, .Summit 
 County, Ohio, at an academy conducted by Rev. 
 Samuel Bissel, a man who has probably assisted 
 more young people to acquire an education than 
 any other man in Ohio. John Quincy taught a 
 district school for several terms, his comijcnsation 
 being ordinarily $14 a month, with the privilege 
 of boarding around among the parents of the 
 scholars. He began the study of law at Pains- 
 ville with I'erkins & Osborn. He afterwards at- 
 tended the law school of Prof. Fowler, at Palston 
 Springs, New York. After graduating there he 
 came West and spent some time in looking up a 
 location in Wisconsin. In 1850 he settled at 
 Omro and went into practice. In December of 
 that year he returned home with the intention of 
 getting married and returning in the spring, but 
 while at home he was persuaded by Brewster 
 Randall, of Conneaut, Ohio, to go into his law 
 office and take up the practice which Air. Randall 
 wished to lay down. This proved a very profit- 
 able arrangement, and on the 17th of November, 
 1852, Mr. Farmer married Maria N. Carpender, 
 daughter of Dr. Joseph R. Carpender, of Pains- 
 ville, Ohio. He remained in practice at Conneaut 
 about six years, then removed to Ashtabula, 
 where he formed a partnership with Hon. L. S. 
 Sherman. He remained there about six years, 
 having in the meantime served one term as 
 coimty attorney. The health of his wife failing 
 he came West again, locating in Spring Valley, 
 Minnesota, where his father's people had already 
 preceded him. The benefit to his wife's health 
 did not prove to be permanent, however, and 
 she died March 6, 1866, leaving two sons, George 
 R. and Charles J-, who still live, and a daughter, 
 Carrie M., who died at the age of five years. On 
 his arrival in Minnesota, ]\Ir. Farmer gave up 
 the practice of law and engaged in farming, but 
 his brother, James D., who was engaged in prac- 
 tice at Spring Valley, gradually interested him in 
 his practice and it resulted in Mr. Farmer's re- 
 turning to his profession. In 1865 he was elected 
 a member of the lower house of the legislature 
 from Fillmore Count v, and was re-elected in the 
 
 fall of 1866. He became a candidate for speaker 
 of the house and was elected. In 1867 he was 
 again elected to the house and re-elected speaker 
 without opposition. In 1870 he was elected to 
 the state senate for two years, but the new ap- 
 portionment law having been passed that winter 
 he stood for re-election in 1871 and was success- 
 ful. He was chairman of the judiciary committee 
 both terms while in the senate. In 1879 he was 
 elected district judge of the Tenth judicial dis- 
 trict, and was re-elected in 1886 without opposi- 
 tion. Prior to the expiration of his second term 
 he announced his purpose not to be a candidate 
 for re-election. Nevertheless the Republican con- 
 vention nominated him for a third term, but he 
 absolutely refused to run. ^Ir. Farmer was 
 president of the Minnesota Farmers' Mutual Fire 
 Insurance Association for about twelve years, an 
 association organized for the purpose of giving 
 farmers safe insurance on their property at first 
 cost. He was a Henry Clay ^^ hig in his politics 
 and helped to organize the Republican part}-, with 
 which he has always been identified. He is a 
 firm believer in protection to American industr\' 
 and sound money. Four years after the death 
 of his first wife, already noted, he married Susan 
 C. Sharp, January 13, 1869, who has become the 
 mother of six boys, John Frederick, John Coy, 
 Daniel Ehvin, Ernest >ilelvin, Frank C. and 
 James Duane, all of whom are living.
 
 76 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRA\'CIS IVES. 
 
 Tiie subject of this sketch while an occupant of 
 the district bench in the Fourteenth Judicial dis- 
 trict brought upon himself considerable opposi- 
 tion by his vigorous enforcement of the law 
 against violators of the statutes relating to gam- 
 bling and the liquor traffic. This opposition 
 undertook to secure his impeachment in the legis- 
 lature of 1895, but without success, l^-ancis Ives 
 was born in Orange County, \'ermont, July 16, 
 1 83 1, the son of Warren and Louisa B. Ladd 
 (Ives.) His father was a lumber manufacturer in 
 comfortable financial circumstances. I-Vancis was 
 educated in the common schools and academies. 
 He began the study of law in Xew York in 1852 
 and was admitted to the l)ar in 1855. He came to 
 Minnesota in June, 1856, and settled in Red Wing, 
 where he practiced law until the spring of 1859. 
 He then made a tour of Texas, Arizona and Mex- 
 ico, and was absent as a newsi)aper correspondent 
 until the spring of 1861. At the outbreak of the 
 war he was on his way home from the South. In 
 Tune, 1861, he married .Miss Helen M. Many, a 
 native of Vermont, and again located at Red 
 Wing for the practice of his profession. His wife 
 died in 1868, and in the year 1878 he removed to 
 Crookston, the change being made largely on 
 account of his failing health. The years between 
 
 1870 and 1878 spent mostly out of doors 
 to regain health. In his new location he 
 formed a partnership with John McLain, 
 which partnership continued until August, 
 1881. The firm of Ives & McLain was, at 
 the beginning of the last decade, one of the best 
 known legal firms in Northern Minnesota. After 
 the dissolution of the partnership, jMr. Ives con- 
 tinued alone in the practice of law until 1888, 
 when, for a short period, he \\as associated with 
 the late D. E. Hottlestad. In June, 1883, he was 
 married to ]\Iiss Cornelia E. Brigham, of Boston. 
 Mr. Ives had always been a republican in his early 
 years, but in 1890 believing that the republican 
 party was no longer in sympathy with the politi- 
 cal principles upon which it was founded, he 
 transferred his connections to what was then 
 known as the Alliance. In February, 1891, when 
 the People's party was formed, he joined that 
 organization, and in 1892 was nominated by it 
 for the office of judge of the Fourteenth Judicial 
 District, and was elected. He took his seat in 
 January, 1893. He soon found several towns in 
 his district under the control of gamblers and 
 keepers of houses of ill-fame, and soon after- 
 wards inaugurated a movement which subse- 
 quenth' resulted in the eradication of these forms 
 of vice and crime to a very considerable extent. 
 This was not accomplished, however, without vig- 
 orous opposition. The grand jury, which met in 
 December, 1894, having failed to indict violators 
 of the law, although urged to take such action^ 
 Judge Ives dcnoimced their course as in violation 
 of plain duty, and discharged them with a repri- 
 mand. He then directed the clerk to call another 
 jury for the term beginning January 15, 1895, 
 which found lifty-six indictments and four pre- 
 sentments on practically the same evidence that 
 was ]>resented tt) the previous jur)-. This vigor 
 ous action on Judge Ives' part led to the pre- 
 sentation of charges before the grand jury and 
 proceedings of impeachment, but the legislature 
 declined to sustain the charges. As the result of 
 his vindication :\ nuich more wholesome respect 
 for law and the hetler observance of its require- 
 ments has Ikch the rule in that district ever since. 
 Judge Ives has one child living, the .son of his 
 first wife, Harry E. Ives, who now resides at St., 
 Hilaire.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 77 
 
 A. L. MUHLER. 
 
 A. L. Mohler has probably been connected 
 with the raih-oad service in the Northwest as 
 long as any other man now engaged in tliat line 
 of business. His business career has been a 
 continual advance from the bottom to the top. 
 A recortl of his career shows that he has earned 
 his promotion from one stage of responsibility to 
 another by fidelity to his trust and the ]5ossession 
 of superior business ability. A. L. Al older is of 
 Swiss descent on his father's side, and on his 
 mother's side of Welsh origin. His father's an- 
 cestry came to Pennsylvania in 1650 and his 
 mother's to Maryland in 1692. Both families 
 were members of that persecuted and yet sterling 
 people, the Quakers. The subject of this sketch 
 was born in Euphrata, Pennsylvania, May 6, 1849. 
 His educational advantages were those of the 
 common school, supplemented by a business 
 training in a commercial college. He grew up 
 on the farm and entered the railroad service as 
 a warehouse office clerk for the Chicago and 
 Northwestern Railroad at Gait, Illinois, in 1868. 
 In 1870 he was made station agent of the Rock- 
 ford, Rock Island and St. Louis Railway at Erie, 
 Illinois. His business methods attracted the at- 
 tention of his superiors and the next year he was 
 given a clerkship in the department of operating 
 accounts in the auditors office of the .same road. 
 Soon afterwards he transferred his services to 
 the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota, 
 now the Burling-ton, Cedar Rapids and North- 
 ern and was employed in the service of that 
 company from 1871 to October, 1882. During 
 that time he ser\'ed two years as pioneer agent 
 and traveling agent, two years as chief clerk in 
 the general freight department, from which he 
 was promoted to the position of assistant general 
 freight agent. After one year in that office he 
 was promoted to the position of general freight 
 agent and continued in that office for six vears. 
 In 1882 the old St. Paul, Minneapolis and Mani- 
 toba, now the Great Northern Railroad, was ex- 
 tending its business rapidly into the Northwest 
 and needed just such men as A. L. Mohler for 
 the best promotion of its interests, and October 
 9, of that year, he was ofifered the position of 
 General Freight Agent. He occupied this office 
 until March i, 1886, when he was transferred to 
 the position of land conmiissioner: a verv im- 
 portant office in the sen-ice of that company, as 
 
 it had large tracts of land to dispose of. The 
 tide of innnigration ])oured in the Northwest and 
 settled along the lines of the Great Northern 
 Railroad. Mr. Mohler continued in this posi- 
 tion until January 15, 1887, when he was re- 
 turned to the freight department as General 
 Freight Agent and held that position a little over 
 a year. April i, 1888, he was appointed General 
 Superintendent of the whole line and in October 
 of the same year was promoted to the position of 
 Assistant (leneral Manager. A year later, or 
 September i, 1889, he was prouKjted to the posi- 
 tion of General Manager of the Great Northern 
 and Montana Central Railroads as successor to 
 Allen Manvel, the deceased president of the A., T. 
 & S. F. He held this position until December 
 I, 1893. I'l J"lv, 1894, the Minneapolis and St. 
 Louis reorganized and, restored from the hands 
 of the receiver to its stockholders, called Mr. 
 Mohler to the position of general manager, the 
 office which he now holds, and under whose direc- 
 tion this excellent property is enjoying a con- 
 stantly increasing prosperity, and has paid the 
 first dividend in the history of the old or new 
 organization. Mr. Mohler is a splendid example 
 of a self-made man, one who has demonstrated 
 his ability to seize the opportunities which come 
 to men of industry and merit, and bv an exhibi- 
 tion of self-reliance and perseverance he has 
 achieved the 1 est which his chosen profession has 
 to offer.
 
 78 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS GRAY. 
 
 A. D. Gray, of Preston, Fillmore County, 
 Minnesota, is a native of the state of New York. 
 His father, Alonzo G. Gray, was a farmer, the 
 son of Elias Gray, a soldier in the War of 1812. 
 His wife was Miss Lucy Ann Murch. At the 
 time of the birth of their son, which occurred 
 on November 13, 1845, they were living in 
 Chenango County, New York. During his 
 childhood the family was in poor circumstances. 
 \\'hen he was nine years old the family moved 
 to Newburg, Fillmore County, Minnesota, where 
 Mr. Gray, Sr., continued to reside upon a farm 
 until his death in 1896. Archibald lived with 
 his parents on the farm, attending school in an 
 old log school house shingled with shakes and 
 eciuipped with puncheon benches and tables. 
 To complete his education he attended, during 
 one winter, the select school in Flesper, Iowa, 
 and sujiplemcnted this with two years at the 
 Upper Iowa University, located at Fayette. 
 When quite young he became a student of law, 
 using at first the old law books belonging to his 
 father, and afterwards receiving the assistance of 
 Cyrus Wellington, who was for years a member 
 of his father's family. After leaving school, he 
 began teaching school during the winter season, 
 working on the farm in the sunnncr and run- 
 ning a threshing machine in the fall. About 
 
 this time he was married, in !\[arch, 1868, to 
 ;\Iiss Emma W. Seelyc. For a number of years 
 he continued school teaching. LSut in the fall of 
 1877 he was elected Clerk of the Court of Fill- 
 more County. For the next four years he held 
 this office and studied law night and day. In 
 November, 1881, he was admitted to the bar 
 and began the practice of his profession. He 
 at once formed a partnership with R. E. Thomp- 
 son, with whom he had studied law, and who 
 was admitted to the bar at the same time as 
 himself. This partnership has continued to the 
 present time. Mr. Gray has tried and assisted 
 in the trial of a great many important cases. In 
 the prosecution by the government of Drs. Phil- 
 lips, Jones and Love, for alleged pension frauds, 
 Gray & Thompson assisted in securing the ac- 
 quittal of these gentlemen. In the fall of 1894, 
 the firm assisted the county attorney of Winne- 
 sheek County, Iowa, in the trial of what is known 
 the Carter murder case. The defendant was 
 found guilty of murder in the first degree. This 
 was one of the greatest murder trials in the 
 history of Iowa. But their practice is by no 
 means entirely in the criminal line. The name 
 of the firm may be found in the state reports, 
 connected with some of the most important 
 cases recorded. Mr. Gray has always voted the 
 straight Republican ticket. From the time he 
 was twenty-one years old until he went to Pres- 
 ton, he held the office of Justice of the Peace, 
 and for many years he was County Commis- 
 sioner and chairman of the board, which he re- 
 signed when elected Clerk of the Court. The 
 latter office he held until January, 1891. In 1892 
 he w^as nominated and elected Republican presi- 
 <lential elector for ^linnesota and cast his vote 
 for Flarrison. He represented the First con- 
 gressional district in the National Republican 
 Convention at St. Louis in June, 1896. He is 
 now chairman of the Republican county com- 
 mittee, a post which he has frequently held in 
 l^revious years. Mr. and ]\Irs. Gray have six 
 children, Miss Stella E. Gray, a .student at the 
 University of Minnesota; Archie D. Gray, who 
 is studying law with his father: Mrs. Lucy Ras- 
 mussen, the wife of Rev. Henry Rasmussen, of 
 Lanesboro; Nettie M. Gray, who is a teacher of 
 music, and .\ndrew G. and Alton E. Gray who 
 are both attending school at Preston.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 7'J 
 
 LARS ( ). Till iKI'l'.. 
 
 Lars ( ). Thorpe, cashier "i tlic l\aiidi)uhi 
 County r.ank at W ilhiiar, is a tyi>e i>\ liic success- 
 ful Scaudinavian-Aniericau settlers frequently 
 found in the state of Minnesota. I le was horn in 
 \'ikor I'arish, liardanger, Norway, on December 
 24, 1847. His father, Ule Thorpe, was a teacher in 
 the common schools and owned a small farm. He 
 was in moderate circumstances. His wife was 
 JMiss Britha Skaare. lioth were well connected 
 and religious people. Young Lars attended the 
 common school near his home for a few months, 
 but after his father's death, when he was but five 
 years old, he received little schooling. His step- 
 father owned a freighting vessel, and Lars made 
 several trips as cook on this ship. l*"or three 
 years he was employed on a fishing vessel. When 
 seventeen years of age the poor prospects for the 
 future suggested to the young man immigration 
 to America, and, with the help of his step-father 
 ami his own little savings, he managed to come 
 as far as Detroit, Alichigan. From that point a 
 fellow passenger assisted him to Sharon, Wis- 
 consin. Here Mr. Thorpe worked on farms and 
 attended the common schools for about three 
 months during the succeeding winter. In the 
 spring of 1865 he came to Winona and worked 
 in a planing mill and later on a farm. The next 
 winter he went to Dodge County, and was em- 
 ployed as teacher in a parochial school. In the 
 following spring he followed a company of land 
 hunters, and traveled with oxen and covered 
 wagons along the Minnesota river as far as 
 Chippewa County, where they settled. He returned 
 to Dodge County during that summer, and in the 
 fall of 1867 left for Xonvay to fulfill a promise 
 given his parents, that he would return in four 
 years. In the spring of 1868 he returned to 
 America with a brother and sister, and thev all 
 located in Dodge County. The next year found 
 Mr. Thorpe contracting for railroad work in 
 Meeker County, and in the same summer he 
 located a homestead in Kandiyohi County. At 
 this time he concluded to learn the printers' trade 
 and came to Minneapolis and commenced type 
 setting on the Xordisk Folkeblad. But printing 
 did not agree with his health, and he accepted 
 an offer from A. J- Clark, who had just estab- 
 lished the Kandiyohi Reveille, and went to 
 Kandiyohi County in the s])ring of 187 1. In the 
 
 fall of that year the county seat was established 
 at Willmar, Mr. Clark's paper suspended and 
 Mr. Thorpe was thrown out of employment. He 
 located on a farm in Dovre, Kandiyohi County, 
 and tried to combine farming in a small way 
 with teaching and the duties of Justice of the 
 Peace and Town Clerk. In 1875 he was elected 
 Register of Deeds of the county, which office he 
 held for three terms. In 1881 the directors of 
 the Kandiyohi County Bank tendered Mr. Thorpe 
 the position of cashier. He accepted the offer 
 and has occupied the position ever since. During 
 the next year the Willmar .Seminary was estab- 
 lished and Mr. Thorpe took an active part in 
 putting the institution on its feet. As a member 
 of the republican party Mr. Thorpe has taken an 
 active part in the county and state elections. He 
 was presidential elector in 1884 and was elected 
 state senator in 1894. He has held numerous 
 local offices. As a member of the Lutheran Synod, 
 he has been a member of several important com- 
 mittees, and is now alternate for the member-at- 
 large of the Church Council. One of Mr. 
 Thorpe's hobbies has been practical temperance 
 work. On June 6. 1870, he was married to 
 IMartha Ovale, of Dodge County. They have 
 had nine children. Six are now living, Dorothea, 
 now Mrs. J. O. Estreem, of New London; Ed- 
 ward Lawrence, Christian Scriver, Edith Bea- 
 trice, lane Olea, Bertha Hcrborg.
 
 80 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN' OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 DWIGHT MAJOR BALDWIN. 
 
 Dwight j\I. Baldwin is one of the oldest and 
 most substantial citizens of Red Wing, Minne- 
 sota. He is a transplanted Yankee of the tj-pe 
 which has given the Northwest so many ex- 
 cellent business men. Hart B. Baldwin, Mr. 
 Dwight M. Baldwin's father, was born at Wood- 
 bridge, Connecticut, on April 15, 1814. He was 
 married to Miss Rebecca Barnum on May 6. 
 1835. She was a native of Bethel, Connecticut, 
 and a cousin of Phineas T. Barnum, the famous 
 showman. Mr. Baldwin still lives at Red Wing, 
 a retired business man, and "well fixed" finan- 
 cially. Mrs. Baldwin died January 5, 1870, at 
 Red Wing. Their son Dwight was born at 
 Woodbridge, Connecticut, on August 26, 1836. 
 He was the oldest of six children, five sons and 
 one daughter. Two of his l)rothers arc still 
 living. Young Dwight finished his school days 
 at the "Connecticut I^iterary Institution" at Suf- 
 field in 1853. He learned the carpenter's and 
 joiner's trade with his father, tiien a contractor 
 and builder, and at the lighter work could keep 
 up with the most of the men ulicn lie was only 
 fourteen years old. At eighteen he was a full- 
 fledged journeyman, working at tlic business in 
 New York City. Later he went tu Danbin-y. 
 Connecticut, and clcrkefl in his fatiier-in-law's 
 grocery store. In April. 1862. he moved to Red 
 
 Wing, bringing with him the young wife, whom 
 he had wedded at Danbury on October 30, i860, 
 and their first child. ;\Irs. Baldwin was Miss 
 Susan Holmes, of Danbury. Upon his arrival 
 in Minnesota Mr. Baldwin became warehouse 
 clerk for Sheldon and Hodgman. His next 
 employment was that of steamboat clerk for the 
 old "Davidson" line between St. Paul and La 
 Crosse. After several years of river life, he went 
 into partnership with his brother George W. in 
 the drug and grocery business, but was not alto- 
 gether successful. He then turned his attention 
 to insurance and real estate business and still 
 has an office in the same line, having built up a 
 competence, and become interested in many of 
 the business enterprises of Red \Mng. Mr. Bald- 
 win is president of the North Star Stoneware 
 Company and Vice-President of the Lnion 
 Stoneware Company, of Red Wing. Mr. Baldwin 
 was not engaged in the War of the Rebellion, 
 but was commissioned by Gov. Ramsey, Captain 
 of Company A, Tenth regiment, ^Minnesota State 
 Militia, organized under the act of the special 
 session of the legislature convened in 1862-3. The 
 company was fully armed and equipped and was 
 ready for service, but was never called out. A 
 Democrat on general principles, Mr. Baldwin is 
 at the same time a "sound money" man. His 
 religious affiliations are \\iLh the Episcopal 
 church. He is very prominent in the Masonic 
 order, and is a member of Red Wing Lodge, No. 
 8, A. F. & A. M.; La Grange Chapter, No. 4, 
 R. A. j\I.; Tyrian Council, No. 4, R. & S. M.; 
 Red Wing Commandery, No. 10, K. T. ; Red 
 Wing Chapter, No. 88, O. E. S., and Osman 
 Temple, A. A. O. N. iM. S., of St. Paul. He is 
 a past officer in all these divisions of the order 
 and has been representative in its highest coun- 
 cils. r^Ir. and Mrs. Baldwin have had six chil- 
 dren, three of whom are living. Mrs. Mary 
 Estellc Fuller was born at Danbury, December 
 31, 1861, and is now living in 2\linneapolis. 
 Dwight Major Baldwin, Jr., was bo:n at Red 
 Wing on May 28, 1867. He is a resident of Alin- 
 neapolis, and is proprietor of the "Dwight Flour 
 jNlills'' at Gracevillc, Minnesota, and is doing a 
 very successful business. I le was married on 
 ."-September 18, 1889, to Miss Edith E. Sheehan, 
 at Fargo, North Dakota, and they have two 
 children, Rose Estelle and Dwight Major HI. 
 Alfred Holmes Baldwin, born at Red ^^'ing. Feb- 
 ruary 17, 1877, is now living at home.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 81 
 
 CHARLES JOHN TRYON. 
 
 Charles John Trj-on is a lawvcr pracliciiig his 
 profession in Aiinnfapohs. He is descended 
 from old Colonial stock. His father, A. D. 
 Tryon, of Uatavia, (k-nesee County, New York, 
 was in active business as druggist and bookseller 
 in that place for about thirty-five years, and in 
 fairly comfortable circumstances for the greater 
 part of that period. After closing out his busi- 
 ness he made Western investments at Spokane 
 Falls, which, however, have not proven very 
 profitable. He was an enthusiastic supporter of 
 Republican jirinciplcs, being repeatedly chairman 
 of county committees, but has never held any 
 office. He was born in Montgomery County, 
 New York, in 1824, and is still living. His wife, 
 Amanda Hatch Shepard (Tryon) was born in the 
 first log house built in her town in Genesee 
 County, New Y'ork, removing to Batavia shortly 
 after marriage. \\^illiam Tryon, great-grandfather 
 of the subject of this sketch, was born and lived 
 in early life in Connecticut, and was among the 
 New England levies who took part in the cam- 
 paign ending in Burgoyne's surrender. His son, 
 John Tryon, grandfather of Charles, served in 
 the militia in the war of 1812. They and their 
 ancestors were all farmers living in Connecti- 
 cut, in the vicinity of Wethersfield, for many gen- 
 erations, being descended from William Tryon 
 who came from England in 1640 and settled in 
 Connecticut. The paternal grandmother of 
 Charles was of pure French blood, of Huguenot 
 stock, her family having settled in Connecticut 
 during the Revolutionary period. The grand- 
 father of the stibject of this sketch on his mother's 
 side was a physician and farmer, being one of 
 the first settlers in the western part of Genesee 
 County, New York, having come overland with 
 his wife from Vermont, where both were born. 
 They were connected with the Phelps and Graham 
 families of that state. Charles John Try-on was 
 born at Batavia, Genesee County, New York, 
 September 8, 1859. He was educated at the 
 Batavia Union school, which was then as now 
 under the control of the regents of the University 
 of New Y^ork, and which was superior to the 
 ordinary academy of to-day. He was compelled, 
 however, to leave school at the age of fifteen to 
 aid in support of the family, after the business 
 collapse of 1873. He worked as a clerk in his 
 father's store for four years, when, having pro- 
 
 cured a clerkship in the first auditor's office in 
 the treasury department, he left for Washington 
 in 1878. He held this position until April, 1886, 
 when he came West and located at ^Minneapolis. 
 He had commenced the study of law before going 
 to Washington, and continued its study while in 
 that city. He received the degree of LL. B. 
 from the law school of the National University, 
 and LL. At. at the Columbian Law School. On 
 his arrival at Minneapolis he entered the law 
 office of Kitchel, Cohen & Shaw. Shortly after- 
 wards he was made examiner for the Alinnesota 
 Title Lisurance and Trust Company, was soon 
 made assistant counsel, and in October, 1892, 
 was made counsel of the company. In the fall 
 of 1895, retaining his position as counsel for the 
 trust company, he opened offices for general law 
 practice, giving special attention, however, to 
 real estate, corporation and insurance law. Mr. 
 Tryon is also a director of and attorney for the 
 Northern Standard Telephone Compan\-. In 
 politics Mr. Tryon has always been a supporter 
 of the Republican party, but has held no political 
 offices. He is a member of the Minneapolis 
 Commercial Club, and of the Plymouth Congre- 
 gational church. June 10, 1891. he was married 
 to ]\Iiss Isabel Gale, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Harlow A. Gale. Afr. and Afrs. Tryon have 
 three children, Frederick Gale. Elizabeth Gale 
 and Phillip ^'an Dorn.
 
 82 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 D. S. B. JOHNSTON. 
 
 D. S. B. Johnston is the president of the 
 land mortgage company, of St. Paul, which bears 
 his name. He was born at South Bainbridge, 
 now Afton, Chenango County, New York, May 
 17, 1832. His father, Levi Johnston, was a 
 farmer in the Susquehanna ^'alley near Afton, 
 until 1886, when he came to St. Paul to reside 
 with his son, and where he died in iSyo in the 
 eighty-ninth year of his age. His father, William 
 Johnston, was a captain in the Revolutionary 
 War. Evaline Buck, wife of Levi Johnston, was 
 a daughter of Daniel Buck, who located in Afton 
 about the year 1800. As a hunter he was the 
 Daniel Boone of Southern New York and North- 
 ern Pennsylvania. The subject of this sketch be- 
 gan his education in the common schools in his 
 native place and afterwards prepared for the soph- 
 omore year in college at the Delaware Literary 
 Institute, of Franklin, New York, intending to 
 enter Hamilton College, but finally concluded to 
 teach school instead, believing that the experience 
 would be as good a preparation for active life 
 as a college course. Pic relied upon his own re- 
 sources after the age of fifteen. In 1849, a* ^'ic 
 age of seventeen, he began teaching, and kept at 
 it in district and select schools until 1854, when 
 he became principal of the Union School, in 
 Greene, Chenangf) County, New York. The fol- 
 
 lowing year he abandoned teaching in the East 
 and started W'est, with Galena, Illinois, as his 
 objective point, but not liking the appearance of 
 things there, he at once took a steamboat for St. 
 Paul, where he arrived on the evening of July 
 20, 1855. Two days later he set out for St. 
 Anthony on foot, the possessor of two cents, 
 which was all the money he had left. He at once 
 began to look for a chance to open a private 
 school and soon obtained permission to use a 
 portion of a vacant two-story building, standing 
 where the Exposition Building is now located. 
 The lower story contained two rooms, one of 
 which had been seated for school purposes. Here, 
 in August 1855, he opiened a select school with 
 the sons and daughters of Capt. Rollins, Leottard 
 Day, Dr. Ames, Air. Stanchlield, Air. Libby and 
 other prominent pioneers for pupils, [n the 
 spring of 1856 Mr. Johnston was employed by 
 Hon. Isaac Atwater, then editor and proprietor 
 of the St. Anthony Express, and assisted him in 
 editing and managing the newspaper until the 
 following winter. Mr. Johnston then joined a 
 company organized to select town sites on the 
 Minnesota side of the Red River of the North. 
 The expedition set out from St. Cloud, January 
 I, 1857, with five yoke of oxen drawing two 
 loaded sleds, and guided by Pierre Bottineau, the 
 famous Hudson Bay scout, and his brother 
 Charles. It required thirty days to make this dis- 
 tance between the Alississippi and the Red River, 
 and the explorers nearly perished in snow storms. 
 Four buffalo were killed out of a herd of about 
 one hundred north of the Otter Tail river, near 
 the present site of Breckinridge. The winter was 
 long and severe and the snow was so deep that 
 no relief could reach the party until late in the 
 spring. The flour was soon exhausted, and the 
 cattle, unable to obtain anything but willow twigs 
 to feed upon, were killed to save them from 
 death by starvation, and were mostly eaten v,-ith- 
 out .salt. And, not only that, but other supplies 
 having been exhausted before spring, the party 
 was finally compelled to subsist upon boiled, salt- 
 less Red River cat-fish and tea until other sup- 
 plies could reach them across the flooded streams 
 and swamps in that memorable spring of 1857. 
 From this advt'nturc Mr. Johnston accumulated 
 a large aninunt of experience. Imt nut nnich else. 
 He returned to !>!. Anthony in luno, .-ind tiie fol- 
 lowing [ul\-, in connection with Charles H.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 X3 
 
 Slocum, he Ijouylit the St. Anthony Express and 
 became its editor. His competitors at that time 
 were William S. King, of the Atlas, and W. A. 
 Crolifut, of the Xews. The Express was the up- 
 country organ of Senator Ilcnry M. Rice, and, 
 during l!uchanan's administration and the sub- 
 sequent triangular contest of Lincoln, Douglas and 
 Breckenridge, politics and newspaper rivalrj' were 
 lively. With the outbreak of the war, Mr. John- 
 ston abandoned the newspaper business and 
 thought of joining the First Minnesota regiment, 
 but upon examinanon by Dr. A. E. Ames was 
 found to be disqualified. In 1864 Mr. Johnston 
 went into the insurance and investment business 
 at St. Paul. In 1874 he dropped insurance and 
 has since devoted his attention entirely to real 
 estate and mortgage investments. I lis business 
 was finally merged into a company, organized in 
 1885, under the name of the D. S'. B. Johnston 
 Land Mortgage Company, of which he is presi- 
 dent, and which has a capital stock of $500,000, 
 nearly all of which he and his two sons own. It 
 has handled nearly seven thousand mortgages and 
 bought and sold a great deal of property. Since 
 the war broke out Mr. Johnston has been a Re- 
 publican, although he has never held any political 
 office or been possessed of any such desire. He 
 is one of the most ardent advocates of the 
 union of the two cities, especially along the lines 
 of commercial efifort. He says he expects to 
 live to see the time when ^Minneapolis and St. 
 Paul will be consolidated under one name and 
 government, and he desires to do all he can to 
 bring about that result. He is a member of the 
 People's Church, of St. Paul. On January i, 
 1859, he was married to Miss Hannah C. Stanton, 
 daughter of Dr. Nathan Stanton, one of the 
 Quaker pioneers of St. Anthony. His first wife 
 died in January, 1879, leaving two sons, Charles 
 L., now Vice President, and A. D. S. Johnston, 
 Secretary of the mortgage company which bears 
 his name. In May, 1881, Mr. Johnston again 
 married, his second wife being Miss Mary J. King, 
 of Canandaigua, New York, daughter of Rev. 
 David King, a Presbyterian minister of New Jcr- 
 sev in the earlv fifties. 
 
 JULIUS H. BLOCK. 
 
 The parents of Julius H. Block, the sheriff' of 
 Nicollet countv. emigrated from Germany in 
 
 1854. William Block, the father, became a 
 farmer. He settled in Ohio where, at Gallon, 
 Crawford County, his son Julius was born on 
 March 30, i860. In 1870 Air. Block brought 
 his family to Minnesota. They lived first at St. 
 Peter in Nicollet County and later moved to a 
 farm in Le Sueur County. In the fall of 1875 
 they moved to Lake Prairie, Nicollet County, 
 where Mr. and Mrs. Block still reside. Young 
 Julius attended the public schools at Gallon, Ohio, 
 and at Ottawa, Le Sueur County, Minnesota, 
 dividing his time between his studies and work 
 on his father's farm. When he reached the age 
 of nineteen years he obtained a position as yard- 
 master at the Minnesota Hospital for the Insane at 
 St. Peter. After a year's efilicient service in this 
 capacity, he was appointed store keeper and su- 
 pervisor at the Hospital and retained the position 
 for six years. For three }'ears following he was 
 connected with the cit)- government of St. Peter 
 and in the fall of 1888 was elected sherifif of Nicol- 
 let Count}-. He has since been re-elected for the 
 succeeding" terms and still holds the office, man- 
 aging the affairs of the post in a creditable man- 
 ner. J\Ir. Block is at the present time a member 
 of the board of trustees of the State Hospital 
 for the Insane. He was married on February 
 12, 1885, to Miss Sarah West, of St. Peter, yi'm- 
 nesota
 
 84. 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIA^I EDWARD HALE. 
 
 The founder of the family in this cuuiitry to 
 which Air. Hale belongs was Samuel Hale, who 
 settled in Glastenbury, Connecticut, in 1637, 
 where many of his descendants still reside. Sam- 
 uel, with his brother Thomas, sei-ved in the 
 Pequot war, and other members of the family in 
 the Revolutionary \\ar. Among those who 
 achieved distinction in later years were the late 
 James T. Hale, member of congress in Pennsyl- 
 vania; Reuben C. Hale, of Philadelphia; Gideon 
 Wells, late Secretary of the Navy, and Rev. 
 Albert Hale, of Springfield, Illinois. Moses 
 Hale, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, 
 emigrated to Rutland, Vermont, about a hundred 
 years ago, and afterwards moved to Xorwood, 
 New York. His son, Isaiah Hyron liurr Hale, 
 father of the subject of this sketch, subsequently 
 located in Wheeling, Virginia, and engaged in 
 the practice of law. He married Mary E. Covey, 
 October 12, 1841, at McConncllsville, Ohio, 
 and William Edward was born at Wheeling, 
 West \'irginia, May 11, 1845. I p tn his six- 
 teenth year William received but a common 
 school education. He finst came to the state of 
 Minnesota in 1858 on a pros]U'cting tour with 
 his father, returning a few months later to his 
 home in Wisconsin, where his parents had re- 
 moved from Ohio some years j)revious. 1 Ic 
 
 came to jNIinnesota again in the fall of i860, lo- 
 cating at Plainview. He enlisted from this point 
 as a private in the Third Minnesota in the fall of 
 1861, serving three years in the defense of his 
 country and was honorably discharged. On his 
 return home Mr. Hale entered Hamline Univer- 
 sity, then at Red Wing, Minnesota, in order to 
 complete his education. He took a collegiate 
 course at this institution of three years, but did 
 not graduate, lacking one year's course. He 
 then took up the study of law in the office of 
 Judge Wilder, at Red Wing, and was admitted to 
 liractice at St. Paul in 1869. Mr. Hale then 
 moved to Buffalo, Wright Count}-, where he 
 commenced the practice of his profession. He 
 was elected county attorney of Wright County, 
 which office he held for two years. In the spring 
 of 1872 he moved to jNIinneapolis, where he has 
 lived ever since. He was elected county attorney 
 of Hennepin County in 1878, and re-elected at 
 the end of his first term, serving altogether four 
 years. Mr. Hale first became associated with 
 Judge Seagrave Smith in 1877, under the firm 
 name of Smith & Hale, wdiich partnership con- 
 tinued until 1880. He then connected himself 
 with Judge Charles M. Pond, the firm being 
 known as Hale «& Pond. Later he associated 
 himself with Charles B. Peck, the firm known as 
 Hale & Peck. The firm with which Mr. Hale is 
 now connected is known as Hale, Morgan & 
 Montgomery. In his practice Mr. Hale has been 
 highly successful, having been prominently iden- 
 tified with much of the heavy litigation before the 
 bar in the Hennepin County for the past fifteen 
 years. Several times he has been tendered and 
 urged to accept the appointment of judge of the 
 district court, but on each occasion he has de- 
 clined, preferring to devote himself to the prac- 
 tice of his profession. Although his father was 
 a Democrat, and a co-laborer, politically, for a 
 time, with Silas Wright, of New '^'ork, Mr. Hale 
 has always been a staunch Republican and has 
 always taken an active part in ])olitics. He has^ 
 however, never been a candidate for any office, 
 excej)! that of county attorney, already men- 
 tioned. His cliurch connections are with the 
 Methodist Episcopal church, lie was married 
 in 1870 to Ella C. Sutherland, \\lio had been a 
 student with him at 1 laniline I'niversity. They 
 have Iiad three rliildren, llekn \'., I'rank C. ;nid 
 I'lorence I^.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WTTJ.TAAI JAMES AlUXRO. 
 
 W. J. Alunru is a proniiiioiit l)usincss man 
 of Morris, Minnesota. Like many successful 
 Minnesota men he is a native of Canada. 
 His father, Hugh Munro, was born in 
 Rosshire, .Scotland, liul he left the land 
 of his birth when a young man and went to 
 Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He was superin- 
 tendent of schools of that province for some 
 years; later he was in the mercantile business at 
 S)'dney; while there was elected member of the 
 House of Assembly of the Provincial Parliament. 
 In this honorable position he served twelve years. 
 His wife was Miss Hannah Croll, a native of 
 Halifax, Nova Scotia. In i860 Mr. Munro was 
 made chairman of the Board of Public Works of 
 Nova Scotia, and removed to Plalifax, the capi- 
 tal. He held the position until the change of 
 government in 1864. Two \ears later he re- 
 moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and in 1873 ^^^ 
 came to Minnesota, locating first in St. Paul and 
 afterwards, in 1876, at the town of Morris, where 
 he resided until his death in 1886. Mrs. Munro 
 died in 1878. W. J. Munro was born at Sydney, 
 on June i, 1850. He was educated at private 
 schools at Sydney and Halifa.x, and graduated 
 from the St. Johns Academy in the latter city. 
 He came to .Minnes(jta in 1872, and was first 
 employed l^y the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad 
 Compan}-, in St. Paul. After a time he took 
 charge of a grain elevator owned by the com- 
 pany and remained in that position until the fall 
 of 1875, when he removed to Morris. At Morris 
 he engaged in the grain business and has almost 
 continuously been interested in that line ever 
 since. He has, however, had many other im- 
 portant interests. During 1876 and 1877 he was 
 in the hardware business with A. A. Stone, and in 
 the latter year he purchased the Stevens County 
 Tribune. He changed the name of the paper 
 to the Morris Tribune and kept the editorial 
 chair until 1882, when he sold out. Then, in 
 company with H. H. Wells and others, he or- 
 ganized the Stevens County Bank, and was its 
 cashier for twelve years. In 1894 he disposed of 
 his interest in the bank and purchased the Morris 
 Sun, which he now controls. Since 1890 he has 
 been a member of the firm of House & Munro. 
 dealers in agricultural implements. .Since 1886 he 
 
 has been a member of the firm of Wells, Pearcc & 
 Co., grain dealers. Mr. Munro is a member of 
 the Republican party, and has taken an active in- 
 terest in the local affairs. He has been called 
 upon to serve his city as treasurer for four years, 
 and he has held the office of mayor for four 
 terms, the last three being in succession. Like 
 most progressive business men he has become 
 identified with various social and secret organi- 
 zations, and he is past master and charter mem- 
 ber of Golden Sheaf Lodge, No. 133, A. F. & 
 A. JNI., a member of Mount Lebanon Chapter, 
 No. 47, Royal Arch Masons, Past Eminent Com- 
 mander Bethel Commandery, No. 19, Knights 
 Templar. In 1875 Mr. Munro was married to 
 Miss Mary A. Golcher, daughter of Wm. Gol- 
 cher, of St. Paul. She died the following year. 
 In April, 1878, he was married to Miss Ida A. 
 Stone, daughter of the Hon. H. \\'. Stone, of 
 Stevens County. They have five children, Beat- 
 rice C, Hugh -S., Ida Blanche, \\'illiam J. and 
 Katherine C. During his early life Mr. Alunro 
 had considerable experience at sea. He w-as for 
 two summers on board of the Dominion revenue 
 cutter "Daring." In 1866 he went to Harbor 
 Grace. Newfoundland, and was for four years 
 in the mercantile and shipping trade, during that 
 time making several trips as su|5ercargo.
 
 86 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WALLACE GEORGE NYE. 
 
 Wallace George Nye is the comptroller of 
 the city of Minneapolis, the duties of which posi- 
 tion he has discharged with ability and fidelity 
 for two terms. The end he has aimed at as the 
 occupant of that office has been to simplify the 
 methods by which the public business is trans- 
 acted and to reduce to the lowest practicable limit 
 the expense of the municipality. Mr. Nye's an- 
 cestors, so far as he knows, have been natives 
 of this country. His father was a farmer boy 
 who grew u]) in Ashtabula County, Ohio, but 
 when only twenty years of age he moved to Mil- 
 waukee County, Wisconsin, and continued the 
 business of farming. Here he was married in 
 1850 to Hannah A. Pickett, and two years later 
 settled near the village of Hortonville, Wiscon- 
 sin. Four years ago that farm, after being de- 
 veloped into one of the best in that section of 
 Wisconsin, and after having been the family 
 home for thirty-nine years, was sold and a home 
 purchased in the village where Mr. Nye's father 
 still resides. His mother died in October, 1893. 
 Wallace was the third of seven children. His 
 father served as a private soldier in the civil war 
 and is now passing his declining years in com- 
 fort and ease. Wallace G. Nye was born on 
 the farm at Hortonville, October 7. 18^0- ITe 
 
 attended the district school until the winter of 
 1875 and 1876, when, at the age of sixteen, he 
 engaged in teaching in a neighboring district. 
 With the money thus earned he began a course 
 at the State Normal School at Oshkosh, and 
 continued there until the fall of 1879. He was 
 then employed as principal of the high school at 
 Plover, and also in the same capacity at Horton- 
 ville. After two years at Plover and Horton- 
 ville he al)andoned the profession of teacher and 
 took up the study and practice of pharmacy in 
 Chicago. In September, 1881, he left Chicago 
 to find a suitable location for his business in 
 some Wisconsin town, but on the train he heard 
 a good deal about Minneapolis and its prom- 
 ising future and concluded to visit it. He was 
 so pleased with its activity and thrift that he de- 
 cidetl to locate there, establishing a drug busi- 
 ness. He took an active interest in politics, and, 
 also, a particular interest in the affairs of the 
 northern portion of the city, where he assisted 
 in organizing the North ^Minneapolis Liiprove- 
 ment Association, which has rendered much val- 
 uable service in building up and beautifying that 
 section. He was its first secretary. Li the cam- 
 paign of 1888 he represented his ward on the 
 county campaign committee, and the following 
 January was chosen secretary of the board of 
 park connnissioners, which position he held for 
 four years, being elected annually. Li 1892 he 
 was nominated by the Republicans for city comp- 
 troller, was elected, and was re-elected in 1894. 
 receiving the highest vote of any candidate on 
 the city ticket. In 1893 he was chosen to fill 
 the vacancy on the park board caused by the 
 resignation of Hon. C. M. Loring. Mr. Nye 
 is a meml^er of the Board of Trade, Union 
 League, the Conmiercial Club, the I. O. O. P.. 
 the A. P. and A. M.. the K. of P., and the A. O. 
 I'. ^\'. lie has been honored with various offices 
 by the Odd Fellows; was elected Grand Master 
 of the order in Minnesota in 1890, Grand Repre- 
 sentative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge for two 
 vears and in 1894 was made Grand Patriarch of 
 the Encampment branch of the order in this 
 state, from which position he was again pro- 
 moted to the office of Grand Representative, 
 which position he now holds. He is an attend- 
 ant of the P.aptist Church, and was married in 
 1881 to Etta Riiild, at New London, Wisconsin.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 .S7 
 
 CllRlST()i'lll';i< I'KAXCIS CASE. 
 
 The Lyou Cuiiul}' Rcpuiicr, of Marshall, is 
 published by C. F. Case, h'or a score of years 
 Mr. Case has ])cen identified with Lyon County 
 journalism, and has I)cen imusually successful. 
 He comes of good old .New hji.nland stock with 
 ancestral lines running back to the revolution 
 and before. Ashbel VV. Case, his father, was 
 descended from Richard Case, who had an estate 
 in South Manchester, Connecticut, as early as 
 1 67 1. He married Dorothy, daughter of Rev. 
 Mr. Spencer, of East Hartford. The Cases were 
 among the earliest settlers in that part of New 
 England. A. W. Case married Miss Eleanor D. 
 Hollister, of South Manchester. .She was also 
 of a very old family. A connected line of an- 
 cestry is traced by the family back to Lieutenant 
 John Hollister, who was born in England in 
 1612 and who came to Connecticut and had large 
 landed interests in Wethersfield and Glastonbury. 
 Several of his descendants were ofificers in the 
 wars which followed. Thomas, Gideon, Asahel, 
 Jonathan and Elisha Hollister were in the Revo- 
 lutionary War. Other members of the family 
 were in that and other wars and several 
 were taken prisoners by the Indians, two being 
 carried into long periods of captivity. Mr. Case's 
 father was a teacher and farmer and later a paper 
 manufacturer in Rockton, Illinois. He moved 
 from there to Waterloo, Iowa, where he died in 
 1856, his wife having died the year previous. Elis 
 mother lived to the age of ninety. Christopher was 
 born at South Manchester, November i, 1839, 
 and received his early education in the public 
 schools of that place and in Illinois and Iowa. 
 He spent one year at Beloit College in Wisconsin 
 and finished his education at the University of 
 Michigan with the class of '68. After leaving 
 college he went to Clarkesville, Iowa, and com- 
 menced the publication of the Clarkesville Star. 
 Five years later he went to the Pacific coast and 
 spent a year there and in Mexico. Returning to 
 Iowa he published the Waverly Repuldican for 
 two years and then moved to Marshall, Minne- 
 sota, in 1874. He bought a paper called the 
 Prairie Schooner and changed its name to the 
 Alarshall Messenger. In 1882 he published a 
 history of Lyon County with a sectional map 
 locating residents. In 1883 Mr. Case went out of 
 
 the newspaper business for a time and spent sev- 
 eral months in the south, but the climate did not 
 agree with Iiim and he returned to Marshall. It 
 can be said of the newspaper profession, "Once 
 a newspaper man, always a newspaper man." 
 This has proved the case with Mr. Case. In 1890 
 he went back in the newspaper field with the 
 Lyon County Reporter and has continued its 
 publication ever since. Mr. Case worked his 
 way through college and has practiced the quali- 
 ties of self reliance which he developed when a 
 young man. This with industry and fairly good 
 fortune have made him a competence. He is 
 owner of lands and buildings worth probably 
 $40,000. Mr. Case was a member of the Fortieth 
 Wisconsin Infantry. He was married in Iowa 
 on November 6, 1874, to Miss Caroline F. Waller, 
 and they have three children, Frank Waller Case, 
 aged twenty-one, now a junior in the University 
 of Minnesota; Frederick Hollister Case, aged 
 fourteen, and Dorothy Alice, aged twenty-two 
 months. Mr. Case has been a life long Repub- 
 lican and has taken an active interest in politics 
 ever since he cast his first vote for Lincoln. He 
 has held town offices, was Mayor of ^Marshall in 
 1894, was postmaster under appointment from 
 Hayes for five years and has been president of 
 the school and lilirarv boards of his town.
 
 88 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JENS KRISTIAN GRONDAHL. 
 
 Jens K. Grondahl enjoys the distinction of 
 being one of the youngest men in the state to 
 serve in the legislature. He was elected in 1894 
 when but twenty-five years of age. He is 
 a newspaper man and a resident of Red Wing, 
 where he came with his parents from Norway 
 in 1882. His father, Lars Grondahl, was a 
 farmer of limited means but with advanced ideas 
 as to the education and training of his children; 
 a man of warm heart and generous disposition. 
 Mr. Grondahl died in 1895 at the age of seventy- 
 two. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha 
 Margrete Julsrud, is still living aged sixty-seven. 
 She is a woman of most estimable character. 
 Their son Jens was born at Eidsvold, near Chris- 
 tiania Norway, on December 3, 1896. He at- 
 tended the i>ublic schools at the place of his 
 birth and, after coming to America, at the age 
 of thirteen, at Red Wing. He graduated from 
 the Red Wing Seminary in 1887 with high 
 honors. Later he attended the University of Min- 
 nesota for one year. Shortly before graduating 
 from the seminary in 1887 he won the oratorical 
 prize of fifteen dollars. This, rather oddly, led liim 
 into tlic newspaper Ijusiness. He invested the 
 money in the confectionery business, starting a 
 tiny shop, where be soon accumulated enough 
 debts to last him for several rears. To mend the 
 
 failing fortunes of his enterprise he carried papers 
 and later acted as correspondent for some of the 
 city dailies. When the "Red Wing Daily Inde- 
 pendent" was started in 1891 he was engaged to 
 conduct the paper — a post which proved to con- 
 sist in preparing all the local and editorial "copy,'" 
 distributing it among three printing offices, and, 
 after the matter was set up, collecting the type 
 and carrying it to the office where the paper was 
 printed. ( )ccasionally these manifold duties were 
 supplemented liv the light work of running off 
 the edition on the cylinder press and delivering 
 the paper to the waiting subscribers. During 
 the sunmier of this year ^Ir. Grondahl made a 
 brief excursion into the lecture field, assuming 
 the role of humorous lecturer — an experience 
 which he now looks back upon as one of the 
 most humorous in his career, whatever the pub- 
 lic may have thought about it. A one-night stand, 
 and an audience of one, discouraged the budding 
 lecturer, and he has since devoted himself to 
 journalism and politics. The campaign of 1892 
 found Mr. Grondahl an active worker in the Re- 
 publican ranks. Two years later he was a candi- 
 date for the legislature to represent Goodhue 
 County in the lower house. A bitter campaign 
 against the "boy" candidate ended in his election 
 by a large majority. During the succeeding ses- 
 sion he took an active part in the affairs of the 
 house and made some very effective speeches on 
 prison labor reform, the training school bills and 
 other measures which he regarded especially 
 worthy of support or denunciation. He was also 
 successful in securing various important legisla- 
 tion for the benefit of his own county. He was 
 one of two men who were present at every ses- 
 sion of the legislature. With this record behind 
 him, Air. Grondahl went into the representative 
 convention in 1896 and received the re-nomina- 
 tion by acclamation. In 1892 he became con- 
 nected with the "Red Wing Daily Republican," 
 and in 1894 assumed charge of "Nordstjcrnen," 
 a Norwegian weekly which was then started by 
 the same company. In the si)ring of 1896 he was 
 elected secretary of the Mimiesota Republican 
 Editorial Association. Mr. Grondahl has taken 
 an active ]>art in the Rc])ublican stale conven- 
 tions for the past two years. He was chosen as 
 one of the delegates to represent Minnesota in 
 the national convention of Republican clubs at 
 Alilwaukee, in .\ugust. 181)6. Mr. Grondahl is 
 unmarried. lie is a Lutheran.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MIXXESOTA. 
 
 89 
 
 WALTER SIIERMAX JJ(JOTII. 
 
 Walter S. Booth, author and publisher, was 
 born on September 28, 1827, on his father's farm 
 on the banks of the Housatonic River, in llridge- 
 water, Connecticut. The family is an old and 
 distinguished one, which traces its line back to 
 the year 1200. Richard Booth, his first Ameri- 
 can ancestor, came from England and settled in 
 Stratford, Connecticut, in 1640. Daniel Booth, 
 his father, lived on the homestead near New- 
 town, Connecticut, which has been kept by the 
 family since 1706. His mother was Sabra Sher- 
 man, who was descended from Samuel Sherman, 
 one of the first settlers of Stratford, Connecticut, 
 and an ancestor of Gen. W. T. Sherman and 
 Senator John Sherman, as well as Honorable 
 William Evarts and Senator Hoar, of Massa- 
 chusetts. Walter S. Booth was educated at 
 Newtown Academy and Trinity College, Hart- 
 ford, Connecticut, and stood high in his classes. 
 In 1848 he married Miss Catherine Eliza Peters, 
 of Kent, Connecticut, who was also descendant 
 of an old colonial family. Her father died in 
 1892 at the advanced age of ninety-five. After 
 his marriage J\Ir. Booth taught classical .schools 
 in Connecticut, fitting young men for college, 
 until 1855, when he removed to Fillmore County, 
 Minnesota, and subsequently studied law with 
 Hon. Thomas H. Armstrong, and was admitted 
 to the bar at Austin in March, 1861. He re- 
 moved to Rochester in October, 1862, taking 
 charge of the Rochester City Post, then owned 
 by Hon. David Blakely, secretary of state, and 
 continued in charge till the close of the Civil 
 War, in 1865. He then, with Maj. J. A. Leonard, 
 just returned from militar)- service in the South, 
 purchased the City Post of Mr. Blakely, and 
 the Republican of Shaver & Eaton, publishers, 
 uniting the two papers under the name of the 
 Rochester Post, which still continues, un- 
 der Mr. Leonard. Mr. Booth was also for many 
 years court commissioner, and city and ward jus- 
 tice of Rochester. During his connection with 
 the Post he wrote the Justice's Manual and the 
 Township Manual for Minnesota, which have 
 since passed to the thirteenth editions and become 
 standard for the use of officers throughout the 
 state. In 1876 Mr. Booth sold his interest in 
 the Rochester Post to ^Ir. Leonard to engage 
 exclusivelv in the publication of township and 
 law blanks, books and manuals, assisted by his 
 
 son, Walter S., Jr. The new business of editing 
 and publishing elementary works of instruction 
 for township and other officers, and supplement- 
 ing them with well-prepared blanks and record 
 books, proved a great success, and during the 
 succeeding eight years Booth's publications be- 
 came standard throughout the state. Needing 
 larger facilities for publishing and a more cen- 
 tral point for distributing their publications, 
 Messrs. ISuoth & Son removed their establish- 
 ment and families to JMinneapolis in 1884 and 
 extended their field to embrace the entire Terri- 
 tory of Dakota also. Their extensive establish- 
 ment was entirely burned up in the disastrous 
 Tribune fire of 1889, but they recovered from 
 their unfortunate loss in a few years, and pre- 
 pared and published Justices' and Township and 
 Notaries' Manuals for each of the new states of 
 North and South Dakota, as well as the same 
 class of publications for use in Minnesota, so 
 that in 1896 the house of Walter S. Booth & 
 Son were the editors and publishers of twelve 
 different standard law manuals and over twelve 
 hundred different kinds of standard law and town- 
 ship blanks. IMr. Booth is a member of the 
 Episcopal church. His children were Harriet 
 Gertrude, who died in Milwaukee in 1879, John 
 Peters, Walter Sherman. Jr., Henry ^^'hipple and 
 William Hull. The last two died before reaching 
 maturity.
 
 90 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 
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 FREDERICK X'ON BAU.MBACH. 
 
 "The flower-loving auditor of Douglas 
 County" is the title by which the Hon. I-'rederick 
 von Baumbach is known among many of his 
 friends in and about Alexandria. Mr. von Baum- 
 bach secured this appellation through the beauty 
 of his home and grounds on the shores of Lake 
 Agnes, in the outskirts of Alexandria. -It is a 
 model country home, and the grounds are made 
 verj^ beautiful by the profusion of flow^ers, shrubs 
 and trees. Mr. von Baumbach is of a distin- 
 guished (kTman family. His father, Lewis von 
 Baumbach, was a wealthy and distinguished 
 member of the German parliament in 1848. He 
 had been a soldier and officer in the Prussian 
 army and president of the diet of Hesse-Cassel, of 
 which province he was a citizen. Espousing the 
 cause of German unity he was, in 1848, obliged 
 to fly from his native country, as were many 
 other prominent people about that time. He 
 came to Ohio and became a faniier. Later he 
 moved to Milwaukee and was for years German 
 consul. He died in 1884. His wife, who was 
 Minna von Schenk, a daughter of une of the 
 oldest families of Hesse-Cassel, and which is still 
 prominent there, had died fourteen years pre- 
 viously. Frederick was one of the youngest of 
 a large family. His brothers and sisters all live 
 in Milwaukee and are people of iM-ominence. P.orn 
 
 on the family estate August 30, 1838, Frederick 
 was but ten years old when the family came to 
 America. There was always a private tutor for 
 the children but Frederick also attended the pulj- 
 lic schools of Elyria, Ohio, near his father's 
 farm. \\\ Milwaukee he acted as clerk in a store 
 and was for two years employed in the office of 
 the city treasurer. In i860 he went South and 
 was employed in a store at San Antonio, Texas, 
 when the war broke out. His northern sym- 
 pathies led him to start for home at once, and 
 he had some very exciting adventures before he 
 reached the Union states As soon as he reached 
 Alihvaukee he enlisted in Company C, Fifth Wis- 
 consin infantr\- antl served during the war, par- 
 ticipating in the battles of Yorktown, \Villiams- 
 burg, the Seven Days' Battle at Richmond, sec- 
 ond Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Alobile 
 and others. He was promoted successively to 
 the rank of corporal, sergeant, sergeant-major, 
 second lieutenant and first lieutenant of his com- 
 pany, and in 1863 \vas made captain of Company 
 B, of the Thirty-fifth Wisconsin, and later major. 
 He was not mustered out until April 16, 1866. 
 As soon as he was mustered out Major von 
 Baumbach went to Chippewa, in Douglas 
 County, Minnesota, and looked over the ground. 
 He was delighted with the country but returned 
 to Wisconsin, where he engaged in the drug" 
 business in Fond du Lac. A fire, a year later, 
 took everything he had, and with less than $100 
 in his pocket he returned to Douglas County and 
 took up land. Since that time he has been 
 closely identifietl with the affairs of the county. 
 In 1872 he was elected county auditor and served 
 until 1878, when he was elected secretary of 
 state. After seven years of service for the state 
 he returned to the auditor's office and has con- 
 tinued to serve his home county ever since. l'"or 
 many years he has been a village alderman and 
 school director. ^Fr. von Banmbach was mar- 
 ried in Milwaukee in 1863 to .Miss Sarah J. 1 )ecker. 
 They have had no children, but have raised 
 two oqihans. jacnb and Julia, whom they 
 ado|)ted, and are miw caring fur two younger 
 children. Mr. von liaumbach is a Mason. Knight 
 of Pythias and ( )dd l'"ell(nv. He has taken spe- 
 cial interest in the latter order, and lia^ filled all 
 the chairs in, the local lodge. He is also a nu-m- 
 ber of the ( \. !\. R. and Loyal Legion.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 91 
 
 WILLIAM Dkl'.W WASIlKrRX. 
 
 William Drew W'aslilnirn is a iiK-inbcr of 
 the celebrated W'ashijuni family cif .\laiiK-, a fam- 
 ily whose members have included a secretary of 
 state, two governors, four members of congress, 
 a member of the United States senate, a major- 
 general in the army, two foreign ministers, two 
 state legislators, one surveyor general and one 
 second in command in the L'nited States navy — 
 a family of which three members, from three 
 different states, were in congress at the same 
 time. But William Drew does not owe his claim 
 to distinction to the attainments of his brothers. 
 He has made his own record. His birthplace 
 was Livermore, Androscoggin County, Maine, 
 where he was born January 14, 1831. His early 
 advantages, though limited compared with those 
 enjoyed by the sons of parents in ordinary cir- 
 cumstances in these days, were after all favorable 
 to his development along the line which he 
 afterward followed. He attended the district 
 school and had for his teachers Timothy O. Howe, 
 afterwards United States senator from Wisconsin, 
 and Leonard Swett, afterward a prominent law- 
 yer in Chicago, and the man who nominated 
 Lincoln for president in the convention of i860. 
 He also attended the high school in the village 
 and finally prepared for college at Farmington, 
 Maine. He entered Bowdoin College in the fall 
 of 1850. Upon the completion of his college 
 course he began the study of law in the office 
 of his brother Israel, and from there he went 
 into the ofifice of Honorable John A. 
 Peters, in Bangor, present chief justice 
 of the supreme court of Maine. It was 
 in the winter of 1856 and 1857 that Mr. Wash- 
 burn determined to go West. He selected as 
 his location St. Anthony Falls, and reached that 
 village May i, 1857. He opened a law oi^ce, 
 but pursued his profession only about two years. 
 In the meantime he had perceived that there were 
 better opportunities in other lines of effort, and 
 in the fall of 1857 ^''^ ^^'^^ elected agent of the 
 Minneapolis Mill Company and began improving 
 the Falls of St. Anthony on the west side of the 
 river. He served in that capacity for ten 
 )ears. About this time he engaged in the lum- 
 bering business and built the Lincoln saw mill 
 on the falls, and also an extensive mill at Anoka. 
 He also became interested extensivelv in the 
 
 manufacture of tfour, and was the principal owner 
 of flouring mills which were afterwards incor- 
 porated with the Pillsbury properties and con- 
 solidated under the name of the I^illsbury- Wash- 
 burn Milling Company. Air. Washburn has 
 always been active in the promotion of important 
 public enterprises, and it was due to his energy 
 and enterprise that the Minneapolis & St. Louis 
 Railroad was built, commencing in 1869. Mr. 
 Washburn was made president of the road, and 
 retained that position for a number of years. But, 
 perhaps, the most conspicuous example of his 
 services to the public in that direction was pro- 
 jecting and constructing the Minneapolis, St. 
 Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, built originally 
 from Minneapolis to Sault Ste. Marie, where it 
 connected with the Canadian Pacific, forming an 
 independent competitive line to New York and 
 New England, and rendering a service of incalcu- 
 able benefit to the whole Xorthwest by the great 
 reduction in rates which it secured on all traffic 
 between Minneapolis and the Atlantic Coast. This 
 road was completed on the ist of January, 1888. 
 It has since been extended westward to a con- 
 nection with the Canadian Pacific, near Regina, 
 and constitutes an important link in the trans- 
 continental Canadian Pacific system. Mr. Wash- 
 burn has always been an active and consistent 
 Republican, and has served his city and state
 
 92 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 in various important positions. He was elected 
 to the Aliniiesota state legislature in 185S 
 and again in 1871. President Lincoln se- 
 lected him for surveyor general of the district of 
 Alinnesota in 1861. In 1878 he was elected to 
 Congress, and again in 1880 and in 1882, serving 
 six consecutive years. He took high rank in 
 that body, and was regarded as one of its most 
 influential and successful members. After his 
 retirement from Congress he devoted his time for 
 a number of years to the diligent prosecution 
 of his extensive private business, and it was dur- 
 ing this time that the road to the "Soo" was 
 built, with Air. \\'ashburn serving as president 
 of the company, and managing the finances of 
 that important enterprise. In 1888 he was elected 
 to the United States senate, and served six years 
 in that capacity. His jirevious experience in 
 national legislation, his wide acquaintance and his 
 grasp of affairs soon secured for him recognition 
 as one of the half dozen leading ni.embers of that 
 body. He was made chairman of the committee 
 on the improvement of the Alississippi river, and 
 was thus enabled to exercise an important influ- 
 ence in the protection and completion of an im- 
 portant work undertaken by him when a member 
 of the lower house. It was while he was a mem- 
 ber of the house that he secured appropriations 
 for the construction of reservoirs at the head of 
 the Alississippi river, a piece of public work which 
 has contributed enormously to the improvement 
 of navigation and the prevention of the disastrous 
 floods which, f(jr many years, wrought such havoc 
 along the line of that great river. Probably no 
 man has served his state in a public capacity who 
 has more to show for his efforts in the public be- 
 half than has W. D. Washburn. Always among 
 the foremost in the promotion of every kind of 
 enterprise tending to l)enefit his city and state, 
 the three most conspicuous monuments to his 
 sagacity and public spirit are the Minneapolis & 
 St. Louis Railroad, the .Mimieapolis, St. Paul & 
 Sault Ste. Alarie Railroad and the reservoirs at 
 the head waters of the Mississipjii. .\notlier 
 enterprise which promises to Ik- of e(|ual im- 
 portance with any of tliese, if not greater, is the 
 construction of government dams and locks at 
 Meeker Lsland, between Minneapolis and St. Paul, 
 by which the river is to he made navigable for 
 the largest river boats to the l';ills of St. An- 
 
 thony, and by which an enormous water power 
 will be developed. The inauguration of this en- 
 terprise is due to .Senator Washburn, the appro- 
 priations for the initial work having been ob- 
 tained by him during his term in the senate. This 
 important public work is now in progress of con- 
 struction. Although well advanced in years, Mr. 
 Washburn is a well preserved man, and is still 
 in possession of all his faculties, and in the enjoy- 
 ment of the most perfect physical health, with the 
 prospect of many years of usefulness yet to come. 
 Mr. Washburn was married April 19, 1859, to 
 Miss Lizzie Muzzy, daughter of Hon. Franklin 
 Muzzy, a prominent citizen of Maine. He has 
 provided for his family of sons and daughters 
 an elegant home in the city of Minneapolis. The 
 house is one of the most stately and imposing in 
 the country, and occupies a commanding site near 
 the center of the city, where it is the pleasure and 
 privilege of his hospitable wife to entertain, liber- 
 ally and gracefully, their many friends. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Washburn are members of the Church of 
 the Redeemer, Universalist, and are liberal in 
 their public and private charities. 
 
 CHARLES ARXETTE TOWXE. 
 
 Mr. Towne is the representative in Congress 
 of the Sixth District of ^Minnesota. L'ntil the 
 adoption of the money plank of the jilatform at 
 .St. Louis, June 18, 1896, he was an ardent Re])ub- 
 lican, cherishing as one of the proudest events in 
 his family histor\' that his father cast his first ballot 
 in 1856 for Fremont and Dayton, the first stand- 
 ard bearers of the Republican party. Mr. Towne 
 was born November 21, 1858, on a fai'm in Oak- 
 land County, Alichigan, the son of Charles Jud- 
 son Towne and Laura Ann Fargo (TowneY His 
 father was a farmer, whose life was une\entful 
 and devoted to the rearing of his family and the 
 faithful performance of his duties as a citizen. 
 The Americ;ui line of the Towne family is traced 
 to John William and Jnanna I'.lessing Towne, 
 who landed at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1636. 
 .'Vnidug tlu'ii- nunierous descendaiUs have been 
 Salem Towne, the author of schonl text i^ooks 
 in general use a gener;ition or two ago, and 
 Henry M. and A. X. Towne, both nf wlidui be- 
 came i)rominent in the i^resent generation as 
 railroad men. ( in the mother's side the ancestrr
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 !).'( 
 
 embraced branches of tlic Mason anil l.awrencc 
 families, prominent in tlie Colonial history of 
 this country. Charles Arnctte be^an his education 
 in the conuiion schools of Michigan, and is a 
 firm l)eliever in the value of influences which 
 that democratic institution exerts in the sliaping 
 of motives and sympathies and in the formation 
 of character. He entered the Cniversity of .Mich- 
 igan in 1875, but was not able to pursue his 
 sttidies continuously on account of poor health. 
 He was graduated, however, in June, 1881, from 
 the academic department with the degree of Ph. 
 13. He belonged to no secret college societies. He 
 was elected orator of his class in the senior year, 
 and delivered in that capacity at graduation an 
 address on civil service reform. He also lec- 
 tured on that subject in the wiiUer of iSBo and 
 1881 at the university, as part of the lecture course 
 in which e.x-Governor Austin iSlair, Professor 
 Moses Tyler, Judge T. J\l. Cooley and Hon. Sher- 
 man S. Rogers participated. After graduation Mr. 
 Towne declined several offers of professorships, 
 but accepted an appointment as chief clerk in 
 the department of public instruction at Lansing, 
 Michigan. In that capacity, and in a similar one 
 in the state treasury department, he remained un- 
 til the fall of 1885. In the meantime he had 
 prosecuted the study of law, and, with a natural 
 aptitude for public speaking, had participatetl in 
 state and national campaigns, an experience 
 which he began as early as the campaign of 1876. 
 In 1884 he was talked of by the newspapers and 
 politicians as a suitable candidate for congress 
 from the Fifth District of ^Michigan. He made 
 no efifort to secure the nomination, however, re- 
 garding himself on account of his youth as not 
 properly equipped for the office. He was then 
 twenty-five. In April. 1885. he was admitted to 
 the bar and began the practice of law at .Marquette 
 in March, 1868. In March, 1889, he moved to 
 Chicago, w'here he continued the practice of law 
 until June, 1890. He was then nuicli impressed 
 with the future of Duluth, and in August of that 
 year located in that city, where he still resides. 
 His professional career has not been long, but it 
 has been a successful one, involving various im- 
 portant litigations. He is a member of the firm 
 of Phelps, Towne & Harris, formed January i. 
 1895, and composed of H. H. Phelps, L. C. Har- 
 
 ris and himself. .Mr. Towne never held any ofifice 
 prior to his election to Congress, although at 
 different times solicited to become a candidate. 
 He was elected to Congress in 1894, and his 
 career as a member of that body has been a bril- 
 liant one. Mr. Towne has been an ardent advo- 
 cate of bimetallism, and no .speech delivered in 
 the House of Representatives on that side of the 
 money question during the first session of the 
 Fifty-fourth Congress attracted nearly as much 
 attention as his, an effort which at once aroused 
 interest in him as one of the most brilliant orators 
 in the house and among the foremost advocates 
 of the financial views which he holds. Mr. Towne 
 is largely a self-made man, for, while his father, 
 out of the scantiness of his limited resources, and 
 out of his great genius for economy, furnished 
 from the proceeds of his labor a large part of the 
 money necessary to pay college e.xpenses. and 
 while some assistance was received from Dr. C. 
 P. Parkin, of Owosso, Michigan, whom Mr. 
 Towne honors in memory as one of the grandest 
 and noblest characters he ever knew, much of the 
 money necessary for the prosecution of his 
 studies was earned l)y himself as a school teacher 
 and in other ways. Mr. Towne was married 
 April 20, 1887, to Claude Irene ^^'iley. at Lan- 
 sing, ^fichigan. Tliev have no children.
 
 >)t 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRANCIS BENNETT VAN HOESEN. 
 
 Minnesota has comparatively few people of 
 the old Dutch stock, but wherever they are found 
 they are valuable citizens and men of affairs. 
 One of these, of almost unmixed Holland 
 blood, is the Hon. F. B. Van Hoesen, of Alex- 
 andria, banker, legislator, lawyer and capitalist. 
 The Van Hoesens came from Holland and set- 
 tled in what is now Columbia County, New 
 \'ork about 1650. They bought a tract of several 
 hundred acres of land, on a part of which the 
 city of Hudson now stands. Mr. Van Hoesen's 
 great grandfather, Garrett \'an Hoesen, emi- 
 grated to Cortland County, New York, in 1806 
 and purchased a tract of land in the Tioughinoga 
 \'alley, in the town of Preble. This tract, with 
 certain additions which the thrifty settler ac- 
 quired, came into the possession of his three sons, 
 Garrett, Francis and Albert, who all married and 
 reared large families. They and their descend- 
 ants were respected citizens, filling offices of 
 trust and acquiring large properties. Garrett, 
 Mr. Van Hoesen's great grandfather, was a sol- 
 dier in the Revolution. His grandson, John Van 
 Hoesen, father of the subject of this sketch, came 
 west. He is now retired from business in mod- 
 crate financial circumstances. His wife was also 
 of direct Holland descent. She was Rhoda Ben- 
 nett, daughter of Gershom Bennett, a faniur of 
 
 Onondaga County, New York, whose ancestors 
 came from Holland to Green County, New York, 
 and later came to Onondaga County to the town 
 of Tully, where Mrs. \'an Hoesen was born in 
 1814. Francis \'an Hoesen was born at Tully 
 on January 8, 1839. When he was fifteen years 
 of age his parents came to Hastings, Minnesota, 
 then but a frontier village. His early schooling 
 was obtained at the common schools of New 
 York and Minnesota. Later he went for two 
 years to the Oneida Conference Seminary at 
 Cazenovia, Madison County, New York, and to 
 the Law School of the University of Michigan, 
 from which he graduated in 1864. This educa- 
 tion was not obtained without much hard work. 
 Air. A'an Hoesen taught school and engaged in 
 other employment as he could in order to obtain 
 the funds to maintain himself at college. After 
 Ijeing admitted to the bar by the supreme conn 
 of Michigan in 1864 he read law for a short time 
 at Hastings and then commenced practice cm his 
 own account at Owatonna, Minnesota, with 
 Julius B. Searles, brother of J. N. Searles, of 
 .Stillwater. Being offered an attractive partner- 
 ship by T. B. Waheman, of McHenry County, 
 Illinois, he went there in 1865, but his health 
 failed after a few months and he was obliged to 
 give up office work for a time. He returned 
 to Minnesota and spent the following year in 
 the woods and on the prairies most of the time 
 engaged in examining government lands for 
 entry by private parties. On one of his visits to 
 St. Cloud then the location of the United States 
 land office, he became acquainted with T. C. 
 McClure, one of the famotis triumvirate of Clark, 
 Wait & McClure, who for many years were domi- 
 nant spirits in the busmess and politics of the 
 northwestern part of the state. Mr. McClure 
 offered young Von Hoesen a place in his bank. 
 The offer was accept and the position was held 
 until 1867 when he went to Alexandria and 
 branched out for himself. Mr. Van Hoesen at- 
 tributes much of his success to the influence and 
 ti'aining of Mr. McClure. fnr wli.ini he has 
 always had the greatest regard and respect. At 
 Alexandria, then but a scattered village, eighty- 
 five miles from a railroad, Mr. Van Hoesen re- 
 connnenced the practice of his profession. ITe 
 was almost immediately elected county attorney, 
 but his services to the public consisted largely in 
 kee]iing the count\- out of litig.'ition r;ither than
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 05 
 
 trying cases. The country filled up rapidly after 
 the war, and in i86() .Mr. \'an lluesen interested 
 other parties and started llu- Hank ol Alexandria. 
 He was cashier and niana^^er and so continued 
 until 1883 when the bank was reorganized intothc 
 First National Hank (if Alexandria, of wliicli he 
 became president. He has continued to hold tiiat 
 position. Though brought up a Democrat, .Mr. 
 Van Hoesen says that in the seccmd year of the 
 war he saw that the only political party wliich 
 was trying to save the nation's life was the Re- 
 publican party. So he came to believe in its 
 principles. Since locating in Alexandria he has 
 taken an active part in political affairs, lie has 
 been county attorney, clerk of the district court, 
 register of deeds, first president of the village 
 council, member of school board and its treasurer 
 for a dozen years, member of the legislature in 
 the house of 1872 and 1881, and in the senate 
 in 1883 and 1885. He has been a Mason since 
 1866, and has held prominent offices in the local 
 lodge. In 1879 he was married to Miss Alary C. 
 Gunderson, daughter of James Gunderson, a 
 farmer, and sister of C. J. (kmderson, of Alex- 
 andria. They have no children. 
 
 FRANK M. PRINCE. 
 
 The above name is that of a man who has 
 grown up with the state, and by his strict fidelity 
 to business and persevering industry has won for 
 himself a place among the financiers of this com- 
 monwealth. F. M. Prince is vice-president of 
 the First National Bank of .Minneapolis. He is 
 the son of George H. Prince and Sarah E. Nash 
 (Prince.) George H. Prince is at present not 
 engaged in active business, being in comfortable 
 circumstances financially. L'rank Al. was born 
 at Amherst, Massachusetts, July 23, 1854. He 
 received a good common education in the public 
 schools of his native town and the high school. 
 The first money he ever earned was carrying mail 
 while attending school from twelve until he was 
 sixteen years of age. He worked in a general 
 store after that age until he was tw^entv vears 
 old, when he came to Minnesota, in December, 
 1874, settling at Stillwater. He was for a year 
 employed in the general store of Prince & French 
 in that city, and in the winter of 1873 taught 
 school. In April of that year he obtained em- 
 
 ployment in the I'irst National iJank of Still- 
 water, working as an office boy and general 
 clerk. He continued in this position until July, 
 1878, when he obtained employment in the First 
 National Bank of Minneapolis, as correspondent 
 and teller. He held this position until Novem- 
 ber, 1882, when he returned to the First National 
 Bank at Stillwater, taking the position of cashier, 
 January i, 1883. He remained in this position 
 for nine years. On August i, 1892, he entered 
 upon his duties as secretar)- and treasurer of the 
 Minnesota Loan and Trust Company, of Minne- 
 apolis. He held this position, however, only two 
 years, when he returned to the First National 
 Bank of Minneapolis, August i, 1894, taking the 
 position of cashier. He was holding this ofifice 
 when he was elected vice-president of the bank, 
 January i, 1805. ^'''- Prince is held in high 
 esteem by all his business associates for his sound 
 judgment and his qualifications as a shrewd and 
 conservative financier. He is also interested in 
 other business enterprises, being a director in the 
 Alinnesota Loan and Trust Company, of Minne- 
 apolis; the Stillwater Water Company, the C. N. 
 Nelson Lvtmber Company and the Merchants' 
 Bank at Cloquet. Mr. Prince's political affilia- 
 tions are with the Republican party. He is a 
 member of the Minneapolis and Commercial 
 clubs. He was married April 26. 1883. to Mary 
 Bell Russell. Airs. Prince died July 27. 1888. 
 Thev had no chiklren.
 
 90 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM WIRT PENDERGAST. 
 
 William Wirt Pendergast, superintendent of 
 public instruction of the state of ^Minnesota, 
 comes from a long line of New England ancestry, 
 the first of whom, Stephen Pendergast, the great- 
 great grandfather of the subject of this sketch, 
 came from Wexford, Ireland, in 1713, and set- 
 tled at Durham, New Hampshire. He built a 
 garrison house at Packer's Falls, where his son 
 Edmond, his grandson Edmond, his great grand- 
 son Solomon and the subject of this sketch were 
 all born. .Stephen Pendergast's wife was jane 
 Cotton, a relative of John Cotton. Edmond Pen- 
 dergast, grandfather of ^^'illia^l Wirt Pendergast, 
 served in the Revolutionary War and was at the 
 capture of P.urgoyne. ^fr. Pendergast was born 
 January 31, 1833, the son of Solomon Pender- 
 gast and Lydia (Wiggin) Pendergast. His father 
 was a farmer wlio had a large family and was in 
 rather straightened circumstances. He was, how- 
 ever, a man of education, having fitted for Dart- 
 mouth College at Hampton Academy. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch attended district school, Dur- 
 ham Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, and en- 
 tered liowdoin College Brunswick, Maine, in 
 T850. He was a classmate of ex-Scnatnr W. iX 
 Washburn. Within the last two years he has 
 received tlic (icgrcc of A. 'S]. from his alma mater. 
 Mr. Pendergast was obliged tf) ])ay his own way 
 
 through college, and during this time taught 
 school more or less, at the same time carrying 
 his studies and keeping up with his class. His 
 salary for the first term of school was $15 a 
 month. After leaving college he taught in graded 
 schools in Arnesbury and Essex, Massachusetts, 
 and gained the reputation of being a very suc- 
 cessful teacher. In 1856 he came to Minnesota 
 and took up a homestead at Hutchinson, Mc- 
 Leod County. The following year he taught the 
 first public school opened at Hutchinson. For 
 twenty years he was identified with the Hutchin- 
 son schools as principal, and was superintendent 
 of schools for McLeod County for eight years. 
 In 1862 he, with eight other men from Hutchin- 
 son, were at Fort Snelling to enlist in the army 
 when news was received of the Sioux outbreak. 
 They all returned immediately to defend their 
 homes against the Indians. Mr. Pendergast was 
 placed in command of a squad of home guards 
 and constructed a fort which was just completed 
 when an attack was made. About three hundred 
 Indians surrounded the village, half of which, 
 including ]Mr. Pendergast's house and an academy 
 building which he had just built, were burned. 
 The three hundred Indians, however, were driven 
 l)ack by the eighty home guards, and the settlers 
 were protected from their assaults. Mr. Pender- 
 gast sent his family to Essex. Alassachusetts, and 
 continued in the service as a member of the home 
 guards. When discharged he followed his family 
 to Massachusetts and remained three \ears, as 
 superintendent of the Salisbury Mills High 
 School. Returning again to Hutchinson he re- 
 sumed his work in the schools of Hutchinson 
 and McLeod County. In 1881 he was appointed 
 assistant superintendent of public instruction with 
 .Superintendent D. L. Kiehle. He held that posi- 
 tion for seven years, when he was made principal 
 of the school of agriculture at the experiment sta- 
 tion, a department of the state university. He 
 held this position until September i, 1893, when 
 he was appointed stale superintendent of public 
 instruction. His work in connection with the 
 schools of Minnesota has been crowned with 
 great success. He is a man of broad s\mpathies, 
 of wide reading and souml judgment. He is 
 thoroughly devoted to the interests of public edu- 
 cation and profoundly interested in all that 
 stands for the intellectual develoiimcnt of the 
 masses from the little red school house to the
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 State university. Professor l-'endergast is a Re- 
 publican, and has been since the party was organ- 
 ized, but he has never been a partisan in politics 
 as that would often be inconsistent with his school 
 work to which he is thoroughly devoted. He is 
 a member of the Masonic order and was the first 
 W. M. of Temple No. 49 in Hutchinson, in 1866. 
 August 9, 1857, he married Abbie L. Cogswell, 
 of Essex, Massachusetts and has had nine chil- 
 dren, seven of whom are living, Elizabeth C, 
 Edmond K., Mary A., Perley P., Sophie M., 
 Warren W. and Eilen M. 
 
 WILLARD JAMES Hll'Ll). 
 
 Willard James Hield. general manager of 
 the Twin City Rapid Transit Company, has 
 earned the desirable position which he holds by 
 the faithful and efficient discharge of his duties 
 in the less responsible positions through which 
 he has passed in the service of that company. 
 Mr. Hield is a native of Wisconsin. He was 
 born at Janesville, ]\Iay ly, 1863, the son of 
 George Hield and Mary H. Rhodes (Hield). His 
 parents were both of English descent and came 
 to America in 1845. Tliey located in Wisconsin 
 before there w-as a mile of railroad within the 
 state. George Hield settled on a farm in Rock 
 County, from which he afterward removed to 
 Janesville, where he engaged in business as a 
 contractor and a wholesale dealer in grain and 
 other agricultural products. More recently he and 
 his wife, both of whom are still living, have moved 
 to Minneapolis, where Mr. Hield is enjoying a 
 comfortable old age without the burden of any 
 business cares. Willard James was given a high 
 school education at Janesville, and in 1887 came 
 to Minneapolis and entered the service of the 
 street railway company in October of that year. 
 His business experience prior to that consisted of 
 four years in the employment of Bassett & Echlin, 
 of Janesville, jobbers in saddlery and hardware. 
 He was employed in various capacities by the 
 railway company, first in office work, and then, 
 during the strike of 1889, he was assigned to 
 outside work, assisting somewhat in the opening 
 of the lines, and at the close of the controversy 
 was appointed superintendent of the Minneapolis, 
 Lyndale & INIinnetonka Railway, a steam road 
 known as the motor line, which was absorbed by 
 
 the street railway company. Eater, when this line 
 was abandoned, or rather when it was changed 
 from a steam and horse car line to an electric 
 road, Mr. Hield was put in charge of its construc- 
 tion and for two years acted as superintendent of 
 that wiirk. I'efore this undertaking was fully 
 comjileted, in July, 1891 he was appointed super- 
 intendent of the entire street railway system in 
 Minneapolis. Six months later, during the pro- 
 longed absence of \'ice President and General 
 Alanager Goodrich, Mr. Hield was elevated to 
 the office of manager, and on the consolidation 
 of the lines in Minneapolis and St. Paul in the 
 spring of 1892, he was appointed general man- 
 ager i)i the entire consolidated system. This 
 position he now holds. Mr. Hield was married 
 in Minneapolis, December 24, 1885. to Miss Ena 
 P. I'"reenian. They have two children, ClifTord 
 Chase, born July 15, 1888, and Willard Freeman, 
 born December 19, 1895. Mr. Hield's highly 
 successful career illustrates the fact that capability 
 and devotion to business win the best rewards in 
 commercial and industrial life. Such success as 
 he has attained, and which is by no means incon- 
 siderable, he owes to no one but himself, his 
 advancement to his present responsible position 
 having come as a result of his faithful perform- 
 ance of his duties in less prominent positions. 
 JMr. Hield resides in Minneapolis.
 
 98 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES d'AUTREAKJXT, JR. 
 
 The story of the origin of Charles d'Autre- 
 mont, Jr., of Diduth, has all such elements of 
 romance and tragedy as are expected in the lives 
 of descendants of participants in the affairs of 
 Prance at the time of the revolution. IJuluth is 
 indebted to the Reign of Terror for one of her 
 most prominent citizens. Air. d'Autreniont's 
 great grandmother was Alme. Alarie Jeane d'Ohet 
 d'Autremont. She was the widow of Hubert 
 d'Autremont, and with her three sons, Louis 
 Paul, Alexander Hubert and Auguste Francois 
 Cecile, escaped froiu h" ranee in 1702, and settled 
 on a tract of land previously acijuired on the 
 Chenango River, in the state of Xew York. They 
 had been there but a short time when the\- re- 
 moved to a colony called Asylum, established by 
 French Royalists in Pennsylvania, on the Sus(|ue- 
 hanna river, near the present town (if Tnwanda. 
 A few years later the oldest son, Louis, returned 
 to France with Talleyrand in the ca]xicitv of sec- 
 retary to that great statesman, lie afterwards 
 visited England and Portugal as a representa- 
 tive of the I'rench government. When Xapoleon 
 in 1800 granted amnesty to the emigrants who 
 left France during the "Reign of Terror." the 
 colony of Asylum was abandnned, ucarK all its 
 inhabitants returning to f'nmce. f'.ut Mnie. 
 d'Autremont. with her two remaining sons, went 
 
 back to the Chenango, where they remained 
 until 1806, when, having purchased a tract of 
 land on the Genesee river, they moved to An- 
 gelica,' New York, where many of their descend- 
 ants have since lived. The subject of this sketch 
 was descended from Alexander d'Autremont, 
 whose son Charles retired from business at an 
 early age and continued to reside at Angelica 
 until his death in 1891. Air. d'Autremont's 
 mother was a daughter of Judge John Collins, of 
 Angelica. Judge Collins was a native of Con- 
 necticut. His wife was Ann Gregory, an EngHsh 
 woman. He was a lieutenant in the army in the 
 war of 1 81 2. After the close of the war he, with 
 others, purchased a large tract of land in Alle- 
 gheny County and moved there, to practice his 
 profession, and dispose of his land. Charles 
 d'Autremont, Jr., was born at Angelica, on June 
 2, 185 1. He commenced his education at An- 
 gelica Academy, and in 1868 entered the fresh- 
 man class at Cornell LIniversity. On account of 
 ill health he left college at the end of his junior 
 year and went to Lausanne, Switzerland, and 
 entered the Academy there. Upon his return to 
 America in 1872 he conmienced the study of law 
 in the office of his uncle. Judge John G. Collins, 
 at Angelica. After reading with Judge Collins 
 for a year Air. d'Autremont Avent to New York 
 and entered Columbia Law School, from which 
 he graduated in the spring of 1875. After a sum- 
 mer in Europe he entered the law oiifice of Hart 
 & AIcGuire, at Elmira, New York. Two years 
 later he opened an office of his own. In 1879 
 he again visited Europe. The fall of 1882 found 
 Air. d'Autremont a resident of Duluth. It came 
 about by chance. ( >n his way east from a hunt- 
 ing trip on the Little Alissouri, Air. d'Autremont 
 happened to miss the steamer at Duluth, and 
 was compelled to wait over several days. This 
 delay afforded an opportunity of meeting the 
 I)eo])le of the town, and he was so ])leased with 
 them, and so favorably impressed with the place 
 that, innnediateh' upon reaching home, he 
 packed up his belongings and returned with his 
 family to Diduth. In ])olitics Air. trAutremont 
 has been steadfastly and consistently a Demo- 
 crat. While at Elmira he was a member of the 
 Pionrd of Snpei"visors of Chemung Count\. In 
 i88.| he was elected count\- attorne\- of St. Louis 
 Countx', Alimiesota. I'our vears after he was.
 
 PKOGRBSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 99 
 
 the Democratic nominee for attorney general of 
 Minnesota, but was defeated with the rest of 
 the ticket. He was elected mayor of Uuluth 
 in 1892, and in i8y6 was a democratic presi- 
 dential elector for ^Minnesota. He participated 
 actively in the Greeley campaign of 1872, the 
 Tilden campaign of 1876 and the Hancock cam- 
 paign of 1880, and was president of Tilden and 
 Hancock clubs at Elmira. In the Hancock 
 campaign he spoke in both New York and Penn- 
 sylvania, and since coming to Minnesota has 
 been in demand as a political speaker. On April 
 21, 1880, ]Mr. d'Autremont and Miss Hattie H. 
 Hart were married at Elmira, where J\Irs. d'Autre- 
 mont's father, E. P. Hart, was a long distin- 
 guished member of the bar. They have five 
 children, Antoinette, Louis Paul, Charles Mau- 
 rice, Hubert Hart and Marie Genevieve. Mr. 
 d'Autremont is a charter member of the Kitchi 
 Gammi Club, of Duluth, and belongs to St. 
 Omar's Commandery at Elmira, and a member 
 of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity. 
 
 J. H. THOMPSON. 
 
 J. H. Thompson is one of the pioneer set- 
 tlers of Minneapolis, having been engaged in 
 business in that city for over forty years as a 
 merchant tailor and dealer in gents' furnishing 
 goods. He was born in South Berwick, [Maine, 
 August 17, 1834, the son of Daniel G. Thompson 
 and Dorca Allen Hayes (Thompson.) His father 
 was a well-to-do farmer in the state of Maine. In 
 September, 1843, the family removed from South 
 Berwick to a farm in North Yarmouth, Maine, 
 where the subject of this sketch worked on the 
 farm and attended the country school until he 
 was fifteen years of age. He was then engaged 
 as a clerk in George S. Farnsworth's store at 
 North Bridgton, jNIaine. A year later, in ^larch, 
 1850, he commenced to learn the tailor's trade 
 with Nathaniel Osgood. He here attended the 
 North Bridgton Academy in the winter of 185 1. 
 In July, 1853, he removed to Augusta, Maine, and 
 was employed as a clerk and cutter by Richard 
 Bosworth. In March, 1853, he was employed in 
 the same capacity by J. H. and F. W. Chisam, of 
 the same city. In the winter of 1856 he came 
 West, looking over several locations in order to 
 find a suitable location to open business, finally 
 deciding to try what was then St. Anthony. He 
 
 started in the tailoring business in this town in 
 the winter of 1856-57, being the first tailor in 
 Minneapolis. He has continued in the same line 
 of business ever since and has enjoyed a large 
 and profitable trade. In connection wdth his 
 tailoring l)usincss he had for years the first ex- 
 press office in .Minneapolis, and also sold the 
 first railroad tickets to the East via steamboats 
 and by rail from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. 
 In August, 1862, he was a volunteer in Captain 
 Anson Northrup's company for the relief of the 
 threatened settlers at Fort Ridgely. He is a 
 Republican in politics and takes an active part 
 in party affairs. He served as supervisor of the 
 town of Minneapolis for several years, and also 
 as alderman. In the fall of 1856, when only 
 twenty-one years of age, he took considerable 
 interest in the election of John C. Fremont, Re- 
 publican candidate for president. In September 
 of the same year he was elected and took the 
 three degrees in Ancient Free and Accepted 
 Masonry, in Bethlehem Lodge, No. 35, jurisdic- 
 tion of Maine. In November of the same year 
 he was elected Senior Deacon of the lodge. 
 He has held several other offices in the ]\Iasonic 
 fraternity, more especially that of the grand 
 treasurers office consecutively for the past nine- 
 teen vears. On September 18, i860, he was 
 married to ^liss Ellen M. Gould, at Minneapolis, 
 and has two children living.
 
 100 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 BEXJAAIIX B. SHEFFIELD. 
 
 Mayor B. B. Sheffield, of Faribault, is one of 
 the younger and at the same time one of the very 
 successful business men of .Minnesota. He has 
 lived in Faribault since he was a boy, and has 
 grown up among its people, and made a remark- 
 able success of what promised at the outset to be 
 a losing business. He is very popular in his 
 home, and has been twice elected mayor, the sec- 
 ond time bv a combination of Ijoth parties and 
 without ojjposition. Mr. .Sheffield comes of good 
 stock. His father .M. !'>. Sheffield, a well-known 
 business man, was of a family which has always 
 had the reputation of unimpeachaijle integrit\- 
 and honesty. His wife was Aliss Rachel Tu])]>er, 
 a daughter of a prominent family in Xova Scotia, 
 a first cousin to Sir Charles Tupper. now secre- 
 tary of the Dominion of Canada. B. 11. Sheffield 
 was born at Aylesford, Xova Scotia, on Decem- 
 ber 23, i860. His ])arents moved to .Minnesota 
 in 1865, Mr. Sheffield becoming a retail mer- 
 chant at I-'aribault. iSenjamin grew np at i'ari- 
 bault and attended the public schools, and later 
 spending five years at the Shattuck Military 
 school, from which he graduated in 1X80 with 
 honors. He took the first oratorical prize, a gold 
 medal, in 1877. "<■' passed the examination loi 
 Yale College soon after his graduation from Shat- 
 tuck, but for financial reasons difl not enter col- 
 
 lege, Init innnediately went into business. 
 Though only nineteen years of age he assumed 
 the management of the Walcott Flour Mills for 
 his father. These mills were at that time four 
 miles from any railroad, and had been a losing 
 business for all previous owners. There was at 
 that time an indebtedness of $15,000 on the plant. 
 In spite of the obstacles young Sheffield made the 
 project go. For two years he actually did the 
 Avork and took the place of three men. At the end 
 of that time he had the satisfaction of seeing 
 the property on a sound financial basis, 
 and in succeeding years developed the business, 
 Ijrought railroads to the mill doors, and increased 
 the capacity of the plant to one thousand barrels 
 a day. (..)n Xovember 31, 1895, the Walcott 
 mills were burned. While the mills were still 
 burning Mr. Sheffield telegraphed for contract- 
 ing agents to innnediately plan new mills of one- 
 thousand barrels capacity. He formed the Shef- 
 field Milling Company with a paid up capital of 
 $200,000 had the new mill completed and in 
 operation in about si.K months. In addition to 
 the milling interest Mr. Sheffield is president of 
 the Crown Elevator Company, owning and con- 
 trolling a line of thirty elevators in Xorth and 
 South Dakota and Minnesota. Mr. Sheffield has 
 been identified closeh' with the progress of Fari- 
 bault. He has always been ready to foster any 
 industry which might advance his city, and he 
 has heliJed public enterprises with his personal 
 office and his private funds. He is president of 
 the Security Bank of Faribault. In politics he 
 lias been consistently a Repultlican, and served 
 as vice president of the city council for two years. 
 He was elected mayor for the first term by the 
 largest majority in the histon- of the city, and 
 upon his second candidacy there was no (.ijiposi- 
 tion. Mr. Sheffiekl was married on July 18, i88g, 
 to Miss Carrie A. Crossette. The\- have had two 
 children, one of whom, F)lanche aged five, is liv- 
 ing. During his busy business life Mr. .Shef- 
 field has ac(|nirc(l the art of si)cech making and 
 when occasion demands can deliver a graceful, 
 schfilarly address. ."Xt the time of the visit of the 
 F-lMscopal (onvcntion to I'arihaiilt in 1805 
 Mayor .Shcflield who is also vestryman in Bishop 
 \\'hip])le"s I'nion Cathedral Parish, made the ad- 
 dress of welcome which was regarded as a model 
 of its kind.
 
 PKOGKKSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 101 
 
 JAAFES J. HILL. 
 
 James J. Hill, president of the Great Xorth- 
 crii Railroad, was a fanner's boy, Ixjrn September 
 16, 1838, near Guelpli, in ( 'ntario, where his 
 grandfather was one of the earliest settlers and 
 made his home on the Canada Company's land.s 
 in 1826. lames attended R(jekwot)d Aeademy, a 
 Quaker school, near his home, from his seventli 
 to his fifteenth year, acc|uiring a s.:;oo(l knowledge 
 of mathematics and a fair start in Latin, .\boul 
 this time his father died and he left home to 
 make his own way in the world, h'or two years 
 he was clerk in a mercantile hnuse and tlu-n, in 
 1856, he left Canada to take advantage ot the 
 larger opportunities offered to young men in the 
 United States. In July he arrived in St. Paul, 
 then a town of about six thousand inhabitants. 
 That was the day of the river steamboat and the 
 river bank was the center of activity. He secured 
 employment with J. \\'. Bass & Co. agents of 
 the Dubuque and St. Paul Packet Company as 
 a shipping clerk. This firm was succeeded by 
 Bronson. Lewis & White, for whom young Hill 
 served as shipping clerk for three years. He was 
 subsequently one year with Temple & Beaupre, 
 and four years with Pjorup & Champlin, agents 
 for the Galena Packing Company and the David- 
 son line. At the outl)reak of the rebellion Mr. 
 Hill assisted in raising a cavalry company for the 
 war, but it was not accejjted and Air. Hill, dis- 
 appointed in his military aspirations, went back 
 to his river position. In 1865 he took the agency 
 of the Northwestern Packet Company and con- 
 tinued in that capacity until 1867. 1-Vom 1867 
 to 1869 he was engaged in general transportation 
 and fuel business and was the agent and con- 
 signee of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad. In 
 1869 he formed a partnership, known as Hill, 
 Briggs & Co., for the carrying on of the fuel 
 business and also the transportation business. It 
 was this firm which brought the first coal to St. 
 Paul. This firm for the first time opened regular 
 and direct communication between St. Paul and 
 Fort Gary, now Winnipeg. In 1871 he consoli- 
 dated his Red River interests with those previous- 
 ly organized by Norman W. Kittson, agent of the 
 Hudson Bay Company, at St. Paul. The Hudson 
 Bav Company was operating a steamboat line be- 
 tween jMoorhead and Winnipeg. This company, 
 of which Donald A. .Smith was chief commis- 
 
 sioner, owned some stock in the Kittson Com- 
 ])any, and as a result of the consolidation of the 
 companies .Mr. Smith became associated with .Mr. 
 Hill. \n 1873 the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad 
 became embarrassed and defaulted the interest 
 on its bonds. Mr. Hill had watched the develop- 
 ment of the .Xorthwest very closely and foresaw 
 the time when a dense population would lie 
 spread over the Red River \'alley which should 
 be rendered accessible by railroad. When the St. 
 Paul & Pacific went into bankruptcy in 1873. Mr. 
 Hill had not lost his faith in the value of the 
 property and was determined to obtain control of 
 it. It was a splendid dream. InU he set about to 
 make it a realitv. There were $33,000,000 of 
 principal and interest outstanding of the default- 
 ing bonds of the company, held mostly in Am- 
 sterdam, lliey had become so thoroughly dis- 
 credited that it was possible to buy them at a low- 
 figure. Sir Donald A. Smith, who is now High 
 CommissifMier from Canada to Great Britain, 
 was at that time the Chief Executive of the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company and was anxious to open 
 up the Canadian Northwest by a railway connect- 
 ing with the rest of the world. In 1876 nego- 
 tiations commenced with the Dutch bondholders 
 and in the following year George Stephen, presi- 
 dent of the Bank of Montreal, was also inter- 
 ested in the enterprise. The negotiations cul- 
 minated in February, 1878, in the purchase of
 
 102 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 nearly all the bonds outstanding. The road was 
 still in the hands of a receiver, but under orders 
 from the circuit court was extended from Melrose 
 to Alexandria, and subsequently to St. Mncent. 
 In May and June, 187Q, the mortgages securing 
 the bonds were foreclosed. The property was 
 acquired and a new company, the St. Paul, Min- 
 neapolis & Manitoba, was organized with George- 
 Stephen as president and Mr. Hill as general 
 manager. He served in this capacity till 1882. 
 He was then made vice president, and in the fol- 
 lowing year was elected president, which office 
 he has held ever since. While these operations 
 were going on in 1875, in cotmection with K. X. 
 Saunders, C. W. Griggs and William Rhodes, Mr. 
 Hill organized the Xorthwestern Intel Companw 
 In 1878 when he had come into virtual possession 
 of the railroad property, he sold his interest.^ 
 in the fuel company and the Red River Navi- 
 gation Comjiany. From 1880 to 1882, in 
 connection with his associates, George Stephen 
 and Donald A. Smith, and also with R. P.. Angus, 
 Morton, Rose & Co., of London, and other capi- 
 talists, Mr. Hill engaged in the organization and 
 construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, but 
 in 1883 he sold out his interests in the Canadian 
 Pacific enterprise and since that time has devoted 
 his entire attention to the affairs of the St. Paul, 
 ?^Iinneapolis & Manitoba Comjiany, more re- 
 cently designated as the Great Northern. The 
 policv he has pursued has been an aggressive one, 
 and it is under his vigorous management that this 
 magnificent property has been brought to its 
 present pro])ortions, comprising about 4,500 
 miles, and reaching from ^Minneapolis and St. 
 Paul to Puget Sound, and from Dulutli to Yank- 
 ton on the Missouri River. With the exception 
 of about 400 miles of the original line, lying 
 within the state of Minnesota, it has been built 
 entirely without the aid of land grants, and with 
 a capitalization in stocks and bonds not to ex- 
 ceed $28,000 per mile. This achievement is with- 
 out a parallel in the history of other great rail- 
 road enterprises in this country. Further than 
 that, since he took control of the company not 
 a dividend lias been passed. In connection with 
 his railroad Mr. Hill has established a line of 
 freight and ])assenger steamers on the lakes, 
 which include among their number the magnifi- 
 cent floating palaces, the "Northwest" and the 
 "Northland," two of the finest steamships ever 
 
 constructed for any water. These vessels ply be- 
 tween Duluth and Buffalo. While burdened with 
 the responsibilities of these great enterprises, 1s.It. 
 Hill has also found time to interest himself in 
 other enterprises. One of these, which may pos- 
 sibly be counted as one of his recreations, is the 
 p-urchase and improvement of his large stock 
 farm. North Oaks, eight miles north of St. Paul, 
 where he has gone extensively into the breeding 
 of fine stock. It was from this farm that he sup- 
 plied a large number of choice animals free to 
 farmers along the line of his road for the purpose 
 of encouraging the raising of live stock 
 of the best kind. He has also contributed 
 lil^erally to various educational and other 
 philanthropic enterprises, perhaps the most nota- 
 ble instance of his liberality in this respect being 
 his donation of half a million dollars to found a 
 Catholic college in the outskirts of St. Paul. Mr. 
 Hill married early and has a family of nine chil- 
 dren, for whom he has provided one of the most 
 stately and elegant homes in the country. He has 
 always been a student, a great reader, and is a 
 man of surprising breadth of culture and infor- 
 mation for one who has been so actively engaged 
 in business from his boyhood. His home con- 
 tains one of the finest collections of works of art 
 owned by any private indi\'i(lual in the country. 
 
 WILLIAM BELL ^MITCHELL. 
 
 William Bell Mitchell has. until re- 
 centl}-, been identified with journalism in Minne- 
 sota since 1858. His father, Henry Z. iMitchell, 
 came to Minnesota from Pennsylvania and by 
 appointment of Governor Ramsey was made 
 commissary general of Minnesota during the time 
 of the Indian troubles. He located in St. Cloud 
 in May, 1857, was appointed postmaster of that 
 town by President Lincoln, and was deputy pro- 
 vost marshal for a time during the war. Hh 
 wife was Elizabeth A. Canon, whose ancestors 
 were Scotch Covenanters, and among those who 
 suffered manv privations and persecutions in 
 Scotland for the sake of their faith. Her only 
 sister was the celebrated ]\Irs. Jane Gray Swiss- 
 helm, who cut a large figure in the anti-slavery 
 movement and in Minnesota journalism in the 
 earlv history of the state. The subject of this 
 sketch was born May 14. 1S43. at Wilkinsbnrg,
 
 PROGRESSIVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 103 
 
 now a part of the city of Pittsburg. He attended 
 a local academy and spent a year in the mathe- 
 matical department of Duff's College, I'ittsburg, 
 before moving to Minnesota. After his arrival in 
 St. Cloud he attended an academy in that town 
 for a siiort time, and for a year or more took 
 private lessons in such time as his work in a 
 printing office would permit, but by the time he 
 was eighteen his srhnnl davs were over. .Mr. 
 Mitchell recalls that his first dollar, which he 
 received in depreciated county orders, was earned 
 in the spring of 1858, when he was only fifteen 
 years of age. He was a member of a surveying 
 party under T. H. Barrett, afterwards Gen. Bar- 
 rett, to locate the state road from St. Cloud to 
 Breckenridge, through a country then unsettled. 
 This work occupied nearly six weeks. The fol- 
 lowing winter Mr. Mitchell obtained employment 
 in the office of the St. Cloud Visiter, a paper 
 published by Mrs. Swisshelm, intending to re- 
 main at first but a short time. He learned to 
 set type, was afterwards made foreman of the 
 office, then local editor and news editor of the 
 paper, did a little general editorial work and so 
 on, with the result that the engagement which 
 was intended to be but temporary, became per- 
 manent. The Visiter was the red-hot anti- 
 slavery paper -which fought the battle of abolition 
 so vigorously that one night the type, and part 
 of the press, was thrown into the Mississippi 
 River. After the war broke out Mrs. Swisshelm 
 went to Washington to devote herself to hospital 
 work. Mr. Mitchell continued to run the paper, 
 and in 1864 purchased the plant. Mrs. Swiss- 
 helm had changed the name of it to the Demo- 
 crat. This was a political misnomer, and Mr. 
 Mitchell named it the Journal. In 1876 he pur- 
 chased the Press, which had been started four 
 years before, and consolidated the two papers 
 under the name of the Journal-Press. He con- 
 tinued the publication of this paper as a straight- 
 out Republican weekly, and made it one of the 
 best country weeklies in the whole country. In 
 1892, having become interested in a pulp mill 
 and other manufacturing enterprises, Mr. 
 Mitchell sold the paper on September i to Alvah 
 Eastman, of Anoka, still retaining, however, a 
 business interest in and having editorial connec- 
 tion with the paper. Mr. Alitchell's manufactur- 
 
 
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 ing business was destroyed by fire in August, 
 1893, and since that time he has been engaged 
 in the real estate and loan business. He has 
 been for a long time active in promoting the 
 best interests of the city of St. Cloud, and was 
 an active member and director of the St. Cloud 
 Waterpower Company which constructed the 
 dam across the Mississippi River at that point. 
 Mr. Mitchell has always been a Republican, and 
 while he was never a candidate for any elective 
 office, has held several appointive offices. Presi- 
 dent Lincoln made him receiver of the land 
 office of St. Cloud in 1865. He was removed 
 for political reasons by President Johnson, was 
 re-appointed by President Hayes in 1878 and by 
 President Arthur in 1882, and was removed by 
 President Cleveland for "offensive partisan- 
 ship" in 1885. He has been a member 
 of the state lioard oi normal school direct- 
 ors, and has been resident director of 
 the Normal School of St. Cloud since 1887. 
 He has taken an active interest in politics and 
 has served on various party committees. Mr. 
 Mitchell is a member of the Presbyterian Church. 
 He was married December 7, 1870, in Marietta, 
 Ohio, to Miss Emiiy \M:ittlesey. They have 
 eight children. Carrie T.. Mildred W., Eleanor, 
 Leslie. Jane ^^'.. Henry Z.. Ruth H. and Dorothy.
 
 104 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM H. IJUXWOCJDY. 
 
 William Hood Dunuoody, who has long 
 been identified with the flour milling interests 
 of Minneapolis, is a native of Pennsylvania. He 
 was born in Chester County, on March 14, 
 1841. His father was James Dunw-oody, whose 
 father, grandfather and great grandfather lived 
 in the same vicinity in Chester County and were 
 all engaged in agricultural pursuits. The fam- 
 ily is of Scotch ancestry. Mr. Dunwoody's 
 mother was Hannah Hood, the daughter of 
 William Hood, of Delaware County, Pennsyl- 
 vania, whose ancestors came h> this country 
 when William Penn founded the LoJDuy which 
 took his name. Mr. l)unwoody's early life was 
 passed upon the farm where he wa-^ horn. .Vfter 
 a period of schooling in Philadelphia, he. at the 
 age of eighteen, entered his uncle's store in I'hil- 
 adelphia, and commenced what ])roved to lie 
 the business of his lift-. His uncle was a gniin 
 and flour merchant. After a few years .Mr. Dun- 
 woody commenced business for him.self as a 
 senior member of the firm of Dunwoody & 
 Roberts"-)!!. After ten years of jiractical expe- 
 rience in Philadelphia flour markets, Air. Dun- 
 woody came to Minneapolis in 1869, and, for a 
 time, represented several eastern liouses as flour 
 buyer. Milling at Minneapolis was tlun in a 
 state of transition. It was the time when tln' old- 
 
 fashioned mill stones were giving place to the 
 modern steel rollers and the middlings purifier. 
 With keen perception Mr. Dunwoody saw that 
 a great advance in the milling business was at 
 hand, and in 1871 he embarked in milling as a 
 member of the firm of Tiffany, Dunwoody & 
 Co. He was also a member of the firm of H. 
 Darrow & Co., and the business of both con- 
 cerns was under his personal management. 
 Early in his career as a Minneapolis miller Mr. 
 Dunwoody distinguished himself among his as- 
 sociates by devising and organizing the Minne- 
 apolis Millers" Association, which was for a 
 long time a most important organization, its 
 object being co-operation in the purchase of 
 wheat throughout the northwest country. It 
 had an important part in the building up of the 
 Alinneapolis milling business. Its work was 
 discontinued when the general establishment of 
 elevators and the development of the Minneap- 
 olis wheat market made it no longer necessary 
 for the millers to work in co-operation in buy- 
 ing their wheat. Another important work which 
 ]Mr. Dunwoody early attempted was that of ar- 
 ranging for the direct exportation of flour. It 
 had been the custom to sell through brokers 
 and middle-men of the .\tlantic sea ports. In 
 1877 Mr. Dunwoody went to England and, 
 though he met with a most determined oppo- 
 sition, succeeded in arranging for the direct ex- 
 port of flour from Minneapolis, a custom which 
 has since continued without interruption. 
 Shortly after the great mill explosion of 1878 
 Governor C. C. Washburn induced Mr. Dun- 
 wood v to join him in a milling partnership with 
 the late John Crosby, and Charles J. Martin. 
 The firm thus formed, \\'ashburn, Crosby & 
 Co., continued for many years and was suc- 
 ceeded bv the \\'ash1)urn, Crosby Co., a few 
 \ears since. Since .Mr. Dunwoody's connection 
 with the Washburn mills in 1871) he has been 
 uninleiTiiptedlv identified with the conduct of 
 this famous group of mills. It was natural that 
 Mr. Dunwoody, as a iirominent miller, should 
 take a large interest in the manngenient of ele- 
 vators. He has invested largel\- in elevator 
 properties, and was one of the organizers of 
 the St. Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company, 
 the St. Anthony Elevator Company, and the 
 Duluth Elevator Company. In addition to these
 
 PROGKESSIVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 105 
 
 interests, Mr. Dunwoody holds other important 
 interests, and is connected with a number of 
 the strongest financial institutions of Minneap- 
 olis. He is a director of the Nortlnvestcrn. 
 National Bank and also of the MinneapoHs 
 Trust Company. Before coming to Minneap- 
 olis, Mr. Dunwoody married Miss Kate L. Pat- 
 ten, the daughter of Jolin W. Patten, a promi- 
 nent merchant of Philadelphia. Their home is 
 a handsome dwelling on Tenth Street at the 
 corner of Mary Place. Mr. Dunwoody's refined 
 tastes have been gratified in late years by ex- 
 tensive travel. 
 
 EDWARD G. ROGERS. 
 
 In the veins of E. G. Rogers, Ramsey County's 
 Clerk of the District Court, runs the blood of the 
 heroes of '76. Mr. Rogers takes a just pride in 
 the fact that his grandfather was an officer in the 
 Continental Army and assisted the famous Ethan 
 Allan in the capture of Ticonderoga. i\Ir. Rogers' 
 father, J. N. Rogers, of Berlin, Wisconsin, is a 
 lawyer in comfortable circumstances. His wife 
 was Miss Esther E. Hager, who, like himself, 
 was from a prominent Vermont family. Their 
 son Edward was born at St. Joseph, Michigan, 
 on December 8, 1842. The family moved to Wis- 
 consin, and Edward attended the Berlin schools, 
 graduating finally from the excellent high school 
 of that town. Subsequently he attended the law 
 school of ^lichigan University at Ann Arbor, 
 and was a member of the Webster Law Class at 
 Ann Arbor. When twenty-one years of age he 
 was admitted to the bar in Green Lake County, 
 Wisconsin, and he practiced law at Berlin for a 
 time after being admitted. While residing at 
 Berlin he became a candidate for County Attor- 
 ney on the Republican ticket, but was defeated 
 by the narrow margin of twelve votes. In No- 
 vember, 1866, Mr. Rogers moved to St. Paul, 
 where he has since lived and practiced his profes- 
 sion. At the time he came to St. Paul the town 
 was still dependent upon the river for transporta- 
 tion facilities. Mr. Rogers recalls the fact that 
 he came up from La Crosse on the last boat of 
 the season. In 1869 Mr. Rogers formed a part- 
 nership with his brother, J. N. Rogers, as Rogers 
 & Rogers. This partnership was dissolved in 
 
 1872, Inil Mr. Rogers continui-d under the same 
 firm name with another Ijrother — 1<". L. Rogers — 
 until 1886. After a short period of practice by 
 himself Mr. Rogers formed a partnership with 
 Emerson Hadley, as Rogers & Hadley. The 
 firm enjoyed a very large practice and engaged in 
 many important suits in the federal and state 
 courts. The firm afterwards became Rogers, 
 Hadley & Selmes. Mr. Rogers is a life-long Re- 
 (niblican. He voted for Lincoln for his second 
 term, and has since supported the party with his 
 voice and influence. For years he has been a 
 prominent stump speaker in Ramsey Count}^ 
 and throughout the state. During the years 1878 
 and 1879 his services were remembered by elec- 
 tion to the office of County Attorney of Ramsey 
 County, and to the lower house of the state leg- 
 islature as a representative for Ramsey County 
 for the year 1887. In 1894 he was elected Clerk 
 of the Ramsey County District Court for the 
 four years' term, which has not yet expired. 
 Among the organizations to which ]\Ir. Rogers 
 belongs are the Minnesota Club, the St. Paul 
 Commercial Club, the St. Paul Chamber of Com- 
 merce, the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fel- 
 lows. He is identified with the Presbyterian de- 
 nomination. On November 12, 1878, Mr. Rogers 
 was married at New Albany, Indiana, to Miss 
 ]\Iary E. McCord. of that city. They have one 
 daughter. Miss Tulia McCord Rogers.
 
 10« 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM SULLR'AN PATTEE. 
 
 Dean W. S. Pattee, of the College of Law of 
 the L'niversity of ^^linnesota, was born at Jack- 
 son, Waldo County, Elaine, on September iQ, 
 1846. His father, Daniel Pattee, was of English 
 descent. The first representatives of the family 
 came to this country in about 1660, settling in 
 Massachusetts. The Pattees were among the 
 early settlers of Maine, as were also the IJixbys, 
 from w-hich family came Mrs. Pattee, the mother 
 of the subject of this sketch. Daniel Pattee died 
 at the age of thirty, leaving his wife the care of 
 the two children, Helen and William. She was 
 a woman of great strength of character, and for 
 five years supi)orted herself and children. She 
 then married Isaac Cates, a farmer, living in the 
 town (jf Jackson. Ilei son William grew up on 
 the farm, remaining at home until he was twenty- 
 one years of age. 1 )uring his boyhood and youth 
 he attended the coimnon schools of the vicinity 
 somewhat irregularly. When he was seventeen he 
 spent one term at the llucksjjort academy. He 
 then taught school for a term, and afterwards, in 
 1865, went to Kents JHll, where he attended the 
 Maine Wesleyan Seminary for |)arts of three years, 
 at the same time supjjorting himself by teaching, 
 working on the farm, and <lning whatever he 
 could find III do. While ihere he decided to jire- 
 
 pare for college, and he entered Bowdoin in the 
 sophomore year, and graduated with honor in 
 1 87 1. ]Mr. Pattee attributes his first impulse 
 toward a college education to the influence of 
 Mr. James Crawford, principal of the Bucksport 
 school, who lired the young man with a desire 
 for a broader education. This desire was in- 
 creased by the influence of Henr\' P. Torsey, the 
 president at Kents Hill. In Bowdoin Mr. Pattee 
 was under the influence of President Samuel 
 Harris, wdio did much to awaken his mind to the 
 benefits of philosophical study, and to stimulate 
 him to research in that direction. W'hile in the 
 preparatory schools and in college, Mr. Pattee 
 excelled in debate, and he took several prizes for 
 excellency in oratorical work. He was ora- 
 tor of his class in 1871, and delivered the oration 
 on class day. His education was the result of 
 steady perseverance and continuous hard work, 
 both at his books and at manual labor, and other 
 employments which were "necessary to furnish 
 the means for his education. He received no 
 financial assistance whatever, but on the contrary 
 was able, by strict economy, to render his people 
 much assistance. He early adopted a habit of 
 systematic reading, which he has continued dur- 
 ing life and which has been, in a large measure, 
 the secret of his success in self-education and in 
 his profession. Immediately upon his gradua- 
 tion from Bowdoin, 'S\r. Pattee became the prin- 
 cipal of the public schools in Brunswick, Maine, 
 and held the position until r\ larch, 1872, when he 
 became professor of Greek in Lake Eorest Cni- 
 versity, Illinois. At Lake Forest he also lectured 
 upon botany and other branches of natural sci- 
 ence. In June, 1874, he accepted the superin- 
 tendency of the schools of Northfield, Minneso- 
 ta, where he organized the ven,' excellent system 
 which has continued ever since. During all these 
 years Mr. Pattee was a systematic student of law, 
 and in 1878 he was admitted to the bar in Rice 
 County, and began the ])ractice on July 1, of 
 that year. He entered at once upon a successful 
 and lucrative ])ractice. For ten years he devoted 
 him.-elt untiringly to the ]iractice of lii> profes- 
 sion, being interniiiled only by his election to- 
 the House of Re])resentatives of the .'^tate T^egis- 
 lature, in llie ;intnnin nf iSiS^, While in the leg- 
 islature. .Ml'. Pattee was recognized as an able 
 debater, and was em])loyed particularly in fash-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 107 
 
 ioning the important legislation of that session 
 regarding the railroad and warehouse commis- 
 sion, the incorjDoration of villages, and various 
 other matters of importance. In 1888 Mr. I'attee 
 was chosen by the Regents of the University of 
 Minnesota, as Dean of the faculty of the new 
 College of Law, which position he has since 
 held. He organized the law department and it 
 is largely due to his efforts and wise manage- 
 ment that the law schoul of the L'niversity of 
 Minnesota has been the most successful, during 
 its brief history, of any of tlie law schools of sim- 
 ilar institutions in the country. Its success has, 
 in fact been phenomenal, b'or thoroughness and 
 general excellence it is now quite the equal of 
 Yale, or any other Eastern institution of the 
 kind. During his active work in the law school, 
 Dean Pattee has found time to write and com- 
 pile, with the assistance of his associates, no less 
 than a dozen text books in law, which have been 
 widely introduced into the law schools of the 
 country. Mr. Pattee has always been a Repub- 
 lican in politics. He cast his first vote for Joshua 
 L. Chamberlain for governor of Maine, and at 
 the same time a ballot for General Grant for 
 President. He was married in 1871 to Aliss Julia 
 E. Tuttle, of Plymouth, Maine. They have three 
 children. Charles Sumner, Rowena and Richard. 
 Mr. Pattee is a member of the First Congrega- 
 tional church of Minneapolis, where he has re- 
 sided ever since he became Dean of the Law 
 School. 
 
 J. FRANK CONKLIN. 
 
 J. Frank Conklin has been prominently 
 identified with the dramatic stage in Minneapolis 
 for a number of years, his chief connection with 
 that profession having been as manager of the 
 Grand Opera House during nearly the entire time 
 of its existence as a play house. Mr. Conklin was 
 born August 14, 1852, at Newburgh, New York. 
 His father James O. Conklin, was a well-to-do 
 farmer of Orange County. His mother's maiden 
 name was Rebecca Purdy. His ancestry on his 
 father's side were well-to-do farmers, and the 
 line is traced to prominent characters in the war 
 of 1812. On his mother's side he is descended 
 fiom a family of merchants in New York City. 
 Mr. Conklin was educated in the common schools 
 of Orange County, and at Sigler's Newburgh 
 
 Institute. In 1880 he came West, locating in 
 Minneapolis, where he became assistant manager 
 of the old Academy of i\Iusic. On the com- 
 pletion of the Syndicate Block, of which the 
 Grand Opera was a part, Mr. Conklin was 
 appointed manager of the whole property, a posi- 
 tion which he still holds, although recently the 
 Grand Opera House has been closed as an 
 amusement house. Mr. Conklin's .superior busi- 
 ness qualifications have placed him in charge of 
 a large amount of property in Minneapolis and 
 St. Paul, including besides the Syndicate Block, 
 the Guaranty Loan building, Temple Court 
 and other important buildings in Minneapo- 
 lis, and the Lowry Arcade and Globe 
 Building in St. Paul. Air. Conklin began his 
 business career at the age of twenty. His first 
 year, for which he received the munificent sum 
 of fifty dollars and board, was spent in the pro- 
 duce business in New York City. Later he opened 
 a store in New York on his tjwn account, and also 
 one in Jacksonville. Florida. He had disposed 
 of his business prior to his removal to the West 
 In politics yir. Conklin is a Republican, although 
 he has never sought any office or taken a very 
 active part in political affairs. He is a member 
 of the Minneapolis Club. On September 11, 
 1878, he was married to Miss Lizzie Merritt. of 
 Marlborough. New York. They have four chil- 
 dren, Margaretta B.. Clara Tlsamine, J. Frank, Jr., 
 and Edwin Herrick.
 
 los 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 RICHARD \V. JUHXSOX. 
 
 General R. W. Johnson was born in Livings- 
 ton County, Kentucky, on February 7, 1827. 
 His ancestry on his father's side is English. The 
 family came from England in 1645. His grand- 
 father was major of the Mrginia forces in the 
 War of the Revolution. A distinguished mem- 
 ber of the family was Richard AI. Johnson, once 
 Vice President. He was a distinguished soldier 
 in the War of 1812; this officer was a cousin of 
 General Johnson's father, James Johnson, who 
 was a physician, and also sei-ved in the ^^'ar of 
 181 2 as assistant surgeon. James L. Johnson, 
 General Johnson's brother, was a member of 
 Congress from 1849 to 1851. Two uthcr broth- 
 ers were prominent in the ]M'ofession of law and 
 medicine. General Johnson received his early 
 education at tlie connnon schools of Livingston 
 County, Kentucky, and graduated at the United 
 States Military Academy, and was at once ap- 
 pointed brevet, second lieutenant of the Second 
 Regiment of Infantry, and a few months later 
 on October 4, 184Q, he reported for duty at Fort 
 Snelling, Minnesota. During the ne.xt two years 
 he commanded several expeditions against the 
 Indians, and while in the service, cstalilishcd the 
 post on the Dcs Moines river, sul)sef|ucntly 
 named Fort Dodge, and which has since become 
 a fioiirisliing citv in nurthcrn Tfiwa, ' )n Tunc in. 
 
 1850, he was promoted to be second lieutenant, 
 and assigned to the First Regiment of Infantry, 
 then stationed at Fort Duncan, Texas. The next 
 ten years were spent in the army service in the 
 South. During this time he was promoted, and 
 in 1861 held the rank of captain. Ke was in 
 Texas at the time General Twiggs surrendered 
 the United States troops to the Rebel authori- 
 ties. With his company he escaped and arrived 
 at Carlisle Barracks in April, 1861. In August 
 of that year he accepted the position of lieuten- 
 ant colonel of the Third Kentucky \'olunteer 
 Cavalry, l)ut Ijefore the regiment was completely 
 organized he was appointed Brigadier General 
 of A'olunteers. Reporting to General Anderson 
 he was put in command of a brigade. After the 
 capture of Xashville he was stricken with fever 
 and ordered to the hospital at Louisville, l^ut on 
 hearing of the battle of Shiloh he hastened to the- 
 front, joined his command and assisted in the 
 siege of Corinth. Lhider the command of Gen- 
 eral Buell he participated in the subsequent 
 marches in Alabama and Tennessee. In Decem- 
 ber, 1862, he was assigned to the command of a 
 division and participated in the battles of Stone 
 River, Liberty Gap and in the marches and skir- 
 mishes which culminated in the capture of Chat- 
 tanooga. He was engaged in the battles of 
 Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and all the bat- 
 tles preceeding Atlanta, including that of New 
 Hope Church, in which he was wounded on May 
 27, 1864. This wound incapacitated him for full 
 service for the time, but he was with Tiiomas in 
 the battle of Nashville, where he took an im- 
 portant part. After Hood was driven from Ten- 
 nessee General Johnson was put in command of 
 the middle district of that state. At the close of 
 the war he was mustered out of the volunteer 
 service. He then came to Minnesota and settled 
 in .'-It. l^aul, engaging in the real estate business, 
 which he has since continued. Since the break- 
 ing up of the Whig party General Johnson has- 
 bi'cn a Denidcrat. He was iiominated for gov- 
 ernor of Minnesota in 1881, but was defeated by 
 L. 1'. Hubbard. He was one of the first niem- 
 l)ers of the .Minnesota iiistdrical Society, and" 
 has taken a great interest in historical literature. 
 He has written and published two books, one the 
 "History of General George H. Tlinmas," and 
 the I idler, "Reminiscences of a Snldier in Peace-
 
 TKOGKESSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 109 
 
 and War." He has made contributions to the; 
 newspapers and magazines. General Johnson 
 has been twice married. His first wife was Miss 
 Rachel E. Steele, a sister of branklin Steele. 
 They had three children, Alfred 15. Johnson, cap- 
 tain in the United States Army; R. W. Johnson, 
 Jr., assistant surgeon in the I nited States Army, 
 and Henry Sibley Johnson, who is treasurer of 
 the Winona & Southwestern railroad. The sec- 
 ond marriage was to Miss Julia M. Corsan, who 
 is mother of Jolin Al. Johnson, Ceneral John- 
 son's youngest son. 
 
 jMILTON DWIGHT rURDY. 
 
 Milton Dwight Purdy is assistant city attor- 
 ney of Minneapolis. He was born November 3, 
 1866, in the village of Mogadore, Sunnnit County, 
 Ohio, the son of Milton Gushing Purdy and 
 Sarah Jane Hall (Purdy). Milton Gushing Purdy 
 resides at Whitehall, Illinois. His occupation 
 during his whole life has been that of a manu- 
 facturer of stone ware, except a few years in 
 which he was engaged in the manufacture of 
 matches at Akron, Ohio. He built the first 
 match factory in that city, but subsequently sold 
 it to the Barber Alatch Gompany, which is now 
 one of the largest concerns in the I'nited States. 
 Milton Dwight removed with his parents to 
 Illinois in 1870 and located at Whitehall. He 
 was educated in the public schools in Whitehall, 
 and graduated from the high school at the age of 
 seventeen in the class of 1884. Two years after 
 his graduation were occupied in teaching in 
 Greene Gounty, the first year at the town of Pat- 
 terson, the second year in the public schools of 
 Whitehall, as principal of tlie grammar depart- 
 ment. For several years prior to this time Air. 
 Purdy, during his sunnner vacations, worked at 
 and learned the potter's trade in his father's fac- 
 tory. This work at first brought him about 
 forty cents a day until he became old enough to 
 have a wheel of his own when he made all the 
 way from two to five dollars a day. In this man- 
 ner and by teaching school for two years he ac- 
 quired sufficient funds to enable him to go to 
 college. In the fall of 1886 Air. Purdy came to 
 Alinnesota for the purpose of entering the State 
 University. He remained in that institution for 
 six years, in which time he completed the full 
 classical course and was graduated in 1891 from 
 
 the collegiate department, and in the class of 
 1892 from the law school. In the second year at 
 college he joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternit}'. 
 He took an active part in two oratorical contests 
 for the Pillsbury prize at the university. In the first 
 contest he received third place, and in the second 
 contest was awarded first place. During his last 
 > ear in college he received an invitation from the 
 Union League, of Ghicago, to represent the col- 
 leges of the state of Minnesota at the annual 
 banquet of the Union League given on 
 \\'ashington's birthday. This was in the 
 spring of 1892. Air. Purdy was there as 
 the guest of the Union League, and delivered 
 an address in the L'nity church of that citv. Dur- 
 ing the summer of ii<c)o he entered the law office 
 of Judge R. D. Russell and read law with him 
 until after graduating from the law school. After 
 graduation, in 1892, he located in Alinneapolis, 
 and has since lieen engaged in the practice of 
 law. The first part of 1893 he was appointed 
 assistant city attorney by David F. Simpson, city 
 attorney of Alinneapolis, and has held that posi- 
 tion for two terms. He has always been a Re- 
 pulilican and voted anil acted with that party. He 
 is a member of the L'nion League and has mem- 
 bership in a number of such organizations. On 
 January 28. 1893. he was married to 
 Belle M. Morin, of Albert Lea, who was a mem- 
 ber of his class at the university, and graduated 
 from that institution in 1891.
 
 110 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 NATHAN RICHARDSON. 
 
 Nathan Richardson is mayor of Little Falls 
 and judge of probate of Morrison County, Alin- 
 nesota. His father, Martin Richardson, was of 
 English-German origin, and his mother, who 
 was Miss Candace Comestock, was of English, 
 German and French extraction. They both re- 
 sided in Otsego County, New York. Nathan 
 was born on F Ijruary 24, 1829, near the village 
 of Clyde, Wa^ne County, New York. He was 
 the second son of a family of nine children. 
 When he was about five years old his parents 
 removed to Michigan and lived in the town of 
 Commerce, Oakland County. Ffere young Na- 
 than worked on the farm and attended district 
 school during his lioyhood. When eighteen he, 
 for one summer, attended an academy at Milford, 
 Michigan, and during the next two summers he 
 attended a branch of the state university at 
 Romeo. In 1851 his father died. Prior to 1854 
 he taught a district school five terms, in which 
 year with four other young men he set out for 
 Minnesota, intending to go directly to Little 
 Fall.s, where Nathan's cousin, Lewis Richardson, 
 was employed. T>ut upon arriving in St. An- 
 thony they found an opportunity to secure em- 
 ployment with Whipple & Tourtillotte, who were 
 then conducting logging operations on Bogus 
 Brook, a branch of the Rum river, and they went 
 
 into the woods for the winter. Upon returning 
 in the spring they found that their employers had 
 failed. Mr. Richardson then set out on foot for 
 Little Falls, where he secured work. Soon after 
 his arrival he, with his cousin, commenced the 
 erection of a hotel in that place. Richardson 
 himself went into the woods and got out the tim- 
 bers for the structure. After getting the lumber 
 on the ground and setting the carpenters at 
 W'Ork, he returned to Michigan to settle up his 
 father's estate, and purchased furnishings and 
 supplies for the hotel. This was Air. Richard- 
 son's first business venture in Alinnesota. He 
 has since been interested in many more exten- 
 sive enterprises, but none, probabl}-, upon which 
 he looks back with so much pride as to that first 
 frontier hotel. Almost upon his arrival at Little 
 Falls, ]\Ir. Richardson became identified with 
 public affairs, and he has since been almost con- 
 stantly in the public service in some way or 
 other. When the county of ^ilorrison was or- 
 ganized in 1856 he was elected register of deeds 
 by a vote of eighty-six to his opponent's fifty. 
 He was also appointed clerk of court and held 
 the office until the state legislature met and made 
 the office elective. He remained register of 
 deeds for nine years. Since then Mr. Richard- 
 son has held the following offices: Chairman 
 of town supervisors, town assessor, county sur- 
 veyor, county attorne)-, judge of probate, city at- 
 torney, mayor of Little Falls, member of the 
 state legislature for three terms, those of 1867, 
 1872 and 1878, postmaster eleven years, and a 
 number of minor offices. During the war he was 
 enrolling officer, and traveled all over the north- 
 ern part of the state finding out the names of 
 persons who were liable to draft. In December, 
 1876 he was admitted to the bar, but has not 
 practiced much outside of his service as county 
 attorney, except as a pension attorney. He was 
 first elected judge of probate in 1884 and held 
 the ofifice for eight years. He was defeated for 
 the office in 1892, but ran again in 1894 and was 
 elected : and he expects to be a candidate again 
 in i8</). l^pon the incorporation <if Ihc city of 
 TJttle Falls in i88() he was elected mayor, and 
 was re-elected for five successive years. In 1S94 
 I. E. Staples defeated him by thirty votes, but in 
 1896 ]\lr. Richardson went in again by a jilural- 
 itv of 148 votes over two Djiposition canilidatcs.
 
 rKOGKHSSlVU MEN 01" MINNHSOTA. 
 
 Ill 
 
 At each election as mayor, the office sought him 
 and not he the office. While in the legislature 
 Mr. Richardson was instrumental in securing 
 the passage of hills for the building of the Little 
 Falls & Dakota railroad, and for the enlargement 
 of Morrison County to nearly double its original 
 area by the actjuisition of territory from Todd 
 County. He has been very much interested in 
 the Mille Lacs Lidians and has frequently repre- 
 sented them as their attorney. His views upon 
 matters pertaining to religion are decidedly 
 agnostic. Mr. Richardson was married on June 
 21, 1857, to Miss Mary A. Roof. They have four 
 children living, Martin M., Raymond J., Francis 
 A., and Mary A. Richardson. Mr. Richardson 
 is the author of a historv of Morrison Countv. 
 
 EDWIX (iRAHAM POTTER. 
 
 Edwin Graham Potter is a successful mer- 
 chant, having been engaged in the wholesale 
 commission business in Minneapolis for the last 
 fifteen years. Mr. Potter is a native of New 
 York. He was born at Adams, ( )ctober 26, 1852. 
 His father was G. N. Potter, a successful grain 
 merchant and dealer in live stock. His great 
 grandfather was Maj. John Potter, who served in 
 the Revolutionary War, and his grandfather, 
 Edwin Potter, was a soldier in the war of 181 2. 
 Edwin Graham attended the common schools 
 until fifteen years of age, when he left school 
 and went into business, and ever since he was 
 eighteen he has been engaged in the wholesale 
 produce trade. He came to Minnesota in 
 1881, and located in Minneapolis, where he 
 formed a partnership with H. L. Beeman. Two 
 years later he bought out Mr. Beeman, and his 
 first year's business thereafter amounted to $60,- 
 000. He has since handled as high as half a mil- 
 lion flollars worth of goods in a single year. His 
 business brought him into close relations with the 
 dairy interests of the state and he has taken an 
 active interest in promoting that industry, having 
 served as president of the State Dairy Association. 
 He prepared and procured the passage by the 
 legislature of the first law governing the sale of 
 bogus butter and cheese, the same law which, 
 with a few amendments, is in operation now. Mr. 
 Potter is a Republican and takes an active interest 
 in politics. He has served the Fourth ward as 
 alderman for four years, and during two years of 
 
 that time was president ui the city council. He 
 declined a renomination to the council, but was 
 nominated by the Republicans for mayor in 1890, 
 and went down with the rest of his ticket in the 
 political landslide of that year. He served as the 
 Hennepin County member of the state central 
 committee during two of the most fiercely con- 
 tested campaigns in the history of the state. 
 In 1894 he was elected by the Repub- 
 licans as senator from the Thirty-first Dis- 
 trict to the legislature, defeating J. H. Paris 
 by 2,125 plurality. He introduced a num- 
 l)er of important lulls during the session, 
 among which the following became laws: A bill 
 for a constitutional amendment, providing for the 
 loaning of the permanent school fund of the 
 state to cities, counties, towns and school dis- 
 tricts within the state. A bill allowing Minneap- 
 lis to issue and sell bonds for school purposes. A 
 bill for the inspection of milk and dairies by the 
 health departments of cities. A bill prohibiting 
 the adulteration of candy. A bill providing for 
 "struck" juries in certain cases, and a bill limiting 
 the time for beginning action in personal damage 
 suits. Mr. Potter is a member of the Connnercial 
 Club of Minneapolis, of the Masonic order and 
 of the Knights of Pythias. He was married in 
 1876 to Lena Xorthey and in 1894 to Anna 
 Keough. He has two children, a daughter six, 
 and a son four years of age.
 
 112 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRANK HENRY CARLETON. 
 
 Frank Henry Carleton is a lawyer in 
 Minneapolis, a member of the firm of Cross, 
 Hicks, Carleton & Cross. He was born Octo- 
 ber 8, 1849, at Newport, N. H. His ancestry 
 on his father's side was English, and the family 
 line is traced back to Sir Gny Carleton. On his 
 mother's side his descent is also from English 
 stock, going back to Joseph French, a leading 
 citizen of Salisbury, Mass., of a generation prior 
 to the War of the Revolution. Frank Henry 
 is the son of Henry G. Carleton, now and for 
 many years president of the Savings Bank at 
 Newport, N. H. For forty years he was one of 
 the editors of the New Hampshire Argus and 
 Spectator. He was for many years one of the 
 leading Democratic editors of New Hampshire, 
 and a personal friend of John P. Hale and Frank- 
 lin Pierce. He has now retired from active busi- 
 ness and is in good financial circumstances. He 
 has served as a member of the legislature of 
 the State of New Hampshire, has been register 
 of probate, and has filled other important public 
 positions. The subject of this sketch was educated 
 in the common schools of Newport, and pre- 
 pared for college at Kimball Union .'\cadcniy, 
 at Mcriden. New Hampshirr. where he 
 graduated in June, 1868. lie tiu'n en- 
 tered Dartmouth College and completed the 
 
 course there with the class of 1872. He 
 took the first prize for English composition 
 during the senior year and wrote the class ode 
 for Commencement Day. During his academic 
 and college days he w-as obliged to absent him- 
 self at different times while he was engaged as 
 a teacher, and in 1870 he was for a time principal 
 of an academy for white pupils in Jslississippi. 
 Mr. Carleton also varied his experience by as- 
 suming the duties of city editor of the Man- 
 chester Daily Union, after his graduation 
 from college, which position he held for several 
 months. He then decided to carry out an early 
 plan to seek a location in the West and accord- 
 ingly came to Minneapolis where he was en- 
 gaged as a reporter for the IMinneapolis News, 
 then edited by George K. Shaw. This position 
 he held for several months at the same time serv- 
 ing as Minneapolis correspondent for the St. 
 Paul Press. Subsequently he was appointed city 
 editor of the St. Paul Daily Press under Mr. 
 Wheelock. After a year's service on the St. Paul 
 Press, Mr. Carleton determined to carry out his 
 original plan of preparing for the practice of 
 law and accordingly commenced his study for 
 that purpose in the office of Cushman K. Davis 
 and C. D. O'Brien. While pursuing his studies 
 he served as clerk of the municipal court of St. 
 Paul, and after holding this position for five 
 years he resigned owing to ill-health and took a 
 six months' trip to Europe. On his return from 
 Europe he was appointed secretary of Governor 
 John S. Pillsbury, and rendered important ser- 
 vices in connection with the settlement of the 
 repudiated Minnesota railroad bonds. For sev- 
 eral years he was the Minnesota correspondent of 
 the Chicago Inter-Ocean and the New York 
 Times. In 1882 he removed to Minneapolis and 
 formed a legal partnership with Judge Henry G. 
 1 licks and Capt. Judson N. Cross. These legal re- 
 lations still exist, the only change being the addi- 
 tion of Norton M. Cross, the son of Capt. Cross. 
 From 1883 to 1887 Mr. Carleton was assistant 
 city attorney of Minneapolis. These were im- 
 portant times in the history of the city, bringing 
 into active operation the principle of the "patrol 
 limits," and witnessing the inauguration of 
 important litigation in the interests of the city. 
 Mr. Carleton and the firm with which he is con- 
 nected has a large and varied practice in
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 1 13 
 
 real estate law, probate law and fmaucial ad- 
 justments in which it has had much experience. 
 In politics he is a Republican, although not an 
 active participator in party affairs, preferring to 
 devote his leisure time to scientific research and 
 literary pursuits. j\lr. Carleton is a Mason and 
 a member and one of the trustees of the I'ark 
 Avenue Congregational Church, and is one of 
 the directors of the Minnesota Home Alission 
 Society. In 1881 he was married to Ellen Jones, 
 the only daughter of the late Judge Edwin S. 
 Jones, of Miiuieapolis. They have had five chil- 
 dren, Edwin Jones, Henry Guy, George Pills- 
 bury, Charles Pillsbury, who died in infancy, 
 and Frank H. Mr. Carleton is a lover of nature, 
 a great cultivator of flowers, an enthusiastic 
 angler, and much given to the pursuit of this 
 fascinating sport in the picturesque regions of 
 this generally celebrated fishing ground of 
 northern Minnesota. 
 
 GEORGE REINARD KLEEBERGER. 
 
 George Reinard Kleeberger, of St. Cloud, 
 was born at Monticello, Lafayette County, Wis- 
 consin, February 25, 1849. His ancestry was 
 German on his father's side, and on his mother's, 
 Scotch and Irish. His parents were farmers and 
 pioneers of Southern Wisconsin. Mr. Kleeberger 
 lived on the farm until seventeen years of age, 
 attending the countrj' schools in the winter and 
 working on the farm in the summers, as farmers' 
 boys usually did at that time. His educational 
 advantages were meager, but he made the best 
 of those w'hich the time and place afiforded. From 
 the time he was twelve until he was seventeen he 
 attended various town academies during the win- 
 ter and imbibed an ambition to acquire a higher 
 education. He began teaching school in his 
 home district when seventeen years of age, the 
 salary being forty dollars a month, at which he 
 earned the first money he ever acquired. From 
 seventeen to twenty-one he was occupied most 
 of the time teaching in the country schools, 
 but managed to complete the course at the 
 normal school at Platteville, Wisconsin, where 
 he graduated in 1870 as the valedictorian of his 
 class. He was then elected principal of a ward 
 school at Manitowoc. Wisconsin, which he held 
 for a year, and then principal of the high school 
 
 at Green Bay, during the school year of 1871 
 and 1872. In 1872 he entered Yale college 
 and took three years in the Sheffield Scientific 
 School, graduating there in 1875. O'"' ^'^ 
 return to Wisconsin he was elected to the 
 chair of science at the state normal school 
 at Whitewater, and occupied that position from 
 1875 to 1878. Mr. Kleeberger then went to 
 California, where he continued his calling as 
 a teacher; the first year as principal of the 
 schools of San Diego; the next year, 1879 
 and 1880, as principal of the schools at Weaver- 
 ville; the following years, 1880 and 1882, as prin- 
 cipal of the high school at ]\larysville, and from 
 1882 to 1888 he held the chair of science in the 
 state normal school at San Jose. In 1888 he was 
 elected vice-president in the same institution, 
 and was also a teacher of pedagogy and psychol- 
 ogy until 1895. I" the latter year he was elected 
 president of the state normal school at St. Cloud, 
 Minnesota, and is now at the head of that insti- 
 tution. ]Mr. Kleeberger is a Democrat in poli- 
 tics, and believes fully in the principles of free 
 trade and tarifif for revenue only. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Congregational church and occupies 
 an enviable and influential position in the com- 
 munity in which he lives. He was married in 
 1879 in San Francisco, California, to Miss Mary 
 Allen, of IMinneapolis. They have had three sons, 
 onlv one of whom is living, Frank Louis.
 
 114 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 »fK m^. 
 
 JUHN SCHOCK IlL'XTSIXGER. 
 
 John S. Huntsiiiger, register of deeds of Hub- 
 bard County, AJinnesota, is a native of Indiana. 
 His father, Joseph Huntsinger, was a farmer of 
 Wayne County, Indiana, who combined with his 
 occupation as a farmer, a thorough knowledge of 
 the carpenter's and joiner's trade. Jly descent a 
 German, he inherited the thrifty characteristics 
 of that race, and with the aid of his wife, who was 
 also of German origin, though lioni in T'ennsyl- 
 vania, he became independ.ent. The education! of 
 his son John was obtained, as was that of manv 
 of the bovs of the early times, in the log school 
 house and from books borrowed or bought and 
 read during the long winter evenings before the 
 o])en fire. John ne\er wftit to college l)ut, fitting 
 himself as well as he could, connnenced at last 
 to study medicine under the direction of Dr. John 
 I'lrich l'"rietzsche. He connnenced to practice 
 medicine in Xoblesville, Indiana. In 1856 he 
 moved to Greenfield, Indiana, and after practicing 
 there for four years he set np again in I'anibridgc, 
 \\'aync Comity, where he continued to ])ractice 
 until he cntcrefl tlic army. Enlisting in 1862, Mr. 
 Huntsinger rendered valuable aid in the organ- 
 ization of the Twenty-second hxliana l>attery. 
 In July, 1863. he assisted in organizing the 
 "Colvin's F.attery, Illinois Light .Xrlillery," and 
 
 served with this noted battery during the 
 remainder of the war. He commenced as an 
 orderly sergeant. In December, 1863, he was 
 promoted to the post of second lieutenant and a 
 year later to first lieutenant. When the battery 
 went into ser\-ice it was ordered across the Cum- 
 berland Mountains to join Burnside's Corps, then 
 investing Knoxville. They had the honor of 
 assisting in the capture of that place and w^ere 
 then ordered east into X'irginia. On this raid 
 through the mountains of East Tennessee the 
 company had the usual experiences of soldiers 
 on a raid in the heart of the enemy's country. 
 Several months elapsed before the division 
 returned to Knoxville. They had done some 
 hard fighting and were classed as veterans. They 
 rejoined Burnside in January, 1864, and fought 
 under that famous general and Generals Sturgis 
 and .Shackford during the remainder of the war, 
 participating in the lively campaigns of the 
 western army. Captain Huntsinger was finally 
 nnistered out in July, 1865. He has, of course, 
 retained his interest in the affairs of the veterans, 
 and is a prominent member of E. S. Frazier Post, 
 Xo. 147, G. A. K., of Park Rapids, Minnesota. 
 Mr. Huntsinger settled in Park Rapids in June, 
 1882. He erected the Colvin House, which he 
 conducted successfully for some time. He took 
 an active part in politics, and during his residence 
 in Park Rapids has been frequently called to 
 serve the public in positions of trust. He was 
 town clerk for four years, was tleputy clerk of 
 court from 1884 to 1887. and court connnissioner 
 from 1886 to 1894. In the vear 1886 he was 
 elected register of deeds and has held that office 
 ever since, being again re-elected at the last elec- 
 tion. During this ])eriod he has been prominent 
 in the local councils of the Democratic party, to 
 which he belongs, and has several times repre- 
 sented the count\- in state conventions. He is 
 also a prominent ( )dd I'ellow. In 1852 Mr. 
 riimlsingcr was married to Miss Martha I. (ial- 
 braith, who was a native of the same county in 
 Indiana in which he himself was born. They 
 have four children, Josic Xear, who lives at l^u^k 
 Rapids; X'^ancv ^1. .\ddison, living at Greenfield, 
 Indiana: Bell Downer, living at Osage, Mimie- 
 sota, and .Mice C. Horton, whose husband is clerk 
 of the district court at P.-irk Ka]>ids.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN 01- MINNESOTA. 
 
 115 
 
 ALEXANDER T. AN KEN Y. 
 
 Alexander Thompson Aiikeny is of German 
 and French extraction on his father's side, while 
 his maternal ancestry was English ami Sc<jtcli. 
 The traditions of the family rnn back to the days 
 of the massacre of St. ilartholumew. The an- 
 cestors on his father's side were Huguenots, and 
 some of them are said to have suffered the loss 
 of life and property. The name, Ankeny, is sup- 
 posed to have been derived from the word 
 Enghien, the name of what was originally a strip 
 of high-land in Flanders, the inhabitants of which 
 were known as sword-bearers to the reigning 
 Duke. The earliest record of the family in this 
 country begins with the name of Dewalt Ankeny, 
 who, about 1740, tired of the religious wars of 
 the old world, sought refuge in the new settle- 
 ment in Maryland, near Clear .Springs, W'ashing- 
 ton County. He became the owner there of 
 some eight hundred acres of land, portions of 
 which are still occupied by members of the fam- 
 ily. Among his seven sons, Peter Ankeny, the 
 second, was married in 1773 to Rosina Bonnet, 
 daughter of John Bonnet, who settled in Mary- 
 land about the same time. This young couple 
 set out with pack horses to explore the new 
 country, to the West, crossed the Allegheny 
 ]\ Fountains and located at what afterwards came 
 to be known as the Glades of Somerset," Penn- 
 sylvania, December 27, 1837. His early educa- 
 mostly upon their land, some of which is still 
 owned by their descendants. Isaac Ankeny, the 
 fourth son of Peter, was married in 1820 to 
 Eleanor Parker, daughter of John Parker. He 
 lived continuously at Somerset, with the excep- 
 tion of a few years in Ohio, until his death in 
 1853. He was a man of influence anil an active 
 spirit in the early development of western Penn- 
 sylvania. His wife died in i87<). Thev had four 
 boys and six girls, six of whom are still living. 
 The subject of this sketch is the youngest son 
 in that family. He was born at Somerset, Penn- 
 sylvania, December 27, 1837. His early educa- 
 tion was obtained at his native town, and on 
 the death of his father, in 1853, he was sent to 
 the Disciples' College at Hiram, Ohio, where 
 President Garfield was then a tutor. In 1856 
 he attended the IMonongalia Acadeniv at Mor- 
 gantown, West Mrginia, then under the direction 
 of Rev. J. R. i\Ioore. Judge William Mitchell, of 
 
 Minnesota, was then one of the instructors. From 
 1857 to 1858 he attended Jefferson College, Can- 
 nonsburg, Pennsylvama, when he was offered a 
 position in the department of justice at Washing- 
 ton by Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, the attorney 
 general of the United States. He remained until 
 the close of Mr. Buchanan's administration hav- 
 ing in the meantime prepared himself for the 
 practice of law. In April, 1861, he was admitted 
 to the bar in his native town and on the day 
 Fort Sumter was fired upon tried and won his 
 first case. On July 4th, 1861, Mr. Ankeny delivered 
 an address at Somerset which attracted no little at- 
 tention, foreshadowing the severity of the strug- 
 gle and its ultimate outcome. \\'hen in the de- 
 partment of justice, Edwin Al. Stanton was con- 
 nected with that department, and in February, 
 1862, Mr. Stanton invited him to a position in 
 the war department which he filled with honor 
 until the close of the war. He sustained a con- 
 fidential relation to "the great war secretary,'' and 
 had knowledge of most of the important move- 
 ments in advance of their execution. In April, 
 1865, he returned to the practice of law at 
 Somerset, where he was also connected with a 
 private bank. He was one of the promoters and 
 treasurer of the first railroad to Somerset. In 
 1872 he became ambitious to enjoy the greater 
 opportunities afforded in the West and removed 
 with his family to Minneapolis, where, in part-
 
 116 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 nership with his brother, Wilham P. Ankeny, he 
 engaged in the lumber business. Tliis firm built 
 the Galaxy flouring mill in 1874. On the death 
 of his brother in 1877 he closed up the business 
 of his firm and returned to his law practice. Mr. 
 Ankeny has been an active and public-spirited 
 citizen of Minneapolis, interested in ever}' under- 
 taking for the moral, intellectual and material 
 betterment of the city. In 1877 he was a mem- 
 ber of the board of education for the western 
 division of the city, and in the following year 
 was one of the committee of ten who formu- 
 lated the plan for the complete union of the two 
 divisions. He ser\'ed from 1878 to 1882 on the 
 state board of equalization of taxes. In 1886 he 
 was again elected member of the Minneapolis 
 board of education, re-elected on Ijoth tickets in 
 1889 and in 1890 was made president of the 
 board and e.x-officio member of the library board, 
 which positions he held until January i, 1895. 
 ]\[r. Ankeny is a Democrat and exerts a large 
 influence in the councils of his party. In 1886 
 and 1887 he was president of the Algonquin 
 Democratic Club, of Minneapolis, and in 1886 
 to 1888 was a member of the state Democratic 
 central committee. In 1888 he was appointed 
 on the executive committee of the National 
 Association of Democratic Clubs, and still 
 retains that position. In 1886 he incorporated in 
 the state Democratic platform a recommendation 
 for the adoption of the Australian svstem of 
 voting, being the first public recognition of the 
 system in this country, and which is now used in 
 nearly all the states. Pro])ably in no part of 
 his public services, however, has he taken more 
 satisfaction than in his work on the school board, 
 where he has proved a faithful and invaluable 
 officer. He was active in the passage of the free 
 text book law of Minnesota, and in placing the 
 system in successful operation in Minncapiilis 
 Some of Mr. Ankeny's addresses on |)ublic edu- 
 cation are among the liest contributions to the 
 literature of tliat subject. He was one of the in- 
 corporators of the Masonic Temple Association, 
 and a mcml:)er of the building committee which 
 erected the Masonic Temple. I'or several years 
 he was vice-president of its Ijoard of directors, ami 
 on the death of R. T'>. Langdon was elected presi- 
 dent of the board. This temple, the .South .Side 
 High School building, the \'an Cieve and 
 
 Douglass school buildings, as well as the North 
 Side Public Library building, will long remain 
 to testify to his high conception of what such 
 public structures should be, whilst the economy 
 practiced in construction will be a witness to 
 his integrity and fidelity. He is a lawyer of 
 high standing, and was made the Democratic 
 candidate for municipal judge in 1885 and for 
 district judge in 1890, but was not elected. In 
 1896 he received the fusion nomination for 
 mayor on the Democratic-Populist ticket. His 
 family are active supporters of the Portland Ave- 
 nue Church of Christ, of ]Minneapolis. On May i, 
 1861, he was married to ]\Iiss INlartha V. Moore, 
 daughter of John ]\Ioore, of Wheeling, West 
 Virginia. They have a family of five children, 
 all now grown, three daughters being married. 
 
 PHILIP BICKERTOX WINSTON. 
 
 Mr. Winston is the eldest son of William 
 Overton Winston and Sarah Anne Gregory 
 (Winston), both of \\'hom were natives of \'ir- 
 ginia and descendants of the early colonists who 
 came over from England in the Seventeenth 
 century. His great-grandfather was a patriot in 
 the War of the Revolution, while his grandfather 
 was a soldier in the War of 1812. William O. 
 Winston held the office of County Clerk of Han- 
 over County, Virginia, which his father had also 
 held before him, for many years. The Gregory 
 family were also prominent in the histor\- of the 
 state of \"irginia. Philip B. was bom at the 
 family home, known as Courtland (which he now 
 owns), near Hanover Court House, Hanover 
 County, \irginia, August 12, 1845. His early 
 education he received at home under ])rivatc 
 tutelage, up to his sixteenth year. He then at- 
 tended an acatlemy in Caroline County for one 
 year. The death of his father occurred at this 
 time, and I'hili]) returned home and assisted on 
 the farm until tlie fall of 1862, when he enlisted 
 as a private in the Confederate army, in Company 
 E, Fifth \'irginia Cavalry, though at this time 
 only a lad of seventeen. .After about a year of 
 hard service lie was promoted to the rank of 
 first lieutenant and assigned to the stafif of Gen- 
 eral Thomas L. Ros.ser, who commanded a divis- 
 ion under General Lee, as an aide-de-camp. He-
 
 PROGRHSSIVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 1X7 
 
 served in this ])ost until the last sun was fired 
 at Ap|)oniattox, ha\in.t;- experienced a hard ser- 
 vice and ])articipated in a great many Ijattles. 
 The list of engagenu'nts in wliich he fMn,L;hi is as 
 follows: Kelley's i'Drd, l!rand\ Station, Aldee, 
 Middlesborough, Hagerstown, Carlisle, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Gettysburg, cavalry engagement near Alen- 
 assas. Mine Run, Sanxter's Station, Wilderness, 
 Spottsylvania Court House, Tryvillian's Station, 
 Haw's Shop, I lanover Court House, Ream's Sta- 
 tion, Mt. Jackson, Back Road, Tom's Brook, Win- 
 chester (the latter four in the valley of X'irginia); 
 Amelia Springs, liossoux Cross Roads, hive 
 Forks, High liridge, Appomattox. After the 
 close of the war Air. Winston returned to his old 
 homestead and engaged in farming. He remained 
 here until A fay, 1872, when he started West, arriv- 
 ing in Alinneapolis with but little money in his 
 possession. He secured a position in the engin- 
 eering department of the Northern Pacific Rail- 
 road, in whose employment he remained for a 
 little over a year. During the winters of 1873, 
 1874 and 1875 li*^ engaged in government sur- 
 veying in northern Alinnesota with his brother, 
 F. G. Winston. In the s])ring of the latter year 
 he returned to Alinneapolis and associated with 
 his brother, V. G. Winston, under the firm name 
 of \\'inston Brothers, for the Inisiness of railroad 
 contracting. The next year W. ( ). W^inston, an- 
 other brother, was taken into partnership. The 
 firm of Winston Brothers started out in a small 
 way, but in a short time was able to establish 
 quite a reputation, and is now one of the largest 
 railroad contracting firms in the country. One 
 thousand miles of track for the Northern Pacific 
 Railroad was the first large contract received by 
 them. Alost of the track and bridge work of 
 this road, west of Bismarck, was built by this 
 firm. The Winston Brothers have also com- 
 pleted a great many other large contracts for 
 railroad corporations in the Northwest. Air. Win- 
 ston has always been a Democrat. He was nomi- 
 nated for mayor of Alinneapolis in 1888, l.iut was 
 defeated, though he ran 3,000 votes ahead of his 
 ticket. Two years later he was renominated by 
 acclamation and was elected by a plurality of over 
 6,000. The business interests of the city warmly 
 supported him, and his administration from a 
 business standpoint was a commendable one. He 
 
 ser^-ed in the legislature during the session of 
 1893, S"*^' was renominated in 1894, but failed of 
 election. Since that time Air. Winston has with- 
 drawn from an active participation in politics, 
 although he attended the last Democratic Na- 
 tional Convention in Chicago as a delegate-at- 
 large, and was chairman of the ^Minnesota dele- 
 gation. In 1892 he was also chairman of the 
 Alinnesota delegation to the National Conven- 
 tion in .St. Louis. Mr. Winston has extensive 
 business interests in this citv aside from that of 
 the firm of \^'inston Brothers. He is a stock- 
 holder in the Security Bank, the Syndicate Build- 
 ing Company, and a stockholder and director in 
 the Alinneapolis Trust Company, all of Alinneap- 
 olis. He is a member of the Alinneapolis Club 
 and the Conmiercial Club: the Alinnesota Club, 
 of .St. Paul, and the West Aloreland Club, of 
 Richmond, Alrginia. Each year he enjoys a few 
 months on the old homestead in A'irginia, on 
 which he has made extensive improvements. On 
 A larch 30, 1876, Air. W'inston was married to 
 Katharine D. Stevens, a daughter of Colonel John 
 -A.. .Stevens, the first pioneer of what is now^ the 
 city of Alinneapolis. Airs. Winston is prominent 
 in all church and charitable work, and represented 
 this state at the W'orld's Fair as an alternate on 
 the board of lad}- managers. Air. and Airs. Win- 
 ston have two children, now nearly grown.
 
 118 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 GEORGE DUL'GLAS BLACK. 
 
 George Douglas Black is a minister of 
 the gospel and pastor of the Park Avenue Con- 
 gregational church, in Minneapolis. He was 
 bom in Knox County, Ohio, February 12, 185S. 
 His ancestry was German on his father's side, and 
 on his mother's Scotch and French. His home 
 was in ^Ft. ^'ernon, the county seat of Knox 
 county, until Ik- was thirteen years old. There he 
 attended the public schools, but at the age of 
 thirteen, went with his parents to live on a farm in 
 the same county. Having decided to make the 
 Christian ministry his calling, he studied litera- 
 ture and theology from 1876 to 1880 with Rev. 
 J. W. Marvin, of Knox County, a man of great 
 ability and of unique magnetic influence over 
 young men. Mr. Black says of this incident in his 
 life: "I have never ceased to be grateful for the 
 years of inspiration and intimacy spent with Air. 
 Marvin. After the blessing of a devout father and 
 mother, no good has come to me in this world 
 equal to the friendship and instruction of this 
 man. I can say of him what Garfield said of 
 Mark Hopkins, my conception of a university is 
 a log with a student at one end of it and Marvin 
 at the other. To feed on such a life is an unspeak- 
 able good to any young man." Flaving prepared 
 for the ministry, Mr. Black's first important 
 charge was at the college town of Yellow Springs, 
 
 Ohio. He had two pastorates there, and im- 
 pressed himself with special force upon the young 
 men of the college. One of them published a 
 sketch in which he said of Air. Black: "He was 
 only twenty-six. He came to talk Sunday after 
 Sunday to college men and women, and before 
 hearing him I wondered at his presumption. 1 
 felt then as I feel now, that a preacher should 
 also be a teacher, rounded out on all sides; a 
 spiritual and intellectual leader. Among the stu- 
 dents he should be able not only to deepen their 
 faith, but to solve their doubts. There was a dig- 
 nity in this man's bearing, in the richness of his 
 tone that charmed me from the first. As the Sun- 
 days went by the charm deepened. I felt sure 
 that God meant him for a preacher. Somewhere 
 he had learned the best and highest things a col- 
 lege can teach — he had learned to be a student. 
 Somewhere, too, he had learned that deeper les- 
 son, what it is to live with God. Although he had 
 spent most of his time on a farm, began preaching 
 at eighteen and prepared for his life work while 
 doing it, he came among us familiar with the best 
 authors and able to interpret them to us in the 
 choicest language. This farm lad under the sun 
 and stars had felt the immensity of the universe 
 and the greatness of the soul through which it 
 speaks. This young man was George Douglas 
 Black." jNIr. Black resigned his pulpit in Yellow 
 Springs in 1892, to accept the editorship of the 
 Herald of Gospel Liberty, the organ of the 
 Christian denomination, published at Dayton, 
 Ohio. It was while he was thus engaged that Dr. 
 Washington Gladden visited Minneapolis in Jan- 
 uary, 1893, and was asked by the connnittee of 
 Park Aventie Congregational church to recom- 
 mend some one for their vacant pulpit. Dr. Glad- 
 den recommended Mr. Black. He came by invi- 
 tation, preached one Sunday, was called to the 
 pastorate and entered upon his work w-ithin a few- 
 weeks. Since coming to Alinneapolis he has 
 been associated for nearly two years with B. h'ay 
 Mills, President George A. Gates, Prof. George D. 
 Herron, Thomas C. Hall, Prof. John Bascom and 
 others in the editorship of The Kingdom, a 
 weekly religious new.spaper, published in Minne- 
 apolis. Mr. Black has contributed to the Golden 
 Rule, the ( )utlook, the New England Magazine 
 and other publications, and is in demand as a lec- 
 turer before college societies and other literary
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 119 
 
 bodies. He was married in 1879 to Miss l'"lora 
 Bell Hanger, daughter of Rev. .'\ndre\v C. 
 Hanger, minister of the Christian church in ( )hic). 
 They have three children, Georgia Eva, Wendell 
 Marvin and Russell Collins. 
 
 ANSON BAILEY CUTTS. 
 
 Anson Bailey Cutts, General Ticket and 
 Passenger Agent of the Minneapolis & St. Louis 
 Railroad, is a Soutlu-rn man l)y l)irUi, his father 
 Addison. D. Cutts, being a ])hysician by profes- 
 sion, a graduate of the L'niversity of X'irginia, and 
 Wake Forest college, North Carolina. He gave 
 up the practice of medicine, however, soon after 
 graduation, to engage in conmiercial pursuits. He 
 was engaged chieflv in the manufacture uf naval 
 stores in North Carolina and Georgia. On the 
 outbreak of the civil war he entered the Confeder- 
 ate Aryiy and served three years, attaining the 
 rank of senior captain. His wife was Deborah 
 A. Bailey. The family is of Scotch-American 
 stock. The sul^ject of this sketch was Ijorn at 
 Lillington, N. C, October 23, 1866. His early 
 education was under the direction of a compe- 
 tent governess whose unusual and peculiar capa- 
 bility for developing the mind and character of 
 children left a deep impression upon her pupil. 
 Afterwards he attended the academy in .Savannah, 
 where he prepared for the Middle Georgia mili- 
 tar\- college at Milledgeville. He left c<jllege, 
 however, at the end of his sophomore year to 
 accompany his family to Chicago, where business 
 changes required his father to locate. Anson was 
 a brilliant student and maintained a high stand- 
 ing in all his classes, and during his two years in 
 college he held the first place. His first business 
 engagement was in the capacity of messenger in 
 the large printing and publishing house of Rand, 
 McNally & Co., in Chicago, where he was em- 
 ployed from June I to September i, 1883. He 
 then entered the service of the Chicago & Alton 
 railroad as a clerk in the auditor's office. He re- 
 mained in that office in different positions until 
 December 12, 1887, when an offer from the 
 auditor of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis 
 & Omaha Railway, in St. Paul, induced him to re- 
 move to that city. He remained in the employ 
 of that company until September i, 1890, when a 
 
 better position was offered him as chief rate clerk 
 in the passenger department of the Great North- 
 ern Railway. He continued in that position until 
 March 4, 1892, when he resigned to ac- 
 cept the offer of the chief clerkship in 
 the general ticket and passenger depart- 
 ment of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Rail- 
 road in Minneapolis. January I, 1894, the gen- 
 eral ticket and passenger agent of that road re- 
 signed, and Mr. Cutts was appointed to fill the 
 vacancy with the title of acting general ticket antl 
 passenger agent, and has since been given the full 
 title of his office . Mr. Cutts has been given re- 
 sponsibilities beyond what are usually imposed 
 upon men of his years, but he has demonstrated 
 the possession of unusual business capacity and 
 has won the confidence of his employers and the 
 respect of the business pul)lic for his abilities in 
 an unusual degree. His ]Jolitical opinions may 
 be said to be inherited. Born in the South, and a 
 son of a Confederate soldier, he regards himself 
 as a Democrat, but has never taken any active 
 part in politics. He always votes, as every good 
 citizen should, and, also, as good citizens fre- 
 quently do, casts his vote independently, with a 
 preference rather for the man than the ticket. 
 He became a member of the Presbyterian church 
 in 1886. June 5, 1895, he married Edna Brown- 
 ing Stokes, of Grand Forks, N. D.
 
 120 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HARRY \\". JUNES. 
 
 Harry \\'ild Jones is an Architect in Mm- 
 neapolis. Air. Jones is the son of Rev. Howard 
 M. Jones, at present retired and living at Cedar 
 Falls, Iowa. Rev. Howard M. Jones was the son oi 
 the late Dr. John Taylor Jones, who was for 
 many years a missionary at iJangkok, Siani. 
 where Howard M. was born, and from which 
 place he was sent to this country when four years 
 old to be educated. He graduated from Brown 
 University in the class of 1853, and from the 
 Newton Theological Seminary in 1857, after 
 which he traveled in Europe and Palestine for 
 several months. He then entered the ministry 
 and served parishes in New York, New Eng- 
 land, Iowa and ^Michigan. His wife, the mother 
 of the subject of this sketch, was Mary White, 
 the eldest daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Samuel 
 Francis Smith, the venerated author of the na- 
 tional hymn ".\mcrica." and many other well- 
 known sacred hymns. Dr. Smith was also a lin- 
 guist of some note. Harrv \V., the subject of 
 this sketch, was born in Michigan in 1859, and 
 educated at the University grammar school at 
 Providence, R. I., and Brown University. Leav- 
 ing there in 1880 he spent two years at the Mas- 
 sachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston in 
 the study of architecture. At the completion of 
 his course in the institute he entered tlic office 
 
 of the late H. H. Richardson as a student and 
 draughtsman. Here he remained for a year, and 
 he regards the time spent under the tutelage 
 of this man, one of the greatest of modern 
 architects, as of the highest value to him, and 
 feels that the influence attending the association 
 with so great a master had much to do with 
 moulding his tastes in his chosen art and pro- 
 fession. In 1883 he married Miss Bertha J. 
 Tucker, of Boston, and in July of the same year 
 came to Minneapolis to establish himself in his 
 profession. The first year in Alinneapolis was 
 spent in the office of Plant & Whitney, archi- 
 tects. He then went to Europe, where he spent 
 several months in travel and study, returning in 
 1885 and opening an office on his own account as 
 an Architect. During the past eleven years in 
 which he has practiced his profession in Minne- 
 apolis he has made plans for several hundred 
 Ijuildings of both a public and a private nature, 
 and has counted among his clients the Bank of 
 Conunerce, the University of ^Minnesota, the 
 Minnesota Land and Investment Company, of 
 Minneapolis; George A. Pillsbury, H. E. Ladd 
 and S. G. Cook, of Minneapolis, and the Minne- 
 apolis Street Railway Company. His work has 
 not been confined to Minneapolis, however, but 
 may be found in New Y^ork, New Hampshire, 
 Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, 
 Missouri, Kansas, the Dakotas and the District 
 of Columbia. For two years he filled the posi- 
 tion of professor of architecture in the Univer- 
 sity of ]\Iinnesota, at the same time. carrying on 
 the practice of his profession. In 1892 he was 
 elected by the Republicans to membership on 
 the Park Board of ^Minneapolis for a period of 
 six years. He is a director of the Board of 
 Trade, and also of the Young ]\Ien's Christian 
 Association, and holds membership in the Com- 
 mercial Club. He is also President of the 
 Minnesota Chapter of the American In- 
 stitute of Architects. In a recent compe- 
 tition for plans for the new Miimesota 
 state capitol, Air. Jones was awarded the fifth 
 prize of $500, among forty-two competing archi- 
 tects. Mr. Jones' religious affiliations are with , 
 tiie Baptist .Society and includes membership in 
 the Calvary Church of Minneapolis. lie has 
 three children living. Harry, Malcolm. Mary 
 W'iiite and .\rthur Leo.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX f)F MINNESOTA. 
 
 121 
 
 CHARLES EUGENE FLANDIMU. 
 
 Charles ]•".. Flaiulrau was born in New York 
 City on July 15, 1828. His ancestors on his 
 father's side were Huguenots, who settled in 
 West Chester County, New York, and founded 
 the town of New Rochelle. Thomas H. Flan- 
 drau, father of Charles E., was born at New 
 Rochelle. His mother, whose maiden name was 
 Elizabeth Macomb, was a half sister of General 
 Alexander Macomb, who was commander-in- 
 chief of the United States Army from 1828 to 
 184 1. Thomas H. Flandrau was a law partner 
 of the famous Aaron Burr, and for many years 
 practiced with Colonel lUirr in the city of New 
 York. Charles E. Flandrau commenced his edu- 
 cation at Georgetown, D. C, and when thirteen 
 years old decided to enter the I'nited States 
 Navy, and applied for the position of mid- 
 shipman. He was, however, too young and the 
 appointment could not be made. He was bent 
 on following the sea, and inmiediately upon dis- 
 covering that his youth rendered him ineligible 
 for a commission as mid-shipman, he shipped 
 on the United States Revenue Cutter Forward, 
 as a common seaman. After several voyages 
 in various vessels, he gave up the idea of being 
 a sailor and returned to school at Georgetown, 
 but shortly afterwards went to New York and 
 learned the trade of veneer-sawing in the ma- 
 hogany mills of Afahlon Bunnell. Three years 
 later he went to Whitesboro, New York, and 
 commenced studying law with his father. After 
 several years of close study he was admitted to 
 the bar and formed a partnersh.ip with his father. 
 Flowever, within two }'ears he determined to 
 remove to Minnesota, and in November, 1853, 
 in company with Horace R. Bigelow, Judge 
 Flandrau landed in St. Paul. The young lawyers 
 at once formed a partnership under the firm 
 name of Bigelow & Flandrau. In those early 
 days there was little business in the legal line, 
 and Judge Flandrau had many opportunities of 
 exploring the territory. During one of his trips 
 he was so impressed with the possibilities of the 
 ^linnesota \^alley that he determined to settle 
 at the village of Traverse des .Sioux. \\'hile 
 living at Traverse des Sioux, Judge Flandrau 
 held a number of local offices, and was a mem- 
 ber of the Territorial Council, and of the Con- 
 stitutional Convention of 1857. In 1856 Judge 
 
 I'dandrau was ap[)ointed b\- I 'resident Pierce 
 agent of the Siou.x Indians. While in this posi- 
 tion he took an active part in the punishment of 
 the Indians who participated in the Spirit Lake 
 and Springfield massacres, and was instrumental 
 in the rescue and return of the captive women 
 taken by them on this occasion. On July 17, 
 1857, President Buchanan appointed him Asso- 
 ciate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Terri- 
 tory of Minnesota. At the convention of the 
 Democrats during the same year for the nomina- 
 tion of state officers, under the new constitu- 
 tion, Judge Flandrau was nominated for Asso- 
 ciate Justice of the .Supreme Court. His elec- 
 tion to this imjiortant office gave him an oppor- 
 tunity to impress his personality and his rare 
 ability as a jurist upon the legal history of the 
 state. His record as a jurist is chiefly to be 
 found in the first nine volumes of Minnesota 
 reports. The first Supreme Court of Minnesota 
 had much important work in formulating a sys- 
 tem of practice for the state, and the construction 
 of a large number of statutes was also to be judi- 
 cially determined for the first time, and the labors 
 of Judge Flandrau were necessarily heavy. 
 Judge b'landrau's decisions are described as 
 being always "plain, simple and uniformly terse, 
 vigorous and decided." While a justice on the 
 supreme bench, there came to Judge Flandrau 
 the opp oitunitv which has made him most
 
 122 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 famous in the history of the state. Un the morn- 
 ing of August i8, 1862, Judge Flandrau was 
 notified at his home at Traverse des Sioux, that 
 the Sioux had risen and that a terrible massacre 
 was in progress. Before noon the Judge had 
 armed and equipped a company of one hundred 
 and fifteen voUmteers and was on his way to the 
 rehef of Xew Uhn, the largest and most exposed 
 town in the region of the depredations of the 
 Indians. On Iiis arrival at Xew Ulm he was 
 made commander-in-chief of all the assembled 
 forces. The heroic relief and defense of Xew 
 Ulm under his command is now a matter of 
 familiar Minnesota history. This episode in the 
 life of an active justice of the Supreme Court 
 is probably without precedent. For some time 
 after the relief of Xew Ulm, Judge Flandrau 
 continued in the service. Fie was authorized by 
 Governor Ramsey to raise troops and take gen- 
 eral charge of the defense of the southwest 
 frontier of the state. In the spring of 1864 
 Judge Flandrau resigned his position on the 
 supreme bench, and commenced the practice of 
 law in Nevada. Shortly after he formed a part- 
 nership with Col. R. H. ]\Iusser, of St. Louis, 
 but in less than a twelve month he had returned 
 to ]\Iinnesota and formed a partnership with 
 Judge Atwater, at ^linneapolis. During the 
 same year he was elected city attorney of Minne- 
 apolis, and in 1868 was chosen president of the 
 board of trade of that city. In 1S70 he moved 
 to St. Paul and formed a partnership with 
 Messrs. Bigelow and Clark. This firm with 
 various changes has continued until the present 
 time. Judge Flandrau is, in politics, a repre- 
 sentative of the old Jeffersonian Democracy. In 
 1867 he was Democratic candidate for governrir. 
 but was defeated by William R. Marshall. In 
 1869 he was Democratic candidate for chief jus- 
 tice of the supreme court, but was again de- 
 feated, the Republican majority in Miimcsota 
 being very large. Xone of these nominations 
 were sought, and were only accepted on ac- 
 count of his loyalty to the Democratic i)arty. 
 He is still an ardent Democrat, but an equally 
 zealous opponent to the free silver coinage 
 movement. Judge Flandrau has been twice 
 married. His first wife was Miss Isabella R. 
 Dinsmore, of Kentucky, to whom he was mar- 
 ried on August 70, 1850. Mrs. Mandrnu died 
 
 June 30, 1867, leaving two daughters, Mrs. Til- 
 den R. Selmes and Mrs. F. W. M. Cutcheon. 
 ( )n February 28, 1871, Judge Flandrau married 
 Mrs. Rebecca B. Riddle, daughter of Judge 
 William IMcCluer, of Pittsburg. They have two 
 sons, Charles M. Flandrau and William Blair 
 McC. Flandrau. 
 
 HENRY GEORGE HICKS. 
 
 Henr\' George Hicks, recently a judge of 
 the district court of Hennepin County, is one of 
 the self-made men of the Northwest, who has 
 impressed himself strongly upon the community 
 in which he lives. He was born at Varysburgh, 
 Genesee (now Wyoming) County, New York, 
 January 26, 1838. Flis father, George A. Hicks, 
 was a saddler and harness maker by trade at 
 Castleton, New York, a man in moderate cir- 
 cumstances and with no capital but his skill as 
 a workman and his honorable reputation as a 
 man. He died at Freeport. 111., in 1881. George A. 
 Hicks' wife was Sophia Hall, a native of Rutland, 
 Vermont, who died at the home of her son, 
 Henry, in Minneapolis, in 1885, at the age of 
 seventy. Her father was Asa Hall, who was 
 wounded in the battle of Fake Champlain in the 
 War of 1812. George A. Hicks' mother, Hannah 
 Edwards, was a cousin of the elder Jonathan 
 Edwards. Henry G. Hicks, the subject of this 
 sketch, was educated in the common schools of 
 New York and Pennsylvania, and also enjoyed 
 one winter term at the academy at Arcade, New 
 York. At the age of fifteen he began teaching 
 school. Five years later he entered the prepara- 
 tory dejiartment of Oberlin College, where by in- 
 tervals of teaching and by employment in a 
 printing office he supported himself until i8(« 
 when he entered the freshman class. He then 
 taught the first wanl grammar school at Free- 
 port, Illinois, for a year, and at the close of his 
 engagement enlisted, July 24. 1 861, as a private in 
 Co. A. of the Second Illinois Cavalry. He was 
 appointed corporal ;uid sergeant of his company 
 and then sergeant-major of the regiment, August 
 12. October 15 he was commissioned adjutant, 
 was at the battle of Fort Donelson, and mustered 
 out June I, 1862. He was then appointed ad- 
 jutant nf the Seventv-first Tllin(^is Tnfantrv, a-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 123 
 
 three moiitlis' regiment, and mustered out Octo- 
 ber I, 1862, and on the 6th of the following 
 November was appointed adjutant of the 
 Ninety-third Infantry Volunteers, which took 
 part in the battles of Raymond, Jackson, Cham- 
 pion's Hill, at the siege of \ickshurg, and the 
 battle of Mission Ridge, where he was severely 
 wounded in the left cheek and nose by a nuisket 
 ball, and was honorably nuistered out of the ser- 
 vice February 28, 1864. .Mr. Hicks first visited 
 Minnesota in August, 1857, as an agent for D. C. 
 Feeley, of Freeport, Illinois, dealer in lightning 
 rods, and remained here three months and until 
 after the panic of October. He then started home 
 with about si.x hundred dollars in bills issued by 
 the Citizens' Bank, of Gosport, Indiana, and 
 Bank of Tekama, Nebraska. At St. Paul 
 he could not use it. but secured an exchange 
 of twenty dollars for Eastern money and 
 proceeded to Lake City, where he made other 
 collections in good money and was able to con- 
 tinue his homeward trip. In April, 1865, after 
 leaving the army, Mr. Hicks returned to Minne- 
 sota, settled in Minneapolis, engaged in the light- 
 ning rod business in the summer, operated 
 threshing machines and sold farm machinery in 
 the autumn and taught school for two winters 
 at a school house still standing at Hopkins, in 
 Hennepin County. December, 1867, he w-as ap- 
 pointed sheriff of Hennepin County, was elected to 
 that office ini868,and in 1871 and 1872 waselected 
 city justice of Minneapolis. In 1874 he began the 
 practice of law with E. A. Gove, which partner- 
 ship continued until October 15, 1875, when he 
 formed a partnership with Capt. J. X. Cross, to 
 which Frank H. Carleton was admitted in 1881. 
 This partnership was continued until 1887 when 
 Mr. Hicks was appointed judge of the district 
 court in Hennepin County, where he served until 
 January, 1895. -He then, accompanied by his wife, 
 traveled for nine months in Europe, and on the 
 fourteenth day of October, 1895, just twenty 
 years after forming a partnership with Capt. 
 Cross, he became a member of the firm of 
 Cross, Hicks, Carleton & Cross. Judge Hicks 
 has held a number of other important positions, 
 having been appointed by Gov. IMarshall trustee 
 of the Soldiers' Orphans, in 1869. to which 
 office he was three times re-appointed. In 1872 
 he was elected president of the board and was 
 
 annually re-elected until the b(jard closed the 
 Soldiers' Orphans Home, and voluntarily re- 
 tired, having discharged all orphans committed 
 to their care. He was elected to the lower house of 
 the state legislature in 1877, and returned to that 
 body three times afterwards, serving in his last 
 two terms as chairman of the judiciary committee. 
 He was elected to the legislature for the fifth time 
 in 1896. He was president of the board of 
 managers on the part of the house in 
 the impeachment of E. St. Julien Cox, 
 judge of the Ninth judicial district who 
 was convicted by the senate and removed 
 from office. Judge Hicks was a Repub- 
 lican before he was a voter, and has always ad- 
 hered to that party. He is a member of the Com- 
 mercial Club, of Ivhurum Lodge A. F. & A. M , 
 John A. Rawlins Post G. A. R., and was de- 
 partment commander of the Grand Army in 1868, 
 by virtue of which he is a life member of the 
 National Encampment. He is also a member and 
 at present .Senior Vice Commander of the Minne- 
 sota Commandery of the Loyal Legion. He was 
 married May 3, 1864, to ]\Iary Adelaide Beede, of 
 Freeport, Illinois, who died July 24, 1870, leaving 
 four children, all of whom have since died. No- 
 vember 5. 1873, he married Susannah R. Fox. 
 Judge Hicks resides at 720 Third Avenue South. 
 ^Minneapolis, which has been his home for the 
 past twent\--five years.
 
 *i 
 
 124 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 
 TRAl-FORD ^"E^^■T()^■ jayxk. 
 
 The success achieved in Inisiness and pro- 
 fessional Hfe by tl-.e subject of tliis sketch, while 
 vet a voung man, is a splendid example of what 
 a man of perseverance and industrious habits 
 can make of himself in the North Star State. 
 TrafTord Newton Jayne was bom near Lewiston, 
 Winona County, .Minnesota, November 3, 1868. 
 Havens Brewster Jayne, his father, was by occu- 
 pation a carpenter, in straightened financial cir- 
 cumstances. His mother's maiden name was 
 Nellie Victoria Pike. On his father's side .Mr. 
 Jayne is directly descended from William lirews- 
 ter, who came over in the .Mayflower. William 
 Jayne came from England to Tawtncket, Long 
 Island, earlv in tlie Seventeenth century, and soon 
 after connected himself with tin- I'.rcwster family 
 by marriage. The name was originallv "ne 
 Jayne," and an officer of that name held high 
 rank in the army of William the ( 'unciueror. 
 During the reign of Cromwell the De Jaynes 
 were found with him. but after the ascension of 
 Charles H. to the throne, in order to hide to 
 some extent their identity, they dropiu-d tlic "do" 
 from the family name, and that has since l)een 
 Jayne. Trafford Newton received his earlv edu- 
 cation in tile district schools of .Southern >'iiuie- 
 sota. He lived on the farm near .'>t. ( liarles 
 tmtil the age of tlireo, when he was taKen to 
 
 IMankato. In his fifth year he was again taken 
 back to St. Charles, returning two years later to 
 Winona. He attended the graded schools of 
 \\'inona for three years, when he was again taken 
 back to the farm. After two more years of farm 
 life he again returned to Winona, finishing the 
 preparatory school work in the freshman class 
 in the high school proper when only thirteen 
 vears of age. He then left school and studied 
 telegraphy and the railroad business at Lewiston, 
 Minnesota. In a little less than five months he 
 was given a position as telegraph operator and 
 worked for about eight months in that way. He 
 was then aiipointed cashier of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul Railroad at Winona, when only 
 fourteen years of age, at a salary of si.<cty five dol- 
 lars a month. He remained in this position only 
 a short time when he was offered a better position 
 as telegraph operator and ticket clerk for the 
 same road there. He retained this position for 
 about ten months, and was then appointed as 
 the assistant city ticket agent of the Chicago & 
 .North-Western Railway at Winona. After being 
 in this position about eight months he was given 
 the appointment of cashier for the same road at 
 Mankato. Seeing the importance at this time of 
 further education he commencetl preparation for 
 a college course, entering the L'niversity of Mich- 
 igan in the fall of 1886 and finishing in 1889, 
 taking the four years' course in three years' time. 
 While at college he took an active interest in 
 athletics and in 1889 took the university cham- 
 jiionship at tennis, and shortly after, in the same 
 year, defeated the champion of ( )hio in a match 
 game. He was on the university baseball team, 
 was vice jireskknt of the liicycle club, secretary 
 and treasurer of the tennis association, and also> 
 was secretary and treasurer of the dramatic club, 
 editor-in-chief of the Conmiencement .\nnual, 
 and a nieniber <if the Peta Theta Pi. On leaving 
 college he retitrned to Minnesota and accepted a 
 position as chii'f clerk in the office of Williams 
 i<: (iooihiiiw, at .'>t. Paul, and in January. 1890, 
 was admitted to the bar. Mr. ja^ne reniaineil in 
 the same position for a short time after admission 
 to tlu' bar, but cnmmenccd active practice for 
 himself on Ma\' 1, tSgo. In November of th;it 
 year he went into |)arlnt'rship with C. P>. Palmer, 
 under the firm name of P;dnu'r i.*v la\ue. 1 his 
 partnership continued mitil the first of J;uniary,
 
 PROORESSTVr, MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 125 
 
 1892, when Air. Ja\ne was offered tlie attunic)- 
 ship of the Wilbur Mercantile Af^ency in .Minne- 
 apolis and accepted it. ( )n .'\pril 1, of the same 
 year, he entered into ]»artnershi]) with l\.(i. .Mor- 
 rison, under the firm name of jayne & .Morrison, 
 which i)artnership contiiuied until il^')/. when 
 the firm was dissolved. .\lr. jayne tlieii I'ormed 
 a partnership with A. L. llelliwell, under the 
 name of Jayne & llelliwell. The)' enjoy an 
 extensive practice, corporation and conunercial 
 law being their sjjecialties. In politics, Mr. 
 Jayne is a Republican. At college he was presi- 
 dent of the l'niversit\- Republiean ( lub. num- 
 bering si.x hundred members, and tine of the vice 
 ])residents of the Michigan State League of Re- 
 ])nblican Clubs, at the age of twenty. He is at 
 present a court commissioner of Hennepin 
 County. Mr. Tavne is a member of the Conuner- 
 cial Clul), and his church affiliations are with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, lie is not married. 
 
 OLIN R. LEWLS. 
 
 Among the descendants of the little band of 
 pilgrims which came (jver in the Mayflower must 
 be counted O. B. Lewis, of St. Paul. His father, 
 Z. 1). Lewis, his grandfather. Miner Lewis, and 
 others of the family belonged to the former class 
 — the loyal sturdy yeomanry on which the nation 
 depends for its foremost foundations. Several of 
 Mr. Lewis' forefathers were in the war of 1812. 
 His mother came of German blood. Her name 
 was Rebecka Horning, and she was a member of 
 one of the old families of Penns\lvania. ^Ir. Z. 
 1). Lewis came West and settled in Wisconsin, 
 where his son Olin was born, in the town of 
 W'eyauwega, Waupaca Countw on .March 12, 
 1861. The boy was brought up on the farm 
 and was accustomed to hard work and out-door 
 exercise. The foundations of his education were 
 laid in tlie pulilic schools in his native cnunt}-. 
 He prepared for college in the high sch(5ols at 
 Omro, near which place his father had by that 
 time located on a farm. In the fall of 1870 he 
 entered the Universitv of Wisconsin, and during 
 his four years' course largely supported himself. 
 During the last \ear he received an appointment 
 as instructor in chemistry, a position which he 
 held for a year after graduation. Mr. Lewis re- 
 ceived his diploma in June. 1884. graduating with 
 honor. For the next few years he divided his 
 time between "earning a living" and studying 
 
 law. Part of this time he taught school: at an- 
 other time he was in the collection department 
 of the Walter .'\. Wood Harvester Company. In 
 1889 he was admitted to the bar and came to St. 
 Paul to i)ractice his chosen profession. He at 
 once formed a partnership with Oscar Hallam 
 under the firm name of Lewis & Plallam. The 
 young lawyers have been ver\' successful and 
 have built u]) a large practice during their seven 
 years' partnershi]). At the same time the senior 
 member of the firm has mixed somewhat ui local 
 politics. A Republican of the most uncompro- 
 mising type he received the honor of an election 
 to the city assembly in a distinctly Democratic 
 cit\'. He was first elected in i8i>4 and was re- 
 elected in 1896, both times without any .solicita- 
 tion upon his part. P.eing a man of strong con- 
 victions and much imlividualitv he has naturally 
 become a leader in the assembly and has taken 
 a prominent ]jart in shaping the actions of that 
 body during his membership in it. His course 
 has won him the approval of manv practical citi- 
 zens irrespective of party, and in 1896 he was 
 elected a judge of the .Second Judicial district. 
 In 1885 .Mr. Lewis and Miss Delia Barnett, of 
 ( )shkosh, were married. In matter of religious 
 faith Mr. Lewis is a member of the Central 
 Methodist F^piscojjal Church, of St. Paul. He 
 was brought up in that denomination. He is a 
 member of the Masonic body, of the Modern 
 Woodmen of America, and of the A. O. L'. W., 
 of which organization he is a past master.
 
 126 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 AMBROSE NEWELL AIERRICK. 
 
 Ambrose X. Merrick was born in Brimfiekl, 
 Hampden County, Massachusetts, February 9, 
 1827. He comes of Puritan stock. Thomas Mer- 
 rick, the first of the family to come to America, 
 settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1630, and 
 afterwards became one of the founders of Spring- 
 field, Massachusetts. The family name originated 
 in Wales. I\Ir. ^Merrick is a son of Ruel Mer- 
 rick and Marcia Fenton, both of Erimfield, ]\Ias- 
 sachusetts, and was the youngest of seven chil- 
 dren. His father died when he was about three 
 years old. After attending the district school un- 
 til about sixteen years of age, Mr. Merrick spent 
 a few terms at the Westfield Academy and Wil- 
 liston Seminary, where he completed preparation 
 for college. He entered Williams College in 
 the sophomore year and graduated in 1850. From 
 1850 to 1854 Mr. Merrick managed the farm for 
 his mother, studying law as he had the time. In 
 1855 he entered the office of the Hon. George 
 Ashmun, of Springfield, then one of the leaders 
 of the New England bar, and remained under 
 Mr. Ashmun's tutelage until his admission to the 
 bar in 1857. For ten years after his admission 
 to the bar Mr. Merrick was actively engaged in 
 practice in Springfield, devoting some time to 
 politics, and being for a long time a member of 
 the executive committee of the republican state 
 
 central committee of JNIassachusetts. While in 
 Springfield he was for some time president of 
 the City Council and Chairman of the Board of 
 County Commissioners, and later served for 
 some time as City Solicitor. In 1867 Mr. Mer- 
 rick went to California and for two years prac- 
 ticed at Los Angeles. After a winter in San 
 Francisco he went to Seattle, Washington, and 
 with his associates opened the first coal mine on 
 Puget Sound. But the frontier life of Washing- 
 ton was not an agreeable one, and Air. Merrick, 
 in 1871, moved to jMinneapolis. In the spring 
 of 1872 St. Anthony and Minneapolis were con- 
 solidated, and Mr. Merrick became the first City ■ 
 Attorney. He held that office for three consecu- 
 tive terms. He was one of the originators of 
 the present municipal court. From 1873 to 1875 
 Mr. Merrick, in addition to the discharge of the 
 duties of City Attorney, was engaged with the 
 late H. G. O. Morrison, under the firm name of 
 Merrick & Morrison, in a large general practice. 
 In 1876 Mr. ]\Ierrick, owing to the ill-health of 
 his wife, was compelled to seek a different cli- 
 mate, and went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he 
 resided from 1876 to 1880. On leaving St. Louis 
 to return to Minneapolis, he was the recognized 
 leader of the bar of the Criminal Court of that 
 city. L'pon his return to Minneapolis Mr. Mer- 
 rick immediately entered upon a large practice 
 which he has actively continued since. During 
 his long term at the bar Mr. Merrick's practice 
 has covered every branch of the law. \Vhile in 
 Washington Territory, as attorney of the Indian 
 department, he was charged with the care of the 
 legal relations of the Indians in that territory, 
 and in an action brought by a Chinaman against 
 an Indian for services rendered him, took for the 
 first time the position that an Indian sustaining 
 full tribunal relations was not capable of contract- 
 ing or being contracted w'ith. The case excited 
 great interest on account of the principles in- 
 volved. Mr. Merrick during his nearly forty 
 years' practice at the par has particiiiatcd in the 
 trial of a very large number of importruU and 
 interesting civil causes, among them being one 
 involving the constitutionality of the insolvent 
 law of 1 881 of this state, which was carried 
 through the state courts successfully by him and 
 on appeal to the Supreme Court of the Ihiited 
 States, Mr. IMerrick's contention was sustained
 
 PKOC.RIiSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 127 
 
 and the act declared constitutional; another call- 
 ing on the Supreme Court of this state for the 
 first time to determine the relative rights of the 
 Street Railway Coiupany and travelers upon the 
 public streets after the company had e(|uipped its 
 lines with electrically-propelled cars. In politics 
 Mr. Merrick was by education and surroundings 
 naturally a Whig, casting his first vote for Taylor 
 and Fillmore, and after that time continuing an 
 active worker in the Whig party until its disso- 
 lution as a national i)arty, after which Mr. Mer- 
 rick went with the free soil wing of the Whig 
 party, which resulted in the formation of the 
 Republican party of to-day, in the formation of 
 which he was an active particiiiant and member 
 of the executive conunittee of the State Central 
 Connuittee of Massachusetts for eight years, and 
 with the exception of the support which he 
 gave to Horace Greelev in 1872, and Sanuiel J. 
 Tilden in 1876, his connection with the Repub- 
 lican party has remained unbniken, having been 
 a desired speaker in every national campaign 
 until the campaign of 1896, when he was com- 
 pelled by his convictions to support bimetallism. 
 In 1858 Mr. ^lerrick was married to Sarali ?>. 
 Warriner, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and this 
 union resulted eight children ; two sons, Louis 
 A. and Harry H., now being associated with 3.1r. 
 Merrick in the active practice of the law. 
 
 WILLIAM A. FLEMING. 
 
 W. A. Fleming is a lawyer and lives at 
 Brainerd, Minnesota. His father, Patrick Flem- 
 ing, was a prosperous countr\- merchant all his 
 life. He came from Scotland with his pareiUs in 
 7819. When a young man he settled in h'ranklin 
 County, New York, where he died at the age of 
 si.xty-three. He married Miss Rachel .Shaw, 
 a member of an old New England family. 
 W. A. Fleming was born December 28, 1848, 
 at Dickinson Center, Franklin County, New 
 York. His boyhood was spent at home attend- 
 mg the village school. He attended Lawrence- 
 ville Academy several terms. He began teaching 
 when only seventeen, and taught school ten vears, 
 most of the time at home. By economv he had 
 saved, when he became of age. three hundred dol- 
 lars, and was then taken into partnership bv his 
 father. For a while he served as postmaster at 
 his village, being appointed to this po.sition by 
 
 President tJrant. But having no taste for mer- 
 cantile life, he determined to become a lawver, 
 and in 1878 he graduated from the Albany Law 
 School. Seeing better opportunities for a voung 
 lawyer in the west than existed in his native state, 
 he came to Minnesota in 1882 and established 
 himself at Brainerd. During his fourteen years' 
 residence in that city he has built up a large 
 practice and has been elected to a number of 
 positions of trust. His early experience in 
 school teaching was recognized by his choice as 
 Superintendent of Schools of Crow Wing 
 County. This position he held five years. 
 He was numicipal judge of Brainerd four years, 
 and later was city attorney and county attorney. 
 In 1889 and again 1893, he was elected to the 
 State Legislature from Crow Wing County. In 
 the legislature he took an active part in further- 
 ing the best measures before the House of Rep- 
 resentatives. He has always been a Republican 
 and is a firm believer in the principles of protect- 
 tion, sound finance and reciprocity. Mr. Fleming 
 is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias 
 and of the Red Men. He has no church 
 connections, though he is believer in the 
 essentials of the Christian religion. In 188S 
 he was married to Miss Florence O. Fos- 
 ter, a daughter of Judge George B. Foster, of 
 Peoria, Illinois. At that time Mrs. Fleming was 
 a teacher in the high school at Brainerd. Thev 
 have one daughter named Geraldine.
 
 128 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HENRY J. GjERTSEX. 
 
 Henry J. Gjertsen is a native of Iruni- 
 soe, Norway. His father was born in L'.ergen, 
 Norway, and comes from the well-known Gjert- 
 sen family of that cit\-. At an early age he re- 
 moved to the northern part of Norway, Tronisoe 
 County, where he married Albertina, daughter 
 of the Wulf family, and engaged in agriculture 
 and shipping until about twenty-eight years ago, 
 when he brought his family to this country and 
 settled in Hennepin County. The subject of 
 this sketch was born October 8, 1861, and was 
 six years of age when his parents came to this 
 country. ]\lr. Gjertsen's early education was ob- 
 tained in the district school in the town of Rich- 
 field, Hennepin County, Minnesota, where his 
 father was engaged in farming. He grew uji nn 
 the farm until he was twenty years of age, work- 
 ing on the farm during the summer season ami 
 attending school in the winter. In this way he 
 prepared for the Minneapolis high school which 
 he also attended for a time. .^ul)se<|uently he 
 took a six years' term in the collegiate de|>art- 
 ment of the Red Wing seminary, a theological 
 institution. His parents had destined him for the 
 ministry, but after completing his collegiate 
 course he took- up the studv of law in Minne- 
 apolis, and at the age of twenty-three was ad- 
 
 mitted to practice by the district court of Hen- 
 nepin County. While yet a student of law he 
 became interested in some important and fiercely 
 contested litigation which finally landed in the 
 supreme court and almost before he was regu- 
 larly admitted to practice he was recognized as 
 an attorney of record in the supreme court of 
 Mimiesota. He has also been admitted to prac- 
 tice in the supreme court of the United States. 
 Mr. Gjertsen has always been a student and 
 speaks fluently the Scandinavian and German 
 languages. While very successful in his pro- 
 fessional work he retains a love for agriculture 
 and prides himself on being a practical and thor- 
 ough farmer. He has made no specialty of any 
 particular branch of law but has been engaged in 
 general ]3ractice and enjoys a reputation of a suc- 
 cessful practitioner, in both lower and higher 
 courts. During the last two years he has been 
 engaged a greater part of the time in prosecuting 
 insolvency cases growing out of the failures of the 
 local banks. Mr. Gjertsen is a Republican and 
 takes an active interest in local and national 
 politics. He has ser\'ed at different times on 
 county and congressional committees, and takes 
 an active part in the work of the Republican 
 League : w as a delegate to the last national con- 
 vention of the Republican League; has stumped 
 the state in every direction for the last ten years 
 in the interest of the Republican ticket; has been 
 a delegate to several state conventions, but has 
 never held any political office, tie is recognized 
 as one of the leading Scandinavians of the state, 
 and. his name has been frequentlv mentioned 
 for judicial honors. He is a member of the A. F. 
 and A. M., and several other fraternal societies, 
 local clubs and organizations. He has taken an 
 active interest in the ]iromotion of everv enter- 
 prise inaugurated for the henetit of the city. Tn 
 his church connections he is an Episcopalian and 
 an active member of that denomination. .Mr. 
 Gjertsen was married January 4, 1883, to Gretchen 
 Goebel, daughter of a prominent German family 
 from Hanau, near Frankfort-on-the-Main. He 
 has one daughter living and is thoroughly de- 
 voted to his family. He has resided in Minne- 
 apolis ever since he was married, and is in every 
 way loyally identified with the interests of the 
 citv.
 
 PROr.RRSSIVE MKN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 129 
 
 EDWARD MORRILL JOHNSON. 
 
 Edward M. Johnson was born in Fisherville, 
 Merriniac County, New Hampshire, November 
 24, 1850. In 1854 his parents moved to St. An- 
 thony, now a part of JMinncapolis, where they 
 have since continuously resided. His father, 
 Luther G. Johnson is well known to pioneer set- 
 tlers of this section, having been engaged actively 
 as a manufacturer and merchant until recent 
 years. He was a member of the firm of Kimball, 
 Johnson & Co., and of L. G. Johnson & Co., 
 two of the earliest mercantile and manufacturing 
 concerns of the city, the last named firm having 
 established the first furniture factory in Minneap- 
 olis. Mr. Johnson's ancestors upon both his 
 father's and mother's side were among the earli- 
 est settlers of New England. Among the former 
 were a number of prominent founders of An- 
 dover, Massachusetts, and Concord, New Hamp- 
 shire, as well as members of the Committee of 
 Safety during the Revolutionary War. He first 
 attended the pioneer school, which was kept in a 
 small frame building in St. Anthony, on what is 
 now University avenue, between Second and 
 Third avenue S. E. a building well remembered 
 by the earliest settlers of the city. Later he 
 entered the first high school in the city, which 
 was organized at St. Anthony about 1863. The 
 school year 1866-67 was spent at the Pennsyl- 
 vania ]\Iilitary Academy, at Chester. He then 
 attended for four years the JNIinnesota State Uni- 
 versity, which had been reopened in 1867, but 
 left there before any class graduated, and was 
 for some time in his father's employment. In 
 January, 1873, Mr. Johnson went to Europe, 
 where he remained nearly three years. While 
 there he visited nearly all of Central Europe, but 
 spent the most of his time at the universities of 
 Heidelberg and Berlin, where he studied law, 
 including Roman and international law, under 
 Professors Windschied, Bluntschli, Gneist and 
 Bruns. He also attended courses of lec- 
 tures by ]\Iommsen, Curtius, Grimm, Treit- 
 schke, Wagner and other celebrated Ger- 
 man professors. At the end of the year 1875 
 Mr. Johnson returned to Minneapolis and early 
 the following year entered the law offices of 
 Judge J. M. Shaw & A. L. Levi ; later he attended 
 the law school of the Iowa State University at 
 Iowa City, where he graduated in 1877. Soon 
 
 afterward he opened a law office in Minneapolis 
 in partnership with Mr. E. C. Chatfield. Later 
 this partnership was dissolved and for four years 
 he was alone. In January, 1882, Mr. C. B. Leon- 
 ard entered into partnership with Mr. Johnson. 
 This firm, with the addition of Mr. Alexander 
 McCune, still continues. Mr. Johnson has made 
 a specialty of the law of corporations, real estate 
 and municipal bonds. He has been the attorney 
 and counsellor of the Farmers and ^Mechanics" 
 Savings Bank of Minneapolis since 1883. For 
 ten years he was clerk and attorney for the Board 
 of Education. In 1883 he was elected to the city 
 council from the Second ward, and served in that 
 body until 1890, when he resigned, being at that 
 time its president. It is generally conceded, that, 
 during Mr. Johnson's term in the city council, 
 his views were most frequently the controlling 
 ones of that body. His career during that time 
 was marked with the same steadfastness and fear- 
 lessness that has constituted him a leader among 
 men. One of the most important innovations of 
 recent years in municipal taxation originated 
 with Mr. Johnson, and by his unceasing efTorts 
 was brought to a successful trial. It is what is 
 known as the Permanent Improvement Fund, 
 by means of which a city is enabled to improve 
 and beautfy its streets while the tax upon prop- 
 erty owners for payment of the expense is divided 
 into five equal annual assessments. Since the
 
 130 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 successful operation of this measure in Minneap- 
 olis the principle has been incorporated into the 
 laws of some of our surrounding states. By Mr. 
 Johnson's tact the system of street railway trans- 
 fers was brought about. That Mr. Lowry real- 
 ized this fact and gave him the credit of forcing 
 the measure upon his company is manifest in a 
 reminder Mr. Lowry presented Mr. Johnson in 
 the form of a transfer check ])rinted upon satin 
 and handsomely framed in mahogany. A few 
 years ago a suspension bridge stood on the site 
 of the present Steel Arch IJridge. The roadway 
 was narrow and was fast becoming inadequate 
 to the demands made upon it. and the strain of 
 projected electric cars would have provcil more 
 than the bridge could sustain. W'hh remarkable 
 firnmess Mr. Johnson undertook to replace the 
 suspension bridge with one of steel. The cause 
 he so championed created great pulilic opposition, 
 but he fought it through to a successful termina- 
 tion, and to-tla\' no one of Mr. Johnson's efforts 
 is more appreciated by the public than that of 
 securing the fine steel arch britlge in place of the 
 old suspension one. (.)ne of Mr. Johnson's most 
 valuable serv'ices to the public was in connection 
 with the Minneapolis Public Library. Through 
 his efiforts the plan finally adopted siirang into 
 vital action. As chairman of the council com- 
 mittee which had that matter under considera- 
 tion, as well as chairman of the council connnittee 
 on legislation, he drafted the Librar}- Board 
 charter and urged it through the legislature. 
 Poole, the recognized autliority on library mat- 
 ters, said it was one of the best laws for the gov- 
 ernment of libraries he had ever examined. After 
 securing the passage of the library act he was 
 made one of the directors of the Library Board, 
 and has been and is now one of its most efficient 
 members. As a director of the Society of Fine 
 Arts Mr. Johnson has given it enthusiastic sup- 
 port. In 1887 he was ap])ointcd one of the com- 
 missioners having in charge the erection of the 
 new courthouse and city hall, and was for a num- 
 ber of years its vice-president, chairman of its 
 financial connnittee, a member of its building 
 committee, and for the past two years its presi- 
 dent. Tn all these positions of responsibility Mr. 
 Johnson has given his time and labor without 
 one thought of pecuniary reward. Through his 
 efforts tlie Xorthwestcm Casket Companv and 
 the Minneapolis Office and I^icliodl i'nrnisliing 
 
 Company were established; and of both concerns 
 he has long been president. In politics Mr. 
 Johnson has always been a Republican and act- 
 ively interested in the success of his party. In 
 1892 he was chairman of the city committee, and 
 by virtue of such office was a member of the Re- 
 publican Campaign Connnittee of that year. In 
 1894 he was appointed chairman of the County 
 Committee, which made him chairman of the Re- 
 pul)lican Campaign Committee. In 1896 he was 
 appointed member at large and secretary of the 
 State Central Committee. In 1890 jMr. Johnson 
 married Effie S. Richards, daughter of Mr. W. O. 
 Richards, of Waterloo, Iowa. He has a pleasant 
 home on Fourth street and Tenth avenue SE., 
 in the immediate vicinity of where his parents 
 located in 1854, and still reside. 
 
 CLEMENT S. EDWARDS. 
 
 The early history of Clement Stanislaus 
 Edwards contains a mystery, which thus far he 
 has never been able to solve. When about 
 fifteen months old he was left b\' a lady who 
 claimed to be his mother with a family consist- 
 ing of a widow and three children in Chatham, 
 New Brunswick, Dominion of Canada. The lady 
 who left him there stated that she was his 
 mother: that this family had been recommended 
 by the bishop of the diocese; that she wished 
 good care taken of him until her return, and that 
 she was about to start to India where her hus- 
 band had gone as an officer in the British army. 
 She stated that her child was Ijurn March 4, 
 1869. She never returned and Mr. Edwards has 
 never been able to secure anv further informa- 
 tion regarding his parents. He learned to look 
 upon the humble people with whom he had 
 Iieen left as his kinsfolk, and this delusion on his 
 part was encouraged. .\t tla- ciul of si.K years- 
 he was placed at a private school for three years, 
 and later at a da\- school conducted by the Chris- 
 tian Brothers. The first year Clement won a 
 ]5rize proNJih'ng for a year's tuition and boarding, 
 and all tlic |iri\-ilcges of the aca.lemy on .St. 
 Michael's .Mount. lie s])ent tlie next year in 
 that boarding school, where lu' made such i)rog- 
 ress tliat he was allowed to remain a second year. 
 He was now about twelve years of age, and, being 
 of an adventurous disposition, he \\ent to New
 
 PRnr.RRSSIVB MEN OF MIN'XESOTA. 
 
 i:!l 
 
 York City whither the chilih-cii nf the widow 
 with whom he hat! grown up, had preceded liini. 
 He found their circumstances such that it was 
 necessary for him to rely up(jn his own re- 
 sources, and about tiiis time he learned also of 
 the death of their mother, who had always been 
 the personification of kindness and love towards 
 him. This sad blow took from him his only 
 friend. Alone in the great city, without money 
 or friends, he secured employment as a cash boy 
 in a large dry goods store, his com])ensation 
 being two dollars a week, upon which he was 
 obliged to live. After a slujrt time he found 
 employment as a clerk for a real estate broker 
 with the more liberal compensation of three dol- 
 lars a week, and correspondingly greater luxury 
 in his mode of living. He remained in this 
 position for about a year, when through a dis- 
 agreement with his employer he left his service, 
 and finding himself without food or shelter 
 he acted upon the advice given on a street sign, 
 upon which he read, "Children's Aid Society," 
 and applied for assistance. He was informed that 
 this assistance consisted in transportation out 
 West, and a chance to find a home. He, along 
 with a considerable assignment of stranded hu- 
 manity, accepted this aid, and on the following 
 day started with an officer of the society for 
 Albert Lea, where they arrived November 17, 
 1881. The children were taken to the court 
 house where was assembled a large company of 
 farmers, some having come a hundred miles to 
 make a selection of a son or a daughter among 
 these waifs. Clement was selected by a man 
 from Caledonia, but he was weary of travel and 
 preferred rather to remain with G. O. Slocum, of 
 Albert Lea, who proposed to take him into his 
 home to work for his board and schooling. Afr. 
 Slocum's house was his home for a number of 
 years, where he was encouragetl in his studies 
 and permitted to make the most of every op])or- 
 tunity. He was an apt scholar, and after passing 
 through the various grades, including one year's 
 attendance at the high school, he secured em- 
 ployment in the office of the Freeborn County 
 Standard, where he learned the art of printing. 
 Later he served an apprenticeship in ^linneapolis 
 on the Daily ]\Iarket Record, being employed 
 by Col. Rogers, the publisher of that paper, for 
 about three years. Clement had practiced care- 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 fi4fl|H^^^^^H 
 
 
 
 ^^E/ 
 
 »^^^^H 
 
 ■f^ 
 
 ^1 
 
 I^H 
 
 Jt ,J 
 
 ful economy with a view to taking a college 
 course, and in 1888 entered Parker College, at 
 ^^'innebago City, where he remained two years, 
 preparing for the ministry. While there he regu- 
 larly filled the piripit in the Free Will Baptist 
 church at Janesville. Li 1890 he entered Hills- 
 dale College, Michigan, for the purpose of con- 
 tinuing his preparation for the ministrj^ but, hav- 
 ing in the meantime concluded to adopt the legal 
 profession, and an opportunity presenting itself 
 to take up his legal studies, he returned to Albert 
 Lea and began the study of law in the office of 
 Lovely & Morgan, in Januan,-, 1891. He was 
 admitted to the bar April 3, 1894, and at once 
 entered into partnership with Hon. John A. 
 Lovely. In the spring of 1895 ^^ ^^'^s elected 
 city attorney of Albert Lea, which position he 
 now holds. A few months later the partnership 
 of Lovely & Edwards was dissolved by mutual 
 consent. Mr. Edwards is an active and loyal Re- 
 publican, was a member of the Phi Delta Theta 
 fraternity in college; also occupied the chair of 
 Chancellor Commander, and is at present District 
 Deputy Grand Chancellor of the Knights of 
 P\i:hias. He is first lieutenant of Companv I, 
 National Guards, and is a member of the Albert 
 Lea Presbyterian church. He was married Sep- 
 tember 12. 1804, t'^ Harriet, daughter of Victor 
 Gillrup, may.ir fif Albert Lea.
 
 132 
 
 PKOGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 .^«S!!> 
 
 WILLIAM J. BURNETT. 
 
 \\'illiam J. Burnett, manager and pro- 
 prietor of the Northwestern Hide and Fur Com- 
 pany, of Minneapolis, was born at Pittsburg, 
 Pennsylvania, in 1843, the son of Virgil Justice 
 Burnett and Harriet .S. Burnett. His ancestry 
 on both sides of the family were Scotch-English 
 people, his father's family presumed to have been 
 of the .same as that of Bishop Burnett. In 1837 
 they were engaged in the grocery business in 
 Newark, New Jersey, when their business was 
 ruined by the great panic which wrecked so many 
 fortunes. Unable to realize upon their accounts 
 they turned over all their goods to their creditors 
 and started for the far West. It was while they 
 were en route that William J. was born at Pitts- 
 burg, then a small but thrifty city. Here the 
 Burnett family halted for a time and the father, 
 who was a carriage blacksmith by trade, engaged 
 in his handicraft in order to earn money to pur- 
 sue the Western journey to Terre Haute, Indiana. 
 They went by boat from Pittsburg In \inccnncs 
 and by canal to Terre Haute. Wlien tlu-y ar- 
 rived there the father had just fifty cents left, 
 but having friends, and, more important, having 
 industr\' and skill he was .soon in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances. He was a man of studious tastes, 
 and, like Elihu Burritt. 1)ccamc known as the 
 "learned blacksmith." He was elected to the legis- 
 
 lature in 1856, and was one of the prime movers 
 in the passage of the famous Indiana liquor law. 
 He died in 1859, honored by all who knew him 
 and survived by his wife, six boys and two girls. 
 The mother is still living at the advanced age 
 of eighty-eight, and is in the enjoyment of re- 
 markable health and vigor. On November 22, 
 iSrjo, William J. Burnett commenced business in 
 Minneapolis under the name of the Northwestern 
 Hide and Fur Company 31417 Main street South- 
 east. In the fall of 1895 he purchased the 
 property at 409 Main Street Southeast, where 
 he provided himself with all modem conveniences 
 for the transaction of his business. His great 
 success is largely due to his progressive methods 
 and to a number of valuable devices of his own 
 invention pertaining to the hide and fur trade, 
 which have proved a source of profit to him. 
 Mr. Burnett has displayed unusual enterprise in 
 the conduct of his business, one exhibition of it 
 being the employment of two men, hired within 
 the past year, to explore on foot from the Deer 
 River to Rainy River, through the great forests 
 of that wild region, the chief purpose of this 
 venture being to find what its resources are for 
 agriculture, hunting, fishing and trapping. This 
 information he has given to the public in 
 various contributions to the nev.'spapers. This 
 section of the country, he believes, needs 
 only transportation facilities to attract immigra- 
 tion, and which he thinks will soon add greatly 
 to the wealth of the state and the growth of the 
 Twin Cities. He has been strongly impressed 
 with the fact that such a vast area of rich coun- 
 try, almost one-third of this great state, should not 
 still lie idle right at the doors, as it were, of the 
 great cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth. 
 He thinks that all that is needed is railroad facili- 
 ties to create an interest in that section equal 
 to that of the Dakotas in 1880, although the 
 region he regards as superior in resources, as 
 its numerous lakes and .streams are abundantly 
 stocked with the choicest fish, and the forests are 
 the home <jf the finest of game and fur-bearing 
 animals, while in the summer it is the home of 
 millions of waterfowl. Mr. Burnett was married 
 to Miss Alida .Suits, of Huron, .'^outh Dakota, 
 in June, 1888. They have one daughter, Harriet 
 Alida, age six. Thcv reside in Sci'.itheast IMinne- 
 apolis and are members of the .\ndrew Prcsliy- 
 terian church.
 
 PKOORESSIVE MEN OE MINNESOTA. 
 
 133 
 
 FRANK A. MARON. 
 
 Frank A. Maron is the propricttjr and 
 princij)al of the Globe Business College in St. 
 I'aul. Mr. .\iaron is a German l)y birth and 
 was born in Koschmieder, Prussia, March 25, 
 1863. His father was the village grocer and a 
 man of influence in the connnunity, having 
 served in the capacity of alderman, connnissioner 
 of schools, and in other places of trust. His wife, 
 Sophia Krawietz (Maron) was the daughter of a 
 wealthy miller. Frank Maron began his school 
 life when but si.x years of age. He first displayed 
 a strange repugnance to study, but within a short 
 time began to love his books, and at the age of 
 thirteen was sufficiently advanced to assist his 
 teachers in instructing a class which contained 
 nearly one hundred pupils. Soon after he reached 
 the age of fourteen he graduated with high 
 honors. He at once entered his father's store as 
 clerk, and his father's health failing within a year 
 and the family store being sold, it was necessary 
 for Frank to seek other employment. Young 
 Maron was not afraid of work, and his first en- 
 gagement was as a helper to a blacksmith. But 
 the lime came when he reached the age at which 
 under the German law he was required to enlist 
 for military duty, to escape which he fled with a 
 friend, February 11, 18S2, to America. The two 
 boys arrived in St. Paul, March 2, with tickets to 
 Delano, Minnesota, and with anything but a 
 clear idea where they were going. While Frank 
 was passing the night in the railroad depot at 
 St. Paul, a negro entered the room. This was 
 the first colored person he had ever seen and the 
 sight alarmed him not a little. Arriving at Delano 
 young Maron obtained employment from the 
 agent of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba 
 Railroad, and remained for several weeks in that 
 service, receiving at first onlv $1.25 a dav. Later 
 he secured a position as blacksmith, and shortly 
 afterwards joined his friend on the Minneapolis & 
 St. Louis Railroad, and was employed for con- 
 siderable time in the shops of that company. 
 Having been advised to study telegraphy, he gave 
 up his position with the railroad companv and 
 devoted his time to its study in June, 1884, at 
 the school of O. M. Stone, in St. Paul. He sup- 
 ported himself by carrying newspapers and doing 
 other odd jobs, slept in a garret and battled with 
 adversity in almost every form in which it could 
 be encountered bv a voung and friendless man. 
 
 When he was graduated and about to seek a 
 position as an operator he was asked to purchase 
 a half interest in the school. This he did, and 
 in May, 1885, secured full ownership by trans- 
 ferring to Mr. Stone some property in Minne- 
 apolis which he had bought with his earnings. 
 Thus three years after his arrival in this country 
 he fountl himself at the head of a 'commercial 
 school. Times were prosperous and the demand 
 for typewriters and stenographers was active. Mr. 
 Maron prepared himself to instruct pupils in 
 these lines, and also continued his operations in 
 real estate with considerable success. He also 
 mastered bookkeeping and had a department of 
 that kind in 1888. Mr. Alaron's school is now 
 located in the Endicott building in St. Paul, 
 where all the <le])artnients of a business college 
 are conducted, including also instruction in En- 
 glish and German. The graduates of this school 
 include hundreds of young men an<l wi>men who 
 liave gone out into active business life. Mr. 
 Maron is a menilier of the St. Paul Chamber of 
 Connnerce, of the .St. Paul Commercial Club, of 
 St. Clement's Society, and of the Young Men's 
 Christian Association. He is assistant recorder 
 of the German Life Insurance Company, and 
 treasurer of St. Paul Council, No. 2, Ancient 
 Order of Aztecs. He was married April 25, 1882, 
 to Miss Emma M. Persons, who died March 13, 
 1804. They have no children.
 
 134 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 H 
 
 CASS GlLi'.ERT. 
 
 Cass Gilbert, an architect of St. Paul, was 
 the son of Samuel Augustus Gilbert, soldier and 
 topographical engineer, and for many }'ears a 
 distinguished officer of the United States Coast 
 Survey, and who was awarded a medal by congress 
 for distinguished bravery in rescuing shipwrecked 
 sailors on the coast of Texas. At the opening 
 of the Civil War he was commissioned lieutenant- 
 colonel of the Twenty-fourth Ohio, was later 
 transferred and promoted to colonel of the 
 Forty-fourth Ohio, and received a special letter 
 of thanks from the president for gallant and 
 brilliant conduct in the march on Cumberland 
 Gap whereby 3,000 Confederates were captured. 
 By dispersing a rebel convention at Frankfort, 
 Kentucky, Februarj' 18, 1863, he broke up a con- 
 spiracy to pass an act of secession and by so do- 
 ing he saved the state to the I'liion. In .March, 
 1865, he received the rank of l)rcvet lirigadicr 
 general. After executing a commission to South 
 America for the govcrnnu'iit lie resumed his 
 service on the coast survey, continuing it until iiis 
 death, which occurred in St. I'aul, June <). iHGH. 
 His wife, Elizaljeth Indton Wheeler (Gilbert), a 
 daughter of Benjamin Wheeler, of Zancsvillc, 
 Ohio, is a woman of great strength of character 
 and courage, wliich was e-\iiiliilcd during tiie war 
 
 when she made a perilous ride through the moun- 
 tains to meet her husband, who was reported dan- 
 gerousl}- wounded. Gen. Gilbert was descended 
 from Hon. Samuel Gilbert, of Gilead, Connecti- 
 cut, an officer in the Revolutionary Army, whose 
 father was also an officer of the Colonial troops. 
 The subject of this sketch was born at Zanesville, 
 Ohio, November 24, 1859. He attended the 
 country schools near Zanesville, but at the age of 
 eight years removed with his parents to St. Paul, 
 where his education in the public schools was 
 continued. Later he attended JMacalester College 
 at the old \\'inslow house in JNIinneapolis, vmder 
 the direction of Dr. E. D. Neill. In September, 
 1876. he entered the office of A. M. Radclifife, an 
 architect in .St. Paul, where he remained for eight- 
 een months as a student. He then joined a sur- 
 \-eying party locating the Hudson & River Falls 
 Railroad line, in \Msconsin. In the fall of 1878 
 he began the special course in architecture at the 
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology-, and in 
 the spring of 1879 received one of the two prizes 
 given by the Boston Chapter of the American 
 Institute of Architects. He served on the United 
 States Coast Survey under Prof. Henry L. Whit- 
 ing, in the topographical survey of the Hudson 
 River from Peekskill to Newburg, and in 1880 
 went to Europe to pursue the study of architec- 
 ture. He returned to New York after a year and 
 entered the office of the eminent architects, 
 ^Messrs. ]McKim, Mead & White. In 1881 he was 
 sent by them to take charge of their branch of- 
 fice in Baltimore, resigning that position in De- 
 cember, 1882, to come to St. Paul. The following 
 January he opened an office in St. Paul and has 
 remained there in business ever since. It was 
 while in New York in 1881 that Mr. Gilbert sug- 
 gested the founding oi the Architectural League. 
 In January 1886, Mr. Gilbert formed a partner- 
 ship witli James Knox Taylor, whicli \\as dis- 
 solved in June, t8i)I. The firm of Cjilbert & 
 Taylor were consulting architects and superin- 
 tendents of the construction of the New York- 
 Life building and designed and superintended the 
 construction of the I'jidicott building in St. Paul. 
 Afr. Gilbert -.wis the architect of the Dayton Ave- 
 nue Presbyterian Church, the Bethlehem Presby- 
 terian Church, and other clnu'chcs in the city, 
 also a number of mercantile buildings and resi-
 
 rRooKEssivi-; mf,n of minnusota. 
 
 135 
 
 dences, and among otlier structures the 
 
 IJil 
 
 Theological Seminary. In i8iji lie was ap- 
 pointed superintendent of construction of the 
 new government Iniilding in St. rani, ancl 
 held that position until June, 1893. Un the 
 31st of October, 1895, Mr. Gilbert was de- 
 clared the successful competitor among a large 
 number of architects for designing the new 
 Capitol building of the state of Minnesota, and 
 was appointed the architect in charge. Mr. Gilbert 
 was elected a director of the American Insti- 
 tute of Architects in October, 1893, at the annual 
 convention in Chicago. In l-'ebruary, 1893, he 
 was appointed a member of the National Jury of 
 Selection for architecture at the World's Colum- 
 bian Exposition. In the fall of 1893 he was elected 
 president of the Minnesota Chapter of the 
 American Institute of Architects, and in the same 
 year was a member of the jury of award for the 
 Rotch Traveling Scholarship in Boston. Mr. Gil - 
 bert was married November 29, 1888, at Milwau- 
 kee, Wisconsin, to Julia Tappen Finch, daughter 
 of Henry Martin Finch, of that city. They have 
 four children, Emily Finch, Elizabeth Wheeler, 
 Julia Swift and Cass, Tr. 
 
 WILLIS EDWARD DODGE. 
 
 Willis Edward Dodge is of English de- 
 scent, his ancestors having come over to this 
 country from England in 1670. Three brothers 
 came together, and their descendants took an act- 
 ive part in the Revolution, in which thev were 
 known as "the Manchester men." .'\ndrew Jack- 
 son Dodge, grandfather of Willis Edward, settleil 
 in Montpelier, \ ermont, in 1812. The su!)ject oi 
 this sketch was born at Lowell, \'ermont. May 11, 
 1857, the son of William liaxter Dodge and 
 Harriett Baldwin (Dodge). William B. Dodge 
 was a farmer in ordinary circumstances. Willis 
 Edward began his education in the public 
 schools of \'ermont, and continued it in .St. 
 Johnsbury Academy, where he took the classical 
 course preparatory for Dartmouth College. He 
 did not, however, take a college course, but began 
 the study of law with Hon. W. W. Grout, a mem- 
 ber of congress from the Second Vermont dis- 
 trict, and also read law with Hon. F. W. Baldwin, 
 of Barton, Vermont, in 1879 and 1880. He was 
 admitted tn the Orleans Coimtv, \'ermont. bar in 
 
 September, 1880. In October of that year he 
 came West in search of better opportunities for 
 a young man of his ambitions and capacity, and 
 settled at Fargo, North Dakota. Subsequently 
 he removed to Jamestown, North Dakota, where 
 he was appointed attorney for the Northern Pa- 
 cific Railroad, and held that office until July, 1887. 
 He was then appcjinted attorney for the St. Paul, 
 Minneapolis & Manitolja Railway Company for 
 Dakota, and returned to kargo, where he lived 
 until August, 1892. At that time he removed to 
 Minneapolis, where he continued to act as attor- 
 ney for the Great Northern Railway Companv, 
 formerly the St. Paul, Alinneapolis & .Manitoba 
 Railway Company. He is also at the present 
 time attorney for the Minneapolis Trust Com- 
 pany, and other corporations. He has made a 
 specialty of corporation law, and has obtained 
 distinction in that department of legal practice. 
 Mr. Dodge has always been a Republican, and 
 while a resident of Dakota was made a member of 
 the state senate in 1886 and 1887. During his 
 residence in Jamestown he served that city as its 
 corporation counsel for eight years. He is a 
 member of the Knights of the Red Cross and the 
 Minneapolis Club. He claims no church mem- 
 bership. On March 27. 1882. he married Hattie 
 M. Crist of \'inton, Iowa. They have two chil- 
 dren. Dora Mae, age twelve, and William E., age 
 ten.
 
 r.\c, 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOHN BACHOP GILFILLAN. 
 
 John Bachop Gilfillan is a lawyer in Minne- 
 apolis. His grand parents on his father's side 
 emigrated from Balfron, Sterling, Scotland, in 
 1794, and of his mother from Glasgow in 1795, 
 and settled in Caledonia County, Vermont. As 
 the name indicates the neighborhood was popu- 
 lated by emigrants from Scotland, and here in 
 the town of Barnet the subject of this sketch 
 was born February 11, 1835. His father, Robert 
 Gilfillan, was a farmer, and the early years of his 
 boyhood were spent on the farm, with attendance 
 at the district school in the winter. When he was 
 twelve years old his parents moved to the town 
 of Peacham, and he prepared himself for Dart- 
 mouth College at the Caledonia Academy, located 
 in that town. In order to contribute to his own 
 support he began teaching in the district schools 
 at the age of seventeen. His brother-in-law. Cap- 
 tain John Martin, had settled in St. Anthony, 
 Minnesota, and Mr. Gilfillan came to visit him 
 in October, 1855, hoping to obtain a position as 
 teacher, but expecting to return later and enter 
 college. The position as teacher was obtained, 
 and the attractions of the West proved to be so 
 strong that he never returned to college. He 
 began the study of law with Xourse & Winthri)]:), 
 afterwards with Lawrence & Lochrcn. and in 
 i860 was admitted to the bar. He formed a part- 
 
 nership with J. R. Lawrence, which continued 
 until his partner entered the army. ^Ir. Gilfillan 
 then practiced law alone until 1871, when the 
 firm of Lochren, McNair & Gilfillan was formed. 
 Judge Lochren was subsequently appointed to 
 the district bench, and Islr. jNIcXair died in 1885. 
 In 1885, tlie present firm of Gilfillan, Belden & 
 \Villiard was formed. Mr. Gilfillan, and the firms 
 with which he has been connected have enjoyed 
 a large share of the most lucrative and important 
 law practice in the state. Among the important 
 cases in which he was engaged were the contested 
 will cases of Stephen Emerson, Ovid Pinney and 
 Governor C. C. Washburn. He has also been 
 engaged as an attorney of the Chicago, Milwau- 
 kee & St. Paul Railroad ; Chicago, St. Paul, ^lin- 
 neapolis & Omaha Railroad, and the Minneapolis 
 Eastern Railroad. Mr. Gilfillan has always taken 
 an active interest in educational matters. As 
 early as 1859 he helped to organize the Mechanics' 
 Institute for Literary Culture, in St. Anthony. 
 He drew up the bill for the organization of the 
 St. Anthony school board, under which the sys- 
 tem of graded schools was introduced, and served 
 as a director for nearly ten years. In 1880 he 
 was appointed regent of the state university, and 
 served in that position for eight years. 'Sir. Gil- 
 fillan has always been a Republican in politics, 
 and has held several offices, beginning with that 
 of city attorne>' of St. Anthony soon after his 
 admission to the bar. He was elected county 
 attorney of Hennepin County in 1863, and 
 served until 1867; again from 1869 to 1871, and 
 from 1873 to 1875. In 1875 he was elected to 
 the upper house of the state legislature, and 
 served in that capacity for ten consecutive years. 
 In the earlier years of his ser\-ice in the senate 
 he was chairman of the committee on taxes and 
 tax laws, and raised these laws into a code which 
 constitute the chief body of the revenue system 
 of the state. Perhaps the most imj^ortant piece 
 of legislation in which he performed a leading 
 part was that providing for the adjustment of the 
 state railroad bonds. lie in fact dictated the 
 terms of the compromise bill which became the 
 law upon which the adjustment was made. 
 In 1884 ]\rr. Gilfillan was elected to con- 
 gress from the district then including both 
 Minneapolis and St. Paul. M the expiration 
 of his term of office Mr. Gilfillan took his
 
 r'ROGRRSSlVR MKN OF MINXESOTA. 
 
 137 
 
 family to Europe and having'' ])lacc'cl his chil- 
 droii in school in Dresden, spent nearly two 
 years and a half in travel, visitinj^ every country 
 of Europe except i'ortuj;al, and extending his 
 travels into Egypt and the Holy Land. He then 
 returned to the practice of his profession in Min- 
 neapolis, in which he is now actively engaged. 
 He is a member and an officer of Westminster 
 Presbyterian Church. Mr. Gilfillan was married 
 in 1870 to Miss Rebecca C. Oliphant, of Eay- 
 ette County, Pennsylvania. He has four children 
 living. The mother died March 25, 1884. In 
 June, 1893, Mr. Gilfillan was married to Miss 
 Lavinia Coppock, of New Lisbon, Ohio, but more 
 recently of W^ashington, D. C. 
 
 DANIEL SINCLAIR. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has been engaged 
 in journalism in Minnesota since 1856, and dur- 
 ing all that time has been the editor of the same 
 paper, the Winona Republican. Daniel Sin- 
 clair is a native of Scotland, and was born at 
 Thurso, Carthnessshire, January 2, 1833. His 
 father, George Sinclair, was a merchant and a 
 revenue officer under the British government. 
 He died when Daniel was but five years old. 
 The family line is traced directly to the brothers 
 St. Clair, who went over to England from Nor- 
 mandy with William the Conquerer. From 
 them was descended General Arthur St. Clair, a 
 famous soldier of the American Revolutionary 
 War. Daniel's education was limited to the 
 common and grammar schools of his native 
 town in Scotland, and to a few months in a com- 
 mon school in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, 
 after he came to this country, at the close of 
 wliich term he was elected teacher of the school 
 for six months. Mr. Sinclair came to America 
 in 1849 at the age of sixteen. He located at 
 Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he learned the 
 printer's trade, and at the age of twenty was made 
 editor of the Courier at Conneautville, Pennsyl- 
 vania, which paper he conducted for about fif- 
 teen months. He then resigned his position 
 there and started for the West to find a more 
 promising opening. He arrived in Minnesota 
 June I, 1856, and took up his residence at Wi- 
 nona. Shortly after settling there he purchased 
 a half interest in the Republican, then a weekly 
 paper, and has been its editor ever since that 
 
 time. Mr. Sinclair has been affiliated with the 
 Republican party ever since its organization, and 
 through his paper has been an active promoter 
 of the interests of that party. He was appointed 
 jjostmaster of Winona by President Grant in 
 1869, and held the office continuously for over 
 sixteen years. He was reappointed by President 
 Harrison in 1889, and held office for four years 
 and two months, thus holding the office for 
 twenty years and four months altogether. He 
 was chairman of the Alinnesota delegation to the 
 national convention at Chicago in 1880 and sup- 
 ported \\^indom until his name was withdrawn, 
 and then changed his vote to General Grant. 
 Mr. Sinclair has never been an aspirant for po- . 
 litical honors, and has regarded his position on 
 his paper as a superior political office, so to 
 speak, than any which the state could ofifer him. 
 He is a member of no society organizations, ex- 
 cept a social club, the Arlington, of Winona. 
 He is an active member of the W inona Board of 
 Trade, and an active promoter of the interests 
 of that city. He is not connected bv member- 
 ship with any church, but is an attendant of the 
 Congregational. He was married August 26, 
 1855, to Miss Melis.sa J. Briggs. They have 
 three children living — Mrs. \\'illiam E. Smith, 
 and ]\Iisses Jessie and Fanny Sinclair. Mr. Sin- 
 clair publishes a paper of large influence in its 
 field and its editorial columns are conducted 
 with recosfnized abilitv.
 
 138 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WESLEY .M. LAW'REX'CE. 
 
 yiv. Lawrence was born July 8, 1840, in 
 Eaton, Conipton County, Quebec. His father's 
 name was Robert, and his mother's maiden 
 name, Jemima Ashmund. They came from 
 England about the year 1830, and began farm life 
 in the forests a few miles north of the boundary 
 line of Vermont. The subject of this sketch 
 began his education at a school a mile and a 
 half from his father's home, which he attended 
 more or less until about ten years old, when his 
 ser\'ices were in such demand on the farm that he 
 received ver\' little further education until he 
 was eighteen years of age. During this time, 
 however, he read such books and papers as he 
 could procure and pursued his studies with little 
 or no assistance. At the age of eighteen, dis- 
 satisfied with farm life, he obtained his parents' 
 permission to leave home for the purpose of 
 getting an education. In November, 1858, he 
 started for Massaclnisettts, and after tramping for 
 a week through thctownsof Bridgewater, Stough- 
 ton and Randol])h, he secured a place in East 
 Randolph, now Holbrook, where he was per- 
 mitted to board in consideration of such services 
 as he could render, and entered the academy in 
 that town. Here he continued his studies fur 
 six years, and graduated in 1865. During a sea- 
 son of special religious interest, he, with forty 
 
 other students, made a profession of religion. 
 When he had concluded his course at the acad- 
 emy his health was much impaired and, abandon- 
 ing his long-cherished plan of going to college, he 
 decided to go West, and in August, 1866, arrived 
 at Red Wing. This was really his wedding trip, 
 as shortly prior to this he was married to Aliss 
 Elvira N. Potter, a cousin of Hon. Luke Potter 
 Poland, for twenty years United States senator 
 from \'ermont. His health improved in Minne- 
 sota, and in the winter of 1867 he began the 
 profession of a school teacher, in the country 
 near Red Wing. During the following ten 
 years he was engaged as superintendent of the 
 public schools at Cannon Falls, Dundas and 
 C)watonna. ^^'hile engaged in school work at 
 Dundas, he prepared and published a number 
 of county and township maps. Feeling the need 
 of a more remunerative occupation, he removed, 
 in 1877, to ^Minneapolis, and engaged in the 
 laundry business. At that time the modern steam 
 laundry was a new thing in the \\'est, and he was 
 fortunate in engaging in it during the early 
 stages of its growth. Beginning in a small way 
 at 318 Hennepin Avenue, and using the name 
 of the street, he called it the Flennepin Steam 
 Laundry. In 1884 he moved to the large block 
 known as numbers 120-122 First Averiue North, 
 and fitted up on a much larger scale. Success 
 attended his venture from the first, until now 
 he is the owner of two large establishments in 
 this city and one in St. Paul. ^Mr. Lawrence has 
 done much to develop the industry in which he 
 is engaged. He took a prominent part in the 
 organization of the Laundrymen's National As- 
 sociation in 1883, and has held various offices 
 in the organization, including that of president. 
 In politics he was a Republican until 1872, when 
 the course of the party with regard to the liquor 
 interests met with his unqualified disapproval and 
 led to his association with the Prohibition party. 
 He has been an earnest worker in the party, has 
 held such positions of ofificial trust as the party 
 had to give, and headed the city ticket in Minne- 
 apolis in 1885. He is a member of the Sons of 
 Ternperancc, the I. O. ( ). F. and Good Templars. 
 \Miile in Red Wing he assisted in reorganizing 
 the F.aptist Church there and became a member; 
 when he came tn Minneapolis he transferred his 
 nu-nibi'rship to the I'irst luiptist Church, and be-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 139 
 
 came an active participant in tlu- work of tliat 
 cliurcli. He is a liberal snpporter of his own 
 church and denomination, I'illsbury Academy, 
 the temperance cause, all benevolent objects, and 
 has done much to lielj) the needy and unfortunate 
 everywhere. Mr. Lawrence earned his first dollar 
 threshingf clover .seed with an old-fashioned 
 wooden flail, for a neighbor, when about fourteen 
 years of age. It was in the month of January and 
 very cold. The son of this farmer worked with 
 him and they pounded clover seed from four 
 o'clock in the morning until ten at night, for six 
 days, for which he received the princely sum of 
 two dollars. His family consists of five children. 
 Irving Weslev, Mildred Elvira, Lewis Bradford, 
 Earl Russell and Winthrop Hale. The sixth child 
 bom, a boy, died when thirteen months old. 
 
 ALBERT L. WARD. 
 
 A. L. Ward is a banker and prominent citizen 
 of Fairmont, Minnesota. Mr. Ward has lived 
 in Fairmont since 1864. He was one of the first 
 settlers in jMartin County, and a pioneer of that 
 section of the state in every sense of the word. 
 When he located at Fairmont it was an army 
 station, and the presence of troops was regarded 
 as necessary for the protection of the settlers. 
 During the thirty-two years of Mr. Ward's resi- 
 dence there he has seen all the southwestern part 
 of the state brought under cultivation, the pioneer 
 region carried hundreds of miles westward and 
 the Indians, which were the terror of the early 
 settlers, relegated to the mountains of Wyoming 
 and Montana. Mr. W'ard was born in Cattaraugus 
 County, New York, on January 14, 1844. His 
 father, Luke W^ard, was a farmer and a distant de- 
 scendant of John Ward of Revolutionary fame. 
 His wife. Miss Charlotte ^ilorgan, was a descend- 
 and of General jMorgan. Young Ward grew up on 
 the farm in Cattaraugus County, experiencing the 
 life of a farmer's boy, with all its privations and 
 at the same time its excellent training for life. 
 He attended the common schools in the vicinity 
 of his father's home during the winter months, 
 his summers being thoroughly occupied in the 
 farm work. This common school education 
 was supplemented by a course at the Randolph 
 Academy. \Miilc obtaining his education he 
 taught school during the winters and eked out 
 his income by such other employment during 
 
 \acations as he could find. As he approached 
 manhood he determined to become a lawyer, and 
 at different times studied law with the Hon. W. 
 H. Henderson of Randolph, New York, and 
 Hon. C. B. Green of Ellington, New York. 
 When twenty years of age Mr. Ward determined 
 to seek his fortunes in the west. He arrived in 
 Minnesota in 1864, and went at once to the 
 frontier, locating in Fairmont, which was then 
 one of the outposts. As the country developed 
 and the young to\\n grew, Mr. Ward took a 
 prominent part in its affairs. He engaged in 
 politics and was made county attorney, a position 
 which he held for eight years. He also served 
 as county auditor, register of deeds, and was 
 postmaster at Fairmont under Lincoln, Grant and 
 Cleveland. He was honored with the appoint- 
 ment as one of the board of World's Fair man- 
 agers from Minnesota in 1892. In 1874 Mr. 
 Ward started the r^Iartin County Bank, of which 
 he is now president. He is also president and 
 chief stockholder in the \\^ard ^Machine Company, 
 with branches at Granada, Fa'irmont, Welcome 
 and Sherburn, and the Martin County^ Democrat 
 Company, publisher of JMartin Coimt)' Inde- 
 pendent and Martin County Zeitung. Is also 
 chief stockholder and president of Sherburn State 
 Rank. In politics he now takes an independent 
 position. Mr. Ward was married in 1869 and 
 has four children. May, Fe Forest, Charlotte and 
 Lvdia.
 
 140 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES RUSSELL UAX'IS. 
 
 C. R. Davis, of St. Peter, is easily one of 
 the best known men in southwestern .Minnesota. 
 For nearly twL-nty-five years he has been actively 
 engaged in politics and the practice of law. As 
 a speaker before the bar and on the platform he 
 has a high reputation. The preparation for this 
 active and successful life was of the kind so 
 freciuently noted in the lives of successful men. 
 Mr. Davis was born in Pittsfield, Tike County, 
 Illinois, in 1849. His father, Sidney W. Davis, 
 was then a farmer. His mother died in 1 851, 
 and two years later the father removed to Min- 
 nesota and settled on a farm in LeSueur County. 
 He was foremost in those pioneer days and soon 
 took a prominent positinn in the Cdunnunity. 
 He was present at New I Im during the Indian 
 massacre of 1862 and materially aided in the 
 defense of the place. In 1866 he moved to .St. 
 Peter and was engaged in merchandising until 
 1870. From 1870 to 1880 he was in the meat 
 and provision business and after that took uji 
 stock raising and shipping. He has become a 
 leading dealer and shi]ipcr in the Minnesota valley 
 and is in good circumstances. I'ntil sixteen 
 years of age Charles remained on the farm with 
 his father, attending school from three to six 
 months each winter, and after they removed to 
 St. Peter receiving tlie best education which the 
 schools of the jjjace afforded. This was sup- 
 
 plemented by a business college course in St. 
 Paul in 1867. For the next two years he engaged 
 in busmess in St. Peter but, in the latter part of 
 1869, believing himself adapted to the law, he 
 conunenced study for admission to the bar in 
 the ofSce of Hon. Alfred Wallin, now chief jus- 
 tice of the supreme court of North Dakota, and 
 then a practicing lawyer in St. Peter. ^Ir. Davis 
 was admitted to practice on ^larch 6, 1872, and 
 at once associated himself with .Mr. Wallin, hav- 
 ing offices in St. Peter and New L'lm, and during 
 the continuance of this partnership, which lasted 
 five years, did a large and lucrative business. 
 While thus engaged in the practice of law, and 
 ever since, ]Mr. Davis has been a constant stu- 
 dent. His reading has covered works essential 
 to his profession as well as a large range of sub- 
 jects in the fields of history and literature. He 
 soon began to take a hand in politics as a Re- 
 publican, and his abilities were recognized by 
 his election to the office of county attorney of 
 Nicollet County in 1872. He was again elected 
 to this office in 1878, 1880 and 1882. He was 
 always a successful prosecutor. In 1878 he was 
 elected city attorney and city clerk of St. Peter 
 and has since held these offices almost continu- 
 ouslv — during a ])eriod of sixteen years. Mr. 
 Davis' services to his party and his eminent quali- 
 fications for legislative work led to his nomina- 
 tion and election to the legislature in 1889. He 
 was prominently mentioned as a candidate for 
 speaker of the house. During this session of 
 the legislature Mr. Davis was one of the leaders 
 of the house. He was a frequent speaker, and an 
 active member of the judiciary connnittee. One 
 of the important measures which he introduced 
 was the bill abolishing capital ]iunishment, which 
 gave him a wide reputation as an advocate of 
 the aluilititjn of the death penalty. In 1880 Mr. 
 Davis was elected to the state senate for the 
 term of four years. He introduced the first bill 
 of the session, .Senate File No. i, a bill providing 
 fcir the reduction of interest and to i)unish 
 usury. This l.)ill was stubbornly fought but 
 passed the senate though it met with defeat in 
 the house on the last night of the session. Dur- 
 ing each session Mr. Davis was a member of 
 the committee on judiciary, and in the session of 
 1893 was chaii'man nf the ("(innnittee on Hos- 
 pitals for the Insane. In the latter capacity in the 
 session of 1893 he was instrumental in securing
 
 PRdGKRSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 141 
 
 the passage of tlie present law fur the manage- 
 ment and eontrol of the various insane asylums 
 of the state. In 1892 he was a prominent candi- 
 date for the nomination for congress in the Sec- 
 ond district of Minnesota, lacking hut a few 
 votes in securing the nomination. At the present 
 time Mr. Davis has an extensive law practice and 
 is considered a very successful jury and trial 
 lawyer. Mr. Davis was married to Miss Emma 
 Haven in St. Peter in 1874 by the Rev. Dr. 
 Clinton Locke, of Chicago, where Miss Haven 
 had formerly lived. They have two children, 
 Isabel H. Davis and Russell Davis. 
 
 FRED BEAL SNYDER. 
 
 'Sir. Snyder is president of the City Council 
 of Minneapolis; was born in the first house built 
 in what originally constituted the city of ^linne- 
 apolis. This was the home of Colonel J. H. 
 Stevens. The house stood where the union 
 depot now stands. The date of Mr. Snyder's 
 birth w-as February 21, 1859. His father, Simon 
 P. Snyder, came to Minneapolis from Pennsyl- 
 vania in 1855, and soon became actively identi- 
 fied with the interests of this community, oper- 
 ating extensively in real estate and as a banker. 
 He brought a great deal of cajiital to this local- 
 ity, and contributed in a large degree to the de- 
 velopment of its resources. Mr. Snyder's ances- 
 try on his father's side was Dutch, and settled in 
 Pennsylvania. The name was formerly spelled 
 Schneider. On his mother's side his descent is 
 from the Ramseys and Stevensons, both .Scotch 
 families. His early education was received in 
 the public schools of Minneapolis, but before 
 graduation from the high schools he entered the 
 University of Minnesota, from which institution 
 he graduated in 1881. His first l)usiness experi- 
 ence was as a clerk in a book store at $4.50 a 
 week. During this time he began the stutly of 
 law, and went into the office of Lochren, Mc- 
 Xair & Gilfillan ; afterwards he was with Koon. 
 Merrill & Keith. He was admitted to the bar in 
 1882 and began the practice of law with Robert 
 Jamison, now on the district bench. The style 
 of the firm was Snyder & Jamison from 1882 to 
 1888. At that time Mr. Snyder joined with 
 others in organizing the Minnesota .Saving Fund 
 and Investment Company, of which he has been 
 
 president since its organization. Mr. Snyder is 
 rather independent in his political views, but Re- 
 ])ublican in his political affiliations. He was 
 elected alderman of the Second ward in 1892 by 
 the Republicans for a term of four years. In 
 1895 he was elected president of the City Coun- 
 cil. Perhaps his most notable service as a mem- 
 ber of that body was his leadership in the Coun- 
 cil of the controversy between the city and the 
 Minneapolis Gas Light Company, as a result of 
 which the price of gas for, all consumers was 
 reduced from $1.60 to $1.30 net. He also drew 
 up and secured the passage of the ordinance cre- 
 ating and regulating the department of inspector 
 of gas. In 1896 Mr. Snyder was elected to the 
 state legislature from the Thirtieth Dis- 
 trict. Mr. .Snyder is a member of the Com- 
 mercial Club, of the Six (J'Clock Club, of the Chi 
 Psi college fraternity, and in recognition of his 
 scholarship and ability he was elected to mem- 
 bership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society of the 
 University of Minnesota. His church relations 
 were formerly with the Episcopal church, but 
 more recently he has become an attendant of 
 the First Congregational church. On September 
 23, 1885, he married Sue M. Pillsbury, daughter 
 of ex-Governor John S. Pillsburv. He has one 
 son, John Pillsbury Snyder, born January 8. 
 1888. His wife died September 3, 1891. Mr. 
 .Snyder was again married Februarv 18, 1896, to 
 Leonora S. Dickson, of Pittsburg. Pennsylvania.
 
 142 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN' OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOHN CLINTON NETHAWAY. 
 
 IMr. Nethaway was born at Albany, New York, 
 November 12, 1857. After receiving a common 
 school education at Albany he entered the Coble- 
 skill, New York, academy, graduating from that 
 institution in June, 1874. He innnediately began 
 the study of law in the office of Lamont & 
 Baker, a leading law firm at Cobleskill. When 
 Judge Lamont was elected to the state senate, 
 Mr. Nethaway was appointed his private secre- 
 tary, the duties of which office brought him 
 back to his birthplace. During his spare hours 
 he availed himself of an opportunity of a course 
 of lectures at the Albany Law School, in the 
 meantime continuing his studies in the law office 
 of Smith, Bancroft & Moak, one of the leading 
 firms at Albany. In February, 1878, having com- 
 pleted his course at the law school, Mr. Neth- 
 away applied for admission to the bar before the 
 general term of the supreme court at Albany. 
 After passing an exceptionally creditable exam- 
 ination he was admitted. About the same time 
 he started for the extreme West and landed at 
 Heron Lake, Jackson County, Minnesota. After 
 remaining there about six weeks, he decided that 
 Stillwater, Minnesota, afforded flattering induce- 
 ments, and he located there, arriving June 18, 
 1878. He immediately associated himself with 
 the late Levi E. Thompson, a proinincnt nttorney 
 
 of this state. This firm continued for two years, 
 after which he became connected with the firm 
 of McClure & IMarsh at Stillwater. In 1881, 
 when Judge McClure was appointed district 
 judge of the First judicial district, a new firm was 
 organized, composed of Fayette Marsh of Still- 
 water; Jasper N. Searles, of Hastings, and the 
 subject of this sketch, under the firm name of 
 }Jarsh, Searles & Nethaway, which continued 
 until April, 1884. Mr. Nethaway was then 
 elected to the municipal bench of Stillwater, 
 which office he continued to fill until April, 1894, 
 when he refused a re-election. After his first 
 term, the term of office was lengthened from two 
 to four years. He was elected three times, re- 
 ceiving at each election the nomination and votes 
 without opposition. Although a strong Demo- 
 crat, he was indorsed each time by the Republic- 
 ans. In a list of twenty-six cases appealed from 
 his decision, only two were reversed by the su- 
 preme court. At the expiration of his term of 
 office he returned to the practice of law and 
 opened an office in Stillwater, making criminal 
 law a specialty. He has defended five persons 
 accused of murder, and received a verdict of ac- 
 quittal for four, and for the other one a verdict 
 of murder in the second degree. In the cam- 
 paign of 1890, when James N. Castle was the 
 Democratic candidate for congress and was 
 elected, "Sir. Nethaway acted as secretary to the 
 congressional committee. He has always taken 
 an active part in politics, and served the state 
 central committee liberally as campaign speaker. 
 In 1892, JNIr. Nethaway was chosen as Demo- 
 cratic candidate for attorney general. Mr. Neth- 
 away is a tariff reform Democrat, and has always 
 supported those principles. With a change of 
 administration in national affairs, he was a candi- 
 date for the office of district attorney, but 
 tln-ough a bitter strife between the rival candi- 
 dates the nomination finally went to a party who 
 had not been a candidate. Mr. Nethaway took 
 part in the campaign of Congressman Baldwin 
 in 1894, and increased his vote, although Mr. 
 I'aldwin was defeated. The subject of this 
 sketch was the son of Clinton Nethaway, of 
 Scotch and Irish descent, a merchant for many 
 years at Albany, New York. The family is of 
 good old Colonial stock, and the ancestors of 
 the Cnlnninl period tool< an active part in flic
 
 PROGKESSIVE MUX OF MINNIiSOTA. 
 
 143 
 
 wars with the Indians and the llrilish. At the 
 close of the Revolutionary war the progenitor 
 of this family located at Schoharie Hill, which 
 has been the ancestral home ever since. Mr. 
 Nethaway's mother was Maria Catherine Hawn. 
 She was of Dutch descent. Iler grandfather, 
 Peter Hawn, was a soldier in the War of the 
 Revolution, and was also engaged in the wars 
 against the Indians. He took part in the battle 
 of Ticonderoga. Mr. Nethaway was married 
 June i8, 1884, at Stillwater, to Miss Cora M. 
 Hall. They have had two children, Jay A., now 
 deceased, and Clinton II. 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM BROWN. 
 
 Captain Brown, as he is generally addressed 
 by his acquaintances in Minneapolis, acquired his 
 title while in command of an American vessel en- 
 gaged in trade in Australia, India and China. Mr. 
 Brown was born in Xcwburyport, Massachusetts, 
 June 14, 1858. His father was Jacob B. Brown, 
 who was for many years a well known shipmas- 
 ter of New England, and directly descended from 
 John Brown, who settled in Rockingham County, 
 New Hampshire in 1644. The farm occupied and 
 improved bv him is still owned by his descend- 
 ants. Captain Brown's mother's maiden name 
 was Anna A. Fitch. Her ancestors settled Fitch- 
 burg, ^Massachusetts, but, being loyal to the 
 crown at the time of the Revolution, they emi- 
 grated to Nova Scotia, leaving considerable prop- 
 erty behind them. Charles William began his 
 education at Allen's English and Classical School 
 at \\'est Newton, Massachusetts, continuing it 
 in Dummer Academy at Byfield, and graduating 
 at NewbuPi'port high school. Following the cus- 
 tom among New England boys he went to sea 
 at an early age, and was some time in the service 
 of the Chinese Merchants Steam Navigation Com- 
 pany on the coast of China. At the age of twenty- 
 one he had attained such proficiency as a sailor 
 that he was placed in command of the .American 
 barque Agate, and sailed for Adelaide, .\ustralia. 
 He continued for several years in that capacity, 
 trading mostly with Australia, India and Japan. 
 In November, 1885 having left the sea and being 
 attracted by the reputation of Minneapolis, he 
 
 made a short visit to this city, and was so pleased 
 with the business opportunities ofifered and the 
 desirability of the city as a place of residence, that 
 he associated himself with L. W. Young, and es- 
 tablished the first stained glass manufacturing 
 business in the Northwest. In April of the fol- 
 lowing year the firm became Brown & Haywood. 
 Business continued to grow and included the 
 handling of plate and window glass. In 1891 the 
 firm of Brown & Haywood Company was incor- 
 porated with C. W. Brown as treasurer and gen- 
 eral manager. The enterprise has been highly suc- 
 cessful and has grown to very handsome pro- 
 portions. While not taking any active part in 
 politics. Captain Brown has been identified with 
 the Republican party, reserving to himself, how- 
 ever, the right at any time to vote for the best 
 man and the best policy, regardless of party lines. 
 At present Captain Brown is president of the 
 Jobbers' and Manufacturers' Association of Min- 
 neapolis. He was married October 31, 1883, to 
 Alice Greenleaf, of Newburyport, Massachusetts. 
 They have five children. Although Captain 
 Brown has retired to the less eventful and excit- 
 ing occupation of a merchant and manufacturer, 
 he has not lost his interest in the sea, nor for- 
 gotten the pleasures and enjoyments of that ad- 
 venturous life.
 
 144 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 
 i^^k 
 
 FLORANCE A. \'AXDERPOEL. 
 
 F. A. \'anderpoel, of Park Rapids, is a native 
 of Wisconsin. He comes of old Revolutionary 
 stock, as his great grandfather was one of the 
 members of the celebrated Boston Tea Party. 
 Abraham Vanderpoel, son of the hero of Boston 
 harbor, was born in the state of New York, and 
 moved to Wisconsin in the earh' days, settling 
 with his young wife in Jefferson County. He was 
 a member of the convention held to form a con- 
 stitution for the young state, which convened at 
 Madison on December 15, 1847, and he took an 
 active part in the construction of the important 
 document. In 1861 he enlisted as captain of 
 Company E, Twelfth Wisconsin \'olunteer In- 
 fantry, and served with honor until compelled to 
 leave the army on account of sickness. He died 
 in 1870. His son, Clarence C. Vanderpoel, en- 
 listed in the same company at the breaking out of 
 the war, but was afterwards transferred to the 
 commissary department, with headquarters at 
 Natchez, Mississippi, where he remained until the 
 close of the war. He then moved to West Mitch- 
 ell, Iowa, where he still lives. He owns and 
 operates the Paragon Woolen Mills at West 
 Mitchell, and also has under cultivation about 
 five hundred acres of land near Blooming Prairie, 
 Minnesota. He was a member of the house in the 
 Iowa legislature in 1884, and took part in securing 
 the passage of the prohibition law, which remained 
 in force until 1894. His wife, who was Miss Emily 
 
 A. Squire, has been very active of late years in 
 temperance and church work. Their son Flor- 
 ance, was born at Newport, Sauk County, \Vis- 
 consin, on August 13, 1856. He attended the 
 public schools at Newport and West ^Mitchell 
 until January, 1875, when he entered the pre- 
 paratory department of the State University of 
 Iowa, from which institution he graduated with 
 honor in 1880. From his class of forty-five he 
 was chosen as one of the fifteen speakers on com- 
 mencement day. While at college ~Slr. Vander- 
 poel was the plaintiff in the famous election case 
 which was carried to the supreme court of Iowa 
 to test the right of students to vote at elections 
 while attending college. The case was entitled 
 I*. A. A'anderpoel vs. James O'Hanlon, et al. 
 Judgment was awarded the plaintiff in the dis- 
 trict court against the judges of election for re- 
 fusing to receive his vote, but on an appeal the 
 judgment was oveiTuled, it being decided that a 
 student at college, without any intentions as to 
 his residence after graduation, was not a legal 
 voter at the place where he was studying. This 
 decision was rendered in 1880. In June, 1883, 
 Mr. \"anderpoel graduated from the law depart- 
 ment of the Iowa L'niversity, receiving the degree 
 of LL. B. During the following winter he was 
 clerk of the judiciary committee of the house of 
 representatives of the Iowa legislature. In the 
 fall of 1883 he formed a law partnership with the 
 Hon. J. F. Clyde, as Clyde & ^'anderpoel, and 
 commenced practice at Osage, Iowa. In Janu- 
 ary, 1885, he came to ]\Iinnesota and located at 
 Park Rapids, then fifty miles from the nearest 
 railroad. Since he took up his residence at Park 
 Rapids he has served as deputy county treasurer 
 and deputy county auditor, and in 1887 and 1888 
 was county attorne)-. In the fall of the latter year 
 he was elected county auditor. After serving one 
 term he resumed ])ractice, and has since devoted 
 his time exclusively to the law. Air. Vanderpoel 
 has always been a Republican in politics. Pic 
 owns membership in tliree secret societies — the 
 Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Modern 
 Woodmen. In 1891 he joined the Baptist church 
 and was the first person ever ba]5tised in Lake 
 Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi river. 
 On tlic nir/th day of August, 1888, Air. \'andcr- 
 lK)el and Miss Edith E. Rice, daughter of (lill)crt 
 II. Rice, were niarriid at Park Rapids. They 
 have had two daughters, one of whom. T.ucille F., 
 born .Sc])tcmber 10, 1889, is now living.
 
 PKOGKESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 145 
 
 ROBERT GEORGE MORRISON. 
 
 The subject of this sketcli is a member of the 
 law firm of Jayne & Morrison, of Minneapolis. 
 (-)n his father's side he is of Scotch and Irish 
 descent, his grandfather having been a prcaclier 
 in the north of Ireland, and served one congre- 
 gation for about forty years. On his mother's 
 side he is of Scotch descent, his grandfather, how- 
 ever, belonging to one of the old Pennsylvania 
 families. Mr. Morrison was born at Blair's Mills, 
 Huntington County, Pennsylvania, July 31, i860, 
 the son of David Harbison Morrison and Mar- 
 gery B. ]\IcConnell (Morrison). D. H. Morrison 
 has been engaged in the general mercantile busi- 
 ness from his boyhood, first as an ap]:)renticc in 
 North Ireland, where he was bom and lived until 
 a young' man, when he came to this countrv and 
 first connected himself with a wholesale house in 
 Philadelphia, but soon afterwards engaged in 
 the general mercantile business at the village of 
 Blair's jNIills, Pennsylv;mia. In 1872 he moved 
 to Morning Sun, Iowa, where he engaged in the 
 same line of business which he has ever since 
 conducted. Robert G. attended short winter 
 terms at the country school house near his native 
 village, and an occasional session in the village 
 school of Waterloo, a mile from Blair's Mills. 
 After removal to Iowa he attended the public 
 and eventually the high school of Morning Sun, 
 from which he graduated in June, 1876. He had 
 then expected to receive instruction in banking 
 and make that his life business, his father being 
 at that time an officer in the local bank. Within 
 a few months, however, he became desirous of 
 procuring a college education, and during the 
 following winter continued the study of Greek 
 and Latin under the instruction of Rev. C. D. 
 Trumbull at home, then and now pastor of the 
 Reformed Presbyterian Church at IMorning Sun. 
 In the fall of 1877 he entered the Iowa State 
 University, at Iowa City, becoming a member of 
 the second sub-freshman class, from which he 
 graduated in 1882, receiving the degree of A. B. 
 The year following he entered the law department 
 of the university, graduating with the degree of 
 LL. E., in 1883, at the same time being ad- 
 mitted to the bar to practice in the supreme court 
 of Iowa and the United States district and circuit 
 courts. In i8go he received the degree of A. 'M. 
 from the same institution. While at college 
 
 he was connnissioned first lieutenant Battery, 
 Iowa National Guards, was a member of the 
 Zetagathian Literary Society, at one time its pres- 
 ident, and had a place on two of its annual public 
 exhibition programs. He was chosen as valedic- 
 torian of his class for the Class Day exercises. 
 He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi college 
 fraternity. His vacations he spent in his 
 father's store. ]\Ir. Morrison came to Alin- 
 neapolis in the fall of 1883, entering a 
 law office, where he remained for a year 
 or more in the further study of his chosen 
 profession. He then secured a position in the 
 business office of the \\'estcrn Union Telegraph 
 Company, which he held until he started out in 
 business for himself, in July, 1886. Mr. Mor- 
 rison opened a law office for the practice of his 
 profession by himself, continuing to practice 
 alone until April, i8<)2, when he formed a part- 
 nership with Trafford X. Jayne, under the firm 
 name of Jayne & Moirison, which still continues. 
 This firm is engaged in a genera! law practice, 
 though running particularly to corporation and 
 commercial law, and enjoys an extensive client- 
 age. ^Ir. Morrison's political affiliations are 
 with the Republican party, and he is more or less 
 active in local politics. His church connections 
 are with the \\'estminster Presbyterian Church, 
 of which he is a member. He is not married.
 
 146 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ;iS4i,, 
 
 FREDERICK NEWBURY DICKSUN. 
 
 Fred N. Dickson is an attorney of St. Paul. 
 He is a native of Minnesota, having been born 
 at Xorthfiekl on May 15, 1863. Though a .Min- 
 nesotan l>y birth, Mr. Dickson is distinctly 
 Scotch by descent. His father's ancestors were 
 from the vicinity of Edinburgh. His great 
 grandfather was an architect and master builder. 
 He learned his profession in Scotland, and came 
 to New York shortly after the American Revo- 
 lution. There he followed the business of con- 
 tracting and building and became quite wealthy. 
 Upon his death, which occurred suddenly in the 
 prime of life from a stroke of apoplexy, he was 
 buried under the floor of a church on Wall 
 street, which he had built. Subsecpiently, when 
 the ground ui)on which this church stood be- 
 came verj- valuable, it was torn down, each stone 
 was marked, and the building was rc-crectcd in 
 Jersey City. Tiie body of .Mr. Dickson, with 
 others, was exhumed and Imrned. and the ashes 
 preserved in urns in the church. All of his sons, 
 except the grandfather of I'red Dickson, fol- 
 lowed the sea, and this son was a school master, 
 and early in life settled in Canada. 11 is wife was 
 of a family named ( )sbourne, who removed from 
 New Jersey at the outbreak of the .\nierican 
 Revolution, and settled in Canada, where tlie\' 
 
 were granted large concessions of land from the 
 British government on account of their loyalty. 
 On his mother's side, the family was originally 
 from the Scotch Highlands. They lived in In- 
 vernesshire, carrying on an e.xtensive granite 
 quarry business. Stone ctitting and building was 
 followed by several members of the family. The 
 family name of Alasson is supposed to be a cor- 
 ruption of the simple name Mason. Mr. Dick- 
 son's grandfather was Alexander ^lasson, who 
 like his progenitors, was a stone cutter and mas- 
 ter builder. He built a church in the Island of 
 Lewes, the scene of William Black's "Princess 
 of Thule." He came to Montreal about 1830, 
 and there built, for the Bank of ]\Iontreal, the 
 large stone banking-house occupied by that in- 
 stitution for so many years. This building is 
 familiar to all Canadians, as the picture of the 
 bank was engraved on notes and certain coins 
 issued by the bank and circulated in Canada. 
 Mr. Dickson's father, John Xald Dickson, was 
 born at the small town of Picton, on Ouinte Bay, 
 on Lake Ontario in Upper Canada. He married 
 Miss Afary Masson, who was born in the same 
 vicinity, and removed to Xorthfield in i860. For 
 many years he carried on a carriage and wagon 
 manufacturing business, but has now retired in 
 comfortable circumstances. Fred X. Dickson 
 obtained his early education in the public schools 
 of Xorthfield which have from their beginning 
 been excellent schools. After leaving the dis- 
 trict school he entered Carleton College at 
 Xorthfield and took a four years' classical course. 
 In college he made a good record and won the 
 first prize in the freshmen debates for the "Plym- 
 outh prize," and also first prize in the junior 
 debates for the same ]irize. He graduated in 
 1885 and at once began the study of law in the 
 office of the Hon. W. ,S. Pattee. In Xovember, 
 1886, Mr. Dickson came to .'^t. Paul and entered 
 the law office of John 1!. and W . II. .Sanborn; 
 two years later, in May, 18X8. lu was admitted 
 lo ])ractice. Me remained with tlie Messrs, San- 
 Ijorn until December I, 1893, when he opened 
 an office and commenced practice alone with 
 much success. Mr. Dickson is a member of 
 Sunnnit Lodge, A. V. and .\. M., Xo. 163, at St. 
 Paul: he is also a member of the Lincoln Lodge, 
 Knights of Pythias, and of the ('(inuncrcial Club 
 <jf .St. P;nil, In pnlitical t";iilli ]\v is .'i l\epul)1ic;in.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OP MINNESOTA. 
 
 147 
 
 JOHN T. MULLEN. 
 
 It is a fact, almost without exception, that the 
 pubhshers of the successful country papers have 
 grown up to their prosperity through years of 
 "hard knocks." It seems to take a period of 
 rough treatment to properly season a country 
 editor. John T. Mullen, the editor and proprietor 
 of "The Litchfield Saturday Review," has attained 
 his position after a youth of hard work and 
 through his own unaided efforts. Mr. Mullen is 
 by descent a Scotch-Irishman. His grandfather, 
 John JMcMullen, came to New York from Ireland 
 and thence to Indiana. After a time another John 
 McMullen in the same community proved too 
 much for the patience of the Scotchman, and to 
 avoid the constant confusion resulting from the 
 identity of the names, he dropped the "Mc" 
 and became plain John Mullen. Horace, 
 son of John Mullen, was born in New 
 York and was a member of Company K, Fiftieth 
 Indiana \'olnnteers, serving through the war and 
 being honorably discharged as a sergeant. He 
 married Miss Elizabeth Jayne, daughter of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Timothy Jayne, who were residents of 
 Indiana at that time, but who came to Meeker 
 County, Minnesota, twenty-five years ago. Mr. 
 Jayne is still liviiig at the age of eighty-seven; 
 his wife died May 24, 1896, at the age of eighty- 
 nine, after a married life of over sixty-five years. 
 After the war Horace Mullen, with his family, 
 came from Vernon, Indiana, and "homesteaded" 
 land five miles south of Litchfield. Thev lived 
 on this farm until 1874, when they moved to 
 Litchfield. ]\lr. ]Mullen died March 29, 1876, and 
 his wife January 20, 1884. ^Ir. Mullen was a 
 contractor and builder by trade. Mr. and ]\Irs. 
 Mullen had six children. Their first born. Walter, 
 died when two years old. The others are Airs. 
 Nellie M. Magnuson, wife of M. F. Magnuson 
 of Kimball Prairie, Minnesota; Laura B., John 
 T., and Elizabeth, all living at Litchfield, and 
 Leslie, living at Campbell, Minnesota. John 
 T. Mullen was born July 4, 1869, on his 
 father's farm near Litchfield. The death of his 
 father when he was but seven years old and of 
 his mother when he was fifteen left him to secure 
 his education and make his living almost from 
 boyhood. He earned his first dollar, before he 
 was eight years old, sawing wood. From that 
 age on he attended school as much as possible 
 
 in the winter, but was always constantly at work 
 in the sunnner and often much of the time during 
 the winter months. In the winter of 1886 he 
 commenced learning the printer's trade in the 
 office (jf the "Litchfield Saturday Review," then 
 owned and edited by Lewis A. Pier. Young 
 Mullen learnetl the trade rapidly and soon became 
 the job printer of the establishment and later 
 foreman. On July 26, 1890, he purchased the 
 plant and business and has since conducted the 
 paper himself. Since becoming owner he has 
 enlarged the paper to eight seven column pages 
 and has made it a leading paper in the county 
 and the central part of Alinnesota. At the same 
 time he has built u\> an excellent job business. 
 A strong Republican, Mr. ]\[ullen has been aware 
 of the imperfections of his party and his paper 
 has been in a measure independent. He never 
 hesitates to iioint out the faults of his partv as he 
 sees them. When the campaign of 1894 opened 
 he was made chairman of the Republican coimtv 
 committee of Meeker, and with well organized 
 forces gave the county the hottest campaign it 
 had e^•er seen, with the result that, for the first 
 time in the county's history, every candidate on 
 the Republican ticket was elected. Mr. Mullen 
 is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Odd 
 Fellows, A. O. U. W. and Alodern Woodmen. 
 !\fr. ]\Tullen was married October 20. 1896, at 
 Evansville, Minnesota, to Afiss Afarie Davidson.
 
 14-S 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 [ 
 
 GEORGE ALLISON ^LACKEXZIE. 
 
 The ancestry of George A. AFacKenzie, of 
 Gaylord, Minnesota, were Scotchmen as far back 
 as the Hne can be traced, for he comes of that 
 old highland Scotch family of MacKenzies 
 which numbers among its members many nota- 
 ble characters. Prominent in the family have 
 been a long line of Earls of Seaforth; Sir Alex- 
 ander MacKenzie, who discovered the great 
 river in North America, which bears his name: 
 Sir George MacKenzie, the famous Scotch law- 
 yer; Henry MacKenzie, the -Scotch aiithur, and 
 Sir Morrell MacKenzie, the noted physician, 
 and many others. Mr. AlacKenzie's father, Mal- 
 com MacKenzie, was born in the Isle of Skye, 
 in 1834, and emigrated to i'rincc I'Mward Island. 
 When ten years old he came to the I'nitcd 
 States, and later settled in Chicago, where he 
 engaged in business for a number of years. In 
 1868 he came to Minnesota, settling in LeSucur 
 County, which county he represented in the ?vlin- 
 nesota legislature of 1877. ITis wife was Miss 
 Annie Kerr, a daughter of Charles Kerr, one of 
 the early settlers of northern Tllin(Ms. and, like 
 Mr. MacKenzie, was of an old .Scotch family. 
 George A. MacKenzie was horn at Roscoe, Illi- 
 nois, on Marcli 14, 1857. He came with the 
 family to Minnesota in 1868, rind li\cd at and 
 
 near Rochester, where he attended school. Mov- 
 ing to LeSueur County, he taught school for 
 seven years, and at the same time commenced 
 reading law. For a time he was tuider the in- 
 struction of ]\I. R. Everet, of Waterville, Minne- 
 sota. On June 8, 1886, he was admitted to the 
 bar at Owatonna, before the Hon. Thomas 
 Buckham, Judge of the Fifth Judicial District, 
 and was complimented for the excellent exami- 
 nation which he passed. During his ten years' 
 practice j\lr. iNIacKenzie has been attorney in a 
 number of important cases, one of which settled 
 the important question of law in this state rela- 
 tive to the validity of the incorj^oraion of vil- 
 lages attempted under the law of 1883. (This is 
 known as the case of State of Alinnesota vs. 
 Spaude). He has been admitted to practice in 
 the state courts of ^Minnesota. Alontana and 
 Washington, and in several of the United States 
 District Circuit Courts. Since he moved to 
 Gaylord, Mr. MacKenzie has been for five years 
 corporation attorney for the village and a bright 
 public speaker. He has been much in demand 
 during the political campaigns for the past ten 
 years, and has done much speaking in behalf 
 of the Republican party. During this time he 
 has attended as a delegate nearlv every Repub- 
 lican state convention held in .Minnesota. Mr. 
 MacKenzie is an enthusiastic sportsman, 
 and has hunted big game in nearly all 
 parts of the northwest. Fcir the past five 
 years he has been secretary of the "M. 
 C. K. Hunting Club,'' an organization of 
 over forty members. It controls some of the 
 best shooting posts in Southern IMinnesota. 
 During one of Mr. MacKenzie's hunting trips 
 he was the guest of the famous Mar(|uis De 
 A b ires, at Medora, on the Little .Missouri river. 
 ( )n January 10, 1879, Mr. MacKenzie was mar- 
 ried at Waterville, Minnesota, to Miss Mattie 
 ( )blinger. They have three children, Ethlyn 
 Genevieve, now fifteen years of age; Claud Hillel, 
 and George, Jr., aged respectively thirteen and 
 seven years. Mr. MacKenzie is now aud has 
 been for about six years, a member of the school 
 board of Gaylord. For several \ears he has 
 liccn engaged with others in an attempt to move 
 the county scat f)f Sibley Countv to his town, 
 and he still expects to be successfid in this- 
 ])n)jcct.
 
 PROGRKSSIVB MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 149 
 
 GEORGE FRANKLIN GETTY. 
 
 George Franklin Getty is a native of 
 Granlsville, Alar_\land, where he was burn (Jctu- 
 ber 17, 1855. Mr. Getty's father was a farmer 
 in moderate circumstances and died when the 
 subject of this sketch was quite young. George 
 Frankhn received his early education in tlie 
 country schools of Eastern Ohio and was con- 
 sidered an apt pupil at an early age, generally 
 maintaining himself at the head of his class. He 
 took especial interest in debating societies, both in 
 the countr)- schools and in the academies which 
 he afterwards attended. He was a student of 
 Smithville Academy, in Wayne County, Ohio, in 
 1874, and in 1876 was enrolled as a student at 
 the Ohio Normal University. He attended this 
 institution at frequent intervals, his course being 
 interrupted by short terms of teaching in the 
 country and village schools. He graduated, how- 
 ever, from the Normal University on July 10, 
 1879, in the scientific department. This is a very 
 successful school in point of numbers, the larg- 
 est, in fact, in Ohio. A prominent feature of 
 the literary work was the debating societies, and 
 in the exercises of these organizations Mr. Getty 
 took a prominent part. He represented the 
 F'hilomathean Society at every public contest 
 and at every class entertainment while he was a 
 student at that institution. He was salutatorian of 
 his class on graduation day. In 1881 and 1882 
 he attended the law department of Alichigan Uni- 
 versity and was admitted to practice at Ann 
 Arbor in 1882. He began practicing shortly 
 afterwards at Caro, Michigan, where he contin- 
 ued until 1884. During his residence at Caro 
 he was elected circuit court commissioner for 
 Tuscola County, a profitable office for a young 
 lawyer. In 1884 he came to Minnesota and 
 located in Minneapolis, his change of residence 
 being made on account of his wife's health. Fie 
 has been successful in his practice in Minnesota, 
 making a specialty of life insurance law, and has 
 represented these companies as general attornev 
 in a number of important cases. His practice 
 extends over several states, including ^Minnesota, 
 Wisconsin, Iowa, the Dakotas, Colorado and 
 California. Among his important cases was one 
 before the supreme court of \Msconsin, which 
 opened that state to nearly all the leading fra- 
 
 ternal insurance organizations, such as .Masons 
 and Odd Fellows. In politics Mr. Getty was 
 originally a Democrat, his ancestry having been 
 adherents of that political faith. His first vote, 
 however, was cast for a Republican, and he held 
 office in Tuscola County as a Republican. On 
 his arrival in Minnesota he espoused the cause 
 of prohibition, and was an ardent and influential 
 leader in that movement. He was secretary of 
 the state central committee in the Fisk campaign 
 of 1888, and at the same time the editor of "The 
 Review," a party organ, in this state. He was 
 again secretary of the state central committee 
 when Hugh Harrison ran for governor on the 
 Prohibition ticket. .Since then he has taken a 
 less active part in politics and has generally voted 
 the Republican ticket. Mr. Gettv is a member 
 of the North Star Lodge, I. O. O. F., Minne- 
 apolis Lodge, St. John's Chapter, No. 9, Zion 
 Commandery, No. 2, Alinneapolis, Zuhrah 
 Temple, the Minneapolis Commercial Club, the 
 Minneapolis Bar Association and the Minne.sota 
 Bar Association. His church affiliations are with 
 the Methodist body and his membership is with 
 the \\'esley church in Minneapolis. He was mar- 
 ried in 1879 to Sarah C. Risher, at Marion, Ohio. 
 They have had two children, Gertrude Lois, who 
 died October 10, 1890, and Jay Paul, who is 
 living.
 
 150 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOHN FREMONT HILSCHER. 
 
 John Fremont Hilscher was born Jan- 
 uary 23, 1857, at Bethlehem, Indiana. i\Ir. 
 Hilscher is the son of Joseph S. Hilscher and 
 Louise Woland (Hilscher.) Joseph S. Hilscher 
 was a farmer at Lincoln, Illinois, where he owned 
 and cultivated a large farm and amassed a com- 
 fortable fortune as the result of his life's labors. 
 He died in 1885, respected by all who knew him 
 and survived by his wife, who is still living. He 
 and his wife were of German descent, but were 
 both born in America, and for several genera- 
 tions the family have l)een residents of this coun- 
 try. The subject of this sketch was reared on a 
 farm near Lincoln, attending the district school 
 in the neigliborhood in his boyhood — only dur- 
 ing the winter months, however; the summers, 
 as is customary among framers' boys, he occu- 
 pied in farm work. The district school was 
 usually well conducted, and as a feature of this 
 there was a debating club for the older boys and 
 men of the neighborhood in which the subject 
 of tiiis sketch took an active jiart and which im 
 doubt materially influenced his choice of a pro- 
 fession in later years. At the age of eighteen 
 he left home and began at La .Salle, Illinois, 
 among strangers, to carve nut his own career. 
 He was em[)loycd on a farm and in various 
 
 other occupations taught in the public schools, 
 and in many ways earned sufficient money to 
 enable him to obtain a college course, which 
 was commenced at Lincoln University, Lincoln, 
 Illinois, and finished at Knox College, at Gales- 
 l)urg. Having decided to become a lawyer he 
 read law with an uncle at Lincoln for three years 
 and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court 
 of Illinois at Springfield, in 1882. He began the 
 practice of his profession at Lincoln and con- 
 tinued there until November, 1886, when he re- 
 moved to W'illmar, ^linnesota. He continued in 
 the practice of law at Willmar until the spring 
 of 1894, when he removed to St. Paul, his present 
 residence. Among the important cases in which 
 he has been engaged was the defense of James 
 Funk, indicted for the nuirder of his wife in 
 1887 at ^\'illmar. In 1893 Mr. Hilscher went to 
 Holland, where he organized a corporation of 
 Dutch capitalists for the investment of money 
 in America, and since then, acting as their agent, 
 he has invested for them half a million dollars. 
 Since removing to St. Paul he has made a spe- 
 cialty of real estate and commercial law, and has 
 charge of the Northwestern business of a number 
 of local and Eastern wholesale houses and manu- 
 facturers. Llis professional career has been a 
 successful one. Mr. Hilscher was the son of an 
 ardent Republican, and gets his name from the 
 first presidential candidate for the Republican 
 party. He has always been enthusiastically identi- 
 fied with that party. He was alternate delegate 
 to the National Repul:>lican Convention in Chi- 
 cago in 1888, and was chairman of the county 
 committee of Kandiyohi County the same year. 
 lUit aside from this and occasional service to 
 his party on the stump, he has not taken an 
 active part in political affairs. He is a member 
 of the St. Paul Conunercial Club, of the ^lasonic 
 Order, of the Knights of Pythias and the A. O. 
 U. W. In Sei>tenilicr, 1894, he was elected Grand 
 Chancellor of Minnesota by tlie Knights of 
 Pythias, and served the order until 1895, when 
 he was elected Supreiue Representative from the 
 state. He is a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. .Mr. Ililsclier \\;is married December 
 30. 1884, to Miss Hetta Anderson, of Lincoln, 
 Illinois. They have two children. Hazel, age.d 
 eiglU, and John F., aged four.
 
 I'KOGKHSSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 151 
 
 WILLIAM E. JOHNSON. 
 
 William E. Johnson is a member of the 
 Minnesota senate, elected from the Twenty- 
 ninth District, which comprises a part of the 
 city of Minneapolis, lie is a sou of the late 
 James Johnson, and was l)orn at Palestine, Col- 
 nmhiana County, ( )hio, hebruary 8, 1850. His 
 ancestry were among the early settlers of Xew 
 Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. They settled 
 near Cleveland, Ohio, in the year 1810, and 
 took part in the Revolutionary War and in the 
 Indian wars of the early history of Ohio. .Senator 
 Johnson was educated in the common schools, 
 and began business in the railway service in which 
 he was engaged until 1891. He went to South 
 Dakota in 1881 as assistant superintendent of 
 the Dakota division of the Chicago & North- 
 western Railroad, and was the principal mover 
 in the organization and settlement of Hand 
 County having it surveyed by the United States 
 government and opened for settlement. This 
 was done, too, in a time which required nerve, 
 enterprise and perseverance to secure an economi- 
 cal and business-like management of public 
 affairs, there being so many men ready in those 
 days to take advantage in the organization of 
 new counties to set up schemes for their private 
 advantage, but both Hand and Beadle Counties 
 owe to Mr. Johnson's prudence and careful man- 
 agement the fact that they were unusually free 
 from the burdens which were laid upon many of 
 the new Western communities. When he left that 
 country some ten years later the people gave him 
 a handsome testimonial in recognition of his pub- 
 lic services. He came to Minneapolis in 1891 
 and accepted the presidency of the Guaranty 
 Savings and Loan Association in Minneapolis. 
 He has taken an active interest in building up this 
 line of financial investment, and has a national 
 reputation as a promoter of building and loan 
 associations. He is a member of the executive 
 committee of the Interstate League of National 
 Building and Loan Associations of the I'nited 
 States. This committee consists of seven mem- 
 bers, and is organized on lines similar to that of 
 the American Bankers' Association. Mr. John- 
 son never took a very active part in politics until 
 1S04, when he was selected liy his district as a 
 candidate for the state senate. He was elected as 
 
 a member of that body, and in the session of 1895 
 received his first introduction to public affairs. He 
 is a Republican in his affiliations, and occupied an 
 important position in the delegation which repre- 
 sented his city in the senate. As a member of 
 that body he took an active interest in labor leg- 
 islation ; was a member of the committee on labor, 
 and exerted an important influence in shaping the 
 legislation of the session. .Mr. Johnson is thor- 
 oughly in sympathy with the labor classes, and a 
 firm believer in their improvement and bet- 
 terment through education, believing that 
 a better understanding of the relations be- 
 tween labor and capital by both employer and 
 employe will greatly jjromote a more harmnnious 
 relation and more judicious co-operation between 
 them. :Mr. Johnson is an attendant on the serv- 
 ices (if the I'"pisc(ipal church, anfl enjovs the con- 
 fidence ami esteem of a large circle of accjuaint- 
 ances, who hold him in high regard for his per- 
 sonal qualities and devotion to public interest. 
 He takes an active interest in municipal questions, 
 and is a diligent student of the problems of mu- 
 nicipal government. He is a firm believer in the 
 mayoralty system of nnmicijial government, be- 
 lieving that that office should have large powers 
 and a wide range of authority. Mr. Johnson wa.'i 
 married at Lima, Indiana, to Harriet I. McXabb. 
 June 2, 1869, and has five children.
 
 152 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 PETER P. OUIST. 
 
 After almost a lifetime of military service in 
 the old country, the hardships of a pioneer on 
 tlie plains of Minnesota must seem quite trivial. 
 Peter N. Quist, father of the subject of this 
 sketch, came to America in 1865, after having 
 served twenty-six years in the army of Sweden. 
 He took up a homestead in Nicollet County, 
 then far on the frontier. In fact there was no 
 lumber supply nearer than Minneapolis, and 
 lumber for the house which the inmiigrant put 
 up was hauled from Minneapolis. It was on this 
 farm that young Peter saw the first of j\linnc- 
 sota life. He was born August 18, 1854, in Rin- 
 kaby, Sweden, and was, conse(]uently, eleven 
 >ears of age when his parents came to America. 
 He attended the public schools in St. Peter, and 
 also St. Ausgari Academy at Carver, Minnesota, 
 and in the intervals of school life worked on the 
 farm with his father. At the age of twenty-one 
 he left the farm and learned the hardware and 
 farm machinery business. There are seven 
 brothers in the Quist family, and all arc living in 
 this country' and occupying positions where they 
 command the respect of their fellow citizens. 
 The oldest brother, Nels, came to America be- 
 fore his parents, and settled in Xicollct countv. 
 
 Andrew, the second brother, came over in 1857, 
 and when the rebellion broke out enlisted in the 
 First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and served 
 during the entire war in that famous regiment. 
 He was wounded in the battle of Gettysburg. He 
 now lives in Grafton, North Dakota. The third 
 brother was Olof, who became the founder and 
 editor of Skordemannen, the only Swedish agri- 
 cultural paper in the United States. He was also 
 the first postmaster of New Sweden. Another 
 brother is the Rev. H. P. Quist, who was or- 
 dained at Philadelphia in 1876, and is a member 
 of the Augustana synod of the Swedish Lutheran 
 church. J. P. Quist is in business with Peter at 
 Winthrop, and the youngest brother is living at 
 New Sweden, where he is postmaster. The 
 father of this large family died in 1891, aged eighty 
 years. Their mother is still living, and is now 
 eighty-three years old. In 1882 Peter Quist lo- 
 cated at the then new town of Winthrop, Sibley 
 County. It was at that time the terminus of the 
 Pacific division of the M. & St. L. railway, and a 
 promising place. Mr. Quist opened a hardware 
 and farm machinery store under the name of 
 Quist Brothers, associating with himself in the 
 lousiness his brother, J. P., and C. J. Larson, 
 aftenvards state senator. The business has pros- 
 pered. There have Ijeen a number of changes, 
 and the concern is now known as P. P. Quist & 
 Co. Mr. Quist was appointed postmaster in 18S3 
 and served for ten years, giving way in 1893, 
 when the Democracy had a man for the place. 
 Mr. Quist has always been a Republican. He 
 has taken much interest in party affairs, has been 
 a member of many of the conventions in the 
 county and congressional district, and has repre- 
 sented the county in state conventions. He is a 
 member of the Sibley County Republican com- 
 mittee, a town trustee, a member of the school 
 board, vice president of the W'intlirop lioard of 
 Trade, director in the State liank of Winthrop 
 and a director in the Scandinavian Relief Asso- 
 ciation of Red Wing. \\'hen the Swedish Luth- 
 eran church at Winthrop was formed he became 
 one of the incorporators and has been its treas- 
 urer f(ir a nniiil)cr of years. ( )n Eebruarv 5, 
 1881, i\lr. Quist married I\liss Ennna M. Falk, 
 of Red Wing, who was a teacher in the schools 
 of Goodhue County. Thc\- have six- cliildrcn, 
 Ida, Hugo. Chester. Mauritz, Walter and Lvdia.
 
 PROGKESSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 153 
 
 ALONZO DRAPER MEEDS. 
 
 Alonzo Draper Meeds was born December 
 6, 1864, in East Minneapolis, then known as St. 
 Anthony. His early education was received 
 chiefly in the public schools of Stillwater, Minne- 
 sota, and his college training at the State Univer- 
 sity at Minneapolis, where he took the scientific 
 course, graduating in 1889, with the degree of B.S. 
 While in college he was a member of the Psi 
 Upsilon fraternity. Mr. Meeds' parents, Charles 
 H. Meeds and Sarah Lucy Means (Meeds), were 
 both born in ]\Iaine, the father at Standish and 
 the mother at Saco. The earliest family records 
 indicate that the Meeds settled at Harvard, Massa- 
 chusetts, and Artemus Meeds, grandfather to A. 
 D. Meeds, moved from there to Linnington, 
 Maine, and thence to Standish, Alainc, where 
 his father, C. H. Meeds, was born. Here 
 Samuel Meeds was born, June 18, 1732. 
 His father, Samuel Meads, (the name is spelled 
 Meads in these old records), came to Plarvard 
 from Littleton, ^Massachusetts. He served in the 
 French and Indian wars from August to Decem- 
 ber, 1755, and his son, Samuel, in a company com- 
 manded by Israel Taylor, which was sent for the 
 relief of Fort William Henry in August, 1757. 
 Samuel, the elder, was also engaged in the cam- 
 paign against Fort Ticonderoga in 1758, and he 
 was also among the Harvard men who sprang to 
 arms at the Lexington alarm and marched to 
 Cambridge, April ig, 1775. In July, 1777, when 
 it was thought the British were about to invade 
 Rhode Island, he was again in the service, al- 
 though long past the military age. Saiuuel, Jr., 
 was in the service at various times, and marched 
 on Bennington at the alarm call. It thus appears 
 that the Meeds were active in the colonial de- 
 fense, although it does not appear that any of 
 them occupied very prominent positions. 
 Charles Henry Meeds enlisted in 1862 in the 
 Maine \'olunteers, but served only a few months, 
 being discharged on account of disability. He 
 came to Minnesota first in 1856, and after the 
 war, in 1864, returned with his family, locating 
 at St. Anthony. He was engaged in the steam- 
 boat business between St. Anthony, Red Wing, 
 Hastings and adjacent points on the river. The 
 family finally removed to Stillwater in 1872. 
 While at the university Alonzo, the subject of 
 this sketch, devoted especial attention to the 
 
 study of chemistr}- and geology, and in the sum- 
 mer of 1888 was engaged on the Minnesota geo- 
 logical survey in field work in Northeastern Min- 
 nesota. In the winter of 1889 he secured a position 
 with the Northern Pacific Railroad at St. Paul, and 
 spent the following summer on a survey in the 
 state of Washington, for that road. In Septem- 
 ber of that year he was appointed assistant in the 
 chemical laboratory of the university, and in 
 October, 1891, on a leave of absence, joined a 
 scientific expedition to Mexico, under Dr. Carl 
 Lumholtz, exploring the .Sierra ]\Iadre moun- 
 tains. The expedition was undertaken under the 
 auspices of the American Museum of Natural 
 History, of New York. Returning May, 1892, 
 the summer was spent in the Alinnesota Geologi- 
 cal Survey, and in September Air. Meeds resumed 
 his work in the chemical laboratory of the uni- 
 versity, where he continued as an instructor until 
 1894. In August of that year he w^as elected in- 
 spector of gas for the city of Minneapolis, after 
 a competitive examination, and now holds that 
 office. He has discharged the duties of his posi- 
 tion to the full satisfaction of the public, and ren- 
 dered important service in maintaining the qual- 
 ity of the product. He is a member of the Amer- 
 ican Association for Advancement of Science, of 
 the American Chemical Society, is secretary of 
 the Minnesota Academy of Natural Science, and 
 is a member of the Masonic order.
 
 154 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 EUGENE \ lR(_iIL S.MALLhV. 
 
 E. V. Smalley, a prominent Republican jovu-- 
 nalist in Washington and Xew York during the 
 period following the Civil War, and in later 
 years an author, magazine writer, and publisher. 
 was born in Randolph, Portage County, L)hio, 
 in 1841. He was the son of a small farmer, who 
 was warmly interested in the anti-slavery move- 
 ment, and who wrote articles and delivered lec- 
 tures in its support. The father died when the 
 boy was eleven years old, and at thirteen the 
 latter apprenticed himself to learn the printer's 
 trade in the office of the Advertiser, at Fredonia, 
 New York. He completed his apprenticeship on 
 the Telegraph, at Painesville, Ohio, and then 
 managed to get a few terms of schooling in a 
 little anti-slavery college at McGrawsville, Xew 
 York, endowed bj^ Gcrrit Smith. This was ac- 
 complished by teaching school and setting ty])e 
 part of the time. At the age of nineteen he was 
 part owner and local editor of the Press and 
 Advertiser, in Painesville, Ohio. .\t twenty he 
 enlisted, on the outbreak of the Rebellion, in the 
 Seventh (Jhio Infantry, under the first call for 
 volunteers. He was discharged in 1863 on 
 account of wounds received in the battle of Port 
 Rei)ublic. He worked for a time on the Cleve- 
 land Herald, and then obtained a clerkshi]) in 
 the treasury at Washington. This post he 
 resigned in 1865 tf) buy the Register at Youngs- 
 town, Ohio, in the congressional district of Gen- 
 
 eral Garfield, who obtained for him the clerkship 
 of the committee on military affairs in the House 
 at Washington. He sold his newspaper in 1868, 
 traveled in Europe in 1869, and in 1870 began to 
 furnish Washington correspondence for the New 
 York Tribune. In 1871 Horace Greeley gave 
 him a place on the staff of that paper, and he 
 went South to investigate the Klu-Klux outrages. 
 His letters from South Carolina led to the sus- 
 pension of the habeas corpus in five counties of 
 that state by President Grant, and to the arrest 
 and punishment of a large number of the leaders 
 of the cruel Klu-Klux Klan. In 1883 IMr. 
 Smalley was sent to Europe to describe the 
 World's Fair at A'ienna. The Centennial Exhi- 
 bition at Philadelphia was his special field in 
 1876. As a political correspondent, he visited 
 nearly every state in the Union, frequently taking 
 part in campaigns as a platform speaker. In 
 1880 he wrote "A Brief History of the Repub- 
 lican Party," which had a large sale, and also a 
 life of General Garfield. He served continuously 
 for twelve years on the Tribune, except one year 
 spent in the position of managing editor of the 
 Cleveland Herald. In 1882 he was commis- 
 sioned by the Century Alagazine to travel 
 through the northern tier of states and territories,, 
 from Lake Superior to the Pacific ocean, and 
 write a series of articles. This journey led him to 
 write a "Histon,- of the Northern Pacific Rail- 
 road," which was published in a large volume in 
 
 1883 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. In 
 
 1884 he established in St. Paul the Northwest 
 Illustrated Monthly Alagazine, with the purpose 
 of promoting the development of all the new 
 regions of the northwestern part of the American 
 continent. Of this periodical he is still editor 
 and publisher. IMr. Smalley has been a frequent 
 contributor to Eastern magazines, notably to the 
 Atlantic, the Century and the Forum. His home 
 is in St. Paul. His e.xtensive travels in the North- 
 west and his close study of its topography, cli- 
 mate, resources and people, for fourteen years,, 
 has made him a recognized authority on this 
 section. He has enjoyed the acquaintance of 
 seven Presidents of the United .States, and was 
 the trusted personal friend of Hayes and Garfield. 
 His nc\v.s])aper work brought him into intimate 
 relations with nearly all the eminent men who 
 organized the RejMiblican part\- and were its 
 national leaders during the first thirty years of its 
 existence.
 
 PKUGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNE-SOTA. 
 
 155 
 
 GEORGE A. T^ILLSIU-RV. 
 
 Few names arc better known in Minneapolis 
 tlian that of Pillsljnry. George A. I'illsbury, the 
 elder of the Pillsbury family, became a resident 
 of Minneapolis in 1878. He was a native of 
 New Hampshire, where he was born Angust 29, 
 1816. He received a common school education, 
 and at the age of eighteen found his first employ- 
 ment with a grocer in Boston. After a little 
 more than a year he returned to Sutton, New 
 Hampshire, where he had been brought up, and 
 engaged in the manufacture of stoves and sheet 
 iron, with his cousin, J. C. Pillsbury. During the 
 next ten years he was engaged in various mer- 
 cantile enterprises, and in 185 1 was appointed 
 purchasing agent for the Concord Railroad cor- 
 poration. He moved to Concord and continued 
 in this position for nearly twenty-four years. In 
 1864, Mr. Pillsbury, with others, organized and 
 put in operation the First National Bank of Con- 
 cord. Two years later he became its president. 
 In 1867 he organized the National Savings Bank 
 of the same place. During his life in New 
 Hampshire Mr. Pillsbury held several town and 
 municipal offices, including the ofiice of mayor 
 of Concord, in 1876 and 1877. I''' 1871 and 1872 
 he sat in the New Hampshire legislature. Upon 
 the announcement of his determination to leave 
 Concord in the spring of 1878, complimentary 
 resolutions were unanimously passed by both 
 branches of the city government, by the directors 
 of the First National Bank, by the First Baptist 
 church and society, and by the Webster Club, 
 of Concord. A similar testimonial was presented 
 to him bearing the names of more than three 
 hundred of the business men of the city. For 
 some years previous to his coming to Minneap- 
 olis, Mr. Pillsbury had been a member of the 
 great milling firm of Charles A. Pillsbury & Co. 
 After coming here he took a more active part in 
 the affairs of the concern, and also became identi- 
 fied with many of the business enterprises of the 
 city. Among the various corporate and public 
 trusts which he has filled are these: President of 
 the Board of Trade, of the Homeopathic Hospi- 
 tal, of the Pree Dispensary, Chamber of Com- 
 merce, Pillsbury & Hurlburt Elevator Company. 
 Vice-President of the Minnesota Loan & Trust 
 Company, Director and President of the North- 
 western National Bank, Director of the Manu- 
 
 facturers' National Bank, of the Minneapolis Ele- 
 vator Company, and of the Northwestern Guar- 
 anty Loan Company. He has also served as 
 President of the St. Paul and Minneapolis Bap- 
 tist Union, of the Minnesota Baptist State Con- 
 vention, and as trustee of the Chicago University. 
 In 188S, at the annual meeting of the American 
 Baptist Union, he was elected its president. Not 
 long after his arrival in Minneapolis, Mr. Pills- 
 bury was elected a member of the Board of Edu- 
 cation. He was also made alderman, and be- 
 came a member of the city council. In 1884 he 
 was nominated by the Republican city conven- 
 tion as its candidate for mayor. After a brief 
 but determined canvass Mr. Pillsburv was elected 
 by a majority of eight thousand. His adminis- 
 tration was characterized by the devotion to de- 
 tail, and economy in expenditure. As mayor he 
 -was ex-officio member of the park and water 
 works boards, as well as head of the police de- 
 partment. In his inaugural message flavor Pills- 
 bury suggested that saloons should not be 
 licensed in the residence portions of the city. 
 The development of this idea by Captain Judson 
 N. Cross, then city attorney, gave to Minneapolis 
 the "patrol limits" system of saloon restriction. 
 During his active life in Minneapolis, 'Sir. Pills- 
 bury has been closely identified with the higher 
 life of the city, and has taken an interested and 
 intelligent part in tlie development of religion
 
 156 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 and education. About ten years ago he served 
 as chairman of the building committee of the 
 First Baptist church, of which he had been a 
 most prominent member since his settlement in 
 this city, and the edifice which was erected under 
 his charge is one of the finest in the Northwest. 
 Upon its completion. 'Sir. and Mrs. I'illsbury. 
 with their two sons, placed in the church, at 
 Iheir own expense, the largest and best organ in 
 the city. At about the same time Mr. Pillsbury 
 made most liberal donations to the AJinnesota 
 Academy at Owatonna, Minnesota. This school 
 was under the patronage of the Baptist state con- 
 vention. In 1886 he built, at a cost of thirty thou- 
 sand dollars, a Ladies' Boarding Hall, containing 
 all the modern conveniences and appointments 
 of such a building. In recognition of his gift the 
 name of the institution was changed to Pillsbury 
 -Academy. In later years Air. Pillslniry has aided 
 this institution by building a forty thousand d(.)llar 
 academic building, handsomely equipped : a music 
 hall, a drill hall, a steam plant and other improve- 
 ments at a cost of about sixty thousand dollars. 
 He has also contributed a sum of more than forty 
 thousand dollars for endowment and current ex- 
 penses. But w'hile doing so nnich for the state 
 of his adoption, Mr. Pillsbury was not unmindful 
 of his early home. In the year 1890 he made 
 three notable gifts. To Concord he gave a free 
 hospital, at a cost of seventy-two thousand dollars. 
 To Warner he presented a free public library, and 
 to Sutton a soldiers' monument. JMr. Pillsbury 
 was married on Alay g, 1841, to Miss iMargaret S. 
 Carlton. They had two sons, Charles A. Pills- 
 bury and I'Ved C. Pillsbury, who early became 
 known in connection with their e.xtensive milling 
 operations in Minneapolis. Charles A. Pillsbury 
 is still at the head of the Pillsbury-Washburn 
 Flour Mills Comjiany, and Mr. h'red Pillsl)ury 
 died a few years ago. 
 
 WTLLl'.T .MAKTI.X IIAV.S. 
 
 Professor Willcl .M. IIa\s was born in 1850 
 near the village of Gifford, 1 lardin Cdunty, Iowa. 
 His father, .Silas Hays, had joined the earliest 
 pioneers on the head waters of the Iowa river, a 
 few years before Willet's birth. The father was a 
 man of positive character having been one of the 
 only four members of the Abf)lition party in 
 
 Bladensburg township, Knox County, Ohio, from 
 which place he emigrated, with his young wife, 
 to Iowa. He was of British stock. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Christina Lepley was of 
 the sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch stock, so num- 
 erous in central Ohio. When Willet was 
 six years old his mother was left a widow 
 with an older son and an infant boy. 
 W hen the estate was settled she had a farm of 
 one hundred and forty acres, and several hun- 
 dred dollars in cash. When the second son was 
 twelve years of age the tenant, who had allowed 
 the farm to run down, was discharged and Willet 
 and his brothers managed it. The mother was 
 not only truly loyal to her boys, but she was a 
 strong business woman, and under her guidance 
 the boys made the farm pay, erecting buildings, 
 planting fine groves, building fences and roads 
 and gaining the favorable comments of the neigh- 
 bors. Charles L. and Willet took turns "year 
 about" in college and in managing the farm until 
 the elder brother was ready for a post graduate 
 course of law. The youngest of the three, 
 Marion, was then ready to enter college and the 
 farm was again rented. Having finished the 
 country school, Willet attended Oskaloosa Col- 
 lege, Oskaloosa, and Drake University, Des 
 Moines, Iowa, for three years, taking an 
 academic course and then yieldiiig to his 
 desire for agricultural work, he entered the 
 State Agricultural College at Ames, Iowa, where 
 he graduated in the fall of 1885, receiving the 
 degree of Bachelor of Agriculture. He received 
 a good standing in his college classes. Instead 
 of high marks in recitation, he gained a reputa- 
 tion among the professors for studying subjects 
 rather than books, often developing them beyond 
 the work of the classes, and thus showing his 
 bent for the practical in agricultural education. 
 \t about the time of graduation, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Clara Shepperd, of Chariton, Iowa, 
 who took a post graduate course at the Iowa 
 Agricultural College in Domestic Science, and 
 became his able co-worker in industrial educa- 
 tion, l/pon graduation he was placed in charge 
 of the agricultural ex]>erimcnts <m the college 
 farm at .'\mes. Here he did work of value, 
 among other things, showing the extent and posi- 
 tion in the soil of the roots of corn and other 
 crojis. The kind of tillage and tillage imple- 
 ments adai)ted to conserving soil moisture in
 
 I'KOGKESSIVI-; MIvN OF MIXNESOTA 
 
 157 
 
 time of drouth by level culture at uiediuni depth 
 without seriously ])runiug the roots, now so 
 much emphasized in agricultural teaching, was 
 here first clearly shown. Instead of completing a 
 post graduate course in science, Air. Hays se- 
 cured a position as associate editor (if tlie I'rairie 
 Farmer, Chicago, under the venerable editor. 
 Orange Judd. In 1888, when the various states 
 began to establish experiment stations under the 
 government appropriations, Minnesota was on 
 the hunt for practical men, and Dr. Edward D. 
 Porter selected Mr. Hays as his assistant. Two 
 J ears later the lioard of Regents promoted hini 
 to the Professorship of Agriculture. A year later, 
 Mrs. Hays, having won a name for herself 
 through teaching and lecturing, the two were 
 offered the Professorship of Agriculture and 
 Domestic Science in the North Dakota Agri- 
 cultural College at Fargo. Here the most prac- 
 tical and valuable work was being accomplished 
 by Mr. and Mrs. Hays when death removed the 
 wife. Those interested in the agricultural de- 
 partment of the I'niversity of Alinnesiita, soon 
 after this, negotiated with Professor Hays to re- 
 turn and various reasons, well considered, led 
 him to accept again his old place as Professor 
 of Agriculture and with it, the position of Vice- 
 Chairman and Agriculturist of the Experiment 
 Station. Having been educated in a western 
 agricultural college, Professor Hays in the in- 
 ception of the Minnesota School of Agriculture, 
 took a leading part in defining its policy and in 
 holding it to the work of making educated farm- 
 ers out of the most enterprising farm boys of 
 the state. Reorganizing the course in the college 
 of agriculture also had his special attention. 
 As professor of agriculture he organized dairy 
 education in the School of Agriculture and upon 
 his recommendation the Board of Regents made 
 the appropriation for the original dairv building, 
 appointed a separate professor of dairying and 
 started the Minnesota Dairy .School. Likewise 
 instruction in the School of Agriculture in the 
 slaughter and care of meats was started by him, 
 being a new feature in agricultural schools. 
 His connection with Mrs. Hays' work caused 
 him to take a prominent part in developing the 
 industrial course for ladies in North Dakota Ag- 
 ricultural College. He acts upon the belief that 
 the Universitv of Minnesota can and should im- 
 
 plant a system of agricultural high schools in the 
 state and nation, for farm girls as it seems to 
 have done for farm bcjys, and also the advanced, 
 or agricultural college course for those women 
 who have graduated in the girls' agricultural 
 high school, who wish to become teachers 
 and scientific investigators in woman's in- 
 dustries. He has written much in bulle- 
 tins for the Iowa, JNIinnesota and North 
 Dakota experiment stations, and has been 
 a prolific writer for the agricultural press 
 in the Northwest and has in preparation 
 text books for his classes in agriculture. 
 Among the reports of original work, his studies 
 in the roots of corn and other field crops, of 
 tillage, feeding experiments, breeding field crops, 
 the improvement of field seeds, field management 
 of pasture and meadows may be especially men- 
 tioned. He has done work in the Farmers' Insti- 
 tute and has delivered many addresses at meetings 
 of agricultural people. He has taken a special 
 interest in the rural school and has prepared a 
 reader for the fourth grade. A system of sub- 
 experiment farms as a part of the Minnesota 
 Experiment .'station, with adjunct forest experi- 
 ment stations under the auspices of the Division 
 of Forestry of the I'nited States Department of 
 Agriculture, has recently been organized under 
 his leadership and management.
 
 158 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CLARENDON DWIGHT BELDEN. 
 
 Clarendon Dwight Belden, of Austin, Minne- 
 sota, was born at I'^uit Hill, just north of Provi- 
 dence, Rhode Island, May 3, 1848. His father, 
 Stanton Belden, was born and reared in Saudis- 
 field, Massachusetts, and graduated at Yale col- 
 lege in the class of 1833, and his professional life 
 of thirty-five years was spent as principal of the 
 Fruit Hill Classical Institute. Stanton Belden's 
 mother was Prudence Sholes, of Groton, Connect- 
 icut, and her father, Nathan Sholes, a Revolution- 
 ary soldier, was killed while defending Fort Gris- 
 wold. The mother of Clarendon Dwight Belden 
 was Antoinette Percival Manchester, of Fall 
 River, Massachusetts, and on the Manchester 
 side, the family lineage is traced back four or five 
 generations directly to Benjamin Church, 1639 to 
 1 7 18, who served in King Philip's war, and com- 
 manded the party by which the chief was slain. 
 Clarendon Dwight Belden was reared on a small, 
 ten-acre fruit farm, which surrounded his father's 
 academy grounds. He was educated in his fath- 
 er's school, and at Lyons LTniversity grammar 
 school, Providence. He entered Brown Univer- 
 sity in 1864 and took a full classical course, grad- 
 uating with the class of 1868, receiving the degree 
 of Bachelor of Arts, and subsequently received the 
 degree of Master of Arts. He was a member of 
 tlie Delta Up.silon fraternity, and also of the Phi 
 I'>cta Kappa. For the next three years he was the 
 
 principal of a New England graded village school. 
 In 1 87 1 he entered the Crozer Theological Semi- 
 nary at Upland, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1874, 
 and was ordained in J\Iay, 1874, by a council 
 called by the Alemorial Baptist church of Phila- 
 delphia. In the fall of 1874 he came West, set- 
 tling as pastor in Austin, Minnesota. He had a 
 very successful pastorate of seven and a half 
 years, and resigned to take the position of Super- 
 intendent of Schools of Mower County, to which 
 he was elected in November, 1881. He held this 
 position until January, 1891, and in that period 
 brought the district schools of the county to a 
 good graded system. One year he was president 
 of the Minnesota County Superintendents' Asso- 
 ciation. In October, 1891, he took charge of the 
 Baptist church in Windom, Cottonwood County, 
 Minnesota, remaining one year, during which 
 time, their new meeting house was completed 
 and dedicated, and a heavy debt raised. Return- 
 ing to Austin in October, 1892, he became asso- 
 ciate editor of the Slower County Transcript, one 
 of the leading Republican newspapers of South- 
 ern Minnesota, and in October, 1893, purchased 
 a half interest in that paper, which he now owns, 
 and to which he gives a large share of his time. 
 ;\fr. Belden has always been greatly interested in 
 educational work and has been clerk of the Aus- 
 tin Board of Education, and on the examining 
 board for a number of years. He was one of the 
 organizers of the Austin Co-operative Creamery 
 Association in 1893, and continues as its general 
 manager. During all these years he has regu- 
 larly engaged in ministerial work as opportunity 
 afforded, and has been in close relations with the 
 ISaptist denomination of Minnesota. He was 
 married on June 27, 1877, to j\Irs. Francelia L. 
 Crandall, of Austin, and has one daughter, Antoi- 
 nette Griffith Belden, born June 24, 1882. Mr. 
 Belden has been a frequent contributor to the 
 religious and secular press for the past twenty 
 \ears. He has taken especial interest in non- 
 partisan municipal reform and in the movement 
 for good citizenship. .Since devoting his time 
 largely to newspaper work he has taken great 
 interest in editorial associational work, and is at 
 present, in 1896, the Minnesota member of the 
 executive committee of the National Editorial 
 Association. He is an enthusiastic Royal Arch 
 Mason and past chancellor commander in the 
 Knights of Pythias.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 159 
 
 JAMES CLARK I\l ICllAl-.l.. 
 
 James Clark Afichael is an attorney practicing 
 his profession, in St. Paul. He was born March 
 19, 1863, in Preston County, Virginia. His 
 fatlier, John A. Micliael, was a school teacher and 
 farmer, and in limited financial circumstances. 
 His mother's maiden name was Xancy Hamillon 
 C'rmonde. She is still living. His ancestry on his 
 father's side were of Welch and German extrac- 
 tion and were among the early settlers of New 
 York, serving in the war of the Revolution and 
 the war of 181 2. On his mother's side, mater- 
 nally they are direct descendants from the Plam- 
 ilton family (Clan Hamilton) of Scotland, the 
 maternal grandmother of the subject of this 
 sketch being a second cousin of Alexander 
 Hamilton. His mother's paternal ancestors are 
 descendants of the Ormondes who figured some- 
 what in Irish afifairs. James attended the public 
 schools in the county in which he was born, four 
 months out of each year, until he was fourteen 
 years of age. These schools were not of a very 
 high order, though the diligent scholar could 
 make rapid progress, not being hindered by the 
 so-called grades. Later he attended the West 
 Virginia State University, at Morgantown, for 
 two and one-half years, and was an active member 
 of the Columbian Society of that school. By 
 hard work and diligent devotion to his studies 
 James was able to stand at the head of most of 
 his classes, at the same time carrying about one- 
 half more studies than the average student, com- 
 pleting four year's work in about one-half the time. 
 On account of his father's death, occurring when 
 James was but nine months old and leaving his 
 mother with two small children in such straight- 
 ened circumstances that she was unable to assist 
 them in getting a college education, his college 
 da)'S were attended by very frugal habits and 
 excessive labor. He was obliged to earn his own 
 way by teaching during the winter months and 
 by whatever employment he could obtain during 
 vacations. At an early age Mr. Michael com- 
 menced to fit himself for the profession of law. 
 On leaving college, at the age of nineteen, he 
 worked on a farm in Illinois for two years, pur- 
 suing his professional reading as best he could 
 during that time. In 1884 he came to Minnesota, 
 settling at Red Wing, where he was admitted to 
 the bar. He remained in active practice in that city 
 for five years in partnership with the late Hon. 
 
 F. W. Hoyt, under the firm name of Hoyt & 
 Michael. In the summer of 1889 he removed to 
 St. Paul and has remained in active practice in 
 that city ever since, and by continuous hard work 
 and close application to business he has had a 
 fair share of success. He was assistant corpora- 
 tion attorney of St. Paul in 1891 and 1892 and 
 had more than usual success in defending damage 
 suits and a number of other actions brought 
 against the city in the state and federal courts 
 involving the ownership of streets. He was 
 associate attorney for the Duluth, Red Wing & 
 Southern Railway Company during the construc- 
 tion of that road in 1888, and is at present 
 attorney for the South St. Paul Belt Railway 
 Company, and had charge of all its legal matters 
 during the construction of the road. June i, 1895, 
 ;Mr. Michael associated with himself David F. 
 Peebles, under the firm name of Michael & 
 Peebles. This firm enjoys a large general prac- 
 tice. In politics Mr. Michael is a Democrat and 
 takes an active interest in the afifairs of his partv, 
 but has never been an ofifice seeker. He is past 
 chancellor of the order of Knights of Pvthias 
 and an active member of the Commercial Club 
 of St. Paul, and is also a member of St. Paul 
 Lodge, Xo. 59, B. P. O. E. He is an attendant 
 of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Michael was mar- 
 ried September 3, 1890, to Miss Jennie i\L Cran- 
 dall. of Minneapolis. They have no children.
 
 160 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 THEOPHILUS L. HAECKER. 
 
 Theophilus L. Haecker was born in the town 
 of Liverpool, Aledina County, Oliio on the fourth 
 of May, 1846, of German parents, as liis name 
 indicates. When he was seven jears old his ]3ar- 
 cnts removed to a farm in Cottage Grove, Wis- 
 consin, and he worked on the farm sunmiers and 
 attended the district school winters until he was 
 si.xtcen years old, when he entered the University 
 of Wisconsin. The following spring he was 
 taken sick, and, falling behind in his classes, en- 
 listed in Company A, Thirty-seventh Regiment, 
 as private, being then less than seventeen ) cars 
 old. Soon after entering Camp Randall, the 
 colonel sent word among the recruits that he de- 
 sired specimens of their handwriting. Young 
 Haecker submitted his penmanship and was se- 
 lected to do clerical work at headquarters. Dur- 
 ing the siege of Petersburg Mr. Haecker dis- 
 tinguished himself for bravery. After the siege 
 he was placed on detached service in the medical 
 department at City T'oint, and was rapidly pro- 
 moted until he had charge of all the quarter- 
 master's supplies of the Ninth Corps Hospital 
 Department. At the close of the war he rejoined 
 his regiment and was placed in charge of the 
 drum corps, participating in the grand review at 
 Washington, and in .August, 1865, returned to 
 ^Tadison with his regiment. The following 
 month he went to Hampton. Eranklin County, 
 Iowa, to which i)lace his parents had removed 
 
 while he was in the army, and there spent two 
 years in farming. But, having a great desire to 
 prosecute his studies, he returned to Madison, 
 Wisconsin, in the spring of 1867, re-entered the 
 university, selecting the ancient classical course. 
 During his third year his health failed and he 
 was compelled to return to Hampton, Iowa, in 
 tending to follow farming; but opportunitv otTer- 
 ing, he spent a couple of years teaching in the 
 puljlic schools. In 1870 he went to Hardin 
 County, Iowa, and founded the Ackley "Inde- 
 pendent," the paper gaining a wide circulation and 
 becoming one of the leading newspapers of north- 
 ern Iowa under his management. In 1872 he 
 made a tour through Minnesota, visiting St. 
 Faul, Minneapolis, St. Anthony (now East Min- 
 neapolis), and Duluth. In the fall of the follow- 
 ing year he disposed of the "Independent" and in 
 February returned to Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, 
 and settled on a farm with the intention of going 
 into stock-raising and dairying. He had scarcely 
 settled down to work when he was, without so- 
 licitation from himself or his friends, offered a 
 position in the executive office by William R. 
 Taylor, then governor of ^^'isconsin. He ac- 
 cepted the position and entered upon his duties, 
 at the same time intendmg to continue his farm 
 operations. He remained in this position during 
 five administrations, covering a period of seven- 
 teen years, and all this time maintained his in- 
 terest in stock-raising, much of the time driving 
 ten miles to his office in the morning and re- 
 turning to the farm evenings, and some winters 
 not faiHng a single night to personall\- inspect 
 every animal on the place before retiring. \\'hile 
 in the executive office somevery responsible duties 
 were imposed upon him, one being the adjust- 
 ment of the St. Croi.x land grant, and during 
 twelve years of the time he reviewed all the 
 ])ardon cases coming before the governor. In 
 the early 8o's the board of regents of the Wis- 
 consin I'niversity was reorganized. .\n experi- 
 ment station was then establi^lu'd and Professor 
 Henry ])laccd in charge, and during the \ears 
 followin.g Mr. Haecker was an intimate friend of, 
 and constant adviser with. Pi-cifessur Henry, thus 
 becoming familiar with station and other agri- 
 cultural educational work. In the summer of 
 1882 he was conmiissioned l)v the board of re- 
 gents to make a tour in the cast. an<l he visited 
 nearly all the noted lirrds nf live stock- and 
 selected jiart of a carlo.-id for tlic nni\iTsity. These
 
 I'KoC.KlvSSIVU MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 161 
 
 animals proved of excellent merit, and ui)on the 
 organization of the Farmers' Institute, he was 
 selected by Mr. Alorrist)n, tlic superintendent, to 
 discuss the subjects of breeding- and handling- of 
 dairy stock. To afTord his children the ad- 
 vantages of the educational facilities offered at 
 Madison he moved there in the fall of i8cjo, and 
 being unexpectedly relieved from official duties 
 in January, he joined the first class in the Wis- 
 consin Dairy School, "fhe second week he was 
 appointed assistant to the instructor in the fac- 
 tory course, and instructor in the home dair\- 
 course. At the close of the session he engaged 
 in experimental work at the Experiinent Station, 
 and in the fall he was appointed instructor in 
 butter making in the Minnesota Dairy School. 
 Upon the resignation of Professor Hays, he was 
 appointed instructor in breeding in the School 
 of Agriculture, and the following May was made 
 assistant in agriculture in the .Scluiol of Agri- 
 culture and Experiment Station. Tn June, 1893, 
 he was appointed full professor in the College 
 of Agriculture and placed in charge of the Dairy 
 School. Possibly Professor Haecker's most suc- 
 cessful and best known work at the Experiment 
 Station is along the line of feeding and the 
 atlaptability of certain types of stock for special 
 purposes. Professor Haecker is doing excellent 
 work in the field, holding meetings and making 
 addresses in various parts of this and other 
 states, with the results showing in creameries 
 that are l.ieing started in almost every place, and 
 the strong interest aroused. Professor Haecker 
 is making an enviable record among the edu- 
 cators of the young people of the country as 
 well as among the farmers who appreciate his 
 efforts in their behalf. As secretary of the State 
 Dairvmen's Association he has done much to 
 bring- it into the closest relation with the dairy- 
 men whom it is intended to hell), bringing out 
 the home talent instead of depending upon out- 
 side speakers entirely. 
 
 CARL HEILMAIER. 
 
 Carl Heilmaier was born t,n the twenty-fifth 
 of May, 1868, at Freising, one of the ancient 
 towns of Bavaria. Carl w^as the son of Mathias 
 Heilmaier, an officer of high rank in the service 
 
 of the Bavarian government at Munich. Carl 
 received his education at some of the best schools 
 in Bavaria, and, having early developed a pas- 
 sionate love and a decided talent for music, he 
 became a ])npil of the Royal Consen'atory of 
 Music at Munich, in September, 1886. He 
 studied composition under J. Rheinberger and 
 jjiano under Berthold Kellerman, w-ho was a 
 pupil of Liszt. He graduated from the con- 
 servatory in July, i8go, and two years later, in 
 ]May, i8q2, he married Fraulein Johanna Ferber. 
 a daughter of a citizen of Munich, and shortly 
 afterwards came with his wife to America. They 
 arrived in Chicago in July, 1892, where Mr. 
 Heilmaier secured an engagement as a teacher 
 of piano at M. J. Seifert's Western Musical Acad- 
 emy. He remained there for two years, but in 
 the fall of 1894, because he reciuired change 
 on account of his health, he came to Minne- 
 apolis. The following spring, in 1895, '''^ '"'^■" 
 moved to St. Paul, where he succeeded to the 
 clientage of Henri von Ellemeet, a very successful 
 teacher of that city, who turned over his pro- 
 fessional engagements to Mr. Heilmaier. I\Ir. 
 and Mrs. Heilmaier have a daughter, Johanna, 
 born February 20, 1894. Prof. Heilmaier is now 
 established at St. Paul, and is one of the leading 
 musicians and teachers of the Northwest.
 
 162 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FERUIXAXD P. CAXAC-.MARQUIS. 
 
 Ferdinand Phileas Canac-AJarquis comes oi 
 an honorable family of the Province of Quebec, 
 Canada. His father, I'ranccis Canac-^larquis, was 
 a well-to-do farmer in the parish of Ste. Famille, 
 Island of Orleans, near Quebec. He succeeded 
 to the title of the farm, as his father and grand- 
 father, and even earlier ancestors, had done he- 
 fore him. He participated in the rebellion oi 
 1837 and 1838, when a number of French Cana- 
 dians took up arms for the maintenance of their 
 representative rights and the preservation of 
 their language and religion. He spent his whole 
 life on the farm, although he was elected mayor 
 of his town and occupied other important trusts. 
 He took great pains to provide educational facili- 
 ties for his children, and died February 22, i88<), 
 honored and respected by every one, having 
 reached the advanced age of seventy-nine years, 
 and leaving the family in good circumstances. 
 His wife, Sophie Bilodeau, was a native of Ste. 
 Mar}-, County of Beauce, Province of Quebec, 
 a member of a large family of highly respected 
 people, and the mother of twelve children, to 
 whose careful training she devoted her unweary- 
 ing energy. She was drowned October 30, 1875, 
 in the St. Lawrence river. The subject of this 
 sketch was born at Ste. Famille. .\iigust 16, 1858. 
 
 He graduated from the normal school in Quebec, 
 and later at the business college in that city, and 
 then engaged as a salesman in a dry goods house, 
 where he was employed for four and a half years. 
 Although his business prospects were encourag- 
 ing, he desired to study medicine, and entered 
 the Mctoria College of [Medicine at Alontreal. 
 He passed examination with distinction in 1886, 
 and received the title of Doctor of Medicine and 
 Master in Surgery, this latter title having been 
 conferred that year on only four candidates out 
 of a class of twenty-eight. While a student he 
 uas an assistant to Dr. W. H. Hingston, now Sir 
 William Hingston, of ^Montreal, then and now 
 considered one of the most prominent surgeons 
 in Xorth America. ( )n the twenty-seventh of 
 May, 1886, Dr. Canac-Marquis arrived in Min- 
 nesota and located at Anoka. Although without 
 acquaintance or friends he soon succeeded in 
 building up a profitable practice, and at the end 
 of about two and a half years had accumulated 
 sufficient funds to enable him to leave for Europe, 
 where he pursued his studies for a period of two 
 years. He was admitted to Dr. Pean's clinic, as 
 well as that of Doctors Charcot, Pozzi, Lucas- 
 Championniere, Le Dantu and in many other 
 clinics and hospitals of the most prominent sur- 
 geons in Paris. He was also admitted to the Pas- 
 teur Institute to study bacteriology. He also spent 
 nine months in Berlin in special studies under 
 Doctors Koch, Bergman, Olshausen, Martin and 
 others. He also spent some time at Vienna under 
 Bilroth, Braun and others. October, 1890, he lo- 
 cated in St. Paul, where he has established the rep- 
 utation of being one of the best surgeons in the 
 Northwest. He is a member of the Alasonic fra- 
 ternity, the Order of the Eastern Star, the K. of 
 P., the Odd Fellows, the Elks and the Alliance 
 Francaise. He is also a member of the State 
 Medical Society, president of the St. Paul Infants' 
 Home staf¥, and is the medical director of the 
 Lincoln Life and Accident Company, of the 
 Germania Life Insurance Company and the 
 Bankers' Alliance. He was married in .St. Paul, 
 July 8, 1804, to Aliss Emma Planto, a native 
 of the parisli of St. Lawrence, Island of 
 Orleans, near Quebec. A son was born to Dr. 
 and Mrs. Canac-Mru-quis, November 21, 1895, 
 who was named Rantil I'mlinaiul.
 
 rROGRESSlVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 163 
 
 MICHAEL JOHN DOWLING. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, aUh(iii(;h yet a 
 young man, has had an eventful career. (Jn the 
 night of Deceniljer 4, 1880, he was lost on the 
 prairie near Canby, ^Minnesota, am! being over- 
 taken by a severe blizzard was unable to lind his 
 way to any better shelter than that of a straw 
 stack. As a result of that exposure to cold, on 
 December 20, both legs were aminitated six 
 inches below the knees, the left arm four inches 
 below the elbow, and all of the fingers and half 
 of the thumb of the right hand. .Mr. nowling's 
 parents were poor people, and ])rior to the great 
 misfortune which overtook him he had been 
 for three years doing farm work and herdiiTg 
 cattle in Lyon and Yellow .Medicine counties. 
 After his narrow escape trom death in 1880 he 
 remained as a charge upon the county of Yellow 
 ]\Iedicine until April i, 1883. He was born at 
 Huntington, Hampden County, Massachusetts, 
 February 17, 1866. He attended the i)ublic 
 schools of that state, and also in New York, Illi- 
 nois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota. After 
 recovering his health, so liadlv shattered by the 
 disaster of 1880, Mr. Dowling began April i, 
 1883, without a cent, to rely upon himself for his 
 own support. His first venture was at odd jobs 
 of painting. He then secured sufficient funds to 
 establish a roller skating rink, which proved 
 very successful. He followed this up by teaching 
 in the public schools. He was principal of the 
 East Granite Falls school in 1886, and of the 
 Renville schools in 1887. This latter position was 
 a very fortunate one for him. He held it for 
 three years, obtaining by means of it a good start 
 in life, and refused a flattering ofTer of continu- 
 ance in order to engage in the publication and 
 editorship of the Renville Star, which he had 
 already established. After a few months he sold 
 the Star, and during the years i8<;o, i8()i and 
 1892 traveled extensively throughout the Cnited 
 States and Canada as a special life insurance 
 agent. In i8q2 he re-purchased the Star and 
 also acquired its contemporary, the Farmer. He 
 still continues the publication of the consolidated 
 paper. He is also interested in several business 
 concerns in Renville County, but regards news- 
 paper work as his profession. He has always 
 been a Republican and has been honored with 
 ntimerous ofilices of more or less importance. He 
 
 was village recorder of Renviile village for one 
 term; justice of the peace four years; secretary 
 of Renville County Republican Committee, and 
 delegate to various district and state conventions. 
 He was the First Assistant Clerk of the house of 
 representatives in 1893, ^"d i" 1895 ^^'^s unani- 
 mously elected chief clerk of that body. At the 
 meeting of the National Republican League in 
 June, 1895, ^t Cleveland, Mr. Dowling was, after 
 a short, decisive campaign, elected its secretary. 
 He has proven himself a most efficient organizer, 
 ;uid has given great satisfaction to the active 
 members of the party, who appreciate the val- 
 uable services he has rendered. Mr. Dowling 
 is a meml)er of the Knight of Pythias, the I. O. 
 O. F., and the A. ( ). U. \V., the St. Paul Press 
 Cluli, the ^^larquette Club, of Chicago; was sec- 
 retary of the Minnesota Editorial Association for 
 two years; has represented it in the National 
 Editorial Association three different times, and 
 was sent to the first national Good Roads con- 
 vention at Asbury Park, in 1894, as the repre- 
 sentative of the St. Paul Commercial Club. He 
 married October 2, 1895, ^liss Jennie L. Borde- 
 wick, at Atlanta, Georgia, whither both of them 
 had gone as members of the state editorial excur- 
 sion party. I\rrs. Dowling is a daughter of Henry 
 Bordewick, e.x-postmaster of Granite Falls, Min- 
 nesota.
 
 164 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 THOMAS BURR CLEAIEXT. 
 
 Thomas B. Clement is a banker living at Fari- 
 bault, Minnesota. He was born on June 19, 1834. 
 in Manlius, Onondago County, New York. His 
 father, Frederick Clement, was a native of ]\Iadi- 
 son County, New York, where he was born in 
 1799. He came of an old family of Duchess 
 County, New York, whose members were prom- 
 inent in the Revolutionary War. Air. Frederick 
 Clement inherited the military tastes of his fore- 
 fathers, and in the old days in New York, was 
 prominent as an officer in the state militia. He 
 had four sons and three daughters, of whom 
 only two sons are now living. One, the oldest 
 of the family, ( )zias, lives at the old homestead 
 at Manlius. and the other is the subject of this 
 sketch. Mr. Clement is also descended on his 
 mother's side from an old Colonial family. Ili> 
 mother's maiden name was Olive .Mallory and 
 her family were old settlers in Connecticut. As 
 a boy, Mr. Clement lived at Manlius, attending 
 the connnon school at that jjlace. At the age of 
 nineteen, after tiiree years' e.xi)crience in a coun- 
 try store, he entered business for himself. In 
 i860 Mr. Clement visited Minnesota. In the 
 follow^ing year he repeated the visit settling per- 
 manently at l-'aribault three years later, at the age 
 of thirty, and continuing the mercantile business 
 till 1868, when he organized tin- i'irst Xationa! 
 
 Bank of that jilace. He became its president 
 and has remained in that position ever since. 
 Mr. Clement is recognized as a "banker" in the 
 best sense and as distinguished from a "money 
 loaner." He is cjuick to recognize in young men 
 and young enterprises the necessary elements to 
 success, and with these elements as security he 
 takes particular pleasure in helping them along 
 over the critical periods of inexperience and ap- 
 parent uncertainty to final independence. His 
 motto is: "Help others to help themselves." As 
 a financier he is always able to foresee remote 
 consecjuences, and his ability is recognized beyond 
 the bounds of his own community. During his 
 long residence at Faribault, Air. Clement has 
 been a conspicuous figure in the life of that city. 
 He has been identified with its advances from the 
 condition of a small village to that of a thriving 
 _\oung city. It has also been his part to be in- 
 fluential in the building up of the various educa- 
 tional institutions which have so conspicuously 
 stamped upon Faribault its high character as 
 a place of residence. Air. Clement's fellow citi- 
 zens have not allowed him to remain a private 
 citizen (luring this period. His first official posi- 
 tion was that of mayor of this cit}', and in 1874 
 he was elected to the House of Representatives 
 of the Alinnesota Legislature for one term. He 
 was elected to the .^tate Senate in 1877, and was 
 re-elected twice, serving ten years in all. Twenty- 
 two years ago he became a member of the Board 
 of Tnistees of the Alinnesota Institute for De- 
 fectives. This. institute includes the State schools 
 for the Deaf, the Blind, and the I'"eeble-AIinded, 
 all of which are located at Faribault. Mr. 
 Clement has been president of the board during 
 his membership in it. He was chairman of the 
 Board of County Commissioners in Rice County 
 for three years. During his service in the State 
 Legislature Mr. Clement through large ac- 
 quaintance and sound business abilit\' was en- 
 abled to make himself a very useful member, 
 Ixith for the home communit\- and for the state- 
 at large, lie took an active interest in the ini- 
 l)ortant legislation enacted dmiug the late 
 70's and the early So's. .Mr. Clement was 
 first m.-irried in 1856 to Aliss lunma jean fohn- 
 son, daughter of Wm. A. Johnson, of l'"redonia,. 
 New York. They had one child, named l'".llen 
 I )live who was born in 1857 and who is now Airs.
 
 PROGRliSSIVH MEN OF MINNKSOTA. 
 
 16E 
 
 Charles Hutchinson of Faribault. Mrs. Clement 
 died in 1865. In 1867 Mr. Clement married Miss 
 Ellen F. Jolmsdn, a sister of his first wife. They 
 have had two children, both sons. The eldest, 
 Thomas J. Clement, died in 1891, at the age of 
 twenty-two years, having married Miss Lola 
 Cofifin, of Faribault. At the time of his death he 
 was teller in his father's bank. The second son. 
 Hurlburt (). Clement, was five years his brother's 
 junior. He is now living at l"arib;nill and is en- 
 gaged in the liank with his fatluT. TliDUgh nni 
 a member of an\' church nrgaiiizatinn. .Mr. 
 Clement attends the Cnngregatidnal church at 
 Faribault. 
 
 EGBERT COWLES. 
 
 Egbert Cowles, banker, cashier of the Hijur 
 City National Bank, is the son of Lucius S. 
 Cowles, a wholesale dry goods merchant of Ga- 
 lena and Freeport, Illinois. Lucius Cowles was 
 born in Farmington, Connecticut. The Cowles 
 family were of English origin, and settled in 
 Farmington in 1647. The\- were land owners and 
 farmers, raisers of fine stock, and in the present 
 century engaged in jdurnalism and other profes- 
 sions. Judge Alfred Cowles, a member of this 
 family, was one of the early settlers of Illinois, 
 having taken up his residence at Kaskaskia as 
 early as 1823. He afterwards, at the age of sixty- 
 six years, made a trip across the plains and 
 mountains, arriving in San Francisco, California, 
 in 1852. In 1864 he went to .San Oiego, where he 
 remained until the time of his death, in 1887. 
 He lived to the advanced age of one hundred 
 years, four months and ten days. His cousin, 
 Alfred Cowles. was one of the owners and mana- 
 gers of the Chicago Tribune for many years be- 
 fore his death, and Edwin Cowles was principal 
 owner of the Cleveland Leader for upwards of 
 twentx- years. Mr.Cowles' ancestry on his mother's 
 side were New England people, prominent in the 
 legal profession and in national ])olitics. Her 
 name was Louise S. ^^'hitnKu^, and she was a na- 
 tive of Farrjiington, where she was married. Eg- 
 bert Cowles was born in Galena, Illinois, January 
 I, 1858, and removed with his father's family to 
 Freeport in i860. He attended the Freeport 
 public schools, and was graduated by the high 
 schools of that cit\-, but never entered college. 
 
 He earned his first dollar by unloading a car of 
 crockery at Freeport when si.xteen years of age, 
 and took a great deal of satisfaction in the accom- 
 plishment. In 1872 he went to Chicago, where 
 he secured a position as messenger for the Com- 
 mercial National Piank. He continued with that 
 institution until 1880, when he traveled for two 
 years in the .Southern states on account of his 
 health. In 1882 he obtained the position of 
 discount clerk with the Merchants' Loan and 
 Trust Company, of Chicago, and he continued in 
 that position until 1884. He then came to Min- 
 neapolis, where he assisted in the organization of 
 the Scandia Hank that \ear, and remained with 
 that institution until .May, 1886, when he was ap- 
 pointed assignee of the Bank of North Minneap- 
 olis. He settled up the affairs of that bank, pay- 
 ing in full in four months, and was appointed 
 cashier of the German-American Bank of Minne- 
 apolis in December, 1886, and remained in that 
 position until August, 1894. At that time he was 
 engaged as manager of the Flour City National 
 Bank of Miiuieapolis, and in January, 1895, was 
 elected its cashier. Mr. Cowles is a member of 
 the Minneapolis Club and an attendant at the 
 First L^nitarian church. He is not married. Po- 
 litically he claims no jiarty afiiliations, preferring 
 to work and vote for the best man and the best 
 cause, regardless of ]>arty lines.
 
 166 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ^^•ILLIA.\1 M. LIGGETT. 
 
 William M. Liggett was born in 1846 in 
 Union County, Ohio, a region where the farmers 
 were among the most intelligent, enterprising and 
 public-spirited men of the community. As a 
 farmer's boy, ;\Ir. Liggett's experience was not 
 different from that of most farmers of thirty-five 
 years ago, but he was scarcely in his teens before 
 the intense political struggle which preceded the 
 Civil War engaged the attention of every think- 
 ing man. A good farm is the Ijcst nurserv for 
 boys in any free country, hut la-tween 1856 and 
 1861, when every night round the fireside and 
 at every neighborhood gathering national ques- 
 tions were discussed with a fen'or and seriousness 
 that prepared men for the fiery furnace of the 
 impending war, a farm was a rare school for the 
 development of character. Enlisting at the age 
 of seventeen in the Ninety-sixth Ohio, young 
 Liggett served with honor in the campaign of 
 Red River under Banks, and was in the siege of 
 Fort Gaines and Morgan, Spanish and Blakely. 
 The capturing of Fort Blakely with seven thou- 
 sand prisoners was the last engagement of the 
 war. At the close of the war he declined a com- 
 mission, and returned to the home farm. After- 
 wards accepting a situation in the Fiank of 
 Marysville, one of the most conservative banking 
 institutions in his native .state, he gathered a 
 
 business experience and knowledge of afifairs 
 which has since served him well. Literesting 
 himself in politics he became recognized as a 
 local leader, and was twice elected treasurer of 
 his county. In the meantime he had been promi- 
 nent in the organization of the National Guard 
 of the state, and at the time of the great riot in 
 Cincinnati, when the court house was burned and 
 the whole city terrorized, he was colonel of the 
 Fourteenth C)hio National Guard, and com- 
 manded the battalion that cleared the streets of 
 the mob, ended the riot and restored peace and 
 order to the city, being wounded severely in the 
 brief time the street firing lasted. Soon after this 
 episode, in 1884, he formed a business partner- 
 ship with an old friend and comrade, ]\Iajor Wil- 
 cox, who had already established Grandview 
 Farm, in Swift County. Stepping into the man- 
 agement of this property he was soon recognized 
 as one of the leading agriculturists and breeders 
 of the state and found ample room for the exer- 
 cise of all the administrative ability at his com- 
 mand, and use for both his farm and his business 
 e.xperience. His ideals in domestic stock were 
 of tlie practical rather than the fancy type ; his 
 success was a foregone conclusion. During his 
 seven years of residence on the farm, no farm in 
 the Northwest made more sales or did more to 
 improve the cjuality of farm stock. Several 
 offices of honor have come to Colonel Liggett 
 unsolicited. In 1888 he was appointed regent of 
 the State University by Governor McGill, as a 
 representative of the farmers of the state, and 
 has since been chairman of the Agricultural Com- 
 mittee, and to him, as much as any other, is due 
 the successful opening of the J\Iinne,sota Scfiool of 
 Agriculture, now generally recognized as a model. 
 He is also a member of the State Board of Agri- 
 culture, and the Board of Farmers' Institute, and 
 a member of the Executive Committee of the 
 National Cattle Growers' Association. In 1890 he 
 was elected secretary of the State .Agricultural 
 Society, and the successful fair of i8()o was held 
 under his management. Fle would have been 
 his own successor if Governor INTerriam, recog- 
 nizing his executive ability, had not appointed 
 him one of the Railroad Connnissioners of the 
 state, in which capacity he served a second term 
 as chairman of the cnnnnission. In August, i8()3, 
 he was asked b\- \hv i'.nard nf Regents to lal<e
 
 PKOCRESSIVK MEN OF MINNHSOTA. 
 
 167 
 
 the position of acting director of the Scliool of 
 Agriculture of the State Experiment I'arni, 
 giving all his spare time to the duties of the 
 position. In October, 1896, Colonel Liggett re- 
 signed as Railroad and Warehouse ("onunis- 
 sioner to accept the position i>( dean of the Agri- 
 cultural School and director of the lixperiment 
 Station, to which he was elected by the i5oard of 
 Regents, October 14, 1896. It is Colonel Lig- 
 gett's strongest point that he never disappoints 
 expectations. He lias a genial anil cordial ad- 
 dress which wins friends, and the sterling quali- 
 ties which retain them. With good judgment, a 
 clear mind and rare executive ability, he easily 
 takes rank with the leading agriculturists and 
 breeders of the country, and as he is yet a young 
 man it is reasonable to expect a long and u.-<efui 
 life in his chosen calling. 
 
 CORDENIO A. SEVERANCE. 
 
 The ancestors of the subject of this sketch 
 were of old New England stock, his mother's fam- 
 ily residing in Connecticut and Rhode Island for 
 several generations, and his father's having come 
 to Boston from Ipswich, England, 1637, and liv- 
 ing in Massachusetts continuously fiom that time/ 
 down to the early part of this century, when the 
 grandfather of Cordenio moved to Pennsylvania. 
 Some of the family were officers in the colonial 
 wars prior to the Revolution, and the great-great- 
 grandfather of ^Ir. Severance, although an old 
 man, served for a short time in the Revolutionary 
 War. E. C. Severance, father of the subject of 
 this sketch, was born in Susquehanna County, 
 Pennsylvania, and has been engaged in the mer- 
 cantile business, lumbering and farming in Penn- 
 sylvania and Minnesota. He came to Minnesota 
 in 1855, and has resided here ever since. He 
 was county auditor of Dodge county, in this state, 
 [or six years, and was, about ten years ago, state 
 senator from that county. His wife, Amanda J- 
 Arnold (Severance), was born in Connecticut and 
 reared in Michigan. She died March 6, 1894, 
 sincerely mourned bv her family and by every 
 one who knew her. She had lived an earnest 
 Christian life. Cordenio Arnold was born 
 at Mantorville, Dodge county, Minnesota, June 
 30, 1862. He attended the public and high 
 schools in that village, and was for about three 
 vears at Carleton College. Northfield, but did not 
 
 graduate. For one year while attending Carleton 
 he was president of his class. After leaving col- 
 lege he studied law for a time with Hon. Robert 
 Taylor, of Kasson, Minnesota, and was admitted 
 to the bar on the day he was twenty-one years 
 of age. He was examined for admission two 
 or three months previously, the court making an 
 order that he should be admitted as soon as he 
 was old enough to take the oath. Mr. Severance 
 entered the office of Senator Davis in St. Paul in 
 the summer of 1885, and in January, 1887, became 
 Senator Davis' partner. The firm of Davis, Kel- 
 logg & Severance, of which ]\Ir. Severance is a 
 member, was formed the first of October, 1887. 
 This firm enjoys a very large practice and has 
 handled a large number of important cases in this 
 state. Mr. Severance is a Republican in politics. 
 He has never filled any official position, however, 
 and has never been a candidate for any. He is 
 a member of the Minnesota Club of St. Paul, the 
 Kitchi Gammi Club of Duluth, and the Town and 
 Country Club of St. Paul. He is also one of the 
 board of governors of the Ramsey- County bar 
 Association. June 26, 1889, he was married to 
 Miss Mary Frances Harriman, a daughter of Gen. 
 Samuel Harriman, of Wisconsin, and had one 
 daughter, Alexandra, who was born in 1894 and 
 died in 1895. Mr. Severance is not a member of 
 any church, but usually attends the House of 
 Hope Presbyterian Church, of which IVIrs. Sever- 
 ance is a member. ]\lr. and Mrs. Severance reside 
 at 589 Sununit avenue, St- Paul.
 
 168 
 
 PROGRESSIVE ME\ OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 J(JHX I'R.'Wlv CALDKUWuuD. 
 
 As city comptroller, auditor of the Twin City 
 Rapid Transit Company, president of the Com- 
 mercial Club, and a leader of the younger busi- 
 ness men of the city, J. F. Calderwood has be- 
 come, during the past eight or ten years, one oi 
 the best known men in .Minneapolis. Mr. Cal- 
 derwood was born in the town of Redford, near 
 Detroit, Michigan, on May 2-j. 1859. His father, 
 H. N. Calderwood, is a native of Scotland and 
 was born and spent his boyhood days at Calder- 
 woods Glen, forty miles from Edinburgh. He 
 came to this country when fourteen years of age, 
 and livetl with his parents until his marriage, 
 when he moved to Michigan. His wife was Miss 
 Ellen V'an Vaulkenburg, a native of Herkimer 
 County, New York. They were married on March 
 18, 1855. Mrs. Calderwood died on February 
 20, 1896. Mr. Calderwood followed farming in 
 Michigan until his si in. Jnlin, was ten years of 
 age, when he moved to Icntim, (k-nesec County, 
 Michigan, where he still resides. John was the 
 only child. He received his education at the pul)- 
 lic and liigli schools of Fcnton, graduating from 
 the latter institution on June 25, 1877. He was 
 admitted to the University of Micliigan but did 
 not enter. For two years he taught a district 
 school in northern .Michigan, in the locality 
 where nerve ratlier liian cdncation was the lirst 
 
 clement of success. Subsequently he taught in 
 the normal schools of Indiana for one year. But 
 teaching did not suit Mr. Calderwood, as his 
 natural bent was for business, and he went to Bay 
 City to find some employment along the lines of 
 his ambition. His first position was that of 
 office bov with the lumber firm of T. H. McGraw 
 & Co. With this house the young man had a 
 chance to develop his abilities, and was so suc- 
 cessful that before he was twent3"-one years old 
 he had become head bookkeeper for the firm, but 
 with characteristic enthusiasm he overworked, 
 and failing health led him to come to Minnesota. 
 L'pon his arrival in Minneapolis in October, 1881, 
 he secured a position as head bookkeeper and 
 credit man with the carpet house of Folds & 
 (iiiffith. Seven years of continuous service with 
 this firm were only ended by INIr. Calderwood's 
 election in Xovember, 1888, to the office of City 
 Comptroller of Minneapolis. Air. Calderwood 
 brought to this position a thorough business 
 experience and a mind admirably adapted to 
 finance. It v.as something of a novelty for any- 
 one but an active politician to seek such an office. 
 But though the young man, previous to his nomi- 
 nation, was comparatively unknown, Mr. Calder- 
 wood's canvass was so energetic and his qualities 
 were so generally recognized, that he received a 
 larger majority than any other candidate on the 
 Republican ticket. In this campaign he displayed 
 an excellent executive ability, which did much to 
 aid in his election. l"]ion taking \\\^ the dttties 
 of his office Mr. Calderwood at once made himself 
 felt as a positive and aggressive factor in the city 
 government. I'nder his administration the office 
 of ("(.imptroller became, not that of a liookkeeper, 
 but rather that of linancial achiser and director 
 of the munici])ality. This sort of thing met with 
 scanl fa\ nr I'n-m tin; jioliticians who were in office 
 for emi_)lunicnts imly, but it made Mr. Calderwood 
 immcnscl\' po])ular in the city. I le was renomi- 
 natetl in i8i)o without opposition, but the 
 nmmcipal elections being complicated with the 
 national and state elections held at the same time, 
 all Republican candidates for city offices were 
 defeated in the general Democratic "land slide'' 
 I if that fall. Shortly after the close of his official 
 term, .Mr. Calderwood was offered the position of 
 auditor of the Minneapolis Street Railway Com- 
 ])any. In this |)osition he has been remarkably
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 1G9 
 
 successful. Its duties have been of tlie most 
 engrossing nature, and, with his customary self- 
 forgelluhiess, Air. Calderwood has frequently 
 devoted douljle tiie usual business hours to the 
 interests of the cor])oration. At the same time 
 he has taken an active interest in the affairs of the 
 city. He was one of the organizers of the .Minne- 
 apolis Conmiercial Club, and for three years past 
 has been its president. To his energ\-, influence 
 and wise direction nuist be attributed the larger 
 part of its success. Mr. Caldervvooil, with his 
 wife and daughter, reside at the West Hotel in 
 Minneapolis. 
 
 SA.M L'EL .SWK.XIXGSEN. 
 
 The people of Mower County have shown 
 their esteem for Samuel Sweningsen by retaining 
 him in office longer probably than has ever been 
 done before in the case of any county officer in 
 the state. Air. Sweningsen is of Norwegian de- 
 scent, his father, Mogens .Sweningsen, and his 
 mother, Alary Halversen (Sweningsen), both na- 
 tives of Norway, came to this country in 1846. 
 Mogens settled in the town of Howard, 
 Illinois, now Durand, where he has continued to 
 reside ever since. His occupation in Norway had 
 been that of a carpenter and builder, but he 
 engaged in farming when he came to this coun- 
 try, and that has been his occupation imtil com- 
 pelled by old age to retire from active work. He 
 then settled in the neighboring village of Durand, 
 Illinois. His son, Samuel, was l^om June 29, 
 1849, ^t Laona, Winnebago County Illinois. He 
 received an education in the common schools, 
 Durand Seminary and Dccorah, Iowa, Lutheran 
 College. In 1871 he located in Minnesota. He 
 was first employed on a farm near Zumbrota 
 for two years, when he moved to Alovver County. 
 In 187s he formed a partnership with Oscar N. 
 Olberg, now of Albert Lea, and engaged in the 
 general mercantile business. This firm operated 
 at one time three stores, located at Rose Creek, 
 Adams and Taopi,on the line of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul Railroad in A lower County. 
 In 1880 this partnership was dissolved, and the 
 following vear Air. Sweningsen located at Austin, 
 He formed a partnership here with C. I. John- 
 son, in 1882, and engaged in the l)oot and shoe 
 business. This partnership was dissolved in 1887, 
 
 and disposing of his interest to Air. Johnson, 
 who still continued the business. Air. Sweningsen 
 engaged in the jewelry trade. Subsequently he 
 took a partner by the name of Frederick E. 
 Gleason. They are still conducting the business, 
 under the firm name of Sweningsen & Gleason. 
 Air. Sweningsen is a Republican. He was ap- 
 pointed postmaster of Adams, Alinnesota, by 
 President Hayes in 1876. In 1881 he was elected 
 clerk of the district court in Alower County, and 
 re-elected in 1886 and 1890. He occupied the 
 position continuously for thirteen years, and this 
 is believed to be the only instance on record in 
 Alower County where a county officer held a 
 position continuously for that number of years. 
 In 1890 he was nominated by the Republican 
 party for representative, but he declined on ac- 
 count of l)eing a candidate for clerk of court at 
 the same time. In 1894, while still a clerk of 
 the district court Air. Sweningsen was nomi- 
 nated by the Republicans for state senator, was 
 elected and served in the twent}--ninth session of 
 the Alinnesota legi.slature. His present term ex- 
 pires January i, 1899. With the expiration of 
 that term Mr. Sweningsen will have completed 
 as countv officer and representative seventeen 
 years in the service of Alower Count}'. He was 
 married November 16, 1876, to Aliss Alargaret 
 Carr. She was born in Dundee, Illinois, Jan- 
 uary 15, 1855. Air, and Airs. Sweningsen have 
 three children, Stella .Ma\-, Oliver and \\"illiam.
 
 170 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HIRAM W. FOOTE. 
 
 Hiram W. Foote, of Minneapolis, is state 
 inspector of oils. His father, Rev. Hiram Foote, 
 born at Burlington, New York, in 1808, was a 
 Congregational clergyman. He was educated in 
 Oneida Institute and at Uherlin College, graduat- 
 ing from the latter in 1837. He was ordained as 
 a minister in 1839, and was married the same 
 year to Eliza M. Becker, of Cooperstown, New 
 York. About that time he removed to Joliet, 
 Illinois, where he took charge of the Congrega- 
 tional Church of that city, subsequently going to 
 Wisconsin. He had pastorates at Racine, Janes- 
 villc, Brodhcad and Waukesha. Mr. h'oote was 
 a pioneer in the cause of education in Wisconsin, 
 and one of the first to agitate the graded school 
 system in that state, l-'or many years he was 
 president of the janesville board of education, 
 and a trustee of lieloit College. He was also 
 trustee of the Rockford. llHnois, Seminary for 
 Girls, and the Wisconsin State Institute for the 
 Blind. Rev. Mr. F'oote was strongly anti-slavery 
 in his sympathies and was a friend and co-worker 
 of tlie leaders in the anti-slavery movement Ijcfore 
 the war. He was a delegate to the first anti- 
 slavery convention held in New York state, and 
 his home was always a station on the famous 
 underground railroad by which slaves reached 
 
 Canada from the South. Upon the organization 
 of the Republican party he identified himself with 
 it and remained an active Republican until his 
 death at Rockford, in 1889. The wife of Rev. 
 Hiram Foote, the mother of the subject of this 
 sketch, was Eliza M. Becker (I'^oote.) She was 
 a woman of education and refinement and useful 
 in a remarkable degree to her husband in his 
 pastoral work. She was born in New York and 
 educated at Oneida Institute. During the War 
 of the Rebellion she not only sent two of her 
 sons to the defense of the Union, but spent much 
 of her time in providing hospital supplies for use 
 at the front. On the organization of the Woman's 
 Christian Temperance Union she identified her- 
 self with it, afterwards going over to the Non- 
 partisan Society. Although seventy-eight years 
 of age, she is still a very active woman, and de- 
 votes her time and energy largely to philanthropic 
 and religious work. The family ancestry, both 
 on the father's and on the mother's side, is trace- 
 able back to the first settlers of the country. On 
 the father's side it is English, and on the mother's 
 side it runs to the Hollanders, who settled in 
 New York. Both families furnished soldiers for 
 the Revolutionary War on the American side. H. 
 W. Foote, the subject of this sketch, was born 
 near Janesville, Wisconsin, February 9, 1846. He 
 attended the public schools and afterward Carroll 
 College at Waukesha. When he left school he 
 began to learn the drug business, but in 1864 
 enlisted in Company D, One Flundred and 
 Thirty-fourth Illinois \'olunteer Infantrv. At 
 the close of the war he engaged with a wholesale 
 book company in }ililwaukce, and was afterward 
 for several years with a wholesale oil and paint 
 company in that city. Later he formed a partner- 
 ship with his brotlier in the drug business which 
 they sold out in 1870. In Feliruary, 1872, he re- 
 moved to St. Paul to close up the state business 
 of the Cirover & Baker Sewing Machine Com- 
 pany, of Boston. When this was completed he 
 was appointed Northwestern representative of the 
 oil refineries of Cleveland. In 1882 he moved to 
 Minneapolis and went into the carriage business. 
 .Selling out his business in 1892 he was appointed 
 by Governor Nelson in i8<)3 as state inspector of 
 oils for Minnesota, and was re-ap]iointed in 1895 
 by Governor Clough. He has always been a
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 171 
 
 Republican, and lias always taken an active part 
 in the work of the party. He has Ijccn on some 
 one of the party connnittees in Hennepin County 
 and Minneapolis during nearly the whole time 
 of his residence here, and is at ])resent a member 
 of both the congressional committee of the Fifth 
 district and of the Hennepin County Repulilican 
 Executive conmiittee. He is a tliirty-second de- 
 gree Scottish Rite Mason, past master of Ark 
 Lodge, No. 1/6. A. F. and A. M.; ]iast high 
 priest of Ark Chapter, No. 53, R. A. .M., a mem- 
 ber of Zuhrah Temple, of the A. A. O. N. M. S., 
 and Minneapolis, No. 44, 15. P. O. E. ; also of 
 the Minneapolis Commercial Club. Mr. Foote 
 was married in 1874 to Viola D. Horton, 
 in St. Paul. Their only child is a daughter, 
 Miss Clara B. Foote, who is a graduate of the 
 Central Hieh School. 
 
 JAMES C. MOODEY. 
 
 James C. Moodey is the secretary and 
 manager of the Minnesota Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany, with headquarters at Minneapolis. Mr. 
 Moodey has been engaged in active business since 
 he was fifteen years old, and is one of the self- 
 made men, who have achieved success in what- 
 ever line of business he has undertaken. His 
 father was James C. Moodey, a lawyer and judge 
 of the St. Louis circuit court. Judge Moodey's 
 father was James C. Moodey, of Cumberland 
 County, Pennsylvania, known as "Parson 
 Moodey," and for fifty-one years pastor of 
 Middle Springs Presbyterian church, in Cum- 
 berland County, Pennsylvania. "Parson" .Moodey 
 was of Scotch-Irish descent and was born 
 the day the Declaration of Independence 
 was promulgated, July 4, 1776. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch was born May 3, 1856, at 
 New Albany, Indiana. He began his education 
 in the common schools of St. Louis, wdiere he was 
 a pupil until the age of fifteen years. Subse- 
 quently he had some private instruction, but his 
 later education has been mainly acquired in the 
 hard school of experience. His first busi- 
 ness engagement was in the employ of 
 Bradstreet's ^lercantile Agency in 1870 and 
 
 1871. In the latter year he remov'ed to Chicago, 
 where he was employed in the local fire insurance 
 agencies of R. S. Critchell, C. H. Case and Fred 
 S. James, from 1871 to 1880. January 15, 
 1880, he engaged as bookkeeper with the Western 
 department of the Niagara Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany, under the management of David Bever- 
 idge, who was succeeded in the management of 
 the company April i, 1881, by I. S. Blackwelder. 
 October i, 1891, Mr. Moodey was made the assist- 
 ant manager of this company, and served in that 
 capacity until he was elected secretary and mana- 
 ger of the Minnesota Fire Insurance Company, 
 January I, 1894. He then removed to Minneapo- 
 lis, where he established the fire insurance agencv 
 of James C. Moodey & Co. Mr. Moodey is a Dem- 
 ocrat in politics, and while he takes no active part 
 in political campaigns, his vote is generallv cast 
 on the Democratic side. He has always taken an 
 active interest in athletic sports, and for six years, 
 from 1886 to 1892, was president of the Chicago 
 City League of amateur baseball clubs, and an 
 active member of the "West End' club of that 
 organization. '\\r. Moodey is a member of the 
 Presbyterian church. On January 7, 1894, he 
 married Bertha Tausig, of Chicago. They have 
 one daughter, ^Fay Critchell, born March 19. 1895.
 
 172 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HIRA.M lAlRClllLI) .ML\EXS. 
 
 Hiram Fairchikl Stevens is a leading mem- 
 ber of the legal profession in St. Paul. He excels 
 as an orator, and is frequently sought for to make 
 patriotic addresses. He is eloquent and scholarly 
 in his speech, clear and forcible in thought 
 and graceful in action. He is a native of 
 the Green Mountain state, having been born 
 at St. Albans, X'ennont, September ii, 1852. His 
 father was Dr. Hiram Fairchikl Stevens, an emi- 
 nent physician, widely known and highly re- 
 spected. He was at one time president of the 
 \'erniont Medical Society and was twice elected 
 to the \'ermont legislature. He also served as 
 a surgeon in tlie army. Mr. Stevens' mother, 
 before marriage, was Miss Louise I. Johnson, of 
 St. Albans. I'pon the death of his father in 1866, 
 as the eldest of four children he was obliged to 
 seek employment in a store. He had, however, 
 prepared himself for teaching, and by teaching 
 school and working on a farm he was enabled 
 to complete his education in the I'niversity nf 
 \'ermont, having previously graduated from 
 Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New 
 Hampshire, lie read law in the ofifice of Judge 
 John K. P(jrter, of Xew Ytjrk City, and was 
 graduated from ("ohmib'a Law School in 1874. 
 
 He formed a law partnership at St. Albans, \''er- 
 mont, under the name of Davis & Stevens, and 
 in 1876 was admitted to practice in the L'nited 
 States district court of \'ermont. Though yet 
 a young man he had obtained an enviable repu- 
 tation as a lawyer, and quite an extensive prac- 
 tice. He removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, in De- 
 cember, 1879, and formed a partnership under 
 the style of Warner, Stevens & Lawrence. In 
 December, 1886, he withdrew from that firm and 
 was employed as counsel of the St. Paul Title 
 and Insurance Company, which position he still 
 hokls. and in connectinn with \vhich he conducts 
 a large and general practice, as a member of 
 the legal firm of Stevens, O'Brien, Cole & 
 Albrecht. Mr. Stevens was one of the organizers 
 of the American Liar Association, \vhen it was 
 founded at Saratoga, in August, 1878, and is vice 
 president for Minnesota of that body. He was 
 also one of the first members and first secretary 
 of the X'ermont State L!ar Association, organized 
 in C)ctober of the same year. He also helped 
 to organize the St. Paul Bar Association and has 
 served as its president, and also as first secretary 
 of the Minnesota State Bar Association, organ- 
 ized in June, 1883, and is now its vice president. 
 ^Ir. Stevens has always taken an active interest 
 in public affairs, and for many years was a lead- 
 ing member of the St. Paul Chamber of Com- 
 merce. In January, 1888, he was appointed one 
 of the park commissioners of St. Paul, and served 
 several years as president of the board. He is a 
 Republican and participates actively in politics, 
 serving on campaign ciimmittees, and giving to 
 his part}- the benefit of his counsel and personal 
 efifort. He was elected representative for the 
 Twenty-seventh district in 1888. and upnn the 
 organization of the house was appointed chair- 
 man of the judiciary committee. Among the 
 im])ortant legislation of which he was either the 
 author, or to which he gave his support, was a 
 bill for the sanitarv inspectinn of factories, a 
 bill creating a pension fund for disabled ]K)licc- 
 men and their widows, a bill re(|uiring employers 
 of females in stores to furnish seats ior their em- 
 ployes, the present law of mechanics' liens, tlie 
 Australian election law and a re-apportionment 
 bill which doubled tlic repri'sentation of Kamsey
 
 PROGRESvSIVE MKN OF MINNIiSOTA. 
 
 173 
 
 County in the senate and increased the represen- 
 tation in the general asseniljly forty per cent. In 
 1890 he was elected to the state senate from the 
 Twenty-eighth senatorial district, and was re- 
 elected in 1894. He is chairman of the judiciary 
 committee and one of the most influential mem- 
 bers of that body, and has added fresh laurels 
 to his record as a legislator. .Mr. Stevens is a 
 lecturer in the state university on the law of real 
 propert\-. He is a Mason, has been a member 
 of the Grand Lodge of N'eimont, and prelate of 
 Damascus Commandery of Knights Templar, St. 
 Paul. He is also an Odd Fellow and a Knight of 
 P}'thias. He has taken an interest in military 
 affairs, and was for five years a member oi the 
 Vermont National Guard, serving in the Ransom 
 Guards, a company distinguished for its pro- 
 ficiency in drill and general excellence. He mar- 
 ried Miss Laura A. Clary, daughter of Joseph 
 E. Clary, of Massena, Xcw York, January 26, 
 1876. 
 
 FRANK ELAIORE liL^SELL. 
 
 Frank Elmore liisscll is a physician in gen- 
 eral practice at Litchfield. He was born at Hart- 
 ford, Wisconsin, December 27, 1845, the son of 
 Cyrus Bissell and Amanda Case (BisselL). His 
 parents were farmers and descended from the 
 French Huguenots. They moved from New 
 England to Western Reserve, thence to 
 Wisconsin in the year of his birth, while 
 it was yet a territory. The great-granrl- 
 father of the subject of this sketch on his 
 mother's side was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 W'ar. Frank attetided the common schools of 
 Hartford, and continued his studies in the Uni- 
 versity of Wooster, ( )hio, his parents having re- 
 sided for a time in that vicinity on the Western 
 Reserve. He graduated in 1869 from the Charity 
 Hospital Medical College at Cleveland, and after 
 two years spent in southern Wisconsin he moved 
 to Minnesota in 1871, locating at Litclifield. He 
 has been a resident of Litchfield ever since and 
 engaged in the general practice of medicine, the 
 only intervals being about two vears spent in 
 Stearns County, and about four months spent in 
 
 traveling in Europe, visiting the hospitals in those 
 countries, and studying for his profession. \\'hen 
 Dr. Bissell was seventeen years of age he en- 
 listed in the L'nited States navy, at Cincinnati, 
 and served on the L'nited States steamer Lex- 
 ington. Fie received an honorable discharge in 
 1865 as surgeon's steward. He has always been 
 a Republican, and his first presidential vote -was 
 cast for L^ S. Grant in 1868. He was a member 
 of the Minnesota legislature in 1878 and 1879, 
 served several terms as alderman and president of 
 the city council of Litchfield, and is at present 
 mayor of that city. Dr. Bissell is a member of 
 the State ]\ledical Society: also a member of the 
 G. A. R., and Past Commander of Frank Dag- 
 gett Post. He is also past medical director of 
 the Minnesota Department G. A. R. He is a 
 member of the Trinity Episcopal church, and one 
 of its vestrymen. He was niarrietl in 1875 ^o 
 Aliss Addie F. Simons. Thev have two children. 
 Emily M. and I'Vank S. Dr. Bissell has achieved 
 success in his profession by faithful and diligent 
 application to its duties, and pays high tribute 
 to the Christian character of his revered parents 
 who instilled in him in early youth the love of 
 virtue and tlie principles of upright manhood.
 
 174 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 .> ^ 
 
 ROBERT KOEHLER. 
 
 Robert Koehler is director of the Min- 
 neapolis School of Fine Arts. Mr. Koehler is 
 a native of Hamburg, Germany, where he was 
 bom November 28, 1850. His father, Theodore 
 Alexander Ernest Koehler, was a mechanic of 
 especial skill. He was a native of Berlin, re- 
 ceived his early education at Pottsdam, and, after 
 having learned his trade, entered upon his "wan- 
 derjahre," as was then the custom in Germany, 
 his wanderings leading him into various parts of 
 Europe, including St. Petersburg, Copenhagen. 
 etc. His wife, Charlotte Christine Louise Bueter, 
 daughter of Xicolaus liasilins liueter, a master 
 builder of Hamburg, was a lady of artistic 
 tastes and attainments and a teacher of artistic 
 needlework to many of the ladies of Hamburg. 
 In 1854 Ernest Koehler came to America 
 with his family and settled in Milwaukee. He 
 desired that his children should have liettcr edu 
 cational advantages than he had enjoyed, and, 
 not satisfied with tlie pulolic schools of Milwau- 
 kee, sent them to a private school where Robert 
 received his early education. Besides English, 
 German, French, Latin and Greek were taught, 
 and much attention given to other s|)ecial studies, 
 including chemistry, literature, drawing, etc. Tn 
 drawing, Rrjbert, the subject of this sketch, easily 
 
 excelled, and when it came to the choice of a 
 profession his tastes led him to that of lith- 
 ographer. In due time he became apprenticed 
 to a lithographing firm. But the work of a com- 
 mercial engraver did not satisfy his ambition. He 
 desired to devote himself seriously to the art of 
 drawing, for which purpose he decided to go to 
 Europe and enter an academy of art there. It 
 was necessary for him to rely upon his own re- 
 sources, and, encouraged by his private teacher 
 of drawing, H. Roese, he began preparing him- 
 self, devoting his leisure time to fresco painting, 
 when suddenly his teacher died. His only hope 
 now rested upon his skill as an engraver. In 
 1871 he accepted a position in this capacity m 
 Pittsburg. During this time difficulty with his 
 eyes necessitated an operation in New York. He 
 secured employment in a small engraving estab- 
 lishment, sharing his fortunes with a former fel- 
 low apprentice, and worked hard with the hope 
 of better things. In the course of a year and a 
 half he had saved sufTicient money to carry out 
 his long cherished scheme of going to Europe 
 fcir the purpose of studying. Though at first re- 
 fused admission to the Royal Academy at 
 Mtmich, because the time for admitting students 
 had expired, the superiority of his work sub- 
 mitted secured his acceptance, and he became a 
 student of the antique class, advancing to the 
 portrait class the first term. Having exhausted 
 his resources at the end of two years, he was 
 compelled to return to America. He had de- 
 termined, however, upon the career of an artist, 
 and refused a brilliant offer from a lithographic 
 establishment for commercial work. He went to 
 New York, where the Art Students' League had 
 been organized, and after having hard work 
 maintaining himself through four years of con- 
 stant toil and stud\-, he was quite unexpectedly 
 provided by George Ehret with the means for 
 continuing his studies in Europe, lie returned 
 and continued his studies there for nearly four 
 }cars. He again returned to .\merica on a visit, 
 authorized at the same lime liy tlie Munich 
 .\rtists" Association, to enlist the co-operation of 
 American artists for the grand international art 
 exhibition to be held in iXS^. whieli ]iroved very 
 successful. In 1887 he was again sent to America 
 in the same capacity, but not being alile to remain
 
 I'KOCKIsSSIVE MEN OF M INNHSOTA. 
 
 175 
 
 here long enough to attend in the work per- 
 sonall)-, he left it in the hands of a cunnnittee of 
 leading artists of New York, wlio allowed it to 
 fail. Nothing daunted, Mr. Koehler proceeded 
 to orgjuiize an exhibition of the work of Amer- 
 icans studying in Tuu'ope, and for his energy and 
 labor was awarded tlie cross of the ( )rder of St. 
 Michael by tlie Prince Regent of liavaria. About 
 this time Mr. Koehlcr took charge of a private 
 art school in Munich and was also engaged with 
 his own brush upon work which was exhibited at 
 the Munich International E.xhibition and at other 
 European and American cities. At the i'aris 
 Universal E.xhibition in i88y he received honor- 
 able mention, and the year following he ex- 
 hibited at the I'aris salon, t_'hamp de Alars. 
 Among other purchasers of his pictures were 
 Mr. George I. Secney and the Temple Col- 
 lection at the Pennsylvania Academy of hine 
 Arts. December, 1892, he returned to America, 
 but had hardly got fairly located at the Van 
 Dyke Studio, in New York, when he was offered 
 the directorship of the Minneapolis School of 
 Fine Arts. He was married since his return to 
 America to Miss Marie Fischer, of Rochester, 
 New York. Though maiidy occupied with 
 teaching, Mr. Koehler has found tiiue since com- 
 ing to Minneapolis to produce several pictures 
 and portraits, to appear upon the lecture plat- 
 form on numerous occasions, and to contribute 
 to the American and German periodicals on art 
 topics. He is a member of the Munich Art As- 
 sociation and the Munich Etching Club, and 
 president of the Studio Clul) in Minneapolis and 
 of the Minneapolis Art League, recently formed. 
 He also had the position of president of the Amer- 
 ican Artists' Club, of IMunich, four times, and 
 served as a member of the jury at the Interna- 
 tional Art Exhibition at Munich, in 1883. 
 
 THOIMAS ERVIX KEPNER. 
 
 The ancestry of T. E. Kepner is of good old 
 New England stock. On his father's side the 
 family came from Pennsylvania, and on his 
 mother's side from New York. He was born 
 October 29, 1867, in Olmstead County, Minne- 
 sota, the son of G. W. Kepner, a farmer in that 
 
 J -«^ 
 
 <^ *• 
 
 .1 
 
 count}', and Cynthia Hallenbeck (Kepner). 
 Thomas received his early education in the com- 
 mon school.s, later taking a course in the Roches- 
 ter (Minnesota) Academy, from which he grad- 
 uated in 1886. After his graduation he worked 
 for four years as cashier and bookkeeper with the 
 firm of Leet & Knowlton, dealers in wholesale 
 and retail dry goods, at Rochester. During this 
 time, however, in his leisure hours, he read law 
 under the direction of H. A. Eckholdt. After 
 leaving Leet & Knowlton he worked for a time 
 in the office of Mr. Eckholdt, but came to Min- 
 neapolis in 1892, entering the law department of 
 the University of Minnesota. He graduated from 
 that department in the class of '94, and imme- 
 diately engaged in the practice of his profession 
 in Minneapolis. For the short period of practice 
 since then, Mr. Kepner has been highly success- 
 ful. He has made a specialty of insurance law 
 and is local attorney for a number of insurance 
 companies. He has also contributed somewhat 
 to law publications, and is at present engaged 
 by the West Publishing Company to write a 
 text book on insurance law for their Hornbook 
 Series. Mr. Kepner is a Republican in politics. 
 He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and 
 in college was a member of the Phi Delta Phi. 
 He is a member of Hennepin .Avenue iL E. 
 church.
 
 176 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 ^^^^^^B.^- 
 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 JUDSON NEWELL CROSS. 
 
 Judson Xewell Cross was born January 
 i6, 1838, at I'og^ueland, Jefferson County, New- 
 York, on a farm bought by his grandfather, The- 
 odore Cross, in 1818, of Le Ray de Chauniont, 
 the agent of Joseph Bonaparte, whose American 
 estate was in that region. Judson was the son of 
 Rev. Gorham Cross, who was called the father of 
 Congregationalism in Northern New York, and 
 of Sophia Murdock (Cross). On his father's side 
 he is descended from a long line of sturdy 
 New England men, the family being readily 
 traceable back to 1640, when the first member, 
 by the name of Cross, settled on the Merrimac 
 river, near Lawrence, Massachusetts. The old 
 Cross homestead still belongs to, and is occupied 
 by, a member of the family. Among the members 
 of the Cross family were several Revolutionary 
 soldiers. Judson's mother belonged to the Mur- 
 dock family, of Townsend, Vermont. Her grand- 
 fathers were Revolutionary soldiers and among 
 her relatives were John Reed, of Boston, said 
 to have been the greatest law\'er that America 
 produced before the Revolutionary war, and Rev. 
 llollis Reed, of Townsend, Vermont, who was 
 the first missionary to India, first translated the 
 Bible into the Indian language, and who wrote 
 "India and Its I'eople," "God in History," etc. 
 In 1855, January 16, the day he was seventeen 
 years old, Judson left honie for ( )liciliii. ( )hin. 
 
 He remained at (Jberlin College till the fall of 
 that year, when, on account uf limited means, he 
 went to Boonville, New York, to work in 
 a store for his uncle. In the fall of 1856 
 he taught school near .Sandusky, Ohio, re- 
 turning to L)berlin the following spring 
 to continue his studies, and pursued this 
 course of stud_\-ing in the summer at CJberlin 
 and teaching in the winter at various places until 
 he enlisted as a soldier in April, 1861. When the 
 news of the fall of Fort Sumter came. Professor 
 and State Senator Alunroe went from Columbus 
 to Oberlin to enlist a company. A large church 
 was crowded .Saturday night, April 20, 1861, and 
 at the end of an inspiring speech. Prof. Munroe 
 called for volunteers. Young Cross tried to get 
 to the pulpit first, but the crowd in the aisle was 
 so great that he was forced to be second on the 
 roll. Company C of the Seventh (Jhio Infantry 
 was immediately filled, and Cross was made 
 first lieutenant. The regiment went with ]Mc- 
 Clellan into West Virginia and Cross served 
 through the West Mrginia campaign of 1 86 1 un- 
 der McClellan, Rosencranz, Cox and Tyler. At 
 the battle of Cross Lanes, August 26, 1861, he was 
 severely wounded in the arm. He was taken pris- 
 oner, but was recaptured and sent home for sur- 
 gical treatment. He was promoted to the rank of 
 Captain of Company K, Seventh ( Miio Infantry, 
 N(.ivember 25, 1861, served as a recruiting 
 officer for a time, and rejoined his old regiment 
 in January, 1863, but on account of his old woimd 
 was obliged to resign. He then began the study 
 of law at Albany, where he remained until June 
 13, 1863, when he was again commissioned, first 
 lieutenant in the Fifth \'. R. C, promoted to the 
 rank of captain October 28, 1863, and in April, 
 1864, was made adjutant general of the military 
 district of Indiana. In July, 1864, he was ordered 
 to Washington and appointed assistant provost 
 marshal. He served in the same capacity at 
 Georgetown, was appointed one of the five cap- 
 tains to nnister for ])ay eighteen thousand 
 returned Andrrsiinvillc prisoners at Annapo- 
 lis, nl which he was occupied until the 
 end I if the war. .\ftrr the war he rt'- 
 sunieil his law slmlics ;U ('ulunibia i.aw Schonl, 
 graduating at All)an\- \\\ the spring of 1866. 
 He then located at Lnous, Iowa, where he prac- 
 ticed law for nearly ten years. In 1875 he came 
 to Miimeapolis and formed ;i law p.artnership
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 177 
 
 with Judge Henry G. Hicks, to which tiiin hraiik 
 H. Carleton was afterwards admitted, and stUl 
 later his son, Norton M. Cross. He has been 
 connected with much imiiortant Htipation, both 
 for private indivi(hials ancl corporations. In 1879 
 he urged in the local press the construction of the 
 "Soo" railroad, an idea which was afterwards car- 
 ried out by (jeneral Washburn. While City At- 
 torney of Minneapolis in 1884 he framed the pa- 
 trol limits ordinance and defended the same be- 
 fore the supreme court. He also inaugurated the 
 litigation which resulted in the lowering of the 
 railroad tracks on hourth avenue North. Mr. 
 Cross has always been a Republican. He was 
 elected mayor of Lyons, Iowa, in 1871, and in 
 1883 city attorney of Minneapolis, and held the 
 office until 1887. He was a member of the first 
 park commission of Jilinneapolis, and in 1891 was 
 appointed United States Immigration Commis- 
 sioner to Europe. Captain Cross is a member of 
 the George N. Morgan Post, G. A. R., of the 
 Loyal Legion, the Loyal League, Commercial 
 Club and of Plymouth Congregational church. 
 He was married at Oberlin, Ohio, .September 11, 
 1862, to Clara Steele Norton, of Pontiac, Michi- 
 gan, a descendant of John Steele, first official of 
 Connecticut. They have four children living, 
 Kate Bird, wife of United States Engineer P'ran- 
 cis C. Shenehon, at Sault Ste. Marie; Norton 
 ]\Iurdock, Nellie JMalura, wife of Theodore !\Iac- 
 Farlane Knappen, and Clara Amelia. 
 
 GERSHOM BENNETT WARD. 
 
 Gershom Bennett Ward is cashier of the First 
 National Bank of Alexandria, a position he has 
 held since it was organized. Mr. Ward is the 
 son of George Ward, a well-to-do farmer, and one 
 of the first settlers of ^NIcHenry County, Illinois; 
 also one of the proprietors of the Bank of Alex- 
 andria, ^Minnesota. ^Mr. Ward's great grand- 
 father, John Ward, served throughout the Rev- 
 olutionary War in a Connecticut regiment. 
 George Ward's wife's maiden name was 
 Betsy Bennett, a native of Onondaga County, 
 New York. The subject of this sketch was born 
 in McHenry County, Illinois, April 10, 1852. He 
 attended the common schools of the village of 
 Harvard. He then spent one year at Hedding 
 Seminarv, .Abingdon, Illinois, and afterwards 
 
 three years at the Northwestern University at 
 Evanston, Illinois. In 1873 Mr. Ward took the 
 Mann prize for oratory at the Northwestern Uni- 
 versity. In 1870 he came to Minnesota and was 
 employed in teaching school during the winter 
 of 1870-1871 near Alexandria, and received the 
 first money of his own earning in that capacity. 
 He then returned to college for three years, after 
 which he again took up his residence at Alex- 
 andria. He was employed in the Bank of Alex- 
 andria from 1876 to 1883, when the First National 
 Bank of Alexandria was organized. 3ilr. \^'ard 
 became its cashier, which position he now holds. 
 He has always been a Republican, and is a 
 meml^er of the board of directors of the state 
 normal school, president of the board of educa- 
 tion of Alexandria, of which body he has been a 
 member for twelve years, and president of the 
 public library board, of which he has been a 
 member for fifteen years. Mr. Ward is a member 
 of tlie Masonic Order, Odd Fellows and the 
 Knights of Pythias. He is chairman of the board 
 of trustees of the Congregational society. He 
 was married in 1877 to Miss I\Iary W. Wester- 
 field. They have three children, George W., Reba 
 W. and Percy A'. H. Mr. Ward was honored 
 with appointment on the staff of Governor Nel- 
 son, with the rank of colonel, and holds the same 
 position on Governor Clough's staff.
 
 178 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ALPHEUS BEEDE STICKNEY. 
 
 Alpheus Beede Stickney is president of the 
 Chicago Great Western railroad and resides in 
 St. Paul. Mr. Stickney is a descendant of an old 
 family of Maine, his father, Daniel Stickney, 
 having been born at Hallowell in 1804. In his 
 early manhood Daniel Stickney was a mechanic, 
 then he became a school teacher, and subse- 
 quently a clergyman of the Universalist denom- 
 ination. Then after about thirty-one years he was 
 the editor and pulilisher of a paper called the 
 Loyal Sunrise, published at Presque Isle, ]\[aine, a 
 paper which accpiired considerable prominence 
 and influence at the outbreak of the war. The 
 mother of Alplieus was I'rsula Maria Beede. She 
 was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, in 
 1813. The subject of this sketch belongs to the 
 ninth generation of the descendants of William 
 Stickney, of Frampton, Lincolnshire, England, 
 who settled in Holly, Massachusetts, the latter 
 part of the Sixteenth century. Judge ISeede, a ma- 
 ternal ancestor, received a grant of land from the 
 crown, prior to the Revolutionary War.w liich was 
 located in the interior of New Hampshire and 
 where most of the descendants lived until about 
 the middle of the present century, at a town called 
 Sandwich, in Carrol! County. Alpheus B. Stick- 
 ney never enjoyed the advantages of a college 
 
 education, his schooling being confined to the 
 common schools of New Hampshire as they 
 were about fifty years ago. Having obtained a 
 good common school education, and while yet 
 only seventeen years of age, he began teaching 
 school to obtain money to prosecute his studies 
 still further. About 1858 he began the study of 
 law with Josiah Crosby, at Dexter, ^Maine. Three 
 years later he moved to JMinnesota and was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in that year at Stillwater. He 
 continued, however, in the profession of teacher 
 for about two years, when he commenced the 
 practice of law and continued it until 1869. In the 
 latter year he removed to St. Paul, and shortly 
 afterwards commenced the business of building 
 railways, and has been engaged ever since in their 
 construction and and operation. He built the 
 road from Hudson to New Richmond, which has 
 since been incorporated in the Omaha system. 
 In 187J he took charge of a small road running 
 eastward from St. Paul, in Wisconsin, which he 
 had built, and operated it until it was incorjsor- 
 ated into the C, St. P., AI. & ( ). system. In 1880 
 he was emi)loyed by the St. Paul, Minneapolis 
 & Manitoba Railroad Company as superintendent 
 of construction. In 1882 he built a short line of 
 about eighty miles in Minnesota, which is now 
 owned and operated by the Rock Island Com- 
 pany. In 1883 he connuenced the construction 
 of the road of which he is now president, and 
 which has been operated under several different 
 names, the present title being the Chicago-Great 
 Western. Mr. Stickney began to develop business 
 (jualifications at a very early age. He worked in 
 a shoemaker shop, and the monev necessary to 
 purchase an algebra, which cost seventy-live 
 cents was earned by drying "windfalls"' from his 
 grandfather's apple orchard and selling them at 
 two and one-half cents a pound. He is a gentle- 
 man of broad character and pmgressive thought, 
 and tile author of a work on railroads and their 
 relation to the public which has a wide sale, and 
 has attracted a great deal of attention on account 
 of the courageous and candid manner in which 
 he argued the responsibilities and duties of rail- 
 road corporations to tlie pulilic. A notable 
 featurt- of liis policy as a railroad manager has 
 been liis interest in the condition and prosperity 
 of the people along his line of roads, and in the
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OE MINNESOTA. 
 
 17!) 
 
 methods which they pursued, particularly in agri- 
 culture. For the furtherance of these methods 
 he has contributed largely in practical demon- 
 stration as well as in suggestion, and at the same 
 time to the advantage of the railroad company 
 over which he presides. In 1886 .Mr. Stickney 
 organized in Chicago an enterprize of great 
 importance. He purchased about four thousand 
 acres of land near that city for the jnirpose 
 of concentrating there the freight departments of 
 the ditTerent railroads and facilitating the distribu- 
 tion of freight and the settlement and exchange of 
 traffic, much upon the same plan as settlements 
 between banks are made in the clearing houses. 
 This property he conveyed to the Chicago Union 
 Transfer Company at the net cost, plus six per 
 cent interest. Mr. Stickney was married in 1864 
 to Kate W. Hall, daug-hter of Dr. Samuel Hall, of 
 Collinsville. Illinois. They have seven children, 
 Samuel C, Kalherine, Lucilic, Ruth, Charles A., 
 Emily and Jean. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER D. O'BRIEN. 
 
 C. D. O'Brien, a prominent attorney of St. 
 Paul, is a native of Ireland, and the son of Dillon 
 O'Brien, one of the most distinguished Irish- 
 American citizens of the Northwest. Dillon 
 O'Brien came to America with his family in 
 1856. He was a man of wide education and 
 of much literary talent. He took an active part 
 in advancing the interests of the Irish-Americans, 
 and was much loved by the people of Irish 
 nationality in this part of the country. His son 
 Christopher was born in Galway County, Ire- 
 land, on December 4, 1848, and was but eight 
 years old when the family removed to America. 
 His education was l^egun at the government 
 schools at La Pointe, Wisconsin, where his 
 father was for some years a teacher. Later when 
 the family moved to Minnesota, he attended the 
 schools at St. Anthony, where he completed his 
 education. In January, 1866, lie moved to St. 
 Paul, and in 1867 entered the law office of Gor- 
 man & Davis, afterwards studying with the Hon. 
 Cushman K. Davis, now United States Senator 
 from IMinnesota. He was admitted to the bar 
 at St. Paul in January, 1870. Soon after his ad- 
 mission he was appointed .\ssistant District At- 
 
 torney, and continued in this position for three 
 years, at the same time being a member of the 
 law firm of Davis & O'Brien. In 1874 the firm 
 became Davis, O'Brien & Wilson; in 1880, 
 O'Brien & Wilson, and in 1887, C. D. & T. 
 D. O'Brien. In 1874 Mr. O'Brien was elected 
 county attorney and ser\^ed in that capacity for 
 four years. From 1883 to 1885 he was mayor 
 of St. Paul. He is now a lecturer on criminal 
 law and [procedure in the law department of the 
 L'niversity of Minnesota. Mr. O'Brien has had 
 remarkable success in the practice of law. He 
 is noted for his skill in eliciting evidence, his 
 tact in the management of cases, and his lucid 
 and logical arguments. He has unusual facility 
 for imparting ideas, and a very clear conception 
 of law. His eloquent addresses in the courts in 
 which he practices are justly regarded as models 
 of oratory in their class. In politics 3\Ir. O'Brien 
 is a Democrat, and has a high place in the coun- 
 cils of his party. His ability as a speaker has 
 brought him into great demand during the cam- 
 paign season. He is a member of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. In October, 1872. Mr. O'Brien 
 was married to Miss Susan E. Slater. Thev have 
 eight children. Susan E., Richard D., Sarah, 
 Christopher D. Jr.. Arthur, Charles. Mar^- D, and 
 Gerald R.
 
 180 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 RijJJLRT CAMPBELL DUNN. 
 Robert Campbell Dunn is the state auditor 
 of Minnesota. Ke was elected to represent a 
 principle, that of fair and honest administration 
 of that important office, and devotes his every eri- 
 ergy to the best interests of the state. Mr. Dunn 
 was born Februan,- 14, 1855, at Plumb llridge, 
 County Tyrone, Ireland. His father, Robert 
 Dunn, owned his own land, aliout two hundred 
 and fifty acres, and, besides carrying on agri- 
 culture quite extensively for that country, was 
 a storekeeper. He is still living, a hale and 
 hearty old gentleman of seventy-seven. He 
 is an Episcopalian and a liberal Protestant, but 
 never affiliated with the Orangemen. Rob- 
 ert's mother's maiden name was Jane Camp- 
 bell. .She is descended from an old Scotch fam- 
 ily of strict Presbyterians. Two of her uncles, 
 Col. Robert Campbell and Hugh Campbell, were 
 among the best known residents of St. Loins, the 
 former settling there when it was only a small 
 village of tw^o hundred people. Mr. Dunn's eldest 
 Ijrother, Sanuiel, is a magistrate in Ireland, and 
 his youngest brother, William, is a graduate of 
 the Glasgow medical college, and a successful 
 physician in London. Two of Mr. Dunn's uncles. 
 Andrew and Samuel, were among the first wliitr 
 settlers of Columbia County, Wisconsin. .Mr. 
 Dunn, when a lad, in Ireland, attended the com- 
 mon national school frnm the time he w-as old 
 enough to be admitted mitil he was fourteen. This 
 
 school was conducted continuously throughout 
 the year, with the exception of one month. That 
 was all the schooling he received. At the age of 
 fourteen he was apprenticed to a dry goods mer- 
 chant at Londondery, about twenty miles from 
 home. To him it seemed like five hundred 
 miles. He was bound for five years, but 
 the man to whom he was apprenticed 
 proved to be a hard task master, very 
 strict in his requirements, and young Robert 
 found his situation very uncomfortable. After 
 six months, by the aid of a brother at home, he 
 succeeded in raising money enough to pay for a 
 second cabin passage across the Atlantic, and be- 
 fore his parents knew he had left Londondery he 
 was with his uncle, Samuel Dunn, in Wisconsin. 
 He remained on his uncle's farm for nearly a 
 year, then went to St. Louis in search of his for- 
 tune, and from there to Mississippi, where he was 
 employed in a store in the Yazoo \^alley for six 
 or eight months. He then returned to St. Louis 
 and learned the printer's trade. He remained 
 there till 1876, when he came to Minnesota and 
 settled in Princeton, where he conunenced the 
 publication of the Princeton Union, in .the fall of 
 that vear. He has been the editor and publisher 
 of that paper ever since, and it is in a flourishing 
 condition. In 1878 Mr. Dunn was elected town 
 clerk of Princeton, the fees of which oflice 
 amounted to the princely sum of three hundred 
 dollars a year. This amount, however, was valu- 
 able to the publisher of a country weeldy, and Mr. 
 Dunn held the office for eleven years. In the 
 meantime he was elected county attorney 
 of Mille Lacs County in 1884, and was 
 re-elected in 1886. In 1888 he was elected 
 to the lower house of the legislature from 
 the districts composed of the counties of Todd, 
 Crow Wing, Morrison and Mille Lacs. Lie was 
 elected again in 1890, but his seat was contested 
 and he was thrown out. He was renominated by 
 the Republicans in 1892 and was elected. Mr. 
 Dumi was a mcml;er of the l\epul)lican National 
 Convention in 1892 from the Sixth Congressional 
 district of Minnesota; was a member of the com- 
 mittee on credentials, and worked and voted for 
 James G. Blaine. In his second term in the leg- 
 islature Mr. Dumi led a mox-cmtnt for reform in 
 the administration of llie land interests of the 
 state, and was so successful in jirott'cting 
 the state and so completelv demonstrated the
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 181 
 
 necessity of reform in that particular that the 
 people elected him to the ot'tice of state auditor in 
 1894, and connnitted the land interests of the state 
 to his charge. He has fully justified the conli- 
 dence which was reposed in him, and has admin- 
 istered the office to which he was elected with dis- 
 tinguished ability. Air. Dunn was married to 
 Lydia Mclvenzie, of Spencer Brook, Isanti 
 County, I'ehruary 14, 1887, and they have two 
 children, George R., and Grace. He is thor- 
 oughl}' devoted to his little family, and when not 
 engaged in his official duties, can always l)e found 
 with them in their present home at Hamline, 
 where he resides (hu'ing his term of office. 
 
 FRANK M ELLEN NYE. 
 
 Frank Mellen Nye is county attorney of 
 Hennepin Comity. His parents were both natives 
 of jMaine. His father, Franklin Nye, was for- 
 merly a lumberman in that state, but removed to 
 Wisconsin in 1853 and engaged in farming. His 
 mother was Eliza AI. Loring. I'rank M. Nye was 
 born in Shirley, Maine, March 7, 1852, and came 
 with his parents to Wisconsin and settled near 
 River Falls. He grew up on a farm and com- 
 menced his education in the common schools, 
 afterwards attending the academy at River Falls. 
 He follow^ed the course often pursued by young 
 men of limited means and larger ambition, teach- 
 ing school several terms while he pursued the 
 study of law. Li 1878 he was admitted to practice 
 at Hudson, Wisconsin, and soon aftenvard located 
 in Polk County, the same state, for the practice 
 of his profession. He was elected district attor- 
 ney and held that office two terms. Fie was also 
 chosen by the people of Polk County to the lower 
 house of the legislature. In the spring of 1886 
 he removed to Minneapolis, where his talents 
 soon attracted attention. He took an active part 
 in politics and made an enviable reputation as a 
 speaker. When Robert Jamison was elected 
 county attorney he appointed Mr. Nye as his 
 assistant. In the fall of 1892 he was elected to 
 succeed Mr. Jamison, and was re-elected in the 
 fall of 1894, and is now serving his second term 
 in that office. Mr. Nye's legal practice has been 
 largely in the department of criminal law, where 
 he has met with remarkable success. Among the 
 
 important cases prosecuted by him was that 
 of the Harris murderers, wliere under peculiar 
 difficulties he succeeded in unraveling the mys- 
 terious plot and in procuring the conviction of 
 the criminals. He also prosecuted the famous 
 Hayward case, and won new laurels as a criminal 
 lawyer. This was one of the most famous trials 
 in the history of criminal prosecutions in this 
 country, and the ability with which the case was 
 conducted attracted general attention. His repu- 
 tation as a prosecutor is not confined to his own 
 state, and he has been called upon to assist in im- 
 portant cases in other courts. A notable instance 
 was that of the prosecution of Alyron Kent, in 
 North Dakota, for the murder of his wife. Mr. 
 Nye made the principal address to the jury, and 
 the trial resulted in the conviction of the accused. 
 He has also rendered important services to the 
 county in the conduct of its civil business, and is 
 regarded as one of the most capable men who has 
 ever served it in that capacity. He has secured 
 the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens 
 to such a degree that he has been urged to accept 
 higher preferment in the public service, but has 
 thus far chosen to confine himself to the practice 
 of his profession. Mr. Nye w-as married in the 
 spring of 1876 to Carrie M. Wilson, of River 
 Falls, Wisconsin, and has a family of four chil- 
 dren.
 
 1S2 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES HIX.MAX GRA\ES. 
 
 The subject of tliis sketch is a resident of 
 Duluth, where he has figured very prominently 
 in the development of that growinq- cit\- for over 
 a quarter of a century. His father, H. A. Graves, 
 was a Baptist clergyman, editor of the Christian 
 Watchman and Reflector, of Boston. His 
 mother's maiden name was Alary Hinman, a 
 daughter of Scoville Hinman of New Haven, 
 Connecticut. On both sides of the family he is 
 descended from old Xew England stock; the 
 Graves ancestors came over from England in 
 1645, 3nd Royal Hinman was an carlv governor 
 of Connecticut. Charles Hinman Graves was 
 born at Springfield, Afassachusetts, August 14, 
 1839. He attended the cimimon schools of 
 Springfield and Litchfield Academy. In July, 
 1861, he enlisted in the I'nion Arm\' and was 
 engaged in all tlie battles oi the .\rmy of the 
 Potomac and Army of the James, including the 
 first battle of lUill Run, Williamsburg, I'air Oaks, 
 Malvern Hill, I'redericksburg, Chancellorsvillc, 
 I'.randy Station, .Mine Run, Second Bull Run, 
 Chantilly, Gettyslnirg fwhcre he was severely 
 wounded), Dei'p BniiMm, 1 V-lcrsburg. I'^rl iMsher 
 Cwhcrc he was jiromotcd to the rank of major and 
 assistant adjutant general I'nited States \'olun- 
 teers for gallantry in the assault ) and Wihniiiglnn. 
 Colonel Graves enlisted as a private soldier. 
 
 became corporal, sergeant, second lieutenant, first 
 lieutenant and captain of the Fortieth Xew York 
 \'olunteers; captain and assistant adjutant gen- 
 eral, and major and assistant adjutant general 
 United States Volunteers; brevet major, lieu- 
 tenant colonel and colonel of Volunteers; first 
 lieutenant and captain L'nited States Regular 
 Infantry; brevet major and lieutenant colonel 
 United States Army, and by detail, inspector 
 general of the Department of Dakota, and judge 
 advocate of the Department of Dakota. In 1870 
 he resigned his position in the army and engaged 
 in the real estate and insurance business in 
 Duluth. Subsequently he went into the whole- 
 sale salt and lime business. He then engaged 
 in the grain business as an operator of elevators 
 and built all the large elevators now in 
 Duluth. In 1893 l^s returned to his original 
 business of real estate and insurance. He is pres- 
 ident of the Graves-Manley Insurance Agency, 
 wrote the first fire insurance policy written in 
 Duluth, and has been actively identified with the 
 development of that city. He has been a director 
 of the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad; stockholder 
 and officer in the Duluth Iron Company, which 
 made the first pig iron that was made in Duluth 
 or in the State of .Minnesota; was the first sub- 
 scriber to and a director of St. Luke's Hospital, 
 Duluth. He has also been honored b}- many 
 public offices. Was elected mayor of Duluth for 
 two terms by the Republicans of that city: has 
 been state senator for four years; representative 
 and speaker of the Minnesota house for one term; 
 was leader in the reform of the state treasury 
 management in 1876. He was active in framing 
 and passing the first law establishing a railroad 
 commission in Minnesota, and as a member of the 
 legislature represented the district which at that 
 time comprised all the northeastern portion of 
 the state, consisting of nine counties, a district 
 three hundred miles lung 1)\ luie hundred miles 
 wide. I\lr. (iraves was delegate-at-large to the 
 National Republican Convention of 1888, 
 has been a delegate to many slate and 
 district conventions in Minnesota, and has 
 been prominent in the Kepublican ])art\' of 
 the state since 1875. He has ri-presented Duluth 
 in various commercial conventions, and has taken 
 an active part in the movements for the establish- 
 ment of deep waterwa\s frum I )uluth tfi the sea 
 coast whicli ha\'e I'l-snlted in "re.'it beiieht tn the
 
 PKOOKEssivE mi-:n OI' minnhsota. 
 
 183 
 
 northwest. IMr. Graves is past commander uf the 
 WilHs A. Gorman Post, G. A. R., of Duluth; 
 past senior vice commander of .Minnesota Com- 
 mandery Loyal Legion of the United States; is 
 a member of the Army and Navy CUib of Wash- 
 ington, D. C.; of the Minnesota Chib of St. I'anl, 
 and ex-president of the Kitchi (lannni Chilj of 
 Dukith. He was married in 1873 to AJiss E. 
 Grace Totten, daughter of the late Major General 
 J. G. Totten, chief of engineers of the rnitcij 
 States Army. Thev have no chiklren. 
 
 EDGAR WEAVER. 
 
 Edgar Weaver, or as he is always called by his 
 friends, Ed. Weaver, is mayor of Mankato and 
 president of the .Minnesota State Agrici;ltural 
 Society. He was born in .Milton, Rock County, 
 Wisconsin, in 1852. On his father's side he is 
 of Welsh origin, while his mother came of Dutch 
 ancestry. The line of descent is American on 
 both sides, however, for more than a centm-y. 
 His father's great grandfather emigrated from 
 Wales to the American colonies, and his sons 
 and grandsons were born in the state of New 
 York. Mr. Weaver's father's mother, Zolieida 
 Morehouse, was the daughter of a Revolutionary 
 soldier. His mother's grandfather, whose name 
 was Van Antwerp, came from the city of Ant- 
 werp, and was of a family which traced its line 
 back to the founding of that city. This Van Ant- 
 werp married Miss Betsy Connor, whose father 
 originally owned the General Herkimer estate in 
 Central New York. This connection brought an 
 Irish strain into the family. Mr. Weaver's father, 
 Asa ^^'eaver, moved from New York to jMilton, 
 Wisconsin, in 1845, and was one of the early set- 
 tlers in that part of the state. His occupation 
 was that of builder and contractor. His young 
 son, Edgar, grew up at Milton and attended the 
 schools of that vicinity, completing his education 
 at Milton College. In 1879 he moved to Man- 
 kato and became the general agent of the J- E 
 Case Threshing ^Machine Company, a position 
 which he still holds. ^Ir. Weaver may 1)e said to 
 have inherited his Republican political tenden- 
 cies. His father was an ardent Republican, as 
 were all the members of his family. But Mr. 
 Weaver's business interests would not allow him 
 
 v.- 
 
 ^m 
 
 to take puljlic otiicc until, in 1893, he was elected 
 mayor of Mankato. He sei-ved with efficiency, 
 and was re-elected in 1895 without opposition. 
 In 1896 he was prominently mentioned in con- 
 nection with the congressional nomination, but 
 refused to have his name used in opposition to 
 that of Congressman McCleary. Prior to this 
 his name was prominently used as a gubernator- 
 ial candidate, which he refused also. ]\Ir. Weaver 
 has always been active and progressive, and has 
 taken a leading part in all the enterprises which 
 have advanced Mankato from the rank of a 
 country village to that of the leading city in south 
 central Minnesota, and a prosperous manufactur- 
 ing and conmiercial center. His active part in 
 promoting the development of the agricultural 
 resources of the state brought him into the work 
 of the State Agricultural Society, and in 1894 he 
 was elected first vice president of that organiza- 
 tion. In 1895 h^ succeeded to the presidency, 
 and the fair held that year was the most success- 
 ful in the history of the state. He was re-elected 
 in 1896. In 1895 he became a member of the 
 state board of control of Earmers' Institutes, and 
 was elected its secretary. He is a thirtv-second 
 degree Mason, a Knight Templar and a member 
 of the A. O. U. W. In 18S9 he was married to 
 Miss Kittie ^^"ise, daughter of John C. ^^'ise, of 
 Mankato.
 
 1S4 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM RLSH MERRIAM. 
 
 William Rush IMcrriam, governor of Alin- 
 nesota froni January, 1889, to January, 1893. 
 has left behind him an admirable record in 
 that honorable position. He comes of a distin- 
 guished ancestry, who settled at Concord, New- 
 Hampshire, long before Minnesota was inhabited 
 by the while man. His father, Hon. John L. 
 Merriam, lived at Wadham's Mills, Essex 
 County, New York, where he was engaged in 
 business as a merchant when the subject of this 
 sketch was born. July 26, 1849. Hon. John L. 
 Merriam was of English descent, his wife, JMahala 
 Delano (Merriam,) of French ancestry. Gov. 
 Merriam traces his ancestry to William Merriam, 
 who was born at Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1750, 
 and served as a private in Capt. Jonathan Wil- 
 son's company of minute men of the town of lied- 
 ford, Massachusetts. He took part in the 
 fight of Concord r.ridgc, .Xprii 19, 1775. 
 and in the pursuit of the riritish forces 
 on their retreat frtjm C'oncord to Charles- 
 ton. He was chairman of the board of 
 selectmen in Bedford, 1777, and rendered im- 
 portant service in procuring enlistments to the 
 Continental Army. Gov. I\fcrriam's father catuc 
 with his family to Minnesota in 1861, and, in con- 
 nection with J. C. Burbank, engaged in the stage 
 and transportation business. It was before the 
 
 days of railroads, and their business became an 
 extensive one. The elder ]\Ierriam was identified 
 with many enterprises in the development of the 
 state and took a large interest in politics, serving 
 in the state legislature and as speaker of the 
 House of Representatives in 1870 and 1871. The 
 subject of this sketch was an anil)iti<jus la<l, who 
 entered the academy at Racine, Wisconsin, at the 
 age of fifteen. Later he entered Racine College, 
 and upon his graduation was chosen vale- 
 dictorian of his class, and acquitted himself with 
 honor. When he returned to his home in St. 
 Paul, he devoted himself diligently to business as 
 a clerk in the First National Bank. Here he rap- 
 idly developed unusual business ability, and when 
 only twenty-four }'ears of age was elected cashier 
 of the Merchants National Bank. This was in 
 1873. In 1880 he was made vice-president, and 
 four years later became the president of the bank. 
 In the meantime Mr. ^lerriam had developed an 
 active interest in politics and had become an 
 active worker in every political campaign. 
 He was chosen to represent his district in the 
 general assembly of Minnesota in 1882, and 
 served his constituents witli distinguished ability. 
 In 1886 he was again elected to the lower house 
 of the legislature and was honored with the oiifice 
 of speaker, where Ins father had presided sixteen 
 years before. He made an admirable presiding 
 officer, and governed the body with courteous 
 self-possession and with a firm, yet generous, au- 
 thority. He was chosen vice-president of the 
 .State Agricultural Society in 1886 and president 
 in 1887, and contributed greatly to the success of 
 the state fair, held under the auspices of that or- 
 ganization. In 1888 Mr. Alerriam was nominated 
 by the Republican party as a candidate for gov- 
 ernor against Hon. Eugene M. Wilson, a Demo- 
 crat, of Minneapolis, and was elected. Here, in 
 his official capacity, he applied the business meth- 
 ods to the administration of public affairs that he 
 has made so successful in his private interests. 
 He was honored with a renomination and re- 
 election in 1S90, and served until January, 1893. 
 Gov. Merriam is a gentleman of very pleasing ad- 
 dress and cordial maimers, and has the faculty of 
 attaching men to him in warm personal friend- 
 ship. Tie is a student of affairs, and a financier of 
 recognized al)ility. His contributions to the cur- 
 rent literature of the country on the subject of na- 
 tional finance have been inipoiiant anrl valuable.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 183 
 
 He has stood tirinl)' and ably by liis ideas of 
 sound finance and has done much to shape the 
 sentiment of his party in this regard in this state. 
 Gov. Merriam is a member of the University Club 
 of New York, the Metropolitan Club at Wash- 
 ington, and the Minnesota Club at St. Paul. He 
 is also a member of St. Paul's Episcopal church 
 in the city of St. Paul. He was married in 1872 
 to Laura Hancock, daughter of John Hancock, 
 and niece of the late Gen. Winfield Scott Han- 
 cock, a lady of rare accomplisliments and gra- 
 cious manners, who presides over the home of 
 her distinguished husband with dignity and 
 grace. 
 
 FRANKLIN STAPLES. 
 
 No man is capable of rendering more valuable 
 services to the people of the community in which 
 he lives, or making a larger and warmer place 
 for himself in the hearts of the people, than a 
 capable, careful and tnistworthy family physician. 
 The subject of this sketch sustains such a rela- 
 tion to many of the people of Winona. Franklin 
 Staples, M. D., is a native of Raymond, (now 
 Casco), Cumberland County, j\Iaine, where he 
 was born November 9, 1833. He was the son of 
 Peter and Sarah Alaxwell Staples, and grandson 
 of Peter Staples, Sr., an early settler in that 
 county. The Staples family is of English descent, 
 the first members of the family in this country 
 having originally settled in Kittery, Maine. Dur- 
 ing his early boyhood Dr. Franklin Staples' fam- 
 ily resided in Buxton, York County, Alaine. He 
 was educated in the common schools and at Lim- 
 erick,, Parsoniield and Auburn academies, Elaine. 
 He taught in the district schools and in Port- 
 land, beginning the study of medicine in the 
 office of Dr. C. S. D. Fesscndcn, of Portland, in 
 1855. The following year he was a student in the 
 medical department of Bowdoin college, was one 
 of the first students in tlie Portland school for 
 medical instruction, and in 1861 entered the Col- 
 lege of Physicians and Surgeons in New York 
 city, from which he was graduated in March, 
 1862. Dr. Staples was then demonstrator of 
 anatomy in the ^Nlaine medical school, but soon 
 after decided to remove to the west and locate in 
 Minnesota, where he began the practice of his 
 profession at Winona. There he has lived and 
 
 worked until the present time. iJr. Staples has 
 witnessed the growth and development of the 
 North Star state from its earliest beginnings, and 
 has contributed in no small degree to the results 
 attained. Li 1871 he was elected president of the 
 Minnesota .State Medical Society; in 1874 he was 
 appointed a member of the State Board of 
 Health, which position he still holds. He has 
 been president of the Board of Health since 1889. 
 He is a member of the American Public Health 
 Association and the American Medical Associa- 
 tion, and of the local societies of his immediate 
 neighborhood. I'rom 1883 to 1887 Dr. Staples 
 held the chair of the practice of medicine in the 
 medical department of the University of Minne- 
 sota. He has been noted especially for his sci- 
 entific attainments and his practical work as a 
 surgeon, and has had a part in the progress which 
 has been witnessed in this department of scientific 
 work, especially in the last quarter of a century. 
 His contributions to current literature relating to 
 medical science have been numerous. Of late 
 years his attention has been given largelv to sani- 
 tary science and to practical work in that direc- 
 tion. Dr. Staples was mamed Tune 4. 1863. to 
 Helen M. Harford, daughter of the late Ezra 
 Harford, of Portland. Elaine. Of the four daugh- 
 ters born to them two are living. Gertrude, (Mrs. 
 Seward D. Allen, of Duluth.") and Helen F.. who 
 resides with her parents at \\"inona.
 
 186 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 STEPHEN BROWX LO\'EJOY. 
 
 S. B. Lovejoy, or as his friends like to call 
 him, "Steve" Lovejoy, is one of the substantial 
 business men of [Minneapolis, and is prominent 
 in local and state politics. Mr. Lovejoy came to 
 ■Minneapolis when a small boy with his father 
 and mother who emigrated in 1854 from [Maine. 
 The family is an old one and carried an honor- 
 able name through the Revolution and the War 
 of 1812. Mr. Lovejoy 's great-grandfather, Abial 
 Lovejoy, lived at Sidney, [Maine. He was a ship 
 owner and lumber manufacturer. The ship land- 
 ing at that place is still called "Lovejoy's Land- 
 ing." His son, William, was also a ship owner, 
 and ser\-ed as a lieutenant in the War of 1812. 
 His son, John L. Lovejoy, father of Stephen B., 
 was a lumber manufacturer in Calais, Maine. He 
 married IMiss Aim M. Albce, who was descended 
 from William Albce, a lieutenant in the Revolu- 
 tion, who rendered his country distinguished 
 service as commandant of the fort at Machias, 
 Maine, in repulsing a P.ritish man-of-war which 
 tried to ascend the river. .Mrs. Lovejoy's ances- 
 tors were largely interested in lumbering opera- 
 tions. Upon his .settlement in St. Anthony, now 
 a part of Minneapolis. Mr, Lovejoy commenced 
 the manufacture of lumber in partnership with 
 John L. Brockway, under the firm name of 
 Lovejoy & Brockway. Tic died in i860. Steph- 
 
 en B. Lovejoy was born at Livermore, Maine, on 
 the Lovejoy farm on January 19, 1850. He 
 came West with his parents in 1854 and grew up 
 in Minneapolis, surrounded by the influence of 
 the bustling frontier town. When sixteen years 
 of age he was sent East to the Pennsylvania 
 Military Academy at Chester, and the following 
 year went to the Clinton Liberal Institute at Clin- 
 ton, New York. Here he won the second prize 
 for essay at the annual commencement. On re- 
 turning from school that year he entered the 
 First National Bank of Minneapolis and re- 
 mained with the bank for five }'ears. When he 
 left he was head bookkeeper. He left the bank 
 to take a position as manager of a flour mil! at 
 Manomin, Minnesota. In the spring of the fol- 
 lowing year, 1875, ^^ '^'^"'is elected treasurer and 
 agent of the Mississippi and Rum River Boom 
 Company. This position he held for eleven 
 years. Governor McGill appointed Mr. Lovejoy 
 surveyor general of logs and lum1)er in 1877; he 
 held the office for one term. In 1884 Mr. Love- 
 joy formed a partnership with John \\^oods as 
 railroad contractors. This partnership was dis- 
 solved in 1892, since which time Mr. Lovejoy 
 has continued the business by himself. He has 
 been a stockholder in several of the large cor- 
 porations and banks of the city, and from its or- 
 ganization until it was dissolved in 1895, he was 
 a member of the flour milling firm of Lovejoy, 
 Hinrichs & Co. [Mr. Lovejoy has been very suc- 
 cessful in business, and is counted as one of the 
 substantial business men of [Minneapolis. Since 
 voting for Grant in 1872, iMr. Lovejoy has been 
 a staunch Republican. Though seldom holding 
 office he has been very prominent in political 
 afifairs in [Minneapolis, and has been a member 
 of the county or city committees of his party 
 frequently during the past twelve or fifteen years. 
 For four years past he has been chairman of the 
 congressional conmiittce, and during the same 
 period has been a member of the campaign com- 
 mittee. At the last organization of the conunit- 
 tee he was reappointed chairman for the ensuing 
 two years. He was a memljcr of the old city 
 water l^oard, under appointment by [Mayor 
 .Ames, .-\fter two months of service he was 
 obliged to resign, not having time to devote to 
 the afifairs of the office. In i8()5 he was elected 
 to the state legislaltiro frrmi the 'l'hirt\'-first dis-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 187 
 
 trict. While serving in llie house of representa- 
 tives he introduced, and was instrumental in se- 
 curing the passage of the law regulating child 
 labor. Mr. Lovejoy was married on October 13, 
 1872, to Miss E. Louise Morgan, a daughter of 
 Brigadier General George N. Morgan, who was 
 formerly colonel of the famous old First Minne- 
 sota Volunteer Infantry. They have four chil- 
 dren, Emma L., Edith D., Ethel M., and Mar- 
 jorie. Mr. Lovejoy is a Thirty-second degree 
 Scottish Rite Knight Templar and a member of 
 Zuhrah Temple. 
 
 FREDERICK CLEMENT STEVENS. 
 
 Frederick Clement Stevens, congressman-elect 
 from the Fourth district, is a lawyer, and 
 resides at Merriam Park. Mr. Stevens' father 
 was a physician, Dr. John Stevens, of Bangor, 
 Maine. At the time of the birth of the subject 
 of this sketch, Dr. Stevens was a resident of Bos- 
 ton, and Frederick Clement Stevens was born 
 there January i, 1861. He began his education 
 in the village schools of .Searsport, Maine, and 
 graduated from the high schools of Rockland. 
 Maine, 1877. The following year he entered 
 Bowdoin College at Brunswick, Maine, where he 
 graduated in the class of 1881. Mr. Stevens had 
 decided to adopt the profession of law, and began 
 his preparation with Hon. A. ^^'. Paine, of Ban- 
 gor. Soon afterwards, however, he came West 
 and completed his law course in the State Univer- 
 sity of Iowa, where he graduated from the law 
 department in 18S4. The same year he removed 
 to St. Paul, and entered upon the practice 
 of law, and has continued in that business at 
 St. Paul ever since. He has built up a profitable 
 practice and established for himself an enviable 
 reputation as a lawyer of careful and conservative 
 methods and a safe counsellor. ;\lr. Stevens has 
 also been accorded considerable political promi- 
 nence by the Republicans of the state. He has 
 been chairman of the St. Paul city connnittee and 
 the Ramsey County Republican committee for 
 several years, and since i8gi has been secretary 
 of the State League of Republican Clubs, and 
 is regarded as a very successful organizer. He 
 was elected to the lower house of the legislature 
 
 from the Twenty-si.xth district, in 1889, and was 
 re-elected by both Republicans and Democrats 
 in 1891. Mr. Stevens soon occupied an influ- 
 ential place in that body, and among the import- 
 ant measures with which he was identified was 
 legislation regarding reform in election laws, 
 municipal government and the passage of the 
 constitutional amendment prohibiting special 
 legislation. This amendment was adopted and 
 shuts off a great deal of legislation of a minor 
 character which has heretofore occupied much 
 of each legislative session. He takes a deep 
 interest in the live questions of municipal gov- 
 ernment, and is in sympathy with the best senti- 
 ment of the day in that direction. His study of 
 municipal questions and general knowledge of 
 the subject made him a valuable member of the 
 Ramsev County delegation when it devolved 
 upon him and a few others to formulate the Bell 
 charter, whicli practically saved the city of St. 
 Paul from great financial embarrassment. He 
 is a member of the Commercial Club, of St. Paul, 
 and is identified with that element which, through 
 public spirit and loyalty to the interests of the 
 city, contribute most to its progress and advance- 
 ment. He was married at Lansing. Michigan, in 
 1889, to Ellen J. Fargo. They have no children.
 
 188 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CASPER HEXRY TRL'ELSEN. 
 
 Mayor Henr}- Truelsen, of Duluth, was born 
 October 20, 1844, in Schleswig, Germany. His 
 father was a blacksmith by trade, and died at 
 the age of thirty-seven from the resuhs of a fall 
 into a vat of boiling water. His mother was 
 Magdelena Dienhofif, and for some years previ- 
 ous to her marriage was cook for the household 
 of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. After the 
 death of her husband she supported the family, 
 consisting of four children and her father and 
 mother-in-law, by cooking at large gatherings, 
 weddings, balls and similar occasions. In this 
 capacity she was famous all over the dukedom. 
 As a boy Mr. Truelsen went to the public schools 
 of his native city, and was confirmed in the 
 Lutheran church when fifteen years of age. He 
 made his first money as waiter and shoe boy in 
 a hotel at Schleswig when fourteen years of age. 
 That year he worked mornings and evenings and 
 went to school during the day, receiving twelve 
 dollars a year and board for his services. Tlie 
 next year he was I^ound as an apprentice to a 
 grocer to serve five years without any compensa- 
 tion except his board. This was a hard experi- 
 ence. He worked from six in the morning till 
 ten at night, on his feet all the time, and 
 with no fire in the store in winter. Tittle 
 time was given for rest and recreation. 
 
 After his hard term of apprenticeship was 
 over he obtained a better situation, but in 
 1866 decided to emigrate. Upon coming 
 to this country he went first to Eagle River, 
 Michigan, where he became bookkeeper for 
 John H. Hansen. Three years later he was at- 
 tracted by the fame of the young town of Duluth, 
 and thinking that it had a great future before it, 
 he resigned his position, and with his wife and 
 baby took up his residence in the Zenith City. 
 He was married in 1866 to Miss Henriette Han- 
 sen at Eagle River. Duluth, when ?ilr. Truel- 
 sen first saw it, on May 8, 1869, was a mere ham- 
 let. But the act authorizing the construction of 
 the Lake Superior and Mississippi River Rail- 
 road had been passed and the future of the place 
 was assured. There being no boarding house in 
 the town Mr. Truelsen was obliged to stop in 
 Superior until he could build on Minnesota Point 
 a small cabin of two rooms. He had neither 
 money, friends nor acquaintance in the place 
 so he took the first job which offered — that of 
 mixing mortar for a plastering firm. During 
 the first summer he mixed mortar diligently. 
 Li the fall he went to work on the railroad 
 grade and later in a stone quarry. As he came 
 from a mining country it was supposed that 
 he understood drilling and blasting, and he 
 was given important work, while in fact he had 
 never handled a quarryman's tools before. He 
 managed to do the work until a premature blast 
 led him to think that some other employment 
 would be safer. A short time after, in June, 
 1870, he went into partnership with Michael 
 Pastoral and carried on the grocery, and later 
 the general merchandise business for manv years. 
 This business was continued until 1885, when he 
 sold out. Meanwhile, in 1880, he had acquired 
 an interest in the Dtduth Fish Company, and 
 did a very large business until 1886, when he 
 sold to A. Booth & Son. Mr. Truelsen has 
 been uniformly successful. About the time that 
 Mr. Truelsen entered business he also entered 
 politics. He was alderman for four terms, was 
 elected sheriff of .St. Louis County in 1886 and 
 served as such for one term, was appointed 
 member of the Ijoanl of public woi-ks in i8c)r, 
 and served as president until 1804. During the 
 latter year the people of Duluth voted to buy 
 the water works jilant at what Mr. Truelsen 
 considered nn excessive price. He attacked the
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 189 
 
 legality of the election and wtm in the snpreinc 
 court. In 1896 he was elected as mayor on the 
 issue of city ownership of water works by build- 
 ing, and triumphed over the Republican candi- 
 date by a majority of seven hundred and seventy- 
 nine votes, and after one of the hottest campaigns 
 the city had ever seen. In this fight all the 
 dailies in the city were arrayed against him. Mr. 
 Tnielsen's wife died on May 26, 1895. They have 
 had nine children, of whom five are living. These 
 are Magdelena, Henry, Ida, August and Mary. 
 
 LOUIS EDWARD GOSSMAN. 
 
 Louis Edward Gossman is descended from 
 a line of patriots who served their country with 
 fidelity in the War of the Revolution. He was 
 born in Burr Uak township, Winnesheik County, 
 Iowa, December 3, 1864. His father was Anthony 
 Gossman, a native of Morgan County, Ohio, 
 where he resided until 1859. He then re- 
 moved to Iowa and lived there on a farm till 
 1894, when he retired from farming and took up 
 his residence in Canton, Minnesota. He is in 
 comfortable financial circumstances, having made 
 a success at farming. His wife's maiden name 
 was Elizabeth Snyder who was born in Perry 
 County, Ohio. Louis Edward's grandparents on 
 his father's side came to this countr)- from Baden, 
 Germany, when quite young, locating first in 
 Pennsylvania, then in Morgan County, L)hio. r)n 
 his mother's side, his grandparents were natives of 
 Pennsylvania. Nicholas Snyder, his mother's 
 paternal grandfather, came from Mayence, Ger- 
 many, about 1778, at the age of fourteen years. 
 He was brought to America by other Germans, 
 who came over to assist in the cause of the 
 Colonies. He joined Washington's army in 
 Pennsylvania as a drummer boy and served to the 
 end of the war. After the war he returned to 
 his native country, but came over again in a few 
 years and settled in Pennsylvania. Louis Ed- 
 ward, the third in a family of eight, was brought 
 up on a farm, and attended the countn,' school 
 in the winter as other farmers' boys do. During 
 the winter of 1880 and 1881 he attended school 
 at St. Joseph's College, Dubuque, Iowa, and dur- 
 ing the winters of 1881-82, 1882-83 and 1884-85 
 
 
 attended school at the Decorah Institute, De- 
 corah, Iowa. In the winter of 1883-84 he was 
 engaged as a teacher at Harmony, Minnesota. 
 In the fall of 1885 iNIr. Gossman entered the law 
 department of the University of Michigan, where 
 he graduated with the degree of LL. B. in June, 
 1887. Having made up his mind to take the 
 literary course in the university, he entered this 
 department in the fall of 1887, from which he 
 graduated in June, 1890, with the degree of B. L. 
 In August, 1890 Mr. Gossman started for Crook- 
 ston, Minnesota, with the purpose of locating 
 there to practice law. He was admitted to the 
 bar in October, 1890. While for the first two 
 years clients and money were not abundant, Mr. 
 Gossman having no personal acquaintances at 
 Crookston or influence to assist him by perse- 
 verence and industry has built up a fair prac- 
 tice and gained the confidence of the people. In 
 the spring of i8()3 he was elected to the office of 
 city justice an office which he held for two years. 
 In the fall of 1894 he was elected to the office of 
 county attorney on the People's party ticket,which 
 office he now holds. Mr. Gossman is a member 
 of the Catholic church, and was married in April, 
 1892, at Canton, Minnesota, to Martha A. Glenn, 
 of Decorah. Iowa. They have two children, Dor- 
 itt and Anthonv Bvron.
 
 190 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FREDERICK A. DL'XS.MUUR. 
 
 Dr. Dunsmoor is an eminent physician, sur- 
 geon and gynaecologist practicing his profession 
 at JMinneapohs. ]J)r. Dunsmoor is a native of Min- 
 nesota, and was bom Alay 28, 1853, ^t Richfield, 
 in Hennepin County, the son of James A. and 
 Alniira ]\Iosher Dunsmoor. His parents were na- 
 tives of Maine, and came to Hennepin County, 
 Minnesota, in 1852. Frederick Alanson received 
 liis education in the public schools of Richfield, 
 Minneapolis and at the University of Minnesota. 
 His professional training began in the office of 
 Doctors Goodrich and Kimball, of Minneapolis, 
 and was continued in the Bellevue Hospital Medi- 
 cal College, New York city, where he received the 
 degree of AI. D. in March, 1875. He also received 
 private instruction from Doctors Frank H.Hamil- 
 ton, Alfred G. Loomis, Austin Flint, Sr., E. G. 
 Janeway and R. Ogden Doremus. He began his 
 practice at Minneapolis in partnership with Dr. 
 H. H. Kimball, and was associated with him one 
 year. Dr. Dunsmoor has been active in hospital 
 work, having assisted in the establishment of the 
 Minnesota College Hospital in 1881, and serv- 
 ing as vice president and dean of the medical 
 college, professor of surger\- and attending sur- 
 geon to the hospital and disjjensarv for eight 
 years. In 1889 the Hosi)ital College, in conjunc- 
 tion with other schools of medicine in .'-^t. T'a\il 
 
 and Minneapolis, was reorganized in the medical 
 department of the University of Minnesota. Dr. 
 Dunsmoor served as professor of surgery in the 
 St. Paul medical college in 1877 and till 1879, in 
 the medical department of Hamline University 
 1879 to 1881, Minneapolis Hospital College 
 from 1881 to 1888, and in the medical department 
 of the University since its organization. He was 
 county physician for Hennepin County during 
 1879. He was also active in organizing Asbury 
 Methodist Hospital, which was opened Septem- 
 ber I. 1892, and which became the chief clinical 
 field for the medical department of the Univer- 
 sity and of the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons of [Minneapolis. Dr. Dunsmoor has also 
 been in active service as surgeon to St. Mary's 
 Hospital since 1890, to St. IJarnabas Hospital 
 since 1879, g}naecologist to the City Hospital 
 since 1894, to the Asbury Hospital since 1892, to 
 the State Free Dispensary since 1889, and to the 
 Asbury Free Dispensary since 1889. He has de- 
 voted his attention to surgerv and gynaecology, 
 operating every morning, and enjoys a wide 
 reputation as a skillful and successful operator. 
 For many years his services have been in demand 
 by the railway, milling, accident and insurance 
 companies. Dr. Dimsmoc^r is a memberof a num- 
 l)er of professional and scientific societies, among 
 them the International ^Medical Congress, the 
 North Dakota State IMedical Society, The 
 American Medical Association, the National As- 
 sociation of Railway Surgeons, the Minnesota 
 Academy of Medicine, the Minnesota State ^led- 
 ical Association, the Hennepin County JNIedical 
 Society and the .Societv of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons of Minneapolis. His membership in so- 
 cial and beneficiary societies includes the Nu 
 Sigma Nu Society, the ]Masonic order, the Good 
 Templars, the Druids, the Alinneapolis Club and 
 the Commercial and Athletic Club. C)f the latter 
 two lie was a charter menilier. He is also an 
 active member of the Hennepin Avenue Metho- 
 dist cluuTh, where he has served for years in an 
 iiffieial capacity. He is a diligent student of the 
 science of medicine and surgery, and spends a 
 ]wrtion of each winter in medical study in some 
 I if the great scientific centers, and enjoys the ac- 
 qnaintanccof and professional association withthe 
 most famous snrgcfins in the cotmtry. ?Ie is a 
 eontributi ir \i> dilTerent medical and surqical
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 191 
 
 journals, ami is rccognizt-d as an ;uuli(jrily in his 
 ])articnlar branch of the practice. lie is a man 
 of genial manners and happy temperament, and 
 an enthusiastic jiatron of nnisic and the fme arts. 
 Dr. Dunsmoor was married .September 5, 1876, 
 to Miss Elizabeth Ennna Jlillings, daughter of 
 the late Surgeon George E. Turner, U. S. A. 
 They have three children living, Marjorie Alljiort, 
 Elizabeth Turner and Frederick Laton. 
 
 LOUIS FREDERIC LAMMERS. 
 
 L. F. Lammers is an attorncy-at-la\v in the 
 practice of his profession at Heron Lake, Minne- 
 sota. He is the son of Fred W. Lammers and 
 Helen C. Nelson (Lammers.) F. W. Lammers 
 is a native of Germany, coming to this country 
 in his early youth. He came to the St. Croix 
 valley from St. Louis in 1846, in connection 
 with the old Marine Lumber Company, and dur- 
 ing his early life was engaged in lumbering. 
 Afterward he settled on a farm ricar Taylor's 
 Falls. He died F"ebruary 12, i8q6, having raised 
 a family of twelve children, all of whom have 
 reached their majority. His wife was of Swedish 
 extraction, and is still living. Louis F. was born 
 at Taylor's Falls, Minnesota, December 14, 1855. 
 His early life was spent on a farm, attending a 
 district school in the winter and working on the 
 farm in the summer, until he attained the age of 
 seventeen years, when he commenced teaching 
 school. This he followed for about three years, in 
 the meantime pursuing his studies. In 1875 he 
 took a course in the St. Paul Business College. 
 He \\'as then engaged as a bookkeeper for several 
 years for Isaac Staples and other prominent lum- 
 bermen of Stillwater. In 1880 he removed to 
 Heron Lake, where he still resides. He first 
 acted as a bookkeeper and clerk in a general 
 store, but from 1883 to 1887 was engaged in the 
 general merchandise business as the senior mem- 
 ber of the firm of Lammers, L^re & Co. In the 
 fall of 1886 he was elected by the Republicans 
 of Jackson County to the office of county super- 
 intendent of schools, which office he filled for 
 four years, having been re-elected in 1888. He 
 closed out his interest in the firm of Lammers, 
 Ure & Co. in the meantime and devoted all his 
 spare time to the study of law. He was admitted 
 to the bar June iq, 18S8, and entered upon the 
 
 practice of his profession. He enjoys a lucra- 
 tive and successful practice in southwestern Min- 
 nesota, and has an extensive clientage. Mr. Lam- 
 mers has held many minor offices at Heron Lake, 
 having served as justice of the peace, as a mem- 
 ber of the village council, as village attorney 
 (which position he still holds), and has been a 
 member of the school board continuously for 
 the past ten years, and is at present president of 
 the board. In Januan,-, 1896, he was appointed 
 by the county commissioners of Jackson County 
 as county attorney, to fill a vacancy in that office. 
 Mr. Lammers is the owner of about two 
 thousand acres of fine farm lands in the 
 vicinity of Heron Lake, which he has un- 
 der thorough cultivation, and which yields 
 him a handsome annual income. In poli- 
 tics Mr. Lammers has always affiliated him- 
 self with the Republican party, and has been an 
 active supporter of its principles. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic fraternity, and has taken all 
 the degrees in the branch of York Rite ^lasonry, 
 including the Shrine, and is a member of Osman 
 Temple, of St. Paul. He is also a member of 
 the Odd Fellows. Modern Woodmen and A. O. 
 U. W. In 1883 Mr. Lammers was married to 
 INliss Hattie E. Spaulding. of Saratoga, New 
 York. They have had four children, three of 
 whom arc living. Howard ^ifelvin, Raymond 
 Spaulding. and Mildred.
 
 192 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 DOLSOX BUSH SEARLE. 
 
 Mr. Searle is judge of the district court of the 
 Seventh District of Minnesota, and resides at St. 
 Cloud. His father was Almond D. Searle, who 
 resided in I'ranklinville, Cattaraugus County, 
 New York, and was a prosperous farmer. His 
 mother was Jane Scott, of Scotch l)irth and 
 a lineal descendant of Sir Walter Scott. On his 
 father's side, Mr. Searle's grandfather was Elijah 
 Searle, a man of more than ordinary ability and 
 force of character. He took active part in public 
 and political affairs. He was formerly a resident 
 of Whitehall, Xew York, and was a soldier in the 
 War of 1812. He also took part in the battle of 
 Lake Champlain. He died about the year 1865, 
 and was then about seventy years of age. Judge 
 Searle's grandfather (jn his mother's side was 
 John Scott, of Scotch descent, and a man of good 
 ability. He was a farmer at Whitehall, New York, 
 and was a soldier in the War of 1812. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch was born June 4. 1846. at 
 Franklinville, New York. His early education 
 was obtained in the connnon schools and the 
 academy of his native town. He graduated from 
 the Columbian Law College of Washington, D. 
 C, in 1868, with high honors. Three years later 
 he came to Minnesota and began the practice of 
 law with Hon. E. O. Hamlin, at St. Clond, the 
 style of the firm being ]T;imlin i^- Searle. Mr. 
 
 Searle soon obtained a prominent position as 
 lawyer, and also took an active part in state poli- 
 tics as a Republican. He was elected city attorney 
 of St. Cloud for six years; county attornev of 
 Stearns County two years, although in a strong 
 Democratic county, and his majority reached as 
 high as eleven hundred. He was appointed 
 L'nited States district attorney in April, 1882, by 
 President Arthur, and served with consp'icuous 
 abilit}- until December, 1885, when he resigned on 
 his own motion in order to give President Cleve- 
 land a chance to appoint his successor. Mr. 
 Searle was a member of the state central Repub- 
 lican committee in 1886 and 1887, and took an 
 active part in the Republican national campaign 
 in the fall of 1884. He was appointed district 
 judge of the Seventh Judicial District November 
 12. 1887, by Governor McGill, and re-elected 
 without opposition in the fall of 1888, and again in 
 1894. Judge Searle was nominated for congress 
 from the Sixth District in 1892. There was a vig- 
 orous contest for that nomination between him 
 and H. Z. Kendall, of Duluth. Judge Searle 
 made a brilliant campaign and ran ahead of his 
 state ticket and national ticket over a thousand 
 votes, notwithstanding the opposition to him in St. 
 Louis Count}", where he received only a bare ma- 
 jority, although Governor Nelson received about 
 fifteen hundred majority. He was defeated at the 
 polls by ]Major Baldwin, but by a very small ma- 
 jority. Judge Searle has an honorable war record. 
 He enlisted as a private in Company I, Sixty- 
 fourth New York Infantry, in August, 1861, and 
 served for nearly two years. Pie was engaged in 
 the following battles: Yorktown, Seven Pines, 
 Fair Oaks, Savage Station, ^Malvern Hill, the 
 seven days' fight before Richmond, the second 
 battle of Bull Run, Antietam, White Oak Swamp, 
 Lee's Mills, Williamsburg and other notable en- 
 gagements. Mr. Searle, having been discharged 
 from active service in the army in 1863 on account 
 of disability, was at that time appointed clerk in 
 the war department at Washington and held that 
 position until 1871. He was during most of this 
 period in charge of an im])ortant bureau in the 
 .Adjutant General's olifice. Judge Searle has 
 alwavs been a Republican, and mitil he went on 
 the bench was very active in political matters, and 
 has given his influence and best judgment to the 
 proper conduct of tlie mmiicipal alTairs of his own
 
 PROGRESSIVA MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 103 
 
 city. He is a nicnihcr of the .Masonic fratcrnil)-, 
 being' a Master Mason, a Royal Arcli 
 Mason and a Knight Templar. lie is also 
 a member of the Knights of Pythias and 
 of Lodge No. 59 of the Elks. He is a prom- 
 inent member of the G. A. R., and on October 
 24, 1896, was appninted aid-dc-camp, with the 
 rank of colonel, ui)on the staff of the commander- 
 in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. He 
 was married in 1875 to Miss Mary Elizabeth 
 Clarke, of W'orccster, Massachusetts. 
 
 HENRY FRANCIS BROWN. 
 
 Henry Francis Brown was a farmer boy 
 in Maine, when the advantages of the West 
 appealed to his ambition and invited him to the 
 employment of his energies and abilities in the 
 more promising field which they had to offer. 
 His father was Cyrus S. Brown, a farmer re- 
 garded as wealthy at that time, and was located 
 at Baldwin, Maine. He was a leading man of 
 the neighborhood and prominent in state politics. 
 His wife was Mary Burnham. Both were of old 
 families in that section. Cyrus Brown was born 
 in Baldwin, where he always lived, and reared 
 a family of ten children, all of whom are living 
 and in good health today. The parents have died 
 but the children have retained the old homestead 
 in Baldwin and go there every year for a family 
 reunion. Henry F. Brown was born in Maine, 
 on his father's farm, October 10, 1843, and wlien 
 old enough was sent to the Fryburg Academv 
 for two years. He was also at school at theLinicr- 
 ick Academy for two years. He came \\'est 
 when seventeen years old, and located in Alinne- 
 apolis in 1859. He engaged in the lumbering 
 business and has been interested in that business 
 almost continuously ever since. He earned his 
 first money at lumbering bv driving a team in 
 the woods at twcntv dollars a month. The next 
 year he rented a farm and taught district 
 school for three winters in succession and 
 worked the farm in the summer. His first 
 thousand dollars earned in this way was 
 put in the lumbering business, but he lost it all 
 the first winter and foun<l himself in debt a 
 thousand dollars more. He continued in the 
 business, however, in a small way and soon had 
 recovered from his losses and has made a large 
 
 amount of money since. Mr. Brown has also 
 been identified with a number of other important 
 enteqjrises. He has a three-fourths interest in 
 two flour mills in Minneapolis. He is president 
 and a large stockholder in the Union National 
 Bank, a director in the North American Tele- 
 graph Company and one of the largest stock- 
 holders. He is also director and a large stock- 
 holder in the Minneapolis Trust Company. He 
 sustains the same relation to the Minneapolis 
 Street Railway Company and also the ^klinne- 
 apolis Land and Investment Company. Mr. 
 Brown has always taken a great deal of interest 
 in the breeding of fine stock, and his herds of 
 blooded cattle are among the finest in the 
 country. He maintains a large stock farm near 
 the city of Minneapolis, and his fine herd of Short 
 Horns took the sweepstake prize at the World's 
 Fair in Chicago, besides numerous other prizes 
 for individuals. Mr. Brown was married in 1865 
 to Susan H. Fairfield of Maine. They have a 
 pleasant home at I'ourth Avenue and Seventh 
 Street South, Minneapolis, but have no children 
 living. Mrs. Brown was a member of the World's 
 Fair commission for the state of Minnesota, took 
 an active part in the management of the woman's 
 department of the fair, and is active in philan- 
 thropic work in her own city, where she is held 
 in verv high regard.
 
 194 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOSEPH B. CUTTON. 
 
 One of the best known and most prominent 
 of the younger lawyers of Minnesota is Joseph 
 B. Cotton, of Dukith. Mr. Cotton is a native of 
 Indiana. His father, Dr. John Cotton, was a 
 graduate of Rush Medical College, of Chicago, 
 and was a relative of the distinguished Rev. Dr. 
 Phillips Brooks. His mother's maiden name 
 was Elizabeth J. Riddle and, like Dr. Cotton, 
 she was a native of Ohio. Mr. Cotton was born 
 on a farm near Albion, Noble County, Indiana, 
 on January 6, 1865. He worked on the farm 
 until he was sixteen years of age and since then 
 has made his own way in the world. His early 
 education was obtained in the schools of the dis- 
 trict in which he w-as brought up. A high school 
 course at Albion followed and afterwards a four 
 years' collegiate course in the Michigan Agri- 
 cultural and Mechanical College at Lansing. He 
 graduated from college in 1886 with the degree 
 of B. S. For the next two years he was tutor 
 in mathematics at his alma maler, at the .same 
 time studying law under Hon. h'dwin Willits, 
 then president of the institution, and formerly 
 a member of congress from Michigan. On June 
 13, 1888, Mr. Cotton was admitted to the l)ar 
 before the supreme court of Micliigan. He 
 almost immediately came to Dnlutli ;nid com- 
 menced practice. He at once plunged into politi- 
 cal life, taking active part in the Harrison cam- 
 
 paign which was then on. Four years later he 
 was nominated by acclamation by the Repub- 
 licans of St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties for 
 the office of representative in the state legislature, 
 and in the succeeding election received the larg- 
 est vote cast for any candidate for representa- 
 tive from the district. In the house he intro- 
 duced and was mainly instrumental in passing 
 a bill for a third judge for the Eleventh Judicial 
 district. This measure was one of the reasons 
 for his entering the legislature. He took an 
 active part in the fight for a new^ capitol, and 
 helped secure the passage of the bill. He was 
 also very active in the proposed terminal ele- 
 vator legislation and was largely instrumental 
 in the defeat of the bill. His committee service 
 was on the judiciary, grain and warehouse, muni- 
 cipal corporation, and ta.x and tax laws commit- 
 tees. As an ardent supporter of Senator C. K. 
 1 )avis he made an eloquent speech nominating 
 the Senator for re-election, which added much 
 to his local reputation as an orator. In college 
 Mr. Cotton was orator of his class in both junior 
 and senior years, and was one of the eight com- 
 mencement orators chosen by the faculty from 
 the graduating class for high rank and scholar- 
 ship. Since 1 891 ]\Ir. Cotton has been a member 
 of the law firm of Cotton & Dibell, recently 
 changed to Cotton. Dibell & Reynolds. Since 
 leaving the legislature he has been the attorney 
 for the Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railway 
 Company and the Lake Superior Consolidated 
 Iron Aline, and in addition to these positions 
 is now the vice president and managing owner 
 of the Bessemer Steamship Company and vice 
 president of several mining companies operating 
 on the Missabe Range. For something over 
 three years he has devoted himself exclusively to 
 corporation law. Mr. Cotton was one of the 
 counsel for the defendant in the AIcKinley suit 
 in the United States Circuit Court against the 
 Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines, involv- 
 ing the McKinlev mine on the Missabe range,, 
 and w'as one of the counsel for the defense in 
 the famous Mcrritt vs. Rockefeller litigation, 
 now pending in the l'nitc<l .States courts and 
 growing out of mining transactions on the Mis- 
 sabe and Gogebic ranges, immediately preceding 
 and during the panic of 1893. Tic has been of 
 counsel cluring the last two years in other im- 
 portant litigation in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 195 
 
 JOHN SARGENT PILLSBURY. 
 
 John Sargent Pillsbitry is so closely identi- 
 fied with the history of Minnesota that to 
 write his liistory fuUy and completely would be 
 to write the history of the state during the last 
 twenty-five years. Mr. Pillsbury was born at 
 Sutton, New Hampshire, July 29, 1828. His par- 
 ents were John Pillslniry and Susan Wadleigh 
 (Pillsbury), and his descent on both sides was 
 from the original Puritan stock. The family on 
 his father's side started, in America, with Joshua 
 Pillsbury, who received a grant of land at New- 
 buryport, Massachusetts, a portion of which still 
 belongs to the Pillsbury family, and came from 
 England in 1640 to occupy it. The fourth child 
 of John and .Susan Pillsbury is the subject of this 
 sketch. The opportunities for an education af- 
 forded him were limited, and in his early teens he 
 began to learn the painter's trade, but his natural 
 taste for trade and merchandise led him to engage 
 as clerk for his brother, George A., in a general 
 country store at W^arner, New Hampshire. Soon 
 afterwards, reaching his majority, he formed a 
 partnership with Walter Harriman at Warner, 
 and a singular fact is that in after life Harriman 
 became governor of New Hampshire and Pills- 
 bury governor of ^liimesota. The experience 
 which he obtained in the New England country 
 store laid the foun<.lation for his business success 
 afterward. After dissolving partnership with 
 Harriman, ]\Ir. Pillsbury removed to Concord, 
 and for two years was engaged in the business of 
 merchant tailoring. At this time he was a watch- 
 ful observer of the de-\-elopment of the North- 
 west, and in 1853 started on a prospecting trip, 
 which finally brought him, in June, 1855, to ^lin- 
 nesota. He settled permanently at St. Anthony, 
 persuaded that there would ultimately be a great 
 city. He engaged in the hardware business with 
 George F. Cross and Woodljury Fiske. Those 
 were the days of "wild cat" banks and depreciated 
 currency, and with the panic of 1857 the ability 
 and courage of the young merchants were tested 
 to the utmost. Added to this came a fire, which, 
 in a single night, entailed the loss of forty-eight 
 thousand dollars. But this did not discourage 
 John S. Pillsbury. He reorganized the busi- 
 ness, paid off the debts of the firm, and 
 in a few vears found himself better off 
 than before. In 1875 he sold his hard- 
 ware business for the purpose of engaging more 
 extensively in the milling business, in which he 
 
 had embarked w ilh his nephew, Charles A., under 
 the firm name of C. A. Pillsbury & Co. Early in 
 his career Mr. Pillsbury had become a leader in 
 local affairs, and in 1858 was elected a member 
 of the city council of St. Anthony, and was re- 
 tained in that position for six years. At the out- 
 break of the war he rendered efficient service in 
 organizing the First, Second and Third regi- 
 ments, and in 1862 assisted in organizing and 
 equipping a mounted company for ser\-ice in the 
 Indian outbreak. One of the most interesting 
 chapters in the history of Mr. Pillsbury relates to 
 his services to the state university. This institu- 
 tion had received a grant of forty-six thousand 
 acres of land in 185 1. In 1856 this land was mort- 
 gaged for forty thousand dollars for the erection 
 of university Imildings. In 1857 the main build- 
 ing w-as completed and a mortgage of fifteen 
 thousand dollars placed on it. \\'hen the crisis 
 of 1857 came the trustees were unable to 
 meet their obligations, and creditors were clamor- 
 ous. After two or three years of hopeless effort 
 the friends of the university despaired of preserv- 
 ing it, and the executive, in 1862 recommended 
 to the legislature to give all the lands in settle- 
 ment for all the indebtedness of the institution. 
 Mr. Pillsbury, however, had been making a study 
 of the affairs of the institution, and having been 
 appointed one of the regents in 1863. began an 
 investigation of its alYairs and adopted a plan 
 which finally resulted in fidlv discharging all out-
 
 196 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MIXNESOTA. 
 
 standing obligations saving to the university up- 
 wards of thirty-three thousand acres of the land 
 grant, with the grounds and buildings, and put- 
 ting it on the road to the phenomenal 'success 
 which it has since attained. Gov. Pillsbury has 
 earned the name of the "Father of the University," 
 given him by the grateful students of that institu- 
 tion, and has crowned his long years of service 
 as regent with a gift of one hundred and fifty 
 thousand dollars, made in 1889. In 1875. with- 
 out any effort on his part, Mr. Pillsbury was nom- 
 inated by the Republicans and elected governor. 
 Following the ravages of war the state had suf- 
 fered from a severe grasshopper scourge, and pov- 
 erty and discouragement were widespread among 
 the people. This was the condition of things 
 when Gov. Pillsbury assumed the reins of gov- 
 ernment. All the more remarkable, therefore, 
 was his plea for the honor of the state, and his 
 insistence that the state discharge her oljligations 
 which had been repudiated. The distress among 
 the people, particularly in the district ravaged by 
 grasshoppers, appealed to his sympathy and en- 
 listed his aid. Unwilling to trust the matter to 
 anvone else, he resolved to make a personal in- 
 vestigation, accordingly he started incognito and 
 visited the affected parts of the state; he found 
 conditions even worse than had been reported. 
 In many cases the settlers had nothing but 
 twisted hay for fuel, and potatoes and shorts for 
 food. Upon his return Governor Pillsbury made 
 an appeal for aid and personally superintended 
 the distribution of supplies. It was during his 
 first term as governor that the famous raid of 
 the Younger brothers occurred, and to Gov. Pills- 
 bury's cool and practical judgment was due, in 
 large measure, the capture of those noted outlaws. 
 He was renominated and re-elected in 1877, and 
 entered upon the discharge of his duties under 
 much brighter skies than when he began two 
 years earlier. The grasshopper scourge had 
 passed, the crops of the previous year had been 
 abundant and the people were encouraged. ( )ne 
 of the important acts of his second term was the 
 appointment of Henry M. Knox as public exam- 
 iner, an ofifice created at Mr. Pillsljury's recom- 
 mendation. He renewed his recommendation for 
 the payment of the railroad bonds, hut the legis- 
 lature under the influence of adverse public senti- 
 ment failed to respond. A controversy had arisen 
 between the settlers on lands granted to the St. 
 
 Paul & Pacific Railroad and the Western Rail- 
 road Company the successor to the St. Paul & 
 Pacific and Gov. Pillsbury spent eighteen 
 months in making satisfactory settlement where- 
 by he secured homes for three hundred settlers. 
 These and numerous other services performed by 
 him not required under the scope of his ofifice, 
 caused him to be regarded with singular confi- 
 dence and esteem by the people, who took pecu- 
 liar satisfaction in re-electing him to a third term. 
 Among these extraordinary services were his 
 contributions from his private funds to the aid of 
 the grasshopper sufferers, and the advancement 
 from his own pocket of some seventy-five thou- 
 sand dollars to carry on the state prison, 
 in order to avoid calling an extra session 
 for the purpose of making an appropria- 
 tion. Throughout his term of ofifice he worked 
 hard to secure an honorable adjustment of the 
 railway bond troubles. It happened that during 
 the early days of the state, bonds had been 
 granted to railroads to aid in construction work. 
 The companies failed, and their obligations to 
 the people were unfulfilled. New companies 
 were formed and they were allowed to as- 
 sume the grants of the defunct companies, but 
 no provisions were made as to asstuning 
 the promises of the old companies. The people 
 felt that they had been deceived and so tried to 
 avoid payment. During his last term Governor 
 Pillsbury finally effected a compromise settle- 
 ment. He arranged to pay half the face of the 
 bonds and interest on the whole at four and one- 
 half per cent. By this means the honor of the 
 state in the financial world was re-established. 
 It was during his third term, March i, 1881,. 
 that the capitol was burned. It was within four 
 days of the end of the session of the legis- 
 lature. The governor acting- with characteristic 
 promptness and sagacity procured an estimate on 
 the cost of rebuilding, transmitted the result to the 
 legislature with an earnest recommendation for 
 an appropriation and secured it thus escaping an 
 extra session and a controversy over a site. Dur- 
 ing his occupancy of the governor's chair Mr. 
 Pillsbury was required to select three men for 
 positions on the supreme bench. He nominated 
 Hon. Grcenleaf Clark, of St. Paul, Judge William 
 .Mitclicll of Winona and Judge Daniel A. Dickin- 
 son, of Mankato, all lawyers .of distinction and a 
 notable fart in ronncrtinn with the appoint nicnt
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNICSOTA. 
 
 107 
 
 of Mitchell and Dickinson was that they were 
 both mcnibers cjf opposing political parties. Dur- 
 ing all this time while Gov. I'illsbtiry was con- 
 ducting the affairs of the state, his private inter- 
 ests were not neglected. At that time was being 
 laid the foundation of the great i'lllsbury milling 
 interests, the fame of which is known round the 
 world. He also engaged heavily in lumbering 
 and real estate, and became identified with the 
 construction of railroads, holding the office of 
 director in the ^Minneapolis & St. Louis 
 and the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. 
 Marie. He has been a director in several of the 
 leading Minneapolis banks and the Minneapolis 
 Stock Yards Company. He is a man who dis- 
 charges business easily and without worry, and 
 has time for the social and public duties besides. 
 He is an officer of the hirst Congregational 
 church of Minneapolis, to which he has contrib- 
 uted generously, among his gifts being the splen- 
 did organ presented by him and his wife. He is 
 a man of simple tastes, quiet manners, unostenta- 
 tious, sincere and earnest. He has impressed him- 
 self upon the commonwealth probably more than 
 any other man who has ever lived in it. His 
 benefactions have not been confined to the state 
 of Minnesota or the city of Minneapolis. At Sut- 
 ton, Kew Hampshire, his native town, he has 
 erected a handsome memorial hall, arranged for 
 the use of the selectmen, for the accommodation 
 of a library, and containing a hall which will scat 
 three hundred people. Gov. Pillsbury was mar- 
 ried in Warner, New Hampshire, November 3, 
 1856, to Mahala Fisk, a most estimable lady, who 
 has, by her sympathetic and helpful association , 
 contril)uted much to his honor and success. 
 
 MARCUS PETER HAYNE. 
 
 Marcus Peter Hayne, a member of the 
 Minneapolis bar, w^as born at Austin, South Car- 
 olina, April 14, 1857. His father was Dr. Marcus 
 S. Hayne, a physician and a gentleman of con- 
 siderable wealth ; his mother was Elizabeth A. 
 Decker. Mr. Hayne is related to the Southern 
 family of that name, among whom was the 
 famous Robert Y. Hayne, who conducted the 
 celebrated debate with Webster. When the war 
 broke out Dr. Hayne removed his family to New 
 York, although sympathizing with the Southern 
 
 cause. Mr. Hayne's early education began in the 
 public schools of New York City and his college 
 course was taken at Cornell University, although 
 he was not graduated by that institution. He 
 began the study of law in 1875, in Newark, New 
 Jersey, in the office of Chancellor Runyon, late 
 ambassador to Germany. From 1877 to 1880 
 he was city attorney of Newark. He then went 
 into the Southwest and lived in Arizona and Old 
 Mexico, ]«'acticing law and engaging in mining 
 enterprises. From 1881 to 1883, he was city 
 attorney for Tombstone, Arizona, and lived there 
 during the booming days of that celebrated min- 
 ing camp when its output of silver was larger 
 than that of any other camp in the United States. 
 Those were lively times in the Southwest, and 
 during Mr. Hayne's residence there occurred 
 many of the frightful Indian massacres, together 
 with the lawless deeds of rough men who were 
 then resorting to Arizona and Old Mexico. Ten 
 years ago Mr. Hayne came to Minneapolis, and 
 has been engaged in the practice of law here 
 ever since. He is now a member of the law firm 
 of Welch, Hayne & Conlin, but was a partner of 
 Judge Jamison prior to the elevation of Mr. 
 Jamison to the district bench in 1893. He is a 
 Republican and very pronounced in his political 
 views. He is a member of the Minneapolis Club, 
 and the Commercial Club of Minneapolis. He 
 is not married.
 
 19K 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 f ;ai m.^ 
 
 ^ 1^ 
 
 JOHN FRANKLIN CALHUUN. 
 
 J- F. Calhoun, a prominent broker of Minne- 
 apolis, comes of a very ancient Scotch familw 
 The name of the original family in Scotland was 
 spelled Colquhoun. The ancient family home 
 was on the shores of Loch Lomond. The family 
 possessions in Scotland date back to the time of 
 Alexander II. of Scotland, in the Twelfth cen- 
 tury, but the family is of much more ancient 
 origin. Mr. Calhoun's great grandfather, David 
 Calhoun, occupied a homestead of four hundred 
 and twenty acres, which was a part of Braddock's 
 battle field, near Pittsburgh, and is now a part of 
 Homestead, Pennsylvania. David Calhoun served 
 in the war of the Revolution. He was a member 
 of Captain James Rogers' militia company, and 
 of Colonel Timothy Greene's Hanover rifle Ixit- 
 talion. During the Revolution he participated in 
 many notable engagements, including the battle 
 of Brandywine, the battle of Camden and the 
 battle of Guilford Court House. He saw Lord 
 Comwallis deliver up his sword at Yorktown. 
 When the war of 1812 broke out Mr. Calhoun, 
 though then fifty-five years of age, enlisted with 
 the Pennsylvania Volunteers under General 
 Richard Crooks. C)n his mother's side, Mr. 
 Calhoun also comes of Revolutionary stock. 
 His mother's mother, Orpha Bingham, was the 
 only daughter of Chester Bingham, wlio served 
 in the Rcvolutionarv war. Mr. Bingliarn was a 
 
 descendant of Deacon Thomas Bingham, of 
 Norwich, Connecticut, who married Mary Rudd 
 on December 12, 1666. The weddhig ceremony 
 was performed by Governor John Winthrop, on 
 the banks of a little rivulet, on the boundary line 
 between ^lassachusetts and Connecticut, which 
 was afterwards called Bride's Brook. The story 
 of Bride's Brook became a matter of history, and 
 it is said, in legal authority, has established the 
 boundary line Ijetwcen the two states. The Bing- 
 ham family is traced back for twenty generations, 
 and is supposed to have been of Saxon origin. 
 J. F. Calhoun is the son of David and Caroline 
 Calhoun. He was born in Licking County, 
 Ohio, on April 28, 1854. While he was still a 
 small child his parents removed to Illinois, and 
 the only schooling which lie ever received was 
 obtained at a little school house in Mercer 
 County of that state. At the age of thirteen he 
 left his home and went to the neighboring village 
 of Keithsburgh, to which he walked barefooted 
 with a straw hat on his head and not a cent in 
 his pocket. After repeated applications for work 
 he at last obtained employment as a printer's 
 "devil" in the office of Theodore Glancey, pub- 
 lisher of the Keithsljurgh Observer. This situa- 
 tion, which furnished him an income of three 
 and one-half dollars a week, was broken up after 
 a very few days, when the paper went into the 
 hands of the sheriff. Young Calhoun ne.xt got 
 employment in a carpenter shop, where he was 
 employed in turning a grind stone, and remained 
 in this position for eight months. He then went 
 into a clothing store, and after a while obtained 
 a better ]>osition in a large dry goods house, 
 where he worked for eight years. When he left 
 this position it was to engage in the mercantile 
 business on his own account. In 18S1 Mr. Cal- 
 houn moved to Minneapolis and engaged .in 
 Icianing money on real estate. During the past 
 fifteen years he has done a large business, both 
 in buying and selling ^linneapolis and North- 
 western ])ro])erlv and placing loans for Fastern 
 clients. He has been identified with many of the 
 enterprises of the city, and has talcen a iirominent 
 place among the business men in his line. Air. 
 Calhoun was a menil^er of the first Ciiamber of 
 Commerce of IMinncapnHs. Since 1885 he has 
 been a member of tlie Minneapulis Chili and he 
 has been a memlier of the Commercial Club since 
 its organization. In the Masonic body he has
 
 PKOCKRSSIVE MEN 01- MINNESOTA 
 
 loy 
 
 been prominent, taking all of the degrees, includ- 
 ing the Thirty-third, and last degree. He was 
 married on January 20, 1879 at Galesburg, Illin- 
 ois, to Miss Clara Zenora Edwards, daughter of 
 the Hon. John Edwards, who was a member of 
 the first Indiana legislature. They have three 
 children, John Edwards, Frederic I )avi(l and 
 Beatrice Zenora. 
 
 ALBERT JEFl'REY COX. 
 
 Dr. A. J. Cox, of Tyler, Minnesota, is a native 
 of Wisconsin, and traces his ancestry back to 
 Colonial times. His mother, whose maiden 
 name was Minerva J. Cook, was descended di- 
 rectly from Peter Lozier, of France, and Fran- 
 cis Cook, who settled at the Plymouth colony 
 in Massachusetts. Her father, Rev. Nelson 
 Cook, was a prominent minister of the Free 
 Methodist and Wesleyan church. She was first 
 married to Zebulon M. Viles, a nephew of John 
 Hancock. Mr. \'iles died shortly after their mar- 
 riage, and his widow subsequently became the 
 wife of James Cox, who was a native of England. 
 Mr. Cox came to this country when but eight 
 years of age. He has always been a farmer, and 
 has acquired a competency. His son, Albert, 
 was born in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, on .March 
 2, 1862. The boy attended school at a neighbor- 
 ing schoolhouse, known in the vicinity as "the 
 red schoolhouse." A feature of school life in the 
 country districts in those days was the spelling 
 school, brought, with other customs, from New 
 England. The "red schoolhouse'' which young 
 Albert attended, usually held the championship 
 of the vicinity over all comers. In 1880 he en- 
 tered the scientific course of Galesville University 
 at Galesville, Wisconsin, and graduated from the 
 academic department in 1883, having covered the 
 three years' course in two years of actual study. 
 He was unable to attend continuously on account 
 of lack of funds. For three years he was first 
 sergeant in the cadet corps of the institution. 
 After leaving Galesville he taught school and 
 studied medicine under Dr. Cyrus H, Cutter, of 
 Trempealeau, Wisconsin. In the course of a year 
 he found himself in a position to enter 
 the medical department of the ^Michigan 
 University, and by hard work and close applica- 
 tion succeeded in making the freshman and 
 
 junior studies during one year. He had intended 
 to graduate from the medical department at Ann 
 Arbor but his old preceptor advised him to go 
 to Rush Medical College in Chicago, and accord- 
 ingly he went there and graduated February 16, 
 1886. Upon graduation Dr. Cox went at once 
 to Tyler, Minnesota, where he has since lived, 
 practicing his profession. During the following 
 spring he formed a partnership with J. W. Ken- 
 dall, and for three years was interested with that 
 gentleman in the drug business at Tyler. In 
 1890 he purchased Mr. Kendall's interest in the 
 business, and has since conducted it himself with 
 the aid of two clerks. When Dr. Cox went to 
 Tyler the countiy was newly settled, but popula- 
 tion has constantly been added, and though the 
 work of building up a practice has been slow, it 
 has been continuous. Dr. Co.x was married to 
 Aliss Mary J. Bigham on June 23, 1887, at Tyler. 
 They have two children, Floyd Albert Cox and 
 Howard Bigham Cox. Dr. Cox is a member of 
 the Congregational church. He is also a mem- 
 ber of the Southwestern Minnesota Medical So- 
 ciety. His political faith is Republican. For the 
 past two years he has been secretarv of the Re- 
 publican county central committee. In the order 
 of the A. O. l^ W; he has held the ofSce of 
 financier of Tyler Lodge No. 109, ever since its 
 organization in 1888 he being one of the charter 
 members.
 
 200 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ISAIAH HENRY URADl-ORU. 
 
 1. H. Bradford is a banker of Hubbard, 
 Hubbard County, jNIinnesota. JMr. Bradford has 
 the satisfaction of tracing his ancestral hue back 
 to the famous Plymouth colony, he being a 
 direct descendant of Governor Bradford. His 
 ancestry was also prominent in the Revolution- 
 arj' War and the War of 1812. James Bradford, 
 his father, was born in Gushing, Maine, Septem- 
 ber 21, 1805, and he emigrated to Wisconsin 
 when a young man, settling at Monroe. After 
 living in several localities in Wisconsin, he 
 moved to Iowa in 1864, establishing himself at 
 Nashua and engaging in the business of wagon 
 manufacturing. His wife was ]\liss Sarah Hud- 
 son, who is a native of Sardinia, New York. 
 She is a descendant of Henry Hudson. Her 
 family was for many years prominent in Rhode 
 Island. She is still living with a daughter at 
 Hubbard. Her husband died at Nashua on 
 July 13, 1877. I. H. r.radford was born on 
 June 5, 1857, in the town of Washington, Green 
 County, Wisconsin. His early education com- 
 menced in the public schools of Milford, Wis- 
 consin. When the family moved to Iowa he 
 entered the public schools of Nashua and made 
 rapid jjrogrcss in his studies. In 1874 he grad- 
 uated with honors from the Nashua High school 
 and then entered the I'lJUer Iowa T'niversit\' at 
 
 Fayette, as a student in the commercial and 
 college courses. From this department he 
 graduated on January 18, 1876, at the head of 
 the class. On March 28, 1876, he was offered 
 a position of cashier of the banking house of 
 the Hon. A. J. Felt, of Nashua. This position 
 he at once accepted. He was the youngest 
 cashier at that time in the United States, who 
 had full charge and management of the bank. 
 Mr. Bradford contmued in charge of this bank- 
 ing house until it closed out its affairs by sale 
 in 1878, to the First National Bank of Nashua. 
 He was then employed bv the I'irst National 
 Bank in making out a set of abstract books for 
 Chickasaw County. A short time afterwards he 
 associated himself willi Moses Stewart, Ir., of 
 Nashua, in organizing the Bank of A'erndale, 
 in Wadena County, Minnesota. This was in 
 October, 1880. ^Ir. Bradford became cashier 
 of the new bank and continued in that position 
 for two years when he resigned and joined 
 Isaac Hazlett and E. S. Case in organizing the 
 Wadena County Bank of \'erndale. He was 
 cashier of this institution until 1883. In De- 
 cember, 1885, he accepted the position of cashier 
 and manager of the banking house of James 
 Billings, of Hubbard, and continued in tliis po- 
 sition for six years Avhen the liank was sold to 
 other parties. Besides managing }ilr. Billings' 
 interests, Mr. Bradford had the general super- 
 intending of a large farm, loan and land business 
 and of a large flouring mill at Hubbard. Under 
 his management the volume of banking business 
 increased to over three million dollars. He 
 now carries on a banking business at Hubbard 
 on his own account. He has a large eastern 
 clientage and is engaged in ])lacing loans on 
 western securities. He is the local land agent 
 for the Northern Pacific Railroad, and during 
 tlie last sixteen years has placed over three 
 hundred settlers and sold about si.x thousand 
 acres of railroad lands. He has been instru- 
 mental in bringing tlionsands of (loll;irs in capi- 
 tal into his section of the slate for in\-estment, 
 as well as inducing a large number of settlers 
 to locate in Hubbard Comity as tlu'ir |ilace of 
 residence. .Mr. Bradford was one of the i)ro- 
 moters and iucorjiorators of the l)\ilutli & 
 Great Western Raih-oid ( 'oui|);niy. He is treas- 
 urer of the corporation, and is now lalioring
 
 PROGKESSIVR MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 201 
 
 hard with eastern capitalists for the success of 
 the enterprise. In politics he is a staunch re- 
 publican, and (luring the campaign of 1896 an 
 advocate of sound money. He is a member nf 
 the Alediodist Episcopal Church, in which he 
 has held various offices. Though nut an office 
 seeker, he was first Clerk of Courts of Ilubljard 
 County and has been influential in the comity 
 politics. In .September, i8(Sj, Air. I badl'iird \\;is 
 married to Miss Christina A. Ilolton, of \'ern- 
 dale, -Minnesota, daughter of the late George 
 Bolton. Thev have had three children, (jeorge 
 Miles, Dilla Carrie, who died on .Se])tcnibir i. 
 1893, and \\'ealthy. 
 
 TI.MOTHV EDWARD liYRNES. 
 
 Probably no man in the Xortli .Star State 
 has been more active in campaign work in the 
 interests of his party, than the man whose name 
 stands at the head of this sketch. "Tim" llyrnes, 
 as he is familiarl\- called by his friends is of 
 Irish parentage. iJoth his parents (Daniel and 
 Hannora Byrnes) were Ijorn in Ireland, emi- 
 grating to this country when children. His 
 father followed the occupation of farming and 
 was fairly successful in life. Timothy was born 
 at Bellow's Falls, \'ermont, November 22, 
 1853. He came to ^Minnesota, while yet a lad, 
 with his parents, and his early education was 
 acquired in the common schools of this state. 
 .Subsecjuently he attended the Cniversity of Min- 
 nesota, taking the scientific course, and graduat- 
 ing from this institution in Ji-me 1879. Having 
 then a desire to take u]) the study of law. he 
 entered Columbia Law School in New ^<irk 
 City. After having been admitted to the bar, he 
 began the practice of his prc)fession in the city 
 of Minneapolis. In this he has been very suc- 
 cessful. Mr. Byrnes, however, did not acquire 
 his wide reputation so much through his law 
 practice as in the lield of politics. He has always 
 been a Republican, and from the first an active 
 supporter of his party principles. In 1887 he 
 was elected a member of the executive com- 
 mittee of the National Republican League from 
 Minnesota, and has remained a member of this 
 committee since that time. Mr. Byrnes has 
 never been a candidate for any elective office, 
 but at this time he took a deep personal interest 
 in the work of organizing the league in this state. 
 
 and upon its organization was made president, 
 which office he filled until 1891. During that 
 year he was also organizer of the national league, 
 and rendered very efficient service. In 1889 he 
 was given the post of the chief of the appoint- 
 ment division of the I'nited States Treasury 
 Department under Secretary Windom, and for 
 two years was Mr. \\'indom's most trusted 
 assistant. During this time Mr. Windom gave 
 him practical control of the entire ])atronage of 
 the department, making all his appointments 
 upon the recommendations of Mr. Byrnes. The 
 Republican National Conmiittee in 1896, recog- 
 nizing -Mr. Byrnes' extensive ability, appointed 
 him sergeant-at-arms for the National Conven- 
 tion, held at St. Louis that year. Mr. Byrnes 
 devoted all his time to making the arrangements 
 as perfect as possil)le and that the national com- 
 mittee's confidence was not mis])laced, may be 
 judged ])y the fact that they declared that this 
 convention was the best managed of any in the 
 history of the party. In all political campaigns 
 Mr. Byrnes has been ver\- active, and probably 
 has given more time to national part\^ work 
 than any man in the state. He has an extensive 
 and intimate acfpiaintance with men of promi- 
 nence and national reputation in this country. 
 On May 15. 1883, he was married to Clara M. 
 Goodrich. Mr. and Mrs. Byrnes have three chil- 
 dren, George G., Clifford H. and I-"rederick E.
 
 202 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES WAYLAND DREW. 
 
 Among the many from the Green Alountain 
 state who have contributed to the development 
 of Minnesota is Charles W. Drew, of Minneap- 
 olis. Dr. Drew was born at Burlington, \'er- 
 mont, on January 1 8, 1858. His father. Homer 
 C. Drew, was a contractor and builder in mod- 
 erate circumstances. Both parents were from 
 old New England stock and had lived in the 
 state of \'ermont for several generations. Dr. 
 Drew was educated in the public schools of 
 Burlington and in the I'niversity of \'ermont, 
 which he entered at the age of fifteen. The nat- 
 ural bent of his mind was toward the sciences, 
 especially chemistry, and during the four vears 
 at the imiversity a large share of his time was 
 devoted to this and kindred studies. He grad- 
 uated in 1877 and received the degree of Bach- 
 elor of ]'hilos('])hy and an election to the hon- 
 orary Phi Beta Ka])pa Society. Following his 
 graduation about eighteen months were s])ent 
 in work and study in various laboratories in 
 New York and Brooklyn, and afterward he be- 
 came a student in the .Medical Department of 
 the University of \'ermout. I fe graduated in 
 1880 and received the highest honcjrs in a class 
 of about sixty, taking the degree of Doctor of 
 Medicine, the first prize for general ])ri)ficiencv. 
 
 and alsij the prize for the most meritorious 
 thesis. The year following graduation was spent 
 in Brattleboro, \'ermont, in association with one 
 of the best known physicians in the state, and 
 at the end of which time Dr. Drew came to 
 Alinnesota and soon established himself in medi- 
 cal practice in Alinneapolis. In the following 
 year he was appointed as Professor of Chemistry 
 in the [Minnesota Hospital College, and con- 
 tinued in that position for seven years, when the 
 school was merged with others to form the Medi- 
 cal Department of the State University. In 1883 
 Dr. Drew was appointed City Physician. In 1886 
 he made an exhaustive investigation of 
 "Food Adulterations in !\linnesota," and pub- 
 lished a monograph upon the subject, and in 
 the same year he was appointed State Chemist 
 to the Dairy and Food Department. This posi- 
 tion he held for six years, during that time 
 doing a large amount of work ak.mg the lines 
 of chemistry of foods and sanitary chemistry in 
 general. He established, in 1886, a private school 
 of pharmacy under the name of the ^^innesota 
 Institute of Pharmacy, which school is still in 
 existence and has been attended by more than 
 seven hundred students. At the present time, 
 of all the legally qualified pharmacists in the 
 state, twenty-five per cent have been its students. 
 Dr. Drew was appointed in 1895 as chemist to 
 the City of Min.neapolis, a ptjsition which he 
 still holds. His medical practice was discon- 
 tinued in i88q, his time since then being fully 
 occupietl in his various lines of cheiuical inves- 
 tigation and in teaching. His work in chem- 
 istn- covers a wide field, and owing to his high 
 professional standing and wide reputation as a 
 chemist he is fre(|uentlv called to dift'erent parts 
 of the Northwest as r.n expert in this branch 
 of science and in Chemico-legal and Toxico- 
 logical lines. In politics Dr. Drew has always 
 been a Republican, but though he has taken an 
 active iJart in the affairs of his party, all j^osi- 
 tions which he has held have been of a pro- 
 fessional character. He has been a nu-mber of 
 various professional societies, including the 
 Minnesota Medical Society, the Hemiepin 
 County Medical Society, the American Medical 
 Association, the American Chemical Society and 
 others. He was made a ]\lason in Washington 
 Ufidge, No. 3, Burlingtiiii, \'ermont. in 1870,.
 
 FKOORESSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 203 
 
 afterward affiliated with Khuruin Lodge, Min- 
 neapolis, which he left to become a charter mem- 
 ber of Miiineiiaha Lodge, of which he is Past 
 Master. lie is at present a mein1>er of Ark 
 Lodge, \'o. 176. He is also a member of St. 
 John's Chapter, R. A. M., of Zion Conimandery, 
 Knights Templar, and of Zuhrnh Temijle of the 
 Mystic ."-^hrine. lie attends the Episcopal 
 Church, but is not a member. He was married 
 on September 18, 1884, in Brattleboro, X'ermont, 
 to Annah Reed Kellogg, daughter of Henry 
 Kellogg, of I'.oston, Massachusetts. They have 
 two children, Julia Kellogg, born in August, 
 l8(p, and Charles \\'ayland, jr., born in June. 
 1896. 
 
 WILLIAM FRANK SCHILLING. 
 
 In 1853 William .Schilling came with his 
 parents from Philadelphia to Carver Count)-, Min- 
 nesota, and settled on a farm. A few years later 
 he located in business in St. Paul, and was re- 
 siding there when the war broke out. He offered 
 his services to the country as a member of Com- 
 pany H, Fifth Minnesota, and served continuously 
 until the war closed, gaining the rank of first 
 lieutenant. After the war he returned to St. Paul, 
 where he was married to Miss ^^lary Catherine 
 Lallier. Shortly after they moved to Hutchinson, 
 Alinnesota, where to them was born, November 
 II, 1872. William F. Schilling, the subject 
 of this sketch. William attended the schools 
 of Hutchinson, where he was under the 
 tutelage of Hon. X\'. W. Pendergast,- now state 
 sujK'riiitendent of ]:)ublic instruction. During 
 the vacations of his last three years at school he 
 learned, in the Hutchinson Leader office, the 
 printer's trade. It was there he earned his first 
 dollar, folding papers for an old Washington hand 
 press. After about a year spent in St. Paul, he 
 returned to Hutchinson, and was employed for 
 eighteen months on the Leader. Again he re- 
 turned to St. Paul, where he was engaged in the 
 printing business until August 20, 1891, when 
 he was employed to take charge of the 
 mechanical department of the Appleton 
 Press. He remained there for over a year, 
 serving also as assistant editor and solicitor. 
 On April 6, 1895, he was employed as fore- 
 
 man of the Northfield News, in connection with 
 which paper there was conducted one of the 
 largest job printing establishments in the state. 
 Mr. Schilling was placed in cliarge of this estab- 
 lishment as foreman until the following Novem- 
 ber, when the paper and its entire establishment 
 were turned over by the proprietor, Hon. Joel P. 
 Heatwole, to C. H. Pierce and Air. .Schilling, the 
 latter serving in the capacity of city editor, a 
 position which he now holds. Mr. .Schilling was 
 reared in the Catholic faith, and is an active 
 worker in advancing the interests of that church. 
 He is a man of upright character and exemplary 
 habits, a great lover of bixjks and the possessor 
 of one of the best reference libraries to be found 
 in any private home in the state. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias. While engaged in 
 the printing Ijusiness at St. Paul he became con- 
 nected with the Typographical Union of that 
 city, and is said to have been one of the youngest 
 meniliers ever admitted to the society, entering 
 as a full member at the age of eighteen. When 
 Mr. .Schilling left the Appleton Press to enter the 
 services of the Northfield News, the Press, in 
 congratulating him upon his advancement, spoke 
 of him as a young man of more than ordinary 
 ability and industry, and as belonging to that class 
 which invariably achieve success.
 
 204 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 LEWIS PIERCE HUNT. 
 
 Lewis Pierce Hunt is the president and 
 manager of the Free Press Printing Company, 
 of Mankato. His father, Nathan V. Hunt, was 
 a native of \'ermont, bom there in 1811. While 
 he was a lad he removed to St. Lawrence County, 
 New York, and was for several years employeil 
 at the shoemaker's trade. In 1832 he married 
 Caroline Gates, a native of St. Lawrence County, 
 and to them were born fifteen children, twelve 
 of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, 
 and eleven of whom are still living. The old 
 people lived together for fifty-eight years, the 
 father surviving until about six years ago, and 
 the mother until about two years ago. Nathan 
 Hunt, in i860, acc[uired part ownership and the 
 position of manager in a large manufacturing 
 plant in Edwai'ds, St. Lawrence County, New 
 York, for the mamifacture of wagons, carriages, 
 axes, etc. A prosperous business was carried on 
 until 1864, when the ])lanl was entirely destroyed 
 by fire causing a loss of one hundred 
 and fifty thousand dollars. This left .Mr. 
 Hunt V. ithout resources and yet with a large fam- 
 ily dependent upon him. He came West with 
 his family and located at Independence, Iowa, re- 
 maining there for five years. He then engagcil 
 in farming near Icsu|), but misfortune and fail- 
 ing health, and a longing for the scenes of his 
 
 younger and more prosperous days, induced him 
 and his wife to return to New York in 1871, 
 where they remained until they died. Mr. Hunt 
 never recovered his fortune, and Lewis Pierce, 
 the subject of this sketch, who was born at 
 Edwards, in 1854, while the family still resided 
 on the farm near Jesup, was obliged to strike 
 out for himself while yet a mere lad, and at 
 the age of twelve years began to learn the print- 
 er's trade. He had only received such an educa- 
 tion as a boy of that age could acquire in the 
 public schools, and chiefly in country schools. 
 It may be said, therefore, that the printing office 
 has been his school and the type case his educa- 
 tor. He was only thirteen years of age when he 
 took charge of a country office, and always there- 
 after, until engaged in business for himself, had 
 the foremanship of the mechanical departments 
 or editorial charge of the papers on w^hich he was 
 employed. Mr. Hunt not only began his busi- 
 ness career early, but his married life as well. 
 He was not yet twenty years of age when, in 
 1S74, he married Miss Lizabeth Putnam, a native 
 of New Hampsliire, and his junior in years. In 
 February, 1881, 'Mr. Flunt engaged in business 
 for himself by purchasing, in connection with F. 
 E. Cornish, the Lanesboro, Minnesota, Journal. 
 In October, of the same year, Mr. Hunt purchased 
 a half interest in the ^lankato Free Press, and in 
 the following September bought out his partner 
 and conducted the business alone, publishing a 
 weekly paper until 1887, when he formed a stock 
 company and started a daily edition. This paper 
 has met with continued and flattering success, 
 under his direction, and in 1895 he built a hand- 
 some business block for its occupancy, said to 
 be the model country printing office of Minnesota, 
 Mr. Hunt has always been a Republican, but the 
 only office which he ever held, which could be re- 
 garded as political, was that of postmaster under 
 President Arthur, from March, 1883, to ^lay, 
 1885, w-hen he was removed by President Cleve- 
 land to make room for a Democrat. In 1896 he 
 was delegate-at-large to the Republican national 
 convention at St. Louis. Mr. Hunt was 
 named as a member of the Minnesota World's 
 Fair Connnission, and in 1891 was elected 
 superintendent of the Minnesota state ex- 
 hibits at the World's Fair. The state had only 
 appropriated fifty thousand dollars, and it 
 was generallv agreed that that was not sufficient
 
 PROGRI-SSIVlv MUX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 205 
 
 to make a satisfactory showing at the Exposition. 
 Mr. Hunt was, therefore, authorized to soHcit 
 subscri])tions for a fund of one hundred thou- 
 sand dollars to supplement the legislative 
 appropriation, and was actively engaged in col- 
 lecting this money for nearly a year. He was en- 
 tirely successful, and as a result his state was well 
 represented and the guarantors were subsequent- 
 ly reimbursed at a later session of the legislature. 
 Following his success in raising this fund his 
 time was devoted to collecting and installing ex- 
 hibits and superintending the Minnesota exhibi- 
 tion at Chicago until the close of the fair and 
 until the exhibits were returned to the state. Mr. 
 Hunt is a member of the K. of P. and is at pres- 
 ent one of the Supreme Representatives for this 
 Grand Domain. 
 
 WILLIAM CLARENCE BICKNELL. 
 
 William Clarence Bicknell is a lawyer prac- 
 ticing his profession at Morris, Minnesota. He 
 was born June 28, 1855, at Parishville, St. Law- 
 rence County, New York. His parents were 
 Carlos B. Bicknell and Louisa A. Carpenter 
 (Bicknell.) They were farmers in comfortable 
 circumstances. Zachary Bicknell and Agnes, his 
 wife, the first of the name in this country, sailed 
 from England in the spring of 1635, and landed 
 that summer at Wessaguscus, now We)'mouth, 
 Massachusetts. They came with Rev. Joseph Hull 
 and one hundred and one others from the 
 counties of Somerset and Dorsett in south- 
 west England. From these two have sprung 
 a numerous progeny scattered over all parts 
 of the country, but particularly in the 
 New England states, New York and Penn- 
 sylvania. The Carpenters were also from New 
 England, and originally supposed to have been 
 of English Ijirth. William Clarence lived on a 
 farm and attended the country district school in 
 the winter months, working on the farm during 
 the summer, until sixteen years of age, when he 
 entered the state normal school at Potsdam, New- 
 York, and in one year prepared himself for teach- 
 ing. After that he worked his own way by 
 teaching in winter and Avorking on the farm in 
 the summer until he graduated from the normal 
 school in 1880. Three years later he began the 
 
 study of law in tlie law department of the Uni- 
 versity of Alichigan, where he was graduated in 
 1885 with a degree of LL. B. Having completed 
 his legal studies, Mr. Bicknell came to Minnesota 
 and located at ]\Iorris, and commenced the prac- 
 tice of his profession. He started out in very 
 straightened financial circumstances, but he has 
 adhered faithfully to his work and has succeeded 
 in building up a satisfactory practice. In 1886 
 he was elected county superintendent of schools 
 for Stevens County. He is a thirty-second degree 
 Scottish Rite Alason, a member of Golden Sheaf 
 Lodge, of Morris and one of its Past blasters; 
 a member of Mt. Lebanon Royal Arch Chapter 
 and its present high priest; a member of Bethel 
 Commander}', and its present captain general. 
 He received his ]\Iasonic degrees at Minneapolis, 
 and is a member of the order at that cit}'; also 
 a member of the Shrine at St. Paul. In politics 
 he has always been a Republican, and is now 
 county attorney of Stevens Count}-, and ser\'ing 
 his first term as such. He is an attendant, 
 although not a member, of the Congregational 
 church. He was married June 27, 1888, to Miss 
 Nellie M. Finney, of Goodhue County. They 
 have three children now living, Clarence W., 
 Agnes L. and Ezra F. One child, Ira F. died 
 December 30, 1893.
 
 206 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES WHITE \'AX TUYL. 
 
 The name at the head of this sketch indi- 
 cates at once that the subject of it is 
 of Dutch descent. The \'an Tuyls were orig- 
 inally natives of Holland, where the name was 
 spelled van Tuyll, and the full family name there 
 at present is van Tuyll van Serooskerken. The 
 family is of I'risian origin, and Tuyll was the 
 name of a small town in that province. The 
 American branch descends from several brothers 
 who came to America about 1720 and has been 
 chiefly farmers. The ancestor of the subject of 
 this sketch settled in the Alnhawk X'alley, Xew 
 York, where his father, Ebenezer \'an Tuyl, was 
 born. Ebenezer has been engaged in railroad 
 business for man\' years, his |)resent official 
 position being that of manager of the Western 
 Car Service .Association at ( )maha. He was a 
 soldier in the rnion army. ca|.Uain of Company 
 G, First New York Infantry, and served in that 
 capacity two years. His service included the 
 Peninsular campaign and he was also at h'ortress 
 Monroe during the historic combat between the 
 Monitor and Merrimac. He was wounded and 
 taken prisoner at Chancellorsville, which closed 
 his military career. On his mother's side, Charles 
 \'an 'J'uyl's anccstr\' is .Scotch-Irish. Thev were 
 early settlers in Central New Yoik and engaged 
 in farming. The subject of this sketch was bom 
 
 December 17, 1859, in .\ddison, Steuben County, 
 New York. He attended the public schools in 
 Hornellsville, the country district school in 
 Tioga County, and the graded and high schools 
 in Binghamton, all in New York. The Bing- 
 hamton schools were of high rank and were 
 the most valuable educational facilities which 
 he ever enjoved. Air. \'an TuyFs first employ- 
 ment was in the service of the United States 
 Express Company at Binghamton, in 1875. 
 He was afterwards clerk with the New York, 
 Lake Erie & Western Railway at Binghamton, 
 but in March, 1882, removed to Omaha, where 
 in the following September he entered the ser- 
 vice of the Union Pacific, and was emplijyed in 
 the freight auditor's ofifice. He remained in 
 this office, being promoted step by step to the 
 chief clerk of the claim department, until 
 October, 1886, when he was appointed assistant 
 freight claim agent in charge of the territory 
 west of Granger, Wvoming. During this time 
 he resided in Salt Lake City, and continued 
 there until December i, 1887. Then there oc- 
 curred one of the periodical changes of man- 
 agement to which the I'nion Pacific has been 
 subject, and Mr. \'an Tuyl's office was abolished 
 with scores of others, and he returned to Omaha 
 and was again employed in the general offices. 
 .Subsequently he was again appointed chief clerk 
 in the freight claim department, which position 
 he resigned in December, 1892, and engaged in 
 the life insurance business as special agent at 
 Omaha for the Northwestern Mutual of Mil- 
 waukee. That position he resignetl in October, 
 1893, to come to Alinnesota to take the position 
 which he now holds, that of general agent of 
 the State Mutual Life Assurance Company, of 
 Worcester, Massachusetts, at Miimeapolis. He has 
 been successful here, as the records of the com- 
 pany's business will show, notwithstanding the 
 Inisiness depression. Mr. \'an Tuyl contril)uted 
 an essay in June, 1894, on the value of the Life 
 L'nderwriters' Association, to the underwriters' 
 national convention at Chicago, and was so for- 
 tunate as to secure the prize offered for the best 
 jiroduction. The prize consists of a year's cus- 
 tody of the loving cup, which is annually the 
 subject of like contest by the representatives of 
 the local associations of the I'^nited States. In 
 the following Decenil)i'r Mr. \';iu Tuvl was
 
 PROr.RKSSlVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 207 
 
 elected president of the Minnesota Association 
 and served a year in that capacity, declining re- 
 election on account of the pressure of private 
 business, but has since been elected president of 
 the Minneapolis Association, which position he 
 now holds. He is a Republican in politics. His 
 father voted for Fremont, and was a conductor 
 on the famous underground railroad. Mr. Van 
 Tuyl is a member of tlie Commercial Club, and 
 of the Westminster Presbyterian churcli, and is 
 a director in the Y. M. C. A. He was married 
 in September, 1889, to Katharine J. Bingham, 
 of Northfield Minnesota. He formed her ac- 
 quaintance in Salt Lake City, where she was 
 preceptress of the Presbyterian Collegiate Insti- 
 tute. They have three children, Ruth, Hugh 
 Oliver and Rav Whittier. 
 
 CHARLES HARCOURT JOHi\S(3N. 
 
 Dr. C. H. Johnson, of Austin, JMinnesota, is 
 a Canadian by birth. Pie was born in the county 
 of Leeds, Ontario, on January 16, 1858. His early 
 education was ol)tained at Almonte, Ontario, and 
 he later took a course in the Collegiate Institute 
 of that place under the direction of the principal, 
 P. C. McGregor, one of the best masters in 
 eastern C)ntario. After leaving school Dr. John- 
 son entered McGill University at ^Montreal for 
 the medical course and graduated in 1884. In 
 June of that year he came to Austin, Minnesota, 
 and at once stepped into a good practice. Since 
 then he has made rapid advances and is said to 
 have the most extensive and lucrative practice 
 in southern ^Minnesota. Though still a young 
 man he has already attained a rank in the pro- 
 fession which insures him frequent calls for 
 important consultations. For the past tliree 
 years he has been chief surgeon for the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad at Austin, which 
 is the end of five divisions of the line. In the 
 spring of 1895 Dr. Johnson was appointed presi- 
 dent of the Pension Examining board at Austin. 
 He has, however, been oljliged to resign this 
 position on account of press of other work. 
 Though so much absorbed in the practice of his 
 profession. Dr. Johnson has found some time 
 for attention to politics, and has long been 
 
 prominent in the counsels of his party — the Dem- 
 ocratic — at Austin and in that vicinity. For the 
 past four years he has been mayor of Austin, 
 receiving the of^ce by a heavy vote at each elec- 
 tion. During his term of service the sewer sys- 
 tem of the city, the electric light plant, the over- 
 head bridge, the extension of the water works 
 system, new fire apparatus, high and other pub- 
 lic school buildings, cement sidewalks and 
 a new reservoir supplying artesian water are 
 some of the things which Austin has acquired. 
 The term of his service has been marked by 
 continued progress and prosperity for the city. 
 Besides the numicipal works referred to, the city 
 has ac(|uired new l^rick works, cement works 
 and a flax mill. Dr. Johnson comes of a family 
 of physicians. Two of his brothers are in the 
 medical profession. In personal character Dr. 
 Johnson is companionable and generous, and his 
 charities are well known. He has his ofifices in 
 a fine suite of rooms in the center of the town. 
 They are equipped with everything needful for 
 the practice of his pnifession. incUuling a large 
 library and plenty of apparatus. In religion Dr. 
 Johnson is an Episcopalian. He belongs to the 
 ]\Iasons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, A. O. 
 U. \\'. and Modern Woodmen of America.
 
 208 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 LE GRAND POWERS. 
 
 Le Grand Powers, State Commissioner of 
 Labor, is a son of Wesley Powers, farmer and 
 manufacturer, in comfortable circumstances in 
 Preston, Chenango County, New York. His 
 mother was Electa Clark. Mr. Powers traces his 
 ancestry, on his father's sitle, back to Jost Pauer, 
 who was born in Naumberg, Germany, in 1732. 
 and settled in IXichess County, New York, in 
 1752; on his motlier's side his ancestry is traced 
 back to Edmond Clark, who emigrated from 
 England and settled at Lynn, Alassachu- 
 setts, in 1636. Mis mother's grandfather, 
 William Clark, was born at Windham, 
 Connecticut, in 1754. and entered the Con- 
 tinental Army in 177''). Mc took part in 
 the battles of I-ong Island and White Plains. His 
 mother's maternal grandfather, Sylvester ?iliner, 
 served seven years in the Continental .\rm\-, and 
 Jost Pauer was recorded among the active friends 
 of the patriotic cause. ( )thers of .Mr. Powers' 
 ancestry, of both his fatlur's and niDther's family, 
 were prominent in the .stirring events of Colonial 
 times, and served in the Continental .Xrmy, and 
 were signers of the ])atriolic articles and pk'dges 
 of loyalty circulated after the battles of Lexing- 
 ton and Concord. Those articles pledged the 
 signers to suppfjrt the colonial cause and resist 
 the unjust demands of the crown. Mr. Powers 
 
 was born at, Preston, New York, July 21, 1847. 
 His early education was obtained in the connnon 
 schools of that town, in the academy at Oxford, 
 New York, and in the Clinton Listitute at Clinton, 
 New York. He entered Tufts college, at College 
 Hill, [Massachusetts, in 1868 and was there two 
 years. He then came West and finished his col- 
 lege course at the Iowa State University, Iowa 
 City, in 1872, graduating with the degree of A. B. 
 He purposed entering the ministry, and prepared 
 himself by private study for that profession. He 
 was ordained as a Lniversalist clergyman in 1872, 
 the year of his graduation from the Iowa univer- 
 sity. He was elected principal of the Iowa Uni- 
 versalist Academy the same year, and held the 
 position until 1874. He engaged in pastoral work 
 from 1874 to i8go. During this time he was for 
 three years superintendent of churches for Illinois. 
 His last two pastorates were in ^Minneapolis, in 
 which city the present edifice of All Soul's church 
 was erected under his direction and largely owing 
 to his efforts. He was appointed conm'.issioner 
 of labor of the state by Governor ^lerriam in 1891 
 and reappointed by Governor Nelson in 1893, 
 and again by Governor Clough in 1895. Mr. 
 Powers is a Republican and has taken an active 
 interest in public questions. His careful study of 
 economic c|uestions, his sympathies with the 
 masses, his special interest in the problems con- 
 fronting the laboring classes, on whic.h topics he 
 has been recognized as an able and vigorous 
 sjjeaker, suggested him for the appointment to 
 this position. He has discharged the duties of 
 his office with signal ability. His reports are 
 quoted throughout the country as among the 
 most valuable compiled on this subject. His 
 work has attracted the attention of economists in 
 this and foreign countries, and he is regarded as 
 authority on the questions which he has investi- 
 gated in the course of his official duties. He 
 keeps abreast of the times, and when W. II. Har- 
 vey's book, "Coin's I'lnancial School," began to 
 attract attention he made a study of it and ])re- 
 parcd an answer, which is regarded as one of the 
 most able of the many answers written in reply 
 to Mr. Harvey. The title of his book was "b'arm- 
 er Hayseed in Tnwn." It fdlli iwnl mncli the 
 same plan adoj^ted by Mr. i l;irvcy, the 
 dry facts and arithmetical calculations be- 
 ing spiced u|) with clever connnenls of 
 the different c-|);irricters wlm carrv un ;in
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 209 
 
 imaginary discussion of Mr. Harvey's prop- 
 ositions. At the time of the famous debate be- 
 tween Mr. Horr and Mr. Harvey at Chicago, the 
 former invited Mr. Powers to sit willi him in that 
 debate and assist him in Iiis work. .\lr. I'owers 
 has been actively and prominently identified with 
 educational and philanthroiiic wmk in .Minneap- 
 olis, and is one of the most enthusiastic pnimoters 
 of university extension in this state. His identi- 
 fication with clubs, societies, etc., consists of mem- 
 bership in the Theta Delta Chi, a c()lle,s;e frater- 
 nity, the Masonic order, the Modern Woodmen, 
 the I'raternal Aid Society, Commercial Club of 
 AHimeapolis and the I'nion League of Minneap- 
 olis. He is a member of the L'niversalist church, 
 and in 1873 he was married to Amanda D. Kin- 
 ney. They have had three children, of whom two 
 are living, Irma, a daughter, and Loren, a son. 
 
 NICHOLAS A. NELSON. 
 
 Nicholas A. Nelson is an editor and pub- 
 lisher at Stillwater, Miimesota. His father, Nels 
 Nelson, is a farmer residing near Cyrus, Pope 
 County, Minnesota. Nels was for many }ears 
 a sailor on the Atlantic, and later on the great 
 lakes, but was forced to give tip his chosen voca- 
 tion because of an injury which affected his 
 health. He came to Minnesota and engaged in 
 agriculture. Nicholas A. was born in Skien, 
 Norway, November 4, 1868, and came to 
 America with his parents when little more than 
 a year old. They located at Alilwaukee, and soon 
 afterward his mother died. The only school 
 education Nicholas received was confined to 
 the public schools of Milwaukee, and he 
 was obliged to give up attending school at the 
 early age of thirteen, when his father moved to 
 Minnesota. Since that time such education as 
 he has had has been acciuired solely through his 
 own efforts. He came to Minnesota early in 
 the summer of 1881, his father having purchased 
 a farm near Cyrus. Nicholas worked with his 
 father on the farm, and while yet a young lad 
 hired out with a threshing crew, in which capac- 
 ity he earned the first money he ever possessed. 
 The following spring, 1883, he went to the Black 
 Hills, where he led a rough life among freighters 
 
 and cattle men until the fall. He then obtained 
 a position in the telephone office in Rapid Citv. 
 Subsequently he secured employment in a 
 printing office, learning the business of type- 
 setting and commenced the career which he has 
 followed ever since. In 1888 he went to Still- 
 \\ater and was engaged as a reporter on the 
 Democrat. Later he became city editor of the 
 Messenger, which position he filled acceptably 
 until the fall of 1892. The following March he 
 formed a partnership with F. C. Neumeier and 
 began the publication of the Washington County 
 Journal, of which paper he is now the editor and 
 part owner. He began lousiness with practically 
 no capital, but by industry and careful manage- 
 ment he has maile a success of his venture. He 
 has never been affiliated closelv with any politi- 
 cal ])arty. In national affairs he has generally 
 been an advocate of Democratic principles, but 
 in state and local jjolitics has usually supported 
 those candidates which he considered best quali- 
 fied for office, regardless of their political rela- 
 tions. He takes an active interest in militar\- mat- 
 ters. He is a luember of Company K, First 
 Regiment. National (niard, and is third ser- 
 geant of the company. He is also a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias, of the Elks and of the 
 Stillwater Club, and. also, of the First Presby- 
 terian Church of that citv. He has not married.
 
 210 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 COLIN FRANCIS MACDONALD. 
 
 The publisher of the St. Cloud Daily and 
 Weekly Times is Colin Francis Macdonald. ]\Ir. 
 ]\Iacdonald is of Scotch parentage, the son of 
 John A. ]\Iacdonald, M. D., who was assistant 
 surgeon of the Second Minnesota Cavalry dur- 
 ing the Civil War, and Marjorie ^IcKinley (j\lac- 
 donald). Both parents were born in Scotland 
 and are now deceased. Colin Francis was born 
 in St. Andrews, Nova Scotia, September 23, 1843, 
 and came with his parents to the United States 
 when five years of age. The family lived in Pitts- 
 burg, Pennsylvania, until the spring of 1856, 
 w'hen they removed to Minnesota and settled 
 upon a pre-emption claim the same year, one and 
 a half miles above Belle Plaine, Scott County. 
 The subject of this sketch received his education 
 in the early Minnesota schools. When seventeen 
 years of age he began work in the Belle Plaine 
 Encjuirer office, where he obtained his first ex- 
 perience in newspaper work. The following 
 year he assisted his brother, John L. Macdonald, 
 now of St. Paul, in establishing the Shakopec 
 Argus, for which purpose the press and material 
 of the old St. Anthony Express was purchased of 
 Judge Isaac Atwater, of Minneapolis, and re- 
 moved to Shakopee. Though a boy of hardly 
 nineteen years of age, Colin responded to Presi- 
 dent Lincoln's call for nun. and .August 18, 1862, 
 
 enlisted with Horace B. Strait, at Shakopee, in 
 what subsequently became Company I, Ninth 
 Regiment Minnesota \'olunteer Infantry. This 
 regiment was sent to the frontier to operate 
 against the Sioux Indians, and passed the fol- 
 lowing winter at Fort Ridgely. October 3, of 
 the ne.xt year the regiment was ordered South, 
 and passed that winter in Missouri, guarding 
 railroads. The following spring it was sent to 
 -Memphis, Tennessee, where it joined a force 
 operating in Mississippi, Tennessee and farther 
 south. It participated in battles at Brice's Cross 
 Roads, (or Guntown), Mississippi; Tupelo, Alis- 
 sissippi; Oxford, Mississippi, raid; the pursuit of 
 General Price through Arkansas and across Mis- 
 souri: two days battle at Nashville; pursuit of the 
 defeated General Hood; the investure of ]\Iobile; 
 siege of Spanish Fort, etc. Mr. Macdonald 
 was color bearer of his regiment. At the close of 
 the war he was commissioned as second lieuten- 
 ant. In 1866 he returned to Shakopee and 
 formed a partnership with ]\Iorris C. Russell in 
 the publication of the Shakopee Argus. The fol- 
 lowing spring he removed to .St. Paul and se- 
 cured employment on the Dailv Pioneer as a 
 compositor. He was employed there until Janu- 
 ary, 1875, when he removed to .St. Cloud and 
 purchased from Will H. Lamb the Weekly 
 Times, which was founded in 1861. Mr. Mac- 
 donald continued the publication of the Weekly 
 Times until September 27, 1887, when he com- 
 menced the publication of the Daily Times in 
 addition to the Weekly. These two editions' he 
 is still puljlishing. His paper is Democratic in 
 its politics, and as Stearns County is strongly 
 Democratic, it is influential and profitable. Mr. 
 Macdonald is and has been, since his first vote, 
 a Democrat. He was elected to represent the 
 Stearns County district in the state senate in 
 1876, and was re-elected in 1878 and 1880. Dur- 
 ing this period he was a member of the only twO' 
 courts of impeachment in the history of the .state 
 — one fur the trial of Judgi- Sherman Page, of 
 Austin, and the other for Ihe trial of Jmlgc F.. 
 .St. Julien Cox, of St. Peter, lie was one cif the 
 four delegates-at-large fnmi Minnesota to the 
 National Democratic Convention at Chicago in 
 1884 which nominated Grover Cleveland and 
 Thomas A. TTendricks. He has also for many 
 vcars sen'ed as a member of the Democratic
 
 PROGRESSIVK MlvN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 alt 
 
 State Central ami t'ongressiunal histricl t'tJin- 
 niittees. He was elected to the office of mayor of 
 St. Cloud in 1883 and re-elected in 1884 and 
 1885. In recognitidu of his \ahial)le services to 
 the Democratic parts- President Cleveland ap- 
 pointed Mr. Macdcinald Receiver of the I'uldic 
 JNIoneys at St. C'loud in 1S85 which office he 
 filled imtil l'"ehruary 10, iS<)<). lie was attain 
 a]>pt)inted to the same position hy .Mr. Cleveland 
 March I, i8i)4 which office he still holds, .Mr. 
 Macdonald has always taken a deep interest in 
 the affairs of his own city and iias been connected 
 with all public movements tcndini;- to build u]) 
 and benefit it. He is a Catholic in his religious 
 belief. October 27, 1868, he was married to Julia 
 E. Lord, daughter of I )r. Charles Lord, of Shak- 
 opee, who dieil in January. 1876. He was re- 
 married February U), 1881, to l-"lizabeth .M. 
 Campbell daughter of Ldward Canipliell of h'or- 
 est City, and sister of ex-.Marshal Campbell, of 
 this state. By the first unicjn fom- children were 
 born, two of whom survive — Charles I"". Mac- 
 donald, city editor of the Duluth tierald, and 
 Julia Macdcinald. By the second marriage ft.iur 
 children were born three of whom arc lix'ing — 
 Edward Albert, Marjoric Llizabeth and Jessie 
 Marv. 
 
 
 MARION S. STEVENS. 
 
 Marion S. Stevens is a lawyer living in 
 Graceville, Minnesota. He traces his ancestry 
 back to England, but his parents and grand 
 parents were natives of .Summerset County, 
 ]\lainc. His father, Elija Grant Stevens, was 
 man-ied to Miss Mary l-iice, of Summerset 
 County, in 184c;, and during the same year 
 moved to what is now Pepin County, Wisconsin. 
 He was twice elected sheriff of Lumi County, 
 Wisconsin, ami held other jiositions of trust and 
 responsibility up to the time of his death, which 
 occurred in 1872. He moved to Minnesota in 
 1864, but after six years returned to Pepin 
 County, where he passed the remainder of his 
 days. His son Marion was born in 1854, in 
 Pepin County. He was one of a family of seven 
 children, who are all living. \Mien his father 
 came to Minnesota in 1864 young Afarion was. 
 
 of course, with the family, but instead of re- 
 turning to Wisconsin he established himself in 
 this state and has lived here ever since. He 
 received a common school education, supple- 
 mented by an academic c(jurse. Since finishing 
 his school life he has followed the early acquired 
 habit of reading and study until he is one of 
 the best read men in the state. Mr. Stevens went 
 to Graceville in 1878 when the place was first 
 settled. He studied law there and was admitted 
 to practice before the Hon. C. L. Brown, Dis- 
 trict Judge, in 1889. L'pon his admission to the 
 bar he at once engaged in the practice of law at 
 Graceville, and by his energy and abilitv he 
 soon worked up a lucrative practice. While liv- 
 ing in Graceville Mr. .Stevens has done valuable 
 and effective work for the Republican partv in 
 that section of the state. Though having ex- 
 tensive ac(|uaintance he has persislentlv refused 
 to accept office. At present he is chairman of 
 the Republican committee. In Masonic, Pythian 
 and Woodmen orders he is prominent and in- 
 fluential. In i8S() Mr. Stevens married Sue L 
 Crossnnm, of Pun.xsutawney, Pennsvlvania. Miss 
 Crossmun was at that time principal of the high 
 school at Burlingame, Kansas. They have a 
 daughter, Marion Fav, and a son, Llovd C.
 
 212 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ^ ^^\ 
 
 JULIUS ELLIOT AIINER. 
 
 The ;\Iiner family is traced back to Henry 
 Bullmaii, a miner, who in the year 1339, with a 
 company of one hundred of his workmen, was of 
 great assistance to Edward III. in his w-ar with 
 France. For this service King Edward changed 
 his loyal subject's name to Henry ]\Iiner (the sur- 
 name being in accordance with his occupation), 
 and gave him a coat of arms. The American 
 branch began with Thomas Miner, who was of 
 the fourth generation from Henry Miner. He 
 came to this country in 1630 in the "Arabella," 
 which landed at Salem. h'nim there he went to 
 Boston, thence to Charlcstown, Massachusetts, 
 where he established its first church. In 1642 
 he went to Pequot with five others, where lie 
 commenced the settlement of what is now New 
 London. Amost Miner, the great grandfather of 
 Julius, scr\'cd in the Revolutionary War, entering 
 as a private and coming out as a captain. One 
 of the most prominent members of the .Miner 
 family was Rev. .Monzn Ames ]\Iiner, who was 
 president of Tuft's College from 1862 to 1875: 
 pastor of the Universalist School Street Church, 
 in Boston, for upwards of forty-six years, and 
 one of the most prominent leaders in the United 
 States of liberal thought and temperance work. 
 Joel Cuild Miner, the father of the subject of 
 
 this sketch, is of the eighth generation from the 
 founder of the American branch of the Miner 
 family. He was a farmer by occupation, and his 
 financial cirucmstances were always moderate but 
 comfortable. His family consisted of twelve 
 children, all of whom are living except one, who 
 died in infancy. For the education of his 
 children J. G. ^Miner provided liberally. His 
 wife's maiden name was Gennett Christiana .\llis, 
 whose memory is revered by her children. Julius 
 was bom at Fond du Lac, ^^'isconsin, June 8, 
 1849. He attended the public schools of his 
 native town until his sixteenth year, when he 
 entered the preparatory department of Hillsdale 
 College, at Hillsdale, Alichigan. After one year 
 of study here, his father removed with his family 
 to Goodhue County, Minnesota, and bought a half 
 section of wild lands. For the next four years 
 young Julius worked at opening up and improv- 
 ing the farm during the summer months, and in 
 the winter taught in the district schools. In the 
 autumn of 1870 he entered the state university. 
 He was compelled to support himself during his 
 college course by teaching and working at such 
 odil jobs as he could find. For two terms he 
 taught at Long Lake, in Hennepin County, and 
 was principal of the public schools at Le Sueur. 
 Minnesota, for aliout the same length of time. 
 He graduated from the university in the classical 
 course in Jime, 1875. For a year after his gradu- 
 ation he taught school at Le Sueur and then 
 entered the law department of Union College, at 
 Albany, New York, graduating in the class of 
 1877. To maintain himself while there, he secured 
 a position as princijial of one of the night schools. 
 Returning to Minnesota, he entered the law offices 
 of John M. Shaw and Albert L. Levi, in Minne- 
 apolis, and after studying for nearly two years was 
 admitted to the bar and commenced practice in 
 that city. Flis work professionally has been 
 largely oiifice work, though he has tried many 
 cases in cotnt. He was one of the attorneys for 
 the defendants in the celebrated King-Remington 
 case; was attorney for the receiver of the Minne- 
 apolis Engine and Machine \\'^orks, and was 
 assignee of Ezra Farnsworlh, Jr. Mr. .Miner has 
 always affiliated with the Rciniblican jiarty. fu 
 the fall of 1892 he was elected alderman from the 
 Eighth Ward, for a term of four years. Soon 
 after taking his seat he was appointed a member
 
 i'K()(;ki-;ssivi; men of Minnesota. 
 
 2i;t 
 
 i>[ the special conmiittce which iiivcstif^ated tlic 
 irregularities in the fire departiiK-ut. He was 
 the only Republican alderman wlm npposed and 
 voted against the purchase of the lirackctt i^rop- 
 erty for a city hospital site, and was chairman of 
 the special committee to investigate the expendi- 
 ture of the proceeds of one hundred thousand 
 dollars of bonds of the city by the Board of Cor- 
 rections and Charities for the present city hospital. 
 He was successful in opposing the Oswald sewer 
 contract, which would have cost the city thirt\- 
 thousand dollars, and was strongly opposed, also, 
 to the effort made in the council to awarcl tin- 
 contract for the Seventh street bridge U> the 
 highest bidder. It is due to his efforts that a 
 bridge was con.structed over the Hastings & 
 Dakota tracks on Hennepin avenue, one of the 
 most useful improvements made in the city. He 
 served as chairman of the conmiittee on sewers, 
 and as a member of the eonnnittees on claims. 
 ordinances and police. It may be said of Mr. 
 Miner that he w^as one of the most able and 
 conscientious men that ever served in the Mimie- 
 apolis City Council. He is a Mason and a memlier 
 of the Phi Beta Kappa. He is a member of the 
 L}ndale Congregational Church and of the Con- 
 gregational Club of Minnesota. He was married 
 in July, 1877, to ]\Iiss Viola Fuller. Mrs. Miner 
 died in the spring of 1893. Two children were 
 the result of this union, Robert, aged eleven, and 
 \'iola l'"uller, aged four. 
 
 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN VOREIS. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin \'oreis is a lawyer en- 
 gaged in the practice of his profession at Fair- 
 mont. His father, John H. \'oreis, was a native 
 of New York, but subsequently became a farmer, 
 owning a large tract of land, about one thousand 
 five Inmdred acres, in Marshall County, Indiana. 
 The wife of John H. was Helen Jacobs (\orcis), a 
 native of \'irginia. The subject of this sketch was 
 born in Marshall County. Indiana, December 31. 
 1853. He attended the district school and a private 
 school, and, also, ^lerom College, in southern 
 Indiana, for four years. He began the study of 
 law with Judge Capron, of Plymouth, Indiana, 
 and was admitted to the bar in June, 1878, In 
 the following winter he removed to ]\linne^ota. 
 
 and December 10, 1878, found him located at 
 Fairmont. He formed a partnership with Hon. 
 M. E. Shanks, which continued for two years, 
 when it was dissolved liy mutual consent. Mr. 
 V'oreis continued the practice of law in Fairmont 
 and is at present the county attorney of Martin 
 County, and serving his fourth term. During his 
 residence at Fairmont, j\Ir. Voreis has served the 
 people of his town as a member of the village 
 council, to which he has been elected five times, 
 and also as village attorney. He is a Democrat 
 in politics, but Martin County has a Repul)lican 
 majority of from seven to nine hundred. Not 
 withstanding this Republican majority, Mr. 
 Voreis competed successfully for public office. 
 At the present time he is chairman of the Demo- 
 cratic comity central committee, and also a mem- 
 ber of the Democratic state central committee. 
 In May, 1895, '^^ formed a law partnership witli 
 F. A. Mathwig. ]\Ir. \"oreis is a member of the 
 Masonic order, and has held many important 
 offices in that society. He is also a member of 
 Osman Temple at St. Paul. He has never mar- 
 ried. Mr. \'oreis may be said to be a self-made 
 man. He has relied upon his own resources and 
 energies to a very great extent. The first dollar 
 earned by him was received for service as a school 
 teacher in Indiana.
 
 214 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAMES EDWARD AiUURE. 
 
 The idea fixed definitely in mind o{ following 
 a certain line of work as his profession in life, 
 and devoting all his efforts to that end in face 
 of every obstacle, in brief is descriptive of the life 
 of Dr. James E. Moore, of ^[inneapolis, who has 
 attained the goal sought in early life — surgery as 
 a specialty, and skill in all its lines of practice. 
 Dr. iMoorc's paternal ancestors were of Scottish 
 descent. ( )n his mother's side he is of German 
 descent. Rev. George W. Aloore, his father, is a 
 retired Methodist minister, who for thirty years 
 was in active work in the Erie conference. His 
 mother's maiden name was Margaret Jane 
 Zeigler. She was born in Mercer county, Penn- 
 sylvania. Her father was a farmer in that sec- 
 tion, but in 1S53 he migrated with his frunily to 
 Iowa, taking U]) a homestead on the prairie in 
 Jones county, near where Anamosa now stands. 
 He ser\'ed throughout the war as a member of 
 the famous "Grey I'.eards." The grandparents of 
 Mrs. Moore came to this country from Germany. 
 James Edward was loom at (larksville, Mercer 
 county, Pennsylvania, M;ucli 2, 1852. His 
 parents were indulgent to him and gave him ex- 
 ceptional advantages for a good educational train- 
 ing, which the boy did not fail to take advantage 
 of. Until his fifteenth year he attended the public 
 schools, and during his vacations, even from his 
 ninth year, never idled awav his time, but worked 
 
 on the farm, sold books and sewing machines antl 
 worked in a rolling mill. I'p to his eighteenth 
 year he attended the Poland Union Seminary at 
 Poland, Ohio — the same school, by the way, 
 where William JtlcKinley received his education. 
 He usually stood at the head of his classes, and 
 was reconuuended by the principal of the insti- 
 tution to General Garfield for appointment to 
 West Point; but James' father objected to his 
 receiving a militar\' training. After leaving the 
 seminary he taught school in eastern Ohio for the 
 following )ear, and during his leisure hours took 
 up the study of medicine. During the year 
 1 87 1 -2 he attended the medical departiucnt of the 
 L'niversity of Michigan, and the following year 
 continued his studies in liellevue Hosi)ital Med- 
 ical College in Xew York, from which he grad- 
 uated in the spring of 1873. Shortly afterwards 
 he located at I'ort Wayne, Indiana and com- 
 menced practice. It being confined largely to 
 railroad employes and laboring men, did not 
 prove ver\- encouraging. After the panic of 
 1874-3. when his ]iatrons could no longer pay 
 their bills. Dr. Moore concluded to return to 
 Xew York for further study. He remained there 
 for nearl}- a year, l)ut after having been left pen- 
 niless in the spring of 1876, through the failure of 
 a bank in Pittsburg, he went to the oil fields of 
 Pennsylvania, thinking he would have good op- 
 portunity here for practice in his special line, that 
 of surgeon. He located at Emlenton and formed 
 a partnership with Dr. 11. !•'. Hamilton, and for 
 three }ears, until the partnership was dissolved, 
 enjoyed a profitable ]iractice. He continued to 
 l^ractice alone, for three and a half years longer, 
 till, desiring to enlarge his opportunities, he con- 
 cluded to remove to ^Minneapolis, which he did 
 in August. 1882. He formed a partnership with 
 Dr. .\. A. .Xmcs. which continued for four and a 
 half years. Pv this i)artnership he was intro- 
 duced at once to a large practice, largely surgical, 
 in a direct line with his ambition. Ever since 
 his graduation. Dr. .Moore has ;ilways kcjit u]) his 
 studies, and frec|uently returned lo .\e\\ ^'nrk for 
 the sake of ex]ierience obtained in the hospitals. 
 In 1886 he went to Europe, attending Dr. i'>erg~ 
 man's clinic in P.crlin. lie also spent some time 
 in the Charing Cross ;nid Roval Orthopedtc hos- 
 pitals in London. ( )n rclnrniiig from lun^ope 
 he dissolved partnershii> witii Id". Anus in order 
 to ln' al)lc to select his practice tn his liking, grad-
 
 PROGRESSlVIv MF.N OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 215 
 
 ually cliniiiiatini;' iiKilical piactici' until llic fall 
 of 1888, since which time it has been exclusively 
 surgical. Dr. Moore has done much ttj aid the 
 development nf mndern surgery in the Xnrtli- 
 west and established for himself a reputation not 
 confined to the local center. In addition to gen- 
 eral surgeiy, he has also a special reputation in 
 ortho]iedic surgery. lie is the author (jf a book 
 on that subject, which is now in the hands of an 
 Eastern publishing house. In 1885 he was made 
 professor of orthopedic surgery in the Minnesota 
 Hospital Medical t'ollege; later occupied the same 
 chair in the ."^t. I'aul .Medical College. When 
 the medical department of the State L'niversity 
 was established, he was elected to the same chair 
 in that institutitm. which he still holds, in addi- 
 tion to that of professor of clinical surgery. In 
 1894 he represented the university at the Inter- 
 national Medical Congress at Rome. Dr. Moore 
 is also a constant contributor to mecHcal journals 
 througliout the United .States. He is a meni1)er 
 of all the local and state medical societies. In 
 i8cj5 was elected a I'ellow of the American Sur- 
 gical Association, one of the most exclusive na- 
 tional societies. He is also a member of the 
 American Orthopedic Association, Congress of 
 American Physicians and Surgeons, and the 
 American Medical Association. He was ap- 
 pointed an honorary vice-president of the Pan- 
 American Medical Congress. He is surgeon to 
 St. Barnabas Hospital, and consulting surgeon 
 to the Northwestern, St. Mary's and City Hos- 
 pitals. Dr. Moore is a Republican. He is a 
 member of the Minneapolis Clul). Flis church 
 connections are with the Cniversalist body, being 
 a member of the Church of the Redeemer. He 
 was married in 1874 to Bessie Applegate, wdio 
 died in 1881. In 1884 he was married to Clara 
 H. Collins, who died a year later, leaving a daugh- 
 ter, Bessie Margaret Moore. In 1887 Dr. Aloore 
 was again married to Louie Irving. 
 
 CHARLES W. MERRY. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a dentist prac- 
 ticing his profession at Stillwater, Minnesota. 
 His father, B. G. Merry, served in the civil war 
 in a Maine regiment, and was a major when nuis- 
 tered out of service. He removed to IMinnesota 
 in i86g with his family, settling at Stillwater, 
 where he was engaged in the profession of den- 
 
 tistry until his death, March 27, 1895. He was 
 a prominent member of the Masons, Knights of 
 Pythias, Loyal Legion and the G. A. R. His 
 wife's maiden name was Charlotte F. Coburn. 
 Charles W. was born at Bath, Maine, June 7, 
 1864. He attended the public schools of Still- 
 water until he was seventeen years of age. He 
 then took a course at the Pennsylvania College 
 of Dental Surgery, graduating with the class of 
 1883. After graduating he worked in the office 
 with liis father on a salary for four years. He 
 then purchased a half interest in the business, the 
 partnership lasting until 1892, when it was dis- 
 solved by mutual consent, each going into busi- 
 ness for himself. March 30, 1885, Dr. ^Merry 
 was appointed a iriember of the state board of 
 dental examiners by Governor Hubbard for a 
 four years' term. He was secretary of the board 
 for two years and president for one year. He has 
 always taken an active interest in state militia 
 affairs, and was a charter member of Company K, 
 First regiment, of which company he was a mem- 
 ber for six years. He is a member of the ^Masons 
 and is a Mystic Shriner. and also belongs to the 
 Knights of Pvtliias. Royal Arcanum, the Elks and 
 Sons of \"eterans. He has never united with any 
 church. He was married May 17, 1887, to Miss 
 Ella McKusick. daughter of Hon. John ^Ic- 
 Kusick, and has two children. Charles Raymond 
 and Ora ^IcKusick. Mrs. Merry died January 
 31, 1891.
 
 216 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES R. J. KELLAM. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was bora August 
 i6, 1837, at the Choctaw Agency, Indian Terri- 
 tory. His father was a Baptist minister who was 
 sent as a missionary to the Choctaw Indians in 
 1836, soon after tlieir removal from Georgia. 
 He afterwards founded the town of Charles- 
 ton, Franklin County, Arkansas, as a mer- 
 chant, and also continued to preach there as 
 long as he lived. His wife was Elizabeth 
 Pierson, of Haverhill, :\lassachusctts, educated 
 at Newbury Female Academy. Charles R. J . 
 was educated by his father and mother, there 
 being no public schools at the agency. He, how- 
 ever, attended an occasional term in the old \og 
 school until he was twelve years of age. He 
 then attended the academy, which afterwards be- 
 came known as Iviyclte College, at Fayctteville, 
 Arkansas. His father having died while in his 
 second year at college, Charles was compelled In 
 leave school and begin work to su])pnrt himself. 
 While at school he began to study medicine wiUi 
 a local ])hysician. He taught in the public 
 schools several terms and in this way earned the 
 first dollar which he ever secured by his own 
 efforts. August 16, 1856, Mr. K'ellam was mar- 
 ried to .Sarah I-:. Carter, of Peacham, \'er- 
 inont. Five children were l)orn, three of 
 whom arc still living. In the fall of 1850, an- 
 ticipating that serious trouble was iimnineuL 
 from the irrepressible conflict over slavery, Mr. 
 
 Kellam moved from Arkansas to \ ermont. On 
 April 15, 1861, he enlisted for three years, or 
 during the war, but owing to some difiicullies in 
 the organization of the regiment was not mustered 
 into service until the sixth of July. He went 
 at once to the front and was a private in Company 
 C, of the Third \'ermont regiment. He took part 
 in nearly all the battles of the Army of the 
 Potomac up to the evacuatioi: of the Peninsula. 
 October 6, 1862, he became ill and was dis- 
 charged, but afterwards enlisted in the Xinth \'er- 
 mont in 1863. He was promoted to hospital 
 steward, U. S. A., and finally discharged at his 
 own request, November 6, 1865. After leaving the 
 n.iilitary service he spent the rest of that year, and 
 l)art of 1866, in Harvard Medical College, Boston, 
 and practiced medicine in A'ermont and New 
 Hampshire. He graduated at Dartmouth Metlical 
 College in 1868, soon afterwards removing to 
 Lynn, Massachusetts. About this time his first 
 wife died and he was married to ]\lrs. 
 Emma M. Noyes. of Chelsea, \'ermont. One 
 daughter was btirn as the result of this 
 marriage. In 1876, with broken health from over- 
 work in his profession he reuK.ived to Minne- 
 sota, locating at .St. C'harles, where he practiced 
 niedicine until November, 1879. His second wife 
 died at St. Charles and he removed to Heron 
 Lake in 1879 to engage in the drug business. 
 Here he was married the third time, Januarv I, 
 1880, his wife on this occasion being Mary C. 
 Schermerhorn, of .\lbany, Xew York, who became 
 the mother of eight children, all now living. By 
 close attention to his affairs Dr. Kellam has been 
 successful in building up a profitable business. 
 He is a member of the .^tate Medical Society, and 
 ex-president of the Minnesota Pharmaceutical As- 
 sociation; a member of the American Pharma- 
 ceutical Association, a memlier of the board of 
 education for twelve years, and was recently re- 
 elected imanimously for another term of three 
 years. He has been justice of the jieace at Heron 
 Lake for the jiast twelve years, and has just been 
 re-elected unanimously for another term. He is a 
 Royal .Arcli .Mason, an Odd I'ellow, and a mem- 
 ber of the Eastern .star, lie was first comm.uider 
 of 1'.. \'. .Sweet I'ost, 149, G. A. R., and is its 
 present eonmiander. He is not a member of any 
 religions bod\, but is in sympathy with the Uni- 
 tarian belief, lie is a Kei)nblic;m in ])olitics. ;mil 
 was defeated for the legislature in 1S04 l)\ ,'i 
 Combination of the Di'niocr;its, ro]iulists and 
 I'n iliiliili< mists.
 
 PROORnSSIVE MEN OP MINNKSOTA. 
 
 217 
 
 JOHN J. FURLONG. 
 
 There are few happier and more comfortable 
 conditions of life than those enjoyed by the 
 prosperous Southern Minnesota farmer. Tiiat 
 section of the state contains a great many men 
 successful in agriculture, but probably none who 
 have made a greater success and have more to 
 show for their efforts in the way of a fruitful and 
 well-appointed farm than John J. Furlong, of 
 Mower County. His farm is three miles east of 
 Austin, and one of the most attractive establish- 
 ments of the kind in the whole state. Mr. l'"ur- 
 long is the youngest son of William and Sai^ah 
 Furlong, and was born February 2, 1849, in 
 Tipperary, Ireland. He came to America with 
 his parents when three years old. His father pre- 
 empted a quarter section of the present farm in 
 the fall of 1856, and in the following spring 
 moved his family into the little log house which 
 still stands on the farm as a monument of the 
 past. John's education was begun in the district 
 schools and continued in the high school of 
 Austin. He grew up on the farm and adopted 
 farming as his business; succeeded to the ances- 
 tral estate, which he greatly enlarged, and came 
 to enjoy an enviable reputation among all his 
 neighbors, both as a business man and as a citi- 
 zen. Naturally of an active and progressive tem- 
 perament he became interested in politics in 1886, 
 and was nominated by the Democrats as repre- 
 sentative to the legislature. He was elected in a 
 district that had always been largely Republican, 
 and in his first term in the house caused his 
 ability to be recognized and did good work on 
 the floor of the house, and as a member of the 
 committees on grain and warehouse, elections 
 and towns and counties. In 1890 he was nomi- 
 nated by the Alliance party, endorsed by the 
 Democrats and elected. In the session of 1891 
 he was the leading candidate of his party for 
 speaker, and would probably have been chosen 
 had he forced the issue; but to secure harmony 
 between the Alliance and the Democracy he 
 withdrew his name. He was, however, elected 
 speaker pro tem and filled the chair for a con- 
 siderable portion of the session during the illness 
 of Speaker Champlin. He was at this session 
 chairman of the most important committee of the 
 house, the judiciary' ; also chairman of the com- 
 mittee on flax fibre and twine. In 1892 ^Ir. Fur- 
 long was again nominated by the Democrats to 
 
 the legislature, and elected. He was re-elected 
 in 1894, although only by the narrow margin of 
 three votes. His Republican opponent contested 
 the election, but Mr. Furlong retained his seat 
 after a protracted contest. He has long been an 
 active member of the Farmers' Alliance; has held 
 official positions in the local and national organi- 
 zations, and is now treasurer of the national body. 
 He has been active in securing cheap and reliable 
 insurance for farmers, being one of the organizers 
 of the Mower County Mutual Fire and Hail In- 
 surance Company, and was for many years its 
 president. He is also president for the state of 
 the Alliance Hail and Cyclone Mutual Insurance 
 Company. He was president of the Mower 
 County Agricultural Society for five years, and 
 placed that society on a substantial financial basis. 
 In 1801 he was elected a director of the State 
 Agricultural Society; was superintendent of the 
 dairy department, and later superintendent of 
 agriculture. He was one of the board of World's 
 Fair managers for the state, and treasurer of the 
 board. These facts go to show that Mr. Furlong 
 has led an active life, and that his ability has been 
 nmch sought after and employed in the public 
 interest. He was married May 25, 1881. to Miss 
 Agnes Ryan. They have four children: William, 
 IMay, Charles and Loretta. ^Ir. and Mrs. Fur- 
 long are noted for their generous hospitality, and 
 take great pleasure in entertaining their friends 
 at their beautiful home.
 
 218 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ALECK E. JoHXStjX. 
 
 Aleck E. Johnson is one of the best- 
 known names among the Scandinavians of the 
 United States. He is the head of the firm of A. 
 E. Johnson & Co., land and immigration agents, 
 whose business is represented by agencies reach- 
 ing from Boston to the Pacific coast. Mr. John- 
 son was bom in Sweden in 1840. He came to 
 America at the age of fourteen, and in 1856 set- 
 tled in Minnesota. He received his education 
 at Mount Carroll seminary, in Illinois, and after 
 leaving that institution he engaged actively in 
 business, his first important undertaking being 
 that of state immigration agent, to which position 
 he was appointed to represent the state of Minne- 
 sota at New York and Chicago in 1867 and 1868. 
 In 1869 he was appointed General \\'estern Scan- 
 dinavian agent of the Cunard line. In 1878 to 
 1881 he was acting general western manager for 
 this company. His success in the passenger and 
 immigration business attracted the attention of 
 President Hill, of the Manitol)a road, and in 1881 
 he was appointed Connnissioner of Emigration of 
 the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad, 
 with headuarters at .St. Paul. From 1881 to 
 1883, while acting as emigration commissioner 
 for that company, he settled the Kc<\ River 
 valley, the Devils Lake countrv and 'I'mile 
 
 -Mountain region with Scandinavians and Ger- 
 mans. He then left the service of the railroad 
 company and established the firm of A. E. John- 
 son & Co., land and immigration agents. This 
 firm was founded in 1883, and was composed of 
 A. E. Johnson and O. O. Searle. At the same 
 time Mr. Johnson was appointed general Euro- 
 pean agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad, and 
 represented it in connection with his general im- 
 migration business. The firm of A. E. Johnson & 
 Co. have offices in Minneapolis, .St. Paul, Duluth, 
 Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and 
 on the Pacific coast, and are engaged in the gen- 
 eral steamship and immigration business. Mr. 
 Johnson's firm also act as general passenger 
 agents for the only direct steamship line between 
 Scandinavia and .\merica, the Thingvalla. They 
 are also the authorized European agents for the 
 Western States Passenger Association. Mr. 
 Johnson has been eminently successful in his 
 business and has identified himself with other 
 enterprises. He is vice-president of tlie Wash- 
 ington Bank, of Minneapolis; vice-president of 
 the Scandinavian-.^merican Bank, of St. Paul; 
 vice-president of the Scandinavian-American 
 Bank, of Seattle; a stockholder in the Scandia 
 Bank, of Minneapolis, and in the Scandinavian- 
 ,\merican Bank, of Crookston, Minnesota, and di- 
 rector in the Western States Bank, of Chicago. Pie 
 is also the owner and publisher of the Chicago 
 Hcmlandet. the oldest Swedish newspaper pub- 
 -lislicd in the liiited States. Fhe paper was estab- 
 lished in 1842. ^Ir. lohusou is a meml^er of the 
 ."Scandinavian Literary^ Society, and of the Swedish 
 Glee Club in Chicago, and one of the founders 
 and first president of the Working Women's 
 Home, of that city. He is a director in the 
 Scandinavian Sailors' Temperance Home, in 
 Brooklyn, and as a recognition of his many acts 
 of kindness and encouragement and [practical as- 
 sistance to Scandinavians in America, his majesty. 
 King Oscar, of .Sweden and Norway, has con- 
 ferred upon htm the luin<ir of membership in the 
 Knights of Wassa. Mr. Jolmson is a man nf 
 remarkable energ\- ;md enter])rise, baclscd u|) by 
 natural talents, whicli have given him i)romi- 
 nencc, not only among the ])eople of his own 
 nationality, lint ha\-e wnn for him recognition as 
 ;i man of superior l)usiness qualifications among
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 21 y 
 
 all classes of business men. His strongest char- 
 acteristic is liis tireless enerfjy, vvliicli has enal)led 
 him to accomplish more in his comparatively 
 brief business career than usually falls to the lot 
 of even the most imlu'^tridus. 
 
 JOHN W. ARCTANDER. 
 
 John W. Arctander is a native of Stock- 
 holm, Sweden, where he was born in 1849. < )n 
 his father's side he is descended from one o! 
 Norway's oldest families, prominent for several 
 hundred years in Norwegian history, while nn 
 his mother's side he is closely related to tlie 
 Nobels, of St. Petersburg and Paris, who are 
 the petroleum kings of Eurojje, and, perhaps, 
 next to the Rothschilds, the wealthiest family in 
 the world. ]\lr. Arctander graduated with first 
 honors from the Royal L'niversity of Norway in 
 1867. He had already gained a considerable 
 name by his contributions to Norwegian liter- 
 ature, and after his gnuhiation he became asso- 
 ciated with the celebrated Norwegian poet, 
 Bjornstiernc Ijjornson in jnurnalistic enterprises 
 and occupied a prominent ])osition in the news- 
 paper world of Norway. He was very radical 
 in his political tendencies and the vigorous ex- 
 pression of his views soon brought him into 
 conflict W'ith the authorities so that in 1870 he 
 became a political exile from his own country. 
 Naturally the great republic of America attracted 
 him and became his adopted country. From 
 1870 to 1874 he was connected witli Norwegian 
 papers in Chicago and New York, but during 
 this time sinuiltaneously pursued the study of 
 law. In 1S74 he came to Minnesota and 
 shortly afterwards was admitted to practice as 
 an attorney. He first settled in Minneajiolis, 
 but two years later moved to ^\'illnlar and for 
 ten years devoted himself mainly to criminal 
 practice. He built up quite a reputation in the 
 western part of the state as a criminal lawyer, 
 and in 1880 was by Governor Pillsbury ap- 
 pointed district attorney of the Twelfth judicial 
 district, especially created by the legislature, and 
 afterwards was elected to the position by the 
 people. While for four years prior to this only 
 one person had been convicted of crime in the 
 entire district. Mr. Arctander during the first 
 
 year of his incumbency of the office of district 
 attorney sent forty criminals to the state prison. 
 Terror reigned among the criminal classes which 
 had infested the border counties of the state 
 and the eiTect was wholesome and gratifying. 
 In 1881 he was engaged as counsel for the de- 
 fense in the impeachment trial of Hon. E. St. 
 Julien Cox, and added considerable to his repu- 
 tation by the able manner in which he presented 
 the cause of his client. In 1885 Mr. Arctander 
 was made a member of the commission which 
 drafted the present ])enal code of the state of 
 Minnesota, the commission having the satisfac- 
 tion of seeing their work adopted by the legis- 
 lature without a single amendment. In 1886 
 Mr. Arctander removed to Minneapolis where 
 he has since occupied a prominent place among 
 the members of the bar. In 1875 he wrote a 
 practical hand Ijook of the laws of Minnesota 
 in the Norwegian langnage, A\hich had a large 
 sale. In 1895 '"^ published a new edition in the 
 same language and re-wrote it in -Swedish. In 
 1803 he translated into English Henrv Ibsen's 
 '"The blaster Guilder." Mr. Arctander has also 
 indulged in his taste for literature in numerous 
 contributions to periodical publications, and it 
 is understood that he has in preparation a work 
 somewhat more ambitious than anything he has 
 yet published, but is not yet ready to an- 
 noimce it.
 
 220 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 THOMAS JAMES McELLIGUTT. 
 
 A combination of Irish descent and American 
 birth and influences, has produced some of the 
 foremost members of the bar in tliis country. 
 Such a combination is found in Thomas J. ]\Ic- 
 Elligott who, thougli a young man, has already 
 taken a place among the successful lawyers ot 
 western Minnesota. Mr. McI*'lligott was born 
 in Milwaukee on July 28, 1870. His parents 
 were both of Irish biitli but came to America in 
 the forties and are now living on a farm at Glen- 
 coe, Minnesota. James McElligott, like so many 
 of the Irish-Americans, made his way success- 
 fully. He is now- in easy circumstances and was 
 able to give his son a good education. The 
 family moved to ( ilencoc when Thomas was seven 
 years old. L'ntil thirteen years of age the boy at- 
 tended the district school and then went to Stevens 
 seminary at Glencoe from which he graduated 
 with honors in 18S8. During this school life he 
 was fjbliged to walk four miles each day to and 
 from the farm. A year's tcacliing, com1)inciI 
 with hard study, fitted the young man to enter the 
 state university. He decided to take the scien- 
 tific course and became a member of the fresh- 
 man class in 1880, Init in 18(^2 he concluded to 
 study law and took up work in the law dci)art- 
 ment. Eor nearly two years the studies of both 
 departments were kept up but in the spring of 
 
 1893 ^Ir. McElligott was obliged to drop the 
 scientific course in order to secure his diploma 
 from the law department. He had, however, 
 virtually finished the senior year. During his 
 college life Mr. McElligott developed a talent 
 for debating and represented the Delta Sigma 
 Debating Society in three annual debates. He 
 was also the leader of the ^Minnesota debaters in 
 the first intercollegiate debate between the univer- 
 sities of Minnesota and Iowa. The Theta Delta 
 Chi and Delta Chi (law) fraternities claim him as 
 a member. After his admission to the bar, im- 
 mediately after graduation in June, 1893, ^^^''• 
 AIcElligott went to Appleton, Minnesota, where 
 he became associated with the Hon. E. T. Young 
 in the practice of law. A year later he removed 
 to Bellingham, Minnesota, and went into practice 
 alone. During his college life he had worketl his 
 way, among other things carrying papers — that 
 common resort of the ambitious college youth. 
 This or some other influence predisposed Mr. 
 I\IcEIligott to an interest in the press, and at 
 LSellingham he found an opportunit\ of indulging 
 his talents. He became half owner of the "Bell- 
 ingham Times" and conducted the editorial de- 
 partment of the paper until the sunnner of 1805. 
 An opening presented itself in Madison, Lac qui 
 Parle County. Mr. ^McElligott moved there in 
 March, 1895, 3"^ formed a law partnership with 
 kTank Palmer, under the firm name of Palmer & 
 McElligott. They have been very succes- 
 ful and are understood to have the largest 
 ])ractice of any law- firm in that section 
 of the state. Mr. .McElligott has not taken, 
 as yet, any active part in politics. His 
 first vote was cast for Grover Cleveland in 1892, 
 but since then his leanings have been toward the 
 Republican party, and in his editorial capacity on 
 the "Bellingham Times" in 1894 lie supported 
 the Republican ticket. He has been devoted to 
 business and has shown himself qualified for a suc- 
 cessful career as a lawyer. Commencing with, 
 as lie puts it. "but two dollars and a half to my 
 name," he has become financiall}- indc])endent. 
 V.xQw his first case was won. Though beaten in 
 the district court he ai)])eaK-il to tlie su|)rcnic court 
 and got a decision for his client. While in Bel- 
 Imgharii, on November T5, 1804, TMr. McElligott 
 was married to ]\fiss Maud Wright, of Aiipleton, 
 'Minncsot.-i. T1k'\- have one child, a bov. Mr. Mc-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MIXNKSOTA. 
 
 221 
 
 Elligott was born \uu, llic Catlujlic church, and 
 yet belongs to tliat (Icnoniination, Ijut he takes 
 an interest in all Christian churches and is liberal 
 in his religious beliefs. 'I'lu- only secret society 
 to which he belongs is the order of the Knights 
 of Pythias. He is secretary of the lioard of Edu- 
 cation of Madison. 
 
 HENRY JOHNS. 
 
 Mr. Johns is a member of the law linn of 
 Henry and Robert L. Johns, of -St. Paul. He 
 was born at Johnstown, New York, June i8, 
 1858, the son of Captain Henry 'i\ Johns and 
 Martha Jane Brown (Johns). Captain Johns 
 enlisted in Company C, Forty-ninth Massachu- 
 setts Volunteers at the outbreak of the civil war, 
 and afterwards in the Sixty-first Massachusetts 
 \'olunteers, and served until the close of the war, 
 being breveted captain for gallant services at 
 Petersburg. In 1868 he moved with his family 
 to Minnesota, locating at St. Paul. At the close 
 of the war he published a book entitled "Life 
 With the Forty-ninth Massachusetts Volun- 
 teers," one of the few books which portrays the 
 part taken by the private soldiers in the defense 
 of the Union. While in Minnesota he gained 
 considerable reputation by the publication of 
 several pamphlets upon the resources and great 
 commercial advantages of the Northwest, and 
 especially of the city of Duluth. He also attained 
 prominence as a public lecturer, and for several 
 years helped the cause of temperance as State 
 Lecturer for the Minnesota Temperance Society. 
 From 1873 t" ^876 he was secretary of the St. 
 Paul Chamber of Commerce. In 1878 he moved 
 to Washington, District of Columbia, where he 
 has since resided, being engaged in government 
 service and in various literary work. The an- 
 cestors of the mother .if the subject of this 
 sketch settled in Massachusetts about the year 
 1700, and several members of her family served 
 in the Revolutionary- War. The ancestors of H. 
 T. Johns were of \\'clsh origin and Quakers, 
 and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 
 year 1680. Henn,- Johns received his early edu- 
 cation in the public schools of St. Paul. While 
 attending the high school, he contributed to and 
 edited several amateur papers, and took consid- 
 erable part in the literarv societv. He studied at 
 
 the National Law School in the City of Wash- 
 ington, from which he graduated in 1879, and 
 was admitted to the bar in June of that year. 
 In the fall of 187(1 he came West and located at 
 Burlington, Joun, and entered the law office of 
 General Tracy, where he remained about a year. 
 He then came to Miimesota and located at Red 
 Wing, where he began the practice of his pro- 
 fession and was engaged in the practice of law at 
 Red Wing until 1885, when he moved to St. 
 Paul. -Mr. Johns has been a successful practi- 
 tioner, and has been engaged in a number of im- 
 portant cases, among which are the Stensgaard 
 forgery case, the famous real estate fraud cases 
 and the notorious bank robbery cases. Mr. 
 Johns' political affiliations are with the Repub- 
 lican party. He has been an active worker for 
 the success of the party during the past ten 
 years, and is considered one of the best political 
 organizers and campaigners in the state. He has 
 never sought election to any office, except the 
 Legislatiu^e, of which he served as a member 
 during the session of 1895, representing the 
 Fourth ward, the Democratic stronghold in the 
 city of St. Paul. At the last election he was re- 
 elected to the same office. In the legislature he 
 was one of the most active members of the judi- 
 ciary committee, and exerted considerable influ- 
 ence on the floor of the house in behalf of sev- 
 eral ini]iortant measures.
 
 222 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 GILBERT H. RICE. 
 
 By inheritance and personal experience G. H. 
 Rice, the first settler of Park Rapids, Minnesota, 
 seems to have been fitted for pioneer life. His 
 father, Benjamin Rice, was a native of .St. Law- 
 rence County, New York. He served as a pri- 
 vate soldier in the war of 1812, receiving an 
 honorable discharge at the end of that conflict. 
 In 1816 he married ^Nliss Mary Malty, and took 
 his young wife to Chautauqua County, New 
 York, which at that time was a dense wilderness. 
 Mr. Rice made a clearing, building himself a 
 home and became a prosiierous farmer. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Rice had five children. Gilbert was born in 
 Chautauqua County on March 13, 1838. When 
 he was fourteen years of age, on May 11, 1S52, 
 his father died. Three years later Mrs. Rice, 
 with her children removed to Mitchell County, 
 Iowa, replacing the pioneer life of the forests of 
 New York for a lonesome home on the unbroken 
 prairies of Iowa. At the time they settled in 
 Mitchell Cf)unty there was not a mile of railroad 
 in the state and their postoffice was fifty 
 miles away. Gilbert received a fair common 
 schof)l education, and in December. 1861. he en- 
 rolled his name as the first student in the Cedar 
 \^illcy Seminary at Osage. Iowa, in fact the 
 young man had the honor of naming the insti- 
 tution. After attending this sclinol fcir one year 
 
 he entered the milling business with his brothers 
 at Riceville, Iowa, the town which sprung up 
 after their settlement in Mitchell County took its 
 name from the family. In 1857 ^^^ ^^'^ O'^t the 
 town site and made the first substantial improve- 
 ment. The land used was the homestead origin- 
 ally taken up by his mother, and which she re- 
 ceived from the government for her husband's 
 services during the war of 181 2. In 1866 ]Mr. 
 Rice bought out the interests of his brothers, F. 
 C. and Dennis, in the milling business at Rice- 
 ville and sold a half interest in the whole business 
 to Nelson Pierce. A year later he sold the re- 
 maining half interest in the business to ^Ir. 
 Pierce and again entered into partnership with his 
 Isrothers, building a flour mill at Osage, Iowa. 
 In 1875 he bought out his brothers' interest 
 again and ccntintied the business alone until 
 1 88 1. It was, perhaps, the spirit of the pioneer 
 that induced Mr. Rice to again seek out the for- 
 estrj-. When he came to the present location of 
 Park Rapids in Jtine, 1881, his home was fifty 
 miles from any railroad or postofifice, and their 
 life for a few years was thoroughly that of a pio- 
 neer, as had been his mother's experiences in New 
 York and Iowa. He built a saw and flour mill 
 on the lands which were, in 1883, laid out as the 
 town site. The town was given the name of 
 Park Rapids, and it has become one of the most 
 thriving of the younger towns of the state. Mr. 
 Rice has been thoroughly identified with its pros- 
 perity. He has been continually in the milling 
 business for thirty-six years, and has been uni- 
 formly successful. Mr. Rice volunteered for the 
 service in the Federal army in 1863, but the quota 
 lieing full he was not received. He was commis- 
 sioned as first lieutenant in the Iowa militia,^ 
 and helped to organize a com])any of one hun- 
 dred men to fight the Indians in Minnesota at 
 the time of the Sioux out-break, but the governor 
 of Minnesota, however, refused to accept any 
 troops outside his own state. In politics Mr. Rice 
 has always been a Republican. He has never 
 sought office, but in 1884 was induced to accept 
 the nomination for probate judge: was elected 
 and .served his first term m Flubbard County. He 
 belongs to the Sound Money Club of Park Rap- 
 ids. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. Shelf 
 Prairie Lodge, Xo. 131, at Park Rajiids. His 
 cliurch memljership is with the hirst Baptist 
 church of his town. On September 17, 1866, Mr.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 223 
 
 Rice married Miss Martha Pierce. They have 
 had four children; Edith E., Leonard H., Artliur 
 L. anil Jithel L. Edith E. Rice was married on 
 August I), 1888, to F. A. \'an(leri)oel, of Park- 
 Rapids. Leonard was married on August 16, 
 1890, to Miss Cora I. l\inia. 
 
 HAROLD J. LOIiRr.AUJ'IR. 
 
 Harold Johan Lohrbaucr, of Minneap- 
 olis, is a native of Christiania, Norway, where he 
 was born I'^ebruar}- 23, 1858. His father, Johan 
 Lohrbauer, is the owner and o])erator of a cotton 
 mill at Christiania, Norway. His mother's maid- 
 en name was Trine Boettgcr. Johan Lohrbauer 
 and l;is wife are highly respected people in the 
 conmnmity in which they live. They were born 
 and reared in Christiania, and Mr. Lohrliauer 
 has won, by his own efforts, the competency and 
 position which he occupies, and is now the con- 
 trolling spirit of a manufacturing concern em- 
 ploying about two hundred people. The subject 
 of this sketch received his early education in one 
 of the private schools of Christiania until at the 
 age of sixteen, when he spent a year with his 
 father in the factory, the intention being to edu- 
 cate liim in that line of business. For the same 
 purpose he was sent to Horton, a town about 
 fifty miles from Christiania, to take a course in 
 mechanical engineering. At the age of eighteen 
 he entered a mercantile high school, the Chris- 
 tiania "Handelsgymnasium," in order to acquire 
 a business education. He spent two years in 
 that institution and finished the fourth best in a 
 class of forty students. This gave him a thor- 
 ough business education, including a fair knowl- 
 edge of the principal modern languages. Harold 
 then embarked for himself and has relied upon 
 his own resources and energies ever since. His 
 first business engagement was in an importing 
 house in Christiania, where he acted as corre- 
 sponding clerk in the English, German and 
 French languages, later he entered his father's 
 business with a view as before stated to succeed 
 him in the same. Then it happened that an old 
 friend and schoolmate of his returned on a visit 
 from America. His tale about his own prosperity 
 and the easy progress any young man with busi- 
 ness education and abilit>- undoubtedly could 
 make in that far awav country, brought Harold 
 
 to look at his own i)rospects in a different light 
 from what he had done before. In short he de- 
 cided to leave it to one of his younger brothers 
 to take up the path which his father had laid out 
 before him and to follow his friend to America. 
 So he came to St. Paul, .Minnesota, in 1882, and 
 s week after his arrival obtained a situation in 
 The Savings liank of St. Paul and was em])lo_\ed 
 there for eighteen months. He then entered the 
 service of a land and immigration agency, with 
 which he was connected until he started a land 
 and immigration bureau on hisownaccount about 
 six years later. He now maintains offices for the 
 conduct of this line of business both in Minne- 
 apolis and .St. Paul, and is meeting with gratify- 
 ing success His business is chiefly that of coli)- 
 nizing lands, acipiired either bv option or pur- 
 chase. His operations have been chietiy in 
 Northwestern Wisconsin. He has been the 
 means of moving from the shojjs and factories 
 many men who have found it profitable for them 
 to become owners of farms, and so far has settled 
 and sold in this way about fiftv-tive thousand 
 acres, and located between six and seven hundred 
 families, representing, probably, from twenty-five 
 lumdrcd to three thousand people. This extensive 
 business has required close attention, and to it 
 Tvfr. Lohrbaucr has given his best energies and 
 superior business aliility. He was married in 
 1882 to Afaren Strom, at Harstad, Xonvav.
 
 224 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 I^^i^ 
 
 WILLIAM EDWIX LEE. 
 
 William E. Lee, president of the Bank of 
 Long Prairie, is better known to the people of 
 Minnesota as an active public man and as the 
 efficient superintendent of the State Reformatory 
 at St. Cloud. During the syiring and summer of 
 1896 he has been brought into special promi- 
 nence as a candidate before the state Republican 
 convention for the nomination for governor. Mr. 
 Lee is of English origin, though born in this 
 counti-y just after his jiarents settled here. His 
 father. Samuel Lee. came tt.i America with his 
 wife (who was Miss Jane Green), from Bridge- 
 water, Sumniersetshire. England, in 1851. Mr. 
 Lee was a contractor and builder and a millwright 
 by trade. During the financial panic of 1856 he 
 suffered losses at .Mton, Illinois, where he first 
 established himself, lie came to Minnesota in 
 June, 1856, and settled at Little Va.\h. He ser\'ed 
 in Company E, of Hatch's I'.attalion, Minnesota 
 Volunteers, during the war. Mr. and .Mrs. Lee 
 arc still living at Long Prairie. Their son Wil- 
 liam was born at .Mton on January 8, 1852. He 
 received his education in tlu- public schools and 
 from private instructors after leaving school. 
 While a hoy he worked on a farm and with his 
 father at the millwright trade. During his ex- 
 perience in this trade he invented a wheat clean- 
 ing machine, known as Lee's wheat and cockle 
 
 separator. ^Ir. Lee was unable to manufacture 
 the machine and put it on the market, but, 
 although he held a patent, a Milwaukee concern 
 connnenced the manufacture and placed the 
 machines in nearly every flour mill in the world 
 where spring wheat is grotind. After many un- 
 successful attempts to secure a settlement, Mr. 
 Lee connnenced suit against users of his machine. 
 which were prosecuted successfully and became 
 famous among patent litigation. In company 
 with R. H. Harkens, Mr. Lee, when a young 
 man, started a small country store at Burnham- 
 ville, Todd County, which was afterwards re- 
 moved to Long Prairie and became one of the 
 leading mercantile establishments of the county. 
 In January, 1882. he established the Bank of 
 Long Prairie, which was the first bank in Todd 
 County. ]\lr. Lee's political service began in 
 1875, when he w'as elected justice of the peace. 
 Two years later he was elected register of deeds 
 of Todd County and held the office for four 
 years. In 1885 he represented Todd County in 
 the legislature and took an active part in the 
 railroad and warehouse legislation of that year — 
 the first important legislation of the kind in 
 Minnesota. He was re-elected to the legislature 
 in 1887 ^nd again in 1893, when he was chosen 
 speaker of the house. For twenty years he has 
 been actively identified with the public affairs of 
 northern Minnesota. Though of a democratic 
 family he has been from the time he cast his 
 first vote, an enthusiastic Republican. In 1894 
 Mr. Lee was surprised by being tendered the 
 post of superintendent of the State Reformatory 
 at St. Cloud. During the nineteen months of 
 his term of service at the head of this institution 
 its affairs were economically managed and many 
 improvements in the methods and management 
 of the reformatory were introduced. During the 
 winter of 1896 the stockholders of the Bank of 
 Long Prairie, desiring to organize the institution 
 into a National Bank, urged ATr. Lee to accept 
 the presidency of the reorganized concern, and 
 he accordingly resigned his position as superin- 
 tendent of the reformatory and returned to Long 
 Prairie. In 1875 ^^^- Lee was married to Miss 
 Eva A. Gibson, daughter of Ambrose H. Gibson. 
 They have three sons, Rudolph A. Lee, a student 
 at the state university; Harry W. Lee and Ray- 
 mond A. Lee, students at the St. Cloud Norma?
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 225 
 
 school. Mr. Lee has taken an active interest in 
 educational matters and served six years on the 
 state normal school board. He has been actively 
 identified with the building up of the village of 
 Long Prairie, where he has been engaged in the 
 banking, inorcantilr and real estate business. 
 
 FRED CA.RLET()X PILLSHURY. 
 
 The name of Pillsbury is inseparably C(jn- 
 nected with the history of Minnesota and the de- 
 velopment of her greatest manufacturing inter- 
 ests. The youngest of the four men of this 
 name who came to Minnesota in early days was 
 Fred C. Pillsbury. Fie was a son of George A. 
 Pillsbury, brother to Charles A. Pillsbury and 
 nephew of ex-Governor John S. Pillsbury. His 
 death in the prime of life, on .May 15, 1892, de- 
 prived the city of a leading business man and 
 an active and useful member of the community. 
 Fred C. Pillsl.mrv was born in Concord, Xew 
 Hampshire, on August 27, 1852. He was edu- 
 cated in the schools of Concord and gra<luated 
 from the high school of that place. Fie did not 
 attend college. His brother Charles w^as a grad- 
 uate of Dartmouth, but Fred's strong desire to 
 enter active business life led him to forego a 
 college education, and in 1870 he came to Min- 
 neapolis and entered the store of his uncle, John 
 S. Pillsbury, who at that time carried on an 
 extensive wholesale and retail hardware business. 
 The natural business instincts of the young man 
 and the careful training of his uncle lirought 
 him rapii-Uv to a high rank as a business man. 
 His business judgment, his common sense, his 
 calmness, and his (|uickncss and readiness to act 
 in business matters soon marked him for a suc- 
 cessful business career. In 1876 he became a 
 partner in the milling firm of Charles .\. Pills- 
 bury & Co. An experience of fourteen years 
 as an active manager in the largest milling con- 
 cern in the world gave him a masterv of the 
 business. Upon the sale of the Pillsburv prop- 
 erties to the Pillsbury-W'ashburn Flour Milling 
 Company he joined with other gentlemen in 
 Minneapolis in organizing the Northwestern 
 Consolidated Milling Company, of which he be- 
 caiue a director and one of the managing com- 
 mittee. Up to the time of his death he was rec- 
 ognized as one of the leading millers of the 
 
 L'nited States, and his judgment in the milling 
 business, and in fact in all business matters, was 
 regarded as of the highest (_|uality. ( )utside of 
 the milling business he was interested in many 
 of the enteq^rises of the city. He was a director 
 in the hirst National Pank and the Swedish- 
 American Uank. Mr. Pillsbury was alwa\s 
 greatly interested in agriculture. At W'ayzata, 
 Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, 
 he maintained a model farm which was famed 
 for its blooded stock and was the pride of its 
 owner. For two years Mr. Pillsbury was 
 president of the State Agricultural Society, and 
 gave much time and personal attention to the 
 management of the state fair. In iiolitical faith Mr. 
 Pillsbury was a Republican, though he never 
 held an elective office. He was a student of the 
 political cjuestions of the day and alive to the 
 issues before the people. As a member of the 
 building conunittee of the Minneapolis Club, 
 Mr. Pillsbury I'.ad much to sav in the construc- 
 tion and furnishing of the beautiful club house 
 of that organization. He had a taste for art mat- 
 ters and took great pleasure in building, and 
 ornamenting with specimens of the highest art, 
 a beautiful home on Tenth Street, in Minneap- 
 olis. Mrs. Pillsburv was Miss Alice Cook, of 
 ^Minneapolis. She was married to Mr. Pillsbun.' 
 on October 10. 1876.
 
 226 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 0- 
 
 *. - 
 
 HEXRY XICKEY RICE. 
 
 Dr. H. X. Rice is a prominent citizen of Fair- 
 mont, Martin County, Minnesota. He is a native 
 of Indiana. His father, D. B. Rice, was born in 
 Oneida County, Xew York, on August 2, 1815, 
 and lived in that state until 1840, when he came 
 West and estalslished a home in Indiana. He 
 first took up a farm near Fort \\'aync. It was 
 in that locality that he married Miss Rosanna 
 Xickey, who was a daughter of Daniel Xickey, 
 a German, wlio had emigrated to Pennsylvania. 
 In 1866 Mr. Rice came to ^Minnesota, but soon 
 after moved to Eagle Grove, Iowa, where he is 
 now living in roliust health. He is a self-made 
 man, and of that type which always achieves 
 prominence and good will of his fellow citizens. 
 His wife died in 1862. Of their family of eight 
 children, two are now living, Dr. Rice and Ezra 
 Rice, a banker in Luvernc, Minnesota. Dr. 
 Rice was born in Whitley Count\-, Indiana, on 
 September 2, 1843. He obtained his education 
 in the country schools of Whitley County, and 
 remained at home, giving his father the benefit 
 of his services until he was eighteen years of age. 
 Then, upon the breaking out of the war, young 
 Rice responded to the President's call for troops 
 and became a member of Company B, Seventy- 
 fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He contin- 
 ued with this command until the close of the war. 
 
 with the exception of one year of sicktiess after 
 the battle of Perryville, Kentucky. During this 
 year he was at Quincy, Illinois. When he re- 
 joined his regiment it was under command of 
 Gen. W. T. Sherman, then stationed at Ringgold, 
 Georgia. Dr. Rice was just in time to partici- 
 pate in the famous march to the sea. During the 
 war he was in many hard fought battles, but was 
 never seriously wounded, although he was struck 
 in the shoulder during the charge at Jonesboro, 
 at the taking of Atlanta. At the close of the war 
 Dr. Rice was honorably discharged, being mus- 
 tered out on June 13, 1865, at Indianapolis. He 
 at once returned to his Indiana home and entered 
 the Commercial College at Fort Wayne. He 
 spent a winter in teaching school, and in 1866 
 came to Minnesota antl located a homestead near 
 East Chain Lakes. At that time the vicinity was 
 verv sparsely settled, and the land on which he 
 located was still in its primitive condition. After 
 a few years he began the study of medicine with 
 Dr. G. D. Winch in Blue Eartli City, Minnesota^ 
 and in 1872 he entered the medical college at 
 Keokuk, Iowa, where he continued his studies 
 until fitted for practice. He then returned to 
 Fairmont, where he engaged in practice for the 
 ne.xt ten years. Finding an opportunity to further 
 his studies, he entered Rush Medical College 
 at Chicago and graduated from that institution 
 in 1885. Since that year he has lived contin- 
 uously in Fairmont. Aside from his professional 
 duties. Dr. Rice has been connected with the 
 business interests of his locality, and has for ten 
 or twelve years been owner of a prosperous drug 
 store at Fairmont. He is a noted owner of a 
 large stock farm near the Silver Lake region. It 
 contains five hundred acres bordering on Silver 
 Lake, about ten miles south of Fairmont. It is 
 beautifully located, and a part of it has been fitted 
 up as a summer resort. In 1866 Dr. Rice was- 
 married to Miss Sarah E. Reed. Mrs. Rice is a 
 woman of much ability, and has been a very 
 prominent worker in the Woman's Relief Corps, 
 and in the Rebecca Lodge and tlic order of the 
 Eastern Star. They have six children. Dr. Rice 
 is a Republican and has been honored with many 
 local positions as well as the election, in 1876, to- 
 represent his district in the State Legislature. 
 For eight years he served as mayor of Fairmont. 
 The interests of the city were ably conducted' 
 (luritig his administration. In t88o he was ap-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 227 
 
 pointed surgeon of the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
 St. Paul railroad, and still holds that position, as 
 well as being pension examiner. He is verv- 
 prominent in Alasonic circles, and is a member of 
 the I. O. O. F. and of the Phil Kearney Post, No. 
 i8, G. A. R., at l^iirmont. 
 
 JAMES A. PETERSON. 
 
 James A. Peters(jn, county attorney of 
 Hennepin County, owes what measure of success 
 he has achieved almost entirely to his own 
 efforts. His father, Aslak Peterson, a farmer 
 in ordinary circumstances in Dodge County, 
 Wisconsin, is still living on the same farm which 
 he patented from the government under the 
 homestead law. Air. Peterson's mother was 
 Karen Marie Ostenson. Both father and mother 
 were born near Skien, Telemarken, Norway. 
 They belonged to the agricultural classes, and 
 emigrated from that country in 1849. In that 
 year they settled in Dodge County, Wisconsin, 
 where they have lived ever since. The subject 
 of this sketch was bom near the village of 
 Alderly, Dodge County, Wisconsin, January 18, 
 1859. He attended the country school until four- 
 teen years of age when he went to school in the 
 neighboring villages of Hartford and Ocono- 
 mowoc. Mr. Peterson was ambitious to obtain 
 a college education, and although his parents 
 were unable to provide him with means to do 
 so he did not hesitate to strike out, relying upon 
 his own resources to get an education. He en- 
 tered the sub-freshmen department of the Uni- 
 versity of \\'isconsin and prepared for college. 
 He entered the freshmen class in the classical 
 course of the university in the fall of 1880, and 
 graduated from that institution with a degree of 
 
 A. B. in 1884. Mr. Peterson taught school a 
 part of the time while he was in college in order 
 to pay his expenses and earned the money to 
 pay for his own e(Uication through the entire 
 course, with the exception of the last year when 
 he had help from his father. He had the legal 
 profession in view and continued the study of 
 law in the same institution, graduating from the 
 law department in 1887, with the degree of LL. 
 
 B. Mr. Peterson had connnenced the study of 
 law in 1885, after graduation from the university, 
 with W. S. Field, of \'iroqua, and while in the 
 
 law school studied in the office of J. L. Connor, 
 of Madison. He came to Minneapolis August 
 18, 1887, and began the practice of his pro- 
 fession, and has been so engaged in this city 
 ever since. January i, 1893, he was appointed 
 assistant county attorney of Hennepin County 
 by Honorable Frank Nye, and was re-appointed 
 to the same office January i, 1895. ^^^- Peterson 
 was elected county attorney of Hennepin County 
 in November, 1896. He is also connected in 
 business with Robert S. Kolliner, the style of the 
 tirm being Peterson & Kolliner. Mr. Peterson 
 has always been a Republican and has always 
 taken an active ])art in politics. He stumped the 
 State of Wisconsin for Blaine in 1884. the year 
 of his graduation from college, and did a like 
 service for Harrison in Minnesota in 1892. He 
 was a member in college of the Phi Kappa Psi 
 fraternity, is a member now of the Masonic 
 iirder, and belongs to the Knights of Pythias, 
 in church relations he is an Episcopalian and a 
 member of Gethsemane Church in Minneapolis. 
 Mr. Peterson was married at Perry. Dane County, 
 \\'isconsin, November ig, 1889, to Alarie Emilie 
 Dahle. Mrs. Peterson is a graduate of the 
 Univcrsitv of ^^'isconsin, in the same class of 
 which Mr. Peterson was a member, and where 
 she took the degree of Bachelor of Letters, and 
 is a ladv of fine attainments. Air. and Mrs. 
 Peterson have one child living. Amy Bell, bom 
 Tanuary 11, 1891.
 
 228 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM EDWARDS EASTON. 
 
 William Edwards Eastoii is the senior editor 
 and publisher of the Stillwater Gazette. He was 
 born in Mesopotamia, Trumbull County, Ohio, 
 December 27, 1850, the son of Augustus B. 
 Easton and Julia Burke (Easton). On his father's 
 side he is descended from the early settlers of 
 Massachusetts, dating back to the Pilgrim fathers. 
 His grandfather, on the paternal side, made the 
 journey on foot from Hawley, ^fassachusetts, his 
 native place, to the Western Reserve, in north- 
 western Ohio, in 1820. Little is known of 
 Mr. Easton's ancestry on his mother's side, she 
 having been an adopted daughter of William J- 
 Edwards of Youngstown, ( )hin. \\'illiam Edwards 
 attended the connnon schools while a lad, but 
 began early to learn the printer's trade. He was 
 so small when he began in this business that he 
 was obliged to stand on a chair in order to reach 
 the boxes in the printer's case. His parents came 
 to Stillwater, August 7. 1857, when it was a 
 small place, noted princii)ally for logs, rough fare 
 and men wearing red shirts and moccasins. His 
 father was employed on the olil .Messenger and 
 the son has followed this calling all his actual 
 business life, with the exception of about six 
 months' experience in a grocery store. He soon 
 graduated, however, from that business with the 
 conviction that the handling of crrocerics was not 
 
 to his liking. On the sixth of August, 1870, he 
 became associated with his father and began the 
 publication of the Stillwater Weekly Gazette, an 
 independent newspaper. In 1876 he was admitted 
 to partnership, which continued until January I, 
 1883, the senior Easton then disposing of his in- 
 terest to S. A. Clewell. The business has since 
 been conducted under the style of the Gazette 
 Printing Company. On May 15, 1882, was issued 
 tlie first number of the Daily Gazette. The daily 
 edition was continued until December of the same 
 year, when it was suspended because vuiprofitable. 
 On August 25, 1883, the daily edition was re- 
 sumed and has been continued successfully ever 
 since. March 7, 1896, \\'illiam Edwards Easton 
 secured control of the paper. On March 14, 1896, 
 Senator W. C. Alasterman purchased the interest 
 of S. A. Clewell in the job department, the busi- 
 ness being consolidated, and is now conducted 
 under tlie firm name of Easton & ]\Iasterman,who 
 are sole owners of the Daily and Weekly Gazette. 
 Mr. Easton is one of the editors and publishers of 
 the paper, and thoroughly familiar with all the de- 
 tails and requirements of daily newspaper pub- 
 lication. His life has been one devoted to hard 
 work, and such property interests as he has ac- 
 quired have been secured solely by faithful atten- 
 tion to business and a successful management 
 of his affairs. During the war times he was en- 
 gaged as a carrier in delivering the old St. Paul 
 Press and Pioneer in Stillwater, and became nuich 
 interested in the progress of the conflict. As he 
 puts it, he "Didn't do much to put down the re- 
 bellion but was very patriotic." Mr. Easton is a 
 Mason, a member of the Knights of Pythias and 
 Past Chancellor of the order with which he has 
 been connected over twenty years. He is a member 
 of the Royal Arcanum serving one term as vice re- 
 gent. He is a member of the Stillwater Lodge of 
 Elks. He was a charter member of the old volun- 
 teer fire department of Stillwater, organized in 
 1871, .-ind serving continuously until 1884. lie 
 was an original member of the famous Blue Cart 
 Company. He was secretary and treasurer for sev- 
 eral years of the organization. He w'as one of the 
 original members of Company K, First Regiment 
 National Guards, organized April 5, 1883, was 
 elected captain in 1893, but was obliged to decline 
 tlie honor owing to business engagements. He 
 is a member and dirocdir of Ihc Stillwater Club.
 
 PKOGRHSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 229 
 
 and vice president of the St. Croix .Savings & 
 Loan Association. .Mr. p:aston was married De- 
 cember 19, 1878, to Josephine A. McGowan, at 
 Stillwater. They have two children, Ned, a lad 
 of thirteen, and Morence L., five years of age. 
 
 \'ICT()R JOHX WELCH. 
 
 \ ictor John Welch is an attorney-at-law, 
 practicing- liis profession at Minneapolis. He was 
 bom at Madison, Wisconsin, ( )ctober 8, i860, the 
 son of William Welch and Jane Petherick (Welch). 
 William Welch was a native of New York, bnt 
 emigrated to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1850, where 
 he practiced law for thirty years. His wife 
 was a native of London, her father being an 
 English barrister of high standing in his pro- 
 fession in that country. Both William Welch and 
 his wife are now living in Minneapolis. William 
 Welch became a Republican when that party was 
 organized, but prior to that had been a Whig 
 leader, having been chairman of the first Whig 
 state central committee for Wisconsin. Victor 
 Welch attended the public schools at Madison 
 and graduated from the high schools in that city. 
 He then took the law course in the law depart- 
 ment of the L^niversity of Wisconsin and was 
 graduated in 1880 and was admitted to the bar 
 the same year. Two years later he came to Min- 
 neapolis and has been engaged here continuously 
 since that time in the practice of his profession. 
 At first he was the junior member of the firm 
 of Welch, Botkin & Welch, consisting of his 
 father, S. W. Botkin and himself. In 1892 the 
 firm was dissolved and the new firm of Welch & 
 Welch, father and son, succeeded it. In April, 
 1894, this firm was dissolved l)y tlie retirement of 
 William W'elch from active practice at the age of 
 seventv-three ^•ears. A new firm was then organ- 
 ized, consisting of R. L. Penney, V. J. Welch and 
 j\I. P. Hayne. Mr. Penney subsequently withdrew 
 and the firm continued as W^elch & Hayne. Re- 
 cently Henry Conlin has been admitted to the 
 firm, which is now known as W'elch, Hayne & 
 Conlin, and enjoys a very lucrative practice. Mr. 
 Welch is esteemed as one of the most successful 
 among the comparatively young members of his 
 profession in Miimeapolis. In 1879, while a resi- 
 dent of Madison, Mr. Welch joined Company C, 
 Fourth Battalion, National Guard of Wisconsin, 
 
 and was sergeant of the company during the 
 lumbermen's riot, near Eau Claire, where his com- 
 pany was assigned to service. On coming to 
 Minneapolis he resigned from the W^isconsin 
 militia, and in July, 1882, became a member of 
 Company B, First Regiment, jMinnesota National 
 Guard. He was elected first sergeant and then 
 captain, and held the captaincy until the summer 
 of 1887, when he resigned to become judge advo- 
 cate general of the state under Gov. McGill. 
 He was in command of Company B during the 
 time of the Stillwater fire when the company was 
 called into active servdce. His identification with 
 the militia of both Wisconsin and Minnesota ar- 
 gues, of course, especial interest in the National 
 (niard, and he has been prominently identified 
 with the movement resulting in legislative action 
 providing armories for the National Guard at 
 the state expense. Mr. W^elch is a member of 
 the Commercial Club, takes an active interest in 
 all public enterprises, and is also an attendant of 
 the Episcopal Church. He was married Novem- 
 ber 10, 1887, at Detroit, Michigan, to Miss Eliza- 
 beth H. Jones. They have one child, Jeannette, 
 aged four years. Mr. Welch makes a specialty of 
 court practice, and has been particularly success- 
 ful in his appearances before juries. The first 
 dollar he ever earned was while engaged in the 
 rather monotonous duty of hauling gravel with 
 his father's team for highway repairs.
 
 230 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 NELSON H. iMINER. 
 
 N. H. [Miner was born on January 2b, 1833, 
 at Shorehani, Addison County, \'erniont. He 
 was the son of Hiram and Eliza Miner, a farmer 
 and mechanic and in fair financial circum- 
 stances. His grandfather, Richard Miner, was 
 a soldier in the Continental Army during the 
 Revolution and participated in the Battle of 
 Bennington under Stark. His early educational 
 advantages were limited to a few months each 
 year in the country school and to the use of a 
 small school library, and a few newspapers and pe- 
 riodicals received by the family. After leaving 
 home and working on a farm for nearly two years 
 he attended the district school for one winterterm 
 and then entered Franklin Academy, at ]\Ialone, 
 New York. Here he studied for about three 
 years, jjaying his way from the savings of the 
 two previous years, and by teaching and farm 
 work (luring vacations. Instead of pursuing 
 his studies further he commenced to read law 
 in the ofifice of Parmelce & Fitch, in Malonc, 
 New York, and was admitted to the liar in 
 that state in 1856. He practiced law two years 
 in St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New 
 York, and then moved to \\^nuinm, Wisconsin, 
 in 1858, where he built up ,in extensive prac- 
 tice. Tn November, i86o. he came to I\Tinne- 
 sota and formed a law partnership with Judge 
 
 N. H. Hemiup, under the tirm name of Miner 
 & Hemiup. In April, 1861, Mr. Miner enlisted 
 in Company E, First Minnesota Infantry, for a 
 three months' term, and served about one month 
 when the regiment was disbanded for the pur- 
 pose of reorganizing under the three-year en- 
 listment. At the time of the reorganization he 
 was contined to his bed by sickness, and was 
 thus prevented from re-enlisting. But on the 
 breaking out of the Sioux war of 1862 he volun- 
 teered, and was one of Captain Northrup's com- 
 pany which went to the relief of Fort Ridgley. 
 On August 29, 1864, he enlisted at St. Anthony 
 in Company E, of Hatch's Battalion Cavalry 
 \'olunteers, and served on the Alinnesota frontier 
 until discharged with the company on ^lay i, 
 1866. During the same month he went to 
 Sauk Center, Minnesota, and resumed the prac- 
 tice of law. On the first of January, 1870, he 
 became associated with A. Barto, afterwards 
 Lieutenant Governor, under the firm name of 
 Miner & Barto. This firm contiimed ten years, 
 and was resumed in name in 1894, when L. R. 
 Barto, the son of Mr. Miner's former partner, 
 became his associate in practice. Mr. Miner has 
 always been a Democrat, though of late years he 
 has not been identified with any political party, 
 lie was for several years a member of the Board 
 of Education of St. Anthony, and drafted the act, 
 and procured its passage, by which the Board of 
 Education of the town of Sauk Center was incor- 
 ])orated. The school system of the city is still 
 regulated by this act. Mr. ]\ liner served as 
 a member and secretary of the board from its 
 organization in 1869 until 1877. During this 
 time he was instrumental in securing the build- 
 ing of the first school house and in originating 
 the excellent graded school system of the city. 
 He originated and did much for the support of 
 the Bryant Library of Sauk Center, an institu- 
 tion which now contains about three thousand 
 volumes. In 1867 and again in 1868 Mr. Miner 
 served his county in the state legislature. Dur- 
 ing his service as representative he drafted and 
 brought to passage the act abolishing cai)ital 
 punishment in this state. He is now mayor of 
 Sauk Center, serving his second term in that 
 office. Mr. Miner is a member nf the Masonic 
 order, of the G. A. R., and of the K. P. Tie is 
 an attendant of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 231 
 
 On January i, 1857, he was married to Miss 
 Julia E. Martin, who died on April g, 1872. 
 They had three children, Gertrude Eliza, Helen 
 Adeline and Jessie Fremont. On November 13, 
 1874, he was married to Miss Kate Martin, his 
 present wife. 
 
 ALFRED EDGAR WALKER. 
 
 Alfred Edgar Walker, M. D., of Duluth, is 
 the son of George Walker, a farmer of London, 
 Ontario, a local magistrate for twenty years, and 
 a leading citizen of his community. His wife's 
 maiden name was Sarah Anne Morden, whose 
 grandparents were Loyalists, and who, after the 
 Revolutionary War crossed over from Detroit 
 and went up the river Thames settling near Chat- 
 ham. George Walker was born in England, of 
 Scottish parentage, a son of a west of England 
 manufacturer. He came to Canada early in his 
 teens, and with two elder brothers and two sisters 
 located at what was then called "Muddy York," 
 now Toronto. His next older brother, Robert, 
 established "The Golden Lion,'' a dry goods 
 store which became famous throughout the whole 
 region, and out of which the founder produced 
 an estate of over a million dollars. Robert Walker 
 was also the first secretary and treasurer of the 
 Methodist Society in Canada, and one of the 
 founders of Methodism in the Dominion. A 
 marble statue of him adorns the Carleton Street 
 Methodist Church in Toronto. Alfred Edgar 
 Walker was born in London township, County of 
 Middlesex, December 3, 1862. He received his 
 education in the neighboring township school and 
 passed from there into the collegiate institute at 
 the age of sixteen. P'or three years he walked 
 four miles to school, and at the age of nineteen 
 passed his examination for a license as a teacher. 
 He also attended a model training school for 
 teachers, and in a class of thirty-six came out 
 first in a final examination and secured a certifi- 
 cate good for three years. Dr. Walker taught 
 school for four years, 1882 to 1886, in 
 order to earn sufficient funds to enable him to 
 take a course of medicine for whicli he had a 
 preference. He entered the Western LTniversity 
 medical department in 1886, at the age of twenty- 
 three years, and spent three years in that insti- 
 tution, passing with honors each year. Li the 
 
 ^■^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 V^ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 fall of 1889 he went to Bcllevue, New York, 
 from which place he graduated in 1890, returned 
 home by way of Toronto and passed examination 
 there for member of the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons. When he returned home his 
 father had his location selected for him, but he 
 had determined to come West, and after a two 
 months' visit at home he started for Duluth. It 
 was while he was in New York that the geograph- 
 ical location of that city had attracted his atten- 
 tion, and he determined to make it his home if 
 the condition of things there appeared altogether 
 favorable. He was especially fortunate in obtain- 
 ing sufficient professional work almost from the 
 start to make his business profitable. He was 
 able to earn his expenses by the third month and 
 has Iniilt up a profitable and thrifty practice. He 
 is more than satisfied with his choice of a location 
 and has been exceedingly successful in his treat- 
 ment of fevers during the rage of typhoid in 
 that city. Dr. Walker is a member of the 
 American Medical Association, the ^linnesota 
 Medical Society, and the .St. Louis County Medi- 
 cal Society, and one of the charter members of 
 the Interurban Academy of Medicine for Duluth 
 and .Superior; of the Duluth Boat Club, the I. O. 
 O. F., and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He 
 was married August 15, 1895. to Miss Adella 
 Shores, of Ashland, Wisconsin, eldest daughter 
 of E. A. .Sbores.
 
 232 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOSEPH BUBLETER. 
 
 Joseph Bobleter. a resident of St. Paul, 
 was state treasurer of Minnesota for eight years. 
 The man who held this important position of 
 trust for so long a time is a native of Austria. 
 He was born at Dornbirn, April 19, 1846. His 
 father emigrated to the United States in 1852, 
 finally located near New Ulm, Minnesota, in 
 1856, where he resided at the time of the Indian 
 massacre in 1862. The subject of this sketch came 
 to this country at the age of twelve years in March, 
 1858, and located at Dubuque, Iowa. He enjoyed 
 only such educational advantages as the connnon 
 schools afforded, and while \et a lad was thrown 
 upon his own resources. While attending school 
 he worked for his board and clothing until 
 September 15, 1862, when he enlisted in the 
 army at the age of sixteen. .Mr. Bobleter served 
 first in the Thirteenth Inited States Infantry. 
 then for a time in the navy, and finally was 
 enlisted in the .Second Iowa Cavalry, from which 
 he received his final discharge in .September, 
 1865. He re-enlisted, however, December 3, 
 1863, in his old regiment, the Thirteenth I'nited 
 States Infantry and served until Noveml)er. 1868, 
 when he left the army and located at New Ulm, 
 Minnesota. While in the navy, ^fr. Bobleter 
 served on Admiral Porter's flag ship, the "I'lack- 
 
 hawk," participating in the Red River e.xpedi- 
 tion in 1864, and, after General Banks' defeat at 
 Pleasant Hill, was one of the detachment of forty- 
 five to carry dispatches to Admiral Porter, who 
 had preceded the land forces toward Shreveport, 
 about eight}' miles. The dispatch boat was badly 
 used up and came near being captured before 
 Porter's fleet was reached, seven of the detach- 
 ment being kille<l and twelve wounded. Mr. 
 Bobleter participated in a number of skirmishes 
 while in the Thirteenth United States Infantry 
 and Second Iowa Cavalry. He went into the drug 
 Inisiness in New Ulm in 1869, and conducted a 
 drug store until the summer of 1883. In 1878, 
 while a resident of New I'lm, he established the 
 New Ulm Review, which he edited and pub- 
 lished until 1887. Mr. Bobleter has always been 
 a strong Republican, and has been honored by 
 his party with numerous responsible positions. 
 He was made postmaster at New Ulm from 
 1873 to 18S6. In 1883 he was elected to the 
 lower house of the legislature, and in 1886 was 
 elected state treasurer, to which office he was 
 re-elected in 1888, 1890 and i8i;2, serving m that 
 respimsilile office for eight years. During his 
 administration of the treasurer's office the state 
 debt was refunded at a consideralily lower rate 
 of interest. During the year of 1894 he invested 
 over a million dollars of the permanent funds 
 of the state in bonds of the states of Tennessee 
 and Alabama, which have since proved to be a 
 very good investment, the bonds having greatly 
 advanced in price since the i:)urchase. He had 
 nearly three million five hundretl thousand 
 dollars in cash in banks during the panic ot 
 1893, for which he was persnnall\- respon- 
 sible. Mr. Bobleter has always taken an 
 active interest in the National Guard of the 
 .State of Minnesota, and from May, 1874, to 1878, 
 maintained the only military company in the 
 state. He was commissioned colonel of the 
 .Second Regiment of the Natinnal ( iuard of .Min- 
 nesota, February 27, 1883, which commission he 
 still holds, being the oldest member in jioint of 
 service in the state militia. 1 'rior tn tlic conclusion 
 of his term of office, in 1894, i\lr. Bobleter be- 
 came identified with the Cohunbia National Bank 
 of Minneapolis, of which institution he is now 
 the cashier. He is a member of the G. A. R., 
 Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen. Sons of
 
 I'ROCRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 233 
 
 Hermann, and of five Masonic liotlies, and is 
 captain-general of tin- Damascus Commandery, 
 No. I, Knights Templar, St. I'anl. He married 
 Mary Schneider, September 5, 1879. They have 
 had eight children, of whom five are living. 
 
 JOIIX C(.)XRAD ()S\VALI). 
 
 Mr. Oswald has been a resident of Minneapo- 
 lis and a merchant in that city since 1857. He is 
 a native of Switzerland and was liorn in Oberaach, 
 Canton Thurgau, May 20, 1824. His father, 
 Jacob Oswald, was a stock raiser and trader in 
 Oberaach. John Conrad attended the common 
 schools of his native village nntil the age of six- 
 teen, when he was apprenticed in a cotton manu- 
 factory, and after two years' employment his in- 
 dustry and aptness were rewarded by his appoint- 
 ment as overseer. He retained that position until 
 May, 1847, when he came to America. In Octo- 
 ber of that year he was appointed the agent of a 
 large tract of land in West X'irginia. It was a 
 wild region, the land was unimproved and the 
 localitv afforded none of the comforts and con- 
 veniences of life to which he had been accus- 
 tomed. Nevertheless he look the agency of the 
 land, and also opened and conrlucted a country 
 store, remaining in that business for ten years. 
 He then sold out and came to Minneapolis, 
 whither the brother of liis wife, and former em- 
 ployer, had already preceded him. In connection 
 with his brother, Henry ( )swald, he opened a gen- 
 eral store in North Minneapolis, but in June of 
 the following year, 1858, he purchased his broth- 
 er's interest and removed his stock of goods to 
 the old land office buildings in lo\\'er town. In 
 the spring of 1859 Mathias Nothaker was taken 
 into partnership, and tliat firm continued in busi- 
 ness until March, 1862, when bcjth members sold 
 out. Soon after that Mr. Oswald purchased a 
 farm in the northwestern part of the city, a tract 
 which is now known as ISryn Alawr. Previous 
 to this, in 1858, in company with Godfrey Scheit- 
 lin, Mr. Oswald had experimented in the niaim- 
 facture of native fruit wine. The experiment 
 proved a great success, and in 1862 they built a 
 wine cellar on the farm, and from that time manu- 
 factured wine extensively. In 1862 and 1803 he 
 undertook to raise tobacco and made a success 
 
 of it for two years, but the crop was destroyed by 
 frost in August, 1863, and the attempt was never 
 repeated. In May, 1866, Mr. tJswald established 
 a wholesale wine and licjuor store in connection 
 with the native wine manufactory. In 1868 
 Theophil Basting entered into partnership with 
 Mr. Oswald, and is still a member of the firm of 
 Oswald & Co. Mr. Oswald has always taken an 
 active interest in public affairs. In 1863 he was 
 appointed captain in the Thirtieth regiment of the 
 state militia by Governor Henry A. Swift, and in 
 Septemljcr of the following year was appointed 
 major of the same regiment by Governor I^Iiller. 
 He has always been actively identified with com- 
 mercial and industrial enterprises of a public 
 nature. He has served as director in the ^linne- 
 apolis & St. Louis railway, and, also, in the Min- 
 neapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic railway. He 
 was one of the first members of the park Ijoard, 
 but being about to depart for Europe he resigned. 
 In 1887 he was elected to the state senate, and is 
 now a member of the courthouse and city hall 
 commission. On August 12, 1847, in the city of 
 New York, Mr. Oswald was married to Miss 
 Elizabeth Ursula Scheitlin. Nine children have 
 been liorn to Mr. and Mrs. Oswald, four of whom 
 are still living. The eldest, Mathilda, is now the 
 wife of ]Mr. Basting. Elizabeth, married Floyd 
 !\f. Larawav, and Emma is the wife of William L. 
 O'Brien. Bertha M.. is unmarried.
 
 234 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRANK GRIGGS .McAIILLAX. 
 
 Frank Griggs McMillan is a resident of the 
 City of Minneapolis, and one of those whose 
 energy, enterprise, and public spirit have given to 
 the "Flour City" her enviable reputation. He 
 was born in Danville, Caledonia County, \"er- 
 mont, October 4, 1856. His father, Colonel 
 Andrew ^McMillan, was a graduate of West Point, 
 but resigned his commission to engage in com- 
 mercial business. The family is descended from 
 Colonel Andrew Mc^Iillan, of Ulster, Ireland, 
 who emigrated to America in the year 1755. One 
 of his sons. General John McMillan, was the 
 grandfather of F. G. i\TcMillan. At an early 
 age, Mr. McMillan started in life for him- 
 self as a printer, serving an apprentice- 
 ship in the old North Star ofSce in Danville, \'er- 
 mont, and later as a journeyman in Boston. In 
 1878, because of impaired health, he came West, 
 settling in Minneapolis, where he worked success- 
 fully as a printer, carpenter and millwright. In 
 a very short time Mr. McMillan had worked into 
 the business of contracting, and to-<lay stands at 
 the head of the long list of .Mimu-apnlis builders 
 and contractors whose reputation is unblemished 
 and whose capacity in their business is inuiues- 
 tioned. Many f)f the finest buildings and resi- 
 dences of the city bear evidence to his taste in 
 designing and skill in executing. Mr. Mc- 
 
 Millan in 1890 was nominated as the Dem- 
 ocratic candidate for State Senator from his 
 own, a strongly Republican, district in Minne- 
 apolis, and was elected by a handsome majority. 
 He soon proved himself to be one of the most 
 efficient men of that body, being active, con- 
 scientious, and yet conservative, his worth being 
 immediately recognized by his appointment to the 
 chairmanship of the Committee on Elections, the 
 Committee on University and University Lands, 
 and also served as a member of the Committee on 
 Geological and Natural History Survey, Grain 
 and Pnl^lic Warehouse, Manufactories, ^Military 
 Affairs and State's Prison. He was author of a 
 resolution calling for a committee to investigate 
 and report to the Senate as to site, plans, cost, 
 etc., of a new Capitol Building. Being made 
 chairman of that committee, he drew the bill 
 providing for the erection of the new Capitol 
 Building, which bill became a law. Under its 
 provisions a magnificent site has been secured, 
 plans have already been adopted, and foundation 
 walls laid ready for the superstructure. Mr. Mc- 
 Millan was identified with a great deal of import- 
 ant legislation during his four years' term. Among 
 other important measures introduced orsupported 
 bv him were the Australian ballot law, a bill known 
 as the corrupt practices act to limit expenditures 
 in elections, a primary election law. a bill to es- 
 tablish school savings banks, a bill providing for 
 the separation of municipal from general elec- 
 tions, an amendment to the constitution prohib- 
 iting special legislation, a bill providing that no 
 franchises to occupy public streets should be 
 granted to private corporations by any city with- 
 out adequate compensation. ^Ir. McMillan has 
 always belonged to the Democratic party, and has 
 taken great interest in the work of the Hennepin 
 County Democratic League, of which he is Vice 
 President, and of the State Democratic Associa- 
 tion, in which he has been an efficient officer. 
 Last winter Mr. McMillan was elected a mem- 
 ber of the Board of Park Commissioners of Min- 
 neapolis, an important and responsible position 
 in that city of parks and bnulevards. He 
 is a director and member of the executive 
 committee of the Board of Trade, and President 
 of the Vermont Association of Minnesota. 
 Mr. McMillan married in 1881, Miss Lillian 
 Connor, a native of Minneapolis, and now has a
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 235 
 
 family of four children. The family is attached 
 to the First Congregational church of Min- 
 neapolis, of which he is a member and trustee. 
 Mr. McMillan is a gentleman who is held in 
 high regard by his fellow townsmen and has won 
 for himself an honorable and enviable standing 
 as citizen of his citv and state. 
 
 JOHN CLAGGETT WISE. 
 
 John Claggett Wise, of Mankato, is one of 
 the pioneer newspai)er men of the Northwest. He 
 was born September 4, 1834, at Hagerstown, 
 Maryland, the son of Richard and Sarah Cline 
 (Wise.) Richard Wise was a contractor and 
 builder, in comfortable financial circumstances, 
 and traces his ancestry to the first settlers, known 
 as the Lord Baltimore colony. ]\Irs. Wise's par- 
 ents were of German birth. John Claggett re- 
 ceived his early education in private schools and 
 academies, until about thirteen years of age. There 
 were uo free schools in JNlaryland at that period. 
 About that time he was apprenticed in a printing 
 office, and was so occupied for four years. He 
 published his first paper in Maryland in 1852; was 
 then employed in the Congressional Globe office 
 at Washington for two years, and early in the 
 spring of 1855 he came West and located at Supe- 
 rior, Wisconsin, where, with \\'ashington Ashton, 
 also a native of Maryland, Mr. Wise established 
 the first newspaper printed at the head of Lake 
 Superior. In 1858 he sold his interest to his 
 partner, and the following spring moved to ]\Ian- 
 kato, Minnesota, where he established the W^eekly 
 Record, which he edited and publisheii until the 
 fall of 1868, when he sold it. During this period 
 occurred the Indian war and the famous Sioux 
 massacre, and Mankato became luilitary head- 
 quarters. May 25, 1869, in partnership with E. 
 C. Payne, Mr. Wise estaJDlished the Weekly Re- 
 view, buying out his partner a year later. IMr. 
 Wise has been engaged in the business of publish- 
 ing the Review to the present time, having had 
 since September 12, 1892, a daily edition, which 
 has been successfully maintained. In politics ^Ir. 
 Wise is a Democrat, and has been honored by 
 his party on various occasions. In 1872 he was 
 a delegate from ^Minnesota to the convention 
 which nominated Horace Greele\', and in 1884 to 
 the Chicago convention which nominated Mr. 
 Cleveland, serving as a member of the platform 
 
 committee in the latter convention. He was a 
 member of the ct)mmission appointed by Gov- 
 ernor IMarshall, in 1867, to collect and distribute 
 aid to the frontier settlers whose crops were de- 
 stroyed by hail, and in 1875 '^^'^^ appointed by 
 Governor Davis on the commission to investi- 
 gate and report on means to prevent the devasta- 
 tion of crops by grasshoppers. He has been a 
 member of the Mankato board of education for 
 six years, and was for two years president of the 
 board. He has been a member of the Mankato 
 l)oard of trade for twenty-two years, and sensed 
 one year as president. He was a member of the 
 first board of village trustees of Mankato, in 1865, 
 and was appointed postmaster in 1885 by Mr. 
 Cleveland. He served but one year, but was re- 
 appointed in May, 1894, and now holds that 
 office. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
 and for thirty years has been a Knight Templar. 
 He was married September, 1857, to Amanda 
 Flory, of Clear Spring, Maryland, and of seven 
 children born to them five are living. Charles E., 
 lohn C, Jr., Catharine, wife of Edgar Weaver, 
 Helen E. and Flory E. Mr. Wise's sons are as- 
 sociated with him in the publishing business un- 
 der the firm name of John C. Wise & Sons. Mr. 
 Wise may be described as a self-made man, his 
 success having been the result of his own efforts, 
 and he has been honorably associated in the his- 
 torv of Miimesota for thirtv-seven vears.
 
 23(5 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 THOMAS BLYTHE SCOTT. 
 
 Thomas Blythe Scott is an investment 
 banker in St. Paul. .Mr. Scott is a native of \\ is- 
 consin, having been born at Grand Rapids, in 
 that state. November i, 1863. He is of Scottish 
 and English ancestry, his father, Thomes Bl\the 
 Scott, having been bom in Scotland in 1S28. 
 He came to this country in 1836, spent his boy- 
 hood in New York state, and in the early '50's 
 removed to the state of Wisconsin where he 
 engaged in the lumber business. During his 
 residence in that state he was connected with 
 all the ])rincii)al financial operations which were 
 carried on in the Wisconsm \'alley. and assisted 
 in building the Wisconsin \'alley railroad, which 
 has since become a part of the Chicago, Milwau- 
 kee & St. Paul system. He was president of the 
 First National Bank, of Grand Rapids, Wiscon- 
 sin, and for a number of years was prominent in 
 the politics of the state. He served his district 
 as state senat<jr for twelve years. About 1880 
 he removed with his family to Merrill, Wisconsin, 
 where he founded the T. B. Scott Lumber Com- 
 pany, which is still in operation, and of which 
 the subject of this sketch is secretary and treas- 
 urer. He also engaged in banking there and 
 founded the First National Bank of that city. 
 He died August 7, 1886, leaving his family in 
 comfortable circumstances. His wife, Ann Eliza 
 
 (Scott), was a native of Pennsylvania, but of En- 
 glish descent, her parents having come to Grand 
 Rapids, Wisconsin, about the same time that her 
 husband's family located there. Thomas Blythe 
 Scott, the subject of this sketch, lived in Grand 
 Rapids until 1875, wben his parents moved to 
 Evanston, Illinois, to provide him and their 
 other children with the educational advantages 
 there afforded. He entered the preparatory school 
 of the Northwestern University, and in 1880 went 
 to the Pennsylvania ^lilitary Academy, at Ches- 
 ter, Pennsylvania, and was there one year. The 
 following year he went to Boston, where he en- 
 gaged a private tutor and prepared for Harvard. 
 He was admitted on examination, but at the last 
 moment changed his mind and went to Yale, 
 where he entered the class of 1886, but only 
 stayed a few months, leaving on account of sick- 
 ness. The next year he entered Harvard Col- 
 lege with the class of 1887. !Mr. Scott was 
 a good student, but this did not pre- 
 vent him from taking a prominent part 
 in athletics, and being a member of his class 
 teams. He was also a member of Beta Theta 
 Pi and the Institute of 1770. In the spring 
 of 1886, in his junior year, he was obliged to 
 leave college because of the illness of his father, 
 who died the following August. Immediately 
 following his father's death Mr. Scott went to 
 Iowa and took charge of a ranch which his 
 father had in Franklin County, and engaged in 
 farming and the cattle industry, where he re- 
 mained until the spring of i88o. During his resi- 
 dence in Iowa he took some part in local and state 
 politics, but he was never an office holder, and 
 has never striven to become one. He was a 
 delegate from Ramsey County to the National 
 Republican League convention at Cleveland in 
 1895. He married Mary E. Clare, at Nashville,, 
 Tennessee, June 5, 1889, and came to Minnesota 
 September i, of that year. He soon aftcnvard 
 began to deal in investment securities and con- 
 tinued in that business until March, 1895. Mr. 
 Scott is identified with a number of important 
 commercial and financial institutions. He is 
 ]M-esident of the Northern Exchange Bank, of St. 
 Paul, is a director of the Merchants' National 
 Bank, of that city, of the Life Insurance Clearing 
 Society, and the Edison Electric Light and Power 
 Companw Tie is a member of the l\rinncsota
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 237 
 
 CIuIj. the Commercial Club, the Town and 
 County Club, and the Nushka Club, of St. Paul. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Scott have one child, Ann Lee, 
 about two years old. They are regular attend- 
 ants of the House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 
 of St. Paul. 
 
 JUHX PETERSON. 
 
 John Peterson, of St. Peter, is a type of the 
 sticcessful Swedish-American citizen of Minne- 
 sota. He was born in the province of \ erni- 
 land, Sweden, on July 6, ICS41. His parents, 
 Peter and Carrie Johnson, were people of strong 
 character and earnest Christians. Although a 
 farmer in poor circumstances, Mr. Johnson man- 
 aged to give his son a fair education and taught 
 him the value of integrity. Upon his graduation 
 from the public schools the young man followed 
 for several years the trade of mechanic and 
 builder, and was soon promoted to the position 
 of superintendent of the construction of rail- 
 road bridges on the governmental railways of 
 Sweden. In the spring of 1869 he emigrated to 
 the United States and settled in the Minnesota 
 valley at St. Peter, where he still lives. He 
 commenced at the bottom. His first dollar 
 earned in this state was as a grader on the new 
 railroad — then the St. Paul & Sioux City — now 
 a part of the Northwestern system. He also 
 worked on the farms in the vicinity during the 
 harvest of 1869. P)Ut the railroad work offered 
 an attractive field. His acquaintance with rail- 
 road matters in the old country fitted Mr. Peter- 
 son for taking an active part in construction. 
 He soon commenced operations as sub-con- 
 tractor on the Winona & St. Peter railroad, and 
 in 1871 became a member of the firm of C. J. 
 Larson & Co., which until its dissolution in 
 1888 took a most active part in the construction 
 of the railway systems of the Northwest. In 
 1886 Mr. Peterson entered into a partnership 
 with Fred. Widell, of Mankato, and for several 
 years engaged in stone quarrying and building. 
 He has also been connected with extensive farm- 
 ing operations in Northeastern Nebraska and 
 with the iron interests in the northern part of 
 Minnesota. He believes that the iron industry 
 will shortly be the chief contributor to the wealth 
 of the state. During: his active career, ^Ir. Peter- 
 
 son has held many positions of trust and has 
 given evidence of ability and devotion to the 
 interests of his constituents. In political faith 
 he has always been a Republican. I'rom 1881 
 to 1896 he was a meml.)er of the city council 
 of St. Peter, and for two years was its president. 
 For several years he has been a director of the 
 Nicollet County Piank. He is president of the 
 Northwestern Publishing Company, of .St. Paul. 
 As a delegate to numerous congressional and 
 state conventions Mr. Peterson has exercised 
 considerable influence. He has been a member 
 of the congressional committee of his district, 
 and in the fall of i8()4 he was elected state sen- 
 ator, winning a brilliant victory over the regular 
 Democratic and an independent Republican can- 
 didate. He was twice appointed a member of 
 the Board of Trustees of the State Hospitals for 
 the Insane by Gov. ]\Ierriam and once by Gov. 
 Nelson. Mr. Peterson has taken a special in- 
 terest in educational matters, and has been a 
 member of the building conmiittee, treasurer and 
 director of the Gustavus Adolphus College of 
 .St. Peter since its establishment. Since 1874 he 
 has been a member of the Swedish Lutheran 
 church, during which period he has also served 
 as a member of the church council. In 1873 he 
 married Frederica Elizabeth Lundberg. They 
 have seven children, Agnes L.. Adolph C, Ber- 
 nard R., Hjalmar N., Mabel F. C. A'ernan J. C, 
 and L. Russell F.
 
 238 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WALTF.K PETZET. 
 
 Walter Eriedrich Leopold Max Petzet, 
 since he has become a practical business-like 
 American, simply signs himself Walter Petzet. 
 His father, Georg Christian Petzet, is 
 editor-in-chief of the Allgemeine Zeitung, in 
 Munich. He is a gentleman of fine liter- 
 ary and artistic attainemnts, a graduate of 
 the universities at Leipsic and Munich and for 
 the past thirty years an editor and publisher of 
 wide influence in southern Germany. Walter 
 Petzet's mother, before her marriage, was \'alesca 
 Krause, daughter of an officer in the Prussian 
 Army. She was descended from an aristocratic 
 family who held an influential position in the 
 Prussian court and a high rank in the Prussian 
 Army; in fact, I\lr. Petzet's grandmother on his 
 mother's side was a von Foris et Valois, from 
 that celebrated I'rench family which gave France 
 several kings. Her grandparents were among 
 the persecuted ETugenots, who were obliged to 
 leave France and make their home in Prussia 
 under Frederick the (Ireat. Walter Petzet was 
 born October lo, 1866, at I'.reslan. lie received 
 the educational training regarded as necessary 
 in cultured Cerman families. He attended the 
 gymnasium in I'.rcslau and also in Augsburg, 
 and later took lectures at the Munich I'nivcrsity. 
 In 1882 he entered the Munich Royal Academy 
 
 of Music where he studied counter-point and 
 composition with Joseph Rhineberger, score 
 reading and conducting with Ludwig Abel; 
 piano with Joseph ( lichrl. and graduated at the 
 head of his class, in 1886. In 1885, while a 
 student, he was awarded a special diploma for 
 excellence in piano playing, the only one granted 
 at that place for three years. ^lany of his com- 
 positions were brought out while he was study- 
 ing at that conservatory, and when he was only 
 eighteen years of age he played a concerto with 
 orchestra, of his own composition, in public. 
 After leaving the conservatory he went in 1887 
 to Frankfurt to study with Hans von Bulow. 
 About this time IMr. Petzet was induced to come 
 to America, and in the fall of 1887 he arrived in 
 the United States. He spent the first three years 
 in Minneapolis, being attached part of the time 
 to the Northwestern Conservatory of Music. In 
 1890 he accepted a position in the Chicago Musi- 
 cal College at double the salary he had been re- 
 ceiving in IMinneapolis, remained there for about 
 a year, and in i8gi went to New York Citv on 
 a two years' contract as first teacher of advanced 
 classes in piano and theor\- at the Schanvenka 
 Conservatory. He declined further engagement 
 with that institution and devoted a year to com- 
 posing and practicing, giving but few private 
 lessons. In 1894 he was engaged as director 
 iif the ^Musical r)e])artment of the Planning 
 College in [Minneapolis, but has recently with- 
 drawn from that institution and is engaged 
 as a private teacher of the piano, ^fr. Petzet 
 has re-visited his old home since he came 
 to America, and in fact has crossed the ocean 
 nine times. On one of these trips, on August 
 23. 1889, he was married to Miss Antonie 
 Abel, daughter of one of his early instructors, 
 the celebrated vinlinist, Prof. Ludwig Abel, con- 
 cert master of the Ba\-arian Court Orchestra and 
 inspector of the Royal Academy of Music in 
 Munich. ^Ir. and .Mrs. Petzet have one child, 
 FIva Leonore Susannc, born August 4, i8<)i, in 
 Miuiich. Prof. Petzet has devoted considerable 
 time tn nnisical compusition. His works are 
 Tuostlv manuscript an<I in )iarl large pieces for 
 orchestra and chorus and among them is an 
 opera. Several have been piTfurnieil with great 
 success, and his newest production, a symphonic 
 poem, has been accepted by the Philharmonic
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 230 
 
 Orchestra of Munich, which is in itself a rare 
 honor. His published compositions include 
 songs, piano and chamber music, and choruses, 
 and have been brought out in Boston, Cincin- 
 nati, in Leipsic, lierlin and X'ienna. 
 
 ENOS MILO RICKER. 
 
 The frontier journalist is a product of circum- 
 stances. An example of the evolution of one of 
 the newspaper men of this class is found in the 
 career of Enos M. Ricker, editor of the Hubbard 
 County Enterprise, of Park Rapids, Minnesota. 
 Against many odds and through all sorts of diffi- 
 culties Mr. Ricker has struggled to that most 
 onerous but at the same time most independent 
 position the editorship of a good country news- 
 paper. In Mr. Ricker's case it was an instance of 
 Yankee shrewdness united with Western enter- 
 prise and persistency. His father, Hazen Ricker, 
 was a native of \ermont. He learned the shoe- 
 maker's trade, and after working at it for several 
 years, came West and settled on a farm in How- 
 ard County, Iowa. This was in 1856. Mr. 
 Ricker had, before leaving New England, united 
 his fortunes with those of a New Hampshire girl. 
 Miss Elizabeth I. Cutting. They were used to 
 the hard work of New England homesteads, and 
 when they emigrated to the prairies of Iowa and 
 commenced the new kind of life they brought 
 with them, and instilled into the minds of their 
 children the idea that success comes with per- 
 sistent endeavor. Mrs. Ricker was a lineal de- 
 scendant of Mai-y Townley, of England, a niece 
 of the Duke of W^ellington, who married a man 
 beneath her in the social scale, and came to 
 America in early days. Young Enos was born 
 on the farm in Iowa, four miles east of the vil- 
 lage of Riceville. From childhood he was inured 
 to work, passing through the various classes of 
 farm work assigned to a lad, later finding a job 
 in a meat market, carrying mail on a stage line, 
 clerking in a store at Riceville and the postofifice 
 at the same place. He served about three years' 
 apprenticeship in a harness shop at Riceville ; but 
 he found that he was not destined to be a harness- 
 maker. When about sixteen years of age he 
 bought a small card printing press and a font of 
 type, and at odd times printed cards and small 
 jobs. This proved to his taste, and as time went 
 
 on he added to his little office, gradually accumu- 
 lating type and from time to time changing for 
 a larger press, until he had a fair outfit and had 
 gained a knowledge of the printing trade. All 
 this time he was working at one or the other of 
 the employments before referred to. In the 
 meantime his father had removed to Park Rapids, 
 Minnesota. In 1885 Enos went to Minnesota 
 and remained for two years, but in 1887 returned 
 to Riceville and bought the I-iiceville Recorder. 
 He remained as editor and publisher of the paper 
 until 1890, when he decided to become perma- 
 nently a citizen of Minnesota, and moved to Park 
 Rapids, where he took up land under the home- 
 stead law. A year later he leased the Hubbard 
 P)Ulletin. published in the village of Hubbard, 
 and published it for eleven months. On July i, 
 1892, in company with A. W. Page, he bought 
 the Hubbard County Enterprise. Later he be- 
 came sole proprietor. Init after a time took in W. 
 S. Eoster as partner. This partnership was dis- 
 solved in April, 1805, <i"d shortly afterwards the 
 firm of Davis & Taber became publishers of the 
 paper, Mr. Ricker remaining as editor and busi- 
 ness manager. In 1889 INIr. Ricker was married 
 to Miss Cora 'SI. .Suavely, of Indiana. Thev have 
 two children, Elsie and Bell. Mr. Ricker has 
 been since boyhood a member of the Congrega- 
 tional church.
 
 •2+0 
 
 PROGKESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 SAMUEL A. LAXGUM. 
 
 The life record of S. A. Languni, of Preston, 
 newspaper man and politician, affords a good ex- 
 ample for the possibilities which lie in the path 
 of an enteq^rising and ambitions \oung man in 
 a growing western state. Though not yet forty 
 years of age, Mr. Langum has held a numljer of 
 positions of trust and responsibility, and has 
 reasonable aspirations toward still higher things. 
 Mr. Langum's parents were both born in Nor- 
 way. His father, Andrew J- Langum, came to 
 this country in 1855 and setded with his wife, 
 whose maiden name was Julia Swenson, in L ill- 
 more County, where he has since been engaged 
 in farming and has achieved independence. He 
 is prominently known as a layman in the Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran church, and has traveled ex- 
 tensively among the ])eople of this denomina- 
 tion doing missionary work. Mr. and IVTrs. 
 Langum have raised a family of nine children, 
 two boys and seven girls. .S. A. Langum was 
 born in the tcnvn of jjloomfield, Fillmore 
 County, on August 18, 1857. He first attended 
 school in a little log school house on the banks 
 of the Root River, near his home. The schools 
 of those days in the country districts of Minne- 
 sota were not of the be.st and the requirements 
 expected in a teacher were not high. Samuel's 
 father intended him for the ministry, and gave 
 
 him much instruction at home. When he was 
 only six years old he could read Norwegian flu- 
 ently. At the age of fifteen he was sent to 
 the JNlarshall Academy, Marshall, Wisconsin, a 
 school conducted by the Augustana Synod. 
 After t\\ o years this school was discontinued and 
 for one year Sanuiel studied Norwegian liter- 
 ature and theology with Rev. Mr. Lysness, 
 near Decorah, Iowa. He continued his studies 
 during the next year at Augsburg Seminary in 
 Minneapolis. But he was beginning to discover 
 that the ministry was not to his taste, and after 
 a year of school teaching he entered politics and 
 became deputy register of deeds of Fillmore 
 County. He held this position for four years 
 and in 1880, when only twenty-three years of 
 age, was elected sheriff of Fillmore County. He 
 was the youngest sheriff in the state and the 
 first boy born in Fillmore County to be elected 
 to a county office. Mr. Langum held the sheriff's 
 office for si.x years. In 1886 he purchased the 
 "Preston Democrat," changed its politics from 
 Democratic to Republican — of the stalwart kind 
 and re-named it the "Preston Times." He is 
 still its publisher, and has made the paper a 
 distinct success. It is largely due to the position 
 of the paper that the move for numicipal im- 
 provements has taken a firm hold in Preston, 
 which is now the proud possessor of the finest 
 system of water works and electric lights, on the 
 municipal ownership plan, of any town of its 
 size in .Minnesota, i'nder Mr. Langum's manage- 
 ment and editorial directinn the Preston Times has 
 been very aggressive in politics. In December, 
 i88y, Mr. Langum was appointed deputy warden 
 of the i\Tinnesota State Prison at Stillwater, 
 retiring with Warden Randall, in February, 1891. 
 He served in the legislature of 1893, after having 
 been electetl by a handsome majority over a 
 fusion candidate supported by Democrats, Popu- 
 lists and Prohibitionists. Two \ears later he was 
 elected secretary of the state senate, and made 
 such a record fur t'fficient service that at the 
 session of 181)7 'i*-' "-'^ unanimously re-elected. 
 Mr. Languni has his eye on the office of sccre- 
 tarv of state in 1898, and is known as an active 
 candidate for this nomination He is a member 
 of Malta Commandary No. 25, K. T., of Preston, 
 and has been its recorder since its organization. 
 Mr, Langum was married on September 14, 1878,
 
 I'kUGKUSSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 241 
 
 to Miss Emma ATcColkim, of Milwaukee. They 
 have had four children, Alfred, William, .\ora 
 and Winnie, of whom William died in infancy. 
 Mr. Langum is a member of St. Paul X<ir\ves;;ian 
 Lutheran church of Preston. 
 
 PLYMPTON AYERS WALLING. 
 
 Dr. P. A. Walling is a prominent physician 
 of Hubbard County, and one of many examples 
 of the self-made, successful Western man. His 
 early life was surrounded by conditions which 
 would have discouraged a boy not possessed of 
 an unusual amount of pluck and determination. 
 Born on a Pennsylvania farm — Columbus, War- 
 ren County — his father, Asaph \Valling, always a 
 poor man, voung Plympton found his boyhood 
 anything but easy. Even the school facilities of 
 the region were scarcely up to the frontier grade. 
 Lentil he was nine years old Plympton had not 
 sat at a school desk. His school seat was on a 
 bass wood puncheon set against the wall of a 
 log school house. Later on he attended better 
 schools, but necessai-ily in an intermittent way 
 which interfered with complete courses of study. 
 Much of his education was obtained at home. 
 He was determined to have an education and he 
 secured it; but by force of circumstances was 
 unable to graduate from any institution which he 
 attended. After a term or so at the Northwestern 
 Normal School of Edinborg, Pennsylvania, he 
 entered the medical department of the LTniversity 
 of Buffalo, from which he graduated on Febru- 
 ary 23, 1876. Thus, at the age of twenty-six, 
 Mr. Walling found himself equipped for the 
 practice of his chosen profession. It had been a 
 hard struggle, but it had fitted him for the ex- 
 acting and trying life of a physician. He had 
 taught school and "boarded 'round," worked at 
 anything and ever\thing which wnuld support 
 life and furnish funds for his education. But, 
 though he stepped out of the medical college 
 without a dollar, he had learned the lessons of 
 self-reliance, independence, industry- and confi- 
 dence which lie at the foundations of success. 
 When Dr. Walling came to ^Minnesota and set- 
 tled in Park Rapids, in JMay, 1882, there were 
 not fifty people in that village. All the dis- 
 couragements of pioneer life confronted him. 
 Roads, business, houses, railroads, mails and 
 
 even people were wanting. But Dr. Walling 
 had cast his lot with the young village and he 
 stayed — stayed to see a thriving town grow up 
 surrounded by fine farms, with good railroad 
 facilities and excellent prospects for the future. 
 It has been his fortune to see public opinion re- 
 garding the northern part of the state change 
 from an attitu<le of skepticism regarding its value 
 to one of open interest and appreciation. The 
 few pioneers who had courage to stake their suc- 
 cess on the excellence of the soil of northern 
 Afinnesota are now reaping their reward. Dr. 
 \\'alling went in for a country practice and has 
 secured it — and the best of its kind. He has 
 built a pleasant home in Park Rapids, been hon- 
 ored by two elections to the position of coroner, 
 and has held since 1883 the ofifice of secretary 
 of the United States Board of Examining sur- 
 geons. He is a member of the Minnesota State 
 Medical Society and of the American Medical 
 .\ssociation, and is an occasional contributor to 
 medical magazines and to the literature of the 
 societies. ( )n August 11, 1875, Dr. Walling 
 and Airs. Rosaline E. Knowles were married at 
 Corry, Pennsylvania. They have three children. 
 The eldest, Jason Marion, is now eighteen, and 
 is studying at Pillsbury Academy. He intends to 
 practice medicine. Iva Ellen, aged fifteen, and 
 Ivan Elmer, aged eleven, are at home with their 
 parents.
 
 242 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 TlIEi )L)(JRE P.. SHELDON. 
 
 Red Wing is one of the substantial towns of 
 Alinnesota and among its most suljstantial citi- 
 zens is Theodore B. Sheldon, president of the 
 P"irst National Bank of that place. Mr. Sheldon 
 located in Red Wing forty \ears ago, and has 
 been prominently identified with the growth of 
 the city during nearly its entire history. He was 
 born January 31, 1820, at Bernardston, I'ranklin 
 County, Massachusetts. His parents were Izatus 
 Sheldon, a manufacturer of boots and shoes, and 
 Mary Pickett (Sheldon). His ancestry, so far as 
 he has been able to trace it, has lived in New 
 England. He received a conunon school educa- 
 tion, and in 1S56 removed to 'Minnesota, settling 
 at Red Wing on the third cif July. He has been 
 a resident of that place ever since. At the age 
 of twelve years he began to work in a woolen 
 mill in Greenfield, Mas.sachusetts. He continued 
 at that business until 1840, when he entered the 
 employment of John E. Kusscll in a cutlerv fac- 
 tory. He remained in this business for al)out 
 three years, and then went to .Springfield, Mas.sa- 
 chusetts, where he obtained a situation in a tool 
 and lock manufacturing company. He remained 
 with that com])any about two years when he re- 
 moved to Whitneyvillc, near New Elaven, Con- 
 necticut, and w^as ein])loyed in W'hitney's gun 
 
 manufactory on rifles, which the company had 
 contracted to supply the government. Two years 
 later he removed, to Windsor, Vermont, and was 
 employed by Messrs. Robbins & Lawrence on 
 rifles to fill government contracts. On the third 
 of July, 1856, J\lr. Sheldon arrived at Red Wing, 
 and in the fall of that year went into partnership 
 with Jesree JMcIntire, in the mercantile business. 
 The spring of i860 he sold his interest in the 
 mercantile business to his partner, and in the fall 
 of that year built a large warehouse and went 
 into the grain business, in which he is still in- 
 terested. He has also been identified with nearly 
 all of the important enterprises affecting Red 
 Wing. He was appointed agent for the Commo- 
 dore Davidson Packet Company, also for the 
 Chicago, jMilwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and for 
 the American Express Company. The agency 
 of the packet company and the railroad company 
 he retained until the railroad was completed 
 from St. Paul to La Crosse, and the agency of 
 the American Express Company was retained 
 by him for about twenty-five years. Mr. Sheldon 
 has also been interested in the First National 
 Bank, an institution of which he is president, and 
 also of the Goodhue County Bank, from the 
 time they were organized. He has been interested 
 in the Red Wing & Trenton Transit Company, 
 organized for the purpose of building a road and 
 a bridge over the ^Mississippi river between Red 
 Wing, Minnesota, and Trenton, Wisconsin. He 
 was president of this company and one of its 
 directors from the time it \'i'as formed, some 
 fifteen years ago, until about a year ago when 
 he resigned. He was one of the prime movers 
 in the Minnesota Stoneware Company, and also 
 in the Red Wing Gas and Electric Light Com- 
 pany, the Red Wing Furniture Company and the 
 Red Wing, Duluth & Southern Railway Com- 
 pany. His business capacity has been recognized 
 by his election as president of all these different 
 entei-prises. But he has not given all his time 
 to his private affairs. Naturally a man of public 
 spirit, he was called upon to serve the city as 
 one of the boai^d of supervisors under township 
 organization, and was a member of the councit 
 since the city was organized. In politics Mr. 
 -Sheldon is a Democrat, and has usually voted 
 that ticket. His church connections are with the
 
 PROGRHSSIVI' MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 243 
 
 Episcopal church. Mr. Sheldon was married in 
 1848 to xMary 1'. Suirtevaiit, of Hartland, Ver- 
 mont. Five children were born, all of whom 
 died. Mrs. Mary Sturtevant Sheldon died in 
 November. i8gi, and Mr. Sheldon was married 
 again in June, i8()3, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to 
 Miss Amiie L. Lanqton. 
 
 EDWIN PAGE STACY. 
 
 Edwin Page Stacy is the head of the firm of 
 E. P. Stacy & Sons, fruit commission merchants 
 in Minneapolis. He is the son of Isaac and Orpah 
 Page (Stacy), and was born at De Kalb, .'^t. Law- 
 rence County, New York, ]Mav 31, 1831. His 
 father was a farmer in good circumstances, but, 
 on account of prolonged illness, he lost a large 
 share of his propert}-, making it necessary for his 
 sons to engage early in the active business of 
 life. Edwin Page, the youngest son of the fam- 
 ily, grew up on the farm, attending the public 
 schools, and Gouveneur Academy until he 
 reached the age of eighteen years. In the spring 
 of 1850 he removed to Utica, New York, where 
 he obtained employment in the dry goods 
 house of Stacy, Goldein & Co. A year later he 
 went to Lafayette, Indiana, to assist in the man- 
 agement of a branch store opened there by his 
 former employers. In 1854 he went to Dover, 
 Illinois, and formed a partnership with his oldest 
 brother in general merchandise, lumber, grain, 
 etc. In 1 86 1 he made another move westward 
 and located at Staceyville, jNIitchell County, Iowa, 
 Here he remained four years, and in 1865 en- 
 gaged in the mercantile business in Mitchell, 
 I(5\\a. He was doing business here January i, 
 1879, when his eldest son, Arthur Page Stacy, 
 came of age and was taken into partnership, the 
 firm being E. P. Stacy & Son. ^Ir. Stacy was 
 held in high esteem in Mitchell, served four 
 terms as mayor, was superintendent of the Con- 
 gregational Sunday School for six years, and 
 exerted a large and wholesome influence in that 
 community. In the fall of 1883 ^Ir. Stacy de- 
 cided to establish a Ijranch of his business in 
 Minneapolis, and, leaving his son in charge of 
 the business at Mitchell, began business in a 
 small wav at 326 Second Avenue South, Minne- 
 apolis, assisted by his second son, Harlan B. 
 
 Stacy. This venture was so successful that in 
 the summer of 1885 it was decided to close out 
 the business at Mitchell and concentrate the 
 energies and resources of the firm in Minneap- 
 olis. Larger quarters were obtained and lines 
 of custom were extended. The business has con- 
 tinued to grow ever since it was established, until 
 nnw the trade enjoyed by this firm extends all 
 over the Northwest. Mr. Stacy is a member of 
 Plymouth Congregational Church, and an active 
 participant in the church work. Among com- 
 mercial organizations he belongs to the Jobbers' 
 and Manufacturers" Association and the Produce 
 Exchange, and is president of the Minneapolis 
 branch of the National League of Commission 
 }\lerchants. In politics he is a Republican, and 
 faithful to his political duties, although since com- 
 ing to Minneapolis he has been less actively 
 identified with politics than formerly. Mr. Stacy 
 was married at Gouveneur, Xew York, Decem- 
 ber 10, 1856, to Elizabeth E. Leonard, who died 
 fanuary 8, 1874, mourned by her husband and 
 three sons, Arthur Page, Harlan I'>. and Clinton 
 L. Six years later, October 21, 1880, Mr. Stacy 
 was married to Mrs. Amelia (Wood) Kent, at 
 her home, in Naperville, Illinois, who had one 
 son, Willoughby B. Kent. Mrs. Stacy is a 
 native of ^'ermont, and a descendant of Gov- 
 ernor Bradford.
 
 21-+ 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAMES ALFRED KELLOGG. 
 
 James Alfred Kellogg has been engaged 
 in the practice of law in Minneapolis since 
 October, 1887. Mr. Kellogg is a native of Ohio, 
 having been born December 12, 1849, in New 
 London, Huron County. His father, Hiram Tyre 
 Kellogg, and his mother, Emiline Fiske (Kel- 
 logg), were people of moderate circimistances, 
 and engaged in farming. H. T. Kellogg was a 
 soldier in the War of 1812 on the American side. 
 He was a native of Shefifield Township, Berkshire 
 County, Massachusetts, where his father and 
 grandfather were born. His father was a soldier 
 in the K evolutionary War on the American side. 
 Emiline Fiske Kellogg was a native of Hoc Pen 
 Ridge, Connecticut. James Alfred Kellogg's edu- 
 cation began in the district schools of Hillsdale, 
 Michigan, and was continued through the high 
 school. Afterwards he entered Hillsdale College, 
 but did not graduate. He was a classmate of Will 
 M. Carleton, the poet, and a member of the Alpha 
 Kappa Phi society. He read law while teaching 
 school, and engaged in farming at Ottawa, Illinois, 
 imj)roving such opportunity as his business afford- 
 ed, often arising as early as three o'clock in the 
 morning to pursue his studies, and reading during 
 the noon intermission in school or farm work. 
 
 and at every other opportunity which presented 
 itself. He was admitted to the bar at Berrien 
 Springs, Michigan, September, 1872, and com- 
 nienced practice at Niles, Michigan. In October, 
 1887, he came to Minneapolis and commenced the 
 practice of law, in which he has been engaged 
 ever since. \\ hen the war broke out Mr. Kel- 
 logg was only eleven years old, but he was old 
 enough to take a deep interest in that great con- 
 flict, and on February 29, 1864, he enlisted in 
 Company G, Forty-fourth Indiana Veteran Vol- 
 unteer Infantry, and remained in the service until 
 September 10, 1865, having served in the Army 
 of the Cumberland, and as a soldier, and not sim- 
 ply as a drunnner boy. He was fourteen years, 
 two months and seventeen days old when he en- 
 listed, and lacked three months of being sixteen 
 years of age when he was mustered out, and yet 
 he had never failed to do his share of the soldier's 
 duties. ]Mr. Kellogg is a member of Rawlins 
 Post, G. A. R., and was colonel and aide-de-camp 
 on the staff of Gov. R. A. Alger, of Michigan, 
 which was made up of veterans, each of whom 
 bore scars received in battle. He is a Republican 
 and was appointed circuit court conmiissioner of 
 Berrien County, Alichigan, in 1874. To this 
 office he was elected twice. He declined a 
 third nomination. He was elected justice of the 
 peace of the city of Niles, Michigan, in 
 
 1876, but resigned one year later. He 
 was elected prosecuting attorney of Berrien 
 County in 1S80 and again in 1882. 
 In 1887 he was tendered a nomination for circuit 
 judge in the Second District of Michigan, but de- 
 clined. Mr. Kellogg was married May 29, 1870, 
 to I'rances Mrginia Ball, of Ottawa, Illinois. They 
 had three children, of whom the youngest only, 
 Frances Lavinia, is still living. His wife died in 
 
 1877, and in December, 1879, he was married 
 again, to Alice Cooper, at Corunna, Michigan, 
 will) had t\^o sons, one of whom, Alfred Cooper, is 
 still living. .Sulisequently he was divorced and 
 married Jennie L. Heath, of Plattsburg, New 
 York, who has one son living, James Alfred, Jr., 
 and one daughter, Jennie Louise, dead. Mr. 
 Kellogg has been very successful in the practice 
 of his profession, and has attained a high reputa- 
 tion as a lawyer, and as a man. It is doubtful if 
 any person in the state of Minnesota was ever able
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 245 
 
 to ]>rL'sent a better indorsement from more re- 
 sponsil)lc i)eo])le than that which Mr. Kellogg wai 
 able ti) furnish to the Minneapolis, St. Paul & 
 Sault Stc. Marie Railroad in applying for a posi- 
 tion in the legal department of that company. 
 
 SAMUEL T. LITTLETON. 
 
 S. T. Littleton is an attorney-at-law of Kas- 
 son, Dodge County, Minnesota. His father, 
 Joseph D. Littleton, was a farmer in moderate 
 circumstances, who had been a lawyer during the 
 early part of his life, and who was in the Union 
 army during the war. He was a native of Ken- 
 tucky and traced his ancestry Ijack to Lord Lit- 
 tleton of England who was a writer on law sub- 
 jects, and author of Littleton's Tenures. Afr. 
 Littleton married [Miss Sarah Ann Parks, who 
 was born in Tennessee, but moved with her fam- 
 ily to Missouri when a little girl. Her people 
 were all large slave holders. Their son, Samuel, 
 the subject of this sketch, was born in Chariton 
 County, Missouri, December 3, 1858. His 
 father's home was then a log cabin. The first 
 school which he attended was held in a hewed 
 log school house. It was under such conditions 
 that young Littleton received most of his school- 
 ing. When sixteen years old he commenced to 
 teach the lower branches, in the meantime per- 
 fecting himself as well as possible in more ad- 
 vanced studies. Like most self-taught men, i\Ir. 
 Litttleton knew thoroughly what he had learned, 
 and appreciated the value of persistent applica- 
 tion. In 1887 he commenced the practice of law 
 at West Concord, Minnesota. Two years later 
 he moved to Kasson, where he now lives. He 
 has built up a large and lucrative practice, ex- 
 tending into many counties of the state. In 1894 
 he associated in the business John J. jNIcCaughey, 
 a young man of good standing at the bar, under 
 the firm name of Littleton & AlcCaughey. One 
 of the most interesting cases which Mr. Littleton 
 has had was that of Sparrow vs. Pond, tried in 
 the supreme court in April, i8g2. This case is 
 commonly known as the blackberry case. The 
 main question was whether blackberries growing 
 upon the bushes were real or personal property. 
 It is considered the leading case of the kind in 
 
 the United States, and Mr. Littleton's manage- 
 ment of the suit for his client, the plaintiff, 
 and his brief and argument brought him 
 many compliments. Mr. Littleton has always 
 been a Republican. He was elected to the 
 Twenty-ninth session of the Minnesota legisla- 
 ture by a large majority over the Democratic and 
 Populist candidates. In the house he served as 
 chairman of the committee on claims, was a 
 member of the judiciary committee, and was also 
 on the committee on municipal legislation. He 
 was selected by the judiciary committee to make 
 the legal argument for the report of the com- 
 mittee on the impeachment of Judge Frank Ives. 
 He was re-elected for the session of 1897. 
 Mr. Littleton has twice served as mayor of 
 Kasson. He is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a 
 member of the United Workmen, the Modern 
 Woodmen, the Daughters of Rebekah and the 
 Sons of Veterans. He is a member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church. On February 5, 1881, 
 Mr. Littleton was married to Mrs. Laura A. 
 Sheldon, at Topeka, Kansas. Mrs. Sheldon had 
 three children, Charles, Eva and Robert L. They 
 have had one child, ^Nfelvin Albertis, who has 
 developed a talent for music and is an accom- 
 plished pianist. Miss Eva w-ill graduate from 
 Hamline Lhiiversity in the class of '97.
 
 246 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 IIARRV SXYDER. 
 
 Professor Harry Snyder, of the University 
 of Minnesota, was Ijorn in the town of Cherry 
 Valley, Otsego County, New York, on January 
 26, 1867. He was the son of David W. Snyder 
 and ]\Iar>' Ann Harter. The father was a car- 
 penter and farmer, and a man of unusual me- 
 chanical skill and natural ability. In later years 
 he was superintendent of construction of bridges 
 and woodwork of the Herkimer, Newport & 
 Poland Railroad. Both Mr. and Mrs. Snyder 
 were descendants from the early Dutch settlers 
 of the Mohawk X'alley. Their ancestors partici- 
 pated in the Revolutionary War, as well as the 
 War of 1 81 2. The subject of this sketch at- 
 tended the country school and later the graded 
 school at Herkimer until he was thirteen years 
 old. After s])ending two summers in a grocery 
 store and a year in a printing office entered 
 Clinton Liberal Institution at J'"ort Plain, New- 
 York, where he prepared for college, and in the 
 fall of 1885 entered Cornell University. He turned 
 naturally to the scientific course, paying particu- 
 lar attention to chemistry. M the end of the 
 first two years in college he was apjininted jiri- 
 vate assistant to Dr. Caldwell, the head of the 
 chemical department of the university. This po- 
 sition had always been held by a graduate stu- 
 
 dent. \\ hile serving in this capacit\-, Mr. .Snyder 
 was engaged mainly with the analysis of foods, 
 drugs and farm j^roducts. He became thor- 
 oughly familiar with the laboratory methods of 
 instruction and investigation, particularlv along 
 the lines of agricultural cliemistry, which was a 
 subject nut then generally taught in the American 
 colleges. When he graduated in 1889 he received 
 honors for chemistry, and his graduation thesis 
 received honorable mention at the commence- 
 ment, and in the annual report of the university. 
 Immediately after his graduation he was ap- 
 pointed to the position of instructor at Cornell. 
 In 1890 he was appointed assistant chemist of 
 the Cornell L'niversity E.xperiment Station. In 
 this position the work was mainh' al(Mig the 
 line of milk investigation, and animal nutrition. 
 About the first work which he did in this de- 
 partment Iirought him into prominence. In the 
 fall of i8<)i I'rofess(jr Snyder came to Minnesota 
 as chemist of the ^Minnesota Experiment Station, 
 and in 1892 was also a])pointed Professor of 
 Agricultural Chemistry in the University of 
 Minnesota. Since assuming this position ten 
 i)ulletins have been publishetl by Professor .Sny- 
 der, aggregating three hundred and seventy-five 
 pages, and dealing with soils, farm products, 
 dairy products, and human foods. His work in 
 soil analysis has been carried farther than any 
 other experiment station, and some of his 
 methods have been adopted as official. In addi- 
 tion to the bulletins, he has published short re- 
 ports in the lournal of the American Chemical 
 Society, and in agricultural papers of the state. 
 Some of his articles have been translated and 
 ]niblished in the leading Erench and German 
 journals. He has also published a work upon 
 the chemistry of dairying. In his class room 
 work he has been successful in making practical 
 ajiplications of the science of chemistry to the 
 science and art of agriculture. His lab- 
 orator\- work has lieen recognized by the 
 Department of .\griculture in the designation 
 bv the I'niled States Department of Agricul- 
 ture of his laboratory as one of the places 
 where food investig;itions are to be carried on 
 in co-operation with the government. In 1890 
 Professor .'^nvder was married to Miss .Vlelaide 
 Churchill Craig, daughter of Rev. Dr. .\ustin
 
 rKUGKIiSSlVU MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 247 
 
 Craig, foniicrly president f)f Aiitioch College, 
 Ohio. Professor .Snyder is a menil)er of the I'hi 
 Delta Theta Fraternity, the I. O. ( ). V., R. A., 
 the American Association for the Advancement 
 of Science and of the American Chemical .Society. 
 
 CALVIN LUTIIKR BROWN. 
 
 The Sixteenth Judicial District of ^linnesota 
 has as its judicial officer a man who grew up and 
 received his education and legal training within 
 the state. Judge C. L. Brown, of Morris, pre- 
 sides over the district ocmposed of the countes of 
 Stevens, Grant, Big Stone, Traverse, Pope and 
 Wilkin. Born in the town of Goshen, New Hamp- 
 shire, April 26, 1854, he came to this state with 
 his parents when only about a year old. His 
 father was Judge John H. Brown, who located 
 at Shakopee in June, 1855. He was admitted to 
 the bar at Chaska in 1856, and continued the 
 practice of his profession until 1875, when he was 
 appointed judge of the Twelfth Judicial District 
 by Governor Davis. He continued in that office 
 without opposition until his death in 1890. Judge 
 John H. Brown was a prominent Mason, having 
 held the office of grand master of the state and 
 grand high priest of the Grand Royal Arch Chap- 
 ter. He was a judge of unimpeachable integrity 
 and administered the duties of his office witli con- 
 scientious fidelity. His wife's maiden name was 
 Orrisa Margaret Afa.xfield. This family of Browns 
 were descended from John Brown who came to 
 this countr}' from England in the ship Lion in 
 1632 and settled at Marlborough, ^Massachusetts. 
 William Brown, the great-great-grandfather of 
 the subject of this sketch, served as a private in 
 the Revolutionary War. He enlisted at the age 
 of sixteen from the town of Henniker, New 
 Hampshire, in 1781, and served in Col. Henry 
 Dearborn's regiment of the New Hampshire Con- 
 tinental line. Pie was placed on the pension rolls 
 in 1818, and lived until 1855, when he died at 
 the age of ninety years. An uncle of Calvin Luther. 
 Hon. L. M. Brown, late of Shakopee, ^Minnesota, 
 was also a prominent member of the legal pro- 
 fession in this state, and was at one time judge of 
 the Eighth Judicial District. Judge C. L. Brown 
 was educated in the common schools of Minne- 
 sota. He resided at Shakopee until 1871. when 
 
 : ■}^M,i i*S .^.Jk^^i 
 
 his parents removed to Willmar. In 1878, having 
 pursued the study of law with his father, and hav- 
 ing been admitted to the bar, he left home at the 
 age of twenty-two and located at Morris. He has 
 resided there ever since. He has held numerous 
 positions of trust, was elected to the office of 
 county attorney of Stevens County in 1882, and 
 continued in that office until he was appointed 
 to the bench in 1887. In that year the Sixteenth 
 district was created and Mr. Brown was appointed 
 judge by Governor McGill, and has been twice 
 elected to the same office without opposition. He 
 is now serving his second elective term. Judge 
 Brown has always been identified with the Repub- 
 lican party, but since taking his position on the 
 I)ench, has given no personal attention to political 
 matters. He is also a prominent member of the 
 Masonic fraternity, having been grand master of 
 the state in 1894 and 1895. He belongs to the 
 Minneapolis Consi.story Scottish Rite ^lasonry, 
 Zuhrah Temple, ?\Iystic Shrine, Knights of 
 Pythias and the A. O. 11. W. He also belongs to 
 the Minnesota Society Sons of the American 
 Revolution, of which he is at present a member 
 of the board of directors. He attends, but is not 
 a member, of the Congregational church. Was 
 married in 1879, at Willmar, to Miss Annette 
 Marlow. They have had four children, Olive 
 Lottie (deceased), Alice A.. Montreville J. and 
 Edna 'SI.
 
 248 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 RE\'. FATHER PETER ROSEN. 
 
 Rev. Father Peter Rosen, one of the best 
 known priests in tlie United States, was born 
 December 15, 1850, at Orsfeld, in the parish of 
 Kylburg, near Treves, Germany. The parents 
 of Father Rosen gave the boy as good an edu- 
 cation as they could afford, b'rom the age of 
 twenty-two to that of twenty-five lie served in the 
 German army as artillerist. In the spring of 1876 
 he embarked for the I'nited .States and arrived at 
 Philadelphia on the opening day of the Centen- 
 nial Exhibition. Devoting a few }ears to studies 
 at the University Xotre Dame, Indiana, he re- 
 turned to Europe and finished his preparation for 
 the priesthood at Louvain, Belgium. On March 
 30, 1882, he was ordained priest at Simpelveld, 
 Holland, by the former Bishop of Luxemburg, 
 Msgr. Laurent. On September 3, he arrived at 
 Deadwood, South Dakota, to take charge of the 
 parish there and the numerous missions in the 
 Black Hills, His zeal ;ind t'nerg\- fiiun<l anijile 
 room in a missionary district covering about 
 fifteen thousand S(|uarc miles. He had to share 
 the lips and downs of a new mining country, liut 
 stood at his post for nearly eight years, and no 
 man in any sphere of life could have worked 
 harder than he did. .V friend of the poor, the 
 orphans and tlie homeless. Father T\osen was 
 
 charitable almost to a fault. Many a broken down 
 miner or poverty-stricken tenderfoot is indebted 
 to him for a safe return to home. The "grip," 
 with its serious consequences so injured his 
 health that, in 1890, he was compelled to look 
 fr)r an easier field of labor, and he came to Min- 
 nesota. The work done in the Black Hills and 
 the affection he had gained in the hearts of his 
 people remained, and when, in 1895, tlie episcopal 
 See of Sioux Falls became vacant by the transfer 
 of Bishop Marty to St. Cloud, it was the unani- 
 mous desire of the people of the Black Hills that 
 Father Rosen should return as their bishoji. In 
 Minnesota Father Rosen was put in charge of St. 
 Andrew's congregation at Fairfax. Here he 
 stayed for over four years, organized the congre- 
 gation and made many improvements. He does 
 not believe that the influence of the clergv should 
 be confined to the cluircli and sacristv, but the 
 clergy should be all to all. So, when all efforts 
 failed to drain the numerous sloughs around Fair- 
 fax and thus niak'e the countn,- healthier. Father 
 Rosen superintended the tligging of the ditches 
 and the grading of roads, till the sloughs were a 
 thing of the past. In the fall of 1894, Father 
 Rosen made a trip through Europe and visited 
 Rome, and, at an audience with the Holy Father, 
 he is said to have asked for a final decision in re- 
 gard to the standing of the members of secret 
 societies in the Catholic church. Being assigned 
 to Heidelberg, Le Sueur County, he n.iade use of 
 the free time thus gained by coni]iiling and pub- 
 lishing an historic volume of six Innulred and 
 forty-five pages, called "Pa-ha-sap-pah," or His- 
 tory of the Black Hills of South Dakota. He also 
 published a description of his trip througli Europe 
 under the title, "Hundert Tage in Europe" (Hun- 
 dred Days in Europe), or a trip through Ireland, 
 England, France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. 
 The book contains three hundred and seventeen 
 pages, and, besides the author's impressions of 
 travels, a large number of observations on timely 
 topics. The book finds favor with the class of 
 Catholics who are interested in the secret society 
 c|uestion. -\ pamphlet (if fort^- pages, iinblished 
 in 1895, gives the iiersrinal reasons for his stand- 
 point on this (|Ustion and ex])lains the standpoint 
 of the Catholic church in the matter. In the 
 spring of 1894, Father Rosen published a short 
 hislorv of Fort Ridtjlev. Miimesot.'i. He is now
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 249 
 
 Stationed at Madison, Lac (|ui I'arlc County, Min- 
 nesota. In the (|iiestions agitating the Catholic 
 chnrcli in America he has tai<en a prominent part, 
 and many of his views are diametrically opi^osed 
 to those of Archbishop Ireland. A firm Ijeliever 
 in parochial schools, he objects to any inter- 
 mingling of public and parochial schools. 
 
 A. J. STACKPOLE. 
 
 A. J. Stackpole, practicing lawyer at Lake 
 Crystal Minnesota is one of the shrewd sons of 
 old New- Hampshire, self-made, hard-working 
 and Yankee all over — the kind of man who has 
 been foremost in the Northwest and contribnted 
 not a little to the great progress of this part of 
 the country. Mr. Stackpole was l)orn at Dover, 
 New Hampshire, on September, 20, 183 1. His 
 father was Andrew N. Stackpole, and his mother, 
 who was Miss Eliza Rogers, was a direct de- 
 scendant of John D. Rogers, one of the Smith- 
 field martyrs. His people were farmers for gen- 
 erations; poor, hard-working and honest. When 
 seven years old young Stackpole went with his 
 parents to Phippsburg, Maine, where they lived 
 nme years. At Bath he commenced to learn the 
 ship carver's trade, and completed his course at 
 the trade in r>oston, wliere he went in 1850. This 
 work he pursued in order to raise the money to 
 secure an education. \\'ith this purpose he left 
 Boston in 1853 and entered the New Hampton 
 New Hampshire, Academy, from which he after- 
 wards graduated. An education obtained through 
 continuous endeavor and under trying circum- 
 stances generally counts for something. Mr. 
 -Stackpole had worked his way through — had 
 loaded lumber on the Kennebec, driven yearling 
 steers, hauling wood to the city, and used every- 
 opportunity for securing the needed means for 
 obtaining the end in view. L'pon graduation he 
 entered the office of Attorney Stinchfield in ILal- 
 lowell, Maine, and commenced reading law 
 But it was necessary to live meanwhile. Law 
 students in Elaine in those days were not better 
 paid than in some parts of the country at the 
 present time. So IMr. Stackpole found an oppor- 
 tunity in a school in Augusta, the capital of the 
 state. This was an interesting and characteristic 
 episode in his career. He took the school in the 
 
 middle of the term, after the pupils had disposed 
 of the teacher who connnenced the year, by sum- 
 marily pitching him out of doors. This state of 
 affairs did not worry the young man who had 
 broken and driven a yoke of yearling steers when 
 he was but sixteen years old, and he went into 
 the school determined, like Buck Fanshaw, to 
 have order if he "had to lick every galoot in 
 town." There was a fight, but the teaclier staid 
 the year out. The year 1859 found Mr. Stack- 
 pole reading law with T. H. Sweetzer at Lowell, 
 Massachusetts. In June, i860, he was admitted 
 to the bar at Concord, and practiced in Lowell 
 until 1864, when he went to Boston and was ad- 
 mitted to practice in the L'nited States circuit 
 court. From Boston he went to Kansas City in 
 1869, and after two years of practice there went 
 to Chicago, just in time to be burned out by the 
 great fire. In 1883 he investigated the North- 
 west and finally settled in Lake Ciystal. Since 
 engaging in the practice of his profession at Lake 
 Crystal Mr. Stackpole has been reasonably suc- 
 cessful. He has taken little part in active politi- 
 cal life, though he has been a life-long Repub- 
 lican, though now an independent. He is a 
 member of the Odd Fellows and Knights of 
 Pythias. He was married to Miss Abbie Mott 
 in 1867, and has two children living — A. J. Stack- 
 pole, Jr., and Webster Stackpole.
 
 250 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HARRY ASHTOX TOMLINSON. 
 
 Minnesota has provided liberally for the care of 
 the insane, and among the institutions established 
 for that purpose is the hospital at St. Peter, over 
 which Dr. Harry Ashton Tonilinson presides as 
 superintendent. Harry Tonilinson was born at 
 Philadelphia, July 3, 1855, the son of George 
 Washington Tomlinson and Sarah Dunlap j\Ic- 
 Cahon (Tomlinson). On his father's side his 
 family were members of the Society of Friends, 
 who seceded from the orthodox branch with 
 Lucretia .Mott. The progenitor of this family in 
 this country came over from Ireland about 1750 
 and landed in Lewes, Delaware, and afterwards 
 located at Philadelphia. Pieing Quakers the fam- 
 ily were never conspicuous in war, although all 
 bore good rci)utations as citizens. George Wash- 
 ington Tomlinson, however, enlisted in the army 
 in 1861 and served during the rebellion until 
 1864, when he received a wound from which he 
 died. He enlisted as a second lieutenant and rose 
 to the rank of major. His wife was descended 
 from a long line of Presbyterian clergymen, her 
 great-grandfather being Rev. James Dunlap, 
 D. D., the third jircsidcnt of Jefferson College at 
 Cannonsburg, Peimsylvania. During the civil 
 war Mrs. Tomlinson rcsidcfl at Carlisle. Pennsyl- 
 vania, with her children, and on the night of July 
 I, 1863, while the town was l)eing shelled she 
 
 went to the college building, opposite her house, 
 and which had been chosen for a hospital, and 
 helped the surgeons care for the wounded. When 
 her husband was injured in August, 1864, Mrs. 
 Tomlinson went to Washington to take care of 
 him, and finding the food and care of the 
 wounded officers very deficient she secured the 
 assistance of the surgeon in charge and the sanc- 
 tion of Miss Dix, of the sanitary commission, to 
 take charge of the domestic management of the 
 hospital and of the discipline of the nurses, which 
 she did with great success and satisfaction to all 
 concerned. Harry Ashton received his early 
 education in the public schools. He entered the 
 medical department of the University of Penn- 
 sylvania in September, 1877, and after graduating 
 in 1880, went directly into private practice in 
 central Pennsylvania, where he remained eight 
 years, the last three being spent in gradual prep- 
 aration for the treatment of nervous diseases. Dr. 
 Tomlinson gave up his general practice and spent 
 the winter of 1888 and 1889 in Philadelphia in 
 further preparation for his work. In June, 1889, 
 he was engaged as resident physician in the 
 Friends' Asvlum for the Insane in Frankford, 
 Philadelphia. He remained there until Decem- 
 ber, 1891, when he came to Mimiesota at the in- 
 vitation of the board of trustees of state hospitals, 
 as first assistant physician, and succeeded Dr. C. 
 K. Bartlett as superintendent in January, 1893. 
 In July, 1895, ■f-'''- Tomlinson received an offer 
 from the board of trustees of the new Epileptic 
 Colony in ]Massachusetts to organize and take 
 charge of their institution as superintendent, but 
 declined, having decided to reside permanently 
 in Minnesota, and being especially desirous of 
 carrying out the line of work which he had inaug- 
 urated at St. Peter. Dr. Tomlinson is a member 
 of the American Congress of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons, American Medical Association, the New 
 York j\Iedico-Legal Society, the American Neu- 
 rological Society, the American Medico-Psycho- 
 logical Association, the Philadelphia Neurologi- 
 cal Society, the Minnesota .Academy of Medi- 
 cine, the State Medical Society, the Minnesota 
 Valley Medical Association, tlic .Sonlhwestern 
 IMinnesota Medical Association and of the Na- 
 tional and State Conference of Charities and Cor- 
 rections, to all of which he has from time to time 
 conlribntcd papers relating to his special line of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 251 
 
 wurk. lie is also a nicinher of the Loyal Legion, 
 Minnesota Commandery. Dr. Tomlinson was 
 married April i6, 1884, to Mary \andever, 
 daugiiter of Peter Bishop Vandevcr, of Delaware. 
 They have had three children, of whom only one, 
 Xancv I'^licott, is livinq;. 
 
 WILLIAM WYCKOFF CLARK. 
 
 \\'illiain Wyckoff Clark comes of a line 
 of patriots who have a most honorable record in 
 the service of their country, one generation being 
 represented in the Army of the Revolution, an- 
 other in the War of 1812, a third in the War of the 
 Rebellion. Mr. Clark is a resident of St. An- 
 thony Park, but has his office in Minneapolis, and 
 is engaged in the practice of law in that city. His 
 father was a physician and practiced his profes- 
 sion in Mankato from 1857 until his death in 
 1878. He came to Minnesota from Ohio, and 
 during the \\ar was a surgeon of the Tenth 
 Minnesota regiment. Dr. Clark's wife was Ada- 
 line Babbett (Clark), a direct descendant of Ed- 
 ward Winslow, one of the Mayflower Puritans. 
 The Clark family in America was descended from 
 James Clark, who was born in Ireland and emi 
 grated from there in 1750 and settled in Lancas- 
 ter County, Pennsylvania. One of his sons, Jolm 
 Clark, was a colonel in the American Army of 
 the Revolution, and his commission, signed by 
 Washington, is still preserved by one of the fam- 
 ily. It was his son who was a soldier in the War 
 of 1812 and who was the grandfather of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch William Wyckoff was born 
 at Mankato, March 10, 1862. He graduated from 
 the high school in that city in 1879, and entered 
 the state university the same year, where he ac- 
 complished four years' work in three, graduating 
 in the class of 1882. He received one of the class 
 honors, that of class tree orator, received the 
 first prizes in the oratorical contests in his junior 
 and senior years, and in the latter year repre- 
 sented JNIinnesota in the inter-state oratorical con- 
 test at Indianapolis, taking third place in the con- 
 test. While in college he was a member of the 
 Theta Phi fraternity, a local fraternity now suc- 
 ceeded bv Psi Upsilon. The first dollar \lr. Clark 
 ever earned was received for shoveling dirt at 
 
 the building of the waterworks in Mankato, but 
 he soon obtained better employment in the con- 
 struction of a mill then being erected there. Later 
 he was employed with the firm of Brackett, Chute 
 & Co., on the construction of the Canadian Pacific 
 road, and subsequently held the position of as- 
 sistant bookkeeper for the hardware firm of Miller 
 Bros. He also had some experience as a 
 teacher, tilling the unexpired term of a princi- 
 pal of a public school at Sleepy Eye. He then 
 settled in Minneapolis for the study of law, and 
 was admitted to the bar in 1885. He is a member 
 of the law firm of Clark & Wingate, with offices 
 in the INIinnesota Loan & Trust Building, and at 
 the present time is giving his attention chiefly to 
 the law business of the Scottish American Mort- 
 gage Companv, Limited, a company having three 
 or four millions of dollars invested in this State. 
 Mr. Clark has always been a Republican, and 
 although he has never asked for any office he has 
 spent several campaigns on the stump in this 
 state. He is a member of the Commercial Club, 
 the Royal Arcanum, and the Fraternal Mystic 
 Circle. He was married in 1885 to Josephine 
 Henr\-, daughter of an old resident and hardware 
 merchant in East ^Minneapolis. They have two 
 children, Wyckoff C. and Kenneth. In 1889 he 
 removed to St. .\nthony Park, a suburb of Min- 
 neapolis, where he has a pleasant home.
 
 252 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 
 ■•<sm!?9im0maK. 
 
 ALFRED .MERRITT. 
 
 The name of .Merritt is identified in the pubHc 
 mind with that development of the iron ore de- 
 posits of the state on the jNIesaba range, which 
 have caused it to become one of the leading in- 
 dustries of the Northwest. It was Alfred ^lerritt 
 who had the courage to make the first practical 
 demonstration of the extent of the immense body 
 of ore which lies along what is known as the 
 Mesaba range, and to bring Minnesota into the 
 front rank of the iron producing states of the 
 Union. Alfred Merritt was the fifth son of Lewis 
 H. and Hepsibath Merritt, born in Chautauqua 
 County, New York, May 16, 1847. The family 
 moved to Oneota, now a part of Duluth, in 1856, 
 where Alfred has since lived and worked. His 
 ancestry on his father's side is traceable to the 
 Huguenots, nejjsiljath Jcwett, the mother of the 
 subject of this sketch, was born in Massachusetts, 
 of Puritan stock, and emigrated with her parents 
 while she was a young girl, to Western New 
 York. When the Merritt family landed on the 
 north shore of St. Louis bay in 1856 they were 
 the pioneers in that section, and erected their 
 log cabin amidst the tall pines. There the mother 
 of the family still lives, in her eighty-third year. 
 
 There Alfred was educated in the first common 
 schools established in Northern Minnesota. At 
 the age of sixteen Alfred became a sailor. He was 
 rapidly promoted, and before his majority he be- 
 came master of his own vessel. For many years 
 he followed navigation on the lakes, and was 
 afterwards engaged in the business of a lumber- 
 man in company with his brothers and nephews, 
 and in this occupation he was able to gratify his 
 early Ijent for the adventurous life of an explorer, 
 and one of the results of his untiring and well- 
 directed energies was the discovery and develop- 
 ment of the Mesaba iron range. It is due to the late 
 Cassius C. Merritt, however, to say that the first 
 discovery of Bessemer ore on the range was made 
 by him who had so long, so bravely and so hope- 
 fully dared the dangers and hardships of the track- 
 less wilderness. Although at times embarrassed 
 and in danger of losing their large interests in the 
 iron mines, it must be conceded that it was the 
 genius and pluck of the Merritts which developed 
 the iron industries of the state and placed ]\Iinne- 
 sota in the front rank as an iron producer. 
 It was their skill and courage that conceived and 
 constructed the Dulutli, Missabe & Northern 
 railroad, and it was their capital and brains that 
 constructed the greatest ore docks in the world 
 at Duluth, and assured to that city the trans- 
 shipment of its cargoes, against the most deter- 
 mined, bitter and powerful opposition. Their w-ork 
 prospered, and in an almost incredibly short 
 space of time the road was so far completed that 
 the products of the mines were distributed over 
 their lines to the waiting furnaces in all parts of 
 the country. In 1876 Mr. Alcrritt was married 
 to Miss Elizabeth Sandelands, to whom were bom 
 three children, Lewis H. now a student at Ham- 
 line college; Thomas since deceased, and Eliza- 
 beth, the j'oungest, whose mother died shortly 
 after her birth, in July, i8S_'. In 1885 Mr. Aler- 
 ritt was married to Miss Jane A. Gillis, whose 
 four children are Jessie, Alta H., Ernest A. and 
 (ilen J. The Merritts have a i)ictures(iue home 
 on the hillside ovcrlook'ing the broad bay and far- 
 reaching river surrounded by every comfort and 
 convenience. In politics Mr. Merritt is a Repub- 
 lican, and in rcliginn a Methodist. He is a help- 
 ful and sympathizing neighbor, and a loyal coun- 
 selor and friend.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN 01- MINNESOTA. 
 
 25» 
 
 FRANKLIN G. HOLI'.RooK. 
 
 I'ranklin (i. llolljrook, postmaster of Aliniic- 
 apolis, is a native of I'hilaclclpliia, rennsylvaiiia, 
 where he was born August 26, 1S59. lie is the son 
 of JJenjaniin !•'. f lolljrook and J'ru(lence(Godshall) 
 Holbrook. Uoth his parents were of American 
 ancestry for several generations. Mr. Holbrook's 
 early educational advantages were confined to the 
 limits of the Philadelphia common schools. It 
 became necessary for him, while yet a mere lad, to 
 seek employment, and in 1873, in his fourteenth 
 year, he entered the service of a coal and 
 iron company in Philadelphia. He remained 
 in the employ of that establishment for 
 eight years, advancing to the position of general 
 bookkeeper. A year later, in 1882, he decided 
 to come west in order to enjoy the larger advan- 
 tages which this country affords to young men. 
 On his arrival^ in Minneapolis he entered the 
 employment of the J. I. Case Plow Company as 
 bookkeeper and cashier. He remained with them 
 four years, holding this responsible and confi- 
 dential position in this important concern during 
 that time. Mr. Holbrook is a Democrat, and 
 since he became a voter has always taken an 
 active interest in the promotion of the principles 
 in which he believes. He became interested in 
 local politics in Minneapolis, and in 1886 was 
 elected city comptroller. His long experience as 
 accountant fitted him in a peculiar way for the 
 efficient discharge of the duties of his office and 
 he made a record in that capacity which is often 
 referred to as of especial advantage to the city 
 and a lasting credit to himself. In 1888 he was 
 unanimouslv renominated, but was defeated in 
 that year of Democratic disaster, although run- 
 ning ahead of his ticket. He went into the grain 
 business in the Chamber of Commerce at the 
 expiration of his term as comptroller, remaining 
 in that business from 1889 until i8gi, when 
 Mayor P. P>. Winston appointed him his private 
 secretary, which position Mr. Holbrook filled 
 during 1891 and 1892. His previous identifi- 
 cation with the city government as comptroller 
 giving him a thorough acquaintance with mu- 
 nicipal affairs. Mayor Winston absolutely re- 
 fusing to allow the use of his name in connec- 
 tion with a renomination in the fall of 1892, I\Ir. 
 Holbrook was brought forward as the represen- 
 
 tative of the younger element of his party, but 
 after an exciting contention he was defeated 
 in the convention on the third ballot by 
 a very narrow margin. Upon the expira- 
 tion of Alayor Winston's term jMr. Hol- 
 brook again, in 1893, returned to the grain 
 business in which he was engaged on June 12, 
 1894, when he received the appointment of post- 
 master in Minneapolis. He took possession of 
 his office August i, of the same year, and is now 
 the occupant of that position. Here, as in other 
 official stations, he has served the public with 
 ability and fidelity, bringing to the discharge of 
 his duties thorough business training and invalu- 
 able experience. The result is the administration 
 of his office to the entire satisfaction of the com- 
 munity which he serves. Mr. Holbrook enjoys 
 great popularity, and the favor in which he is 
 held by the public led to his nomination for the 
 office of county auditor by the Democratic party 
 in 1890, but this nomination he declined. He 
 did not, however, shirk his obligations to his 
 partv and in the same year served it as secretary 
 of the Democratic city committee. Mr. Hol- 
 brook is a gentleman of high character and uni- 
 versallv esteemed. He is a member of St. ^Mark's 
 Episcopal Church. In 1886 he was married to 
 Amanda E. Coolev.
 
 254 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRANK B. KELLOGG. 
 
 Frank B. Kellogg, of the law firm of Davis, 
 Kellogg & Severance, of St. Paul, was born at 
 Pottsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York, De- 
 cember 22, 1856, the son of Asa F. Kellogg and 
 Abigail Billings (Kellogg). He came to Minne- 
 sota with his parents in October, 1865, and 
 settled on a farm in Olmstead County. Sub- 
 sequently the family lived on a farm near Elgin, 
 Wabasha County, which was their home until 
 the fall of 1875. His early education was ob- 
 tained in the district schools of (Mmstead County 
 and the graded school in Elgin. Having deter- 
 mined to become a lawyer he began the study of 
 law in the office of H. A. Eckh(jl<l, in Rochester, 
 in the fall of 1875, and completed his studies, 
 preparatory to his admission to the bar, in the 
 office of Hon. R. A. Jones, who was afterwards 
 appointed Chief Justice of Washington Terri- 
 tory by President Cleveland. Mr. Kellogg was 
 admitted to the bar in December, 1877, and began 
 the practice of law in Rochester, where he con- 
 tinued to live until October 1887. During that 
 time he was elected city attorney of Rochester 
 and c^iuntv attornev of Olmsted County. The 
 latter position he held for fne years. Tn 1886 
 
 Mr. Kellogg was a candidate for the Republican 
 nomination for attorney general of the state and 
 came within a few votes of being nominated. 
 Moses E. Clapp, was, however, the successful 
 aspirant at that convention. In October, 1887, 
 Mr. Kellogg removed to St. Paul where he en- 
 tered into partnership with Cushman K. Davis, 
 now senator, and Cordenio A. Severance under 
 the firm name of Davis, Kellogg & Severance. 
 He has been connected with a number of im- 
 portant cases among which were those of the 
 towns of Plainview and Elgin against the \\ inona 
 & .St. Peter Railroad in 1884. These suits were 
 brought to recover the value of certain bonds 
 issued to the railroad as a bonus. The towns had 
 beendefeated in ihcir attempt to resist the payment 
 of the bonds, and jutlgment had been rendered 
 against them. The matter had been submitted 
 to leading lawyers and the towns received little 
 encouragement. ]\lr. Kellogg, however, took up 
 the matter, and sul)sequently associated Senator 
 Davis with him. The result of the litigation, which 
 finallv reached the supreme court of the United 
 States, was favorable to the towns, and resulted 
 in a judgment in i8i)2 for about two hundred 
 thousand dollars, which was paid by the railroad. 
 Among their most important engagements since 
 the organization of the present firm were the 
 arguments before the senate judiciary commitec 
 and the senate of the state on the constitutionality 
 of the railroad land tax Ijill, known as the Mark- 
 ham bill, which j\Ir. Kellogg supported; the case 
 of the jMinneapolis & St. Cloud Railroad against 
 the Dulutli & Winnipeg Railroad, and the Du- 
 luth & Iron Range Railroad Company as inter- 
 vener, in which this firm represented the latter 
 company and secured a decision in favor of their 
 client declaring the Duluth & \\'innipeg Railroad 
 land grant of some two million acres void ; and, 
 finally, the case involving the validity of the jiro- 
 posed consolidation of the Great Northern and 
 Northern Pacific Railroads, in which the firm rep- 
 resented the Great Northern Railroad Company. 
 Mr. Kellogg is a Republican in politics, but has 
 never held any official positions other than those 
 above mentioned, whose duties were in the line of 
 his professional work. He was married in 1886 to 
 Clara ^1. Cook, of Rochester, ^linnesota.
 
 PROGKUSSIVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 255 
 
 FRAN'K MELVILT.K JOYCE, 
 
 Colonel Frank AI. Jo}cc was boni at Cov- 
 ington, Indiana, r^larch i8, 1862. His father 
 is Bishop Isaac W. Joyce, one (jf the most (lis- 
 tins^uishecl of the bishops of the Alethoilist Epis- 
 copal Church, antl now resident in Minneapolis. 
 Bishop Jo_\ce, when a minister in the denonii- 
 nation, went to Cincinnati from Indiana and be- 
 came very popular as pastor of St. Paul and 
 Trinity churches in that city. He was subse- 
 quently chosen bishop by the largest vote ever 
 cast for that office. F. Al. Joyce's mother was 
 Miss Carrie Bosserman, of an old Pennsylvania 
 Dutch family. Bishop Joyce is of Irish descent. 
 Colonel Joyce attended the public schools of 
 Lafayette, Indiana, and afterwards graduated 
 from Indiana Asbury University, now De Pauw 
 University. He took the gold medal of his class 
 for mathematics. During the last year of his col- 
 lege career he was major of the Cadet Battalion, 
 and captain of the famous Asbury Cadets, who 
 won the first national artillery prize at Indianap- 
 olis in 1882, over many competing batteries from 
 all over the United States. Early in his college 
 days he was initiated into the bonds of Beta 
 Theta Pi, a prominent Greek letter fraternity, 
 with which he has ever since been highly con- 
 nected. After graduation he went to Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, and became paying teller of the Queen 
 City National Bank. Five years later he resigned 
 to accept the general agency of the Provident 
 Life and Trust Company, at Cincinnati. He w-as 
 associated with that company until 1890 when he 
 entered the services of the Mutual Benefit Life 
 Insurance Company, of Newark, New Jersey, as 
 district agent at Cincinnati. Having established 
 himself as a successful and entirely reliable in- 
 surance man, Colonel Joyce, after a few )-ears 
 with the Mutual Benefit, was transferred to 
 Minneapolis as state agent of that company for 
 Minnesota and the Dakotas. Since coming to 
 Minneapolis he has made a large circle of friends 
 both in the social and business communities of 
 the cit}'. He is a member of the Hennepin Ave- 
 nue Methodist church, and of the leading busi- 
 ness organizations of the city. He is also a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias, Blue Lodge, Chap- 
 ter, Knights Templar, and is a thirty-second de- 
 
 gree Scottish Rite Mason. Fie is also an hon- 
 orary member of the Army and Navy Military 
 Service Institute. Colonel Joyce's title is by no 
 means an honorary one only. Fie was a com- 
 missioned officer of the Indiana Legion, and 
 ■ later commander of the Second Battery Ohio 
 National Guard. It was while in this position, 
 at the time of the famous Court House riots in 
 Cincinnati in 1884, that he rendered such service 
 as to receive the special commendation of Gov. 
 Hoadly. In 1889 Colonel Joyce organized the 
 Avon Rifles from among the best young men of 
 Avondale, a suburb of Cincinnati, where he re- 
 sided. He also had the honor of being a mem- 
 ber of the personal staff of Governor McKinley, 
 of Ohio, which position he held until he left the 
 state. While in Cincinnati, Colonel Joyce was 
 quite prominently connected with the musical 
 affairs of the city, and was president of the 
 Orpheus Club, the leading male chonis in a city 
 famed for its musical culture, from the time of 
 its organization until his removal to this city. 
 On March 20. 1883, he was married to Miss Jes- 
 sie F. Birch, daughter of the late Honorable Jesse 
 Birch, a prominent lawyer of Bloomington, Illi- 
 nois. They have four children, Arthur Reamy, 
 Carolvn, Wilbur Birch, and Helen.
 
 256 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 if 
 
 i./ 
 
 ^ m 
 
 
 
 
 ^^'i^jdl 
 
 EDAIUND GREGORY BUTTS. 
 
 Edmund Gregory Butts is Judge of Probate 
 of Washington County, and resides at Stillwater. 
 He was born May 7, 1832, in Kortright, Dela- 
 ware County, New York. His father, Luther 
 Butts, was a farmer of some prominence in his 
 neighborhood, having held various town and 
 county offices. In 1849 he was a member of the 
 state legislature of New York. He was colonel 
 of militia in the days of what was known as the 
 "general muster" or "general training," and was 
 a conspicuous figure on the parade ground for 
 his military bearing and fine horsemanship. His 
 wife's maiden name was Sarah Gregory. Her 
 father, Nehemiah Gregory, was a Revolutionary 
 soldier. Edmund Gregory Butts spent his early 
 youth on his father's farm and began his edu- 
 cation in the district school. Later he took sev- 
 eral terms at the local academy, and then entered 
 the State Normal School at Albany, where he 
 graduated in 1854. With this professional prep- 
 aration he taught school for several years. In 
 connection with his work as a teacher he pursued 
 the study of law, completing his professional 
 preparation with the firm of Parker & Glcason, 
 at Delhi, New York, where he was admitted to 
 
 the bar in 1861. At the outbreak of the war he 
 enlisted with the Thirty-seventh New York as a 
 private, and was engaged in several battles, the 
 most important of which was the Battle of Gettys- 
 burg. While engaged as a teacher he held the 
 position of associate principal of Delaware Acad- 
 emy. There he had charge of the class in sci- 
 ences and mathematics. He was afterwards called 
 to Roxbury, to principalship of that academy. 
 After his discharge from the army he received, 
 without solicitation, an appointment to a clerkship 
 in the third auditor's office in the treasury depart- 
 ment, through the request of Gen. Garfield. His 
 first intimation that he was appointed to this 
 position was a recpiest to report for duty. He 
 remainetl in this government position until th.e 
 winter of 1864, when, not being satisfied with 
 the prospects there, and not fancying the idea of 
 becoming a fixture in a government position, he 
 came West, arriving at Stillwater, January 25, 
 1865, and has resided there ever since. Soon 
 after his arrival he was elected justice of the 
 peace, which office he held for two years. About 
 this time he was appointed inspector of the Min- 
 nesota state prison b}' Governor Austin, and 
 iield the position for twenty years. While serv- 
 ing the state in that capacity he was sent as a 
 delegate to the National Prison Congress at Bal- 
 timore. Thirty years ago Judge I'utts was elected 
 Judge of Probate of \\'ashington County, and 
 held the office ten years. He was succeeded by 
 Judge R. Lehmcke, who died in 1894, when jNIr. 
 Butts was re-appointed by Governor Nelson, 
 and still holds the position. He has been 
 married twice. His first wife was Miss E. 
 .\ugusta White, of Delaware County, New York, 
 to whom he was married in 1867. .She came to 
 .Stillwater to be married. She had two children, 
 (ino of whom. Miss ]\Iinnie Butts, is a teacher 
 in the StilKvator pul)lic schools: the other, a son, 
 luhnund L., is a lieutenant in the regular army, 
 having graduated from ^^'cst Point in i8qo. Mr. 
 Butts' second wife was ?vliss Ida V.. Ellsworth, 
 of South Bend, Indiana, to whom he was married 
 in 1878, who has borne him five children, Alollie, 
 Dwight. Elorcncc. Mellicont and .\delo. Judge 
 Butts' political relations have always been with 
 the Republican party, and his church connec- 
 tions are witli the I'.piscopal denoniination.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 257 
 
 RoiU'lRT i'RATr. 
 
 SuiTOundcd by adverse iiirtueiices in youth, 
 with limited educational facilities, but with cour- 
 age and perseverance acquired from hard ex- 
 periences imdergone through a service of four 
 years in the civil war, while yet in his teens, RoIj- 
 ert Pratt, tlie mayor of Minneapolis, has grad- 
 vially climbed the ladder of success. He was 
 born December, 12, 1845, ''' Rutland, Vermont, 
 the son of Sidney Wright Pratt and Sarah 
 Elizabeth Harkness (Pratt). His father was a 
 laborer in poor financial circumstances. His 
 mother was Scotch, coming to this country in 
 1834. The paternal grandfather of Roljert was 
 a captain in the ^\'ar of 181 2, and married a 
 South Carolinian. Robert received his early 
 education in the district schools, also taking a 
 course in the Brandon Seminary, at Brandon, 
 \'ermont. When but fifteen years and eight 
 months old, he enlisted at Brandon as a private 
 in Company H, I'ifth Vermont A'olunteer In- 
 fantry, and served throughout the entire war. 
 He was in active service all this time and en- 
 gaged in all the principal battles of the x\rmy of 
 the Potomac after Bull Run, serving under AIc- 
 Clellan, Burnside, Hooker, Meade and Sheridan 
 until the close at Appomatox. At the time he 
 was mustered out, July 12, 1865, he was hardly 
 twenty years of age, yet he had been promoted 
 to the rank of captain. The sufferings experi- 
 enced by this courageous youth in the service of 
 his countn,' were such as to prepare him early 
 for the struggles of life. He had earned his first 
 dollar by gathering stones on the farm, and from 
 his first start in business for himself was able to 
 accunuilate money by industry and economical 
 habits. He came to Minnesota, locating at Min- 
 neapolis, in November, 1866, with an invalid 
 brother, who had sought this climate to regain 
 his health. Robert first began working by the 
 day, driving a team, and doing any other kind of 
 work he could find. W^ith the accumulated sav- 
 ings of some years he embarked in the lumber 
 business for himself, afterwards, in 1877 or 1878, 
 becoming a dealer in wood and coal. Mr. Pratt 
 has remained in the fuel business since that time, 
 having made a success of it, being one of the 
 largest retail dealers in that line in Alinneapolis. 
 
 He has always taken a prominent part in all 
 enterprises tending to upbuild the city. His 
 political afifiliations have always been with the 
 Republican party. His first vote w'as cast for 
 Lincoln when he was but nineteen years of age, 
 having earned his right to vote by his three 
 years' service in the army. In 1884 he was 
 elected a member of the city council for a term of 
 three years. He was also elected a member of 
 the School Board in 1888 for a term of four 
 years, and was re-elected for a term of six years 
 in 1892. In 1894 he was nominated by the Re- 
 publicans for the office of mayor of Minneapolis 
 and elected. His administration of the office has 
 been a commendable one, and at the Republican 
 city convention in August, 1896, he was re-nom- 
 inated by his party with but slight opposition, 
 and re-elected by the largest majority ever ac- 
 corded a mayor of this city. ^\r. Pratt is a 
 member of the Grand Army, the Loyal Legion, 
 the Elks, the Masonic fraternity, the L'nion 
 League, a director of the Commercial Club and 
 German American Bank. He was married Au- 
 gust 30, 1871. to Irene Lamoreaux. Thev have 
 six children, Roberta, Helen Clare, Sidney, Rob- 
 ert, Jr., Sara and Thomas. The two eldest 
 daughters are graduates of the .State University, 
 while the eldest son is taking: his fourth vear.
 
 258 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 w 
 
 FRANK LORIXG STETSON. 
 
 Of the men who risk their hves in the pub- 
 lic service there are none of whom more courage 
 is required than they who fornt the fire depart- 
 ments of our large cities, and who hazard their 
 lives in the protection of life and property from 
 fire. Air. Stetson has been connected with the 
 fire department of Minneapolis for many years 
 and is at present its chief. His father, Amasa 
 Stetson, was a contractor and ship-builder in 
 Maine. He was killed in Boston by falling 
 from a scafTold. His wife's maiden name was 
 Sarah S. Thorndike, at present residing in Seattle, 
 Washington, at the age of eighty-seven 
 years, and as active and in as good com- 
 mand of her intellect as most women of 
 sixty years. I'rank Loring was the young- 
 est of eight children. He was born De- 
 cember 19, 1853, in Kno.x County, .Maine. 
 He removed with his parents to Boston in 1865, 
 and there attended the public schools, fi^llowing 
 this with an academic course at Dean Academy, 
 Franklin, ATassachusetts. As a boy, Mr. Stetson 
 earned his first money aboard a ship. He came 
 to Minnesota in the spring of 1869, settling in 
 St. Anthony, and shortly after joined Cataract 
 Engine Company No. 1, and when only sixteen 
 
 years of age received his initial lesson in fire- 
 fighting. In 1873 he was elected foreman of this 
 company. At the same time he obtained em- 
 ployment in the lumber mills as filer and sawyer, 
 and in 1878 took charge as foreman of Leavitt 
 & Chase's mill. Later he resigned to take a like 
 position in the Merriam-Barrows Company's em- 
 ploy. On July I, 1879, t^l^s oW volunteer fire 
 department was disbanded and Mr. Stetson was 
 appointed foreman of the Cataract Company, un- 
 der the partial paid system. In 1880 he became 
 second assistant engineer of the fire department, 
 and in December, 1881, assumed the duties of 
 first assistant chief engineer. On March i, 1882, 
 Mr. Stetson was appointed chief engineer, which 
 position he held until 1891. He was then ap- 
 pointed state game warden, which position, how- 
 ever, he resigned to accept a more lucrative one 
 as superintendent of the Compo Board Com- 
 pany's plant. This position he held until May,^ 
 1894, when he was appointed deputy internal 
 revenue collector. Mr. Stetson continued in this 
 position until January 10, 1895, when he was 
 re-appointed as chief of the fire department of 
 Minneapolis. Mr. Stetson has proved himself to 
 be a faithful and efficient officer and brave and 
 courageous in the performance of his duties. On 
 Noveml)er 4, 1884, he organized the full paid 
 fire department of the city of jMinneapolis, and 
 formulated the rules and regulations governing 
 the same. He was also instrumental in securing 
 the legislation making it possiMe to maintain 
 firemen's relief associations, which have Ijeen of 
 incalculable benefit to the firemen. While acting 
 as game warden Mr. Stetson was active in pro- 
 moting the adoption of the new game laws of 
 Minnesota. He is a member of the various 
 Masonic bodies, including the Mystic Shrine, is 
 Eminent Conmiander of Darius Commandery, 
 No. 7; member of the National Association of 
 Fire Engineers, the Minnesota State Fire Asso- 
 ciation, the Elks, Odd Fellows and Knights of 
 Honor. He is also a member of the Ilemiepin 
 Avenue Metliodist rliurch. April 28, 1877, he 
 was married to Ida L. Winslow. Air. and Airs. 
 Stetson have had five children, four of wliom 
 are living, TToratio J.. \'iva T.., Zuln-ah Toniple 
 and Kingsley F.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 259 
 
 ERFORU AXDRK CAM L'I;1::LL. 
 
 Major E. Andre Canipbcll, president of the 
 State Bank of Winthrop, is one of the Sibley 
 County pioneers and perhajjs the most i)roiiiinent 
 business man in that part of the state. He is a 
 native of New York state. His father, Zuriel 
 Campbell, who was of Scotch descent, emigrated 
 from Courtland County, New York, to Wiscon- 
 sin, in 1846, and located in Dane County. His 
 son Andre was then ten years cild, having been 
 born on April 4, 1836. As a boy Andre re- 
 mained on the farm with his parents. When the 
 vi'ar broke out he enlisted in the Seventh Regi- 
 ment of Wisconsin volunteers and was attached 
 to the famous Iron ISrigade of the Armv of the 
 Potomac. Major Campbell participated in the 
 famous campaigns of the Army of the Potomac 
 from August, 1862, to July. 1S64. He was in 
 the battles before Washington in the armv com- 
 manded by Maj. Gen. John Pope, including 
 those of Gainesville and the second Bull Run. 
 While in front of Petersburg in the l)attle of 
 July 30, 1864, he was wounded and by reason 
 of the disability caused l)y these wounds was 
 honorabl)- discharged from service on November 
 22, of the same year. Major Campbell came I0 
 Minnesota and settled in Sible\' Countv in the 
 town of Transit in March, 1865. In the foUnwing 
 November he was married to Miss Jane O'lSrien, 
 of Durand Illinois. They have one child. Miss 
 Anna A. H. Campbell, who graduated from Ham- 
 line University in the class of 1893. I'l 1881 Alaj. 
 Campbell removed into the village of Winthrop 
 and entered the real estate, insurance and loan 
 business. Since that time he has been prominently 
 identified with the business interests of the sec- 
 tion and has lieen uniformly prosperous. His 
 interests have constantl}" broadened. In 1888 
 he organized with others the State llank of Win- 
 throp and became its first president; he has held 
 that position ever since. In 1895 ^^^ assisted in 
 organizing the Minneapolis, New Ulm and 
 Southwestern Railroad Compan\', and was made 
 its president. He has milling interests and still 
 operates a large farm. During his business 
 career he was. for a time, agent of the Winona 
 & St. Peter Land Company, and in that capacity 
 sold over fortv-five thousand acres of land in his 
 
 part of the state. .Maj. Camijbell has not been a pol- 
 itician in the sense of being an olilice seeker. But 
 the prominent business man in a western town 
 can hardly escape the cares and duties of public 
 service. He was the first postmaster of Win- 
 throp, has been elected mayor for three succes- 
 sive terms and is president of the Board of Edu- 
 cation of the Independent School District of 
 Winthrop. He has always been a Republican. 
 I'^or si.x years past he has been chairman of the 
 county committee of his party. Maj. Campbell 
 is a member of the Minnesota Commandery of 
 the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and also 
 of Gen. Hancock Post of the Grand Army of 
 the Republic. He belongs to the St. John's 
 Chapter of Ro\al Arch .Masons, of Minneapolis, 
 and is a member of Eagle City Lodge, No. 123, 
 I. O. O. F., of Winthrop, and of Winthrop 
 Lodge, no, Knights of Pythias. Though not 
 a church member, he attends the Congregational 
 church in his town. The pleasant home of the 
 Campbells is located at the corner of Carver and 
 Fourth Streets, in ^^'inthrop. A modern and 
 spacious house is supplemented by large 
 grounds, gardens ar.d well-filled stables. It is 
 known as one of the pleasanlest homes in the 
 countv.
 
 260 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 EDWARD WILLARD RICHTER. 
 
 E. W. Richter, county attorney of Steele 
 County, Minnesota, is a native of Waushara 
 County, Wisconsin, where he was born on March 
 31, 1852. He is of Irish and German extraction. 
 His father, Ferdinand Richter, was a native of 
 Hamburg, Germany, and was a professor of 
 languages and a man of culture and refinement. 
 A good classical scholar, he spoke German, 
 French, Italian and English with equal ease and 
 fluency. His wife was Miss Catherine Reilly, 
 who was born and reared in the city of Dublin. 
 They came to America in 1849 '•nd settled in 
 Wisconsin. Mr. Richter readily espoused the 
 faith of his adopted country, growing to be a 
 warm supporter of her institutions. He became 
 an adherent of the Whig party, and with the 
 birth of the Republican party in 1856 he enthusi- 
 astically joined the cause of freedom. In Wis- 
 consin he was a pioneer, the government survey 
 having not been completed when he took up his 
 farm. It was in this wild frontier life that tlic 
 eldest sf)n of the family, Edward Willard, found 
 the influences which surrounded his childhood. 
 The farmer's boy of those days went to the com- 
 mon country schools in winter, but saw little of 
 
 the school house in summer; at least after he be- 
 came old enough to drive a team of horses or to 
 tlo other work on the farm. The school houses 
 were far apart and the winters were severe, and 
 schooling, when obtained, was paid for with the 
 endurance of hardship and the performance of 
 much hard work. Young Edward, however, had 
 a receptive mind and made good progress. At 
 the age of sixteen he entered Ripon College and 
 remained one year a part of the time walking 
 four miles to reach that institution every morning 
 and back again at night. He afterwards attended 
 St. Francis' seminary, near ^Milwaukee, for two 
 years, but was called away before graduating for 
 lack of means to continue. For a year or two he 
 assisted in maintaining the family by teaching 
 school in winter and working on the farm in 
 sunmier. At about this time his father moved 
 with his family to Dodge County, Minnesota, 
 and soon after, in 1872, was accidentally killed 
 while engaged in logging in the pine woods in 
 the northern part of the state. It devolved upon 
 Edward as the eldest son, and the only one of 
 mature years, to settle up his father's affairs and 
 to maintain a home for his mother and a large 
 family of brothers and sisters. He had just ar- 
 rived at his majority but he entered on his task 
 bravely, and after five years was able to make 
 some decision as to his own future career. His 
 tastes were for the law, and he entered the law 
 office of the Hon. C. C. Wilson, of Rochester. 
 After a time he was associated with Start & 
 Gove in the same city, and later he went to Owa- 
 tonna, where he was admitted to the bar. Since 
 then he has lived continuously in Owatonna prac- 
 ticing his profession. With the exception of 
 about a year's partnership with the Hon. Amos 
 Coggswell early in the eighties, Mr. Richter has 
 been alone. Ever since arriving at manhood he 
 has taken an active interest in politics and he has 
 been a Republican from the first. In Owatonna 
 he has 1)een honored with election to the office 
 of city attorney, a post which he has held for 
 three vcars. For two years he has been prosecut- 
 ing attorney for the county. Mr. Richter was 
 married in September, 1881, to ^Miss J. O'Con- 
 nor, of Owatonna. They have had four children, 
 two boys and two girls, of whom three are living. 
 Mr. Richter has always been a Roman Catholic.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 261 
 
 JOHN' A. NORIJKF.N. 
 
 J. A. Nordccn was born in the village of 
 Stattluilt, in the province of N'cster Gotland, 
 Sweden, on May 12, 1856. He was the only son 
 of A. P. Larson Nordin and Christina Larson. 
 Mr. Nordeen's father is at present living on his 
 farm in Sweden, having retired from active public 
 life. He was for many years a member of the 
 District Bench, and has during his life taken part 
 in the religious, political and social affairs of his 
 locality. For twenty years he occupied high 
 positions of trust in the connnunity where he 
 lived; his ancestry for generations were officers 
 in the Swedish Army. Mr. Nordeen received a 
 conunon and high school education. He studied 
 law in his father's office and at the same time de- 
 voted part of his time to working on a farm. 
 Afterwards he entered a technical school for the 
 purpose of studying architecture and mechanical 
 engineering, but in a short time he obtained his 
 parents' permission to emigrate, and left Sweden 
 in 1879. He visited England and then came to 
 the United States, arriving in Chicago in the 
 spring of 1880. Without friends and without a 
 cent in his pocket he made the best of the situa- 
 tion, obtained employment at common labor and 
 spent his evenings studying. Soon after his ar- 
 rival he obtained employment on the Chicago & 
 Northwestern Railroad, and remained with that 
 company for about a }ear, or until a better posi- 
 tion was offered in the employ of the Pullman 
 Palace Car Company. About two years later 
 he left the Pullman Company and took a trip 
 for recreation and pleasure, through the Southern 
 states, Cuba and Mexico. Upon his return he 
 settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, and obtained em- 
 ployment in the service of the Great Northern 
 Railroad Company. Thinking that prospects 
 might he better in another locality he shortly 
 resigned and re-entered the service of the Pull- 
 man Company at their St. Louis shops, but the 
 climate of Missouri did not suit him and in a 
 short time he was back in Minnesota. This time 
 he came to Minneapolis and entered the employ- 
 ment of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
 road Company, where he remained until 1801, 
 when he resigned to take a part interest in the 
 Northwestern Mantel Company. At present he 
 
 is engaged in the general business of contracting 
 and building. L'pon his arrival in the United 
 States he aftiliated with the Republican party, 
 taking an active part in ever>' campaign. In 1892 
 he was nominated and elected to the City Coun- 
 cil, as a result of a movement on the part of 
 certain political organizations and the taxpayers 
 of the Seventh Ward. While in the Council, 
 Air. Nordeen was instrumental in securing the 
 adoption of a Sub-way Fire Alarm and Police 
 Telephone System, which is claimed to be the 
 best in any city in the United States. He in- 
 troduced the revised ordinances on the subject of 
 electric wires, buildings, and gambling. He has 
 held the position of chairman of the council com- 
 mittee on fire department, and has been a mem- 
 ber of the committees of public grounds, build- 
 ings, railroads, sewers, underground wires, and 
 reservoir. Mr. Nordeen is a member of the 
 Swedish-American L^nion of jMinnesota, the 
 North Star League, and a member and trustee 
 of the Swedish Lutheran Augustana Church. In 
 1885 he was married to Miss Ida C. Peterson, 
 of Minneapolis. They have three children: 
 
 .\lbert Theodore Nordeen, born in i{ 
 
 Inette 
 
 Theresia Nordeen, bom in 1889, and Edith Chris- 
 tine Nordeen, born in 1892.
 
 262 
 
 PROGRESSTVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 \ 
 
 TOHX ISAAC FARICV. 
 
 It was an earnest desire to see more of the 
 world and to find occupation more to his taste 
 that induced J. I. Faricy to run away from his 
 parents' farm home in the summer of 1878 and 
 remain away for seven years. Mr. i'"aricy was 
 born at Credit River, Scott County, Minnesota, 
 May 20, i860. His father's name was James 
 Faricy, a farmer, highly esteemed and well-to-do, 
 who settled at Credit River, .Scott County, in 
 1855. His wife (John Isaac's mother), was 
 Bridget Nyhan. James Faricy and his wife were 
 both born in Ireland, and emigrated to this coun- 
 try when rjuite young. They lived first in Mas- 
 sachusetts. Members of Mrs. F'aricy's family oc- 
 cupied prominent positions in the old country, 
 socially and professionally, several of them being 
 lawyers and clergymen. Juhn Isaac was em- 
 ployed on his father's farm and attended the coun- 
 try school in the winter, as farmers' boys of that 
 time were accustomed to do. Later Ik- U»>k a 
 course in bookkeeping and connnercial law at 
 the Curtiss Business College in i\1irmeapolis. But 
 he did not enjoy farm life, and without the knowl- 
 edge or consent of his parents left home in the 
 summer of 1878 with only twenty-five cents in 
 
 his pocket to begin life on his own account. He 
 was first employed with a threshing machine 
 crew near Uvvatonna, and remained there during 
 the winter of 1878 and 1879, working on a farm 
 for his board and schooling. Early in the spring 
 of 1879 he joined the rush to Sioux Falls, which 
 was then attracting emigration, and spent the 
 sunmier there locating people on wild lands. In 
 Januar}-, 1880, he went to Sioux City, obtaining 
 employment with the National Publishing Com- 
 pany, of Philadelphia, as collector and canvasser 
 for their books, and continued in tlieir service 
 until the following autunm, when he removed to 
 Montana and was engaged in the steamboat busi- 
 ness on the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone 
 rivers during the seasons of 1881 and 1882. 
 About this time he became interested in the gold 
 mining development in the lUack Hills and went 
 to that region in the latter part of November. 
 There he secured a good position with the Home- 
 stake Mining Company at Lead City, and also 
 operated in mines and mining stock, accvmiulat- 
 ing considerable money. In December, 1884, 
 after having been absent from his home for nearly 
 seven years, he returned to visit his parents. He 
 then saw an opportunity to speculate profitably 
 in St. Paul real estate, and did not return to the 
 IMack Hills, but invested in property in the Capi- 
 tol City to considerable extent, and, also, in prop- 
 erty between St. Paul and Minneapolis. He has 
 been engaged coiuinuously in the real estate and 
 loan business ever since he k)cated in St. F'aul. 
 His business connections first were with the firm 
 of Brennan & Fahy. in 1886. He formed a 
 partnership in 1887 with P. M. Dal\-, under the 
 firm name of Faricy & Dal\-, and engaged in tlie 
 real estate and loan business. This firm continued 
 until i8gi, when Air. Daly retired, and Mr. F'aricy 
 continued the business alone. He has been a 
 Democrat in jxilitics, but has never sought ofifice, 
 though solicited many times to do so. He has, 
 however, always taken an active interest in public 
 affairs. lie is a member of the ('.'itholio church, 
 and was married Jinie J.j.. 1800. ;ii .\uslin. .Min- 
 nesota, to l\Iiss Thecla Brown, ;i relative of .\rch- 
 Iiishop l'"l(ler, of Cincinn;iti. < )hio. Thev have 
 three children. James Jose])li, William ("Icwl'ind 
 and Rol)ert Brown.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 2r,:i 
 
 AARON BENJAMIN KAlCRCliER. 
 
 A. 15. Kaerchei" is an attunicy of (Jrtuiiville, 
 Minnesota. He was born at Preston, J'illnKjrc 
 County, Minnesota, on January 20, i860. His 
 father, John Kaercher, was engaged in the mill- 
 ing business at Preston. Air. Kaercher, senior, 
 was a native of Strassburg, but was Ijrought to 
 Canada by his parents when an infant. Jle was 
 left an orphan at an early age, and was thrown 
 largely ui)on his own resources, and achieved a 
 large measure of success entirely through his own 
 industr)-, ability and indomitable will. He came 
 to Fillmore County when a young man and laid 
 out the village of Preston, building the flour mills 
 at that place, and at the age of twenty-five was 
 one of the most prominent business men in 
 Southern ^Minnesota. He now resides near South 
 Bend, Washington. His wife was Barbara 
 Kraemer, who was also a native of Strassburg. 
 Mrs. Kaercher died January 12, 1865, at Preston. 
 Aaron was one of six children. His early educa- 
 tion was limited. He attended the graded schools 
 at Preston until fifteen years of age when he en- 
 tered his father's office as bookkeeper. After 
 three years he went into the mill as apprentice 
 and learned the trade, and when nineteen took 
 charge of the flouring mill at Kendallville, Iowa. 
 Later he returned to Minnesota, and in 1881 went 
 with his father to Big Stone City, Dakota. Within 
 a short time they began the erection of a mill at 
 Ortonville, Minnesota, and a few years later en- 
 tered upon the project of dredging a canal to 
 connect Big Stone Lake with Lake Traverse. 
 After expending sixty-five thousand dollars and 
 not receiving the assistance promised, they found 
 the undertaking beyond their means and were 
 obliged to abandon the scheme for a time. In 
 1884 Mr. Kaercher began the study of law and 
 pursued it at leisure moments until 1890, when he 
 was admitted to the bar. He at once moved to 
 Browns Valley and formed a law partnership with 
 A. S. Crossfield. In the political campaign of 
 that year Mr. Kaercher took a very active part, 
 and to further his efforts he established a news- 
 paper, "The Traverse County Times," published 
 at Wheaton. This adventure was followed a few 
 years later by the establishment of the Big Stone 
 County Journal at Ortonville, which he controlled 
 
 until it was purchased by the present owner, O. 
 G. Wall. In the same year Mr. Kaercher was 
 prominent in the congressional convention, but 
 withdrew in favor of the Hon. Henry Feig. 
 .Since 1803 his time has been largely occupied 
 with his law practice. Mr. Kaercher's political 
 affiliations have always been with the Repub- 
 lican parly, though he has been independent 
 in his ideas. He is a member of the I. 
 O. O. F. and the Knights of Pythias. On 
 February 20, 1 881, he was married to Gertrude 
 Martha Johnson, at Clear Grit, Fillmore County, 
 .Minnesota. Miss Johnson's father was a Meth- 
 odist minister and a native of the Isle of Man. 
 They have eight children, Rubin Aaron, Mabel 
 Gertrude, John Michael, Grace Fayette, Roscoe 
 Conklin, Lemuel Amerman, Belva Lorraine and 
 Cecil Edison. Mr. Kaercher is of a determined, 
 energetic and aggressive disposition, at the same 
 time being cool and deliberate in action. i-\t the 
 age of sixteen he had charge of important busi- 
 ness affairs and managed them successfully, giv- 
 ing evidence of the practical business abilit)' 
 which has since been made much more promi- 
 nent. He is still a young man and is regarded 
 by his friends as having an excellent future before 
 him.
 
 264 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRANK THURSTON WHITE. 
 
 Sherburne County, Minnesota, has for its 
 attorney a young man who has carried on a very 
 vigorous contest for existence and success. The 
 energy which he has displayed, even if it were 
 not coupled with more than ordinary ability, must 
 insure results out of the ordinary. Frank Thurs- 
 ton White was born April 9, 1866, at East Bur- 
 lington, Kane County, Illinois, the son of Edgar 
 and Emma C. Thurston White. His parents 
 were farmers of moderate means. Air. White is 
 descended on his father's side from good old 
 New England stock, his great-grandfather, James 
 White, having been an orderly sergeant in the 
 Continental army, and one of the "Green Aloun- 
 tain Boys." On his mother's side the family were 
 residents of Ohio and Pennsylvania, since the 
 early settlement of that country. Mr. White was 
 brought to Minnesota by his parents when six 
 years of age, coming overland in an emigrant 
 wagon and arriving in May, 1872. The family 
 settled upon a farm near the Big Bend, in the 
 town of Clear Lake. In those days game was 
 abundant, and the first money earned by Frank 
 was for furs caught by trapping. It was neces- 
 sary for him to assist his father on tlic farm as 
 soon as he was old enougli to do so. and his 
 education was gained iimlcr uifru-iihies, in tlio 
 
 public schools at Clear Lake and Clearwater, 
 Minnesota; at Creston, Illinois, where he acted 
 as a janitor of the high school in order to pay 
 tuition; in the high school at Monticello, and in 
 the spare hours which he was able to snatch from 
 his other work at home. On leaving the high 
 school at Monticello, Air. White began the study 
 of law with J. W. Perkins, in Alinneapolis. After 
 a few montlis he returned to assist his father on 
 the farm. Returning to Alinneapolis in a short 
 time he was employed in the office of Hector 
 Baxter, E. S. Gaylord, and other attorneys, as- 
 sisting part of the time in the care of the law 
 library. During this period he worked at the 
 noon hour in a restaurant and carried the morn- 
 ing newspapers. Fie taught the village school at 
 Clear Lake during the winter of 1888 and 1889, 
 and immediately thereafter went to California, 
 where he was employed in the sugar factory of 
 Claus Spreckles. He returned to Alinneapolis in 
 1891, resuming the study of law and took lectures 
 in the night class at the University. In the winter 
 of 1892 and 1893 '""^ taught school in the Cater 
 district in the town of Haven, and during the 
 spring of 1893 he taught school in his home dis- 
 trict and managed his father's farm. The fall of 
 that year he resumed his course at the law school, 
 taking dav and evening lectures, and completed 
 his legal studies June 7, 1894. The following 
 day he was admitted to the bar on motion ol 
 Dean William Pattee, and was ready to open an 
 office. His financial condition, however, was 
 such that he was not able to do so, and he re- 
 turned to the farm for a short time. It was dur- 
 ing this visit to his home that he was nominated 
 by the Republicans of Sherburne County for 
 county attorney. He was opposed by the party 
 l)osses and by a combinaticju between the Demo- 
 crats and Populists, liut he made a vigorous can- 
 vass and was elected 1)y the narrow margin of 
 seven votes. Air. White has conducted tlie office 
 with ability and to the satisfaction of the public. 
 He is, as already slated, a Republican. lie is a 
 member of the Knights of Alaccabees, the Odd 
 bYdlows and the .Kneient ( )rder of United Work- 
 men. He jciineil tlie state militia in tht- summer 
 of 1887 and was a member of Company B, h'irst 
 regiment, about t\\(i and a half years. He lias 
 ncxir mai'ried.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 265 
 
 E. BENTON OLMSTED. 
 
 Elmer Benton Olmsted is a resident of 
 St. Paul and a member of the legal profession. 
 He was born December 22, i860, at Jersey Shore, 
 Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, a beautiful 
 town on the west branch of the Susquehanna 
 river, fifteen miles above Williamsport. He is 
 a son of Charles Dwight Olmsted, an iron manu- 
 facturer in Pennsylvania, who has now re- 
 tired from active business and resides in 
 St. Paul. The Olmsted family came to 
 this country from England in 1632. The 
 first mentioned in colonial history was Capt. 
 Richard Olmsted, one of the Puritan settlers in 
 the colony of Connecticut, who founded the town 
 of Norwich. He was a conspicuous figure in 
 the Pequot war in 1637. Pie afterwards removed 
 to Norwalk, Connecticut. Another Olmsted 
 named Richard, two generations later, fought in 
 the Revolution vmder Col. Waterbury. Stephen 
 Olmsted, the great grandfather of the subject of 
 this sketch, was a private in Capt. Dunham's 
 company which marched from Connecticut for the 
 relief of Boston in 1775, and was afterward giveti 
 an oflicer's commission. Charles Dwight Olm- 
 sted's wife, mother of Elmer Benton Olmsted, was 
 Rachel Elizabeth Daily (Olmsted), a native of 
 New York, but of Irish descent, and a member 
 of a distinguished family, some of whom served 
 in the army in the early part of the century, while 
 others afterwards rose to distinction in the War 
 of the Rebellion. Mrs. Olmsted's ancestors on 
 her mother's side were the \^an Houtens. an old 
 and distinguished Holland family. Elmer Ben- 
 ton Olmsted was instructed by a private tutor 
 until he was ready to enter the senior class of 
 the public school. After finishing a course at the 
 high school he was admitted to Dickinson Col- 
 lege, where he graduated in 1884. Pie afterwards 
 took a thorough business course, studying book- 
 keeping and banking, after which he inmiediately 
 began the study of law at Williamsport, Pennsyl- 
 vania. Pie soon removed to New York where 
 he continued his professional studies until the 
 fall of 1889. In December of that year he came 
 to Minnesota, locating at St. Paul, and at once 
 "hung out his shingle" and entered upon the 
 practice of his profession as an attorney. PTis 
 
 first fee, amounting to three dollars, was paid 
 him by his former law preceptors at Wil- 
 liamsport. Mr. Olmsted has made a spe- 
 cialty of real estate, banking and probate prac- 
 tice, and has recently been engaged in pre- 
 paring a digest of the laws of the state re- 
 lating to estates of deceased persons and the 
 practice in ]jrobate courts. He is an ardent 
 Republican and an earnest and enthusiastic sup- 
 porter of party principles, though never having 
 any desire to hold office himself. He was an en- 
 thusiastic admirer of Blaine, and an active sup- 
 porter of that great Republican at the Minneap- 
 olis convention in 1892. Mr. Olmsted is a mem- 
 ber of the board of directors of the St. Paul 
 Chamber of Commerce, and is on the standing 
 commitiee of that bod\- on education, where he 
 has advocated diligently the adoption of the free 
 text book system in the public schools of St. 
 Paul. He was a delegate to the convention of 
 Republican League Clubs in 1892. and a delegate 
 from the St. Paul Chamber of Connnerce to the 
 Northwestern Immigration Convention in St. Paul 
 in 1895. His church connection is with the Park 
 Congregational Church of that city. He has 
 never married, and assigns as a reason that he is 
 too busv.
 
 266 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 /• 
 
 "^RlPv > 
 
 J. W. B. WELLCOME, SR. 
 
 |. W. 15. ^\■ellconle, Sr., of Sleepy Eye, Minne- 
 sota, has practiced the profession of medicine for 
 many years in this state. He was born in New- 
 Portland, Maine, on Jnne 4, 1S25. Llis father, 
 Timothy Wellcome, was of German-English de- 
 scent. He was liberally edncated, and was a 
 schoolmate of Hannibal Hamlin. His wife, who 
 was Miss ^Iar\' E. Cunmiings, was edncated at 
 the old Hebron Academy of Maine. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Timothy Wellcome was born five sons and 
 one daughter — the latter and Dr. Wellcome be- 
 ing the only ones now living. Three of the sons 
 were clergymen — two of them for fifty years — ■ 
 one was a farmer and <ine a physician. While a 
 i)oy 1 )r. Wellcome attended school at New Port- 
 land. When he was si.xteen years old he left 
 home and began school again at the high school 
 in Hallawell, Maine. Erom this school he .grad- 
 ated at the age of twenty-one. .'\t once his at- 
 tention was tnrncd tn meilicine: he worked hard 
 to fit himself for the ])ractice of that profession. 
 He is a graduate of the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons at .St. Louis. 1 fe connnenced 
 practice at the age of twenty-five. Tn 1.^58 Dr. 
 Wellcome moved from New England to \Viscon- 
 sin. and soon afterwards to Garden (it v. Minne- 
 
 sota, where he resumed the practice of medicine. 
 In the fall of 1862 he was appointed by Governor 
 Ramsey, of Minnesota, examining surgeon for 
 the draft, with headquarters at Jvlankato, Minne- 
 sota. Li 1863 he was contract surgeon in the 
 Tenth Regiment \'olunteer Infantry, as first as- 
 sistant surgeon in the place of W. W. Clark, who 
 was sick; this position he held for seven months. 
 He also had medical charge of a regiment of 
 Confederate soldiers who were prisoners at the 
 fort of Madelia, Minnesota. Dr. Wellcome con- 
 tinued the practice of medicine in Blue Earth 
 County until 1870, when he moved to New 
 Ulm, where he lived and practiced for about four 
 years. He then moved to Sleepy Eye, where he 
 has continued in the profession ever since, with 
 the exception of two years, when sickness pre- 
 \ented active work. Eor four years he held the 
 position of surgeon for the Winona & St. Peter 
 Railway Company for its lines west of Sleepy 
 Eye; he also held the position of United States 
 pension surgeon for eight years. During his 
 long period of practice. Dr. Wellcome has been 
 preceptor to the following physicians, who have 
 graduated from regular schools of medicine: Dr. 
 J. W. Andrews, of Mankato; Dr. I. F. Burnside, 
 of West Duluth; Dr. F. H. Wellcome of Granite 
 Falls: Dr. Wm. P. Lee, of Fairfa.x, and Dr. J. W. 
 B. Wellcome, Jr., of Sleepy Eye. Dr. Wellcome is 
 a member of the St. Louis Academy of iMedicine, 
 and is also a member of the State Medical Soci- 
 ety of Minnesota. He has been in the active 
 practice of medicine for forty-four years. His 
 practice has been extensive, and he has accumu- 
 lated considerable property. Is a stockholder in 
 the Yellow Medicine County Bank. His son, F. 
 H. Wellcome, is president of the bank. At about 
 the time he connnenced practice he was married 
 to Miss Abby C. Starbird. Three sons and one 
 daughter were born tn them. ( )nly the daughter 
 is now living. .Mrs. Ella Case. Mrs. Wellcome 
 died in 1857. In 1858 Dr. Wellcome was mar- 
 ried to Sarah J- Hauser, of Pennsylvania. They 
 have had four sons; two of them have adopted 
 their father's jirofession. Though over seventy 
 years of age. Dr. Wellcome is still actively en- 
 gaged in practice and in the study and verifica- 
 tion of tlie sciences to which he has devoted so 
 nnich of his life.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 267 
 
 FREDERICK CARL NEUiMEIER. 
 
 Frederick Carl Xcumeier, of Stillwater, is a 
 native of Langenberg, near Duesseldorf, on the 
 Rhine, Germany, where he was born l""cbruary 
 20, 1857. His father, Christian Neunieier, was 
 by occupation a mechanic. Up to 1866 he was 
 in good financial circumstances. He discovered 
 and operated a copper mine for which he 
 had an offer from an I'ln^-lish C(jm])any of 
 si.xty-eigiit tlnmsand marks, hut before the 
 sale had been comi^leted the war of 1866 
 broke out and he lost his mine and every- 
 thing he possessed. His wife's maiden name was 
 Henriette Haut a native of Wiesbaden, on the 
 Rhine, whose father was a hotel keeper in 1824. 
 In 1864 he came to America, and his family never 
 heard of him afterward. The Neunieier ancestry 
 was of noble rank. The original name was A'on 
 Sande, but later they adopted the name of Xeu- 
 meier. .\ br.jther of Christian Neunieier held 
 high rank in the Prussian army, and was the com- 
 manding officer of the Fifth Infantry Corps at 
 Odessa, on the Black Sea, where he received the 
 title of "Ritter p. p." When Frederick Carl was 
 four years of age he was sent to the kindergarten, 
 and two years later to the public schools, which 
 he attended until the age of nine. He then went 
 to the high school. At that time war broke out 
 between the French and Prussians, and his parents 
 removed to Duesseldorf and were employed in 
 a paper mill. In 1880 Frederick came to America, 
 his first stopping place being Nora Springs, Iowa, 
 where he was employed on a farm. In the winter 
 of 1880 and 1881 he attended the public school 
 in order to learn the English language. In the 
 spring of 1881 he was employed as a clerk in the 
 mercantile business, and in A lav. of the same year, 
 went to Chicago to work at his trade as a 
 machinist. In 1882 he went west as far as Den- 
 ver, but returned to St. Paid, and finally obtained 
 employment at Stillwater with the Seyniour-Sabin 
 Thresher Company as a skilled mechanic. In 
 November, 1886, he became interested in the St. 
 Croix Post, a German newspaper, of which J. 
 Duel was proprietor. 'Sir. Neunieier was given 
 the management of the establishment, and shortly 
 afterward, u[)on the death of i\Ir. Duel, R. 
 
 Lehmicke and Mr. Neunieier bought the Post, 
 and in 1890 Mr. Lehmicke sold his interest to 
 Mr. Neunieier, who has conducted the paper 
 alone ever since. The same year he started a 
 new German paper in the interest of the German 
 order, the Hermanns Son of the West, which is 
 today the official organ of that order in this state 
 and Washingt(jn. In 1893 he also started an 
 English paper in partnership with N. A. Nelson, 
 called the Washington County Journal. In this 
 way Mr. Neunieier became the proprietor of two 
 German papers, and had a partnership with an 
 English publication. His papers are independent 
 in politics, with a leaning- toward Democracy. 
 Mr. Neunieier is a member of the Sons of Her- 
 mann, the Royal Arcanum, the Tumverein and 
 the Stillwater Maennerchor. He is grand presi- 
 dent of the Sons of Hermann, and is now serving 
 his second term in that office. He w'as also for 
 four years grand vice president of the order. 
 Mr. Neunieier is a member of the German Luth- 
 eran Church, and was married February 20. 18S4, 
 to Catharina Anna Glade, daughter of John Glade, 
 of Stillwater, of which place Mrs. Neunieier is a 
 native. They have three children. Mabel Gay, 
 Karl Glade and Fritz Georg-e.
 
 26S 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ASA GILBERT BRIGGS. 
 
 Asa Gilbert Briggs is a lawyer practicing in 
 St. Paul. His father, Isaac A. Briggs, was a 
 native of \'ermont, but moved early to Mich- 
 igan, and in 1859 came to Trempealeau valle\-, 
 Wisconsin, when the nearest transportation was 
 the ^Mississippi river, twenty miles away. His oc- 
 cupation, until age forced him to retire, was that 
 of a physician, although at different times he was 
 interested in the flour and woolen mill Inisiness, 
 and, also, in agriculture. His age is now eighty, 
 and he is a resident of St. Paul. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch was born at Arcadia, Trem- 
 pealeau County, Wisconsin, December 20, 1862. 
 He first attended the district school, which was 
 above the average for the time. Having grad- 
 uated from the graded schools at the age of six- 
 teen years, in 1879, and his father being unable to 
 assist him, he began to save his earnings with a 
 view to obtaining an education. In various ways 
 he earned enough money to justify him in begin- 
 ning a course at the state university at Madison. 
 During the first year he was honored by being 
 elected by the literary society of which he was a 
 member as one of four debaters on a program 
 for public entertainment to be given the follow- 
 ing year. About the middle of the spring term 
 
 of the first year he took the examinations for 
 the full year's work and went to St. Paul 
 and engaged in business on salary and 
 commission. After four months' work he was 
 able to return to the university as a sopho- 
 more, with enough money to be able to get 
 through the year. Shortly after the public enter- 
 tainment above referred to he was elected, when a 
 sophomore, member of one of the debating teams 
 for the debate to take place the next year, six 
 students constituting the joint debaters, three on 
 each side, selected from about six hundred stu- 
 dents. This was the greatest honor to be con- 
 ferred by the students upon any one of their 
 number. He was, of course, anxious to return 
 the following year. He had no money, but 
 vacation again brought him financial returns, and 
 with promises of a loan , if necessary, he returned 
 for the third year. The third year completed, the 
 end was now so near that he felt he must go 
 through with his class and complete the course. 
 Another summer vacation, a little borrow-ed 
 money and employment when the state legisla- 
 ture met in the following January, enabled him 
 to finish the course in 1885, when he graduated 
 as one of the orators on commencement day. 
 He was a member of the Hesperian Literary 
 Society, the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and of 
 the various athletic organizations. He was man- 
 aging editor of tlie University Press for one year, 
 and business manager of the Trochos, the first 
 college annual published there. Immediately after 
 graduating he returned to St. Paul, began the 
 study of law and subsequently returned to the 
 university to complete the law course with the 
 class of '87. He began the practice of law in St. 
 Paul, first in the legal department of the St. Paul 
 Title Insurance and Trust Company. He after- 
 wards opened a law office on his own account. 
 His legal business grew rapidly both in volume 
 and quality, and he soon came to be recognized 
 as one of the leading young lawyers of the capital 
 city. He has always been a Republican, and is at 
 present president of the Young Men's Central 
 Republican Club, and is also a member of the 
 Commercial Club, of St. Paul. He was married 
 October i, 1891, to Jessica E. Pierce, of St. Paul. 
 Thev have two children, .Mian and Patil.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 260 
 
 RANSOM T.. STILLMA.V. 
 
 Ransom L. Stilliiian was lioni at Chester, 
 Geauga County, Ohio, August 18, 1851. His 
 father, Riley F. Stillnian, was a farmer, and was 
 also engaged in the stock business in Ohio and 
 Illinois. He was a direct descendant of George 
 Stillman who came from England to Hadley, 
 Massachusetts, in 1683, and afterwards settled in 
 Wethersfield, Connecticut. His mother, Esther 
 Clark Cutler was the daughter of Girard Cutler 
 and a cousin of Carroll Cutler, for many years 
 president of "Western Reserve," now "Adelbeit 
 College." She also came from New England 
 stock, being a direct descendant of James Cut- 
 ler, who came to Watertown, Massachusetts, 
 about 1634 and afterwards settled in Lexington. 
 In 1854, when Ransom was three years old, his 
 father removed from Ohio, and with his family 
 settled in Minneapolis, engaging in gardening 
 and in the freighting business. Ransom at- 
 tended school in the public schools of Minne- 
 apolis for a time, and later attended Geauga 
 Seminary, at Chester, Ohio, for two years. Leav- 
 ing there he entered Hillsdale College, Michigan. 
 While there he supported himself by working 
 on a farm and elsewhere during vacations, and 
 by teaching a part of the time. He graduated 
 from there in the classical course in 1876, re- 
 ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and a 
 few years later the degree of Master of Arts. 
 He was very successful as a teacher, and on his 
 graduation several good positions were open to 
 him in that line, but before he entered college 
 he determined on the profession of law and 
 never let himself lose sight of that piupose. On 
 account of health impaired by overwork while in 
 college he spent most of his time for a year and 
 a half after his graduation in traveling. Late in 
 1877 he commenced the study of law in tlie 
 offices of Senator Burrows, and Judge Bosworth, 
 at Painesville, C)hio, where he remained a little 
 over two years. He was admitted to the bar l)y 
 the Supreme Court at Columbus, Ohio, May 5, 
 1880. On October 13, 1880, he was married to 
 Ida J. IMurray, of Concord, Ohio, and imme- 
 diately removed to Minneapolis, where he has 
 since resided. In his practice of law he has been 
 very successful, having practiced in the United 
 States District and Circuit Courts and in the 
 
 state courts of Ohio, JMinnesota, North Dakota, 
 South Dakota and Colorado. Among some of 
 the important cases that he has handled might 
 be mentioned the "Alay Patent Cases," the in- 
 junction cases between the Western Union and 
 North American Telegraph Companies, and 
 some of the leading real estate cases in the Min- 
 nesota Reports. He has also had and still has 
 an important part in the litigation growing out 
 of the bank failures of 1893, being engaged in 
 one of the cases brought by the state against the 
 banks and their bondsmen, in four of those 
 brought by the county against the banks and 
 their bondsmen, and a number of those brought 
 by the creditors against the stockholders. 
 He has also taken an active interest in the 
 growth and development of Minneapolis. He 
 erected a number of good buildings, the finest is 
 the Stillman, now Rochester block, on Fourth 
 street. His wife, Ida Murray Stillman, died in 
 1S91, leaving two surviving children, Alice E., 
 aged nine years, and Murray L., aged se\en 
 years, both of whom ai"e in the Minneapolis pub- 
 lic schools. On April 27, 1896, he was married 
 to Addie I. Koehl, relict of the late Dr. Jeremiah 
 Koehl. In politics JMr. Stillman has ahvays been 
 a staunch Republican, and taken a lively interest 
 in all that interests his party.
 
 2 70 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JED L. WASHBURN. 
 
 Jed L. \Vashburn is an attorney of Dulutli, 
 Minnesota. His father, Christopher C. Wash- 
 bum, a retired farmer of Blue Earth County, 
 was one of the pioneers of Southern Minnesota. 
 He was a native of Southern Ohio and settled 
 in Minnesota in 1856. The following year he 
 brought his family over-land from Indiana, the 
 subject of this sketch then being Init a few 
 months old. Mr. Washburn's wife was Miss 
 Julian Showen, a native of Kentucky, and a 
 woman of strong moral and religious convic- 
 tions. She still lives with her husband at Lake 
 Crj-stal, Minnesota. Their son Jed was born in 
 Montgomer}- County, Indiana, on December 
 26, 1856. His boyhood was passed amid the ex- 
 citing scenes of the pioneer life in Minnesota 
 four decades ago. He well remembers the In- 
 dian outbreak of 1862, and the final termination 
 of the trouliles by the hanging of the leaders of 
 the Sioux at Mankato. He received an aca- 
 demic education, including a limited course in 
 literature and languages, and a good course in 
 mathematics. lUit his education has bet-n 
 mainly self-acquired. His reading has been as 
 extended as a busy life would ])ermit. After 
 leaving school he taught fur a lunnlier of years, 
 and at one time, while engaged in studying law. 
 was teacliing in the public schools of Mankato: 
 
 afterwards he served for a number of years on 
 the Board of Education of that city, and for a 
 considerable time he was its president. ^Ir. 
 Washburn studied law with Hon. Martin J. 
 Severance, of Mankato, now Judge of the Sixth 
 district, and was admitted to practice in the 
 spring of 1880. For ten years he lived in Man- 
 kato and built up a large practice throughout 
 southern ]Minnesota. In 1890 Mr. Washburn 
 moved to Duluth, where he has been equally 
 successful in his law practice. At first he prac- 
 ticed alone, but in September, 1895, formed a 
 partnership with Judge Charles L. Lewis, who 
 resigned from the bench to enter this connection. 
 At the same time Lucnis E. Judson, Jr., and 
 Wm. D. Bailey who had, for a long time, been 
 employed bv Mr. Washburn, were also taken 
 into the firm, the name being Washburn, Lewis 
 & Judson. During Mr. \\^ashburn's practice 
 he has been engaged in many important trials, 
 and connected, in a professional way. with nu- 
 merous heavy business and financial transac- 
 tions. His practice has covered almost the en- 
 tire field of litigation, but since his removal to 
 Duluth he has endeavored to confine himself as 
 nuich as possible to corporate and real estate 
 law. He is counsel for many corporations, and 
 his duties have taken Inni to all parts of the 
 countrw He is attorney at 1 )uluth for several 
 railway companies, including the Xorthern 
 Pacific, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
 Omaha Railway Company, and Duluth Trans- 
 fer Railway Company. For the latter company 
 he did the work of its organization and the 
 dilticult legal work of getting its lines estal)- 
 lished in the congested bay front of Duluth. 
 Mr. Washburn has consideral^le property inter- 
 est in Duluth and upon the iron ranges, and re- 
 sides in the suburb of Hunter's Park, where he 
 has a beautiful home. In politics he has been 
 classed as an independent Democrat, but has 
 rarely taken an active part in the affairs of the 
 party. In .May, 1882, Mr. \\';islil)urn was mar- 
 riefl to Miss Alma J. Pattce, who was a graduate 
 of the .State Normal School ;it .Mankato, and 
 who was a teacher for some time in that insti- 
 tution. Mrs. Washburn is a native of \\'iscon- 
 sin, though of New luigland desceul. .'>lie is a 
 lady of nmch liter;u-y abilit\. ;nid a frequent con- 
 tributor of ])a]iers on tipii> considered in the
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 271 
 
 numerous associations to which she liclongs. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Washburn have five chihlren, two 
 boys and three girls, Claude, Genevieve, Al)bott, 
 Mildred and Hope. Mr. Waslil)urn has two 
 brothers, Rev. Francis M. Washburn, pastor of 
 the I'lrst Congregational Ciinrcli at Mankato, 
 and Kdward W. Washburn, merchant, at Lake 
 Ciystal. His only sister is Mrs. Jennie W. 
 Webster, of Juniata, Nebraska. 
 
 CASSIUS M. BUCK. 
 
 Though comparatively but a young man as 
 yet, Cassius M. Buck, cashier of the Security 
 Bank at h'arihault, is, through his strict tidclity 
 to those principles which go to make up lousi- 
 ness success, one of the most successful bankers 
 in the North .Star state, having assisted in the 
 organization of four diiTerent banks, and with 
 all of which he is still connected. He was born 
 June 19, 1859, at Greenwood, Wright County, 
 Minnesota, tlie son of William P. Buck and 
 jMargaret Cramer (Buck). William P. Buck 
 was born in Ohio, and was by occupation a 
 teacher, ranking high in that profession. He 
 came to Minnesota in 1854. At the outbreak 
 of the civil war he enlisted in Company D, First 
 Battalion of Minnesota infantry, and served 
 throughout the war. He was discharged at 
 Jeffersonville, Indiana, and mustered out with 
 his company at Fort Snelling, July 25, 1865; 
 but, having contracted a fever in front of Rich- 
 mond, \'irginia, he succumbed to it at Fort 
 Snelling before reaching home. His wife, the 
 mother of the subject of this sketch, was born 
 in Western Pennsylvania, hut nii:)ved with her 
 parents, when quite young, to ( >hio. Cassius 
 received his early education in the common 
 school at Watertown, Minnesota, and in the 
 graded school at Howard Lake. When but 
 twelve years of age he commenced clerking in 
 the general store of his step-father, J. V. Pear- 
 son, continuing at this occupation for six years, 
 with the exception of four months each year 
 when he attended school. Li the spring of 1880 
 he formed a partnership with Mr. Pearson and 
 engaged in the business of shipping horses from 
 Indiana and Iowa to Minnesota and selling 
 
 them. This line of trade he followed until the 
 fall of 1882, when he purchased the hardware 
 business of Smith Bros. & Co., at Howard Lake, 
 and conducted the business for nine years, it 
 having become the largest hardware house in 
 Wright county. In the fall of 1885, in connec- 
 tion with Lemuel McGrew, Mr. Buck purchased 
 the Bank of Howard Lake (a private bank), 
 which they still own. Four years later Air. Buck 
 organized the Bank of Dassel, now a state bank, 
 and has been its president since its organization. 
 In the fall of 1893 he assisted in organizing the 
 State Bank of Annandale, and has been president 
 of it since its organization. In July, 1894, Mr. 
 Buck went to Faribault and was the principal 
 organizer of the .Security Bank of that city. He 
 was elected its cashier, which position he has 
 held since the organization of the liank. Mr. 
 Buck has been very successful in his l)ank in- 
 vestments, all the banks with which he is con- 
 nected having l)een a success from the time of 
 their organization. He is also the owner of a 
 number of good farms in Wright County. He 
 has always been a Republican in politics, and in 
 1888 and 1890 was congressional conunitteman 
 for Wright County. On May 9, 1894, he was 
 married to Sarah E. Tolerton, daughter of James 
 D. Tolerton, of Salem, Ohio.
 
 272 
 
 NATHANIEL FREEMAN WARNER. 
 
 The name vvhich stands at the head of this 
 sketch is well known in Minneapolis. ]\Iajor 
 Warner, as he is generally known, was born 
 April i8, 1848, in New York city. His father 
 was George Freeman Warner, and his mother, 
 Julia Frances Wilgus (Warner). On the pater- 
 nal side he is a descendant of German stock, and 
 on the maternal side from a Holland family. 
 Both his grandfathers were oiificers in the Amer- 
 ican Revolutionary war. Nathaniel came with 
 his father to Minneapolis in 1856. He was then 
 only eight years old. He attended the public 
 schools, and afterwards Carleton college. On 
 leaving school he worked with his father in the 
 furniture and undertaking business imtil 1869, 
 when he crossed the plains with a party explor- 
 ing a route for the Northern Pacific railroad. On 
 his return home he joined a surveying and explor- 
 ing party which went to the Upper Mississippi, 
 where he spent considerable time prospecting 
 and exploring. At tliis time lie brought home 
 with him some fine specimens of iron ore from 
 what is now the Mcsaba iron range. He also 
 pre-empted a claim in the same district, which 
 was the first claim taken u]) within probal)ly forty 
 miles of Grand Raj)ifls. Minnesota, and he be- 
 came well acquainted with the language of the 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 Indians. After returning home he engaged in 
 the undertaking business, and has been in the 
 same occupation ever since, and located in the 
 same place for over twenty years. Major War- 
 ner possesses an active mind and contributes 
 liberally to the papers published in the interest 
 of the funeral directors. He is the president of 
 the Funeral Directors' Association of Minnesota, 
 North and South Dakota, and has been for the 
 past six years. Mr. Warner is also a member of 
 the board of managers in the Sons of the Ameri- 
 can Revolution. He is a member of the Minne- 
 apolis Board of Trade, past chancellor of the 
 Knights of Pythias, past noble arch of Druids, 
 past arch of the Druidic Circle, past commander 
 of the Legion of Honor, also of the Select 
 Knights A. O. U. W.; also past president of the 
 \'eterans' Association. He is also a member of 
 the National Guard of the state and a charter 
 member of Minneapolis Lodge, No. 44, Brother- 
 hood of Elks. ]\Ir. Warner organized the first 
 company of National Guards in the state. This 
 was the Minneapolis Light Infantry, now Com- 
 pany A, National (juard. This company was 
 formed June 16, 1878. ^Mr. Warner has since or- 
 ganized two cavalry companies. The first was 
 Warner's Light Dragoons, the second was Troop 
 A, Minnesota Light Cavalry. He was captain of 
 each, and was aftenvards elected major in com- 
 mand. Major Warner is also an honorary mem- 
 ber of the First Minnesota Volunteer Associa- 
 tion, having been presented by them with a fine 
 gold corps badge of the second corps. His an- 
 cestors settled in Schoharie County, New York, 
 in the early days, coming there from Hamburg, 
 Germany. The place where they settled was 
 given the family name, and is still known as 
 \\'arnersville. The father of the subject of this 
 sketch is a retired merchant, a man of consider- 
 able wealth, and is the president of the Diamond 
 Iron Mine Company, which owns thousands of 
 acres of the most valuable projunties on the 
 Mesaba iron range. His wife, mother of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, was the daughter of Nathaniel 
 Wilgus, of Buffalo, New York. The Wilgns 
 family came from Holland. Major Warner is an 
 honorary member of several military organiza- 
 tions. He is a man of cultivated literary and artis- 
 tic tastes, is a collector of curios, and jiossesses 
 a verv attractive lilirary. It is rich in rare works, 
 partictilai^Iv art ])ublications. He has also a fine
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 27;f 
 
 collection of war relics ami natural history spec- 
 imens, stulTcd animals, heads and other curios. 
 In 1878 Major Warner was married to Miss 
 Elizabeth Sullivan, of Minneapolis. She died in 
 1883, leaving a daughter, Mary Ellen. In 1887 
 Mr. Warner was married again to Miss Anna P. 
 Haskins, of Minneapolis. They have two daugh- 
 ters, Callie Pearl and I'rances Wilgus. 
 
 HER.MAN EM IE ZUCII. 
 
 Herman Eniil Zoch is a familiar name to 
 all lovers of nuisic in Minneapolis. Mr. Zoch 
 is a native of Prussia, the son of Carl Eriedrich 
 Zoch and Augusta Kunau Zoch. Carl Fried- 
 rich was director of the estates of the Polish 
 Count Dzieduszicki. His grandfather Zoch 
 owned property in Silesia, was an officer in the 
 army, and distinguished himself in the war nf 
 1813 against the French usurper. Herman Emil 
 was born in Theerkeute, an estate of Count 
 Dzieduszicki, in the province of Posen, Prussia, 
 April 16, 1857. He was provided as a child with 
 a private tutor at home, but afterwards entered 
 the state gymnasium in Halle, Saxony, and grad- 
 uated at the Thomas gymnasium at Leipsic, 
 where he finished the classical course of study. 
 Mr. Zoch had early developed promising musical 
 talent, and was afforded opportunity for develop- 
 ing it. He was sent to the Royal Conservatory 
 of Music at Eeipsic, where at the end of the third 
 vear he graduated with students who had been 
 there five or six years, and took the first prize in 
 piano playing. His instructors in piano were 
 Carl Reinecke, Jadassohn and Coccius. the tir.-^t 
 two being his teachers in counterpoint and com- 
 position. After graduating from the Royal Con- 
 servatory Mr. Zoch spent several months in Paris 
 hearing the great players there, studying concert 
 programs and making the most of the opportuni- 
 ties there aft'orded for advancement in his art. 
 He then went to ^Munich, where he lived two 
 vears, forming acquaintance with the best musi- 
 cians of that city, foremost among them being 
 loseph Rheinberger, the great composer, 
 for whom Mr. Zoch performed Rhcinberger's 
 piano concerto, op. 94, ^\hicll he subse- 
 quently introduced for the first time at 
 
 a concert at Berlin, with orchestral accom- 
 paniment. At this time Mr. Zoch had come 
 to be recognized as an artist of great merit, 
 and he gave a series of successful piano recitals 
 in Leipsic, Perlin, Munich, \ienna, Gotha and 
 other large nuisic centers of Germany. In 1883 
 he decided to come to America, and in 1884 he 
 settled in Minneapolis as a teacher of piano. 
 Since 1889 he has made three concert tours, and 
 has given piano recitals in Boston, Philadelphia, 
 Cleveland, Syracuse, St. Louis, Indianapolis, 
 Louisville, Cincinnati, and played at the Music 
 Teachers' National Convention in 1892. He is 
 thoroughly devoted to his art and is recognized 
 as a performer of great merit. His programs de- 
 note the possession of a phenomenal repertoire, 
 Names like these are very common: Beethoven 
 (Sonatas op. 53, 57, 81, iii, etc.)., Schuman, 
 Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Rheinberger, St. Saens, 
 Moszkouski, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Mozart, 
 Bach, Rubenstein, Haendel, Henselt, Joseffy, 
 Jensen, Raf¥, Taussig, Scarletti, Heller, Wagner, 
 Reinecke and many others. He has never mar- 
 ried, and is so devoted to his art that he has 
 never cared to join himself to any orders or 
 societies.
 
 274 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 DAVID xMARSTON CLOUGH. 
 
 David AJarstou Clough, governor of Min- 
 nesota, furnishes a conspicuous example of 
 the self-made man. Born of humble parentage 
 and spending his youth in comparative poverty, 
 contending with the obstacles of life on the 
 frontier, and without the aid of influential friends, 
 he has achieved the position of highest honor in 
 the state of his adoption. He was the son of 
 Elbridge G. and Sarah Brown (Clough), of Lyme, 
 Grafton County, Xew Hampshire. He was the 
 fourth in a family of fourteen children, ten of 
 whom grew to maturity. He was born December 
 27, 1846, at Lyme, New Hampshire, and when 
 he was nine years old his family moved to Wau- 
 paca, Wisconsin, arriving there on the fourth of 
 July, 1857: Within the ne.xt year they removed 
 to Spencer Brook, Isanti County, Minnesota, a 
 little settlement on the extreme frontier in the 
 lumbering region of Rum River. His father took 
 a claim, a cabin was built, a clearing made in the 
 timber and the farm started. In addition to work 
 done on the farm, father and sons engaged in the 
 lumbering business in the employ of companies 
 then operating in that region. There was no 
 school to attend and the educational facilities of 
 which David was able to avail himself were of 
 the most limited kind. At sixteen he drove an 
 
 ox team in the woods, and at seventeen went on 
 the logging drive and earned a man's wages. 
 Subsequently he was employed at the saw mills 
 in Minneapolis in the summer and continued to 
 work either for his father, or for wages for his 
 father's benefit until he was twenty. At this age 
 it was his father's custom to give his boys their 
 time, having no other endowment to bestow. 
 David then engaged himself by the month with 
 H. F. Brown, a lumberman, and continued for 
 four years in his employment, doing all kinds of 
 work involved in the lumber business. After 
 leaving Mr. Brown he and his brother Gilbert 
 engaged in the lumbering business for them- 
 selves. They lived at Spencer Brook and took 
 contracts for cutting and hauling logs in the ad- 
 jacent pineries. This they continued for two 
 years, when, in 1862, they removed to this city. 
 They continued in the logging business for several 
 years and then commenced the manufacture of 
 lumber, first hiring their logs sawed and later 
 building a mill of their own. Clough Brothers 
 eventually became one of the substantial lumber 
 firms of Minneapolis, owning their own timber, 
 manufacturing it and cutting it, their annual out- 
 put in later years averaging fifteen million feet. 
 Gilbert Clough died six years ago, since which 
 time David has continued the business alone. He 
 also became president of the Bank of JMinneapolis. 
 Although his father died years ago, Mr. Clough 
 has retained the homestead in Isanti County, and 
 added to it until it now embraces six 
 hundred and forty acres of land, on which 
 Afr. Clough has a fine herd of thorough- 
 bred Short Horn Cattle, and his interest in agri- 
 culture and stock raising was recognized in 
 i8()2 by his election to the office of 
 president of the .State Agricultural Society. 
 To him belongs tlie credit at the close of his 
 administration of turning over the society to his 
 sticcessor free of debt, the first time in its his- 
 tory. Mr. Clough has been active in local and 
 state politics, having served the Second ward of 
 Minneapolis as a member of the council from 
 1885 to 1888. In the second year of his sei^vice 
 he was made i)rt'sident of the council. At this 
 time he was also elected to represent East IMin- 
 neapolis, Isanti and Anoka counties in the 
 state senate, his term of ofTicc of four vears expir-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 275 
 
 ing in i8yo. What is known as "the i)atrol Hni- 
 its system," a rule which confines the saloons to 
 the Intsiness center of the cit}', received Mr. 
 Clough's support in the legislature and in the 
 council, and to him credit is given for having de- 
 feated an attempt in the legislature to grant to 
 the council the power of discontinuing or alter- 
 ing this sy.stem. Mr. Clough was a member of 
 the state Republican central committee for four 
 years, and in 1892 was nominated by the Repub- 
 licans for lieutenant governor and was elected. 
 He was re-nominated in 1894 and re-elected, and 
 upon the election of Knute Nelson to the United 
 States senate in 1895 he succeeded him in the 
 office of governor. He was nominated liy the 
 Republicans in 1896 to succeed himself and 
 was elected. When the court house and 
 city hall commission was organized in Minne- 
 apolis, ]\[r. Clough was made a member of that 
 commission, and for a time was its president. 
 His family are identified w ith the First Congre- 
 gational Church of Minneapolis, of which society 
 Mr. Clough was for many years trustee. He be- 
 longs to the Masonic order, in which he has 
 taken thirty-two degrees. Mr. Clough was mar- 
 ried April 4, 1867, to Addie Barton, at Spencer 
 Brook, Minnesota. He has one daughter, Nina, 
 the wife of R. H. Hartley, of Minneajiolis. 
 
 FREUERICIC 11. UOARDATAN. 
 
 Frederick Henry Boardman comes of 
 good, old Colonial stock in New Brunswick. His 
 father, George A. Boardman, originally a citizen 
 of New Brunswick, is a retired lumberman of 
 Calais, Maine. He was a man of scientiiic tastes 
 and attainments, and is known as one of the lead- 
 ing ornithologists of the United States. George 
 A. Boardman's wife was Mar\' Jane Hill, a 
 woman of noble character, whose memorv is 
 held in reverent and affectionate regard by her 
 children. The subject of this sketch was born at 
 Milltown, New Brunswick, .\pril 25, 1848. 
 His early education was obtained at St. Stephen's 
 Academy, and at Philliiis Academy at 
 Andover, Massachusetts., where he prepared 
 for college. He then entered Bowdoin 
 
 college, where he was a graduate of the 
 class of 1869. While in college he was a member 
 of the Psi Upsilon society; was the prize speaker 
 of his class, and a leader in all college sports. He 
 was awarded by the teacher in gymnastics a spe- 
 cial cup for being the best at sparring and in all 
 the athletic contests of the school. Having com- 
 pleted his college course he began the study of 
 law with E. B. Harvey, of Calais, Maine, and was 
 admitted to the bar in 1876. Two years later he 
 came to Minnesota and settled in Minneapolis for 
 the practice of his profession. He formed a law 
 partnership with C. M. Ferguson, which con- 
 tinued from 1878 to 1885. He is now, and has for 
 several years, been associated professionally with 
 M. H. Boutelle, and the firm has always had its 
 share of important litigation. Mr. Boardman has 
 always been a Republican, and represented one of 
 the Minneapolis districts in the Minnesota legis- 
 lature in 1882 and 1883. His home has been in 
 the city of Minneapolis vmtil recently, when he re- 
 moved to his farm at Blaine, Anoka county, where 
 he now resides, although continuing his profes- 
 sional business in the city. He was married in 
 Brunswick, Maine, in 1870, to Harriet C. Bou- 
 telle. Thev have two children, Lucv B. and 
 Ralph T. '
 
 276 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 
 HOWARD AIcILNAIX MORTON. 
 
 Dr. Howard .Mcllvain 2\Jorton is an ocu- 
 list and aurist in Minneapolis. His birth- 
 place was the old city of Chester, Pennsylvania, 
 and his birthday May, 23, 1866. His father was 
 Dr. Charles J. Morton, a well-known surgeon of 
 Eastern Pennsylvania, who had practiced in 
 Chester for more than thirty years. Dr. Charles 
 Morton was the great grandson of John Morton, 
 a signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
 whose monument erected to him at Chester bears 
 this inscription: "John Morton, member of the 
 Stamp Act Congress from this Colony. Judge 
 of the Supreme Court. Delegate to the First 
 Congress in 1774. Speaker of the House of 
 Assembly. Re-elected to the Congress of 1776, 
 where in giving the casting vote of his delegation 
 he crowned Pennsylvania the Keystone of the 
 arch of liberty, and secured to the American 
 people the Declaration of Independence. Him- 
 self a signer. Born 1724. Died 1777." In tlic 
 rotunda of the old state house in Philadelphia 
 are portraits of the signers of the Declaration of 
 Independence, but no portrait of John Morton 
 was preserved, and in its place one may see a 
 large tablet erected to his distinguished memory. 
 Dr. Howard Morton's mother was Annie Coatcs, 
 the daughter of Moses and T.ydia Taylor Coates, 
 
 Lydia Taylor having been a near relative of Presi- 
 dent Zachary Taylor and a cousin of Bayard Tay- 
 lor. JMoses Coates was the founder of Coates- 
 ville, one of the old Pennsylvania towns, to which 
 he gave his name. He was a man of remarkable 
 inventive genius, and also a mathematician of 
 wide reputation in his time. The subject of this 
 sketch, Howard iMcIlvain, attended a private 
 school in Chester until he was twelve years cf 
 age, when he entered Maplewood Institute to 
 prepare for college. He was admitted to Lafay- 
 ette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania, in the fall 
 of 1884, and was graduated in 1888. Howard 
 Alcllvain took an active part in all college affairs, 
 literary and athletic and was a member of the 
 Delta Tau Delta Greek fraternity. He was captain 
 of the college athletic team, manager of the foot- 
 ball team and was elected to membership in the 
 Manhattan Athletic Club, of New York City, the 
 third up to that time to be so honored in his 
 college. He won a number of championship 
 medals for athletic sports, and was the referee of 
 many of the principal football and athletic con- 
 tests between the large colleges. His purpose 
 as a student was to prepare for the medical pro- 
 fession, and in the fall of 1888 he entered the 
 medical department of the University of Pennsyl- 
 vania, from which he graduated in 1891. He 
 was a charter member of the Phi Alpha Sigma 
 medical fraternity, of the William Pepper Medical 
 Society, and was honored in 1891 by Chancellor 
 Pepper with the appointment as one of the two 
 selected to escort the visiting Pan-American con- 
 gress on the occasion of their visit to the uni- 
 versity. While at the university and afterward 
 he studied with and assisted Dr. James Wallace 
 and Dr. G. E. De Schweinitz in treating the dis- 
 eases of the eye, a department of medicine which 
 he afterward made his specialty. For six months 
 he was house surgeon for St. Luke's Hospital in 
 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, received the degree of 
 B. S. from Lafayette College in 1888, and M. S. 
 from the same institution in 1891. Dr. Morton 
 has been a resident of Minneapolis for over five 
 years, during which time he has been the oculist 
 and aurist to Asbury Hospital, and clinical pro- 
 fessor of ophthalmology and otology in the Col- 
 lege of Pliysicians and .Surgeons in Minneapolis. 
 He is now the oculist and aurist to St. Barnabas
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 277 
 
 Hospital, and cliief of the eye and ear clinic of 
 
 St. Jiarnalias Hospital l""i"ce ].)ispcnsary. He is 
 a niL'iiiljer of the Hennepin County Medical As- 
 sociation, the Minnesota State Medical Society, 
 the American Medical Association, the Missis- 
 sippi Valley Medical Society, of the Minneapolis 
 Art .Society, and of the Sons of the American 
 Revolution, and is vice-president of the North- 
 western Alumni Association of the University of 
 Pennsylvania. Dr. Morton was married in De- 
 cemher, i8gi, to Miss Lucretia Yale Jarvis, 
 daughter of the late Charles H. Jarvis, a musician 
 of considerahle distinction in Philadelphia. 
 
 RICHARD J. MENDENHALL. 
 
 The ancestry of R. J. Mendenhall is traced 
 back to England before the time of William 
 Penn. The American ancestry of the family 
 emigrated with Penn, and his descendants for 
 many years lived in Pennsylvania. The great- 
 great-grandson of the Quaker emigrant, Richard 
 Mendenhall, was an extensive tanner at James- 
 town, North Carolina. His wife was Mary Pegg, 
 a descendant of an old Welsh family which set- 
 tled in America at an early period. Their son 
 Richard was born at Jamestown, on November 
 25, 1828. During his boyhood and youth Mr. 
 Mendenhall's education was more or less inter- 
 rupted by various pursuits. In 1848 he studied at 
 the New Garden Boarding School. During a 
 summer vacation spent in New Hampshire he 
 met Cyrus Beede, with whom he formed a 
 friendship and who afterwards became his part- 
 ner in business in Minneapolis. During his 
 boyhood he acquired familiarity with farm life, 
 and had taken a special delight in the culture 
 of fruits and flowers. After leaving school 'Sir. 
 Mendenhall went to Ohio and was engaged in 
 railroad work for a time. He afterwards was 
 associated with his brother in similar work in 
 North Carolina, and his experience in this pro- 
 fession led him to come west. A year of sur- 
 veying in Iowa satisfied him with that locality, 
 and at the age of twentv-eight he arrived at Min- 
 neapolis. His friend, Cyrus Beede. followed 
 a year later, and they became associated in the 
 land, loan and banking business, under the firm 
 
 ^fl <^ 
 
 name of Beede & Mendenhall. In the panic of 
 1857, which came upon them before they were 
 thoroughly established, they suffered consider- 
 able losses but succeeded in preserving their 
 credit. In Novemlier, 1862, Mr. Mendenhall be- 
 came president of the State Bank of ]\Iinnesota. 
 This was afterwards merged into the State Na- 
 tional Bank of Minneapolis, of which Air. Men- 
 denhall also became president, continuing in this 
 position until 1871. He was also president of 
 the State Savings Association, which was forced 
 to suspend during the panic of 1873. At much 
 personal sacrifice Mr. Mendenhall has satisfied 
 most of the claims growing out of this failure. 
 In 1862 he was Town Treasurer, and for a num- 
 ber of years secretary and treasurer of the Board 
 of Education. Air. Mendenhall was married in 
 1858 to Miss Abby G. Swift, a daughter of Cap- 
 tain Silas Swift, of West Falmouth, Massachu- 
 setts. They now reside in a beautiful home on 
 Stevens avenue in Minneapolis. Adjoining the 
 house are extensive green houses, w-here Mr. 
 Mendenhall has in recent years built up a large 
 business in flowers and plants. Both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mendenhall have continued through their 
 lives as active members of the Friends' denomina- 
 tion.
 
 278 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 
 GEORGE HENRY FLETCHER. 
 
 George Henry Fletcher, of Minneapolis, 
 traces his ancestry to Robert Fletcher, who 
 came from England and settled in Concord, Jilas- 
 sachusetts, in 1630. The Fletchers for several 
 generations \\ere farmers. Robert Fletcher, of 
 the fifth generation, served in the early part of 
 the Revolutionary War, and with his two sons 
 was in the battle of Bennington. He died on his 
 way home from the army in 1776. Luke Fletcher, 
 his son, also served in the Revolutionary War, and 
 Adolphus Fletcher, the son of Luke, served in the 
 war of 181 2. The Fletchers were generally a long- 
 lived family. Adolphus had seven sons and four 
 daughters, and only one of the eleven died at an 
 age less than fifty-eight. The subject of this 
 sketch was born T'ebruary 18, i860, at Mankato. 
 He was the son of Lafayette Gilbert Mortiere 
 Fletcher and Lucina T.acon (Fletcher). L. G. .M. 
 Fletcher removed from St. Lawrence County, 
 New York, to Mankato, Minnesota, in 1854. 
 and has been engaged since that time in survey- 
 ing, farming, operating warehouses, dealing in 
 real estate and banking. He has been a member 
 of the ATankato Hoard of Education for more than 
 twenty-five out of the past thirty years, and for 
 a considerable portion of the time was president. 
 
 He served in the state senate from 1883 to 188G. 
 He married Lucina Bacon I'oote. a widow. Her 
 family name was Bacon. The Bacons were of En- 
 glish descent and had lived in New England for 
 several generations. She died at Mankato, Sep- 
 tember 14, 1870. George Henry ITetcher liegan 
 his education under the direction of his mother, 
 but subsequently attended the public schools at 
 Mankato, where he graduated from the high 
 school in 1876, as valedictorian of the first class 
 after the school was established. The following 
 year he also received a diploma from the high 
 school, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. In September, 
 1877, 'is entered the University of Michigan, 
 where he graduated in June, 1881, with the degree 
 of A. B. He did not attend the university during 
 the junior year of his class, but was instructor in 
 I^atin and mathematics at the Mankato high 
 school. During his college course he was a 
 member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. His sum- 
 mer vacations were spent on his father's farms 
 near Mankato, accumulating health and muscle 
 and preparing himself for the confinement of col- 
 lege work during the balance of the year. After 
 graduation, in ]88i, ]\lr. Fletcher was placed in 
 charge of a triangulation party, under Capt. D. 
 W. Wellman, U. S. A., then engaged in the gov- 
 ernment survey of the Missouri river, and carried 
 on that work from Fort Randall to Sioux City, 
 beginning in August and ending the following 
 October. In November, 1881, he came to r\lin- 
 neapolis to study law, in accordance with a pur- 
 pose formed at the age of fourteen, and toward 
 which every step after that age was taken. He 
 entered the law office of William H. Norris, coun- 
 sel of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Faul Rail- 
 wav, and when not otherwise engaged continued 
 his studies there until August, 1883. From June, 
 18S2, to July, 1883, he was assistant in the office 
 of Superintendent of the Poor, in Minneapolis, 
 and also during that time examined Latin, His- 
 tory and Geography papers for the state high 
 school board. In .Vugust, 1883, he entered the 
 office of Judge T'.ll Torrance as clerk, and the 
 following Decemlier he was admitted to the bar. 
 Beginning with the following I'rhi uar\ . .-uul until 
 lune I. i8()0. he was associated witli Judge Tor- 
 ranc-i'. in the law firm of Torraiu'c iv Metcher.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 279 
 
 lie then formed a parliiersliip wiUi Kiiljcrt S. 
 Dawson, to which Chelsea J. Rockwood was ad- 
 mitted in F"ebruary, 1891. In March, 1895, ^^""^ 
 firm became Fletcher, Cairns & Rockwood, and 
 in Atignst, 1896, the present firm of Fletcher & 
 Taylor was formed. Mr. Metcher was secretary 
 of the Minneapolis Bar Association from 1887 
 till i8y2. He has taken an active interest in 
 Republican politics, and is a member of the 
 Union League. He was secretary of the League 
 in 1883, vice president in 1884, and president in 
 1893. He represented the Thirty-second district in 
 the lovi'er house of the legislature in 1893, and was 
 chairman of the judiciary committee during that 
 session. AJr. Fletcher is a member of the Univer- 
 salist Church, and was secretary of the Church of 
 the Redeemer in Minneapolis for ten years. July 
 28, 1887, he married Annie Maria Kimball, 
 daughter of George C. Kimball, of Grand Rapids, 
 Michigan. They have two children, Kimball and 
 Alice Kiml)all. 
 
 CARROLL ANDERSON NYE. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a brother of the 
 lamented humorist, Edgar Wilson Nye, better 
 known to fame as "Bill Nye,'' who died at his 
 home in North Carolina, February 22, 1896; 
 also of Frank M. Nye, county attorney of Hen- 
 nepin County, Minnesota. The Nye family is of 
 French and English descent on the mother's 
 side, and French and Welsh on the father's. The 
 father, Franklin Nye, w-as a farmer in rather poor 
 circumstances. The mother's maiden name was 
 Eliza M. Loring. F)Oth parents were originally 
 from the state of ]Maine, moving from that state 
 to Wisconsin in 1852, and following farming in 
 St. Croix County until 1885. Carroll Anderson 
 Nye was born in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, 
 February 3, 186 1. Fie attended the conuuon 
 school during the winters, and, as usual in the 
 case of farmers' boys, worked on the farm dur- 
 ing the sunuuer, until he was seventeen years of 
 age. He then attended, for several terms, the 
 state normal school at River Falls, Wisconsin, 
 in the meantime also teaching school several 
 terms. The first monev Mr. Nye ever earned 
 was bv working bv the month on a farm in his 
 
 home state. After leaving school he commenced 
 the study of law with his brother, I'rank M. Nye, 
 who at that time was located in Wisconsin. He 
 entered the State University of Wisconsin later, 
 graduating from the law department in the class 
 of 1886. In January, 1887, he came to Minne- 
 sota, locating at Moorhead, and commenced the 
 practice of law. When Mr. Nye conmienced the 
 practice of his profession at Moorhead he had 
 no money and was in delit, having earned the 
 money by his own efforts with which to pursue 
 his studies. He is now in comfortable circum- 
 stances and enjoys an extensive practice. He 
 has held the office of city attorney of INIoorhead 
 for four terms, and is now- serving his second 
 term as county attorney of Clay County. In pol- 
 itics Mr. Nye is independent. He is a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pyth- 
 ias and the Ancient Order of United \\'orkmen. 
 His church affiliations are with the Congrega- 
 tional body, and he is a regular attendant and 
 supporter of the First Congregational church of 
 Moorhead, though not a luember of anv church 
 organization. He was married December 30, 
 1886, to Miss Marv Gordon, of Madison, Wis- 
 consin. Thev have one child. Tames Gordon, 
 aged five.
 
 280 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JULIUS HENRY ACKER.MANN. 
 
 Julius Henry Ackermaun is deputy treas- 
 urer of the state of Minnesota. He resides 
 temporarily in St. Paul, but his home is at 
 Young America, Carver County. Mr. Ackcr- 
 mann is a native of Thuringia, where he was born 
 at Muehlhausen, January 9, 1844. His father, 
 Henry G. Ackermann, was a successful miller 
 and land owner, who, when merely a boy ot 
 twelve, was compelled, on account of his father's 
 illness, to take active management of the mill. 
 In the year 1813, when the Russians drove back 
 Napoleon across Germany, large crowds of 
 Russians passed the mill at intervals for a period 
 of several months. The mill beimj in an isolated 
 situation was chosen as headquarters by the 
 Russian officers, while the rest of the army were 
 camped around the mill. These Russian soldiers 
 appropriated every kind of persona! property and 
 provisions, and practically left the young miller 
 destitute. But, being of a resolute disposition, 
 he conducted the business with great diligence 
 and perseverance, and for a period of fifty years 
 was successful in his business Dpcrations. After 
 losing his first wife he married Henrietta Henne- 
 berg, the mother of Jnlins Henry. The snbjcct 
 of this sketch was the voungest of a faniilv of 
 
 nine. He received a common school education 
 and at the same time received a business edu- 
 cation from private tutors. In 1858, at the age 
 of fourteen, he went into business as a clerk in 
 a large wholesale and retail store in his native 
 city. In 1862 he emigrated to the United States 
 and first settled on a farm in Benton township, 
 Carver County, ]\liimesota. In 1864, in com- 
 pany with his brother, Christ, he engaged in 
 mercantile business in the village of Young 
 America. The following year he put up a steam 
 flouring and saw mill. The next year, 1866, an- 
 other brother, William, came over from Germany 
 and entered into the partnership, under the firm 
 name of Ackermann Bros. This firm continued 
 in business initil 1875, when it was dissolved and 
 Julius formed a partnership with John Truwe, 
 under the firm name of Ackermann & Co. They 
 continued in the mercantile business until 1893, 
 taking in as partners in the meantime, August 
 F. Truwe and A. O. Malmgren. In 1893 t-'i^ 
 firm was changed to Truwe & Co., the milling 
 business being contintied under the old name of 
 Ackermann Bros., who, in 1876, had established 
 a branch in New York City. In 1893 the mill 
 was rebuilt and incorporated under the name of 
 .\ckermann Bros, ^^lilling Co., who still con- 
 tinue the business. In 1895 Mr. Ackermann dis- 
 posed of his interest in the store business, but 
 continued his connection with the mill. 
 Julius has been an active Republican ever 
 since he came of age, and has always 
 supported the Repul)lican ticket with the 
 exception of 1872, when he voted for Horace 
 Greeley for president. In 1871 he was appointed 
 postmaster of Young America and held that 
 office until 1893. He was elected town clerk in 
 1870, and was re-elected each year uiuil 1892. 
 In 1895 he was appointed to the office of deputy 
 state treasurer under August F. Koerner, state 
 treasurer. Mr. -Vckermann has been a member 
 of the Pioneer Singing Society of Yoimg 
 .America since 1862, and joined the Masonic 
 order in 1870. In 1883 to 1885 he served his 
 district as a member of the state senate, and was 
 again sent to the lower house in 1889. He is 
 now a nicnibcr of the Republican state central 
 committee and was sent as a delegate from Car-
 
 I'KOGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 281 
 
 ver County to the Republican state convention 
 in 1881, and has represented his county in that 
 capacity in every Republican state convention 
 since. He was married in 1886 to Paulini Goetze. 
 They have three children, two sons and one 
 daughter, all grown, the daughter married and 
 the sons engaged in mercantile business. 
 
 MELCHIOR FALK GJERTSEN. 
 Melchior Falk Gjertsen is a Lutheran 
 clergyman of Minneapolis, more familiarly known 
 as M. Falk Gjertsen. His father, Julian P. Gjert- 
 sen, was also a minister of the gospel and one of 
 the organizers of the "Zion Society for Israel," 
 a society for the conversion of the Jews. Johan 
 P. was also the author of ".Missi(jnary Hymns for 
 Israel." He was held in high esteem by all who 
 knew him, and died in his ninetieth year at 
 Stoughton, Wisconsin. His wife's maiden name- 
 was Bertha Johanna Hanson. She is still living 
 in her eighty-first year. Air. Gjertsen's ancestors 
 both on his father's and on his mother's side be- 
 longed to the peasantry of Norway, and he was 
 born February 19, 1847, i" Sogm, Norway. He 
 attended the Latin school or college at Bergen, 
 Norway, and at the age of seventeen came to 
 America. He located in Chicago and contributed 
 to the support of the family by working in a 
 chair factory, where his daily task was to put to- 
 gether iifty-four spindle chairs a day, for which 
 he received one dollar. After three months' work 
 there he found employment in a shingle mill at 
 one dollar and fifty cents a day. He 
 was afterwards ottered and accepted a 
 
 place in a ^Milwaukee grocer}- store. 
 
 After 
 
 working there a year, he became ill. and was 
 brought near to death's door. It was at this 
 time that he resolved if he got well to change the 
 whole course of his life. On his recovery 
 he began to study for the ministry, and 
 entered the theological seminary of the 
 Scandinavian Augustana Synod, at Paxton. 
 Illinois. He was ordained to the minis- 
 try in 1868, and was a pastor of the 
 church at Leland, Illinois, for four years: at 
 Stoughton, Wisconsin, nine years, and has been 
 pastor of the same church the Lutheran Trinity 
 church, in Minneapolis for fifteen years, having 
 come to this city in 1881. Mr. Gjertsen was one 
 
 of the first promoters of temperance work 
 among the Scandinavians of the Northwest, and 
 the organizer of the Norwegian Y. M. C. A. 
 work. He has also been deeply interested in 
 hospital work, and in the establishment here of 
 the Order of Deaconnesses. Air. Gjertsen is a 
 very influential man among the Scandinavians of 
 Minnesota, and was selected in 1887 for member- 
 ship on the school board by both the Republicans 
 and Democrats. He is, however, a Republican, 
 with a strong sympathy for the cause of prohi- 
 bition, and has taken an active part in 
 the fight against the liquor traffic in this 
 city. He was secretary of the school 
 board for six years, and in 1894 was re- 
 elected on both the Republican and Prohibi- 
 tion tickets. He was then made president of the 
 board. As stated above, he is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, in which he was baptized. He 
 was one of the organizers of the Norwegian- 
 Danish Lutheran Conference in 1870, and also 
 of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
 America, which was organized in i8()o. He was 
 one of the founders and has always been one of 
 the most ardent supporters of Augsburg Theo- 
 logical Seminary. Mr. Gjertsen was married in 
 1869 to Sara Ann""Mosey, of Freedom, Illinois. 
 They have three children living. Alarie, Tohan 
 and Lena.
 
 282 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRIEDRICH SCHMITZ, 
 
 Friedrich Johann Philipp Hubert Jacob 
 Schmitz since he came to America has dropped 
 the greater part of his full name, and writes 
 as a signature simply, Fritz Schmitz. He was 
 born in Duesseldorf, on the Rhine. Au- 
 gust 26, 1867, the son of Philipp Schmitz 
 and Carolina Earths (Schmitz). His ancestors 
 on his father's side were of the Swiss nobil- 
 ity. Their coat of arms was a white lion hold- 
 ing a yellow star on a red ground, and is entered 
 in the books of European heraldry. They set- 
 tled in Rhineland early in the Fifteenth century. 
 Philipp Schmitz was an art teacher in the Royal 
 Academy at Duesseldorf. He was one of the 
 founders, and called the godfather of the artists' 
 society known as Malkasten. He was an officer 
 in the Revolutionary Army of 1848, and after 
 the suppression of the Revolution was pardoned, 
 being more fortunate in that respect than one of 
 his brothers, who, in spite of his position as an 
 officer of the regular army, was on the Revolu- 
 tionary side. He fled to America, the refuge of 
 so many of the revolutionists of 1848; entered 
 the Northern army at the outbreak of the Civil 
 War ami fell in battle near Nashville. Carolina 
 
 Earths was the daughter of a Revolutionist von 
 Earths, who dropped the von when he became a 
 leader of the Revolutionist party in 1848. He 
 was a prominent lawyer in Duesseldorf. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch attended the stadtiches gym- 
 nasium (high school) in Duesseldorf, from \vhich 
 he graduated at the age of seventeen. His pa- 
 rents desired him to become an army oificer, but 
 his wish was to become a musician. He had been 
 instructed in violin playing since his twelfth 
 year, his teacher being Robert Zerbe, a well- 
 known conductor of the Duesseldorf symphony 
 orchestra. Later young Schmitz was under the 
 training of a celebrated French violinist, Emile 
 Sauret, who induced his pupil's parents to send 
 him to the famous Cologne Conservatory. There 
 Fritz studied for five years. His principal in- 
 structor was Gustav Hollander, now director of 
 Stern's Conservatory, in Berlin, on the violin. 
 His instructors in other branches were Professors 
 Huelle, Jensen, Neitzel, Heinrich Zoellner and 
 Arnold Mendelssohn. About this time he also 
 visited the Bonn University. After a year and a 
 half of study at the conservatory, young Schmitz 
 competed for the Peter Mueller "stiftung" and a 
 government- prize, and held both of them while 
 he studied in Cologne. Having completed his 
 studies in Cologne he was appointed concert 
 master in Duesseldorf, where he became a 
 prominent soloist and teacher of the violin. 
 Shortly afterwards he was appointed teacher of 
 the violin in a New York conservatory. He ac- 
 cepted this position with the intention of return- 
 ing to Europe within a year, his principal object 
 in coming to America being to see the country. 
 With the same object in view he accepted an 
 offer of membership in the Theodore Thomas 
 Chicago orchestra, where he played in 1891, 1892 
 and 1893. He had in the meantime become so 
 well pleased with the countr}- that he determined 
 to make America his home. At the conclusion 
 of the Columbian Exposition he went to New 
 York under engagement with Walter Damrosch, 
 of the New York Symphony Orchestra. While 
 there he met Walter Petzet, then director of the 
 musical department of the Manning College in 
 Minneapolis, who offered him the isosition of 
 first violin teacher in this school. l'"eeling that
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 283 
 
 his forte was not orclicstra ])layinpf so much as 
 teachiuij and solo work, he accepted Mr. Petzet's 
 offer and came to Alinneai)olis in iS()4, where he 
 is lield in hit^^h esteem as an artist. iM(jre recently 
 hoth Mr. I'etzet and Mr. Schmitz have with- 
 drawn from the iManninij school, and Mr. 
 Schmitz is eng-aged as a private teacher of the 
 violin. 
 
 CHRISTIAN J. ]!. HIRSCH. 
 
 Dr. Christian j. I!. Hirsch, of New Ulm, 
 Minnesota, is a native of Norway, one of those 
 who came to America as a young man and cast 
 in his lot with his adopted countr}', fighting her 
 battles and participating in the lieneficial results 
 of the war. Dr. Hirsch was born on August 
 29, 1842. His father was a physician in the 
 employ of the govermnent. rntil he was six- 
 teen years of age he was tutored by a lieutenant 
 of the army. He then tried the life of a sailor 
 for two years, but gave that up and returned 
 to Christiania where he attended the university 
 for three years. In 1863 he left for the United 
 States in a sailing vessel. He stopped at Chi- 
 cago, and during the following year enlisted 
 in Company D, Eighty-ninth Illinois \^olunteer 
 Infantry, joining his regiment in I'last Tennes- 
 see, where it was then stationed. His corps 
 started with General Sherman on the "march 
 to the sea," but after the battle of Atlanta was 
 detached to pursue General Hood, who was 
 threatening Nashville. After the battles of 
 Nashville and Franklin they followed up the 
 remnants of the Southern army until they scat- 
 tered. They next went to East Tennessee to 
 help in the final operations against Lee. and 
 after the surrender of that famous fighter the 
 regiment went to Texas, where Dr. Hirsch was 
 finally nuistered out of service in August. 1865. 
 By this time the young Norwegian had seen 
 enough of war and of the fighting qualities of 
 the Americans to convince him of their ener- 
 getic character. He had also had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing a good deal of the country. 
 Upon being discharged from the service he 
 went back to Chicago and entered Rush ^Fedi- 
 
 cal College, from which he graduated with 
 honor in 1868. A year previous he had been 
 married to Miss Canunilla M. Thrane, a daugh- 
 ter of Marcus Thrane, the leader of the Liberal 
 mijvcment in Norway in 1849. With his young 
 wife Dr. Hirsch settled in Dane County, Wis- 
 consin, where he practiced medicine for nine 
 years. He then moved to lialdwin, Wisconsin, 
 where he lived for one year. He was after- 
 wards in Zumbrota, Minnesota, for a year; in 
 Lake Mills, Iowa, for two years, and lUue 
 Earth City, Minnesota, for three vears. In the 
 latter place he was part owner in a drug store 
 and lost all his books and instruments in a fire 
 which burned the store and his office. It so 
 happened that his insurance was small and cov- 
 ered only the drug stock. The next two years 
 were spent in travel in North Dakota. Dr. 
 Hirsch next settled in Black River Falls, Wis- 
 consin, where he remained for four years, after 
 which he moved to New Ulm, in 1890. Smce 
 establishing himself in New \]\m he has built 
 up a large practice. Dr. and Mrs. Hirsch have 
 had ten children, six girls and four boys, and 
 have lost one child, a girl. The doctor belongs 
 to the Brown County Medical .\ssociation and 
 the Mississijipi \'allcy ^Nfedical .Association.
 
 284 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAMES F. R. FUSS. 
 
 James F. R. F'oss is president uf the Nicollet 
 National Hank of Minneapolis. Air. Foss is es- 
 sentially a self-made man. W hat he has accom- 
 plished is due to his native abilities and unflag- 
 ging industry. He is a native of Biddeford, 
 Maine, where he was born March 17, 1848. His 
 parents were among the early settlers of Maine, 
 his ancestry running back on his mother's side 
 to the Rev. Mr. Jordan, who purchased a large 
 tract of land in what is now the state of Maine, 
 but at that time was still a portion of the colony 
 of Massachusetts. His father, James Foss, died 
 when the subject of this sketch was only four 
 years old. James I''. R. was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of lji<ldef()rd, and at the opening of 
 the War of the Rebellion responded to the call 
 of his country and entered the naval service. He 
 served on the United States frigates Sabine, 
 Niagara, Hartford and Savannah, from 1861 to 
 1863, and was only sixteen years of age when he 
 received his discharge. He was among the very 
 youngest in the scr\'icc of the government in the 
 Civil War. He was offered a midshi])man's com- 
 mission in the nav\-. but being ambitions for a 
 
 more active and promising career, he prepared 
 himself at Llucksport Seminary for business life. 
 During the next ten years he occupied several 
 ])ositions as clerk anil bookkeeper in Boston, 
 Providence and New York. In 1873 found him 
 in the position of bookkeeper in the Shoe and 
 Feather National Bank in Boston. He held that 
 position for eighteen months, when, owing to 
 ill health, he resigned and went to sea as the 
 second mate on a coasting schooner and was 
 thus engaged for two years. In 1875, with health 
 restored he obtained the position of bookkeeper 
 in the Market National Bank, of Brighton, Mas- 
 sachusetts, and soon afterward was offered a like 
 position in the Merchandise National Bank of 
 Boston. Here he displayed such business capac- 
 ity that the directors at the end of the first year 
 elected him cashier. He was the }Oungest man 
 who up to that time had held such an important 
 position in any national bank in that city. He 
 discharged the duties of that position for seven 
 years, when he resigned in order that he might 
 avail himself of the larger opportunities afforded 
 to men of his capacity and enterprise in the 
 West. He came to ^Minneapolis and organized 
 the Nicollet National Bank, and as an evidence 
 of his standing among the financial men of Boston 
 it is sufficient to state that of the capital stock of 
 five hundred thousand dollars in that bank, three 
 hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars was sub- 
 scribed by Boston capitalists who knew Mr. Foss 
 personally and knew his business methods. The 
 Nicollet National was organized in 1884. Mr. 
 Foss was its cashier for four years and in 188S 
 was elected president. He has conducted the af- 
 fairs of this institution with signal ability and 
 made it one of the strongest financial institutions 
 in the state. His policy is conser\'ative, and dur- 
 ing the recent financial depression no bank in the 
 state probably had the confidence of the public 
 more fully than this one. Mr. Foss was married 
 February 22, 1877, to Alvena M. Baker, of Au- 
 bumdale, Massachusetts. Mrs. Foss is a descend- 
 ant of an old Pilgrim family, the first members of 
 which came to the colonies in the Mayflower. Mrs. 
 Foss has three children, Minnie Frances, James. 
 Franklin and Florence Fllcn.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 285 
 
 CHARLES ANSON ^fOREY. 
 
 Charles Anson Alurcy, of Winona was born 
 at X'crshire, C)range County, X'erniont, August 
 9, 185 1. His father, Royal Morey, a fanner in 
 Vermont, came to Cliester, Wabasha County, 
 Minnesota, in 1861. His wife, Jennette Ellen 
 Felton (Morey), was a native of Strafford, \'er- 
 mont. Her brother, Charles C. Felton, for whom 
 the subject of this sketch was named, went over- 
 land to the Pacific Coast in 1848. He was a 
 trader aiul steamboat man on the Columbia and 
 Willamette rivers and one of the organizers of 
 the Oregon Steam and Navigation Company. Afr. 
 Morey is of .Scotch-English descent, both on his 
 father's side and on his mother's. His great grand- 
 mother on his mother's side was Sarah Putnam, 
 a niece of Ceneral Israel Putnam. Charles Anson 
 attended the country school in Vermont, but was 
 onl\- a lad of about nine years when his family 
 moved to Illinois. They spent one summer 
 there, but on account of a malarial climate sought 
 a more healthful location, and moved overland 
 in a covered wagon to Wabasha County, Minne- 
 sota, in 1861. He attended the public schools of 
 Chester, Wabasha County, the high school at 
 Lake City, the Normal School at Winona, and the 
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston. 
 He graduated from the Normal School at Winona 
 in 1872, and the special course at the Institute 
 of Technology was taken preparatory to assum- 
 ing a position as teacher of sciences in the normal 
 school, to which place he was elected in 1874. 
 On the resignation of Professor Phelps, in 1876, 
 having been a student of law for several years, 
 he was admitted to the bar in 1879 and resigned 
 his position to begin the practice at Winona 
 as a member of the firm of Berry & Morey. Mr. 
 Morey has occupied a prominent and influential 
 position in Winona. He has been president of 
 the Winona Savings Bank since the death of 
 William Windom, has for fifteen years been sec- 
 retarx' of the Winona I^uilding and Loan Asso- 
 ciation, was a member of the city council for 
 four years and of the board of education for six 
 years. He is a trustee of the public library, is the 
 Resident Director and Treasurer of the Winona 
 Normal School and has been a member of the 
 
 State Normal Board since 1883. Mr. Alorey 
 has been a* United States Commissioner for 
 many years, and was selected by the government 
 authorities to hear the famous Alinneapolis cen- 
 sus cases. Mr. Alorey has always been a Re- 
 publican, has taken an active interest in the 
 affairs of the party, and is usually in county 
 and state conventions. His church connec- 
 tion is with the Episcopal denomination. On 
 November 28, 1877, he was married to Miss Kate 
 Louise Berr\-, daughter of Judge C. H. Berry, 
 of Winona. They have four children. Jcanette, 
 Charles Bern,-, Frances and Bertha Louise. 
 While Mr. Alorey has been eminently successful, 
 and has won for himself an enviable position 
 in the community in which he resides, he 
 has not done so without having experienced 
 the hardships and privations of frontier life and 
 straightened circumstances hi his early years. He 
 learned to work on the farm, served' his appren- 
 ticeship as a country school teacher, learned the 
 trade of carpenter and millwright and used his 
 skill in that direction to provide means with 
 which to acquire an education. It is not sur- 
 prising that a young man trained in such a school 
 of adversity should have learned self-reliance and 
 obtained success.
 
 286 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOSEPH P. \\'ILSON. 
 
 It is given to comparatively few men to see 
 great cities grow to metropolitan proportions on 
 the site of their frontier homes. (. )ne of the men 
 who pioneered in .Minnesota, who settled at the 
 site of Minneapolis wlien there were more Indians 
 in the vicinity than white men, and who has lived 
 to see the city and state develop to magnificent 
 commercial and social proportions, is Joseph P. 
 Wilson. Like so many of Minnesota's pioneers, 
 Mr. Wilson is a native of Maine. Pie was Ijorn 
 at Columbia Falls, March i6, 1823. In 1833 tlie 
 family moved to New York City, where he spent 
 his youth. At one time he was in the employ of 
 Horace Greeley, and later, for two years, was in 
 the law office of Silas M. Stillwell. When twenty- 
 two years of age, in 1845, Mr. Wilson came West, 
 settling first in Illinois, where he was for a time 
 in the law ofificc of P>. F. Fridlcy of Geneva. The 
 next year he was admitted to the bar, Init Ik* has 
 never practiced his profcssifjn. In 1847 Mr. 
 Wilson was engaged in the purchase of govern- 
 ment land, in Northern Illinois, for Eastern capi- 
 talists. It was during his service in the aniiv in 
 Mexico that he first met C<ilcinrl lulin H. 
 
 Stevens, the Minneapolis pioneer. After the war 
 with Me.xico Mr. Wilson took a trip up the 
 Mississippi River, visiting the towns of Cialena, 
 Prairie du Chicn and .Stillwater, but he returned 
 to Oswego, Illinois, where he engaged in business 
 in 1849. But he had his e}e on Minnesota, and 
 made his way to the territory and settled at St. 
 Anthony Falls on April 19, 1850. Inhabitants 
 were then very few, and the Indians of the Sioux 
 Nation occupied the land west of the river. 
 St. Anthony was the last settlement between the 
 East and the Pacific Ocean. The place was 
 entirely without means of communication with 
 the world except by means of steamers on tlie 
 Mississippi, and all groceries and other supplies 
 had to be shipped from Galena or St. Louis. 
 Mr. Wilson remembers well sending four hundred 
 miles to Galena for a cooking stove and a barrel 
 of tlour. .\ Mimieapijlis man sending to Galena 
 for flour! And this was only forty-six years ago. 
 Upon coming to ■Minneapolis ]\Ir. Wilson 
 engaged in a mercantile business and continued 
 in that line for some years. Later on he engaged 
 in the real estate business, which he has followed 
 ever since. In 1851 he purchased from the gov- 
 ernment a tract of land in what is now Northeast 
 Aiinneapolis, and also a tract at St. Anthony 
 Park, paying one dollar and a r|uartcr per acre. 
 He was one of the original proprietors of the 
 town site of St. Cloud, in 1855. and in 1882 he 
 laid out East .St. Cloud, improving the place and 
 making it what it is. He still has large interests 
 there. From 1863 to 187 1 he was a government 
 c(_intractor for transportation of armv stores and 
 for the furnishing of grain and other army supplies 
 to the militarv posts on the frontier. Ever since 
 his arrival in Minnesota Mr. \\'ilson has lieen 
 identified with the public affairs of the state and 
 his own locality. He was a countv commissioner 
 of Ramsey Comity from 1852 to T855, a member 
 of the constitutional convention in 1858, and a 
 member of the state senate in 1864 and 1S65. 
 .Since that time he has been ;i delegate to most of 
 the Democratic state and congressional conven- 
 tions. It is almost unnecessary to say after this 
 review of Mr. Wilson's life that he is a self-made 
 man — reliant, energetic, and having the cunfi- 
 dence and respect of all who know him.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 287 
 
 GE(JRGE HENRY \V^•MAl\. 
 
 G. J£. Wyinan, of Anoka, Minnesola, was 
 born in Chester, Penobscot County, Maine, on 
 August 24, 1852. He traces his ancestry baci< 
 to the best old Massachusetts families. Erancis 
 Wyman came from Westmill, England, about 
 1640 and settled at Woburn, Massachusetts. He 
 and his brother John, who came with him, ob- 
 tained a large grant of land from the Indians 
 and were the third largest land owners in the 
 colony of Massachusetts. A later Francis 
 Wyman, grandfather of the subject of this 
 sketch, was a captain in the war of 1812, and 
 others of the family have held important and 
 honorable positions in New England. James 
 Webster Wyman, son of the veteran of the War 
 of 1812 and father of Mr. George Wyman, is 
 a farmer and lumberman, and a native of Orono, 
 Maine, and is still living. He has held town and 
 school ofifices for twenty years in succession, 
 and was a member of the state legislature in 
 1866 and 1867. He married Miss Elizabeth 
 Adams, who was a direct descendant of the 
 famous Adams family of Massachusetts. In 
 his bo}-hood days Mr. Wyman attended the pul)- 
 lic schools in the vicinity of his home and later 
 went to the Mattanawcook Academy at Lincoln 
 and the Lee Normal School at Lee, Maine. He 
 finished fitting for college at the Maine Central 
 Institute at Pittstield, graduating in 1873. -He 
 entered Bates College at Lewiston, in 1873, and 
 graduated in 1877, receiving the distinction of 
 being class orator. Previously he had received 
 a prize for original orations. After leaving col- 
 lege Mr. Wyman read law in Lewiston, Bangor 
 and Dover, and was admitted to practice in all 
 the courts of Maine at Dover in 1881. In 1883 
 he came to Minnesota and settled at Anoka, 
 where he has since remained actively engaged 
 in the practice of his profession. He was made 
 court commissioner and held the office for four 
 years. Later he became county attorney and 
 afterwards city attorney, holding the former po- 
 sition for six years and being now in his fourth 
 year in the latter office. ]\Ir. Wvman has tried 
 
 many civil and criminal cases with success. The 
 analysis of testimony and the presentation of a 
 case to the jury are considered his strong points. 
 During ids service as prosecutor he never had 
 an indictment set aside or a demurrer sustained. 
 Mr. Wyman has always been a Republican. He 
 is now chairman of the Republican county com- 
 mittee of Anoka and president of the Anoka 
 Republican Club. His professional and politi- 
 cal duties have frequently given him occasicjn 
 to exercise the oratorical powers which he de- 
 veloped as a boy in college and he has the repu- 
 tation of being a public speaker of umisual elo- 
 quence. Mr. Wyman is Past Chancellor of the 
 Knights of Pythias, and Past Regent of the 
 Royal Arcanum. He is a member of the Anoka 
 library board and of the board of education, 
 being also treasurer of the latter bodv. He is a 
 member of the Baptist church and takes a lively 
 interest in all departments of religious activity. 
 On June 30, 1886, Mr. Wyman married Miss 
 Orie D. Storms, of Anoka, daughter of Capt. 
 L. P. Storms, formerly of New York. They 
 have two children, IMay and Orabelle, aged nine 
 and five vears.
 
 288 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ALFRED WILSON PARIS. 
 
 Alfred Wilson Paris is a manufacturing con- 
 fectioner and wholesaler of fruits in Minneapolis. 
 He is the son of Henry Paris, a tea merchant, 
 bom in Liverpool, England, who came to the 
 United States in 1850. Henrj- Paris married 
 Catherine Tyler, of Gloucester, England, who is 
 still living at the age of eighty years. Both 
 parents of the subject of this sketch belonged to 
 good families in that class in England known as 
 "gentlemen farmers,"' people of comfortable 
 circumstances and honorable lineage. Alfred 
 Wilson Paris was born June 23, 1853, at London, 
 Ontario. He attended the public schools at 
 Detroit, Michigan, until he was fourteen years 
 old. There being a large family (eleven children) 
 it became nccessarv for Alfred to go into business 
 at an early age. < )n this account he was deprived 
 of the advantages of higher education. He came 
 to Minnesota in the fall of ]88i and located in 
 Minneapolis, where he embarked in the confec- 
 tionery Inisiness with a brotlier and a Canadian 
 named J. C. Stuart. The style nf the firm was 
 Paris, Stuart & Co. The following spring Stuart 
 
 died, when S. J. Murton bought his interest and 
 the firm incorporated their business under the 
 name of the Paris-Murton Company, of which 
 Alfred W. Paris was made president. He still 
 occupies that position. As above indicated, Mr. 
 Paris has carved out his own fortune. The first 
 money he ever earned was paid him for loading 
 barrel staves on a vessel at Detroit, Michigan, 
 when he was fourteen years of age. He got twenty 
 cents an hour and worked one day at the busi- 
 ness, l:)ut it made such an impression on him that 
 he has never forgotten it. He recalls it as the 
 hardest day's work he ever did in his life. Pie 
 learned the confectioner's trade in E)etroit, mas- 
 tering all its branches, and at the age of twenty- 
 tVi'O was foreman in one of the largest establish- 
 ments in ]\Iichigan, in which over two hundred 
 people were employed. Subsequently he went 
 to Jackson, Michigan, where for six years he suc- 
 cessfully conducted a retail establishment. He 
 then sold out and, taking Greeley's advice, came 
 west. It was then he located in Alimieapolis. 
 Mr. Paris does not claim to belong to any polit- 
 ical party, but generally affiliates witli the Democ- 
 racy, although he never voted a straight ticket. 
 In 1886 he was nominated for alderman in the 
 Eighth ward in ^linneapolis, but was defeated, 
 although he polled the largest vote ever cast for 
 a Democrat in that ward. 'Slv. Paris is an active 
 member of the Jobbers' Lnion, a memljer of the 
 Royal Arcanum, is a Mason and a Shriner. He 
 is not identified by membership with any church 
 but grew up in the Episcopal Church. ( )ctober 
 4, 1880, he married Lizzie Chapman, at Jackson, 
 Michigan, and has two sons living, Harold Chap- 
 man and Benjamin ^Mosher. Mr. Paris is at 
 j>resent general manager as well as president of 
 the Paris-Murton Company, and devotes his per- 
 sonal attention to the conduct of that successful 
 concern. He has invented and patented a number 
 of useful and valuable machines in coimection 
 with his business, which are extensively used 
 both in England and in this country. Mr. Paris 
 is a man who extracts a great deal of pleasure 
 out c.f life, is a good entertainer and the life of 
 anv comiiany in which lie may hajtpen to be 
 thrown.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 289 
 
 DAVID FERGUSON SIMPSON. 
 
 David Ferguson Simpson is a judge of the 
 Fourth Judicial District. i\Jr. Simpson is of Scotch 
 descent, both his parents being born in Scotland. 
 He takes a pride in his Scotch ancestry, as is 
 shown by his active membership in the Caledonia 
 Club, and his election to the office of chief of that 
 organization. His father, William Simpson, was 
 a well-to-do farmer near Waupun, Wisconsin, 
 where the subject of this sketch was Ijorn, June 
 13, i860. Mr. Simpson's education connnenced 
 in the countrv district school near his father's 
 farm and in the village schools of Wauinni, He 
 took the two years' preparatory course for 
 college in Ripon College, at Ripon, Wis- 
 consin, followed by a four years' academical 
 course in the Wisconsin .State University, 
 from which he graduated in 1882. Ffe was 
 given special honors in the department of 
 history and awarded the Lewis prize for the best 
 commencement oration. He had maintained a 
 high grade of scholarship through his course, and 
 was appointed to fill the position of professor of 
 rhetoric during the absence of the regular occu- 
 pant of that chair in the university during the col- 
 lege year of 1882—83. He had decided to become 
 a lawyer, and took the law course at the University 
 of Wisconsin and at the Columbia Law School in 
 New York, receiving the degree of LL. B., from 
 each of these schools in 1884. The same year he 
 was admitted to the bar in the State of Wiscon- 
 sin, but came almost immediately afterwards to 
 Minneapolis and began the practice of law in this 
 city in 1884. He was appointed assistant city at- 
 torney of Minneapolis in 1891, was elected 
 to the office of city attorney in 1893, 
 and re-elected in 1803. -^'''- Simpson is 
 a Republican, and takes an active interest in local 
 and national politics. He has made a special 
 study of municipal government, and assisted in 
 drafting the general municipal law, which was 
 adopted by the charter commission, sitting con- 
 currently with the legislature in 1803. -"^t the ses- 
 sion of the Municipal Reform League in Minne- 
 apolis in 1894, Air. .Simpson was invited to be 
 present and outline the system of municipal gov- 
 ernment in operation in Minneapolis, and pre- 
 
 pared a paper which was received with a great 
 deal of interest by that body, as an able argument 
 in favor of what is known as the council system 
 of city government, of which ;\Ir. Simpson is 
 an advocate. His conduct of the legal department 
 of the City of Minneapolis has been characterized 
 by distinguished ability, which has on more than 
 one occasion operated to the great advantage of 
 tlie citv. Notable among the acts of his adminis- 
 tration of this office was his successful prosecu- 
 tion of the city's case before the special commis- 
 sion appointed to consider the demands of the 
 city for reduction in the price of gas. This case 
 was stubbornly contested by able legal counsel on 
 the opposite side, but Mr. Simpson's presentation 
 of the case was so strongly made that it resulted 
 in the reduction of the price of gas to all consum- 
 ers from one dollar and sixty cents to one dollar 
 and thirty cents net. In 1896 Mr. Simpson 
 was elected as a judge of the Fourth Judicial 
 District. l\Ir. Simpson was married January 14, 
 1886, to Josephine .Sarles a graduate of the Uni- 
 versitv of Wisconsin in 18S3. Airs. Simpson 
 took the first honors of her class, and is active in 
 the literar\' and benevolent societies of Afinneapo- 
 lis. Thev have three children. Donald. Harold 
 and John.
 
 290 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 •SBt, 
 
 :*Sft° '. 
 
 SEBA SAJITH BROWN. 
 
 The first shot fired by the American patriots to 
 emphasize their determination to be freed from 
 the tyranny of Great Britain was from a gun lield 
 in the hands of Captain David Brown, the great- 
 grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He 
 lived at Concord, Massachusetts, and commanded 
 the Concord minute men on April 19, 1775, when, 
 at the North Bridge the regulars poured their 
 first volley across the river into the ranks of the 
 farmer boys and instantly killed Captain Davis, 
 of the Acton company. Captain Brown, raising 
 his own gun to ready, gave the command, "Fire!" 
 at the same time firing his own gun and bringing 
 down the first Britisher in the War of the Revo- 
 lution. The gun he used that day is now in good 
 condition at the old homestead in Baldwin, 
 Maine. This branch of the Brown family is 
 traced back to Thomas Brown, who was born in 
 1651, and died in 1718. His son, Ephraim, was 
 born in 1689, and was married to Hannah Wilson. 
 Their youngest son, of a family of eight children, 
 was Captain David Brown. He married Aba- 
 gail Munroe and twelve children were bom to 
 them. Their son, Ephraim. was tlic grandfather 
 
 of Seba S. Brown. He was born at Concord, but 
 when a young man moved to Maine and settled 
 upon and cleared from the lieavy woods the farm 
 upon which Cyrus Shell Brown, the father of 
 Seba, w^as born. Cyrus was born in 1802. He 
 was a thrifty and frugal farmer; a man of good 
 judgment and absolute integrity, held in high 
 esteem by his neighbors. He was a colleague 
 of the late James G. Blaine in the Maine legis- 
 lature in 1862. His wife, Alar)-, was boni in 1805 
 in Parsonfield, Alaine. She was the daughter of 
 Major Paul Burnham and Comfort Pease. Their 
 son, Seba, was bora August 7, 1841, on the old 
 farm at Baldwin, Maine. The lad followed the 
 usual vocation of farmers' boys of that period — 
 worked on the farm during the sunmiers and at- 
 tended the district school in the winters. This, 
 he did until he was eighteen years of age. Dur- 
 ing the next three years he studied in Gorham 
 Academy, paying his own expenses in part by 
 teaching in the winters. When President Lincoln 
 issued his call for men in 1862, Seba was at his 
 books ; these he left with his room mate, and, 
 receiving a blanket from his mother, which she 
 had woven, he started out to serve his country. 
 He joined Company K, Twent\-fifth ]\laine In- 
 fantry, as a private, and was chosen by his com- 
 rades as second lieutenant. During the next 
 nine months of his service, however, he received 
 rapid promotion; was commissioned first lieu- 
 tenant and then captain of his company. A\'ith it 
 he served in the Army of the Potomac; but was 
 detached for picket duty at Chantilly, Virginia,, 
 during the sununer of 1863. In November of 
 that year the regiment's term of service having 
 expired, Mr. Brown left the army and came to 
 Minnesota. His first winter here he spent in the 
 pineries, swamping and tending sled for a salary 
 of thirty-five dollars a month. From that time 
 to the present Mr. Brown has been engaged in 
 the lumbering business in some form or other. 
 In 1889 he was appointed by Governor Merriam 
 as surveyor general of logs and lumber for the 
 second district of Minnesota. The fact that he is. 
 now serving his fourth term in this office is an in- 
 dication of his competency to liold this respon- 
 sible position. He has always been a Republican^
 
 PROGKIiSSIVB MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 291 
 
 He is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- 
 public and of the Loyal Legion; also of the Ma- 
 sonic body. October 17, 1877, he was married 
 to Ann Ehzabeth Anderson. Fonr children have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, of wlioni only 
 two are livin.cr, Cyrus Shell, aged twelve, and Roy 
 Stuart, aged seven. 
 
 ALEXANDER McKLVNON. 
 
 Alexander McKinnon is a resident of Crooks- 
 ton, Minnesota, and engaged in the real estate 
 and insurance business. He is the son of Archi- 
 bald and Jennette McGillis Mclvinnon, both of 
 whom were born in Scotland. They moved to 
 America and settled on a farm in Ontario, 
 Canada. Alexander McKinnon was born March 
 5, 1854, at Lancaster, Glengary County, Ontario, 
 Canada. He only received a common school 
 education, leaving school in his fourteenth year. 
 He learned the trade of a blacksmith and the 
 first money he ever earned was as head black- 
 smith in the shop of Wilson, \'an Mite & Co., a 
 branch of Napp, Stout & Co., in Wilson, Wis- 
 consin. He remained in this position from 1875 
 to 1877, working at a salaiy of seventy-five dollars 
 per month and board. He then removed to Min- 
 nesota in 1878, residing in St. Paul for a time, Init 
 finally locating permanently in Crookston in 
 the fall of 1878. He had seven hundred rlollars 
 in cash, which he had accvnnulated by his 
 own industry and economical halsits, and 
 opened a small blacksmith shop on the 
 site now occupied b\- the McICinnon block. 
 He shortly afterwards associated with himself a 
 younger brotlier, Allan J. McKinnon, and con- 
 tinued doing a very successful business. In 
 May, 18S0, Mr. McKinnon associated with him- 
 self another brother, J- R- McKinnon, in the 
 business of manufacturing and the handliiig of 
 farm implements. J. R. Mclvinnon is his present 
 partner in business, the firm being known as 
 McKinnon Bros. They are engaged in the real 
 estate and insurance business. Mr. McKinnon's 
 business career has been a very successful one, 
 considering that he has had to look out for him- 
 self since he \\-as fom'teen vears of aere. He is 
 
 part owner of the property known as the McKin- 
 non Block, in Crookston, a fine brick building, 
 one hundred and twenty-five by one hundred and 
 forty feet, built in 1887, and costing seventy-five 
 thousand dollars. He also built and owns what 
 is known as the L O. (). F. Block, at a cost of 
 forty thousand dollars in 1890. Mr. McKinnon 
 also owns several hundred acres of land in Polk 
 County, Minnesota. Li politics Mr. McKinnon 
 is a Democrat, and an active supporter of his 
 party. In 1885 he was appointed postmaster at 
 Crookston by President Cleveland, but resigned 
 February 14, 1890. He was elected mayor of 
 Cnmkston in April. 1800. and re-elected without 
 opposition in April, 1891. He was also elected 
 delegate to the Democratic National Conven- 
 tion in 1892, and then chosen on the com- 
 mittee of permanent organization, representing 
 the State of Minnesota. He was also nominated 
 by the Democratic party for state senator from 
 his district in 1S90, but was not elected. He is a 
 meml^er of the Commercial Union of Crookston, 
 and was president of the Xorthern Minnesota 
 Agricultural Driving Association for two years. 
 Mr. McKinnon was married April 23, 1883, to 
 Miss Catharine Macdonald, in Glengary Count}'-, 
 Ontario. Thev have one child.
 
 292 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CYRUS LITTLE SMITH. 
 
 C. L. Smith was bom at Dover, Wayne County, 
 Ohio, Jannary 21, 1845. John R. Smith, his 
 father, was a farmer, and while Cyrus was still a 
 small child his parerits removed to Southern 
 Michigan, settling in an unbroken wilderness. 
 There were no schools on the ^lichigan frontier 
 in those early days, and Cyrus was taught to read 
 by his mother. As the country settled up, schools 
 of a poor quality began to be established, and at 
 the age of eleven the bov secured his first four 
 months' schooling. This was in a little log school 
 house, where presided a Baptist preacher. The 
 seats were oak slabs with stout wooden pins for 
 legs. He attended this school for two winters, 
 learning the rudiments of reading, spelling and 
 arithmetic. During these two terms he had but 
 one book of his own, the arithmetic. In 1858 
 he went to Southern Indiana and worked in a 
 nursery for the next three years. When the war 
 broke out in 1861. Mr. Smitli enlisted, though 
 only sixteen years of age. lie became a member 
 of Company E, Eleventh ATichigan Infantry, and 
 served three vcars and two months, jirincipally in 
 Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, .\mong the 
 
 noted battles in which he participated were those 
 of Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookout Moun- 
 tain, Alission Ridge and the battles before At- 
 lanta. Soon after being mustered out of the serv- 
 ice he came to Minnesota, in October, 1865, and 
 engaged in selling trees and shrubbery for an 
 Eastern nursery company. At the same time he 
 began planting and experimenting on his own ac- 
 count, and in this way proved his inborn taste for 
 horticultural affairs. Mr. Smith franklv admits a 
 financial failure at the ntirsery business, the prin- 
 cipal cause being poor health. He suffered from 
 diseases contracted in the army, which prevented 
 him from working out doors a large part of each 
 year, but he acquired considerable practical ex- 
 perience in nursery and gardening matters which 
 he turned to account in newspaper and literary 
 work. For all this time he has been largely 
 engaged with horticultural and agricultural 
 papers, and addressing farmers at institutes and 
 other gatherings throughout the state. At the 
 same time he has not abandoned farming and gar- 
 dening, but has cultivated a tract of forty acres, 
 where he raises various trees and a variety of 
 crops, largely for experimental purposes. As a 
 Republican Air. Smith has been especially active 
 since 1885. During these later years he has done 
 nuich aggressive work for the Republican party. 
 His observation of the condition of the farming 
 classes and the common people for manv years 
 have convinced him that, notwithstanding all the 
 mistakes made by the party of his choice, its 
 principles and policies have been for the best 
 interests of the people. During the Fish-Don- 
 nelly regime of the Populist party, Wr. .Smitli was 
 state organizer of Republican League Clubs, and 
 made an aggressive campaign against the Pop- 
 ulistic influences. He frequently met the enemy 
 on the stump and was active and successful in 
 joint debates. Mr. Smith was one of the organ- 
 izers of the Minnesota State Horticultm-al Society 
 in 1866. Tie served as secretary of the State For- 
 cstrv Association fnr four \ears and a member of 
 the executive conunittee for six years. He has 
 been a member of the State Dairymen's .Associ- 
 ation since its organization, and on, January 25, 
 1805. ■^^■'^'^ aiipointed assistant dair\- commissioner
 
 I'KOGRKSSIYE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 293 
 
 of the State Dairy and Food Commission of Min- 
 nesota. Mr. Smitli rendered valued service in 
 preparing the Minnesota forestry exhibit for the 
 World's Fair in 1893. He took an active part in 
 the first farmers' institute held in the state, and 
 aided in securing their establishment as a perma- 
 nent state institution. Since i8(;i he lias been 
 agricultural editor of the Farmers' Tribune. 
 
 CHRTSTOPTIER WILLIA:\I NEY. 
 
 C. W. Ney is a lawyer practicing in St. Paul. 
 His father, Patrick Ney, was, during his life, a 
 railroad contractor. He enlisted as a volunteer 
 at the outbreak of the Civil War and served as 
 gunner in the Fifth Indiana Battery. At the bat- 
 tle of Gettysburg he was seriously wounded, the 
 bones of the left leg being shattered Ijy a shell. 
 From exposure at the time of this injury he con- 
 tracted a disease of the bones which caused him 
 great suffering throughout his life and was the 
 immediate cause of his death. ]\Ir. Ney was a 
 charitable and pul^lic-spirited man of excellent 
 business capacity and good executive ability. He 
 successfully performed large contracts on many 
 of the great railroad systems from Ohio to the 
 Pacific coast. His wife was Miss Ann Corcoran, 
 and she was responsible, on accovmt of her hus- 
 band's absence in the war and in his business, for 
 the rearing and education of her children. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ney were born in Ireland and 
 emigrated to this country at an early age. 
 C. W. Ney was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, 
 on October 28, 1869. His early education was 
 very meagre. He was brought up on a farm 
 near Independence, Iowa, where his parents re- 
 moved when he was InU three years old. During 
 the winter months he attended the public schools 
 of that city and when sixteen years old was 
 granted a teacher's certificate. He taught school 
 several terms and in 1888 accompanied his father 
 to Sacramento, California, where the latter was 
 engaged in constructing a levee on the Sacra- 
 mento river. Assisting his father for a year or 
 more in this work, he returned to his home in 
 Iowa in the early part of 1890, and in the fall of 
 
 that year entered the law office of Governor Boies 
 at Waterloo, Iowa. What time he could spare 
 from his law studies while there, was given to 
 looking after the extensive farming interests of 
 Mr. Boies. In 1892 he was admitted to practice, 
 and in February of 1893, came to St. Paul. After 
 residing here the recjuired length of time he was 
 admitted to the bar of the state. As a finishing 
 touch to his legal education he attended the law 
 department of the State University for six 
 months, and graduated from that institution in 
 June of 1894, and the following year took the 
 LL. M. course therein. While studying at the 
 university j\lr. Ney was engaged in the law office 
 of P. J- McLaughlin. Upon his graduation he 
 opened an office in St. Paul, where he still con- 
 tinues a general practice, though making some- 
 what a specialty of real estate, corporation and 
 proljate law. He is a strong Democrat in his 
 political affiliations, and in recent years has taken 
 an active part in political campaigns of his party, 
 though not an office seeker or a machine poli- 
 tician. In the campaign of 1894 he made a repu- 
 tation as a brilliant orator, and an unusually 
 effective campaign speaker.
 
 294 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES FREEDURN HANEY. 
 
 Charles F. Haney, city clerk of the City of 
 Minneapolis, was born on a farm near Lewiston, 
 Fulton County, Illinois, June 12, 1859. He is 
 the son of Rev. Richard Haney, D. D., a native 
 of Pennsylvania, and Adaline Murphy Haney, 
 who was born in New York. Dr. Haney has 
 been in the Methodist ministry for over sixty 
 years, and is at the present time one of the oldest 
 in the United States. He is eighty-four years of 
 age and still active. Mr. Haney's mother was a 
 woman of lovable Christian character and suffered 
 many hardships as the wife of a poorly paid Meth- 
 odist minister during pioneer days in Illinois. She 
 died when Charles was si.x years old and he 
 was left in the care of his married brother and 
 sister. Mr. Haney's education was obtained in 
 a similar way to that of most boys brought up 
 in the small towns of Illinois — attending the pub- 
 lic schools in the winter and working on the farm 
 in the summer. Yoimg Haney earned his first 
 dollar at farm work. 1 Ic early (leveloi)ed a 
 marked capacity for business, and at the age of 
 fifteen years was managing a numlicr of farms 
 for their owner, keeping all the necessary ac- 
 
 counts. By means of persistent industry, Mr. 
 Hane)- was able to go through Illinois College 
 and also to take a course in a business college, 
 from which he graduated at nineteen years of 
 age. Immediately after graduation he became 
 prmcipal of a high school in Illinois. Later he 
 received an appointment in the railway mail ser- 
 vice, but he preferred a business life and made 
 an engagement with a Chicago grain firm, buy- 
 ing grain and having charge of a line of ele- 
 vators. In the fall of 1882 he visited his uncle, the 
 late Dr. John H. Murjjhy, of St. Paul, and hap- 
 pened to attend the fair in Minneapolis, con- 
 ducted by Col. W. S. King, and concluded that 
 he had found the right place for a home. Upon 
 the day of his arrival he accepted an offer from 
 J. B. Bassett & Co., manufacturers of flour and 
 lumber, and was employed as their head book- 
 keeper and cashier for six years, only resigning 
 to accept the position of city clerk. To this 
 office Mr. Haney was elected in January, 1889. 
 He has been re-elected for two-year terms three 
 times, receiving support from both Republican 
 and Democratic parties. Although he has always 
 been a Republican, and has been so recognized, 
 he is not what would be called an active partisan. 
 In his administration of his office and in his rapid 
 and effective manner of handling business at the 
 meetings of the City Council, ^Ir. Haney has 
 v.'on merited praise. He has been especially 
 effective in the management of the clerical work 
 in connection with the general and local elec- 
 tions. He originated and carried out the system 
 used at the last two elections, of gathering re- 
 turns in an accurate and speedy manner. At the 
 last election he employed one hundred expert bi- 
 cycle riders to bring in the figures. At such times 
 his power of endurance and his executive ability 
 have been invaluable in handling the complicated 
 machinery of a metropolitan election. .'-^nch 
 efforts are appreciated b\- the newspaper men, 
 and were recognized when Mr. 1 lanoy was 
 elcctiil. in 1893, ^'i honorary mem1)er (if the Min- 
 neapolis Press Club. At the Keiniblican National 
 Convention of i8ij2, held in .Minneapolis, Air. 
 Hantn- was chief reading clerk, and acc|uitte<l 
 himself admira1)lv, his strong, clear voice and
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 295 
 
 distinct cmiiu-iation peculiarly fitting iiini f(jr the 
 duties of the position. He is a prominent .Mason, 
 and has held prominent offices in the higher 
 Masonic bodies. Mr. Hancy was married in 1881 
 to Augusta A. Cosad, by whom he has one son, 
 Philip C. Haney, now seven years of age. He 
 was married a second time in March, 1895, to 
 Mary J. Parkhurst. 
 
 ROBERT JOSEPH WELLS. 
 
 Robert J. Wells is a successful farmer, law- 
 yer and local politician of \\'ili<in County, Min- 
 nesota. He was born in Dane County, Wiscon- 
 sin, October 4, 1856. His father is Andrew J. 
 Wells, a native of Clermont County, Ohio, and 
 now living with a competence on a fine farm in 
 Wilkin County at the age of seventy-eight, look- 
 ing back upon a useful and successful life. The 
 elder Wells has always been a farmer except dur- 
 ing a short period in \\'isconsin when he oper- 
 ated a saw mill at Eau Claire. His only official 
 position was on the board of commissioners ap- 
 pointed to make selection of the state school 
 lands in the northern half of Wisconsin. His 
 wife, whose maiden name was Eliza A. Wilson, 
 was born near Port Republic, Maryland, in 1822. 
 Her father was a soldier in the War of 1812 and 
 her grandfather was in the War of the Revolu- 
 tion. In the early days her people were slave- 
 holders, Init during a religious revival, which 
 swept across Maryland, nearly all of her relatives 
 liberated their negroes. She is of a family related 
 by ties of blood to old and noted Marsdand fami- 
 lies. Mr. Wells' boyhood was spent with his 
 parents at their Wisconsin home. He attended 
 the common schools until about fourteen years 
 of age and then went to work. His first dollar 
 was earned in his fathers shingle mill at Eau 
 Claire. When twenty-two years of age he was 
 attracted to the Red River Valley by the stories 
 of its wonderful fertility, and with a number of 
 young men from the neighborhood emigrated to 
 Minnesota. In May of the year 1878 he settled 
 in Mitchell township, in Wilkin County, entering 
 a homestead and "working out" for the first sum- 
 mer. His success was instantaneous. He took 
 up more land and has ever since farmed from 
 
 one thousand to sixteen hundred acres 
 each year. But while busil\- engaged in 
 extensive farming operations, Mr. Wells found 
 time to study law, and in 1888 was ad- 
 mitted to practice. He has been much inter- 
 ested in local politics and has held many minor 
 offices such as justice, village trustee and presi- 
 dent of the board. Shortly after he was ad- 
 mitted to the bar he was elected clerk of the 
 district court, and in 1892 was chosen again by 
 the citizens of the county. At present he is chair- 
 man of the county Republican conmiittee and a 
 member of the Seventh district congressional 
 committee. Two years have been put in by Mr. 
 Wells as a newspaper man — 1890 as editor of the 
 Breckenridge Mercury, and the year 1893 in the 
 editorial chair of the Wilkin County Gazette. Mr. 
 Wells belongs to the A. O. U. W. and Alasonic 
 orders. He has been secretary', senior warden 
 and master of Frontier Lodge, No. 152, A. F. 
 and A. M. of Breckenridge. He attends the 
 Baptist church, though not a member. On Jan- 
 uary 17, 1889, he was married to Sadie E. Lang- 
 ford, at Dodge Center. ^Minnesota. They have 
 tW'O children, Carroll \'. and Donald J. Wells. 
 In recent vears Mr. and Mrs. ^^'ells have resided 
 in Breckenridcre.
 
 296 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ALBERT RANDALL :\[OORE. 
 
 Albert R. ?iIoore is an attorney of St. Paul. 
 He was bom in Brooklyn, New York, Sep- 
 tember 14, 1869, and lived there until his 
 parents moved to St. Paul, in September, 1878. 
 His father and his mother were both descended 
 from old Long Island families. Air. James 
 E. Moore, his father, who is now dead, 
 was for many years Land Commissioner 
 of the St. Paul & Sioux City Railway Com- 
 pany, and stood high in business and social 
 circles in St. Paul. His son Albert was educated 
 in the public schools of St. Paul and at Harvard 
 University. He graduated from the high school 
 of St. Paul as a member of the class of 1887, of 
 which he was valedictorian. Tlie next two years 
 were spent at Harvard, his time being devoted 
 principally to English and classical branches. In 
 the fall of i88g he was matriculated at the law 
 school of the Minnesota State University, where 
 he spent three years, receiving a bachelor's de- 
 gree in 1891, and a master's degree in 1892. Dur- 
 ing the first year of his last course he was also 
 a student in the law office of Cole, Rramhall & 
 Morris. The Hon. Gordon E. Cole, senior mem- 
 
 ber of the firm, was one of the leading prac- 
 titioners ui the state, and JNIr. Moore values 
 highly this experience under Mr. Coles wise 
 guidance, kindly advice and excellent example. 
 At the close of Mr. Moore's bachelor course at 
 the law school he was awarded the Paige prize 
 of thirty dollars for the best legal thesis. There 
 were about fifty competitors. He is a member 
 of the Dillon chapter of the Phi Delta Phi legal 
 fraternit}', and has always been active in its behalf. 
 Upon his graduation from the law school he 
 was admitted to the bar by the State Supreme 
 Court, and has been in active practice since that 
 time. As soon as adnntted he formed a co- . 
 partnership with John E. Stryker, a gentleman 
 of high integrity and ability. From the time 
 that their partnership expired on November i, 
 1895, until January, 1897. •^'''- ^ioore continued 
 alone, and established a lucrative practice. In 
 January, 1897. he formed a co-partnership with 
 Hon. James E. Markham. one of the most 
 prominent members of the .St. I'aul bar, and his 
 brother, (Jeorge ^\'. Markham, under the firm 
 name of Alarkham, ]\loore & Alarkham. This 
 firm occupies a pleasant suite of offices in the 
 Cermaifia Life Insurance building, and has a 
 large and lucrative practice. They devote them- 
 selves largely to corporation, real estate and com- 
 mercial work, and are attorneys for several 
 financial, real estate and insurance corporations, 
 as well as for some large Inisiness houses. 
 Though not a politician in the ordinary accepta- 
 tion of that term, yiv. Moore takes the lively 
 interest of a good citizen in political matters. He 
 is a Republican and a firm believer in a pro- 
 tective taritT and sound money. As a member of 
 the Young Men's Republican Club, of St. Paul, 
 he has taken an active part in the work of that 
 organization. Among the associations to which 
 he belongs are the Harvard Club and the "Society 
 of Colonial Wars, in the State of Minnesota." 
 Mr. .Moore has ahvavs taken a keen interest in 
 legal litcrarv work, and is an occasional con- 
 trilnitor to the legal magazines, .\mong his re- 
 cent articles was one on "Tramp Corporations," 
 ]nit)lislu<l in the July mnnber of the Minnesota 
 Law Journal. He has been an active member 
 since childliood of the Protestant Ei)iscopal
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 297 
 
 church. Mr. Moore is not married. Though not 
 classing himself as a society man, he numbers 
 among his friends many of the peoijk- i)niiiiincnt 
 in society life of .St. Paul. 
 
 MARSHALL BAILEY WEIJBER. 
 
 Mr. Webber is senior ])artner of the law firm 
 of Webber & Lees, at Winona, Minnesota. He 
 was born in Raymond, Racine County, Wiscon- 
 sin, August, 2, 1850. Samuel Webl)er. the father 
 of the subject of this sketch, is a farmer. The 
 farm on which he resides is about ten miles from 
 the citv of Milwaukee, in Racine County. It was 
 patented by the government to his father in 1837, 
 but since that date no conveyance of the land has 
 ever been made, and it is at present a most valu- 
 able piece of property. Samuel Webber came 
 from Massachusetts, and is of Puritan stock. 
 His wife's maiden name was Sabra A. Bailey, 
 who was born in New Hampshire. Both are still 
 living. Marshall's early education was received 
 in the district school. Subsequently he attended 
 the high school at Racine, Wisconsin, and the 
 Rochester Academy in Racine County, where he 
 fitted himself for college. Young Webber, how- 
 ever, was compelled to earn the funds that would 
 enable him to enter college. He was ambitious 
 and plucky, and, confident of his ability to earn 
 enough money to support him, he entered Hills- 
 dale College, at Hillsdale, Michigan. During 
 the winter months he taught school, keeping up 
 with the studies of his class in the meantime. 
 During his vacations in the summer he worked 
 on the farm and at railroading, in this way get- 
 ting together enough money to carry him 
 through college the next year. He graduated 
 from Hillsdale in the class of 1875. In his junior 
 year he carried away the Melendy prize for ora- 
 tory, and while at college was a member of the 
 Alpha Kappa Phi Society. In September, 1875, 
 he came to Minnesota and located at Winona. 
 He had decided to make the profession of law 
 his vocation in life, and took up his law studies 
 in the office of Hon. W. H. Yale. Two 
 years later he was admitted to the bar and was 
 
 taken into partnership by Governor Yale, under 
 the firm name of Yale & Webber. This partner- 
 ship continued with nnitual profit for two years, 
 when it was dissolved and Mr. Webber con- 
 tinued his practice alone. In September, 1895, 
 his increasing business necessitating a partner, 
 he associated with him Edward Lees. This firm 
 is known as Webber & Lees. In his practice 
 ;\Ir. Webber has been very successful, and has 
 succeeded in building up an e.Ktensive and lucra- 
 tive practice. He represents the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee & St. Paul and the Chicago, Burlington 
 & Northern railroads at Winona as their attor- 
 ney. In politics he is a Republican. Though 
 he has been an active member of his party, he 
 has never sought office, the only office he has 
 ever held being that of prosecuting attorney for 
 two years. At present he is a member of the 
 Republican State Central Committee, and takes 
 a prominent part in the councils of his party. 
 He is a Knight of Pythias and is a member of a 
 number of social clubs. On January 2, 1879, he 
 was married to Agnes M. Robertson, of Hills- 
 dale, Michigan. Mrs. Webber is a lady of re- 
 finement and vice president of the State Federa- 
 tion of \\'oman's Clubs.
 
 298 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ROBERT RAXSiJ.M UJJELL. 
 
 Robert Ransom Odell is a lawyer prac- 
 ticing his profession at Minneapolis. Mr. Odell 
 traces his ancestr\- on his father's side to Ethan 
 Allen. His great grandmother was the daughter 
 of that famous New Englander. He is a son 
 of Jesse Ballou Odell, a farmer in comfortable 
 circumstances in Wayne County, New York, and 
 of Marie Ballou (Odell). His mother was a 
 cousin of James A. Garfield's mother, whose 
 maiden name was Eliza Ballou, and in this way 
 Mr. Odell claims relationship with the martyr 
 president. Mr. Odell was bom at Newark, New 
 York, November 28, 1850. He commenced his 
 education in the common schools of Newark, and 
 also attended the Newark Academy, but did not 
 enjoy the advantages of a college course. He was 
 a young man, however, of ambitious spirit, and, 
 determined to better his condition in life, he read 
 law with Senator Stevens K. Williams, of New- 
 ark, and was admitted to practice January 8, 
 1875, when barely twenty-five years old, at Syra- 
 cuse, New York. The following September he 
 was admitted to practice before the United 
 States circuit court at Utica, New York, for pur- 
 pose of bringing an action for the second mort- 
 
 gage bondholders of the S. P. & S. Ry., in- 
 volving one hundred and twenty-five thousand 
 dollars. He continued the practice of his 
 profession in New York for si.x years, 
 when he decided tn join the army of 
 young and progressive men moving toward the 
 West in search of larger opportunities and richer 
 fields of effort. He came to Minnesota October 
 5, 1881, and located in Minneapolis, where he 
 formed a partnership with Hon. Frank F. Davis, 
 and was associated with him in the practice of 
 law until April I, 1882. Air. Odell has been 
 engaged in a great deal of important litigation. 
 He prosecuted the action which involved the 
 whole of the tract known as Forest Heights, in 
 the city of Minneapolis, in 1882, and more re- 
 cently has been engaged in litigation relating 
 to the excessive ta.xation of outlying tracts of 
 real estate within the city's limits as the attorney 
 for the property owners. He was the attorney 
 of Claus A. Blixt. the murderer of Katherine 
 Ging. Air. Odell was appointed United States 
 commissioner, December 5, 1881, and still holds 
 that office. When the census fight between Min- 
 eapolis and St. Paul was on in i8go the St. Paul 
 prosecutors of the Minneapolis census takers re- 
 fused to bring the cases before Mr. Odell be- 
 cause they claimed that he being a Alinneapolis 
 man would not be unprejudiced and filed their 
 complaint before a commissioner in St. Paul. 
 This was, of course, unsatisfactory to the Minne- 
 apolis people, and resulted in the final transfer 
 of some of the cases before a commissioner in 
 Winona. As he was a friend of Deputy Mar- 
 shal John Campbell, some nineteen cases 
 were returned before Mr. Odell, and then the 
 real trouble began. The authorities wanted 
 them held without examination; this he re- 
 fused to do, and an agreement was made set- 
 tling the whole matter, and Mr. Odell claims to 
 have saved both cities from further disgrace. 
 While thoroughly loyal to Minneapolis, lie 
 was governed in his official action by his 
 duty in the premises, and was able to render val- 
 uable service to the city. He has always been a 
 Repulilican until 1892, when he was so disgusted 
 at the defeat of lames G. lUaiiic in the convention
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 299 
 
 of that year, that he went over to the Democrats. 
 He is a member of Minnehaha Lodge, A. F. and 
 A. M. September 5, 1876, he married Carrie C. 
 Vorbaugh, at Newark, New York. They have 
 two cliildren, Clinton N., aged seventeen, and 
 Corimic \'., aged six. 
 
 ROBERT LEE LEATHERMAN. 
 
 Robert Lee Leatherman is pastor of 
 the Salem English Lutheran Cliurch in Minne- 
 apolis. He was born at Lcwistown, Maryland, 
 April 17, 1863. His father, Daniel Leatherman, 
 was a farmer, well-to-do and prominent in the 
 communit\- in which he lived. His wife was 
 Caroline Michael. The family ancestors lived in 
 Frederick County, Maryland, since 1765, most of 
 them having been engaged either in mercantile 
 pursuits or in agriculture. Two brothers of the 
 subject of this sketch have attained eminence as 
 physicians, one, Dr. M. E. Leatherman, at Wash- 
 ington, D. C, and the other, IJr. D. L Leatherman, 
 at Williamsburg, Pennsylvania. Robert Lee began 
 his education in the public schools of Lewistown, 
 and graduated from Roanoke College, Mrginia, 
 in 1888. He was prominent as a student, having 
 been favored with a great many society and class 
 honors. He was given the i)lace of honor in a 
 competitive contest as one of three orators to 
 represent the Demosthenean Society at com- 
 mencement time: was also one of the speakers of 
 his class on commencement day. His social re- 
 lations as a student were with the Phi Delta Theta 
 fratcrnit}-. After completing the course at Roan- 
 oke he entered the Theological Seminary at Phil- 
 adelphia, in 1888. He took the three years' course 
 there, graduating in 1891, when by a joint vote 
 of a committee of his classmates and members of 
 the faculty he was chosen as one of four from 
 the graduating class to give orations in public 
 at the seminary conunencement. While in the semi- 
 nary he also served as business manager for the 
 "Indicator," a monthly magazine published by 
 the students. Mr. Leatherman was ordained in 
 the office of the Christian ministr\- at Pottstown. 
 Pennsylvania, ^lay 26, 1891. After a short vaca- 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 tion, having previously Ijcen called by the mis- 
 sion board of the linglish Lutheran Church to 
 serve as one of its missionaries, he started for 
 his new field of labor in the Salem Church at 
 .Minneapolis. He arrived in Minnesota, July 
 18, 1 80 1. He has taken a prominent part in the 
 work of this denomination and was one of the 
 founders of the English Lutheran Synod of the 
 Northwest. He also served as a trustee of Kee- 
 Mar Seminary at Hagerstown, Maryland. In 
 i8q3 he received his degree of A. M., 
 from Roanoke College, and for the past two 
 years has been pursuing a post-graduate 
 course of study at the University of Minnesota, 
 taking up chiefly psychology, ethics and the his- 
 tory of philosophy. This post-graduate work has 
 been done in connection with his pastoral work, 
 and as further preparation for his professional 
 duties. Mr. Leatherman is not married, and an 
 interesting fact in that connection is that the first 
 monev he earned by his profession was that re- 
 ceived for performing a marriage ceremony ten 
 davs after his arrival in Minneapolis. The Salem 
 English Lutheran Church is located at the comer 
 of Twenty-eighth Street and Garfield Avenue, 
 Minneapolis.
 
 300 
 
 PROGRESvSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 EDWARD SAVAGE. 
 
 Edward Savage is a member of the legal pro- 
 fession in Minneapolis. His father, Edward Sav- 
 age, was a cousin of Chief Justice John Savage, 
 of New York; was a scientist of high attain- 
 ments and professor of chemistry and natural 
 science in Union College, Schenectady, New 
 York. It was while at work in the class room 
 of that institution, and at the early age of thirty 
 years, that he sacrificed his life to secure the 
 escape of all his pupils after an accidental explo- 
 sion of a deadly gas which was being handled in 
 experiment in the class room. As a consequence 
 of inhaling the gas he died soon afterwards from 
 consumption. His ancestry was Scotch and 
 Irish, and settled in Washington County, New 
 York. His wife, the mother of the subject of 
 this sketch, was Sarah Van Vechten, daughter of 
 Rev. Jacob \'an \'echtcn, D. D., of Schenectady. 
 New York. ( )n her father's side she was of 
 Dutch descent, and on her mother's side the 
 grand-daughter of the celebrated Scotch divine, 
 Dr. John Mason. She was married again, her 
 second husband being Professor Samuel G. 
 Brown, of Darlinoutli College, afterwards presi- 
 
 dent of Hamilton College and biographer of 
 Rufus Choate. Professor Francis Brown, now 
 of Union Theological Seminary, and an eminent 
 Oriental linguist, is their son. The subject of this 
 sketch was born May 26, 1840, at Schenectady. 
 His education began with a private tutor under 
 the shadow of Dartmouth College, and partly 
 under the tutelage of Walbridge A. Field, now 
 chief justice of the supreme court of Massachu- 
 setts. He afterwards studied at Phillips College, 
 Andover, under Dr. Samuel Taylor, and grad- 
 uated from Dartmouth College in the class of 
 i860. Among his classmates were Judge Daniel 
 Dickinson, formerly of the Minnesota supreme 
 court; Daniel G. Ravvlins, at one time surrogate 
 of New York City and County, and Rev. Arthur 
 Little, D. D. Mr. Savage took the first honors 
 of his class at graduation, was a member of the 
 Alpha Delta Phi and the Phi Beta Kappa. He 
 studied law at the Albany law school where he 
 was admitted to the bar, and began the practice 
 of his profession in New York state. He came 
 to Minneapolis in 1880 and has practiced law 
 here ever since. At one time he was in partner- 
 ship with P. M. Woodman, then alone for several 
 years, and for the last four years has been asso- 
 ciated with Charles E. Purdy, the style of the 
 firm being Savage & Purdy. Mr. Savage has 
 been identified with much important litigation in 
 Minneapolis, the case of most interest, perhaps, 
 being an action involving the title of a large 
 tract of land, one hundred and twenty 
 acres, within the city limits of ]\Iinneapolis, 
 in what was known as the "Oakland and 
 Silver Lake litigation." For five years he 
 bore the chief burden in this defense, and finally 
 succeeded in maintaining the title of the defend- 
 ants, contrary to the general expectations of the 
 public and the bar. It is said that the doctrine 
 of "equitable estoppel" was perhaps carried fur- 
 ther in that case than in any other which pre- 
 ceded it in English or American practice. The 
 result was a severe blow to the practice of specu- 
 lative litigation, based on technical defects in land' 
 titles which had previously been (juite prevalent 
 in this state. Mr. Savage is an enthusiast in 
 music, was the organist in the college church
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 301 
 
 and chai)L'l, ami earned his hist dollar while 
 serving in that capacity. He is not a partisan in 
 politics, but is always interested as a citizen in 
 the success of good men and sound measures. He 
 was married in 1866 to Sarah Elizabeth Smith, 
 who died in icSfig. He was married again in 1876 
 to Lydia A. Hoag. They have two daughters, 
 Euphemia A. and Margaret H. Mr. Savage is a 
 member of the Prcsl)vterian church. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. BEARDSLEY. 
 
 By dint of youthful [iluck and persistency, 
 and in the face of adverse circumstances, Ben- 
 jamin F. Beardsley has succeeded in ascending 
 the rounds of the ladder of success to the posi- 
 tion of District Agent for the Employers' Lia- 
 bility Assurance Coqjoration (Limited), of Lon- 
 don, England, at St. Paul. He is the youngest 
 of a family of twelve, and was born at Beardsley's 
 Prairie, St. Joseph County, Indiana, the son of 
 Elijah Hubbel Beardsley and Matilda Lehman 
 (Beardsley). Elijah H. Beardsley was a wagon- 
 maker by trade. He was the youngest of a family 
 of fourteen, and was born in Delaware County, 
 New York, moving to Springfield, Ohio, when 
 four years of age. He learned the wagon trade 
 and built up a high reputation in that line in 
 Ohio and Indiana, though he was always limited 
 in fortune. He was a Whig in politics and a sup- 
 porter of the Republican party after its formation. 
 He never used intoxicating liquors, nor have any 
 of his children. His wife, the mother of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, was born in Maryland. Her 
 parents were originally from Holland. Benjamin 
 F. had the advantages of only a common school 
 education, attending the Buchanan High school 
 in Berrien County, Michigan. While at school 
 at one time he took care of two halls in Buchanan 
 and served as janitor in the Methodist church. 
 He earned his first money driving a horse, but 
 later entered a furniture factory, working for 
 seventy-five cents a day He left this work after 
 a short time to keep a news stand in the post- 
 ofifice, but later worked as a clerk in a hardware 
 store in Buchanan. He was nineteen vears of age 
 
 at this time and decided to come West. He came 
 to Minnesota in March, 1880, and entered the 
 office of the McCormick Harvesting Machine 
 Company, at Minneapolis, as a clerk. Here he 
 remained for five years, when he became inter- 
 ested in the Phelps' Well and Wind .Mill 
 Company, and served as one of the in- 
 corporators of the concern. He remained 
 with this company nearly seven years, but 
 in Januar)-, 1892, removed to -St. Paul 
 to assume the responsible position of District 
 Agent for the Employers' Liability Assurance 
 Company (Limited), of London, England, a posi- 
 tion he has held since that time, and in which he 
 has shown the ability of a progressive business 
 man. Mr. Beardsley is quite active in church 
 work. He is a member of Christ church (Epis- 
 copal), of St. Paul, of which he is treasurer, also 
 being prominently identified with the different 
 societies of the church, and is president of the St. 
 Paul organizaion of the Brotherhood of St. An- 
 drew. He is a staunch Republican, with strong 
 convictions on what he understands to be the 
 principles of good government. He was married 
 February 19 1889 to Amelia P. Simonds of Jeffer- 
 son, Ashtabula County, Ohio. They have no 
 children.
 
 302 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HERMAXX .ML-EHLBERG. 
 
 Franz Otto Hermann Ehrenfried Aluehlljerg 
 is Adjutant General of the State of .Minnesota, 
 having been appointed to that office by Gov. 
 Nelson, February i, 1893. His present residence 
 is St. Paul, Minnesota. His father, l'"rederick 
 Muehlberg, was a merchant in the village of ( iross 
 Floethe, Hanover, Germany, where the subject of 
 this sketch was born. May 3. 1833. His mother's 
 name was Dorethea Schroeter. His ancestors 
 were, so far as known, ministers of the Lutheran 
 church, except his father, who, failing to get a 
 position in the army on account of defective 
 hearing, engaged in commercial pursuits. Nich- 
 olas Mclchior Muehlberg. the great-great-grand- 
 father of Hermann, who often wrote his name 
 jMuehlenberg, was a native of Einbeck, Hanover, 
 and through this line of descent the subject of 
 this sketch was a distant relative of Henry :\Iel- 
 chior Tvluchlenberg, who came to America in 
 1742, and also of his son, John Peter Gabriel 
 Muehlenberg, who was known as General Peter 
 Muehlenberg. who served with distinction in the 
 Revolutionary war. The subject of this sketch 
 came with his father's family to America in 1846 
 
 and settled at St. Louis. He had received a com- 
 mon school education in the old country, and at 
 St. Louis learned the printer's trade. In 185 1 he 
 removed to Dubuque, Iowa, and in 1856 to Car- 
 ver County, Minnesota. He was principally en- 
 gaged in surveying, and did a great deal of gov- 
 ernment land surveying in the southwestern part 
 of the state. During the winter of 1861 and 1862 
 he taught the public school at Waconia, ]\Iinne- 
 sota, and while thus employed, on Febru- 
 ary I (J. enlisted as a private in Company E, 
 I'ifth .Minnesota X'olunteer Infantry. April 2, he 
 was appointed sergeant, and April 30, sergeant- 
 major of the regiment. In this capacity he served 
 till Mav 4, 1863, when he was appointed to the 
 office of second lieutenant of Company D, of the 
 same regiment. Two days later he was com- 
 missioned captain of the same company. He 
 participated with his regiment in the battles of 
 Farmington, Corinth, luka, Mcksburg, Pleasant 
 Hill, Nashville and numerous other engagements. 
 He was honorably discharged from the service 
 while in a hospital at Jefferson Barracks, St. 
 Louis, in July, 1865. He then returned to Car- 
 ver County, Minnesota, and resumed his former 
 occupation. In 1878 Mr. JMuehlberg became the 
 editor of a Republican German newspaper, called 
 the "I'lonier am Wisconsin," at Sauk Cit}-, Wis- 
 consin. In 1881 he returned toCarverCountyand 
 purchased the Carver Free Press, which he edited. 
 He was several times elected county surveyor, 
 served two terms as chairman of the board of 
 county commissioners, and held other offices of 
 trust. In 1892 the Republicans nominated him 
 for the legislature, but the district was strongly 
 Democratic and he was defeated Ity a small ma- 
 jority. He received his appoiiUnient as adjutant- 
 general February i, 1893, and has held that po- 
 sition ever since, being re-appointed by Gov. 
 Clough when he succeeded Gov. Nelson. Mr. 
 Muehlberg is a member of the William R. Baxter 
 Post, G. A. R., at Chaska. and was instrumental 
 in organizing three (i. .\. U. jiosts in his county. 
 It was due to his patriotism that a soldiers' mon- 
 ument was erected at Waconia in 1891, the first 
 conntv soldiers' momuucnt in the state. He is a
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 303 
 
 member of the Loyal Legion, and also of the A. 
 O. U. W. While at Dubuque, Iowa, he married 
 Clara Freese, and has six children, Albert, Clara, 
 Hermann, Dora, Elsie and Hernia. 
 
 SAMUEL \ANCE MORRIS, JR. 
 
 S. V. I^Iorris, jr., an insurance man of Min- 
 neapolis, was born on October 4, 1870, in Hamil- 
 ton County, Ohio. He is descended on 
 his mother's side from Benjamin Harrison, 
 one of the signers of the Declaration of 
 Independence, and the progenitor of a 
 distinguished line n[ public men of that 
 name. His great grandfather was President Wil- 
 liam Henry Harrison, and his grandfather was 
 John Scott Harrison, who served two terms in 
 Congress from the Second congressional district 
 of Ohio. Ex-President Benjamin Harrison is his 
 mother's brother. Mr. Morris is also descended 
 on his mother's side from John Cleve Sims, who 
 at one time owned all that part of Ohio between 
 the Ohio and the Miami rivers, including the 
 site of Cincinnati. Mr. Morris' father, Samuel 
 V. Morris, Senior, is chief clerk in the United 
 States engineers' office at St. Paul, under Col. W. 
 A. Jones. Previous to coming to Minnesota the 
 family lived in Indianapolis. As a boy \lr. Mor- 
 ris attended the public schools of Indianapolis. 
 His business instincts developed early, and while 
 quite young he formed a partnership with a 
 school mate, and contracted to keep seventy-two 
 lawns cut, in the vicinity of his father's home. 
 During this season the boys were kept busy, but 
 by working early and late, before breakfast and 
 after school, the boys fulfilletl their contract, and 
 Sanuiel found that he had earned aliout ten dollars 
 per week as his share of the profits. During his 
 first year in the Indianapolis high school he took 
 a position with the firm of B. D. Walcott & Co., 
 fire insurance agents at Indanapolis. He worked 
 in the morning as clerk in the office and went 
 to school in the afternoon. After some months 
 he left school and devoted his whole time to 
 business. It was not long after this that the 
 business was sold and the firm subsequently be- 
 came Walker & Prather, the head of the firm 
 
 being Col. I. N. Walker, past commander of the 
 G. A. R. Mr. Morris remained as policy clerk 
 and collector with the new firm until his father 
 removed to Minneapolis. Upon coming to Min- 
 neapolis he secured a position similar to that 
 which he had filled at his old home, with the 
 fire insurance firm of Pliny Bartlett & Co. He 
 remained with this firm about three years, and 
 then seeing a good opening in the accident in- 
 surance business he accepted a position as local 
 agent for the Provident Fund Accident Society, 
 of New York. When that company reinstated 
 its business, ]\Ir. Morris accepted a position as 
 special agent for the Preferred Accident Insur- 
 ance Company, of New York, under C. W. Bliler. 
 During the year Mr. Bliler removed to Kansas 
 City and Mr. Morris received the appointment 
 as general agent for Minneapolis, and ever since 
 then his territorv' has been increasing until he 
 now has the entire state of ^linnesota with the 
 exception of the two cities of St. Paul and 
 Duluth. Mr. Morris is an ardent Republican, 
 and secretary of the Young Men's Republican 
 Club of Minneapolis. Though taking an active 
 part in politics, he has not yet aspired to public 
 office. He is a mendier of the First Presb\i:erian 
 church, of Minneapolis.
 
 304 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HENRY WOLFER. 
 
 Minnesota is fortunate in having at the head of 
 its chief penal institution a man who has achieved 
 a national reputation as a penologist. Henry 
 Wolfer is of German descent. His father, John 
 Wolfer, was a farmer who came from German}' 
 when eighteen years of age, and settled near 
 Munith, Michigan. He soon owned a good farm 
 and was considered a thrifty, well-to-do man. He 
 reared a family of thirteen children, nine of whom 
 are now living. His wife, Sarah Wolfer, was of 
 German parentage, coming from the old Dutch 
 stock of Pennsylvania. John Wolfer was the 
 youngest of seven children, none of whom, ex- 
 cept one sister, accompanied him to America. All 
 his brothers became well-to-do farmers in the old 
 country. Henry Wolfer was bom on the farm 
 at Munith, Michigan, March 23, 1853. He re- 
 ceived a common school education in the district 
 country school, such as could be obtained by at- 
 tending during the winter months and working 
 on the farm during the summer. This continued 
 until he was eighteen years of age. He then made 
 a bargain with his father for the purchase of the 
 remaining three years' time before he became of 
 age, and gave him a note fur two hundred 
 
 dollars. lienr_\- inimediatel)' starte<.l out West 
 and arrived at Joliet, Illinois, June 16, 
 1871. There he applied to ]\lajor Elmer 
 Washburn, then warden of the Illinois state 
 l)enitentiary, for a position in that insti- 
 tution. After two persevering interviews he was 
 finally appointed wall guard, and discharged the 
 duties so satisfactorily that he was very shortly 
 afterwards, although yet a mere youth, appointed 
 overseer of one of the largest shops in the prison. 
 W'hen about nineteen years of age he sent his 
 father the two hundred dollars with interest and 
 took up his note. He then began an evening 
 course in a commercial college at Joliet and con- 
 tinued until he had graduated in bookkeeping and 
 commercial law. At the age of twenty-four Henry 
 ^^'olfer had saved up and placed at interest 
 two thousand two hundred dollars. He continued 
 in the service of the Illinois state penitentiary in 
 various official capacities under five different 
 wardens, filling nearly every office in that institu- 
 tion, covering a period of about fourteen years, the 
 last four years acting as steward under the well- 
 known prison manager and penal reformer. Major 
 R. W. McLaughry. In September, 1885, through 
 the influence of ^lajor McLaughry, and other 
 friends, -Mr. Wolfer was appointed deputy super- 
 intendent of the Detroit House of Correction, 
 under Captain Joseph Nicholson. Captain Nich- 
 olson enjoys the enviable reputation of knowing 
 not only how to conduct a prison on broad hu- 
 mane principles, but how to make it a success 
 financially as well. That institution has been 
 more than self-sustaining for a period of sixteen 
 years. Mr. Wolfer's services continued as deputy 
 superintendent for nearly seven years, when he 
 was called to the state of Minnesota to take the 
 position of warden of the state prison at Stillwater. 
 Mr. Wolfer ranks among the most scientific and 
 progressive of the penal officials of the country. 
 He is always in demand at national prison con- 
 gresses and the conferences of the charities and 
 corrections, and administers the oftico which has 
 been entrusted to him with great ability. Mr. 
 Wolfer has always been a Republican. He has 
 been a member of the IMasonic fraternity for six- 
 teen vcars, and is a member of the < M'der of Elks.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 305 
 
 He was married April 27, 1S76, tu Miss Alice A. 
 Suylant, of Munith, Michigan. They have four 
 children, llar(jl(l j.. hiaiik ( '„ Charles R. and 
 Gertrude M. 
 
 JONATHAN' Wl'-.SLl'A' W kK.HT. 
 
 The subject ut this sketch was born July l^, 
 1851, in what was then Ivussell County, \'irginia. 
 His father, .Solomon H. Wright, was a farmer 
 and blacksmith of moderate means. His mother, 
 Elizabeth Colley (Wright), was the daughter of 
 a wealthy slave owner in "the ( )ld Dominion." 
 His ancestry on his father's side was Irish, and 
 on the mother's, Welsh and (ierman. They were 
 all sturdy pioneers among the early settlers of 
 North Carolina and \'irginia, and participated in 
 the strifes with the Indians in Colonial times and 
 in the Revolutionary War. Jonathan Wesley 
 attended the only school available in those times 
 to the middle classes — the old-fashioned sub- 
 scription school, which he attended four terms. 
 The outbreak of the war when he was onlv ten 
 years of age put a stop to his further schooling 
 for the time being. Solomon II. Wright, his 
 father, was a loyal Union man, and had his jirop- 
 erty destroyed bv the rebel guerilla bands which, 
 infested that ]3art of the South. He was drafted 
 into the Confederate army, l.)ut deserted and had 
 a price set on his head for capture. This, in 1863, 
 forced him w ith his famil)- to leave "between two 
 davs" and seek protection in the North. He 
 lived in Ohio till the war was over, when he 
 moved to ?\linnesota, settling in what is now 
 Collinwood tow^nship. Meeker County, C)ccol>er 
 20, 1865. Here was led the ordinary frontier life, 
 Jonathan Wesley attending the nearest district 
 school. He conmienced teaching when twenty 
 years old with the purpose of earning sufficient 
 monev to ol:)tain a better education. He after- 
 wards attended the State Normal school at St. 
 Cloud for two years, resumed teaching- and read- 
 ing law as time permitted, until the fall of i8y<i, 
 when he received the Republican nomination for 
 county superintendent of schools and was elected. 
 This office he held until Januar\- i. 1887. He has 
 held various political positions since, such as as- 
 
 sistant enrolling clerk of the house in the Minne- 
 sota legislature of 1887: assistant register of 
 deeds and assistant postmaster at Litchfield, un- 
 der Aug. T. Koerner, now state treasurer. Jan- 
 uar)- 1, 1893. lis ^^'^^ appointed postmaster at 
 Litchfield by President Harrison, and still holds 
 that office. Mr. \\' right has always been a stal- 
 wart Republican and an ardent supporter of Re- 
 publican princii)les, and has always been identi- 
 fied with all efforts for the promotion of educa- 
 tion in the comniunits in which he lives, having 
 served as a member of the Board of Education 
 of Litchfield for the past fifteen years in the 
 capacity of secretary. He has also taken an in- 
 terest in National Guard matters, and for seven 
 years was a member of Company H., National 
 Guard of Minnesota, and when mustered out was 
 orderly sergeant. He is a member of and secre- 
 tary of Golden h'leece Lodge, No. 89, A. F. & 
 A. .M., and also a member of Camp No. 2990, 
 Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Wright is 
 a member of the Trinity Episcopal church, of 
 Litchfield. He was married November 24, 1877, 
 to Alice E., daughter of Hon. Charles E. Cutts. 
 of INfeeker Countv. They have seven children. 
 Charles Cutts. Lulu C, George V>.. Cushman K. 
 D., Alice r... Clara H. and Newell.
 
 306 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 DEXXIS EDWARD RYAN. 
 
 There are among the young business men in 
 the city of MinneapoHs many who can justly lay 
 claim to the title of a self-made man, but none 
 who have proven themselves more deserving of 
 it than Dennis Edward Ryan, of the firm of D. 
 E. Ryan & Co., jobi)ers and commission mer- 
 chants. Mr. Rvan is of Irish descent. His 
 father. Thomas R}an, and mother, Catharine 
 Thimlin (Ryan I. were both born in Ireland. 
 Emigrating to this country they located in Phila- 
 dcliihia, where Dennis was born, .March 28, 1862. 
 When the boy was but eight years old. they re- 
 moved West and settled in l)ul)ui|ue. Iowa, sul)- 
 setiuently locating at Independence, in the same 
 state. Dennis received but a connnon school edu- 
 cation in the public schools of the latter place. His 
 father having died when he was but fifteen years 
 old, the su])i)ort of his mother, three younger 
 brothers and one si.ster rested u])on him 
 until the children had reached the ages of 
 self-support and until his nmther's death. 
 At that early age he secured employment 
 with M. M. Walker & Co.. a whole- 
 sale fruit lujuse at Dubuf|ue. as a salesman. 
 
 Fnjni that time to this he has followed the fruit 
 r.nd produce business. He remained in the em- 
 ploy of the same firm at Dubuque until his 
 removal to Aliimeapolis in February, 1884. Here 
 he secured the position of salesman with the 
 fruit and produce firm of Miller & Miller, but 
 only remained in their employ about a year. He 
 then became engaged with J. C. Walters, sub- 
 sec|uently the firm of Walters & Wagner, dealers 
 in fruit and produce, as a salesman in the city and 
 on the road. He was connected with this house 
 until 1891, at which time he engaged in business 
 for himself in the same line of trade at which he 
 had been working, with offices located at 106 
 First Avenue Xorth. Mr. Ryan's means were 
 rather limited, having less than two hundred dol- 
 lars capital to start in business with: but business 
 rapidly increased, and only six months after start- 
 ing he took in partnership D. H. Thornton. Mr. 
 TlKirnton, however, withdrew from the firm six 
 months later to engage in the grocerv business. 
 Since that time Mr. Ryan has continued the busi- 
 ness alone, under the firm name of D. E. Ryan & 
 Co. In two years' time the business of this firm 
 had so increased that it necessitated moving to 
 larger (|uarters at 129 I'irst Avenue Xorth. where 
 it occupied the entire building. The firm now 
 has commodious and spacious quarters in a three- 
 story building on Second Avenue North and 
 Sixth Street, which was fitted in all particulars 
 and details for the carrying on of the busines? in 
 which the firm is engaged. D. E. Ryan & Co is 
 now one of the largest jobbing and commission 
 houses engaged in the fruit and produce trade in 
 Minneapolis. Mr. Ryan is a young man of enter- 
 ])rise and push, who has succeeded in building 
 up a competence bv a close apjilication to the 
 business in which he is engaged, and gives 
 promise of taking a leading place in the future 
 commercial life of the City of Minnea])olis. Mr. 
 Rvan is a member of the Elks and nf the Cnmmer- 
 cial Clul)of .Minnt'apolis. lie is an .ittendant of the 
 Roman Catholic Church. In l'"ebruary, i8(S9, he 
 was married to \ictnria McCarroll. They have 
 four children, \'ivian May, aged six; Gerald Car- 
 roll, aged four: Dennis Edward, aged two, and 
 Doris Margaret, born Decem1)er 30, 1896.
 
 FKOC.KHSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 307 
 
 BENJAMIN' l"RA.\KI.I.\ I ARMI'IR. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is the Mayor of 
 Spring Valley, one of the early settlers of the 
 place and a man who has done much to huild up 
 that community. He was l)orn in I'.urke, Cale- 
 donia County, \erniont, July 14. i^^^, I'lt^ ^"" "^ 
 Hiram and Salina Snow Farmer. On his father's 
 side Mr. Farmer is of English descent, his grand- 
 father, Benjamin J'armer, being a soldier in the 
 Revolutionary War, On his mother's side the 
 family stock is Scotch. They settled in New 
 Hampshire and engaged in the mercantile busi- 
 ness. Benjamin's father moved to ^Madison, Lake 
 County ( )hio, in 1833, setding on a farm on the 
 shores of Lake Erie and reared his family there. 
 Benjamin attended the district school most of the 
 time until he was seventeen years of age. He was 
 then apprenticed at L'nionville, ( )hio, to learn die 
 blacksmith trade. During his stay there he assist- 
 ed in constructing the iron work on thirteen lake 
 vessels. The winter of 1857 he met a gendenian 
 who had been in the West and who gave him such 
 an attractive description of Minnesota that he 
 made up his mind to see it. He arrived in Spring 
 Valley April 24, of that year. In a few days he had 
 opened a shop and was installed as the village 
 blacksmith. He was employed at his trade in 
 1861, when, in response to the call for volunteers, 
 he raised a company of forty-five men, took them 
 to Rochester and about forty were mustered into 
 service. Mr. Farmer was appointed assistant L'ni- 
 ted States ^Marshal and continued in that branch 
 of the service for a number of years. In 1865 he 
 was appointed postmaster of Spring Walley and 
 held the ofifice for sixteen years. In 1871, in com- 
 pany with J. C. Easton, now of La Crosse, and his 
 brother, J. O. Farmer, he organized the liank of 
 Spring \'alley, was appointed its cashier and has 
 held that position ever since, although in the 
 meantime the other interests in the bank have 
 changed hands. Mr. Farmer has been interested 
 in evervthing tending to build up his town and 
 community. He was elected Mayor of Spring 
 Vallev in 1892, and during his term secured the 
 construction of the water works; assisted in 
 organizing the Spring \'alley Electric Light and 
 
 I 
 
 Investment C(ini])any. of which he was elected 
 president, and was largely instrumental in estab- 
 lishing the first creamery started in .Minnesota, 
 an enterprise which ])roved profitable both to the 
 farmers and for the proprietors. Mr. Farmer is 
 a member of the Masonic order and has taken 
 the thirty-second degree in .Masonry. He is also 
 a Knight Templar and (irand Generalissimo in 
 the Granrl C'onnnandery of }ilinnesota. He is 
 also a Shrincr and a member of the Knights of 
 Pvthias. His church connections are with the 
 First Congregational society of Spring \'alley, of 
 whose b(iard of trustees he is president. He is 
 also president of the Spring \'alley high school 
 board. He was married in L'nionville, Ohio, in 
 1855, to Miss Annette L. Wheeler, who bore 
 him two children, Katie L, now Mrs. F. V. Ed- 
 wards, and Nellie M., who died in infancy. In 
 1S77 the mother of these children died, and the 
 following vear Mr. Farmer married Helen E. 
 \\'heeler. sister of the first wife. In 1882 they 
 adopted a young girl from New York City and 
 gave her the name of Nellie M. Farmer. She has 
 recentlv married L. 3.1. Schofiekl, a relative of 
 Gen. Schofield.
 
 308 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 \ 
 
 JOHN LOUIS MACDONALD. 
 
 The subject of tliis sketch is a native of 
 Glasgow, Scotland, where he was born February 
 22, 1838. His parents were Dr. John A. and 
 Marjory (McKinley) Macdonald. Dr. John A. 
 Macdonald was a successful physician, who emi- 
 grated from .Scotland to Nova Scotia when the 
 subject of this sketch was c|uite young. In 1847 
 the family removed to Pittsburg. Pennsylvania. 
 While they resided there our subject obtained an 
 academic education. In the s]>ring of 1855 the 
 family moved to St. Paul, and in the fall of that 
 year located at ISelle Plainc, Scott Comity. Here 
 he began the stuclv of law. and in the spring 
 of 1859 was admitted ttj the bar. At the next 
 election he was chosen proljate judge of Scott 
 County and held that office for two years. He 
 then held successively the offices of countv super- 
 intendent of schools and prosecuting attorney. 
 Mr. .Macdcinald has also had some newspa]KT 
 experience. In i860 and 186 1 he edited the 
 Belle Plaine Enquirer, and in the fall of the latter 
 year removed to Shakfjpee, where he founded the 
 Shakopee Argus, which he edited for about a 
 year. The war having broke out lie was commis- 
 
 sioned to enlist and muster in volunteers for the 
 union army. Mr. Macdonald's abilities and ster- 
 ling qualities of character had come to be recog- 
 nized, and in 1869 and 1870 he served as a mem- 
 ber of the house of representatives of ?^linnesota, 
 and from 1871 to 1876 as a member of the stale 
 senate. In both branches he served on the judi- 
 ciary and other important committees. It was 
 he who introduced and secured the passage of 
 the constitutional amendment requiring that any 
 law amending or altering in any way the provisions 
 that the railroads of the state should pay, in lieu 
 of all other taxes, a percentage upim their gross 
 earnings, should be referred to the people and 
 adopted by a majority of their votes before it 
 could take effect. This was clearly the introduc- 
 tion into Minnesota legislation of the principle of 
 the referendum. In 1872 Mr. Macdonald was 
 chosen as the candidate of his party (the Demo- 
 cratic) for the office of attorney general of the 
 state, but the times were not favorable for the 
 DemocracN' in Minnesota, antl he was defeated 
 with his party ticket. In 1875 he was honored 
 bv his fellow townsmen of Shakopee with the 
 office of mayor, and the following year was 
 elected judge of the Eighth judicial district for 
 a term of seven years. At the expiration of his 
 term he was re-elected without opposition and 
 served until 1886, when he resigned to take up 
 the more lucrative business of practicing his pro- 
 fession as a lawyer. He was not allowed, how- 
 ever, to remain long in private life, as the Demo- 
 crats of his district the same year elected him 
 to the Fiftieth congress from the Third district 
 of .Minnesota, a district which had previously 
 been Repuljlican by three thousand majority. 
 Judge Macdonald served on the conunittee 
 on public lands, merchant marine and fish- 
 eries. He was re-nominated by his party 
 in 1888, but the political tide had re- 
 turned, and, failing of re-election, he retired 
 at the expiration of his term, Ut the ])ractice of 
 his profession at .^t. Paul, where he now resides. 
 Although he has alwa_\'s been affiliated with the 
 Democratic jiarty, he maintains a high degree of 
 independence in his political beliefs, and at pres- 
 ent regards himself as an independent in politics. 
 P>eing an ardent advocate of the free coinage of
 
 PKOGKHSSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 30» 
 
 silver, he joined the People's Party in 1892, and 
 aftenvanls served as chairman of the state central 
 connnittee of that organizalidu. 1 le was married 
 June 22, 1861, to Miss Mary llennessy, of I'.elie 
 Plaine, Minnesota, judge .\lacdonakl has had 
 a highly successful career, his chief success 
 having been achieved in the honorable and digni- 
 fied jjosition of judge, where he discharged the 
 duties of his office witli such abilitv and great 
 satisfaction to the public that he was the choice 
 of lioth the Reiiuhlicans and Democrats as his 
 own successor after the cx])iration of his first 
 term. 
 
 JOHN BAPTIST SCHMID. 
 
 Air. Schmid, as his name indicates, is of Ger- 
 man origin on his father's side, and on his 
 mother's side of French extraction. The Schmid 
 family to which the subject of this sketch belongs 
 emigrated from Hungary to Germany in the Six- 
 teenth century, where they engaged in manufac- 
 turing glass. On his mother's side Mr. Schmid 
 is of Bohemian descent. His father, Clement 
 Schmid, is a farmer living at Mulligan, Brown 
 County, Minnesota, having come to this country 
 from Bavaria, Germany, in 1868. His mother's 
 maiden name was Anna Leibel. John Baptist 
 was born February 27, 1852, in Stadlern, Upper 
 Palatine, Bavaria, Germany. He received a com- 
 mon school education. Coming to this country 
 with his parents in 1868, he settled on a farm 
 in Brown Countv, Minnesota, in the town of 
 Siegel. P)y profession Mr. Schmid was a musi- 
 cian, and the first dollar he ever earned was in 
 that vocation. For some years he worked in the 
 breweries in New L'lm, Minnesota. He then 
 took a homestead in the town of Mulligan, 
 Brown County, and proceeded to improve it. In 
 1878 he engaged in the hotel business at Sleepy 
 Eye, and in 1882 established a general merchan- 
 dise store in the same city, continuing in the 
 same line of business until January- i, 1885, when 
 he was nominated by the Democrats and 
 elected sheriff of Brown County. He served 
 in the office for three terms, after which, 
 in iSejo, he went into partnership with A. C. 
 Ochs, of New Ulm, purchasing the Springfield 
 
 roller mill. In 1893 this partnership was dis- 
 solved, the mill having been sold and Mr. Schmid 
 engaged in the elevator lousiness and also deals 
 in coal and other articles. To this business he 
 gives his whole attention. He also owns and ope- 
 rates three large farms. He was also 
 nominated for state senator in 1894, but failed 
 of election by a small majority. He ser\"ed 
 for five years in the village council in Springfield, 
 and has been a member of the school board for 
 the last five years, acting as its treasurer. He is 
 a member of several different Alasonic bodies, was 
 a charter member of the Springfield lodge of Odd 
 I'ellows. Xo. 22^. serving for two terms as Xoble 
 ( Irand. In i8i;5 he was the representative of the 
 1. ( ). O. i". to the grand lodge. He is also 
 a member of ( ). D. H. S., and was president 
 of the Xew L'lni lodge. He is also a member 
 of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. 
 Schmid is connected with the Catholic church. 
 He was married in Xew l'lm in 1872 to Anna 
 Mary Adams, and has ten children living. His 
 flflest son lohn R. is at present and has been 
 for the past three years, assistant cashier of the 
 State Bank of Springfield. The other living chil- 
 dren are Emnia. Louise. Bertha, Edward, Adolph, 
 Victoria, Benjamin, Constance and Elmer.
 
 310 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 STANLEY RIC]'. KITCHEL. 
 
 Stanley Rice Kitchel is a niemlaer of the 
 jNIinneapolis bar, where lie has 1)eeii ]iracticiiig: 
 law since 1879. -Mr. Kitchel is of English 
 descent and traces his ancestry to a very early 
 period in the settlement of this country. The 
 first member of the family to come to America 
 uas Robert Kitchel, who came with his wife, 
 Margaret, as one of a coni])any of Pilgrim refu- 
 gees who sailed from fCngland, April 26, 1639. in 
 the first vessel that anchored in the harbor of 
 what is now known as .\'ew Haven, Connecticut. 
 This colony settled in Guilford, Connecticut. 
 where Robert Kitchel became a leader in the 
 community and ac(|uired a considerable estate. 
 In 1666 Robert Kitchel and his family moved to 
 Newark, Xew Terscv. FTis descendants became 
 numerous in that vicinity and many families now 
 living there and bearing the name nf Kitchel 
 trace their ancestrv direct to iliis first membt-r 
 of the family in .\mcrica. and allhongh dil'fercnt 
 branches of the family are to be f' mnd in different 
 parts of the country they are more numerous in 
 New Jersey than anywhere else. Among the 
 descendants of Robert !\itchel was llarvev 1). 
 
 Kitchel, D. D., a Congregational minister, who 
 began preaching in Detroit, Michigan, in T848, 
 and remained there until 1864. In 1864. he went 
 to Chicago, where he had charge of a large 
 church and where he remained until 1866. w'hen 
 he was elected president of Middlebury College, 
 in A'ermont. He held this position until 1873, 
 when he resigned. Since that time he has not 
 been engaged actively in any professional work. 
 He died September 11, 1895. His wife's maiden 
 name was Ann Sheklon, w-hose family resided at 
 Rupert, \'ermont. Among the children of Ilarvey 
 D. and Ann Sheldcjn Kitchel is Stanley Rice 
 Kitchel, born at Detroit, Michigan, July 4, 1855. 
 Stanley Kitchel was more fortunate than most 
 boys in his parentage. His father was a man of 
 liright cheerful, happy disposition, in thorough 
 sympathy with his children, and. in a larger 
 degree than usual, was the companion and inti- 
 mate friend of his sons. To the advantages of 
 the public schools of Detroit and Chicago were 
 added for him the helpful counsel and guidance 
 of his father, who without repressing the spirits 
 of his sons, instilled in them the habits of study 
 and industry. Stanlev fitted for college at Mid- 
 dlel)ury. \'erniont. high school and entered Mid- 
 (.ilebury College in 1872. remaining there two 
 years. In 1874 he went to Williams College, 
 where he graduated in 1876. While in college 
 he was a member of the Chi I'si fraternity and 
 maintained a high rank as a student. He had 
 determined to be a lawyer, and on Abix- 1. 1877, 
 arrived in ?iIinneapolis in search of the larger 
 and better opportunities believed to e.xist for a 
 young lawyer in the rapidly developing west. 
 In June the following year he was admitted to 
 the bar of Hennepin (^dunty, and has been 
 engaged in active practice ever since. He began 
 without partners in business and continued in 
 that \\a\- until 1880. In that year he became a 
 niembei" of the firm of Rea, Woollev tS: Kitchel, 
 which ijartnershi]> continued until 1883. I'rom 
 1883 to 1886 tin- tiiiii was Rea, Kitcliel \: Sliaw. 
 and from t886 to date it lias been Kitchel, t'olien 
 tS; Shaw. Mr. Kitchel is a Republican in politics 
 ,-ind takes an actiw interest in ])ublic allairs. 
 ;ihliough he has never asked for an\ |)olitical
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 311 
 
 preferment for himself. His cliurch coimcclion 
 is with the Plymouth Congregational Church. 
 He was president of the Minneapolis I'>ar Asso- 
 ciation, 1894-97; president of the Minneapolis 
 Club, 1895-97, and a member of the following 
 Masonic bodies: Khurum Lodge, St. John's 
 Chapter, Minneapolis Council, Minneapolis 
 Mounted Commandery and the Scottish Rite. He 
 was married December 2, 1879, to Anna C. Ger- 
 hard, of Delaware, Ohio. They have one child, 
 Willanl Cray Kitchel, bom March 20, 1881. 
 
 GEORGE ALLAN LOVE. 
 
 Dr. G. -\. Love, of Preston, Minnesota, was 
 bom at Woodstock McHenry County, Illinois, 
 on March 3, 1853. His father was Robert Love 
 who was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, where, 
 prior to his emigration to America in 1853, he 
 held a responsible position as foreman in one of 
 the great shipyards of that city. His wife was 
 ]\Iiss Agnes Di.xon, also a native of Glasgow. 
 L'pon coming to America, Mr. and Mrs. Love 
 settled in McHenry County, Illinois, where Mr. 
 Love engaged in the business of carpenter and 
 builder. Later he removed to Alamakee County, 
 Iowa, and after a time, in 1856, to Fillmore 
 County, Minnesota, where he took a farm in 
 what is now the town of York. ^Ir. Love ac- 
 cumulated a competency and did! in 1877. aged 
 sixty-eight. His wife is still living. Dr. 
 Love attended the conuuon schools in Fill- 
 more County and later studied at the high 
 schools in Lime Springs, Iowa, and Preston. 
 Minnesota. While going to school he helped on 
 the farm or did chores for people in the village, 
 for his board. He earned his first dollar by 
 driving four yoke of oxen hitched to a breaking 
 plow. In 1874 he graduated from Bennett Med- 
 ical College, standing third in a class of forty- 
 three. For a while after graduation he practiced 
 at Whalan, but soon moved to Preston and en- 
 tered into partnership with Dr. fohn A. Ross, 
 who had been his preceptor in former years. 
 After two years this partnership was dissolved by 
 mutual consent and Dr. Love opened an ofifice 
 
 on his own aecdiuu and has since continued in 
 active practice by himself. He has built up an 
 extensive ]iractice and has been reasonably suc- 
 cessful financially. At present he is jjension ex- 
 amination surgeon, though not a veteran of the 
 war. However, the latter fact is no fault of his 
 own. When eleven years old he ran away from 
 home in hlUmore County and went to Forest 
 City, Iowa, and enlisted as drummer boy. His 
 command had started for the front w'lien at Mc- 
 Gregor, he was overtaken by his father and taken 
 home, thus bringing his army career to a sudden 
 termination. Dr. Love has always been a 
 Democrat. He has been Mayor of the 
 city of Preston, and during several terms, 
 an alderman. At present he is chairman 
 of the county central committee. He be- 
 longs to the Masonic order, being a member of 
 Minneapolis Consistory Xo. 2:heis also a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias, of the I. O. O. F., 
 of the A. O. I'. \\'. and of the Modern Woodmen 
 of America. His religious afifiliations are with 
 the Presbyterian denomination, though he is not 
 a member of any church. On !March 5. 1877, 
 Dr. Love was married to Miss Mary J. Kingston, 
 a daughter of a Methodist Episcopal clerg^^man. 
 Thev have had eight children.
 
 312 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 EnW'ARl) L. ALLI-:X. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is engaged in the 
 real estate, renting and loan business in St. Paul. 
 He is a pioneer in the state of Minnesota, hav- 
 ing come here in 1857. -Mr. Allen was 
 born at South llrittian, Connecticut, in 1S29, 
 the son of Treat Allen and Sarah lUakcinan 
 (Allen.) Treat Allen was a farmer in mtxlerate 
 circumstances in Connecticut. The ancestors of 
 E. L. Allen were of sturdy New England stock 
 and engaged in farming. An uncle, \\ illiam 
 N. Blakeman, left the farm when a lad and went 
 to New York City to study medicine, and was 
 for over forty years a leading pliysician in that 
 city. Edward attended the district school during 
 the winter montlis until he was nineteen years 
 of age, working on his father's farm in the sum- 
 mer. He then tauglit school in an adjoining dis- 
 trict for two winters at a salary of twelve dollars 
 and fifty cents ;i month. He left the farm in 1830 
 and clerked in a general store at I'ishkill Landing. 
 The following year he acted in the same capacity 
 in iMshkill X'illage and afterwards at Xewburgh, 
 New York. Mr. Allen came to Minnesota in 1857, 
 locating in St. Paul. He brought a few thonsand 
 dollars with him, and this lu' loaticd nut at three 
 
 ])er cent per month, securing what was consid- 
 ered A I endorsers, but the crash of that year 
 reached him and all his h.ard earnings disap- 
 pearetl. He then began clerking with D. W. 
 Ingersoll, and the following year was taken in 
 as a partner. In the spring of i860 he drew out 
 of the firm, taking what was coming to him in 
 goods, and opened a store on 15ridge S(|uare, 
 Minneapolis, under the firm name of Allen & 
 How. In September of that year Mr. How with- 
 drew from the firm and Loren Fletcher was taken 
 in as ])artner. At the outbreak of the war, how- 
 ever, money so depreciated that the business 
 was carried on at a loss. In t86i Mr. Allen 
 iHiught nut .Mr. I'letcher and continued the luisi- 
 ness alone for some time. Stephen Conislock 
 was admitted to the firm a short time later, un- 
 der the firm name of Allen & Comstock. In 
 1864 he sold his interest in the business to Mr. 
 Comstock, and the following year bought a store 
 building and lot on Hennepin Avenue, near 
 \\'ashington, and opened with a new stock. The 
 same year he purchased the southwest corner of 
 Xicollet Avenue and Eighth .Street, on which 
 was a small house and l)arn, for one thousand, 
 eight hundred dollars, selling the rear forty feet 
 in three }ears for three thousand, seven hundred 
 dollars. L. \ . X. ISlakeman was taken in as a 
 ])artner about this time, and the firm was laughed 
 at l)y the ISridge Sipiare merchants for going so 
 far up town. Mr. Allen got subscriptions for a 
 few hundred dollars and gave it to \\'. W. Mc- 
 Xair. then postmaster, to Incate the jiostoffice in 
 the same I/lock, and the business of the firm pros- 
 ]iered for awhile. In 1872 ^Ir. Allen bought out 
 Mr. lUakeman. In 1874 he built a three-story 
 brick store and office building in place of the 
 (ikl one. Also jmrchased three hundred and 
 twenty acres of land in \\'est Minneapolis, which 
 he later exchanged for inside propert\'. Tiie crash 
 of 1873, however, severely afTected ^Ir. Allen and 
 he lost this property, and nearly all the 
 lest. He was compelled to sell out at 
 aucticm in the fall of 1876. In politics, 
 Mr. .\llen h;is always been a Re])ublican, 
 and his church connections have been with the 
 P.aptist and Congregational denominations. Oc- 
 tober 3, t85(), he was married to TIattie \\'ain-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 313 
 
 wright, formerly of Middlcbury, Vermont. 
 Six children were the result of this union, four 
 girls and two hoys. .Mr. .Mien was heavily 
 afflicted in addition to his business reverses. 
 From May 13-20. i<*^75. there were four deaths in 
 his family, three childrrn and a lovin.L,^ wife. Later, 
 in 1881, his oldest daughter died. Air. Allen then 
 moved to St. Paul and engaijed in a real estate, 
 renting and loan business, which he is still carry- 
 ing on. 
 
 JOHN D. ANDERSON. 
 
 John 13. Anderson, Af. U., is the son of 
 John Anderson, a retired capitalist, born in Perth, 
 Scotland, and one of the pioneers of Ontario, 
 Canada. John Anderson's father, the grand- 
 father of the subject of this sketch, was a captain 
 in the British Army, who came to Canada in 
 1832, and in al)out five hours after his arrival in 
 Montreal, both he and his wife died of Asiatic 
 cholera. Their son, John Anderson, survived 
 them, and is now enjoying good health at the 
 advanced age of eighty-eight years. John Ander- 
 son's wife, Janet McLaren (Anderson), was born 
 in Calendar, Scotland. She came with her par- 
 ents to Ontario, Canada, in 1832, where her 
 father was engaged in the banking business and 
 where she married John Anderson. Their son, 
 John D., the subject of this sketch, was born 
 June 29, 1855, in the county of \'ictoria, Ontario. 
 He began his education in the public schools 
 and from there passed through the Oakwood high 
 school. Lipon his graduation he received a 
 teacher's certificate, without solicitation was ap- 
 pointed assistant teacher in the high school in 
 1872, and in that capacity earned his first dollar 
 for professional services. His inclination was to- 
 ward the study and practice of medicine and sur- 
 gery, and in 1875 'le entered Trinity Medical 
 School from which he graduated in 1879, also 
 from the medical department of Toronto Univer- 
 sity, Trinity College and the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons in the same year. After a few- 
 weeks' rest at home he sailed to Edinburgh. 
 Scotland, where in May, 1879, he entered the 
 Roval Infirmarv and after a hard sununer's study 
 
 \ 
 
 he passeil tlie examination for licentiate of the 
 Royal College of Physicians. He had the honor 
 of being graded one hundred per cent in both oral 
 and clinical examinations, and therefore stood at 
 the head of his class, which included graduates of 
 all the leading medical colleges in Europe. Dr. 
 Anderson has been a resident of Alinneapolis 
 since January 12, 1883, where he has built up 
 a large and successful practice. He was an act- 
 ive worker in the reform party in Ontario and 
 since his residence in the United States has 
 affiliated with the Republican party and is a 
 staunch advocate of Republican principles. He 
 is a member of the British Aledical Association, 
 the State Medical Association of [Minnesota, the 
 Hennepin County Aledical Association, and is 
 also a member of the Caledonian Society. His 
 church affiliations are w-ith the Presbyterian de- 
 nomination. In 1881 Dr. Anderson married 
 Mary Miller, daughter of Dr. D. Gillespie Car- 
 mington, of Ontario. They came to this city on 
 account of her health, but the change did not 
 prove permanently beneficial and she died six 
 months after her arrival here. In Januar\% 1806, 
 he married Jessie C. MacGregor, eldest daughter 
 of Mr. and Airs. A. MacGregor, of this cit\'. She 
 is a graduate of the Universitv of Afinnesota.
 
 314 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ORLO .AIEL\IN LARAVVAY. 
 
 One of tlic early pioneers of ^linneapolis was 
 O. ^I. Laraway, the suljject of this sketch, who 
 came to the village by the falls of St. Anthony in 
 1857, and has been a prominent factor in its busi- 
 ness life ever since, contributing much toward 
 making Minneapolis the metropolis that it is to- 
 day. Air. Laraway is a native of the Ijuckeye 
 State. He was born .September 7, 1832, in 
 Chardon, Geauga County, ( )hio, the son of 
 Stephen \'an Rensselaer and Phoebe Spafford 
 (Barber) Laraway. The father was a native of 
 New York, having been born June 4, 1791, in 
 Phillipstown, and following the occupation of 
 farming. The mother was born at Castleton, \"er- 
 mont, December 21, 1796. They moved with 
 their family to Ohio in 1830. Their son Orlo 
 obtained his early education in the common 
 schools of his native town, and afterwards at- 
 tended Geauga Seminary, where he was for one 
 term a schoolmate of James A. Garfield. After 
 leaving school the boy worked on his father's 
 farm for a year or two, and then for a few 
 years clerked in stores in "S'oungstnwn and War- 
 ren, Ohio. Tn 1837. having made up his nn'nd 
 
 to come to the North Star State in order to 
 grow up with the country, he located in Min- 
 neapolis. Here he opened a store for the sale 
 of butter, cheese and dried fruits (in the shipment 
 of which from Ohio he was interested). This 
 store was located on the corner where the old 
 Pence Opera House now stands. The business 
 of this small provision store rapidly increased^ 
 Mr. Laraway gradually adding groceries to his 
 stock, until in 1865 he went into the wholesale 
 grocery business with H. W. Mills. Air. Mills 
 later transferred his interest to J. H. Shuey, and 
 the firm continued business under the name of 
 Laraway & Shuey until the death of Mr. Shuey 
 in 1870. Mr. Laraway then, in connection with 
 some other gentlemen, organized the Minneapolis 
 Plow Works. This manufacturing concern con- 
 tinued in business until 1882, when the property 
 of the company was taken for depot purposes 
 l5y the Great Northern Railroad Company. At 
 this time Mr. Laraway was appointed postmaster 
 of Alinneapolis, which office he held for the ne.xt 
 four years. He had always taken an active in- 
 terest in the local affairs of his city, and in 1859. 
 was elected clerk of the board of town supervis- 
 ors, and a year later was elected a member of 
 the town board, which then consisted of only 
 three members. In 1863 he was appointed Sec- 
 retary of the Sioux Conmiission, a commission 
 which was authorized by Act of Congress to settle 
 claims of settlers for depredations committed by 
 the Sioux Indians during the outbreak of 1862. 
 In February, 1867, when the city of Alinneap- 
 olis was organized, Air. Laraway was elected city 
 treasurer, which office he held continuously for 
 a period of ten years. In 1886, after his term as. 
 postmaster had expired. Air. Laraway engaged in 
 the fire insurance business with his son, under 
 the firm name of O. AI. Laraway & Son, in which 
 business he is still interested. He is also secre- 
 tary of the Alechanics' & Workingmens' Loan & 
 P.uilding Association, which ])Osition he has held 
 for the past twenty years. Air. Laraway is a 
 member of the Zion Commandery No. 2, of Alin- 
 ncapoHs Lodge No. 19. A. F. and A. AI., and' 
 the .'\. O. L'. W. No. 6. His church connec- 
 tions are with the Plvnioulh Congregationar
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 315 
 
 Church, of which he is a menil)cr. In 1857 lie 
 was married to Abbic I". Clark, of Warren, Ohio. 
 They have two cliililrcn, 1'. .M. Laraway, who is 
 in business with his father, and Mrs. A. von 
 Schlegell. 
 
 .WALLACh: 1!. ])()L'GLA.S, 
 
 In 1875 the sul)ject of this sketch graduated 
 from the Ann Arbor law school, and in 1883 he 
 came to Minnesota, locating in Moorhead, Clay 
 county, where he has since resided. He applied 
 himself industriously to the practice of his pro- 
 fession, and in a few years came to be regarded as 
 one of the leading attorneys of the Red River val- 
 ley. He has liad no ambition save that which has 
 had his profession as a center, and his occasional 
 incursions into the field of politics have been en- 
 tirely incidental to the chief purpose of his life. 
 During the quiet years of his life in Clay 
 county, Mr. Douglas came to be city attorney of 
 Moorhead, which position he held for four years, 
 and county attorney of Clay county, to which last 
 named office he was elected three times. I'^or al- 
 most a dozen years he was a member of the Moor- 
 head pubHc school board. In 1894 and again in 
 1896 he was elected to the legislature as a Repub- 
 lican, and before the Republican state convention 
 of 1896 he was an unsuccessful candidate for nom- 
 ination to the ofifice of attorney general, develop- 
 ing a strength in that canvass which was highly 
 gratifying to friends and himself. Mr. Douglas' 
 political sun has risen very quickly and in an un- 
 clouded day. At the present time he stands with per- 
 haps half a dozen men from various sections of the 
 state as one of the acknowledged leaders of the 
 younger and more progressive element in the Re- 
 publican part}-, and the temptation to make poli- 
 tics his principal business is a strong one. But 
 as already stated, he prefers to be best known as 
 an attorney, and will permit nothing to interfere 
 with the career which is opening up so propitious- 
 ly before him at the bar. .Sir \\'illiam Douglas, 
 who emigrated to America from Scotland in 1660, 
 is the direct ancestor of ^fr. Douglas, who 
 through this Isaron of the days of the Stuart kings 
 traces his ancestry liack to the red and black 
 
 Douglases, wlm pla\ed so conspicuous a part in 
 earlier Scotch histor)-. It is believed that Mr. 
 Douglas is Scotch by both of these first American 
 parents; at any rate, .Scotch given names have ])re- 
 domiiiated in the American branch of the famil}-, 
 as witness his own name, Wallace. In matters of 
 recreatiiin .Mr. Dciugtas is known as an enthusias- 
 tic sportsman, and an expert with the rifle and 
 shot gun. He belongs to that class who believe 
 good habits and good fellowship can go hand in 
 hand. He was born in Leyden, Lewis County, 
 New York, .September 21, 1852. His father was 
 A. AI. Douglas, a farmer, and his mother, .AlmaE. 
 Aliller. He received a common school educa- 
 tion, and attended the law department of Michi- 
 gan State L'niversity, graduating there, as already 
 related, in 1875. It was on a dairy farm, milking 
 cows, that he earned his first dollar. Mr. Doug- 
 las' Repul)licanism is inherited, and he never has 
 belonged to any iither ])arty. .^s a political 
 speaker he takes high rank, and during the last 
 few campaigns he was in constant demand in the 
 northern sections of the state. Three secret 
 societies claim him as an active member, the 
 ?dasons, r)dd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. 
 In 1881, Mav 19, ^fr. Douglas was married to 
 Ella M. .Smith, and the union has been blessed 
 with two children. Harold H. and Lulu L.
 
 316 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 A>[BROSE D. COUNTRYMAN. 
 
 The paternal ancestors of Ambrose D. Country- 
 man were Germans, and settled in the Mohawk 
 Vallev, New York, earl\- in the eighteenth cen- 
 tury-. His great grandfather was a faithful sol- 
 (Her in the army of the revolution, and his father, 
 P. !•". Countryman, was still living in the empire 
 state when the subject of this sketch was bom, 
 Februarv 8, 1850. On his mother's side, -Mr. 
 Countryman comes of good old English stock, 
 and the branch of the family to which she belongs 
 were earlv settlers in \'ermont. Her maiden 
 name was Elizabeth E. Gleason. When he was 
 five years of age, young Countryman left St. 
 Lawrence County, New^ York, his birth-place, and 
 came w^ith the other members of his father's fam- 
 ily to Nininger, Dakota County, Minnesota, then 
 a wild country on the frontier of civilization, and 
 here it was that he jjassed his boyhood and youth, 
 attending the country schools in the winter and 
 working on his father's farm in the summer. 
 The family was ]joor and Ambrose was the eldest 
 of eleven children. In 1861 his father enlisted as 
 a member of the second Minnesota volunteer in- 
 fantry, serving until the close of the war, in 1865. 
 During all these years, the oldest son, who. in 
 1861, was a lad of eleven, was burdened with a 
 
 responsibility far beyond his years and compelled 
 to undertake the work of a man on the farm. But 
 tliis turuv ' "t to be good training. The war 
 over, the husband and father resumed his place 
 as the head of the family and the eldest son was 
 permitted to finish his education. He went for 
 one year to Hamline University, then located at 
 Red Wing; one year to the state university and 
 two years to Washington L'niversity, St. Louis,, 
 graduating from the .St. Louis law school (Wash- 
 ington University) in June, 1874, with the degree 
 of LL. B. Mr. Countryman earned his first dollar 
 Ijinding grain after a ^McCormick reaper, and 
 taicg'ht school in order to earn money to carry him 
 through college. In June, 1876, he settled in 
 Ajipjeton, Swift County, Minnesota, on a home- 
 stead, and in March, 1879, began to practice law 
 in that place, which has ever since been his home. 
 In addition to the practice of his profession, he 
 has for a number of years been engaged in the 
 newspaper business, first with the "Appleton 
 Press," and later with the "Appleton Tribune." 
 He always has been a Republican, and his party 
 locally has honored him repeatedly. Erom 1878. 
 to 1882 he was county commissioner of Swift 
 County, and from 1882 to 1889 judge of probate 
 of Swift County. Eor fifteen years he has been 
 a member of the board of education of Appleton, 
 and is now president of the board. Since 1884 
 he has been village justice of Appleton. For 
 years prior to 1897 he was secretary- of the Repub- 
 lican club organization in his home town. In 1897 
 the state senate elected him first assistant secre- 
 tary', a position whose duties he discharged with 
 marked ability. Mr. Countryman is past master 
 of Appleton Lodge, No. 137, A. V. and A. M., 
 and past chancellor commander of Appleton 
 Lodge, No. 76, Knights of Pythias. Of both 
 lodges he is a charter member. As a member of 
 the Masonic Grand Lodge of Minnesota he is 
 chairman of the conunittee on returns of lodges. 
 He is a member of the Episcopal church, and 
 senior warden of Gethsemane parish, Appleton. 
 August 30, 1874, he was married to Miss Jane 
 Rcswick, and three children have been born to 
 them. Helen L., December 23, 1876, Ernest A., 
 March 23, 1882, and Peter F., .September 21, 1885.. 
 Mrs. Countryman was born in England.
 
 PROGREr='VH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 317 
 
 Among ihc younger attorneys of St. Paul, 
 Pierce Liutler stands as one of the most energetic 
 antl successful. Mr. Ilutler is a native of Alin- 
 nesota. He was born on March 17, 1866, at 
 Watcrford, Dakota County. His ])arents, Patrick 
 Butler and Alarv ((lat'fncy) liutler, were natives 
 of Ireland, and came to the United States in 
 1846. They first lived in New York, and after- 
 wards in New Jersey, Penns}-lvania and Illinois. 
 In 1855 Mr. Butler came to .Minnes(jta and took 
 u]) a claim at Pine Island. On account of In- 
 dian marauders he was obliged to abandon the 
 claim, and the next year fountl him teaching in 
 one of the first schools in Dakota County, at 
 Pine r.end. In 1S58 he settled at Waterford, 
 taking up a farm and living there continuously 
 for twenty-nine years. In 1888 he removed to 
 St. Paul. His son Pierce attended the district 
 schools at W'aterford until he was fifteen years 
 old, when he entered Carleton College at North- 
 field, taking a six years' course, and graduating 
 in 1887. Immediately after graduation he went 
 to St. Paul and commenced the study of law, and 
 was admitted to the bar in October, 1888. He 
 first practiced by himself, but in 1891 formed 
 a partnership with S. J. Donnelly, a son of Igna- 
 tius Donnelly. In the same year he was ap- 
 pointed Assistant County Attorney by T. D. 
 O'Brien, who had been elected to the county at- 
 torneyship. Mr. Butler served with success as 
 assistant, and in 1892 he was elected to suc- 
 ceed ]Mr. O'Brien in office, and was re-elected to 
 the same office in 1894. During his incumbency 
 he tried many important cases, and as county 
 attorney Mr. Butler developed rapidly as a law- 
 yer. His ability as a speaker was known before 
 he entered the office, but before he left it his ad- 
 dresses in court were regarded as models of the 
 prosecutor's art. He became the terror of the 
 criminal classes, who regarded his appearance on 
 a case as the signal for conviction. At the same 
 time INIr. Butler was never a persecutor of per- 
 sons indicted in his district. He insisted that 
 all persons charged with crime should have ev- 
 ery opportunity for defense, and that the final 
 
 word was only said when the jury had returned 
 its verdict. The position of County Attorney is 
 a difficult one, but in Mr. Butler's case it was 
 filled with ability, and he retired with the confi- 
 dence and respect of all who knew him. In 
 1896 jNIr. Butler formed a partnership with Eller 
 & How, under the firm name of Eller, How & 
 Butler. Upon the death of Mr. Eller, subse- 
 (luently, the firm became How & Butler. In 
 jiolitics Mr. Butler has always been a Democrat, 
 and his aggressive, active nature has naturally 
 made him a leader among his friends in the 
 party. Personally, he is a man of agreeable man- 
 ners, accommodating, and easily approached. 
 These qualities, coupled with his success at the 
 liar, have won him the regard of the conmiunity 
 in which he lives. On August 25, 1891, Mr. 
 Butler was married to Miss Annie M. Cronin, of 
 St. Paul. They have four children. Pierce, Wil- 
 liam, ]\Iar}' and Leo. In religion Mr. Butler fol- 
 lows the traditions of his ancestry, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Roman Catholic Church. He is a 
 member of the Irish-American Club (of which 
 he was President in 1894). of the Commercial 
 Club, and is a director in the Chamber of Com- 
 merce.
 
 318 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 AUGUST T. KUERXER. 
 
 August T. Koerner, now serving a secund term 
 as treasurer of the State of .Minnesota, is a Ger- 
 man by hirtli. In 1S43 he was born at Rodach, 
 Saxe-Cobnrn-Gotha, and until he was fifteen 
 years of age the fatherland was his home. It 
 was there that he attended the conmion schools, 
 and leaving school at fourteen years of age, his 
 parents being poor, began to learn the trade of a 
 toy maker. After working at this trade for about 
 a year he came to America alone and without 
 friends to carve out his fortune among strangers. 
 This was in 1858. The three years that inter- 
 vened before the commencement of the civil W"ar 
 he spent in Indiana and Missouri. April 17, 
 1861, at the age of 18, he enlisted for three 
 months in Company C, Sixth Indiana volunteers, 
 and re-enlisted at the end of this short service 
 for three years in Company II Twenty-sixth In- 
 diana volunteers. January 31, 1864, he was dis- 
 charged, but became a veteran (in the same day, 
 and received his final discharge June 25, 1865, 
 after a continuous service of four years, two 
 months and eight days. He can talk from per- 
 sonal experienci.- of the campaign in W'est \'ir- 
 
 ginia, including the battles of Phillippi, Laurel 
 Hill and Carrack's Ford, and of the year and a 
 half during which the Federal forces chased Price 
 through Missouri. In the }ilissouri campaign, 
 at tlie skirmish of I'rairie Grove, he was wounded. 
 He participated next in the siege of Mcksburg, 
 and then followed his regiment into Texas and 
 Louisiana, closing an honorable military career 
 at Xew C)rleans, where he was given his final dis- 
 cliarge. Mr. Koerner was a bookkeeper at Troy, 
 Illinois, for about two years following the close 
 of the war, and then, in 1867, came to Meeker 
 County, Mimiesota, settling on a farm near Litch- 
 field. For the thirty years that have ensued, 
 Litchfield has been his home, and the reputation 
 which he acquired there among all with whom 
 he came in contact, for integrity, industry, sound 
 business judgment, and unswen-ing loyalty to 
 his friends, is the foundation upon which his 
 splendid public record has been built. In his 
 early manhood days he was a Democrat, and 
 from 1868 to 1874 he was a member of the Green- 
 back party; but since 1874 he has been a Repub- 
 lican. In the village of Litchfield, during the 
 early days of his residence there, he filled a num- 
 ber of minor offices, among them that of village 
 clerk. From 1878 to 18S4 he was register of 
 deeds of JMeeker Count\'. In -1891 President 
 Harrison appointed him postmaster at Litchfield, 
 a position which he resigned in i8()2, preparatory 
 to becoming a candidate for membership in the 
 lower house of the legislature. He was elected, 
 and during the session of 1893 '''is record was 
 such as to connnend him to the Republican party 
 as a suitable candidate for state treasurer. He 
 was elected to this high ofifice in the fall of 1894, 
 and re-elected in 1896. In the spring of 1894, 
 Mr. Koerner associated himself with S. W. 
 Leavitt, ex-state senator, at Litchfield, for the 
 organization of the Mreker Countv Abstract and 
 Loan Companw and was chosen president of the 
 company, a ]K)sition he still holds. He is a 
 member of the Christi.nn clun-ch at Litchfield. 
 .Since 1868 he has belonged to the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows, and since 1878 to the 
 Masonic frateniit\'. lb' lias been conunandcr of 
 Milit.'i Connn;niderv, No. 17, Knights Temiil;u".
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ■M'J 
 
 For years he has been an enthusiastic member of 
 the G. A. R., and I'rank Daj^j^ett post, No. 35, 
 once honored him by making him its commander. 
 Mr. Koerner married Miss Kate McGannon, of 
 Litchfiekl, while a resident of Troy, Illinois. Of 
 six children born of this union, three survive: 
 ]\'Iamie, the eldest, is the wife of William Miller, 
 of Litchfield; P. C. Koerner is a clerk in the state 
 treasurer's oiifice; I'aiiliiu', (lie youngest, is a girl 
 of thirteen, at home. 
 
 JOHiNf COLIN McINTYRE. 
 
 John Colin .Mclntyre was born June 20, 1858, 
 at River Dennis, Cape Breton, I'rovincc of Nova 
 Scotia, Canada. His father, Archibald Mc- 
 lntyre, was a farmer and merchant in fair cir- 
 cumstances. At the time of the I'^enian raid on 
 Canada he served as a colonel in the British 
 army, taking part in repelling the raiders. He 
 was always a strong supporter of governmental 
 and church policies, whose fundamental principles 
 were liberty and in tlie interest of humanity, and 
 took an active part in confederation measures for 
 the provinces. Flora Noble (Mclntyre), the 
 mother of the subject of this sketch, was the 
 eldest daughter' of Dr. John Noble, a prominent 
 physician and surgeon, and a descendant, on her 
 mother's side, of the Campbells of Lome, or the 
 Dukes of Argyle. Her memory is recalled with 
 reverence by her son, for her strength and force 
 of character as a good Christian woman and 
 mother. John Colin attended the public schools 
 of his native town, later graduating from an 
 academy. He also took a course in a commercial 
 college, and entered upon the study of law, but 
 was not admitted to practice. Mr. Mclntyre came 
 to Minnesota August 22, 1882, locating in Minne- 
 apolis the following May, where he has since re- 
 sided. Previous to settling in Minneapolis he 
 was engaged in oil and .gold mining in the prov- 
 inces, but on locating in this city he took up the 
 fire insurance, real estate and loan business, first 
 as an employe but later on his own account. He 
 became a member of the firm of Jones, Mc- 
 Mullan & Co., which afterwards dissolved, and 
 
 the firm of Jones, Mclntyre & Co. was organized. 
 Mr. Mclntyre is independent in his political con- 
 victions, yet a strong supporter of many of the 
 principles of the Reimblican party, though believ- 
 ing in the economic principles of prohibition of 
 trusts and the licjuor traffic. He has always taken 
 an active interest in all matters relating to good 
 government, and is at present president of the 
 branch of the Good Citizenship League in the 
 Fourth ward of Minneapolis. He was one of the 
 first active supporters of the measure establishing 
 the patrol limit system in Minneapolis, and one of 
 the first advocates of the free text book law, 
 having been chairman of the committee which 
 circulated petitions for this measure throughout 
 the state, and whichi called a mass meeting in the 
 Swedish Tabernacle in Minneapolis, at which 
 were present the principal educators of the state, 
 the sentiment crystallized at this meeting assuring 
 the success of the bill. Mr. Mclntyre is a Mason, 
 a member of the Royal Arcanum and of the Com- 
 mercial Club of Minneapolis. His church con- 
 nections are with the Methodist Episcopal body, 
 of which he is a member. He was married Octo- 
 ber I, 1885, to Miss Hattie M. Gunn. They have 
 four children, Jean E., Florence J., \'era A. and 
 Archibald W. D.
 
 320 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM L( )CHRLX. 
 
 Judge \\ illiaiii Lochreii was Ijorn on April 3. 
 1832, in Tyrone County. Ireland. His father died 
 about a )ear later, and in 1834 his mother, with 
 other relatives, eame to this country and located 
 in Franklin County, W'rniont. L'ntil 1850, the 
 family lived in northern N'ermont and near the 
 Canadian line. William attended the common 
 school and worked on the farm. In the spring of 
 1850 he went to Auburn, Massachusetts, and for 
 three years was engaged in farm labor, and in a 
 saw mill, dividing his time between these occu- 
 pations and his studies at the academy. He then 
 returned to Franklin County, \'ermont. In June, 
 1856, he was admitted to the bar at St. Albans, 
 Vermont, and in the following month he came 
 to Miimesota. In .\ugust he located at St. 
 Anthony where he was engaged first in 
 the office of J. S. and T). .M. Henunon, 
 and later in the office of ( leorge 1'".. II. Ha}. 
 In the spring of 1837 lie formed a partner- 
 ship with James K. Lawrence, tuuler the firm 
 name of Lawrence & Lochren. This ])artnersliip 
 was dissolved in 1859, after which Judge Lochren 
 practiced alone until the outbreak of the Civil 
 War. He enlisted as a private in Company E, 
 
 First Regiment Alinnesota \'olunteers, on April 
 29, 1861. He was made sergeant and served with 
 the regiment in the campaigns of 1861, 1862 and 
 1863. He participatetl in the battles of Bull Run, 
 lialls BlufT, in front of Yorktown, West Point, 
 Fair Oaks, Peach Orchard, Savage Station, Glen- 
 dale, Frazer's Farm, Malvern Hill, M&lvern Hill 
 Second, South Alountain, Antietam, Charlestown, 
 rVedericksburg, (jettysburg and many lesser 
 af-fairs. On September 22, 1862, he was promoted 
 to be second lieutenant and on July 3, 1863, be- 
 came first lieutenant; and acted as adjutant of the 
 regiment for three months following the battle of 
 Gettysburg. On December 30, 1863, he resigned 
 on a surgeon's certificate of disability. Before 
 the war he had been city attorney and alderman 
 of the city of St. Anthony. On leaving the army 
 he returned to St. Anthony resumed the prac- 
 tice of law, and soon formed a partnership with 
 Captain O. C. Merriman, under the firm name of 
 Merriman & Lochren. This partnership con- 
 tinued about three vears. During most of that 
 time, and vmtil St. Anthony was merged into 
 Minneapolis, Judge Lochren was citv attorney of 
 St. Anthony. In November, 1868, he was elected 
 state senator and served in the legislature of 1869 
 and 1870. In the spring of 1869 he formed a law 
 partnership with William W. .McNair, and later 
 John B. Gilfillan became a member of the firm. 
 In the years of 1877 and 1878 Judge Lochren was 
 city attorney of Minneapolis, and in November, 
 1881, (iovernor John S. Pillsbury appointed him 
 judge of the district court of the Fourth Judicial 
 District, and in 1882 and again in 1888 he was 
 elected for the full term of that office without op- 
 piisitinn. In April, 1893, Judge Lochren was 
 appointed commissioner of pensions by President 
 Cleveland, and continued the discharge of the 
 duties of this office until .May 20, 1896, when he 
 assumed the office of the Cnited States district 
 judge for the District nf .Minnesota, to which he 
 had just been apjxiinted li\ I'rosiik-nt Cleveland 
 and confirmed b\ the Inited .States .senate. 
 Judge Lochren has always been a Democrat. In 
 1865 he was the candidate of that paity fur attor- 
 ney general, in 1874 for judge of the supreme 
 court, and in 1875 for the I'nited .States senate; 
 but u|ion the adoption of the platform of that
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 321 
 
 party in 1806, l)y the Chicago convention, Jndgc 
 Lochren, re.^'arding the same as undemocratic, 
 unsound and dani;er(]Us, refused ti) support the 
 candidates nominated by that convention. Judge 
 Lochren was married on September 26, 1871, to 
 Mrs. Martiia A. hemmnn, whu died in i''ebruary, 
 1879. On April i(), 1882, lie was married to .Miss 
 Mary E. Al)bott. They have one son, W'iUiam A., 
 vvlio was burn on b'eljruarv 26, 1884. Judge 
 Lochren, since the war, lias maintained his resi- 
 dence in Minneapolis, where he is a highly re- 
 spected citizen. 
 
 HENRY E. LAIH). 
 
 (3ne of the Minneapolis pioneers whose 
 prosperity has been identified with the growth 
 and development of the city is Mr. H. E. Ladd, 
 now a prominent real-estate dealer and a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Ladd & Nickels. Mr. Ladd 
 comes of a family which has taken an interest 
 in preserving its geneological records, and he is 
 therefore able to trace his ancestry back to Daniel 
 Ladd, who came over from England in 1623. 
 Daniel Ladd first settled at Epswich. In 1649 
 he was allotted lands at Haverhill, Massachusetts, 
 and for six succeeding generations his descend- 
 ants remained in this vicinity. Perley 'M. Ladd, 
 Mr. H. E. Ladd's father, married ]\Iiss Hannah 
 Reidhead, a descendant of Hannah Dustin, of 
 Haverhill, whose heroic escape from captivity 
 among the Lidians in 1697 has preserved her 
 memory among the heroines of early American 
 history. The famous cloth in which Hannah 
 Dustin carried the scalps has lately been left to 
 Mr. Ladd. H. E. Ladd was born at Salem, Rock- 
 ingham County, New Hampshire, December 17, 
 1847. When five years old, his father moved to 
 Haverhill, where his ancestors had lived for so 
 long, and voung Henry grew up in the vicinity 
 of his forefathers. When Henry was nineteen 
 years of age the family removed to ]\Iinneapolis. 
 The young man was willing to accept any honest 
 occupation and at first was employed in taking 
 tolls at the old suspension bridge. After obtain- 
 ing a foothold in his new home he opened a 
 fruit and confectionery store at No. 216 Henne- 
 pin Avenue. This business was afterward re- 
 
 moved to Washington Avenue, and continued 
 until 1874 when its proprietor sold out. He 
 went East, and during his absence married Miss 
 Anna M. Hagar, daughter of Reuben Hagar, of 
 Cnion, iNIaine. Mr. Ladd spent a year in the 
 East, and in 1877 again embarked in the con- 
 fectionery business. But again he sold out, and 
 made a trip to the Pacific coast. Returning to 
 Minneapolis he engaged in the real-estate busi- 
 ness in 1880. He met with an unusual degree 
 of success. I'ive years later he took his present 
 partner and continued the business under the firm 
 name of Ladd & Nickels. The firm occupies a 
 fine suite of rooms on the second floor of the 
 Minnesota Loan & Trust Company's Building, 
 and conduct an extensive real-estate and loaning 
 business to which they have added an insurance 
 and rental department. I'nder prudent and ener- 
 getic management the business has reached large 
 proportions. One of their methods is to never 
 guarantee a loan. Within a few years past Mr. 
 Ladd erected an elegant residence on Oak Grove 
 Street, w-here he now resides. It is a handsome 
 specimen of modern architecture. The material 
 is cream-colored Kasota stone, and though not 
 large, the building is complete and handsome in 
 all its details.
 
 322 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HENRY WARREN CHILDS. 
 
 Henry Warren Childs, attorney general of 
 the State of Alinnesota, resides at Mcrriam Park. 
 Mr. Childs' ancestors on his father's side came 
 to America from England in the early part of 
 the Seventeenth century and settled in Deerfield, 
 Massachusetts. His grandfather, John Childs, 
 moved to Chenango County about 1800. He 
 became the head of a large family which ulti- 
 mately scattered through New York, Michigan 
 and Wisconsin. The subject of this sketch is a 
 son of Philander Childs, a native of Chenango 
 County, New York, a man of upright life and 
 public-spirited, although of limited financial 
 resources. Philander's wife was ]\Iary A. Preston, 
 a native of Connecticut, and one greatly esteemed 
 by all who knew her. The subject of this sketch 
 was born in the small village of Belgium, Onon- 
 daga County, New York, November 24, 1848. 
 He was educated in the common or district 
 schools of his native county, the village academy, 
 and Falley and Cazenovia Seminaries. He 
 was obliged to earn the money to meet 
 his expenses at school, and did this mainly 
 by teaching school. Soon after completing 
 his course at Cazenovia Seniinarv, he was 
 
 employed to take charge of the Liverpool 
 Academy, where he remained for upwards of 
 three years, Subsequently he taught in one of 
 the schools now in the cit}- of Syracuse, then 
 took up the study of law, which he pursued for 
 nearly five years, when he was admitted to the 
 bar in 1881. He practiced law in Syractise until 
 1883, when he came west to examine the country 
 and study the inducements it had to offer to a 
 young man in his position. He was attracted by 
 the natural beauty of Fergus Falls and the hospi- 
 tality of its people and determined to locate there. 
 He bought a ntimber of city lots and Ijuilt a 
 house on them with the expectation of making 
 Fergus Falls his home. But when Moses E. 
 Clapp was elected attorney general of the state, 
 in 1887, Mr. Childs was offered the position of 
 assistant, which he accepted. This made it neces- 
 sary for him to remove to St. Paul, where he has 
 since resided, Merriain Park being a part of that 
 city. In 1892 he was nominated by the 
 Republicans for the office of attorney general, 
 was elected, and was re-elected to the same office 
 in 1894, and again in 1896. He has conducted a 
 great deal of important litigation on behalf of 
 the state, and has assisted in the prosecution of 
 several murder cases in different counties of the 
 state, including the famous Rose and Holden 
 cases, the latter of which reached the United States 
 supreme court, where he appeared for the state. 
 He instituted on behalf of the state an action 
 against all the oil companies doing business in 
 Minnesota and succeeded in recovering large stims 
 of money into the treasuiy of the state. He 
 conducted the case for the state in the proceed- 
 ings against H. O. Peterson, county treasurer of 
 Hennepin County, involving the constitutionality 
 of the act of the state providing for the removal 
 of county officers. He represented the state in 
 the United States supreme court in the important 
 cases of Brown and Redwood counties against the 
 Winona and St. Peter Land company which in- 
 volved about fifty thousand dollars of back taxes. 
 But the most important official act performed by 
 him, up to this writing, was the institution of the 
 suit of the state against the Great Northern Rail- 
 way Conipanv to enjoin it from consolidating
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 323 
 
 with the Northern Pacific railroad, lie made 
 the arg'ument for the state and won his case 
 before the district court. This action is generally 
 regarded as the most important legal procedure 
 ever had in the northwest, and ranks among the 
 most celebrated cases presented to the courts of 
 this country. He is often in demand for 
 puljlic addresses, is a diligent student, a man 
 of wide reading and a great lover of books. He 
 is a member of the Commercial Club of St. Paul 
 and a director of the Chamber of Commerce of 
 that city. He was married in 1883 to Miss Alberta 
 A. Hakes, daughter of a substantial farmer of 
 Onondaga County, New York. Mrs. Childs is a 
 graduate of the Oswego Normal and Training 
 School. Mr. and Mrs. Childs have one child, 
 James, aged ten years. 
 
 WILLIAM GARDNER WHITE. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has the distinction 
 of having been a descendant of Peregrine White, 
 the first white child born in Plymouth Colony. 
 He is the son of William White, a farmer in 
 Chicopee, Massachusetts, and Amanda Preston 
 (White), a native of South Hadley, Massachu- 
 setts. The family traces its ancestry to Elder 
 John White, who was one of the charter members 
 of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He came over 
 about 1630. His son. Captain Nathaniel White, 
 was quite prominent in the affairs of the colony, 
 and afterwards moved to INIiddleton, Connecticut, 
 where he was elected to the legislature for eighty- 
 five successive terms, the elections occurring 
 semi-annually. This is, however, a length of public 
 service probably never equalled in American his- 
 tory. Captain White was very active in service 
 against the Indians. Another ancestor, great- 
 grandfather of William Gardner, was Gardner 
 Preston, who was a minute man called out at the 
 time of the battle of Lexmgton and served in the 
 war of the Revolution. The subject of this sketch 
 was born at South Hadley, Massachusetts, Sep- 
 tember 30, 1854. He had the advantages of a 
 common school education at Chicopee, and sub- 
 
 sequentl}- attended the Harvard law school, from 
 which he graduated in 1874. He was employed 
 for three and a half years previous to entering 
 the law school in a railroad office at Springfield, 
 Massachusetts. After graduation he practiced his 
 profession in Springfield until 1884, when desir- 
 ing to find a better field for his operations, he 
 came to Minnesota and located at .St. Paul. Here 
 he became prominently connected with banking 
 institutions, trust companies, wholesale houses 
 and other financial and commercial institutions, 
 both as attorney and officer. Mr. White is secre- 
 tary of the National Investment Company, and 
 one of the organizers of the company, and its 
 attorney. Real estate and connnercial law have 
 been a specialty in his legal business. These 
 branches naturally open to him from his connec- 
 tion with financial corjDorations. Mr. White has 
 always been a Republican, but has never taken a 
 very active part in politics. He is a member of 
 the Park Congregational Church, also a member 
 of the Commercial Club. He was married 
 May 22, 1878, at Chickopee, to Carolyn E. Hall. 
 They have three children, Marion Louise, Edwin 
 and William Preston.
 
 324 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 SILAS B. FOOT. 
 
 I'luck and perseverance will mure often bring 
 the earnest toiler success in the financial world 
 than when aided by fortune in the earlv start in 
 life. This is e.xeniplified in the case of .Silas !'>. 
 I'oot, who is the senior nieniljer of the whole- 
 sale boot and shoe house of Foot, Schulze & Co., 
 of .St. Paul. Mr. Foot was born November 7, 1834, 
 in Xew Alilford, .Susquehanna L'nuntv, I'ennsyl- 
 vania. lie is the son of Belus H. Foot, who 
 was a farmer and shoemaker bv occupation, of 
 limited financial resources, and of Betsey Haw- 
 ley (Foot). Mrs. I''oot was of Fnglish and Scotch 
 ancestry. .Silas received his elementarv education 
 in the ]u'^ school house of his native town, later 
 attendinjf the villajje academy. At the early age 
 of ten the boy began clerking in a country store, 
 going to scliool during the mid-day, and work- 
 ing in the store diu-ing the evenings. This line 
 of ])rocedure he followed until he was sixteen 
 years of age. Wlun but nineleen vears old he 
 engaged in the grocery business. Me was (|uitc 
 successful, but sold out a year later and went to 
 Texas. He clerked in a store in San .Xntoniu 
 for eight months at a salary of seventy-five dol- 
 lars a month, after which he returned to Penn- 
 
 sylvania, where he engaged in the mercantile busi- 
 ness. Two years later, in 1856, he sold out. In 
 July of the following year he came to jNlinne- 
 sota, with the avowed purpose in mind of grow- 
 ing up with the country. He settled at Red 
 Wing and engaged in the clothuig business^ 
 which he sold out the following spring. But 
 thirty days had elapsed before he bought out a 
 shoe and leather store and continued the busi- 
 ness. In i860 he took in partnership with him 
 Mr. G. K. Sterling and began the manufacture 
 of boots and shoes. The business gradually in- 
 creased to large proportions, so that in 1883 Mr. 
 Foot came to St. Paul and organized the present 
 wholesale house of Foot, Schulze & Co. From 
 the little lieginning in i860 the business in which 
 Mr. Foot engaged has so increased that the firm 
 of Foot, Schulze & Co. has become one of the 
 largest wdiolesale and retail boot and shoe houses 
 in the state. The manufactory is located at Red 
 Wing, where Mr. I-'oot resides, and is under his 
 personal supervision. Mr. I'oot has also been 
 active in other enterprises. In 1889, seeing the 
 necessity for better railroad facilities for Red 
 Wing, ancl ])articularly for a direct line to Lake 
 -Superior, he associated with himself ex-Gov. 
 Flubbard. T. B. Sheldon, V. W. Hoyt and other 
 caiMtalists of Red \\'ing, and organized the Du- 
 luth, Red Wing & Southern Railway Company, 
 of which company he is Vice President. This com- 
 liauy built and put into successful operation that 
 part of the line running south to Zumbrota, adi.s- 
 tance of twenty-five miles. It has been operated 
 to the mutual advantage of the promoters and 
 the general public, and it is the intention of the 
 company to extend this line to Lake Superior 
 on the North and C)maha on the .Southwest at an 
 early date. Mr. Foot has always affiliated with 
 the Democratic party, and has voted for e\ery 
 Democratic presidential nominee, with the ex- 
 ception of Horace Greeley. He has had no de- 
 sire for ])olitical preferment, and the serving of 
 one term as mayor at the solicitation of the peo- 
 j)le of Red Wing has sufficed to take awav all' 
 desire for holding office. He is a prominent 
 member of the Masonic biulv.with which he has 
 been connected since 1855. He received his first 
 three degrees in Honcsdalc Lodge in Pennsvl-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 325 
 
 vania, and the next fuin" at Red W ing, becoming 
 a charter member of the La Grange Royal Arch 
 Chapter in i860. Five years later he was created 
 a Knight Templar in Damascns Commandery, 
 and received the degree of the Ancient and Ac- 
 cepted Scottish Rite from Gen. All^ert Pike a 
 little later. He has taken the thirty-second de- 
 gree. He was Worshipful .Master of Red Wing 
 Lodge No. 8 for two years; Most E.xcellent High 
 Priest of La Grange Royal Arch Chapter No. 
 4 for ten years, and Eminent Commander of Red 
 Wing Commandery Knights Templar for two 
 years. He is also a Past Grand King of the 
 Grand Chapter, and is a life member of the 
 Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Minne- 
 sota. He is an Episcopalian in his religious af- 
 filiations, and was confirmed in 1882 by Bishop 
 E. R. Welles. He has served as a vestryman 
 at Christ Church in Red Wing continuously 
 since 1883. ?Ie was married July 6, 1858, to L. 
 Lorana Park, daughter of Dr. E. S. Park, of 
 Montrose, Pennsylvania. They have four chil- 
 dred living: Ezra P., assistant superintendent 
 of the P'oot, Schulze & Co.'s shoe factory: I-'red 
 W., an attorney at law, with the law firm of 
 C. 1). & T. D. (')'P.rien, of .St. Paul; Edwin H., a 
 student at Trinit\' College, at Hartford, Connecti- 
 cut: also a daughter of eighteen living at home. 
 
 EMERSOX HADLEY. 
 
 Emerson Hadley, of St. Paul, is an attorney- 
 at-law, practicing his profession in that city. He 
 is the son of Andrew J. Hadley, of Marion, Massa- 
 chusetts. The family of both his father and 
 mother have resided in Plymouth County, Mas- 
 sachusetts, since early colonial times. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch was born in Marion, Plymouth 
 County, Massachusetts, December 27, 1857. Mr. 
 Hadley enjoyed superior educational advantages, 
 having graduated at Phillips Academv, .^ndover, 
 Massachusetts, in 1876, and from Harvard Col- 
 lege in 1881. He attended the Columbia 
 Law School in New York City in 1S82 and 
 1883. and also studied law in the office of 
 Scudder & Carter in that city. He was admitted 
 to practice in the supreme court of New York in 
 
 May, 1884. In the following October he came 
 to Minnesota and located in .St. Paul, where, in 
 1885, he formed a partnership for the practice 
 of law with Edward G. Rogers, under the firm 
 name of Rogers & Hadle\. In 1890 he became 
 a member of the law firm of Lusk, Bunn & Had- 
 ley. This firm continued until 1893, when Judge 
 Lusk retired. The firm of Lusk, Bunn & Had- 
 ley were general solicitors for the Chicago Great 
 Western Railway Compan)', and the St. Paul & 
 Duluth Railroad Company. Bunn & Hadley, as 
 partners, continued as general solicitors for the 
 St. Paul & Duluth Railroad Company until 1895, 
 when Mr. Bunn withdrew to become the general 
 solicitor of the receivers of the Northern Pacific 
 Railrt)ad Compan \-. Mr. Hadley then formed a 
 partnership with James D. .\rmstrong, under the 
 firm name of Hadley & Armstrong. This firm 
 are general solicitors for the St. Paul & Duluth 
 Railroad Company, and do a general law busi- 
 ness. Mr Hadley is a luember of the House of 
 Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, and one 
 of its trustees, and is held in high esteem by the 
 people of that city. He was married September 
 15, 1887, to Man,' M. Luce, of Marion, .Massa- 
 chusetts. They have one child, Louise D., born 
 June 16, 1892.
 
 ;i26 
 
 PROGKESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 GEORGE WALTER JENKS. 
 
 A type of the successful business man, who 
 succeeds by sheer pluck against all obstacles in 
 his path is George Walter Jenks, a prominent 
 banker and broker in the city of Minneapolis. 
 Mr. Jenks was born April lo, 1852, in Warwick, 
 Rhode Island, and comes from good old Colonial 
 stock on both sides of the family. His paternal 
 ancestor, Joseph Jenks, born in England in 1602, 
 and who died in I-ynn, Massachusetts, in 1683. 
 was the first man to make cast iron in America. 
 The iron founder's son, Joseph, setded in 
 Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where his grandson, 
 Jonathan Jenks, married the grand-daughter of 
 Roger Williams, who had founded the state in 
 1636, or a few years only after the arrival of the 
 IMayflower. Many of the descendants of this 
 couple — among others sisters of the subject of 
 sketch — are still living at Pawtucket on the 
 original grant of land occupied by Jonathan 
 Jenks and wife. TTis mother, Phoebe .'\nn I'.ldrcd 
 rjenks), was the daughter of Samuel and Eliza- 
 beth (Thomas) Eldrcd, both r>f old New England 
 fainilies. George received but a cnmmnn school 
 education in the public school <if his native 
 
 village. Though it was the intention to give the 
 lad a college education, the sudden death of his 
 father, when George was only fifteen years old, 
 called him from his studies to take temporary 
 charge of his father's country store. He show^ed 
 such an adaptability for business that this arrange- 
 ment became a permanent one. He continued 
 the business successfully for several years, and 
 then left for wider business fields. After leaving 
 his old home he secured a position in a grocery 
 store in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Here he 
 was advanced to the best position in the estab- 
 lishment, but the work not being congenial, he 
 removed to Boston and secured a position in a 
 publishing house in that city. He was soon 
 promoted to the superintendency of the business 
 in seven different states, and assisted in building 
 up several magazines. In the fall of 1877, having 
 contracted a severe cold on his lungs, he came 
 West in search of health, and, visiting Minne- 
 apolis, decided to locate here. Finding no posi- 
 tion vacant to which he was adapted, he secured 
 work in a saw mill. The next year, having recov- 
 ered his health, he returned to his old business 
 and more congenial work of publishing. In 
 January, 1880. he began the publication of a 
 magazine called the "^linnesota Homestead," 
 \vhich was aftcnvards changed to the "Homestead 
 Monthly." for which he built up a large subscrip- 
 tion list. The work was too confining, however, 
 and Mr. Jenks decided to sell out. He then 
 changed to investment banking, which line of 
 business he has followed to the present time. In 
 this l)usiness ]Mr. Jenks has been very successful; 
 l)Ut during the panic of '93 a considerable portion 
 of his fortune was swept away, due, in a large 
 measure, to his rigid adherence to the honest 
 purpose in his mind of standing the loss himself 
 rather than to knowingly unload doubtful or 
 rotten securities upon others. Air. Jenks is a 
 loyal Minncapolitan, has always been identified 
 with the business interests of the city and the 
 various business organizations, and is a member 
 of the Poard of Trade, Stock Exchange, Chamber 
 of Conunerce, P.tisiness Afen's l^iion. Connner- 
 cial Club, Northwestern Home Trade .Association, 
 etc. lie is a prohibitionist in politics as well as in
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 327 
 
 practice, as were his parents before him, and has 
 done many deeds of pliilanthropy in a (|uiet way 
 for the needy and unfortunate. In January, 1874, 
 he was married to Rosic I!. Arnold, an early 
 schoolmate, who died a year later, leaving one 
 son, Walter llertram. now a farmer near Redwood 
 Falls, JMinnesota. Air. Jenks was married again 
 on June 8, 1879, to jNHss T. Addie Gail, a daughter 
 of James P. Gail, an early settler in Minnesota. 
 Mrs. Jenks is an accomplished artist and musician, 
 and a writer of marked ability, widely known 
 through her contributions to religious weeklies. 
 Two children are the result of this union, George 
 Ernest and William Gail. 
 
 OLIN WILLIS KINGSBURY. 
 
 O. W. Kingsbury is a successful newspaper 
 man of Preston, Fillmore County, Minnesota. 
 He is the proprietor of the Courier, a weekly 
 Populist paper, published at Preston, and of die 
 Harmony Courier, issued at Harmony, in the 
 same county. Mr. Kingsbury's father is Martin 
 Kingsbury, a retired farmer, now living at Cen- 
 tral City, Nebraska, who is a native of Oneida 
 County, New York. He married Miss Caroline 
 Leach, of the same county, who, like himself, was 
 well educated and a teacher. They came to Min- 
 nesota in 1853 and settled in Fillmore County, and 
 their eldest daughter, Orissa, was the first white 
 child born in that county. Mr. Kingsbun,' be- 
 came the first justice of the peace in Fillmore 
 County. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury take 
 active part in the affairs of their church. Their 
 son, Olin, was born at Waukokee, Fillmore 
 County, on May 3, 1859. He had the usual ex- 
 perience of a farmer's boy in a new country. It 
 was a course of hard work, scant schooling and 
 very little to vary the monotony of existence. 
 As Mr. Kingsbury grew to manhood he broad- 
 ened in his ideas, and studied to fit himself for a 
 station in life above that in which he found him- 
 self. During his struggle to get on he taught 
 school and worked at various employments. For 
 a while he was in the lumber and sash and door 
 business in Minneapolis, and for five vears he 
 
 worked a farm in Fillmore County. On March 
 4, 1893, he started the Courier at Preston. He 
 had always been independent in politics and had 
 taken part in the formation of the Alliance party 
 and worked for the success of the Populist party 
 from its beginnings. His fitness for conducting 
 a Populist paper became manifest. Within a 
 year after the paper was founded it had the largest 
 circulation of any paper in the county; within 
 three years its owner was ready to start another 
 paper. He chose for this venture the village of 
 Harmony, a few miles south of Preston, and 
 there commenced the publication of the Har- 
 mony Courier. Both papers have been a suc- 
 cess. Mr. Kingsbury has never been a candidate 
 for any office. He has taken a great interest in 
 co-operation and has been instrumental in found- 
 ing several co-operative elevators and creamer- 
 ies in Fillmore County. He assisted in founding 
 the first farmers' creamery in Alinnesota. It was 
 he who originated the movement for the reduc- 
 tion of the salaries of county officers in Fillmore 
 County. He is a member of the Odd Fellows, 
 A. O. 'U. W. and N. W. L. of H. In 1886 Mr. 
 Kingsbury was married to Aliss Clara M. 
 Kingsbury. They have two children, Clinton 
 Willis, aged eight: and Alerle Clara, aged six.
 
 328 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ROBERT L. PEXXliY. 
 
 Robert L. Peiinev is a native nf Connecticut. 
 He was Ijom at W'atertow n, in that state. William 
 Penney, his father, for nian\- years followed the 
 occupation of farming. In 1870 he moved to 
 New Haven, Connecticut, and engaged in the 
 boot and shoe business, at which he was mode- 
 rately successful. He died at New Haven in 
 1884, at the age of seventy-six years. Julia Maria 
 W'eller (Penney), the mother of the subject of this 
 sketch, was a daughter of Justus W'eller, of Cridge- 
 w'ater, Connecticut, who for many years was a 
 justice of the peace in Litchfield County, and had 
 the confidence of the community in which he lived 
 for his honesty and integrity. Mrs. Penney was 
 for many years a contributor to the popular maga- 
 zines of her time, and was a woman possessed of 
 rare graces of mind and ])erson, her life being an 
 inspiration and a benediction to her children as 
 well as to all with whom she came in contact. Her 
 demise occurred at New Haven a year previous to 
 licr husband's death. The parents were not able 
 to give their son a collegiate education, l)ut Rob- 
 ert possesed a strong will and sufficient courage 
 to work his wav, which he ultimatelv clid, but onl\- 
 
 after suffering many hardships. Up to his thir- 
 teenth N'ear his education was received in the dis- 
 trict schools. He then went to Millertown, 
 Duchess County, New York, and for three years 
 attended an academy at that place. Desiring to 
 enter the ( Jneida Conference Seminars- at Caze- 
 novia. New York, and not having sufficient funds 
 to do so, he set about earning mone}- for that pur- 
 pose. By working on neighbors' famis he w-as 
 able within a }car to accumulate enough money 
 to i^a}' for the first quarter's tuition at that insti- 
 tution. Additional funds were obtained by teach- 
 ing school. He graduated from the Seminary as 
 salutatorian of his class. He then entered Yale 
 College Law School, graduating in 1876. He 
 stood third in his class and received honorable 
 mention by Chief Justice Waite, of the United 
 >tates Stipreme Court, who delivered the graduat- 
 ing address. For some time afterward he lived 
 at Newark, New Jersey, but thinking the West 
 afforded him better opportunities, he came to 
 }\Iinnesota in October, 1880, and located at Min- 
 neapolis. His practice at first was rather limited, 
 l)Ut in 1882 he went into partnership with L. L. 
 Baxter (now judge of the district court at Fergus 
 Falls, ^linnesota,) and Anton Grethen, under the 
 firm name of Baxter, (irethen & Penney. This 
 partnership continued until Mr. Baxter's elevation 
 to the bench. He continued in practice alone 
 for some time until the law firm of Jordan, Penney 
 & Hammond was formed. This partncrshii) was 
 dissolved by the removal of Messrs. Jordan and 
 Hammond to Tacoma, Washington. In 18S6 
 Mr. Penney was elected tn the office of special 
 judge of the municipal court, but the supreme 
 court declared the election miconstitutional and 
 void. Two years later he was on the Democratic 
 ticket for cotmty attorney, btit was defeated by 
 T^obert Jamison. In 1890 Mr. Pennev was nomi- 
 nated on the legislative ticket, his former op- 
 ponent being nominated by the Republicans to 
 the same office. Mr. Penney won, and his nomi- 
 nation had not been amiounced more than ten 
 minutes before he and Mr. Jamison had formed a 
 law ])artnership, under the name of Pennev 8c 
 Jamison, which continued until Mr. Jamison's ap- 
 pointment 1(1 the <listrict bench. Mr. Penne\' then
 
 PKOGRESSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 329 
 
 formed a partnership with X'iclor Welch and 
 Marcus 1'. Hayne, under tlie name of Penney, 
 Welch iv llayne. This partnership was »-lis- 
 solved in April, 1.S1J5, since which time Mr. Pen- 
 ney has practiced alone. He has enjoyed a large 
 practice, and one that has proven quite renumera- 
 tive. In national politics he is a sound money 
 ])eiuocrat. hut independent in local matters. He 
 is a member of the A. V. & A. Al., Royal Arch 
 Masons, B. P. U. E., and the A. ( ). LI. W., also of 
 the Commercial Club of Minneapolis. He was 
 married in 1875 to Mary E. Leete, daughter of 
 Thaddeus Leete, of Madison, Connecticut, and 
 has one child. Florence J. Mrs. Penney is a 
 direct descendant of William Leete, one of the 
 first governors of Connecticut. 
 
 CHRLSTOPHER A. FOSNES. 
 
 C. A. Eosnes is an attorney of Monevideo, 
 Minnesota. He is a native of Fosncs, Norway, 
 where he was born on July 2, 1862. When only 
 five years old he came to this country with his 
 parents. Amund Eosnes, liis father, was a 
 farmer, and, like many of the emigrants from the 
 Scandinavian peninsula, was very poor. His wife 
 was Miss Britha Sherdahl. LTpon arriving in 
 this country Mr. Eosnes settled in Winona County, 
 Minnesota. He afterwards removed to Earibault 
 County, and it was in the district schools of 
 these two ]\Iinnesota counties that young Chris- 
 topher obtained his early education. As is com- 
 mon with farmers' boys, he went to school in the 
 winter only and worked on the farm in the sum- 
 mer. Even when going to school he worked 
 for his board. As he approached manhood he 
 determined to liecome a lawyer, and he left the 
 farm and went to Winona, where he attended 
 the State Normal school and afterwards studied 
 law. In the fall of 1884 he was admitted to the 
 bar at Montevideo, Minnesota, and has since 
 practiced law in that place. Eor the first year of 
 his legal practice Mr. Eosnes was associated with. 
 Owen J- Wood, the firm being Wood iS: Eosnes. 
 After the dissolution of this partnership the firm 
 of Smith & Eosnes was formed, the senior 
 member of the firm being I^vndon A. 
 
 Smith. Air. l*"osnes ctnitinued his partner- 
 ship with Air. Smith until Alay, 1890, and 
 since that time lie has practiced alone. He 
 has a large and well established business which 
 consists almost exclusively of court w'ork. Dur- 
 ing his twelve years of legal life Mr. Eosnes has 
 accumulated one of the best law libraries in the 
 state, west of Minneapolis. He has had numer- 
 ous important cases, one ot which was the defense 
 of George AI. Clark, undertaken in 1896. Clark 
 was charged, at Alilbank, South Dakota, with 
 securing from New York bankers the sum of forty 
 thousand dollars on forged paper. He left the 
 country last January, 1)Ut has since been arrested in 
 Alexico and brought back for trial. Air. Eosnes 
 is independent in politics. He was a candidate 
 for congress in 1888 on the Prohibition ticket 
 and a delegate to the National Prohibition Con- 
 vention in the same year. Li his home town he 
 has been mayor, member of the school board and 
 for several }-ears city attorney, and in 1896 was 
 elected to the state legislature on the fusion 
 ticket. He is a member of the I. O. O. E. and 
 Masonic bodies. On July 3, 1883, Air. Eosnes 
 and Aliss Sarah .Arneson were married. They 
 have four children, \\'alter, Alfred, Ernest and 
 Carl.
 
 330 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 MARTIX E. TEW. 
 
 Martin E. Tew, editor of the Clarkficld Advo- 
 cate, is of Norwegian extraction, thougli a native 
 of Minnesota. His parents came to this country 
 from Vallers, Nonvay, in 1863. His father was 
 a man of fair education, physically strong, en- 
 joyed rugged health and was of strong character. 
 Mr. Tew's mother was a woman of strong intel- 
 lectual traits and deep religious temperament. 
 .*^he died when he was five years old. The fam- 
 ily was then living in the southern part of 
 Winona County. It was here that \lr. Tew was 
 born on February 11, 1869, in a log house on his 
 father's farm. With an elder brother and sister, 
 Martin attended the connnon school in the vicin- 
 ity for a few months each winter, and worked on 
 the farm at home and for the neighbors during 
 the summer. When he was thirteen years old he 
 moved with his father to Swift County, Minne- 
 sota, and during the first summer there, took 
 charge of a herd of cattle. For this work he 
 received fifty dollars for the entire season. It 
 was lonesome work for a boy of thirteen, but 
 while out on the prairie he made good use of 
 his time, reading all the good books he could 
 obtain, and studvinLT faithfullv. Later he attended 
 
 the high school at Morris during two winters, 
 making his way by doing chores for his board. 
 In these short terms of three months each winter, 
 he covered the full course, which was as much 
 as the regular classes required nine months each 
 year to finish. From the age of fifteen until he 
 was nineteen he traveled considerably and en- 
 gaged in various occupations, though making' 
 his permanent home in Yellow ^ledicine County. 
 All this time he spent his spare moments in 
 studying, and at nineteen he taught his first 
 school. He was then in Day County, South Da- 
 kota. During the next two years he obtained a 
 few months training at the Normal School at 
 Madison, South Dakota, and by persistent out- 
 side work, succeeded in covering the studies of 
 a three years' course in only four months of 
 actual attendance, finishing all the examinations 
 with some of the highest standings ever obtained 
 in the institution. His excellent work obtained 
 for him the special commendation of President 
 Beadle, of the Normal School. Returning to 
 Yellow Medicine County in 1891, he was nom- 
 inated the following year for County Superin- 
 tendent of Schools by the People's party. In the 
 election of that year he received almost twice as 
 man}' votes as the candidates of his party on the 
 state ticket, but not enough to overcome the Re- 
 publican majority in the county. This was his 
 first entrance in political work. During that 
 campaign he commenced stump speaking, and 
 has since made many addresses in the interests, 
 of his party. In 1894 he had a debate with J. T. 
 McCleary. In the spring of 1894, when principal 
 of the Clarkficld schools, Mr. Tew was urged to 
 become the editor of the Reform Advocate, a 
 Populist paper, then published at Granite Falls. 
 The paper was in financial straits. Mr. Tew took 
 hold of it, moved the plant to Clarkficld, in- 
 creased the size of the paper from four to eight 
 pages, and has since secured for it a wide recog- 
 nition. In 1895, H. P. Knappen, of Minneapolis,, 
 became his partner. His journalistic ventures 
 brought ]\Ir. Tew more than ever into politics. 
 The last few years he has attended nearly all of 
 the state and congressional conventions of his 
 iiart\', and in iRi)6 was a delegate to the National'
 
 PROGRESSIVE MENIOF MINNESOTA. 
 
 :{3i 
 
 Convention at St. Louis. Some of his friends 
 requested liini to be a candidate for congress 
 from the Second District, Init lie refused to let 
 his name he used. Mr. Tew has a decided taste 
 for literature and is an admirer of Milton, Shaks- 
 pere and other great authors. He has also writ- 
 ten a number of poems and songs, several of 
 which have appeared in publications of national 
 circulation. 
 
 GUSTAVUS JOHN.SON. 
 
 Gustavus Johnson is a teacher of music 
 and composer in j\Iinneapolis. His father, Peter 
 Johanson (Johan being the Swedish for John), 
 was a merchant in Stockholm from i860 until 
 his death in 1887. Previous to i860 he was for 
 some twenty-five \'ears a successful business man 
 in England, whither he went at the age of seven- 
 teen from Sweden, the country of his birth. In 
 England he married Henrietta Hole, daughter 
 of the late Admiral Lewis Hole, of the English 
 Navy. Admiral Hole, grandfather of the subject 
 of this sketch, was for seventy-five years in her 
 majesty's naval service and was at the time of his 
 death, his age being ninety-two, the oldest officer 
 in the English navy. He had fought in many bat- 
 tles, the most notable being that of Trafalgar, 
 where he was lieutenant under Lord Nelson and 
 where he fought on the same ship on which Nel- 
 son was killed. Gustavus Johnson, the subject of 
 this sketch, was born at Hull, England, November 
 2, 1856. He was four years of age when his 
 father returned with his family to Sweden and 
 located at Stockholm. Gustavus attended the 
 regular high school there and the Royal Con- 
 servatory of Music. His principal teachers were: 
 In piano, Linstrom, Mankell and Nordquist; in 
 theory, Mankell, and Winge and in singing, Haek- 
 anson. Mr. Johnson continued the study of music 
 until 1875. He was also given a business 
 training in a commercial college in Stockholm, 
 and at the age of nineteen, in 1875, came 
 to Minneapolis, where he has been en- 
 gaged in teaching the piano, with short inter- 
 vals of residence in other places. For three years 
 
 his residence was in Wisconsin, and at various 
 times he has traveled and played in concerts in 
 every city of any consequence in the Northwest. 
 He has achieved especial distinction as a per- 
 former and for his general theoretical knowledge 
 of his art. ;\lany of his pupils have become fin- 
 ished artists and others successful teachers. He 
 has also attained to some eminence and popu- 
 larity as a composer, many of his compositions 
 having been published — among them a piano 
 concerto, with full orchestra accompaniment; a 
 trio for piano, violin and 'cello; a violin sonata; 
 numerous smaller works for the voice; anthems, 
 quartets, songs, etc., and, besides, several piano 
 pieces, some of which are used in their instruc- 
 tion by the best- teachers all over the country. 
 Prof. Johnson is a member of Hennepin Lodge, 
 A. F. an<l A. ]\I. He was married in 1882 to 
 Caroline Francis W'inslow, of South Royalton, 
 Vermont. Mrs. Johnson is of an old New England 
 family and a direct descendant of Edward Win- 
 slow, who came over in the Mayflower, and 
 one of the early Colonial governors of Massa- 
 chusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have one 
 daughter, Laura Louise, born in 1890.
 
 332 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HEXRY JOSEPH LEWIS. 
 
 It is perhaps indicative of the cosmopolitan 
 character of the city of INlinneapoHs that men 
 who have traveled widely find the city a con- 
 genial place of residence. Among the numerous 
 men of this class is Henry J. Lewis, dealer at 
 wholesale in cigars. Mr. Lewis is but forty 
 years of age, but has seen more of the world 
 than falls to the lot of one man in a thousand 
 in a whole lifetime. While still a }-oung man 
 he was appointed foreign agent for the White 
 Sewing Machine Company, of Cleveland, L^hio. 
 In the interests of that concern he visited all the 
 South American countries — United States of 
 Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, Pata- 
 gonia, the Argentine Rc])ublic, Uruguay, Para- 
 guay and I'.razil. He afterwards visited the West 
 Indies. In the course of his travels in South 
 America, in many places rarely visited by North 
 Americans, lie had many entertaining and ex- 
 citing adventures. Mr. Lewis is of Welsh de- 
 scent. His father's ancestors emigrated to Rhode 
 Island from Wales, and afterwards moved to 
 South Wales, Eric County, New York, about 
 twenty-five miles south of P)ufifalo. Here Joseph 
 
 B. Lewis was born and grew to manhood, marr}'- 
 ing Martia Ann Baker, whose Welsh ancestors 
 had also found their way to the same locality. 
 Their son Henry was born at South Wales, and 
 the family lived there until he was nine years 
 old, when Mrs. Lewis died. She was an earnest 
 Christian, a member of the Free Will Baptist 
 church, and a woman of strong personal char- 
 acter. After the death of his wife Mr. Lewis 
 moved to St. Joseph, Michigan. He is a farmer 
 in good circumstances, and having a reputation 
 for honesty and square dealing. The education 
 of young Henry was that afforded by the district 
 schools of New York and Michigan. He early 
 entered business life as a clerk for M. & A. Shep- 
 ard, jewelers of St. Joseph, in whose employ he 
 continued for several years. His engagement 
 with the White Sewing Machine Company was. 
 made while he was still a very young man. While 
 in the West Indies he became interested in 
 Havana tobaccos, and secured a thorough ac- 
 quaintance with the business which has since 
 been invaluable to him. In 1886 he came to 
 Minnesota as the Northwestern representative of 
 Spaulding & Merrick, tobacco manufacturers of 
 Chicago, and made his headquarters in ^linneap- 
 olis. Three years later he was called to Chicago 
 by the firm to manage the sales department of 
 their business. However, the climate of Chicago 
 was not congenial, and he soon removed tO' 
 Duluth and entered the wholesale and retail 
 cigar and tobacco business, the firm being Lewis 
 & Swain. In 1890 he was induced by Harrison, 
 Farrington & Co., wholesale grocers of ]\Iimie- 
 apolis, to remove to their city and take the man- 
 agement of the wholesale cigar department of 
 their business. Mr. Lewis continued with the 
 house until 1895 when he again commenced 
 business on his own account in the same lino — 
 wholesale cigars. In politics Mr. Lewis is a 
 Republican. He is not a politician, but takes, 
 a citizen's interest in political afifairs, and in 1894 
 was a delegate to the Congressional convention 
 that nominated Lorcn Fletcher. Mr. Lewis is a. 
 Scottish Rite Mason, and has taken the thirty- 
 second degree. He is a nieml)er df the Minne- 
 apolis Connnerctfll Club. On August 21, 1875, 
 he was married to Miss Carrie Amelia Bovee^
 
 PROGRESSIVIi MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 333 
 
 of Cukhvalcr, Alichigan, dauyliti.T of Mr. ami 
 Mrs. Eli W. Bovee, prominent ptoplc oi that 
 place. Miss Jennie Georgiana Lewis is their only 
 child. Mrs. Lewis and her daughter are both 
 menii^ers of St. Paul's Episcopal Churcli of Min- 
 neapolis. Mr. Lewis has been uniformly suc- 
 cessful in his business enterprises. lie is a lirm 
 believer in advertising, and has demonstrated its 
 efficacy. In the course of his extensive travels 
 in this country and abroad, and in his active 
 business career of ten }ears in the Xortlnvest, he 
 has made hosts of friends and tnijoys a very wide 
 accjuaintance. 
 
 GEORGE WARREN STEWART. 
 
 George Warren Stewart is a lawyer at St 
 Cloud. His father, Joseph Stewart, came to Min- 
 nesota from Prince Edward's Island in 1853 and 
 located at P)ellevue, Morrison County, where 
 he was engaged in farmng and lumbering for 
 the next ten \ears. In 1863 he went into the 
 army as a member of the Seventh .Minnesota 
 regiment, and died in the service at St. Louis, 
 Missouri, of smallpox contracted while in the 
 army. He was a native of Greenock, Scotland. 
 His wife was Joanna B. Hill, of New Brunswick, 
 her parents both being natives of Maine and 
 members of the well-known families of Hill and 
 Phillips in that state. The ancestors of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, both on his father's and 
 mother's side, were honest and well-to-do farmers 
 and lumbermen, none of whom, however, ever 
 occupied any very prominent positions except 
 in local affairs, but have Ijeen recognized as in- 
 telligent and worthy people in the limited circle 
 in which the\- moved. George W^arren was born 
 at Bellevue, Morrison County, Minnesota, June 
 18,1859. After preparing in the district schools 
 he entered the State Normal School at St. Cloud 
 and graduated from the advanced academic 
 course. In August, 1883, he began the study 
 of law in the office of Taylor & Taylor at St. 
 Cloud. He was admitted to practice December 
 14, 1884, and tried his first case the following 
 January in a justice court, twenty-three miles 
 from St. Cloud, having driven there before nine 
 o'clock in the morning with the thermometer 
 
 at thirty-five degrees below zero. He w<jn his case 
 before the jury and returned the same night, with 
 the magnificent fee of five dollars, four of which 
 went to pay his livery bill. However, his legal 
 practice is not to be judged by the financial results 
 of its beginning. He has since practiced his pro- 
 fession continuously at St. Cloud, for one year 
 with Oscar Tavlor, under the firm name of 
 Taylor & Stewart; for a short time with Hon. 
 D. B. Searle; then with George H. Reynolds for 
 three years, and since January i. 1891, has been 
 practicing by himself. ]\lr. Stewart takes an 
 active interest in the affairs of St. Cloud, and 
 has for eight years been a member of the school 
 board, and for the last six years its secretary. For 
 five years he has sen-ed in the city council, and 
 at this writing is the president of this body. In 
 politics he is a Republican, but beyond the local 
 offices undertaken in the service of his fellow 
 citizens of .St. Cloud, he has never held any 
 office. He is a member of St. Cloud Lodge, No. 
 32. Knights of Pythias, and St. Cloud Royal 
 Arcanum Council. He is a member of the Uni- 
 tarian church, of St. Cloud, and has been secre- 
 tary of the society since its organization, about 
 eight years ago. Mr. Stewart was married August 
 23, 1888, to Aliss ^lary L. Huntsman, and has two 
 sons, Warren H. and Donald.
 
 334 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 DAVID SECOR. 
 
 One of the most suecessful bankers in the 
 southern portion of the state is David Secor, 
 president of the I'^aril^ault County Bank, at Win- 
 nebago City. Mr. Secor comes from good old 
 Colonial stock. The founder of the Secor family 
 in America was Ambrose -Secor a Huguenot, who 
 emigrated to this country from France about 
 1665, settling at New Rochelle, New York. Isaac 
 Secor, the great-grandfather of David, was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary War, serving in the 
 Harvestrow Regiment, from Orange County, 
 New York. He married Alarv Gedney, and their 
 son, Gedney Secor, grandfather of the subject of 
 this sketch, married Catharine Strang, who was 
 related to Major Henry Strang, a Revolutionary 
 hero. Gedney Secor was a direct descendant of 
 Henry L'Estrange, one of the persecuted French 
 Huguenots, who fled to England, where he 
 remained a few months serving as a member of 
 the King's staff, and then came to America, 
 settling in Westchester County, New York. The 
 patronymic, originally L' Estrange, is now written 
 Strang, and, by some of the descendants, .Strong. 
 The parents of David .Secor were Alson Secor, 
 
 oldest child of Gedney and Catharine (.Strang) 
 Secor, and Sarah C. Knapp (Secor), natives of 
 Putnam County, New York. The father was a 
 prominent and influeiUial citizen of the com- 
 munity in which he lived, and held several oiTices 
 of trust during his life time, among which was 
 that of one of the associate justices of his native 
 county. The mother was born in 1806, and died 
 at Peekskill, New York, in 1881. Their son 
 David was the fourth of a family of eleven 
 children, and was born in Putnam County, New 
 York, on January 6, 1836. He resided with his 
 parents on the farm until he reached his twentieth 
 year, attending a country district school in the 
 winter and working on the farm in the sununer. 
 In ^lay. 1856, he came West to seek his fortune 
 and located in Linn County, Iowa, where he 
 remained three years, working at such employ- 
 ment as he could get in the summer and attending 
 Western College, a United Brethren institution, 
 in the winter. Young Secor's financial resources 
 having been exhausted in his endeavors to secure 
 a college education, he removed to Forest City, 
 Winnebago County, Iowa, in the spring of 1859. 
 Here he conunenced, without the aid of fortune 
 or friends, to carve out his future business career, 
 and by dint of perseverance antl industry he grad- 
 ually climbed the ladder of success. His spare 
 time he devoted to the study of law, and after 
 being admitted to the bar he followed that pro- 
 fession. Within ten years, however, the business 
 interests with which he had Ijecome connected, 
 especially banking, had assumed such proportions 
 that he was compelled to give up his law practice 
 altogether. Mr. Secor held a number of public 
 offices of trust while in Iowa. He was elected to 
 the Iowa legislature, and re-elected to a second 
 term. His popularity is attested by the fact that 
 each time he received the full vote of the district, 
 no opposition candidate having been nominated 
 against him. He was postmaster of Forest City 
 for nine years, and resigned that ofiflce on his 
 election to the legislature. In 1874 he was elected 
 to the ofifice of register of the Iowa .state land 
 office, which he held for two successive terms. 
 His political affiliations have always been with the 
 Republican jiarty. 'Mr. .Secor came to Miiniesota
 
 rKOGKUSSJVli MEN OV MINNESOTA. 
 
 335 
 
 in 1887, and located at Winnebajii^o City, becoming 
 interested in tlie banking l)iisiness in J'"ariljault 
 Connty. lie is now president of the l'"aril)ault 
 County Bank, at Winnel)ago City, and is part 
 owner of the Granada State liank, the Banlv of 
 Delevan and the J'.ank of Aniboy, in Minnesota; 
 also director and ])art owner of tlie i''irst National 
 Bank, of Forest City, Iowa. When the Civil War 
 broke out Mr. Secor responded to his country's 
 call and enlisted as a private in Company C, 
 Second Iowa Infantry. He sen-ed in the Georgia 
 compaign, participating in Sherman's celel)rated 
 march to the sea. Mr. Sccor, aside from his large 
 business interests, takes a deep interest in educa- 
 tional matters. He is president of the board of 
 education of Winnebago City, and one of the 
 trustees of Parker College. He is a member of 
 the Grand Army of the Republic, and commander 
 of Clabaugh Post at Winnebago City. His church 
 connections are with the Presbyterian body, and 
 he is president of the board of trustees of the 
 church at \'\1nnel)ago City. Un the tenth day of 
 December, 1862, he was married to .Samantha E. 
 Van Curren, of Mason City, Iowa, by whom he 
 had three children: Ellsworth E., cashier of the 
 Buffalo Center State Bank, at Buffalo Center, 
 Iowa; Stanley S., cashier of the Faribault County 
 Bank at Winnebago City, and Mary Myrtle, wife 
 of Paul M. Reagan, residing in Chicago. His 
 wife died in July, 1871. He was married again 
 May 20, 1878, to S. Jennie Lyons, at Des Moines, 
 Iowa. Two daughters are the result of this union, 
 Joy and Ruth, who reside with their father. The 
 mother died in Chicago in November, 1886. 
 whither she had gone for medical treatment. 
 
 FR.\NK JOSEPH BRABEC. 
 
 Dr. F. J. Brabec, of Perham, is by birth and 
 education a Minnesota man. His father, F. 
 Brabec, of Hutchinson, is the oldest established 
 merchant of that place and is in comfortable 
 circumstances. Frank was born at Watertown, 
 Minnesota. His schooling was obtained at the 
 Htitchinson public schools and the state luii- 
 versity. At Hutchinson he had the advantage 
 of the excellent svstem of arraded and high 
 
 schools which were brought up to their high 
 standard through the efforts of Professor W. 
 W. Pendergast, now State Superintendent of 
 Public Instruction. Frank Brabec graduated 
 frcjm the university in the class of 1890, taking the 
 degree of B. S. He at once entered the medi- 
 cal department and took his M. D. degree in 
 1893. While in the university he was a member 
 of Delta Upsilon fraternity and he was also a 
 member of Nu Sigma Nu medical fraternity. 
 He secured additional medical training in St. 
 Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul and Asbury Hos- 
 pital in Minneapolis. For a time he was in the 
 office of Dr. C. A. Wheaton, of St. Paul, to 
 whom he feels indebted for his surgical training. 
 Since settling in Perham, Dr. Brabec's work 
 has been mostly surgical. He has taken a 
 prominent place among the professional men of 
 that part of the state. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat, and was chairman of the county convention 
 of Otter Tail County in 1894. He is a member 
 of the Masonic fraternity and of the A. O. U. 
 W. and Knights of Pythias. In 1894 Dr. Bra- 
 bec was married to Miss Eliza Bedient, a daugh- 
 ter of Dr. J. Bedient, of Kasson, Minnesota. 
 Mrs. Brabec died in June, 1895, leaving one 
 child.
 
 336 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 EDWARD C. KILEY. 
 
 From his early youth Mr. Kiley has been con- 
 nected with the newspaper Jjtisiness. He has had 
 to rely upon his own efforts from his thirteenth 
 year, and is now tlie editor and proprietor of the 
 Herald-Review at Grand Rapids, one of the best 
 newspaper plants in Xorthern Minnesota. He is 
 also judge of probate of Itasca County. He is 
 of Irish parentage, and was born February 28, 
 1865, at Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of 
 James and Agnes (McXulty) Kiley. When he 
 was but two years of age his parents came West 
 and settled on a farm in ( irant County. Wisconsin. 
 The father's death occurred in l-'ebruary, 1878: 
 the mother's a year and a half earlier. The farm 
 property was left cncumbi'red, and :ifter settle- 
 ment had been made there was nothing left for 
 the su]j])ort of seven orphans — six daughters and 
 the subject of this sketch. Edward worked lor a 
 few months after the death of his father, on the 
 farm of an uncle, and the first money he ever 
 earned was in the employ of l^edman ( Ionian, a 
 farmer, at six dollars a month and board. He 
 then went to Lancaster, Wisconsin, and attended 
 the winter term of school. After having earned 
 
 a living as best he could until May, 1880, young 
 Kiley went into tlie office of the Odebolt Ob- 
 server, at Odebolt, Iowa, and commenced to learn 
 the printing trade. That he was especially adapted 
 to newspaper work is attested by the fact that two 
 years later, when but seventeen years old, he was 
 offered and accepted the position of editor and 
 manager of the jMcCook County News, at Salem, 
 South Dakota, a Democratic paper having con- 
 siderable infltience. From Salem, Air. Kiley re- 
 moved to Northwood, North Dakota, where he 
 purchased the Headlight. He was appointed 
 postmaster of Northwood l3y President Cleveland, 
 but there being little opportunity to build up a 
 liusiness in that town, he went to Grafton, North 
 Dakota, where he purchased the Grafton Herald. 
 He conducted this paper for a time, when he sold 
 out, and for the next two years traveled exten- 
 sively throughout the United States, doing repor- 
 torial work on vari( lus metropolitan papers, and 
 at intervals worked at the printing trade. In 
 iSgo he purchased the Progressive Age, at Du- 
 luth, a Democratic paper devoted to the interests 
 of the laboring classes. He spent the following 
 year in the upper peninsula of Michigan, where 
 he was married at Marquette, July 30, 1892, to 
 Mrs. Wilhelmina Desjardins Yates, daughter of 
 Dr. J. A. Desjardins, a prominent physician of 
 that place. In Jamiarv, 1893 -^I''- Nilev located at 
 Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and assumed the man- 
 agement of a local ]>aper. On September 15, 
 1894, he established the Grand Rapids Herald. 
 The outlook for the success of his new venture 
 did not appear inviting, as two papers already 
 occupied the field. Put \\itli careful and pains- 
 taking work he endeavored to outrank his com- 
 petitors by i)ublishinig a bright, attractive and 
 aggressive country weekly. In May, 1896, he 
 purchased the Review, and consolidated the two 
 papers. In politics Mr. Kilev has always been a 
 Democrat, and is ;in ardent advocate of free silver. 
 In i8<)6 he was unanimously tendered, by the 
 legislati\-e conventions of the Democrats and 
 Po]nilists, a nomination to the house or senate, 
 but declined. Instead, however, he accejited the 
 Democratic and Populist nominations for judge 
 of probate of Itasca Comity, and was elected, be-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 337 
 
 ing the only free silver Democrat elected in the 
 county. lie is a member of the Democratic state 
 central connnittee, and chairman of the Itasca 
 county committee. Mr. Kiley has achieved con- 
 siderable i^opularity in his home district, though 
 a comparatively \'oung man as yet, but the enter- 
 prise and business ability which he has exhibited 
 in the management of his i)aper promises still 
 greater success for him in the future. 
 
 EMIL STRAKA. 
 
 Emil Straka, of St. Paul, is a violinist who 
 has won a high place in the hearts of nuisic lovers 
 in both St. Paul and Minneapolis. Mr. Straka has 
 had a rather remarkalile career. His father, John 
 Straka, when twenty-two years old went to Con- 
 stantinople, where he was engaged in an orches- 
 tra playing in the sultan's palace, and also play- 
 ing for the amusement of Turkish and foreign 
 notables. While traveling in the East he met 
 Francisca Guenzl, at Cairo, Egypt, where she 
 was engaged with a ladies' orchestra, called the 
 first Vienna Ladies' Orchestra. They were mar- 
 ried, and as a result of that union, Emil was born 
 June 10, 1866, in Suez. His parents, fearing that 
 the climate of that country would be unfavorable 
 to him, took him a few months after his birth 
 to his father's birthplace, Neuhaus, in Bohemia, 
 to his grand parents, where they left him while 
 they continued their professional work, and for 
 nineteen years thereafter he did not see his par- 
 ents. When si.x years old he began to take 
 violin lessons from an uncle, Franz Neuwirth, and 
 piano lessons from a cousin Charles. During 
 this time he attended the public primary and 
 high schools, and upon his arrival at the age of 
 thirteen he went to Prague, the capital of Bo- 
 hemia, where he passed the examination and was 
 accepted as a pupil of the organ school. This 
 was in 1879. He began his studies here under 
 Blazek. The second and third year he was un- 
 der the instruction of Prucha and Skuhersky, 
 studying counter-point and fugue. He continued 
 his studies there with organ, score playing, etc., 
 and in 1882 received a diploma of high honors for 
 
 excellence as an organist and church choir 
 director. Subsequently he took an examination 
 on the violin and was entered as a pupil at the 
 Conservatory of Music in Prague among the 
 advanced pupils. He stayed at the conservatory 
 until 1885, from which he received a diploma with 
 a recommendation as an accomplished solo and 
 orchestra violin player. The same year, 1885, 
 after appearing in several concerts at his old 
 home, Xeuhaus, Bohemia, he came to America, 
 arriving in Chicago in November. He then gave 
 several concerts in that city among his country- 
 men and also before the American public with 
 great success. Emil took part in his father's or- 
 chestra as a solo violinist, giving concerts in sev- 
 eral of the leading cities, until finally he came to 
 Minneapolis, where he was attached to Danz's 
 orchestra, and also played in connection with 
 Seibert's orchestra in St. Paul. Emil Straka's in- 
 troduction to the music-lovmg public of Minne- 
 apolis and St. Paul has made for him many ad- 
 mirers and friends who enjoy and appreciate his 
 rare talent as an artist. At the present time he is 
 teaching the violin and piano, harmony and 
 counterpoint, and has devoted some of his time 
 to composing music, particularly for the violin.
 
 338 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 SAMUEL EMERY ADAMS. 
 
 Samuel Enien- Adams, a member of the city 
 council of }ilinneapolis, was born in Reading, 
 Windsor County, Vermont, December i, 1828. 
 He is a descendant of the old Lexington, ^lassa- 
 chusetts, family of that name. His great-grand- 
 father served as a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 War as a member of the Connecticut troops under 
 General Israel Putnam. Solomon Wright Adams, 
 the father of Samuel, was a tiller of the soil in 
 the state of Vermont, and though in rather limited 
 circumstances was a prominent man in the locality 
 in which he lived. He served the people of the 
 community as a selectman, assessor, postmaster, 
 and as their representative in the state legislature. 
 His wife's maiden name was Mary Adaline Emery. 
 When Samuel was but a year old the family 
 moved to Bellows Falls, and thence to Rutland 
 County, where he was raised on his father's farm. 
 He attended the academies at Chester, .Springfield 
 and Thetford, and prepared for college in the 
 West Randolph Academy. In 185 1 he entered 
 Dartmouth College, but on account of ill health 
 was forced to leave the following year. In 1853 
 he received an appdinlmcnt frcnii PrcsidiMit Pierce 
 
 as a route agent between Boston, Massachusetts, 
 and Burlington, \'ermont. He continued in that 
 vocation till 1855, when he was compelled to 
 resign on account of severe bronchial trouble, 
 and came to Minnesota to find relief. He arrived 
 at St. Anthony Falls in the fall of 1855, but 
 returned to \'ermont a few months later. He 
 came back to Minnesota the following year, 
 locating at Monticello, in Wright County, June i, 
 1856, and engaged in the mercantile trade. In 
 1857 he was elected a member of the state senate, 
 and re-elected in 1859. The latter year he was 
 appointed special agent of the postoffice depart- 
 ment for Iowa and Minnesota. In i860 he was 
 appointed receiver of the land office at St. Cloud, 
 Minnesota, leaving it next year, when the Repub- 
 licans came into power. He was in politics what 
 was then known as a "war Democrat," willing to 
 do all in his power to perpetuate the Union and 
 preserve it intact. In 1862 he was appointed a 
 paymaster in the army by President Lincoln, and 
 was breveted lieutenant-colonel in 1865 "for mer- 
 itorious services in the field." He did not leave 
 the service, however, until January, 1866, when 
 he was honorably discharged. Colonel Adams 
 at once returned to ]\Ionticello and engaged in 
 the mercantile trade and real estate operations. 
 Although he had been admitted to the bar in 1862 
 he gave no attention to legal business, except in 
 connection with real estate transactions. While 
 at Monticello he was a member and president of 
 the board of education of that town for many 
 years, and always took an active interest in 
 educational matters. He was master of the State 
 Grange for eight years and of the National Grange 
 for two years, contributing in every way possible 
 to the elevation and prosperity of the agricultural 
 and toiling masses. He was president of the State 
 Agricultural Society in 1879, and is now and has 
 been for many years a member of the State 
 Historical Society. While at Monticello he also 
 engaged in the newspaper publishing business, 
 and was for a number of years editor and propri- 
 etor of the Wright County Times. In l\fay. 1883, 
 Colonel Adams removed to Minneapolis, where 
 he has ever since resided, engaged in the real 
 estate and insurance Imsincss. Having performed
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 339 
 
 valuable services in i8(ji as a lueiiiber uf the 
 commission appointed to award damages in tlie 
 opening and extension of new streets in Minne- 
 apolis, the Republicans of the I'ourth Ward 
 forced the nomination up(jn him for alderman 
 from that ward in 1892. He was elected for a 
 term of four },'ears, and was re-elected in 1896. 
 Mr. Adams has been one of the most competent 
 and faithful men that have ever served in that 
 body. He sci-ved continuously on the ways and 
 means committee, and was also on the committees 
 on claims, waterworks, markets and underground 
 wires. He has been strenuous in his opposition 
 to the custom of awarding contracts to other 
 than the lowest responsible bidders, and at the 
 time the reservoir question came up in the council 
 in 1895 was strongly opposed to this improve- 
 ment, because it necessitated an increase in the 
 bonded indebtedness of the city. When he was 
 renominated to the council in 1896 he received 
 the indorsement of the Good Citizenship League, 
 and was re-elected by a large majority. In politics 
 and religious matters Colonel Adams is inclined 
 to be independent, preferring to estimate parties 
 and creeds by acts rather than profession. He is 
 a thirty-third degree Mason, and is a charter 
 member of the Monticello Lodge. He is inspector 
 general of the Scottish Rite, and past senior grand 
 warden of the Grand Lodge of Alinnesota; also a 
 member of George N. Morgan Post, G. A. R. 
 July 21, 1859, he was joined in wedlock to 
 Augusta J. Smith, of Pittsford, Vermont, and they 
 have two sons — Henry Rice, engaged in the 
 insurance business in Minneapolis, and John Cain, 
 formerly Assistant Surgeon L'nited States Army, 
 and now located at West Superior, Wisconsin. 
 
 WILLL\M OTHXIEL FRYBERGER. 
 
 William Othniel h>yberger is a physician and 
 surgeon, practicing his profession in Minneapolis. 
 He was born June 21, i860, at Red Wing. His 
 father, William Fryberger, was among the 
 pioneers of Alinnesota having come to this state 
 from Ohio in 1855. He settled in Goodhue 
 County near Red Wing. He was of German 
 ancestry the name being usually spelled Frei- 
 
 bcrger, and the family name coming from the 
 town of I'reiberg, in Baden, of which Andrew 
 I'Veiberger, great grandfather of the subject of this 
 sketch, was one of the freeholders and a repre- 
 sentative of the few Protestant families of that 
 old Catholic province. William Fryberger's 
 wife was Margaret Burroughs, a lady of English 
 ancestry, though of Colonial blood. In the early 
 days her grandfather, Hezekiah Burroughs, lived 
 in Mrginia, and took up arms for the defense of 
 his country in the Revolutionar}- War. His de- 
 scendants became pioneers of Bourbon County, 
 Kentucky, and associates of Daniel Boone in the 
 early development of that country. Dr. W. O. 
 Fnberger received his early education in the 
 village schools, and his college training at Ham- 
 line Universit}-. He pursued his medical studies 
 in the Hahnemann College, in Chicago, where he 
 graduated in 1887. He was immediately put in 
 charge of the Homeopathic Hospital in Minne- 
 apolis, where he served two years. Since that 
 time he has been engaged in general practice in 
 Minneapolis, and has been successful in build- 
 ing up a large and profitable business. He is a 
 member of the Congregational church and of 
 various secret orders. He was married in 1891 
 to Agnes Ruth Moore, of Minneapolis.
 
 340 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 lie entered Le Raysville Academy when eighteen 
 years of age; afterwards the Susquehanna Colleg- 
 iate Institute at Towanda, at that time one of the 
 best institutions of learning in his native state. 
 
 JCJHX LA PORTE GIBBS. 
 
 The present Lieutenant-Governor of ^Minnesota 
 is John La Porte Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs was born 
 of Colonial ancestry. His progenitors were pio- 
 neers of the states of Alassachusetts and Connecti- 
 cut, his father's ancestors having settled in the 
 former, and the mother's in the latter, over two 
 hundred years ago. In the long and fierce strug- 
 gle for .American independence, both the great- 
 grandfather and the grandfather of our subject 
 were active participants, senang in a Alassachu- 
 setts regiment. Grandfather Elijah Gibl)s was a 
 successful and wealthy farmer, and left his children 
 well provided for. His son Eli, the father of the 
 subject of this sketch, also followed the occupa- 
 tion of farming, and was in addition engaged in 
 the !uml)cring business on the Susquehanna river. 
 He acquired considerable property, but failed just 
 previous to his death by having become respons- 
 ible for proniissors' notes of a large amount. His 
 death was by accidental drciuning in the .Susque- 
 hanna river, July 3, 1855. His wife's maiden 
 name was Caroline Atwood. Their son John was 
 born in l^)radford County, Pennsylvania, May 3, 
 1838. The lad lived on his father's farm and at- 
 tended the district schools of his native countv. 
 
 He graduated from this institution in his twenty- 
 second year, and inmiediately went to Ann Arbor,, 
 entering the law department of the L'niversity of 
 Michigan. He graduated from this department 
 a year later, and came West to carve out his for- 
 tune. He first crossed the .Mississippi river at 
 Rock Island, Illinois, and having no money in 
 pocket or friends to aid him, set out from this 
 point on foot through the Hawkeye state, working 
 at such odd jobs of employment as he could se- 
 ctire. He finally wandered into Albert Lea, Min- 
 nesota, at that time Init a small village, and se- 
 cttred a position as school teacher. His talents, 
 having Iiecome recognized he was elected the fall 
 of the following year (1862) county attorney. A 
 year later he was elected on the Republican ticket 
 to the lower house of the legislature, representing- 
 the counties of Freeborn, Steele and Waseca. 
 Since that time Air. Gibbs has been a representa- 
 tive of his district in the legislature five different 
 times. He has been one of the most prominent 
 members of that body, and has been the author 
 of a large amount of important legislation. He 
 was elected speaker of the house in the session 
 of 1877, and again in 1885. In 1887 Governor 
 ?\IcGill appointed him a member of the railroad 
 commission, and he was re-appointed the ensuing 
 term by Governor Merriam. In 1896 he was 
 nominated by the Republicans to the office of 
 lieutenant-governnr, and was elected. Though 
 having taken up the study of law for the purpose 
 of making that his profession, Mr. (iil)bs has 
 never engaged in its practice. Shortly after his 
 location at Albert Lea he "took tip" a farm, and 
 aside from his duties to the state, the occupation 
 of an agriculturist has been his vocation since 
 settling in the \orth Star state. He is the owner 
 of a large farm near Geneva, in Freeborn County, 
 whicli is twelve miles from the nearest railroad' 
 station. His farm has been conducted on the- 
 most improved scientific methods, and it is at 
 j)resent one of the most prosperous farms in 
 Southern Minnesota. Dainnng, however, is his 
 chief specialty, and he is recognized as one of the-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 341 
 
 best authorities on tliat subject in the stale. ile 
 has lectured at various times before farmers' in- 
 stitutes, contibuting of his practical and scientific 
 knowledge on this subject to the l)enefit of his 
 brother agriculturists. Starting without a cent, 
 Mr. Gibbs has now become one of the successful 
 and prosperous citizens of the North Star state. 
 He is prominent in the counsels of the Rei)ublican 
 party, with which he has always affiliated, and i.s 
 highly respected in the conmiunity in which he 
 lives, as well as in the state at large, for his genial 
 qualities and for the push and enterprise which 
 he has exhibited in his business life. In 1868 
 he was married to Mrs. Martha P. Robson, widow 
 of Captain James Robson, of the Tenth Minne- 
 sota, who was killed in the fall of 1862. They 
 have no children. 
 
 E. C. BABB. 
 
 Captain E. C. Babb was born in the village 
 of Saccarappa, near the city of Portland, Maine, 
 on February i, 1834. His ancestors are descend- 
 ants of old New England families, his mother, 
 Mary Winslow, tracing her descent from Gov- 
 ernor Winslow, of Massachusetts. Captain Babb 
 received a good common school education in 
 his native town, and, after teaching school for a 
 while, learned the trade of a marble cutter. From 
 the age of twenty-one to twenty-eight he was 
 engaged in lumbering in northern Vermont and 
 New Hampshire. It was while he was in this 
 business that the war broke out, and he enlisted 
 in the Ninth Regiment, New Hampshire \'ohm- 
 teer infantry. He participated in the battles of 
 Bull Run (two). South ]\Iountain, Antietam and 
 Fredericksburg. In the latter he displayed such 
 gallantry that he was promoted over six first- 
 sergeants to the rank of second lieutenant. After 
 Fredericksburg Captain Babb's regiment was 
 sent west, and participated in the siege of Vicks- 
 burg. Later his regiment was detailed for ser- 
 vice in Kentucky, and in 1863 and 1864 Lieu- 
 tenant Babb served as staf¥ oiificer during the 
 campaign in East Tennessee. Here he received 
 his commission as first-lieutenant. The following 
 spring found him at Annapolis with his regiment 
 
 where preparations were making for the final 
 campaign imder General Grant. He was in the bat- 
 tles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Har- 
 bor, and all the battles about Petersburg until the 
 final surrender. He was commissioned captain 
 in January, 1865. On June 10, of the same year, 
 he was mustered out of service at Concord, New 
 Hampshire. Captain Babb came to Minneapolis 
 in 1868. After a few years in the lumber business 
 he became president of the Cedar Lake Ice 
 Company, an ofifice which he still holds. He has 
 been a distinguished member of the Grand Army 
 of the Republic, and has held the position of 
 Commander of the Minnesota department. He 
 is an esteemed member of the Loyal Legion, and 
 is also a Mason and a Knights Templar. He be- 
 came a Knights Templar in 1868, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Zion Commandary, No. 4, of Minne- 
 apolis. In 18S5 and 1886 Captain Babb repre- 
 sented the Eighth ward in the city council. In 
 1888 he was elected mayor. During his term of 
 service as mayor occurred the great street rail- 
 way strike, which called for tiie exercise of the 
 soldierly qualities which the war had developed in 
 the citv's executive. Captain Babb was married 
 on August 15, 1862, to Levee L. Chandler at 
 Berlin Falls, New Hampshire.
 
 342 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES EDWIX \'A\DERBL'RGH. 
 
 Charles Edwin \'anderburgli has had 
 the distinguished honor of having served 
 on the bench in the district court and the 
 supreme court continuously for a period 
 of thirty-four years. His ancestors came 
 from Amsterdam, Holland, and settled in 
 New York more than a generation before the 
 French and Indian war. His grandfather was a 
 soldier in the Revolution and removed soon after 
 the war to Saratoga County, New York, where 
 his father, Stephen Vanderburgh, was born in 
 1800. Charles Edwin was born at Clififton Park, 
 Saratoga County, New York, December 2, 1829. 
 In 1837 the family located in Onondaga County, 
 in the same state, where Charles Edwin worked 
 on his father's farm during the summer months 
 and attended the district school during the win- 
 ter until he was fifteen years old, when he pre- 
 pared for college at Courtland College, Homer, 
 New York. In 1849 he was admitted to the 
 sophomore class at Yale College, and was grad- 
 uated in the class of 1852. He then became 
 f)rinci])al of the academy at Oxford, New York, 
 and in connection with his duties as principal 
 
 took uj) the study of law. He was admitted to 
 the bar in 1855, and the next year removed to 
 Minnesota, where in April he located at the then 
 little village at the F'alls of St. /\nthony. His 
 first employment was in the office of the register 
 of deeds, where he worked about three weeks, 
 earning about forty dollars in pre])aring the rec- 
 ords of the county. He then formed a law partner- 
 ship with F. R. E. Cornell, which liecame one of 
 the leading law firms of the new state. In 1859 
 ]\Ir. \'anderburgh was elected judge of the Fourth 
 judicial district, and held that position for over 
 twenty-two years. He discharged the duties of 
 the office with singular ability and fidelity, a 
 statement which is fully substantiated by his long 
 retention on the bench. His careful legal train- 
 ing, his habits of patience and thorough investi- 
 gation led him to sound conclusions, and his 
 decisions were very seldom reversed. In 1881 
 there was a vacancy on the bench of the supreme 
 court of the state, caused by the death of Judge 
 Cornell, and Judge A'anderburgh was chosen to 
 fill it. He served in that capacity with distinc- 
 tion and honor until the end of 1893. I'^ i860 
 while judge of the district court, he rendered a 
 decision which brought him into national promi- 
 nence. A slave woman, Eliza \\'inston, then 
 owned by Colonel Christmas, of Mississippi, 
 brought to Minneapolis by her master on a visit, 
 was taken before Judge \'anderburgh on a writ 
 of habeas corpus. The judge declared "That 
 slavery was a local institution, and that a slave 
 lirought into a free state by its owner became 
 free." He decided that the woman was free to 
 choose whether to remain with her former 
 owners or to leave them. She chose to do the 
 latter, and aided by a party of abolitionists, and 
 in spite of protests and an attempt to resort to 
 force, was enabled to make her escape to Canada. 
 In his political associations Judge Vanderburgh 
 has always been a Republican, but, naturally and 
 ]:roperly, by reason of his judicial position, has 
 never been a strong partisan. He is an elder in 
 the First Presbyterian Church of Minneapolis; 
 was for many years superintendent of the Sab- 
 bath School, and is active in philanthropic and 
 religious effort. Tie was married Sc])tt-nilier 2,
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ;i Ui 
 
 1857, at Oxford, New York, to Julia Al. Mygatt, 
 daughter of William Mygatt. She died in 1863, 
 leaving two children, William Henry and Julia 
 M. In 1873 Judge Vanderburgh was married 
 to Anna, daughter of John Culbcrt, of Fulton 
 County, New York. Of thi.s union was born one 
 daughter, Isabella, who died in i8(j3, a young 
 lady of great promise. Although Judge \'ander- 
 burgh has devoted forty busy years of his life to 
 the discharge of inil)lic duties of great responsibil- 
 ity and honor, he is still, in 1896, although in his 
 sixty-sixth year, a hale and strong man in the 
 full possession of all his faculties and in the en- 
 joyment of the high esteem and sincere respect 
 of his fellow citizens, who honor him for the 
 service he has rendered. 
 
 DARWIN ADELBERT STEWART. 
 
 Dr. D. A. Stewart is a well-known physician of 
 Winona, Minnesota. He is the son of Gardner 
 Stewart, who was of Scotch descent and a native 
 of Concord, New Hampshire, where he was born 
 in the year 1800; his mother was Susan Bancroft, 
 a cousin of George Bancroft, the historian. Mr. 
 Stewart remembered well the visit of Lafayette to 
 this country in 1824, and saw that distinguished 
 general and his son at Boston. He died at Wi- 
 nona on March 17, 1896, aged ninety-five years 
 and five months. His wife was Miss Sarah Pow- 
 ers, who is a second cousin of Powers, the famous 
 sculptor. She is a descendant of the Leland fam- 
 ily, of England. Their son, D. A. Stewart, was 
 born at Croydon, New Hampshire, on April 5, 
 1842. He attended the Morrisvillc and Barre 
 
 graduated from 
 
 the 
 
 Kimball 
 
 academies and 
 Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire. 
 Later he attended the medical de]:iartment of 
 Columbia College, New York city, and gradu- 
 ated in 1869. He received an appointment on 
 the medical staff of the New York Plospital. 
 Coming West during the same year, he estab- 
 lished himself in Winona and commenced prac- 
 tice on January i, 1870. in partnership with \\'. 
 H. H. Richardson. He has continued the prac- 
 
 tice in Winona continuously since that time. Dur- 
 ing his long term of practice he has been called 
 upon to serve the public in various capacities. 
 For five years he has been city physician. He 
 was coroner of Winona County for twelve years. 
 He served upon the school board for two years, 
 and was president one-half of that time. He is 
 surgeon at Winona for the Chicago, Milwaukee 
 & St. Paul railroad, and also the Green Bay, Wi- 
 nona & St. Paul. Dr. Stewart is a member of 
 the National Association of Railroad Surgeons, 
 and of a number of medical societies. He w'as 
 instrumental in the organization of the Winona 
 Humane Society in 1889, and has been its presi- 
 dent from the beginning, and has taken great in- 
 terest in this work. He has become identified 
 with the state and national societies, being vice 
 president of the State Humane Society and a 
 member of the .\merican Humane Society. 
 Among his varied interests is the ownership of 
 the village of .Stewart, McLeod County, Minne- 
 sota, wdiich he laid out in 1878. In 1875 Dr. 
 Stewart was married to Miss Minnie A. Hall, 
 of Whitehall, New York. They have three chil- 
 dren : Henrietta L., Dugakl .\., and Donald.
 
 34-4 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 PUTXAAI DANA McAlILLAN. 
 
 It requires a courageous heart and the 
 possession of lots of pluck and determination to 
 overcome many hard knocks in life's struggle, 
 especially if accompanied by aftliction. Putnam 
 Dana McMillan has had more than his share of 
 misfortune, but he is the offspring of men who 
 shed their blood in the countr\-'s cause, and he 
 inherited their sterling qualities. His paternal 
 great-grandfather, Colonel Andrew McMillan, 
 was a participant in the Revolutionary War, born 
 of Scotch parents, in the County of Londonderry, 
 Ireland, in 1731. John McMillan, his son, was a 
 general in the War of 1812. Andrew McMillan, 
 son of General John McMillan and Mehitable 
 Osgood (McMillan), was the father of the subject 
 of this sketch. On the maternal side, General 
 Israel Putnam of Revolutionary fame, was a 
 great-great-grandfather. His daughter, Hannah 
 Putnam, married Winchester Dana, a descendant 
 of Richard Dana. 'I'lK-ir son. Colonel Israel 
 Putnam Dana, was the father of Emily Eunice 
 Dana, the mother of Mr. McMillan. Colonel 
 Dana was a man of influence and wealth, and one 
 of Vermont's luost prominent men. As can be 
 seen the Christian names of our subject indicate 
 
 the patronymics of his maternal ancestors. 
 Andrew AIcMillan, his father, a civil engineer by 
 profession, was a graduate of West Point; a prom- 
 inent Democrat in Vermont politics, and was a 
 member of the legislature of that state, as well as 
 of Alaine, where he formerly lived. In early life 
 he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, but this 
 business not being conducive to his health he 
 turned his attention in later years to farming. 
 Putnam Dana ^McMillan was born at Fryeburg, 
 IMaine, August 25, 1832. His education was 
 received in the common schools of Vermont (his 
 parents having moved to that state when the boy 
 was but a year old) and later in an academy at 
 Danville. He left his school studies when but 
 sixteen years of age, and for four years clerked 
 in a country store in his native state. He then 
 went to California, going in a sailing vessel 
 around Cape Horn. For five years he remained 
 on the Pacific Coast, engaged in mercantile 
 pursuits and mining, then returned to his old 
 home in \'ermont and turned his attention to 
 agriculture. When the war broke out he joined 
 the Fifteenth Regiment \"ermont \'olunteers and 
 ser\-ed throughout its entire service as quarter- 
 master. At the expiration of his service he went 
 to South America and settled in the Province of 
 Buenos Ayres, engaging in sheep farming near 
 Rosario on the Parana River. He was very 
 successful and remained there several years, until 
 he was compelled to leave Ijy a series of terrible 
 misfortunes. A revolution broke out between 
 the Provinces of Buenos Ayres and Santa Fee, 
 and his home being between the two contending 
 factions became the battle ground of the con- 
 testants. This brought ruin financially. But with 
 the war came cholera, which wrought deadly 
 havoc in Mr. Mc]\lillan's family. Five out of 
 eight members of his household died, including 
 his wife, and, broken in s])irit an<l health, Mr. 
 MclMillan left the country with the only child 
 surviving, a daughter. On his retm-n to the 
 Cnited States he came West, in 1872, located in 
 Minneapolis, and engaged in the real estate busi- 
 ness. Pie has lived in Minneapolis ever since, 
 where he is held in high esteem f^r his integrity 
 as a liusiness man. He has not, however, 
 confined his real estate s])eculations to the City
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 345 
 
 of Minneapolis, but has fur several years been 
 engaged in reclaiming several thousand acres of 
 what was apparently worthless land and an eye 
 sore to the fertile agricultural region in Southern 
 Minnesota. His efiforts have not been fruitless, 
 and the County of Freeborn and the State of 
 Minnesota are richer by the transformation of 
 over six thousand acres of watery waste to a 
 fertile tract of land, unequaled by any surrounding 
 it. "Ricelawn," as it is now called, will stand as a 
 lasting monument to his foresight and indom- 
 itable perseverance. Mr. McMillan has been a 
 life long Republican ; is a member of the Grand 
 Army of the Republic and the Loyal Legion, and 
 of the Congregational Church. He was married 
 in Vermont to Helen E. Davis, daughter of 
 Hon. Bliss N. Davis, one of the most prominent 
 attorneys in that state. .She died in South 
 America. The only surviving child of the union 
 is Emily Dana McMillan. He was married a 
 second time to Kate Kittredge, daughter of Hon. 
 Moses Kittredge, of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. 
 Three children resulted from this union, of whom 
 Margaret and Putnam Dana are living. 
 
 CHARLES GILBERT HINDS. 
 
 The ancestors of the subject of this sketch, 
 on both the paternal and maternal sides, were of 
 good old Colonial stock, having come to this 
 country about the year 1650. Several members 
 of the family were soldiers in the War of the 
 Revolution. Henry Hinds, the father of Charles, 
 was an early pioneer in the state of Minnesota, 
 coming here in 1854 and settling at Shakopee, 
 where he has ever since resided and practiced 
 law. He \\as born at Hebron, New York, in 
 1826: graduated from the Albany Normal Col- 
 lege in 1850; took up the study of law in the 
 Cincinnati Law School and graduated from that 
 institution in 1852. In 1853 he was married to 
 Mary F. Wood worth, the mother of the subject 
 of this sketch. The following year Mr. Hinds 
 came to Minnesota and opened a law ofifice at 
 Shakopee. He has held many ofifices of public 
 trust. He was one of the leading lawyers of the 
 Eighth Judicial District up to the time of his 
 
 retiring from active practice in 1884. In the 
 early days he acted as the county attorney of 
 Scott County and judge of probate. He was a 
 member of the lower house of the legislature from 
 Scott County in 1878, and was made a member 
 of the board of managers in the impeachment of 
 judge Page, making the closing argument for 
 the board before the senate. In 1879 and 1881 
 he served in the state senate. Charles Gilbert 
 Hinds was born August 31, 1866, at Shakopee, 
 Minnesota. He received his early education in 
 the common schools of Shakopee, and in 1883 
 entered the state university, taking a special 
 course for two years. In 1885 he entered the 
 law department of the University of ^lichigan, 
 graduating with a degree of LL. B. in 1887. He 
 received his certificate of admission to the bar 
 on his twenty-first birthday, and immediately be- 
 gan the practice of his profession in his native 
 town — Shakopee — where he has remained. In 
 1894 he was elected county attorney of Scott 
 County. In politics Mr. Hinds is a Democrat. 
 He is a Mason, a member of the A. O. U. W., 
 of which he is Grand Foreman of the state, and 
 the M. W. of A. He is also a member of the 
 legal college fraternity of the Phi Delta Phi. 
 September 25, 1888, Mr. Hinds was married to 
 Maude Plumstead, of Shakopee. They have two 
 sons, Frank H. and Frederick C.
 
 346 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 EDWARD FRASER SEARING. 
 
 Mr. Searing enjoys the distinction of being a 
 direct descendant on tlie female side of the house 
 of Cameron of Locliiel, the "gentle Lochiel" of 
 "Lochiel's Warning." The genealogical tree is 
 traced through the Eraser, Mc Arthur and Camp- 
 bell families. Mary Cameron, daughter of Cam- 
 eron of Lochiel, married Alexander Campbell of 
 Breadalbane, Scotland: Isabel, daughter of their 
 son Alexander, married John AIcArthur, a manu- 
 facturer of Breadalbane; their daughter, Jane, 
 married Major Robert F. Eraser, U. S. A., and 
 Isabella, issue of this marriage was the mother 
 of the subject of this sketch. From Cameron of 
 Lochiel the family is traced back to the fourteenth 
 century, its meml)crs lieing jirominent in the earlv 
 history of Scotland. The Searing famil\' is of 
 English descent, and was founded in this country 
 in the seventeenth century, several of its members 
 taking a prominent part in the Revolutionary 
 War, also in the War of 1812. Edward .Searing, 
 father of the subject of this sketch, is a native of 
 New York, but Iiis father was one of the earlv 
 pioneers of Western Wisconsin. He- is now and 
 has been for the past sixteen vears president of 
 
 the State Normal School at Alaid<ato, Minnesota, 
 and was, from 1874 to 1878, state superintendent 
 of public instruction of Wisconsin. He is the 
 author and translator of a popular, and quite 
 extensively used, "Virgil's Aenefd." Edward 
 Eraser Searing was born at Milton, Rock County, 
 Wisconsin, December 4, 1866. Up to his eighth 
 year the boy attended the graded school of his 
 native town. At this time his family moved to 
 Aladison, in the same state, and Edward attended 
 the First Ward school, completing the course. 
 ]\Ioving back to JMilton in 1878, he spent two 
 years more in the schools of that place. In 1880, 
 the family having moved to Mankato, Minnesota, 
 young Searing entered the State Normal School 
 in that city and completed the advanced course, 
 graduating in 1885 and appearing on the program 
 as valedictorian. He then spent a post-graduate 
 year at this institution, and was successful over 
 fourteen others in a competitive examination for 
 appointment to the United States Military Acad- 
 emy at West Point, from the Second Congres- 
 sional District of ^Minnesota. Having spent the 
 greater portion of a year at W'est Point, Mr. 
 Searing became convinced that the activities and 
 independence of civil life were more congenial to 
 his tastes than strict military discipline, and 
 returned to Mankato. During the last year or 
 two at school he had taken up newspaper and 
 periodical writing to a limited extent, corre- 
 sponding for several metropolitan newspapers, 
 and in this way had acquired a taste for news- 
 paper work, so that when the daily edition of the 
 I\Iankato Free Press was started in 1887, and he 
 was offered a position as reporter, he accepted it, 
 and has been connected with the paper continu- 
 ously since, being now a stockholder, director, 
 secretary and treasurer of the Free Press Printing 
 Company and city editor of the paper. The Free 
 Press of Mankato has gradually grown in size and 
 influence, until now it holds a prominent and 
 important position in Minnesota country jour- 
 nalism. In the spring of 1891, in connection with 
 F. W. Hunt, Mr. Scaring pmrhascd the Mankato 
 Register, which was subsequently consolidated 
 with the ^lankato Free Press. In addition to 
 his newspaper work. Mr. Scaring also finds time-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 3+7 
 
 to contribute articles to l-^astern publications, and 
 to act as l\Iankat(j correspondent for several Twin 
 City daily papers. In politics Air. Searing is a 
 Republican, and altliouijli be takes considerable 
 interest in tbe atfairs of his own city, lias declined 
 the use oi his name for local offices. lie is a 
 member of the Knights of Pythias and of the 
 Royal Arcanum: is a director of the Mankato 
 Board of Trade and a member (if the Connnercial 
 Club; and also belong's to half a dozen other local 
 clubs and societies. He has been president of the 
 Mankato Normal .School Ahmmi Association. 
 He is not married. 
 
 ROP.ERT LESLIE WARE. 
 
 Robert Leslie Ware is president of the 
 National Investment Company, of St. Paul. Mr. 
 Ware was born in May, 1866, at Bridgeton, New 
 Jersey, the son of Edwin M. and Lucy Topman 
 Ware. Robert Leslie began his education in the 
 public schools of Bridgeton, and completed 
 it in the South Jersey Institute, of that 
 city. His first idea with regard to a career 
 was in the line of mechanical engineering, and 
 with that object in view he spent three years in 
 the Farricut Machine Works of Bridgeton, get- 
 ting a practical knowledge of the business. His 
 eyes began to fail him, however, and he was 
 obliged to give up his plans, and went to Phila- 
 delphia, where he entered the employ of E. J. 
 Crippen, who was engaged in the grocery busi- 
 ness. In 1886 he decided to come West, and on 
 June eighteenth he arrived in .St. Paul. During 
 the first two years of his residence in this state 
 he was employed as bookkeeper by W. J. Dyer 
 & Bro., by the Houpt Lumber Company and by 
 the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Com- 
 pany. He was ambitious, however, to engage in 
 business for himself, and in 1888 he started out 
 in the mortgage loan business. He also repre- 
 sented several Eastern insurance companies, and 
 was secretary of two building associations. In 
 1890 his father came West and joined him in 
 business, under the firm name of E. M. & R. L. 
 Ware, which association was continued until 
 
 October i, 1894. This firm carried on a strictly 
 mortgage loan business, having sold out its tire 
 insurance department. In 1894 Air. Ware became 
 connected with the management of the National 
 Investment Company as its president and treas- 
 urer, which positions he has occupied to the pres- 
 ent time. Mr. Ware has interested himself in 
 other enterprises, and is treasurer and general 
 manager of the Buckingham Apartment Hotise 
 Company, recently organized. This company owns 
 the Buckingham apartment house building, for- 
 merly known as the Hotel Barteau. It has a 
 capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
 and at its head as president is George A. Pillsbury, 
 of Minneapolis. Charles Payson, of Washington, 
 is vice-president, and William G. White, of St. 
 Paul, secretary. Mr. \\'are is a member of the 
 Commercial Club of St. Paul, and also of the Day- 
 ton Avenue Presbyterian church, of that city. He 
 was married in June, 1881), to Miss Belle Curtis. 
 They have two children, Carrie Eleanor 
 and Edwin Maurice. .\t the age of thirt}-, 
 Mr. Ware has attained an honorable name 
 as a substantial business man, and made 
 for himself an enviable rei)utati(jn as a man and 
 a citizen in the connnunitv in which he lives.
 
 348 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 F. R. E. WOODWARD. 
 
 Franc Roswell Emerson Woodward, wliose 
 sensational experiences in newspaper work, and 
 in connection with the Cul)an insurrection have 
 given him no little prominence, is the son of Jas- 
 per M. Woodward, who was for many years en~ 
 gaged as a contractor in the city of Minneapolis. 
 \It. Woodward was a member of Company 
 H, Sixth Minnesota \'olunteer Infantry. He 
 died in 1895. His family included a num- 
 ber of men of military reputation, and sev- 
 eral distinguished as surgeons and educa- 
 tors. ( )ne Dr. Woodward was a noted surgeon 
 in the War of the Revolution. Another was the 
 physician who attended I'resident Garfield during 
 his la.st illness. A brother. Prof. C. Al. Wood- 
 ward, was a distinguished educator in St. Louis, 
 and was the founder of the manual training 
 system in the L'nited States. Mr. Woodward's 
 wife, Mrs. Abby Ann Palmer Woodward, who 
 survives him, is descended from Puritan stock. 
 Her family is connected with tlic ("am])bells of 
 Scotland, and of the same branch as the Duke of 
 Argyle. Franc Woodward was born on .Sep- 
 tember 6, 1868, on a Minnesota farm near tlic 
 village of Hopkins. His early life was attendcfl 
 
 with many privations. He attended school in 
 Minneapolis, and for about six years his daily 
 routine consisted of carrying newspapers in the 
 morning, attending school during the forenoon, 
 collecting for newspapers in the afternoon, and 
 lighting the street lamps in the early evening. 
 Saturdays he substituted for school, work for a 
 weekly paper. While growing up amid these 
 varietl surroundings, he wrote for several small 
 puljlications, and won three prizes for juvenile 
 stories. At seventeen he left school, but con- 
 tinued his studies and reading as he found time. 
 The year 1886 found him in Duluth, employed 
 on the "Duluth Herald." Subsequently he was 
 iiffered a position on the "Duluth Tribune," and 
 later occupied an all round editorial post on 
 the "Minneapolis Evening Star." An expected 
 advance in salary not being forthcoming, young 
 Woodward went to St. Louis, where, as reporter 
 for the "St. Louis Post Dispatch," he created a 
 stir in army circles ])y exposing the treatment of 
 soldiers by officers at the Jefferson Barracks, 
 Missouri. To secure the information necessary 
 for this expose, Woodward enlisted and served 
 for three months in the cavalry. His exposure 
 was the cause of the three years' enlistment law, 
 which went into effect after President Harrison 
 had ordered a court of inquiry into the charges 
 ]3referred. Other radical reforms followed. After 
 this Mr. Woodward engaged in newspaper work 
 on the "Herald" in Chicago, the "Fargo x^rgiis," 
 and several papers in Alinneapolis and St. Paul, 
 and finally on the "Xew York World." While 
 on the "World" he made an investigation of the 
 civil ]3rison, in Bro(jklyn. In May, i8<)5, he was 
 sent to Cuba as war correspondent. He served 
 on the stafT of General Maceo, was taken prisoner 
 l)y the Spaniards, sentenced to be executed, but 
 escaped and joined Maceo. He was again taken 
 ])risoncr, but finally escaped from the interior of 
 the islan<l after being wounded four times, and 
 boarded a British .steamer. He returned to New 
 York, and afterwards to Minnea])olis, where he 
 accepted a positicm with S. E. Olson and acted 
 as manager of the advertising department. Mr. 
 Woodward has written several books. His first 
 was a novel, written wlien he was (|uite young. 
 In later years Mr. Woodward collected all copies.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 349 
 
 of this book which lie could find and destroyed 
 them. "Dogs of War" was a dcscni)tion of his 
 army experiences at St. Lniiis. '"I'd Diablo 
 Americano" was a story of his adventures in 
 Cuba, published in New York. "With Maceo in 
 Cuba," a later bnok cm liis experiences in Cuba, 
 was published in .Minneapolis. -Mr. Woodward 
 has alwavs lacen connected with the press clu1)s 
 of the cities in wiiich lie has been engaged in 
 newspaper work. Among his fads are clay mod- 
 eling and fencing. He is an expert rifle and 
 pistol shot. 
 
 HANS WALDEAIAR HENDRICKSON. 
 
 Dr. H. W. Hendrickson, of Montevideo, 
 Minnesota, was born on February 20, 1868, in 
 Nestved, Denmark. His parents were of respect- 
 able families of the middle class and fairly well- 
 to-do financially. When only eight years old 
 young Hendrickson was sent to America by his 
 parents, and soon came to Minnesota. His boy- 
 hood days were passed on a farm in Chippewa 
 County, and like most farmer boys he worked 
 hard during the busy season and went to school 
 during the winter months. The death of his father 
 while he was quite young and the strait- 
 ened circumstances in which his mother subse- 
 quently found herself left young Hendrickson at 
 an early age much on his own resources and early 
 taught him the lesson that success depended very 
 largely upon the persistent efforts and individual 
 ability. And like many before him his success 
 was not very promising with the circumstances 
 which surrounded him. His education, obtained 
 in the midst of hard work, was supplemented by 
 three years of school teaching in his own and 
 adjoining counties, during which time he was 
 continuing his studies as rapidly as possible. At 
 the age of twenty-two he entered the medical 
 department of the University of Minnesota. He 
 graduated with the class of 1893 and at once 
 opened an office at the corner of Riverside and 
 Cedar Avenues and conuuenced practice. As the 
 prospects for building up an extensive practice 
 were not verv bright, together with the financial 
 depression that was severely felt in the city dur- 
 
 ing that year, Dr. Hendrickson determined to 
 go west. In the latter part of June, 1893, he 
 located at Canton, South Dakota, where he 
 remained for two years. In August of 
 1895 he removed to Montevideo, in the 
 vicinity of his old home, with the inten- 
 tion of permanently establishing at that 
 place. Since moving to Montevideo he has 
 bought a pleasant home. In January of 1896 
 he was chosen county physician by the Board 
 of County Commissioners and his practice has 
 rapidly enlarged so that he has, at present, a 
 comfortable income. Dr. Hendrickson was one 
 of the first physicians in his part of the state to 
 introduce electricity extensively into practice, and 
 to employ the Galvano-Cautery in nasal surgery. 
 While in South Dakota he helped to organize 
 the Canton Hospital Stock Company, and he 
 is still consulting physician with that institution. 
 Dr. Hendrickson is a member of the Lutheran 
 church. In politics he is a Republican, though 
 he has never taken a very active part in the 
 political affairs. He was married on November 
 30, 1888, to Miss Thora J. Ness. Three children 
 have been born to them, John Christian, Melvin 
 and Ella. Dr. Hendrickson seems destined to 
 become a leader in his profession in the state.
 
 350 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOHN FRANCIS WHEATON. 
 
 The story of the life of the subject of this 
 sketch is an interesting one. Born, with the dark 
 blood of the negro race flowing in his veins, and 
 confronted with all the obstacles of race preju- 
 dice, John Francis Wheaton has climbed a 
 rugged path such as few men have successfully 
 surmounted, and won for himself a record and 
 a name that would be envied l)v an\- man. He 
 was born at Hagerstown, Washington County, 
 Maryland, May 8, 1866, the son of Jacob F. and 
 Emily B. Wheaton. He is able to trace back 
 his ancestry, as far, on the paternal side, to his 
 two great-grandfathers, and his great-grandfather 
 on the maternal side. The father of his paternal 
 grandmother was an Englishman who settled in 
 Virginia as a planter. His name was Thomas 
 Buckingham. The father of his jiatcrnal grand- 
 father was also a Virginia planter whose Afro- 
 American son was his slave. Upon the death of 
 this ijlantcT, he liberated his dark-hued son, at 
 the age of twenty-four years. It was from this 
 planter that Whcaton's family took its name. 
 His maternal great-grandparents were both slaves 
 of the Wingert faniilv in Marvland. He attended 
 
 the public schools of his native town until his 
 thirteenth year, and then for two years a school 
 in Ohio. Later he took a course of study in 
 Storer College, at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, 
 graduating from the State Normal Department 
 in 1882, as valedictorian of his class. The funds 
 which enabled him to receive an education were 
 earned by him shining shoes, milking cows, etc. 
 The laws forbidding any one to teach school 
 under nineteen years of age were finally set aside 
 by young Wheaton being able to pass a rigid test 
 examination. He taught school for a few terms, 
 but entered into politics before he was nineteen 
 years of age, exhibiting considerable ability as a 
 stump speaker. When but twenty-one years of 
 age his name was presented to the Republican 
 county convention of Washington county, Mary- 
 land, for nomination as candidate for the state 
 legislature, but he withdrew his name after re- 
 ceiving a flattering complimentarv- vote of 
 one hundred and twenty out of a necessary 
 one hundred and fifty votes. In 1887, 1889 and 
 1 89 1 he served as a delegate to the state con- 
 vention, and in 1888 attended the Republican 
 national convention at Chicago as an alternate 
 delegate. During a large share of this time he 
 was teaching school at Williamsport and study- 
 ing law in the office of Hon. Albert A. Small, 
 a prominent lawyer of Maryland. In 1888 he 
 took a course in the Dixon Business College, 
 at Di.xon. Illinois, and during the campaign of 
 that year was engaged as a stump speaker by the 
 Repuljlican national conunittee to stump Illinois, 
 Indiana and Ohio. In I'ebruary, 1889, he was 
 elected temporaiy chairman of the state Repub- 
 lican convention at lialtnuore, and successfully 
 (|uietcd the warring factions. He was a candi- 
 date for the superintendcncy of the house docu- 
 ment room in \\'ashingtnn, but was turned down 
 after the place had been promised him. He was, 
 however, given a clerkship in the same de])art- 
 ment, which he held during the Fifty-first con- 
 gress. \\'hile in \\ashingti 'U ho attended the law 
 departnu'ut of Howard L'niversity. graduating in 
 Mav, i8()2. ( )n his return home he made a 
 ijitlcr fight for admissiim tn the bar, and was 
 finallv alliiweil to take an examin.aticm, \vhich he
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 351 
 
 passed successfully. It was only after ten months 
 of persistent effort, however, that Judge R. H. 
 Alvey, now chief justice of the supreme court of 
 the District of Columbia, and a member of the 
 Venezuelan commission admitted him to prac- 
 tice. Pie was the first colored man admitted to 
 practice outside tlie city of Jlaltimore, and the 
 fourth in the state. In 1892 the colored Repub- 
 licans of his state elected him as a delegate-at- 
 large to represent them in the Republican na- 
 tional convention in Minneapolis, but his creden- 
 tials were not accepted. Tiring of liis continual 
 struggle against the disadvantages imposed upon 
 men of his color, Mr. Wheaton moved to Minne- 
 apolis, May I, 1893. That he might be admitted 
 to practice before the Minnesota courts he took 
 a two years' law course at the Minnesota State 
 University in one year, and was elected orator 
 of his class. He took an active part in the cam- 
 paign of 1894 and entered the lists as a 
 candidate for the office of reading clerk in 
 the lower house of the legislature. After a hard 
 contest he was beaten by one ballot, but subse- 
 quently was elected as assistant file and reading 
 clerk. In 1895 he was appointed deputy clerk 
 in the municipal court of jNIinneapolis, which 
 position he now holds. He was elected by accla- 
 mation as alternate delegate from the Fifth Min- 
 nesota congressional district to the Republican 
 national convention at .St. Louis in 1896, having 
 the distinction of being the first colored man to 
 represent Minnesota in a national convention. 
 Mr. Wheaton is a member of the Masonic fra- 
 ternity. He was married June 6, 1889, to I\Iiss 
 Ella Chambers, a graduate of \\'ilberforce Uni- 
 versity, Ohio. Thev have two children, Layton 
 J. and Frank P. 
 
 WILLIAM EDWIN HEWITT. 
 
 Mr. Hewitt, who is an attorney-at-law prac- 
 ticing in Minneapolis, is of pioneer American 
 stock. On his father's side the family line in- 
 cludes John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley, of the 
 Mayflower. His progenitors on the maternal side 
 were earlv Mrginia settlers. He was born at Le 
 
 Claire, Iowa, September 23, 1861, the son of W. 
 H. Hewitt, one of the pioneers of the Hawkeye 
 state, and Anna Davenport (Hewitt). William 
 received his early education in the common 
 schools and academy of his native town. The 
 first money he ever earned by his own efforts 
 was made by caiTying newspapers when a boy. 
 Having decided to make the practice of law his 
 vocation in life, he entered the law office of 
 Jenkins, Elliott & Winkler, of Milwaukee to take 
 up its study. Later he entered the Iowa State 
 L'niversity, taking a course in its law department, 
 from which he graduated in 1882. He removed 
 to Chicago and became connected with the law 
 firm of Mason Brothers, of that city, acting as 
 managing clerk. This position he held until his 
 removal to Minneapolis in 1886 to engage in the 
 practice of his profession. Mr. Hewitt has been 
 quite successful from the start and has built up 
 a profitable practice. His early political affilia- 
 tions were with the Democratic party, but after 
 maturer consideration he attached himself to the 
 Republican party. He was married in 1888, at 
 Minneapolis, to Miss Mabelle \^an Sickler. They 
 have two daughters, Harriet and Marjorie.
 
 352 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CLARENCE PALMER CARPEXTER. 
 
 His college the printer's shop; from printer's 
 case to the editorial chair; newspaper publisher, 
 attorney at law and secretary and stockholder in a 
 mercantile company — this, in brief, is what has 
 been accomplished by a young man of energy 
 and perseverance, without the aid of fortune — it 
 is, in a nut shell, the life history of Clarence 
 Palmer Carpenter, of Xorthfield, 2\linnesota. Mr. 
 Carpenter was bom at Eastford, Windham 
 County, Connecticut, February 4. 1853, the son 
 of Fredus C. Carpenter and .Mary A. Gilbert 
 (Carpenter). The father was a native of Connect- 
 ticut, and of luiglish descent, with a trace oi 
 Scotch blood, he is a l)rother of Judge J. H. Car- 
 penter, of Madison, Wisconsin, and a nephew of 
 Judge Caq)enter, of the Connecticut supreme 
 court. ITe was a school teacher in early manhood, 
 but later in life an agriculturist. The mother ot 
 the subject of this sketch was a native of Massa- 
 chusetts, and was a cousin of Dr. J. (i. Holland. 
 a prominent American author, and for many years 
 editor of Scribner's Mnnlhly and the Centin-y 
 Magazine. The family came to Minnesota in 
 .September, 1855, when Clarence was but two 
 
 and a half years old, and settled on a farm in the 
 town of Lebanon, in Dakota County. At this 
 time Alinneapolis was the nearest postoffice to 
 their farm, and the lumber for the house which 
 they built, was rafted down from Anoka to Min- 
 neapolis and then hauled to the farm. His edu- 
 cational advantages were limited, and were only 
 those that could be obtained in the early district 
 schools of Minnesota. At the age of si.xteen he 
 left home to learn the printer's trade, beginning 
 in the of^ce of the Western Progress, at Spring 
 \'alley, Minnesota. Subsequently he worked for 
 about two years in I'aribault, and went from there 
 to the Twin Cities, working at dififerent times on 
 nearly all the daily papers ]niblished there. Fol- 
 Idwing the usual life of the old-time printer, and 
 having a desire to see the country, he worked in 
 printing otlices in a number of the larger cities 
 (if ditTerent states. In the fall of 1877, Mr. Car- 
 l)enter took a homestead and tree claim near 
 Herman, in Grant Countv, Minnesota, going 
 from I'ariliault, where he had been emploved on 
 the Democrat since the spring of 1876, on which 
 paper he did his first editorial work. For the ne.xt 
 si.x years he cultivated his claim and brought 
 nearly three hundred acres under cultivation. 
 During the winters he would devote his time to 
 teaching school or \vorking at his trade. The 
 winter of 1881 he worked as proof reader on 
 the Daily Union, at Jacksonville, Florida, and the 
 following winter worked as night editor of the 
 Fargo Daily Republican. In 1884 he established 
 the Dakota County Tribune, at Farmington, 
 Minnesota, and continued the publication of this 
 jjaper until August, 1892, at which time he sold 
 it. He had, while working as a printer, begun 
 reading law for recreation, beginning with lUack- 
 stone's Conmientaries. He kept at this for some 
 years and was finally admitted to the liar in .Sep- 
 tember. 1890, and, in connection with the ])ubli- 
 cation of his paper at Farmington, engaged in the 
 practice of law. After the sale of the Tribune Mr. 
 Carpenter silent a few months in the Fast in 
 travel. Retm-ning to ^linnesota, he located at 
 Lakeville ami engaged in the practice of his pro- 
 fession. Tie also became interested in a general 
 merchandise store, in connection with others 
 organizing a stock company known as the M. J.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 :)5H 
 
 Lenihan Mercantile Company, of which he is 
 secretary and treasurer. In Jannary, 1895, he 
 purchased the Northfa-ld Indepenikni, enlarged 
 the paper and put it upon a paying Ijasis. Though 
 he usuall)- affiliated with the Repui)lican parly, 
 Mr. Carpenter has alwa\s been disposed to he 
 independent. He was elected court commissioner 
 of Grant County in the fall of 18S3, but did not 
 qualify, having removed from the county soon 
 after. He served as second assistant clerk of the 
 house in the legislature of 1887, and as chief 
 clerk in the session of 1889. He was a delegate- 
 at-large from this state to the first People's party 
 national convention at ( )maha, in 1892, and was 
 one of the temporary secretaries of the conven- 
 tion. He was on the People's party ticket twice 
 in Dakota Countv for the office of county attor- 
 ney, Init the whole ticket was defeated each time. 
 At present he is entirely independent in politics, 
 and conducts his paper on the same policy. Mr. 
 Carpenter is a mendjer of the ( )dd Fellows, and 
 was Xoble Grand of the lodge at Farmington: of 
 the Knights of Pythias: of the A. O. U. W., hav- 
 ing served as Master Workman in the Lakeville 
 lodge, and was a delegate to the grand lodge in 
 1896. He is a member of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal church of Northfield. July 28, 1885, he mar- 
 ried Lulu M. McElrath, at Eureka, Dakota 
 County, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter 
 have one son. Park, laorn May 5, 1890, and one 
 daughter, Delphine, l)orn Septeml)er 2, 1896. 
 
 FREDERICK O. HAMMER. 
 
 Minnesota has among her citizens none of 
 whom she has more reason to be proud than of 
 the sturdv and thriftv Teutonic race, who have 
 done much to build up her present prosperity. 
 Jacob Hammer, the father of the subject of this 
 sketch, was a saddler and harnessmaker in Ger- 
 many, in moderate circumstances. He came to 
 this country in 1849, settling at St. Paul in 1856. 
 Frederick O. was born at St. Paul August 11, 1865. 
 He had only the benefit of a common school 
 education in the public schools of St. Paul, and 
 later a course at a commercial college. He 
 
 J 
 
 started in business early in life as register clerk 
 in the postoffice at St. Paul, and later he entered 
 the insurance business, and was for six years the 
 assistant secretary of the Hail and Storm Insur- 
 ance Company of Minnesota. He then became 
 attached successively to the Capitol Building So- 
 ciety, the Minnesota Savings & Loan Society 
 and the Germania Loan & Building Association, 
 acting in the capacity of secretary of all three 
 concerns. In 1881 he became associated with 
 Congressman A. R. Kiefer and has been ever 
 since directly and indirectly connected with him 
 in various institutions and enterprises. Mr. 
 Hanuner also has charge of a number of estates, 
 having nearly half a million dollars under his 
 care. Mr. Hammer is a Republican in politics, 
 and a member of the St. Paul Commercial Club; 
 Junior Pi(.)neer Association, of Ramsey County, 
 Minn.: St. Paul Lodge Xo. 3. A. F. & A. ^L; 
 Summit Chapter, Xo. 45. R. A. M.; Miti- 
 nesota Consistory. A. & A. S. Rite, Xo. 
 i: Osman Temple, A. A. O. X. M. S., 
 and Champion Lodge Xo. 13, K. of P. He was 
 married April 10. 1890, to Lavanche I. Barnum, 
 of Loomis, Xebraska. They have one child, 
 Rhea Pauline.
 
 354 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ERIK NIELSEN OULIE. 
 
 Erik Niflsen (Julie is the son uf a well-to-du 
 fanner in Odalen, Norway. His mcither, whose 
 maiden name was Karen Olsen Brynildsrud, was 
 noted throughout ( Jdalen as a very talented 
 musician, and especially noted for her skill in 
 playing upon the somewhat ancient instrument 
 called the "langelek." She came of a musical 
 family, and it was from one of his uncles that 
 Erik received his first instruction on the violin. 
 The grandfather, on the paternal side, was also 
 a farmer, and in his time noted as a very impres- 
 sive and able extemporaneous composer of 
 words. Erik Nielsen was born November 
 lo, 1850. He spent his boyhood at Odalen 
 on his father's farm and began his edu- 
 cation in the common schools, where the prin- 
 cipal subjects taught were religion, mathematics 
 and manual training. This school work had no 
 bearing upon his later career as a musician. Sub- 
 sequently he attended military school at Chris- 
 tiania, where he received his first training in 
 music, except what he had learned from his uncle 
 at home. He was thoroughly devoted to music 
 and pursued his studies under such distinguished 
 
 instructors as Johan Svensen and Johan 
 Selmer. From them he received instruc- 
 tion in counterpoint and harmony. On the 
 violin he was instructed by Gulbrand Bohn. (Jn 
 the organ he received lessons from Ludvig 
 Lindeman, the most famous organist in Scandi- 
 navia. Eor thirteen years Mr. Oulie belonged 
 to the Royal Musical Military Academy at Chris- 
 tiania, and was one of the three successful candi- 
 dates out of twent}- for graduation on April 
 
 15, 187 
 
 After havine finished his studies 
 
 he was engaged as musical director with a travel- 
 ing opera company, and later appointed instructor 
 in singing at the Tivoli in Christiania and also 
 became leader of the orchestra in that theater. 
 This position he held for some years until he was 
 appointed organist at the cathedral of the city of 
 Bodo, Norway. He was occupying this position 
 when he asked for and was granted permission 
 to take a trip to America for a year. He arrived 
 at Boston in 1890, and was so pleased with the 
 prospects held out to him in this countn,- that he 
 did not return to Norway. He was appointed to 
 the position of leader of the choir of Scandi- 
 navian singers just prior to the Scandinavian 
 singing festival in Minneapolis in July, 1891. He 
 was also elected leader of the Swedish Glee Club, 
 of Boston, and of the Xor^vegian Singing Society 
 of the same city, and later became leader of the 
 United Singers of Boston in opposition to many 
 competitors. In the fall of 1892, Prof. Oulie 
 came to Minneapolis to take the leadership of 
 the Normaendenes sang-forening, and was also 
 elected organist and director of the choir of the 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church of St. Paul. His 
 services were also in demand as a leader of a 
 number of singing societies of the Twin Cities, 
 and at the time of the festival of the United Sing- 
 ing Societies of the Northwest at the World's Fair 
 in Chicago in 1893, he was chosen as their leader. 
 At the great convention in Boston in 1895, at 
 which all the Scandinavian singing societies of 
 the United States were represented, he was elected 
 nuisical director-in-chief of the L^nitcd States of 
 America, which position he now holds. The 
 Normaendenes sang-forcning, under Professor 
 Oulie's instruction, received first prize at the in- 
 ternational tournament given bv the Olc Bull'
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 355 
 
 Monument Association, .Ma_\- 17, 1X96, ami the 
 Unga Svea also under his instruction received the 
 popular prize. The vote was given by the au- 
 dience of seven thousand people. lie is 
 now an honorary member of the Scandinavian 
 Chorus of LSoston, the Swedish (ilee Club of 
 Boston, and the N'ormaendenes sang-forening in 
 Minneapolis, and, also, of the Literary Society 
 Fram. Professor Oulie is also a com]DOser 
 and has contributed very largely to the 
 elevation of Scandinavian naisic to its pres- 
 ent standard in America, and also takes 
 great interest in church nuisic, and has helped to 
 raise the standard in this |)arlicular among his 
 countrymen. In 1879 he was married to Sophie 
 Wilhelmine Freemann, a native of Denmark, wlio 
 was a leading member of an operatic company of 
 which Mr. Oulie was at one time nmsical director. 
 She has also met with nnich success as an in- 
 structor and leader of dramatic performances in 
 Boston, as well as in Minneapolis. 
 
 ERNEST R. (iAYLURD. 
 
 Ernest R. Gaylord, cashier of the .Met- 
 ropolitan Bank of Minneapolis, is a younger 
 man than is usually found in stich an important 
 position of trust. He was born Februar)- 20, 
 1863, at Saugatuck, Connecticut, a son of S. D. 
 and Carrie Russell (Gaylord). The Gaylords are 
 one of the oldest Connecticut families, the first 
 member of which landed there in 1631. When .Mr, 
 Gaylord vas five years of age, in 1868, his pa- 
 rents came to ?vIinnesota and settled in Blue Earth 
 County. He remained there until the age of 
 fifteen, when he came to Minneapolis, and was 
 here afforded the better educational advantages 
 of the pul)lic schools of this city. He left school 
 at the age of sixteen, and earned his first money 
 carrying papers for the Minneapolis Tribune. 
 Subsequently he secured a position with Charles 
 Young, a job printer, in the old Brackett Iilock. 
 Afterward he was employed by E. P. Howell, 
 boot and shoe dealer. He only remained in that 
 business for a short time, however, when a better 
 opening presented itself in the counting room of 
 Charles Heffelfinger, where he was employed for 
 
 a year. His next engagement was with Preston 
 & Knott, dealers in rubber goods, and afterwards 
 with Eichelzer & Co., dealers in men's furnishing 
 goods and furs. He found a better opening, how- 
 ever, with \'. G. Hush, a private banker, and for 
 a year «as teller of the Hush bank. He then con- 
 nected himself with the Xorthwestern National 
 Bank, where he was engaged for six years, the 
 latter part of the time as teller. On the organ- 
 ization of the Metropolitan Bank Mr. Gaylord 
 was ofifered the position of teller in that institu- 
 tion, and held that position for a year, when he 
 was promoted to the duties of assistant cashier. 
 Upon the resignation of the cashier in 1892 Mr. 
 Gavlord was elected cashier, which position he 
 now hokls. He enjoys a large ac(]uaintancc and 
 gieat popularity among business men, and con- 
 ducts the duties of his responsible position in 
 such a way as to make many friends for the insti- 
 tution with which he is connected. He is a Re- 
 publican in politics, but has never taken any very 
 active jiart in political aft'airs. He is a member of 
 the Masonic fraternity, as well as a member of 
 social and commercial clubs and societies. He 
 was married December 14, 1SS6. to Clara L. 
 \\'eld, and has one child, Marion M.
 
 856 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ARTHUR EAl.METT RANSOM. 
 
 A good many disappointments have followed 
 the entertainment of the hope that some day a 
 fortune might be realized from the representa- 
 tions of attorneys who elainied to have discov- 
 ered the existence of large fortunes in European 
 countries to which American heirs were entitled. 
 A. E. Ransom, however, is one of the heirs to a 
 fortune of eighteen million pounds sterling lying 
 in the Bank of England, about the existence of 
 which there is no doubt, but to which the Ran- 
 som family in America have as yet been unable 
 to establish clear title. Mr. Ransom is a native 
 of Concord, Jefferson County, Wisconsin, where 
 he was horn .Se])tember 30, 1866, the son of 
 Xathanic'l C. Ransom and Catherine Olivia Cog- 
 gins (Ransom). Nathaniel is now a resident of 
 Milwaukee. He was a member of the Forty- 
 seventh Regiment, Wisconsin X'olunteers, Com- 
 pany H, and to his cfTorts in a large degree is 
 due the progress made thus far in establishing 
 the title of the Ransom family to tlic F.tiglish 
 property. The Ransoms came frmn I'.ngland 
 in the early part of the Eighteenth century. 
 Arthur E. was educated in the public schools of 
 
 Wisconsin and the state university. He grad- 
 uated from the high schools at Unity, Wisconsin, 
 in 1883, receiving first honors and the prize for 
 oratory. He entered the state university with the 
 class of 1888, in his eighteenth year. He was a 
 student at Madison when that institution was un- 
 der the direction of President J. W. Bascom. 
 While at the university he took a very active in- 
 terest in the work in the military department, 
 which was in charge of a regular army officer,, 
 thus insuring the best of discipline, and has been 
 almost continually connected with the national 
 guard work ever since. He became a member of 
 Company E, of the Second Regiment, located at 
 Fond du Lac, then joined the Sheridan Guard, 
 Company A, of Milwaukee, remaining with them 
 until the organization of Company H, Fourth 
 Regiment, Milwaukee, of which he was made 
 captain. In 1893 Major Ransom moved to Albert 
 Lea. He was elected captain of Company I, Sec- 
 ond Infantry, but resigned on Decemlier 15, 
 1895, '-"'' account of business which kept him 
 almost constantly away from home, and accepted 
 the position of aide-de-camp on the staff of 
 Governor Clough, with the rank of major. While 
 in Milwaukee, prior to his removal to Albert 
 Lea, ]\Ir. Ransom was engaged in the capacity 
 of private secretary to Mr. Rockwell, of the Rock- 
 well Manufacturing Company. Upon his re- 
 moval to Albert Lea, he became identified with 
 the Ransom Bros. Company, wholesale grocers, 
 as traveling salesman. Fie is widely acquainted 
 in Southern jNlinnesota and Northern Iowa. 
 He had spent some time in studying law with the 
 intention of making that his profession, but gave 
 it up for the mercantile business. In that con- 
 nection he became an expert accountant, and at 
 one time had charge of the English course and 
 bookkeeping department of the McDonaltl Busi- 
 ness Academy, in Milwaukee. His first dollar 
 was earned by teaching school at Thorpe, Wis- 
 consin, in 1883. In the fall of i8<)4, Mr. Ransom 
 formed a partnership with Senator T. \'. Knat- 
 vold and II. C,. Koontz, known as the Ransom- 
 Knatvdld Manufacturing Company, for the man- 
 ufacture of pipes. This business was sold within 
 a \'ear to Chicarfo buvers. He was chosen Chief
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ;i57 
 
 of I'olice at Albert Lua during 18^5, and Ins 
 administration of that department of public ser- 
 vice has been regarded as highly successful. Dur- 
 ing the summer of 1896 the Albert Lea Gas 
 Machine ^Manufacturing Company was organ- 
 ized and Air. Ransom was made superintendent 
 and general manager. Mr. Ransom has always 
 been an enthusiastic Republican. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias, became captain of 
 Division No. 21, Uniform Rank, at Albert Lea in 
 1894, and in February, 1896, was unanimously 
 elected major of the Second Battalion, First Regi- 
 ment. At the encampment of the Uniform Rank, 
 in Minneapolis, in September, i8g6, he was again 
 promoted, receiving every vote for colonel of 
 the First Regiment. He is an enthusiastic 
 member of Browning Tent, No. 28, Knights of 
 the Maccabees, holding the position of Deputy 
 Supreme Connnander in Minnesota, and on 
 February i, 1897, takes up the duties of Supreme 
 State Deputy of Northern Iowa, having been 
 appointed by Supreme Commander D. P. Mar- 
 key. He is a member of the Minnesota \ et- 
 erans' Association. ( )n April 11, 1887, Mr. 
 Ransom was married at h'ond du Lac, Wis- 
 consin, to Miss Tillie Oilman. They have four 
 children, three sons and one daughter. 
 
 SAMUEL GEORGE PETERSON. 
 
 S. G. Peterson is the proprietor and editor 
 of the Glencoe Register, one of the oldest papers 
 in the state of JMinnesota. Mr. I'eterson is a na- 
 tive of Denmark. His father was George Peter- 
 son, who for over twenty years was a builder and 
 contractor in the city of Chicago. He died No- 
 vember 19, 1892. His son, who was born on 
 July 3, 1866, came to America with his grand- 
 father, Soren Peterson, who settled in Renville 
 County, Minnesota, in the spring of 1871. The 
 boy was brought up on the farm with his grand 
 parents and attended the country schools during 
 the winter imtil he was fourteen years of age. 
 He then attended the Hutchinson High School 
 for several years, leaving school at the age of 
 seventeen, he learned the printer's trade. F(^r 
 three vears he worked at the case, and while in 
 
 the printing ofifice acquired a fair knowledge of 
 the business. When twenty )ears old he left the 
 printing business for a time and engaged in the 
 dry goods business, continuing" in this line for 
 six years. Like most men who have had a taste 
 of newspaper work, Mr. Peterson found his way 
 back to it after a time. A few years ago he ob- 
 tained control of the Hutchinson Independent. 
 After a short term as manager of the Independent 
 he founded the Lester Prairie Journal, and he 
 now owns and edits the Glencoe Register. Mr. 
 Peterson has alwa\s been an active Republican. 
 Since engaging in the newspaper work he has 
 taken a prominent part in the politics in his 
 vicinity and has become an influential factor in 
 the workings of his party. He is a member of 
 the Masonic order, of the Knights of Pythias, of 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the 
 encampment and of the E. A. U. He is an 
 active member of the Alethodist Episcopal 
 Church of Glencoe, and takes great interest in 
 the affairs of the Sunday School and the Epworth 
 League. On September 2, 1890, Mr. Peterson 
 was married to Miss Christina S. Christensen, of 
 Hutchinson. They have two children, Maude, 
 aged four, and Harold, aged two years.
 
 358 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 DAXIEL WEllSTER I',RL"CKART. 
 
 On both the paternal and maternal sides of the 
 house Daniel Webster liruckart, a lawyer at St. 
 Cloud, Minnesota, is a descendant, in the fourth 
 generation of prominent Hollanders who came 
 to America during- the early part of the eighteenth 
 century. He was l)orn at Silver Spring, Lancaster 
 Comity, Pennsylvania, A])ril 23, 185 1; the son 
 of Samuel and Catharine (Habecker) llruckart. 
 Sanuiel Bruckart was a native of the same county, 
 and lived there all his life. He was engaged in 
 the coal business and was largely interested in 
 the development of iron mines in Lancaster and 
 Cumberland Counties. He was prominent in the 
 politics of liis comity and was a strong adherent 
 of old Simon Cameron. Before the formation of 
 the Republican party in 1856 Mr. Bruckart was a 
 Whig of the Northern stripe, known as "woolly 
 head.'' He sided with the aliolitionists and was 
 an active j)articipaiU in the operation of the 
 "underground" railmad in the ante-bellum days. 
 Young Bruckart attended the jniblic schools of 
 his native town until his fourteenth year, when he 
 went to MilJersviile Normal .School. \\'hi-n but 
 in his fifteenth year he began teaching, doing this 
 in the winter months and attending the normal 
 
 school during the summer. Afterwards he 
 entered Lafayette College, at Easton, Pennsyl- 
 vania, staying at this institution three years. His 
 pronounced oratorical gifts were developed at this 
 college. The most prominent feature of student 
 life at Lafayette was the rivalry betw-een the two 
 literary societies, Washington and Franklin Halls. 
 These two societies alternated at commencement 
 in having a senior give an address, the other 
 society selecting a sophomore to respond. Daniel 
 had the honor of being selected to give the 
 sophomorical address. He was also active in the 
 debating societies, his experience here serving 
 him a good turn later in his profession. He was 
 historian of his class and a member of the Phi 
 Kappa Psi fraternity Daniel at this time having 
 decided to make law his profession in life, and 
 also intending to practice in the West, thought 
 it best to receive his law training in a Western 
 school, so entered the Iowa State Law School at 
 Iowa City, Iowa. He graduated from this insti- 
 tution with the class of 1872. and commenced 
 active practice at Independence, Iowa. Since that 
 time Mr. Bruckart has always been engaged in 
 the general practice of law. He remained at Inde- 
 pendence until 1883, when he moved to Miime- 
 si)ta, locating at .St. Cloud. He formed a part- 
 nership with James McKelvey, ex-judge of the 
 district court, wdiich partnership continued until 
 judge McKelvey's death, since which time Mr. 
 Bruckart has continued in practice alone. In 
 |)()litics lie followed in his father's footsteps, and 
 has always been a Republican, taking an active 
 part in everv campaign since he reached the age 
 of twenty-one, his first vote having been ca.st in a 
 primary election in Lancaster County, Pennsyl- 
 vania, for John P. Rea, of Minneapolis, for con- 
 gress. He has few equals in the state as a stump 
 speaker and campaigner. During his residence 
 in the state of Iowa he represented the Third 
 Congressional District on the Iowa state central 
 committee for four years, and also served as 
 secretary of this committee. In t88o he was an 
 alternate from Iowa to the National Re])ublican 
 Convention. .Since residing in Minnesota he has 
 been a member of the state central committee for 
 two campaigns. He has also taken a ]irominent
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 .'<59 
 
 part in local municipal affairs, and served as 
 mayor of St. Cloud for three terms. Mr. 
 Bruckart is a AJason, a niemhcr nf tlir 1. O. O. F. 
 and K. of P. His religious affiliations are with 
 the Unitarian Church of .St. Cloud. He was 
 married A fay ]8, 1873, to Sara Williams of Inde- 
 pendence, Iowa. Air. and Mrs. IJruckart have 
 had three children, two of whom are livinof: 
 Leigh Dudley, born in 1X7(1, ami Lloyd Owen, 
 l)om in 1 88 1. 
 
 HENRY BEEMER. 
 
 Henry Beemer, of Minneapolis, is a son 
 of Jose])h lieemer, a well-to-do farmer, and Eliza- 
 beth Dean (Beemer.) Joseph Beemer resided at 
 St. George, Ontario, and, while not a politician, 
 in the usual sense of the word, he was chosen 
 by his fellow-townsmen fifteen times in succes- 
 sion to represent them in the council. Henry 
 Beemer was born at St. George, November 5, 
 1836. His educational advantages were con- 
 fined to the town schools, as in those days very 
 few farmers' boys in that country were able to 
 enjoy the advantages of a college course. In 
 i860 Mr. Beemer removed to Michigan, locating 
 at Pontiac, and went into the marble business 
 He continued in that business there until 1881, 
 when he moved his establishment to Clinton, 
 Iowa, and a short time later to Lisbon. He con- 
 tinued in the marble business in Iowa for nine- 
 teen years, making twenty-one years in all en- 
 gaged in that line of trade, during which time 
 he was very successful. In 1881 he closed up 
 his marble business and turned his attention to 
 life insurance. The following year he organized 
 the Northwestern Aid Association at Marshall- 
 town, Iowa, and three years later, in 1885, moved 
 the headquarters of that association to Minneap- 
 olis and changed the name to the Northwestern 
 Life Association. He incorporated under the 
 laws of Minnesota, and for the past ten years 
 has acted as general manager. He was mainly 
 instrumental in placing it in the favorable posi- 
 tion which it now occupies. Since his removal 
 
 to Minneapolis he has also become deeply in- 
 terested in agriculture, and in 1893 he fitted up a 
 farm near Excelsior. The tract contamed two hun- 
 dred acres, and Mr. lleenier took great satisfaction 
 in liringing it into a high state of cultivation and 
 improvement. Mr. Beemer has never taken a 
 very active part in politics, but is an enthusiastic 
 Repuljlican. In i8i;4 some of his friends took the 
 liberty to present his name to the Republican city 
 convention ior the office of mayor, and although 
 he was not an active candidate, he received 
 seventy-six votes on the first ballot. Mr. Beemer 
 is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and was elected one of two delegates to the gen- 
 eral conference in 1892. He has been intrusted 
 with all the offices of his church from the lowest 
 to the highest, and is now chaimian of the 
 finance connnittee of the Wesley M. E. Church, 
 of Minneapolis. He is a man of sterling integ- 
 rity and commands the confidence and respect 
 of all who know him. He was married in 1857 
 to Nancv A. Averill, and they have had four 
 children, Herbert Elsten, Marie Lucretia, Helena 
 -Augusta and Dayton. The first two are not 
 living.
 
 360 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 W^ ^ 
 
 I 
 
 j 
 
 IRNIXGTODD. 
 
 Irving Todd, of The Hastings Gazette, is one 
 of tlie oldest newspaper men of the state. He 
 came to the Xorthwest in 1857, and since i860 
 has been continnously identified with country 
 joumaHsm in this vicinity. Through laoth par- 
 ents Mr. Todd is descended from old Colonial 
 stock of the sturdv type which made Xew Eng- 
 land and the Middle States the bulwark of the 
 Revolution. The family in America dates from 
 Abraham Todd, who was born in Scotland in 
 1 710, and as a Presbyterian minister settled at 
 Horse Xeck, Connecticut. He died just before 
 the war, in 1772. Some of his descendants 
 moved to Westchester County, Xew York and 
 have for geneiations been identified with that 
 portion of the Empire State. Joseph X. Todd, 
 father of Irving, w^as a miller in good circum- 
 stances, living at Cross River. He married ]\Iiss 
 Sarah A. Reynolds, granddaughter of Lieutenant 
 Nathaniel Reynolds, a Revolutionary soldier. 
 Her family was prominent in Westchester and. 
 like that of her lius1)and, thriftv and well-to-do. 
 In 1856 Mr. Todd, in company with a brother 
 and brother-in-law, was induced to invt'St (|uite 
 
 largely in a saw mill at Prescott, Wisconsin, but 
 in the following season — the panic year of 1857 
 — went down in the general financial crash. 
 However, the investment was the means of shift- 
 ing the life of his son from the civilization of 
 New York to the then new West. Irving was 
 l.)orn at Lewislioro, Xew York, Jul\' 2^. 1841, 
 receiving a good conmion school education. In 
 the spring of 1857 he came out to Prescott with 
 his father to look after their business interests, 
 and during that sunmier worked in the saw 
 mill, running engine and sawing lath. He spent 
 the following winter at the old home in Xew 
 York, and in the spring the family moved West 
 and settled permanentlv at Prescott. For a year 
 or so Irving divided his tmie between farm work 
 and school, in 1859 making his first acquaint- 
 ance with what he has aptly called "the best 
 school he ever attended." the printing office. 
 June 18, i860, he entered into a years" contract 
 with C. E. Young, of The Prescott Transcript, at 
 a salary of one dollar ])er week and board. Pre- 
 vious to this the young man had been fired with 
 the desire to enter the life of a printer and news- 
 paper man. He had read with enthusiasm Penja- 
 min I'Vanklin's autobiography — the first influence 
 toward journalism. He was an apt student at the 
 new employment. \\'ithin three months he was 
 acting as foreman of the office, besides doing 
 most of the editorial work and all of the proof 
 reading. At the end of the year he was consid- 
 ered more than an average journeyman. The 
 Transcript, however, had been undermined by 
 political rivalry, and Mr. Todd secured employ- 
 ment as a compositor on The Hastings Con- 
 server, then being run as a daily to supply the 
 demand for war news. In a few months the daily 
 edition was discontinued, Mr. Todd going back 
 to Prescott and assuming editorial charge of The 
 Journal, which Lute A. Taylor had moved in from 
 River b'alls. After some further experience on 
 Tlie Hudson .Star, Mr. Todd Ixnight the plant of 
 The Conservcr, then dcfinicl. XnNcmhcr 17. 
 1862. issuing his first paper the following Thurs- 
 dav. Ele has since been identified with Hastings. 
 Four years later tlic pa])er was consolidated with 
 The Tude|)enilent as The ITristings Ciazette. Tudd
 
 PROGRESSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 :ir,l 
 
 & Stebbiiis, editors and proprietors. March 4, 
 1878, Mr. Todd bought out Mr. Stebbins' half 
 interest. The present daily issue was coiunienced 
 September 18, 1882, and August 27, 1887, 
 Irving Todd, Jr., was given an interest in tlie 
 business, the date being his twenty-first birth- 
 day. The firm has since been Irving Todd & 
 Son. They have been financiaUy successful. 
 Mr. Todd has been an active Reiniblican since 
 the organization of the party. In 1867-8 he was 
 assistant doorkeeper of the house of representa- 
 tives at Washington, and was collector of inter- 
 nal revenue at St. Paul from January i, 1872, 
 to April I, 1876. In the Masonic fraternity Mr. 
 Todd is past master of Dakota Lodge, No. 7; 
 past high priest of \'ermillion Chapter, No. 2: 
 past district deputy grand master, past deputy 
 grand high priest, and a charter member of Min- 
 nesota Consistory, No. i. He has written the 
 reports on foreign correspondence for the Grand 
 Lodge of Minnesota since i88g. Todd's Digest, 
 now in its fourth edition, is standard authority 
 in this jurisdiction. July 13, 1865, Mr. Todd was 
 married to Miss Helen Lucas. Their children, 
 Irving and Louise, are now grown. Mrs. Todd 
 died April 15, 1896. 
 
 FRANK W. FORCE. 
 
 Scattered throughout the state of Minnesota 
 and among the most active forces in the de- 
 velopment of the state are graduates of the State 
 University, who have here prepared themselves 
 for some particular branch in business or pro- 
 fessional life. Among the number is Dr. Frank 
 W. Force, of Windom, a son of Dr. J. F. Force, 
 president of the Northwestern Life Association 
 of Minneapolis. Frank W. Force was born at 
 Stillwater, New York, February 7, 1868. His 
 family came to Minnesota in 1873. Thev lived 
 on a farm for two years near Heron Lake, 
 and then moved into town that Fraid-: might 
 obtain the benefits of better school facilities. As 
 a boy he spent his summer vacations working 
 in the hay field and otherwise developing his 
 muscles and strengthening his constitution. 
 
 When he was prepared for college he entered 
 Hamline University, but without completing the 
 course there entered the dental department of 
 the State University, from which he graduated 
 June 4, 1 89 1. When he was ready for his pro- 
 fessional work he decided to locate at ^^'lndom, 
 Minnesota, and has been an active factor in the 
 development of that town ever since. He is at 
 present city recorder and has been active in the 
 promotion of all public enterprises and closely 
 identified with everything which contributed to 
 the growth and prosperity of the city. In addi- 
 tiiin to his professional work, he is engaged in 
 the drug business and has made a success of it. 
 He is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows, is 
 serving the public as a member of the high school 
 examining board, and has closely identified him- 
 self with all the best interests of the city in which he 
 lives. He is a Republican, and secretarv- of the Re- 
 publican League Club. His religious connec- 
 tions are with the Methodist Church, and he 
 is a member of the official board of that organi- 
 zation. Dr. Force was married September 27, 
 1893, to Miss Clara F. Robinson, of Savannah, 
 Illinois. They have one daughter, Margaret, and 
 occupy a leading positii)n in the societv of Win- 
 dom.
 
 362 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 GEORGE PERRY FLAXXERY. 
 
 George Perry Flannery is a lawyer at Min- 
 neapolis. Mr. Elannery's parents were humble 
 people; both were born in Ireland and came to 
 this country in the forties. They settled in Con- 
 necticut and were married in that state in 1849. 
 The same year they removed to Wisconsin and 
 located on a farm in Marquette County, where 
 they remained until the spring oi 1855, when they 
 removed to Rice County, Minnesota. Mr. I'lan- 
 nery was then about two years old and came to 
 this state in a covered wagon drawn by o.xen. 
 His father's name was Michael Flannery, a native 
 of the County of Kilkenny, and his mother's 
 maiden name was Katharine Ilynn. Her iMrth- 
 place was in the County of Longford, Ireland. 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Marquette, 
 Wisconsin, h'ebruary 12, 1852, and w^as the second 
 child of the family. His first schooling was 
 received in one of the primitive log schoolhouses 
 then common on the frontier. In the fall of 1867 
 George P. I'lannery entered the high school in 
 Faribault and continued there two years, when 
 he went to Shattuck Hall, at Faribault, ami was 
 a pupil in tliat school until May. iSjr, When 
 
 he left his father's farm in the fall of 1867 he 
 undertook to provide for himself by teaching 
 school, and w'orking for the farmers during the 
 harvest season. While he was a pupil at Shattuck 
 the teacher of mathematics gave extra time and 
 instruction to I'lannery and two other boys, and 
 as a result they finished with the class which 
 started two years ahead of them. George P. 
 Flannery had determined to be a lawyer, and it 
 was his good fortime to get into the office of 
 Batchelder & Buckham, at Faribault, in May, 
 1871. He read law there and continued with 
 them until April, 1874, with the exception of 
 such intervals as it was necessary for him to 
 teach and do other work for his own support. 
 He recalls now, with no little pleasure, that the 
 first money he ever earned was received for one 
 month's work driving oxen and harrowing in 
 wheat. He was admitted to the bar in Faribault 
 in 1873, and the supreme court in 1874. In the 
 latter year he went to Dakota Territory and 
 settled in liismarck, where he formed a law part- 
 nership with Josiah De Lamater, then district 
 attorney, which partnership continued under the 
 name of De Lamater & Flanner\- until the spring 
 of 1877, when Mr. De Lamater returned to Ohio. 
 Soon after going to Bismarck, and although a 
 young attorney, Mr. Planner}' was appointed 
 attorney for the Northern Pacific Railroad and 
 held that position until June, 1887, when he came 
 to Minneapolis. In 1875 he was appointed 
 assistant United States attorney for Dakota and 
 held that position for two years. In 1877 '^^ was 
 appointed city attorney for Bismarck and during 
 that year, in connection with the town site com- 
 mission settled and adjusted the claims to all 
 the lots contained in the original tow^n site of 
 Bismarck. He held the office of city attorney 
 for three successive terms, beginning in 1877, 
 -and was again appointed to the same office in 
 1883. In 1879 he formed a partnership with 
 John K. Wetherby, which continued five years, 
 when Mr. Wetherby retired on account of failing 
 health. Then came the great fight for the capital 
 of the Territory of Dakota in the year 1883, and 
 Mr. Flannery was selected by his townsmen to 
 represent tlu- iil\- nf llisniarck and niak'c her liid
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 363 
 
 for the honor of being the scat of territorial 
 government, lie was successful ami the capital 
 was removed from Yankton to liismarck. In 
 1883 congress created the Si.\th judicial district 
 and Mr. l''lannery was appointed attorney of that 
 district by Governor Ordway and held that posi- 
 tion until the law was changed and the office of 
 district attorney became that of county attorney. 
 In 1884 he was elected president of the bar 
 association of the Sixth district of Dakota Terri- 
 tory. The same year he formed a partnership 
 with E. C. Cooke, with wIkhii he is now asso- 
 ciated in bu.'^iness. In 1883 he was made a 
 member of tlie board of education in Bismarck 
 and held that office until June, 1887, being presi- 
 dent of the board the last two years. In 1885 he 
 was elected county attorney of IJurleigh County 
 and held that office until he left Dakota. In June. 
 1887, he came to Minneapolis and formed a part- 
 nership with H. G. (). Morrison and E. C. Cooke, 
 the style of the firm being Morrison, Mannery & 
 Cooke. This partnership continued for three 
 years, when Mr. Morrison withdrew. Air. Flan- 
 nery has been engaged in the practice of law 
 since May i, 1874, thirteen years in Dakota, and 
 the rest of the time in Minneapolis. He has 
 been engaged in most of the important litigation 
 carried on in that part of Dakota Territory which 
 now constitutes the state of North Dakota. He 
 has always been a Republican. Was one of the 
 alternates to the national convention in Cincin- 
 nati in 1876, and has held the office of chairman 
 of the Republican committee of Burleigh county. 
 Since coming to Alinneapolis he has enjoyed a 
 large practice and has attained a proiuinent 
 position in the bar of this city. He was married 
 in 1876 to Alice Greene, and has four children, 
 Charles S., Henrv C, ^Marguerite and Alice. 
 
 JOHN R. McKINNON. 
 
 The mayor of the city of Crookston, Minne- 
 sota, is the man whose 'name stands at the head 
 of this sketch. He was born in Inverness Shire, 
 Scotland, September 13, 1851, the son of Archi- 
 
 bald McKinnon and Jennette McGillis (Alcivin- 
 non), who a year or two later emigrated to Can- 
 ada, settling on a farm at Lancaster, Glengarry 
 County, t )ntario, where they died in moderate 
 financial circumstances. John R. McKinnon 
 only had the advantages of a common school 
 education, and resided on the farm until his re- 
 moval to .Michigan in 1867. He located at 
 Crookston on May 15, 1880, two younger 
 brothers having preceded him to this place, and 
 entered into partnership with one of them, Alex- 
 ander, in the manufacture of carriages and the 
 handling of farm implements, under the firm 
 naiue of AfcKinndu Bros., which jjartnership 
 still continues. Mr. McKinnon has been quite 
 successful in his Inisiness ventures. He is inde- 
 pendent in his political convictions, but has been 
 active in local affairs. For six years he ser\-ed 
 as a member of the school board, and in 1895 
 was elected mayor of Crookston for a term of 
 one vear. His church connections are with the 
 Catholic Church. He was married June 24, 1S74, 
 to Hattie McDonald. They have had eight 
 children, of whom only two are living, Margaret, 
 fourteen years of age, and Hattie, six years of 
 aare.
 
 364 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HASCAL R. r.RILL. 
 
 There are man\- able, fearless and conscien- 
 tious men in the judiciary of the State of INIin- 
 nesota, but there is none who is held in higher 
 esteem by the people of his district than Judge 
 Hascal R. Brill, who has occupied the district 
 bench of St. I'aul for over a score of years. Judge 
 Brill's ancestors were Holland Dutch, who settled 
 in Dutchess County. Xew York. His grandpar- 
 ents removed to Canada, just over the \'ermont 
 line, shortly after the Revolutionary^ war, and 
 took up land and opened farms on which some 
 of their descendants still live. Hascal was born 
 at Phillipsburg, in the Province of Quebec, Au- 
 gust ID, 1846; the son of Thomas Russell (who 
 was a farmer by occupation) and Sarah Sagar Lirill. 
 When thirteen years of age he came to J\linne- 
 sota with his parents, who settled on a farm near 
 Kenyon, in Ciijodhue Count)-. Here young Brill 
 lived until he was twenty-one years of age, work- 
 ing on the farm during the sunnners and at- 
 tending school in the winters, though sometimes 
 teaching. His early education he received in the 
 district scliool, and he prepared himself for col- 
 lege in Haniline I'niversitv, which he attended 
 
 irregularly for four years. He then entered the 
 University of ^Michigan, but only took one year's 
 course. In December, 1867, he moved to St. 
 Paul, with the intention of taking up the study 
 of law, and entered the office of Judge Palmer 
 and Morris Lamprey. He was admitted to prac- 
 tice December 31, 1869, and formed a partner- 
 ship with Stanford Newel. After a practice of 
 about three years he was elected probate judge 
 for Ramsey County, which office he held in 1873 
 and 1874. On the demise of William S. Hall, 
 first judge of the court of common pleas in Min- 
 nesota, Governor Davis appointed Judge Brill, 
 March i, 1875, to fill the vacancy. A few months 
 later he was elected to the same office for a 
 term of seven years. At the next session of the 
 legislature in 1876 the court of common pleas 
 was merged into that of the district court for the 
 Second Judicial District, Judge Brill occupying 
 the bench, and he has held that office ever since. 
 To place Judge Brill ahead of his associates 
 on the bench is not making any invidious 
 comparisons, for he has earned his pre-eminence 
 by years of hard judicial service. The fact 
 that Judge Brill received his renominations to- 
 the bench at the hands of both of the great 
 political parties is significant of the esteem in 
 which he is held. Although a Republican in 
 principle. Judge Brill has not taken any active 
 part in politics since his elevation to the bench, 
 lie is, however, interested in religious work. 
 He is a Methodist, as were his father and 
 mother and grandparents. His father's house 
 was known far and wide as a stopping place for 
 Methodist ministers, where they always received 
 a hearty reception. The Judge has held numer- 
 ous church offices, and at present is chairman 
 of the board of trustees of the First M. E. Church 
 of St. Paul, of which church he has been an 
 influential member ever since he located in that 
 city. He was a member of the last two general 
 conferences of the Methodist Church, and served' 
 as chairman of the judiciarv committee. Tn the 
 quiet of his own home, freed from the vexations 
 of his judicial duties. Judge Brill seeks to satisfy 
 his taste for literature: occasionallv he has de-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN 01- MINNESOTA. 
 
 365 
 
 livered a lecture or an address on literary and 
 historical subjects, and also on topics of current 
 public interest. ITc has l)ecn trustee of Hamline 
 University for many years, and was president of 
 the board for some time. He was married 
 August II, 187.^, to Cora A. (!ray. of Suspension 
 Bridge, Xew Yurk. .Mr. and Mrs, P.rill have 
 six children. 
 
 EUGENE G. HAY. 
 
 Eugene G. Hay was United States district at- 
 torney for Minnesota from 1890 to 1894. -Mr. 
 Hay is a native of Charlestown, Clark County, 
 Indiana, a son of Dr. Andrew J. Hay and Re- 
 becca Garrett Hay. His father was of Scotch 
 descent and his mother of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
 He was born March 26, 1853, and received his 
 education in the conmion schools and in the Bar- 
 nett Academy at Charlestown. In 1876 he began 
 studying law in the office of Gordon, Lamb & 
 Sheppard at Indianapolis. He was admitted to 
 the bar in 1877 and commenced the practice of 
 his profession at Madison, Indiana, the next 
 year. He remained there until i88t), wnen he 
 removed to Minneapolis and has been practicing 
 law here ever since, either in a private capacity 
 or as an officer of the government. Mr. Hay is 
 a Repubhcan and has always taken an active part 
 in politics since he became a voter. He was a 
 clerk in the Indiana legislature in 1877 and was 
 made prosecuting attorney at Madison for two 
 terms, from 1881 to 1885. In 1884 he repre- 
 sented the Fourth congressional district of Indi- 
 ana in the Republican national convention 
 which nominated James G. Blaine for the presi- 
 dency. In 1888 he was elected to the lower 
 house of the Minnesota legislature from the 
 Twenty-ninth district, where he made a most 
 excellent record. He was one of the leaders of 
 the Washburn senatorial campaign of that year, 
 and contributed in a large degree to the election 
 of W. D. Washburn to the United States senate. 
 On December 17, 1889, Mr. Hay's name 
 was sent to the senate by the president for the 
 position of United States district attornev for 
 
 Minnesota, and he held that office until 1894. He 
 is a forcible speaker and has always been relied 
 upon by his party as one of the most efficient 
 and successful men on the stump in this state. 
 This has brought his ability in demand in every 
 campaign and he has given liberally of his time 
 and ability for the promotion of the political 
 principles of which he is a firm believer. .Mr. 
 Hay was married November 4, 1891, at Indian- 
 apolis, to Elenora Farquhar. He is a Alason 
 and Knight Templar. Prior to his appointment 
 as United States district attorney he was in part- 
 nership in the practice of law with Messrs. Jelly 
 and Hull, the style of the firm being Jelly, Hay & 
 Hull. Upon his retirement from office he re- 
 sumed the practice of law, but without partners. 
 He has been ver\- successful both in his official 
 work and in his private practice, and is regarded 
 as one of the strongest among the vounger mem- 
 bers of the Minneapolis bar. Although Mr. Hay 
 never enjoyed the advantages of a complete col- 
 lege education, he has always been a student, 
 and is a gentleman of extensive reading and a 
 diligent investigator of the important questions 
 of the day, on which he is an instructive writer 
 and a well equipped and forcible speaker.
 
 366 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 KNLTEXELSUN. 
 
 Senator Kiuite Xclsun, of .Minnesota, is a na- 
 tive of Norway. He was 1)orn at \ oss. near Ber- 
 gen, Norway, on February 2, 1843. I'Or jjenera- 
 tions his ancestors had lived in that vicinitv as 
 farmers. When three years old Knute lost his 
 father, and when six, he came to this country 
 with his mother. When they arrived in Chicaijo 
 in July, 1840. the cholera epidemic was raging- in 
 that city. The young boy contracted the disease, 
 but his rugged constitution successfully resisted 
 its attacks. During the succeeding vear his 
 mother moved to \\'alworth County, Wisconsin, 
 and soon after to Dane County, where young 
 Nelson grew up. His conmion school educatiim 
 was obtained witli difficulty, but after encounter- 
 ing many ol)stacles he was able, in 1858, to enter 
 Albion Academy, lint three years of his course 
 there had expired when the war broke out, and 
 Nelson entered tlie army in May, i86r, with a 
 group of his fellow students. Tluy became mem- 
 bers of the Fourth Wisconsin Infantry. Ilie 
 young soldier served with his regiment until the 
 fall of 1864. Tie participated in the capture of 
 New Orleans, in the first siege of \'icksburg, the 
 
 battle of llaton Rouge and Camp Bisland, and 
 was at the siege of Port Hudson. In the great 
 charge at tliis siege, on June 14, 1863, he was 
 wounded and captured, and remained a jirisoner 
 until the fort was surrendered on July <j. At the 
 close of the war Mr. Nelson returned to Albion, 
 finished his course, and after graduation became a 
 law student in the office of Senator William [''. 
 \ ilas, at -Madison. He was admitted to the l)ar 
 in the spring of 1867, and inunediateb' com- 
 menced practice. In the fall of the same year 
 he was elected to the state assemlily, and was le- 
 elected in the following vear. Soon after the 
 close of his second term he moved to Alexandria, 
 Douglas County, Minnesota, where he has since 
 ma<le his home. In Douglas County Mr. Nelson 
 found many people from his native country and 
 from .Sweden. In fact, those nationalities pre- 
 dominate in Northwestern Minnesota. As a 
 strong man, and one whose characteristics fitted 
 him to become a leader, he naturally took a prom- 
 inent place from his first settlement in the region, 
 lie entered a United States homestead and 
 opened a farm near Alexandria, and commenced 
 farming and practicing law. In 1872, 1873 and 
 1874 he was county attorney of Douglas County. 
 In 1875, 1876, 1877 and 1878 he served the 
 Thirty-ninth Legislative District as state senator. 
 l!y this time he had attained great prominence 
 and influence in the northern portion of the state, 
 and his name was placed on the Garfield electoral 
 ticket in 1880. Two years later he secured the 
 Republican nomination for congress, for the then 
 I'lfth District of Minnesota. The campaign was 
 an extremely bitter one, but he was elected by a 
 ])lurality of four thousand five hundred votes. 
 Re-election followed in 1884 bv over ten tlmu- 
 ,sand plurality, and in 1886 he received fur his 
 third term forty three thousand nine hundred and 
 thirtv-seven votes to one thousand two hundred 
 ;ind thirty-nine ca.st for a Prohiljitionist, his only 
 iii:)])onent. Mr. Nelson's record in congress was 
 that of a hard worker, and an indeiiendcnt and 
 fearless voter. He favored tariff reform, and even 
 went so far as to vote for the Mills bill, as well 
 as introducing a measure looking to the entire 
 rdiolitiiin (if the tariff on several articles. He was
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 8(J7 
 
 instrumental in securing the passage of bills open- 
 ing the Indian reservations and making perma- 
 nent disposition of the red men of Minnesota. 
 With no material opposition to him he neverthe- 
 less declined a renomination in i88S, and the fol- 
 lowing spring resumed his law business and farm- 
 ing at Alexandria, InU in i<S(j2 he was unanimous- 
 ly nominated as the party candidate for governor, 
 and was elected l)y a plurality of fourteen thou- 
 sand six hundred and twenty votes. A renomina- 
 tion and election by sixty thousand plurality fol- 
 lowed in i8i)4. He had hardly entered upon his 
 second term, however, when he was elected to 
 the L'nited States senate and resigned as governor 
 to accept the higher office, which he n(_)w fills 
 with great ability. Mr. Xelson"s career has been 
 of the kind that romances are made of, and his 
 success stands as a living refutatii.m of the com- 
 plaint that there is no k)nger any chance for the 
 poor boy in this country. Xelson was certainly 
 poor enough and sufficiently dependent on his 
 merits and his own efforts which have advanced 
 him from the station which he occupied as a lad 
 in 1840, with all its discouraging conditions, to 
 the honorable office which he now fills with credit 
 to himself and to the profit of the state. 
 
 LOUIS N. SCOTT. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born at Peters- 
 burg, Kentucky, Alay 10, 1858, a son of Robert 
 Scott, now a hotel proprietor in Missouri, and 
 Ellen Coneff (Scott), now deceased. Robert Scott 
 w^as of Scotch descent, and his wife of Irish line- 
 age. Louis was afforded the advantages of a com- 
 mon school and business education only. In 
 April, 1875, at the age of seventeen, he came to 
 Minnesota and located at St. Paul, having ob- 
 tained emplovment there as a clerk in the steam- 
 boat business. He was employed as freight clerk 
 on the levee by the St. Louis & St. Paul Packet 
 Company, and afterwards became the agent in 
 St. Paul for that line and still later general 
 Northwestern agent for the same company. 
 In 1883 he engaged in the theatrical busi- 
 ness as manager of the opera house in 
 
 St. Paul. In October of the same year, he was 
 made manager of the Grand Opera House and 
 conducted it up to the time it was destroyed by 
 fire in January, 1888. He then managed the 
 Newmarket, a temporary theatre, for nearly two 
 years, and opened the Metropolitan (3pera House 
 in St. Paul, December 29, 1890. Mr. Scott is 
 novi' in charge of this property. In 1894 he was 
 made manager of the Grand Opera House in 
 Minneapolis and handled that property up to the 
 time it was closed in ( )ctober, 1895. On the sixth 
 day of October, 1895, ^'r. Scott was placed in 
 charge of the Metropolitan Opera House and the 
 Lyceum Theatre in Minneapolis. In ^lay, 1894, 
 he took the management of the Lyceum Theatre, 
 in Duhith, and is now conducting these four 
 places of amusement. The Metropolitan in Min- 
 neapolis, the Metropolitan in St. Paul, and the 
 Lyceum in Duluth, are operated together. He has 
 been highly successful in his extensive business, 
 aiming to present to the theatre-loving ptiblic of 
 these three cities the best available attractions. 
 Mr. Scott is a member of the Minneapolis Club 
 and the Minnesota Club in St. Paul. He was 
 married in December, 1886, to ]Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Haines. Thev have no children.
 
 368 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ROBERT DONUL'GH RL'SSELL. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has l.ieen a resident 
 of Minneapolis since 1883. He was born at St. 
 Louis, on March 9. 185 1, where his parents had 
 lived for a number of years. The father, Charles 
 E. Russell, who was a native of New. Jersey, but 
 came West in 1837, was a mechanic of industrious 
 habits and superior intelligence and pronounced 
 radical views. His wife, who was Miss Louisa 
 Mathews, was a lady of no ordinary attainments. 
 During the rebellion she engagetl in the work of 
 sanitary commission, doing noble work among 
 the soldiers of the Union army. Of the eight 
 boys in the family, five grew to manhood. The 
 eldest became president of Barean College, Jack- 
 sonville, Illinois. Another brother is Sol Smith 
 Russell, the celebrated actor. Four of the broth- 
 ers bore arms during the rebellion, but Robert 
 was too young to take part in the war. After the 
 family moved to Jacksonville in iSfio, he com- 
 menced, at onlv nine years of age, to learn his 
 father's trade, that of a tinner. Until he was 
 eighteen years old his work at the bench alter- 
 nated with short ])eriods of schooling: but he 
 managed to fit himself for college, and in 1868 he 
 entered the sophomore class of Illinois College. 
 
 While attending college he supported himself by 
 labor and teaching. He graduated in 1871 with 
 the highest honors, being valedictorian of his 
 class. Within a year he commenced the study of 
 law in the ofiftce of Isaac L. Morrison, of Jack- 
 sonville. His admission to the bar was in Sep- 
 tember, 1874, and at the same time he received the 
 degree of Alaster of Arts from his alma mater. 
 Almost innnediatelv upon his admission, the 
 young law_\er was appointed city attorney of 
 Jacksonville, a position which he held for three 
 terms. He was also made a partner in the law 
 firm of Dummer & Brown, and upon the death 
 of Judge Dummer in 1878, he continued with Mr. 
 Brown until his removal to [Minneapolis. This 
 partnership brought Mr. Russell into very exten- 
 sive practice, in which the affairs of several rail- 
 roads represented by the firm, were of the most 
 importance. Questions of state control of rail- 
 roads and the right to prescribe rates, were then 
 comparatively new. In the extensive litigation 
 which followed the assertion of those powers, 
 the firm of Dummer, Brown & Russell \vas 
 prominent. In coimection with some of these im- 
 portant litigations, ]Mr. Russell visited Washing- 
 ton in 1 88 1, and was admitted to practice in the 
 United States supreme court. The attractions of 
 Minneapolis as a place to live, led two of the 
 brothers, Robert and Sol Smith, to choose this 
 city as their home. Soon after his arrival, Mr. 
 Russell formed the law partnership of Russell, 
 Emery & Reed. The firm later became Russell, 
 Calhoun & Reed, and cnj(jyed a large practice. 
 The first public service rendered by Mr. Russell 
 in Minneapolis was as city attorney. He was ap- 
 pointed to that ofifice on January i, 1889, and 
 served for four years. Perhaps the most im- 
 portant litigation during his term was that con- 
 nected \\ith the dispute between the city and sev- 
 eral railroad companies, relative to the bridging 
 of the railroad tracks on Fourth Avenue North. 
 The case had reached the supreme court of the 
 United States when Air. Russell succeeded in ar- 
 riving at a compromise which was acceptable to 
 the railroad companies and advantageous to the 
 citv. This allowed the work of the bridging to 
 go forward, nuich to the benefit of the iieople. 
 In the aulnnin of 1891, 'Mr. Russell roceivt'd the
 
 I'KOCRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 309 
 
 Kcpublicau noiniiiutiun lUr ju(lt;c of ihc district 
 court. The Democratic party was successful at 
 the succeeding election, but in May, 1893, Ju'lg*-' 
 Lochren retired from the bench, and Mr. Russell 
 was appointed to lill out his term. In Novem- 
 ber, 1894, he was elected to succeed himself for 
 the six years' term. Judge Russell was president 
 of the Minneapolis liar Associatinn in 1892-93. 
 He is a trustee of Illinois College, a i)rominent 
 member of Plymouth Congregational church in 
 Minneapolis, and a public-spirited and progres- 
 sive citizen. He was married on September 7, 
 1876, to Miss Lilian M. linjoks, of Danville, 
 Illinois. Their living children are Dorothy Rus- 
 sell, aged nine years, and Jean Russell, aged five 
 vears. 
 
 EDWARD DA-XiXjRTH KEYES. 
 
 Dr. Edward D. Keyes is a practicing physician 
 of Winona, Minnesota. He is a native of this 
 city, but comes of old New- England stock. His 
 grandfather, Danforth Keyes, was bom in Con- 
 necticut. He lived at Ashford, Windom County, 
 and there, on June 20, 1818, John Keyes, the 
 father of Edward, was born. In 1837 John Keyes 
 moved to Clinton, Michigan. While living there, 
 he was married, on Novem1)cr i, 1846, to Miss 
 Angelina E. Pease, who was born in Wilson, 
 Niagara County, New York, September 25, 1829. 
 When the great excitement in California broke 
 out in 1850 JMr. Keyes joined the gold seekers 
 and went to seek his fortune on the Pacific coast. 
 He returned in 1853 and shortly afterward moved 
 with his family to Winona, in the then new state 
 of Minnesota. Mr. Keyes was a lawyer, and he 
 at once became prominent in his new home. 
 During the twenty-three years in which he lived 
 at Winona, he was identified with the public 
 afifairs of the city, and especially took an active 
 part in the establishment and development of the 
 public school svstem of Winona, and of the state 
 normal school, located at that place. He died on 
 December 2, 1876, at his home in ^Vinona. Mrs. 
 Keyes still lives with her family at Winona. 
 Dr. Keyes was educated in the excellent 
 public schools at Winona. While attend- 
 ing school, and when only eighteen years old 
 
 his father died and he was thrown on 
 his own resources. In order to obtain means 
 to pursue his studies he worked in the flour and 
 lumber mills, at the same time devoting his spare 
 hours to his books. He began the study of medi- 
 cine in the office of Dr. Franklin Staples, at 
 Winona, in 188 1. Afterwards he attended three 
 courses of lectures in the Rush Medical College, 
 in Chicago, and was graduated in the class of 
 1885. Upon graduation he received a prize for 
 examination in opthalmology. Dr. Keyes, later, 
 took a post-graduate course at Chicago Polyclinic 
 during the autunm of 1890. He began the prac- 
 tice of medicine and surgery in his native city 
 in 1885, and has since continued there. By hard 
 work, good judgment and steady perseverance 
 he has built up a large practice and established 
 a high reputation. Since 1890 Dr. Keyes has 
 been district surgeon for the Chicago & North- 
 western railway. He has had a large experience 
 in general and railway surgery, modern, abdom- 
 inal surgen,- and in gynecological operations. 
 He was elected to membership in the board of 
 education in Winona for the term 1893-1897. On 
 Mav 20, 1806, Dr. Keyes was married to Miss 
 ^fargaret Hull McNie, who is also a native of 
 \\^nona. He is a member of the Congregational 
 church.
 
 370 
 
 PROGRESSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 RENSSELAER RUSSEL NELSON. 
 
 The occupation of a federal district bench foi^ 
 a period of thirty-eight years is an honor which 
 few men are privileged to point to as their record 
 in the public service. Alinnesota, since its admis- 
 sion to statehood, has had as its representative on 
 the United States district bench Judge Rensselaer 
 R. Nelson, who e.xercised jurisdiction over this 
 district until 1896. when he resigned to take a 
 rest from the arduous duties of his long judicial 
 career. But judge Nelson is not the only member 
 of his family who has been ]ir()minent in tlie 
 judiciary of the United States. His father, .Samuel 
 Nelson, was for many years, and until his death, 
 an associate justice of the United States supreme 
 court, while Judge Neilson of Brooklyn, who tried 
 the famous Tilhnan-l'eccher trial in 1875, was a 
 second cousin, tliis branch of the family spelling 
 their name Neilson. Rensselaer Russel Nelson 
 was born in Coopcrstown, Otsego County, New 
 York, on May 12. 1826. He is of Irish 
 descent on his father's side, and of English and 
 Irish on his motlier's. His paternal great-grand- 
 father. John Nelson, came over from Ballib.-i\ . 
 
 Ireland, in 1764, when his grandfather, John 
 Rogers Nelson, was a child, and settled in Wash- 
 ington County, New York. Here Samuel Nelson, 
 father of Rensselaer, was born, November 10, 
 1792, dying in Cooperstown, New York, in 
 December, 1873. He served in the War of 1812, 
 and the land warrant given him for his services 
 to his country at that time was located by his son, 
 Rensselaer, on lands in Minnesota. Young 
 Nelson prepared for college in his native town. 
 When but sixteen years old he entered Yale 
 College, and was graduated from that institution 
 of learning in 1846. He had decided to follow in 
 the footsteps of his father, and at once began 
 reading law- in the office of George A. Stark- 
 weather, of Cooperstown. He finished his law 
 studies in the office of James R. \\'hiting, of New- 
 York City, who sat at one time on the supreme 
 bench of the State of New York, and was admitted 
 to the bar in his native town in 1840- He began 
 practice there, but within a short time moved to 
 Minnesota, locating at St. Paul in 1850. He con- 
 tinued his practice in that city for three or four 
 years, then removed to ^^'est .Superior, Wisconsin. 
 ^^'hile there, from 1834 to 1856, he served as 
 district attornev of Douglas Coimty. In 1857 he 
 returned to St. Paul and was appointed a territorial 
 judge for ^Minnesota bv President Buchanan. 
 Minnesota was admitted to the L'nion the follow- 
 ing year and Judge Nelson was appointed United 
 .States district judge, the circuit over which he 
 had jurisdiction taking in the whole of the State 
 of Miimesota. Bv reason of the great extent of 
 this circuit, he having to preside alone at many 
 terms of the court, and also the fact that for many- 
 years the criminal laws of the United States were 
 almost exclusively administered by the district 
 court. Judge Nelson's duties have been of a very 
 laborious and complex character. But he was a 
 hard worker and scldoiu took leave of his cham- 
 bers. His long judicial experience on the district 
 bench, and his carlv and complete training in the 
 doctrines of the conunon law. have made him one 
 of the leading expounders of the statutorv laws 
 of the Ignited .States in this countrv. He made 
 law and jurisprudence his life study, hence his
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OP MINNESOTA. 
 
 371 
 
 high standing as a jurist. His decisions were 
 always marked by the strictest inipartiaHty, his 
 judgment in his charges to juries exhibiting a rare 
 judicial instinct to quickly wade through imma- 
 terial details to the essential points, and so finely 
 balanced that his court was seldom brought into 
 conflict with other courts, a result often precipi- 
 tated by our duplex judicial system. After a 
 service on the bench of thirty-eight years. Judge 
 Nelson, in 1896. resigned the office which he had 
 so honorably filled, to pass the balance of his 
 days freed from the onerous duties and the 
 worries of judicial life and to enjoy a well-earned 
 vacation. He carries with him the knowledge 
 that during his term of office he had the un(|uali- 
 fied confidence and respect of both the bar and 
 the people of the state. In politics Judge Nelson 
 has been a life-long Democrat, but he has never 
 been a strong partisan. The third of November, 
 1858, he was married to Mrs. Emma F. Wright, 
 nee Beebee, of New "S'ork. They have had two 
 children, Emma Beebee and Kate Russell, the 
 latter dvinsr when but eisfht vears old. 
 
 ARMSTRONG TAYLOR. 
 
 Armstrong Taylor is a member of the Min- 
 neapolis bar, and a gentleman who honors the 
 profession of which he is a member. He is a son 
 of John Taylor and .Sarah Dowler (Taylor), and 
 grew up on a farm in northern \'ermont, where 
 his parents lived, in very moderate circumstances. 
 His ancestors were Scotch and English, who 
 emigrated to the north of Ireland at the time of 
 William of Orange. His family came to this 
 countrv in 1839. The subject of this sketch was 
 born at Berkshire, \'ermont, November 17, 1850. 
 While yet a young lad Armstrong Taylor valued 
 the advantages of education, and determined to 
 obtain such schooling as he could bring within 
 his reach. He attended the district schools of 
 the neighborhood and maintained himself by 
 doing chores for his board. He has no college 
 education, but good academic training. Continued 
 his studies while working as a farmer in sum- 
 mer and teaching school in the winter. At the 
 
 age of twenty-one he began the study of law at 
 Richford, X'ermont, with Hartson F. Woodard, 
 and afterwards studied in the office of Davis & 
 Adams, at St. Albans, \'ermont, where he was 
 
 ailmittcd to the bar on June 28, 1875. 
 
 Tav- 
 
 lor immediately removed to Wisconsin and com- 
 menced the practice of his profession at Haklwin, 
 St. Croi.x County. He continued in the practice 
 of law there for twelve years, when he removed to 
 .Minneapolis, locating in this city March 27, 1887. 
 He has continued in the practice of law with emi- 
 nent success before all the courts of this state. Mr. 
 Taylor has always been a Republican, and cast his 
 first vote for Grant for "four years more" in 1872. 
 Was appointed by the governor of Wisconsin 
 as county attorney of St. Croix County in 1883. 
 He refused the nomination to the same office at 
 the next election, preferring general practice. He 
 is a member of the Commercial Club of Minne- 
 apolis and several Masonic lodges. His church 
 connections are with the Episcopal society. He 
 was married in June, 1876, to Julia Noyes, of 
 Richford, \'ermont, but they have no children. 
 Mr. Taylor takes great pride in his profession and 
 enjovs the esteem and confidence of his clients 
 and friends.
 
 372 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 SAML'EL R. \AN SANT. 
 
 The choice of the RepubUcaii members of 
 the last legislature for speaker of the house of 
 representatives was the man whose name stands 
 at the head of this sketch. Samuel R. \'an Sant 
 was born at Rock Island, Illinois. Afav ii, 1844, 
 the son of John W. \'an Sant and L}dia Ander- 
 son (\'an Sant). John W. \'an .Sant was born in 
 New Jersey, in 1810. He and his father and his 
 grandfather \\ere ship builders. The grandfather, 
 whose name was also John, was in the marine ser- 
 vice during the Revolutionary War. He was 
 born in 1726 in Xew Jersey, where he lived and 
 died, and where most of his descendants live yet. 
 If the cause of the colonies had failed he would 
 have been hanged as a pirate, but their success 
 made him a patriot. It was said of him that he 
 could build a ship, rig her and sail her to anv 
 port in the world. The \'an Sants (formerly 
 spelled Van Zandt) are of Dutch descent, the 
 family having come from Hcjllaml in the enrlv 
 years of settlement in this countr\-. The grand- 
 father of the suliject of this sketch was a soldier 
 in the war of 181 2. He was also a clergyman in 
 the Methodist clmrch, and five of liis sons fol- 
 
 lowed him in that profession and in the same de- 
 nomination. John W. Van Sant, the father of 
 Samuel R., is still living at Le Claire, Iowa, in 
 his eighty-seventh year. He came West in 1837^ 
 and has been engaged in building and in repairing 
 steamboats ever since. He is still in active busi- 
 ness and retains his interest in the \ an Sant & 
 Musser Transportation Company and other 
 business enterprises. Lydia Anderson (\'an Sant) 
 was a native of New Jersey, daughter of Elias 
 Anderson, a private soldier in the Revolutionary 
 W^ar. Her family were all active supporters of 
 the cause of the colonies. She is still living in 
 her eighty-fifth year. Samuel R. attended the 
 Rock Island schools and was a pupil in the high 
 school when the war broke out. He enlisted at 
 the first call for troops, but, owing to his youth^ 
 not yet being seventeen, was rejected. He en- 
 listed several times but was each time rejected for 
 the same cause. I'inally in August, 1861, having 
 received his father's written permission, he was. 
 accepted as a memljer of Company A, Ninth Illi- 
 nois cavalry. He served over three years, and 
 during that time was never sick, never missed a. 
 fight and was never wounded. He belonged dur- 
 ing most of his term of service to Grierson's 
 famous raiders, and was in constant ser\'ice after 
 going South. When nuistered out of sers'ice he 
 entered Burnham's American Business College,, 
 at Hudson, New York, where he graduated, but 
 feeling the necessity for further school training, 
 he entered Knox College, at Galesburg, Illinois. 
 He entered the preparatory department and went 
 through the freshman year at college, but was 
 then obliged to leave for lack of funds. \Miile 
 at college he learned the trade of a calker, 
 and subsequently was appointed superintend- 
 ent of the boat yard where he learned his trade, 
 and later with his father, bought the same 
 boat building business, where they erected 
 the first raft boat of large power, con- 
 structed especially for the lumbering business. 
 Several other boats were built by the \'an Sants, 
 and since that time Samuel R. has been actively 
 engaged in the business of rafting and hnnliering 
 on the Mississippi river. He located in the spring 
 of 1883 at ^^''inona, which has since been the head-
 
 I'KOGKUSSlViv MEN OF MINNHSOTA. 
 
 37» 
 
 quarters of his business and his home. Mr. Van 
 Sant has ahxays l)een a KepubHean, lias taken 
 an active interest in ])ubHc affairs. He served as 
 alderman for two years from the Second ward in 
 Winona, was twice elected to the legislature, first 
 in i8y2 and again in 181J4, and on his second 
 term was made speaker of the house. Was also 
 a candidate before the last Republican state con- 
 vention for the n<iniination for governor, but was 
 defeated. Nevertheless he took an active part 
 on the sttimp and spoke nightly for weeks for the 
 success of his party and its candidates. He is an 
 enthusiastic member of tiic Grand Army. In 
 1894 he was elected Senior \lce Conuuander and 
 in 1895 13epartment Commander of Minnesota. 
 And as a department ofttcer he traveled more than 
 twenty thousand miles attending canipfires, en- 
 campments, reunions, etc., of his comrades. He has 
 also held the office of conuuander of John Ball 
 Post, of Winona, two terms. Mr. \''an Sant es- 
 teems the honors he has received from the Grand 
 Army as the greatest he has ever been favored 
 with. He is also a member of the Masonic order, 
 of the Knights of Pythias, the A. O. U. W., 
 M. W. of A., the Elks, the \'eteran Masons 
 and the Sons of the American Revolution. 
 Mr. Van Sant was married in 1868 to Miss 
 Ruth Hall. They have had three children, 
 onl)' one of whom is living, Grant Van Sant, 
 a law graduate of the Universitv of i\linnesota. 
 
 EDWARD T. WEBBER. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is of French de- 
 scent, both of his parents having been born in 
 France. His father Joseph K. Webber, was born 
 in Alsace and served in the French army. He 
 emigrated with his family to America in 1847, 
 settling in Illinois. He was a soldier during the 
 War of the Rebellion on the Union side. His 
 wife's maiden name was Helen Brist, also born 
 in Alsace. Edward J. was born in Wheeling, 
 Illinois, April 2, 1858, where the family resided 
 until i860. Thev then removed to Lake County, 
 Indiana, then a comparatively new couiitn,', and 
 lived on a farm during the war. Edward attended 
 the district school until he was sixteen vears of 
 
 I 
 
 age, walking back and forth to the school every 
 day which was three and a half miles distant 
 from his home. He then, in 1874, started to- 
 learn the trade of horse-shoeing, at which he be- 
 came an expert, and has followed that line of 
 business until 1892. He moved to Minnesota in 
 1882, settling at Fergus Falls, and with a small 
 capital started in his chosen line of trade. Within 
 three months, however, he was burned out, losing- 
 all he had. He was not discouraged, btit started 
 in again, and with close attention to his business 
 he made a success of it. In 1884 he added to 
 his business and began the sale of agricultural 
 implements as a side line, and this growing to 
 such an extent he sold out his shoeing business 
 in 1892 and devoted his entire attention to the 
 implement and seed business, in which he has 
 been very successful. He is also vice president 
 of the Citizens' National Bank, of Fergus Falls. 
 In politics Afr. ^^'ebber has always been a Re- 
 publican and an ardent advocate of partv princi- 
 ples. He was twice elected a member of the city 
 council of Fergus Falls. In 1882 he was married 
 to Miss Emma Bachnian, at Niles. ^Michigan. 
 They have two children, Herbert E., twelve years 
 old, and Margorv L., three vears old.
 
 87+ 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 EDWARD HENRY OZ.MUN. 
 
 Mr. Ozmun is a lawyer at St. Paul. He is the 
 son of Abraham Uznmn and Maria Schenck 
 (Ozmun). The elder Uzmun moved West from 
 Tompkins County, New York, and was for many 
 years a wholesale and retail hardware dealer in 
 Rochester, Minnesota, and held the office of 
 mayor of the city for two terms. The ancestors 
 of Edward H. Ozmun served as patriots in the 
 War of the Revolution. His great-grandfather, 
 Isaac Ozmun, enlisted as a private and suffered 
 martyrdom for the cause of the colonies. He, 
 with his son, was captured by the British, taken to 
 the old sugar house prison in New York, and 
 there starved to death with many others. Re- 
 cently a monument to their memory has been 
 erected in that city. ( )n the maternal side Ed- 
 ward is the great-grandson of Captain John 
 Schenck and Richard \'an Wagner, who served 
 in the Revolutionary War. The former is a lineal 
 descendant of General IMartin Schenck, a Hol- 
 land nobleman, who was a general in the army 
 of the Prince of Orange. General Robert 
 Schenck, formerly minister to the Court of St. 
 James, is a cousin of the mother of Mr. Ozmun. 
 
 Edward was born at Rochester, ^Minnesota, Aug- 
 ust 6, 1857, and received his early education in 
 the graded and high schools of that city. He 
 prepared himself for college at the Wisconsin 
 State University and completed his education in 
 the literary and law departments of the L'niversity 
 of Michigan, from which institution he graduated 
 in 1 88 1. While at college he was a member of 
 the Sigma I-'hi Greek fraternity. He returned to 
 Minnesota after his graduation and located in St. 
 Paul, where he entered the law offices of Messrs. 
 Gilman & Clough, then a leading law firm of 
 that city, earning his first dollar there bv success- 
 fully prosecuting a civil action in the nuuiicipal 
 court. A\'ithin a short time he was appointed a 
 right I if way agent for the Northern Pacific rail- 
 road, and purchased all of its right of way from 
 Wadena to Breckenridge. In the fall of the 
 same year ( 1881) he was appointed assistant coun- 
 sel of that road at St. Paul. This position he re- 
 signed in 1885 to take up general practice. He 
 has made corporation law a specialty and has 
 built up a successful practice, and is- the repre- 
 sentative of several Eastern corporations. He 
 has always bten a Republican in his politics, and 
 is an active memlier of his party. He was for 
 four years chairman of the Republican League 
 of Ramsey County, and a member of the execu- 
 tive conmiittee of the State League. He was 
 never, how'ever, a candidate for office until 1894, 
 when he was elected to the state senate, defeating 
 his opponent by a large majority. His record 
 in the legislature is an enviable one. He intro- 
 duced and succeeded in passing what is known as 
 the "corrupt practices" act, which provides strin- 
 gent ])rovisions against the ci irrupt use nf money 
 in elections, not only by candidates but by politi- 
 cal committees and individuals; also the new 
 code for the National Guard. He also introduced 
 ;ind put through the senate a civil service bill for 
 the employes of the state and cities, which, how- 
 ever, was killed in the house. A bill regulating 
 priman,' elections was also introduced by him, 
 providing that all nominations for city offices 
 be by petition, but it failed to pass. Mr. 
 Ozmun served on the municipal government 
 committee, and, having made a special sltidv of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 375 
 
 this complex subject, introduceil a \ijluniinuus 
 bill, many of the provisions of w hich were passed. 
 In the summer and fall of i8i;5, having a desire 
 to make an especial study of this subject, he com- 
 bined a pleasure trip with an inve.stigation of the 
 different municipal governments of the represen- 
 tative cities of Europe and (jrcat liritain. He 
 has, for six years, been president of the St. Paul 
 Bar Association ; for three years secretar\- of the 
 JMinnesota State liar Association, and for six 
 years a member and secretary of the State Board 
 of Examiners in Law. lie is also a member of 
 the Minnesota Boat Clul), the White Bear Yacht- 
 ing Association, the Commercial Club, the Patri- 
 otic Order of the Sons of America, the Sons of 
 the American Revolution, the National Munici- 
 pal Reform Association and the Minnesota Civil 
 Service Reform Association. lie is not a mem- 
 ber of any religious liody, but is an attendant of 
 the Episcopal church. He was married Xovem- 
 ber 21, 1894, to Clara Goodman, of Weedsport, 
 New York: thev have one child, a daughter. 
 
 \MLLIA.M ATWOOD LANCASTER. 
 
 William Atwood Lancaster is a member of 
 the bar of Minneapolis, where he has achieved 
 an enviable reputation as a careful and conscien- 
 tious practitioner. Mr. Lancaster is a son of 
 Henry Lancaster, a farmer of moderate means, 
 who resided at Detroit, Maine. Both the father 
 arid mother of the subject of this sketch were of 
 mixed English and Scotch descent, but both were 
 born and reared in Albion, Maine. Mr. Lancaster 
 was born in Detroit, Maine, on December 20. 
 1859. He attended the common schools of his 
 native village and subsequently entered the Maine 
 Central Institute, at Pittsfield, where he graduated 
 in 1877. He then entered Dartmouth College, 
 but left at the end of his sophomore year to begin 
 the study of law. He read law in Augusta, Maine, 
 with Gardiner C. \'ose and Loring Farr, and was 
 admitted to practice in October, 1881. He 
 removed to Bostoti, where he practiced law until 
 June, 1884. Returning to Augusta, Maine, he 
 
 continued the practice of his profession there 
 until Januan,-, 1877. At this time he w'as 
 attracted by the larger opportunities of the 
 growing west, and especially by the inducements 
 which Minneapolis had to offer as a place of 
 residence and business, and in January, 1887, he 
 located in this city and has been a resident of it 
 ever since. Mr, Lancaster has devoted himself 
 exclusively to the practice of his profession, never 
 allowing his attention or efforts to be diverted in 
 any other lines. The result has been a successful 
 and constantly growing practice. He has always 
 been a Democrat, but has never held any official 
 position. He has, however, taken an active 
 interest in promoting the interests of his party 
 in a proper and legitimate way. He was a 
 meiuber in college of the Delta Kappa Epsilon 
 society, but has never identified himself with anv 
 secret orders or other organizations of that char- 
 acter since he entered active life. On Januarv 4, 
 1886, he was married to Kate I. Manson, daugh- 
 ter of Dr. J. C. Manson, of Pittsfield, IMaine. 
 They have no children. Mr. Lancaster is just in 
 his prime, but has already attained the satisfaction 
 of a successful proff^.sional career.
 
 376 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOHN DAY SMITH. 
 
 John Day Smith is one of the leathng mem- 
 bers of the legal profession in Minneapolis and 
 has been a resident of this city since 1885. This 
 has been long enough, however, for him to ob- 
 tain a position of prominence and influence and 
 to impress himself upon the community in a way 
 in which only the possessit.in of high character 
 and extraordmary ability could accomplish. .Mr. 
 Smith is the son of a Kennebec County farmer in 
 Maine. He was born February 25, 1845. His an- 
 cestry was English, having come to America some 
 fifty years before the Revolutionary War. His 
 grcat-grandfatluT, James Lord, was a lieutenant 
 in the conmiand of a company at the liattle of 
 Bunker Hill. Mr. Smith was a graduate of 
 Brown L'niversit\- in the class cjf 1872. He was 
 given the degree of A. M. by Pirown University 
 in 1875, of LL. !!., by Columbia Cniversity in 
 1878, and of LL. Af., by the same institution in 
 1881. In recognition of his scholarship and other 
 attainments, Mr. Smith was elected a member of 
 the Phi Beta Kappa society at Brown Cniversity 
 in the year of his graduation. He taught school 
 for three vears after Icavintr lirown Cnivcrsitv. 
 
 then studied law at the Columbia University and 
 was admitted to the bar in the city of Washington 
 in 1881. He has been engaged as a lecturer in 
 the law department of Howard University and the 
 University of Alinnesota, and at present is lec- 
 turer on American constitutional law in the latter 
 institution. Mr. Smith is senior member of the 
 firm of Smith & Parsons. He has a splendid war 
 record, having enlisted as a private in Company 
 F, Nineteenth Alaine Volunteers. June 26, 1862, 
 when onl}^ a little over seventeen years of age. 
 He was with his regiment in the battles of Fred- 
 ericksburg, Chancellorsville, Bristoe Station, 
 Mine Run, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Beth- 
 esda Church, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Siege 
 of Petersburg and Jerusalem Road. He was 
 slightly wounded at Gettysburg at the time of 
 Pickett's charge, and at Jerusalem Road was shot 
 in the face, the ball passing through the mouth, 
 knocking out several teeth on the right side, 
 shattering the jaw and passing out at the ear. He 
 lay upon the field of battle over night, and when 
 carried to the hospital the next day, the surgeons 
 had no hope of saving his life. Good habits and 
 a good constitution, however, were in his favor, 
 and he recovered. He was discharged as a cor- 
 poral April 25, 1865, his retirement at that time 
 being on accourit of wounds received in battle. 
 Mr. Smith has always been a Republican, except 
 that he supported William J. Bryan for President 
 in 1896, and served in the lower house of the ]\lin- 
 nesota legislature in i88y, and represented the 
 Thirty-fourth district in the upper house in the 
 sessions of 1891 and 1803. At the session of 1891, 
 Mr. Smith was the only Republican member of 
 the delegation from Hennepin County, and more 
 than usual resjionsibility devolved upon him on 
 account of the desperate efforts made to secure 
 legislation seriouslv impairing the efficiency of the 
 IKitnil limits and affecting other interests of vital 
 ini])oi-tance to the city, but upon this occasion he 
 ni,-inifested his abilits' td meet the emergency, for 
 so abl\- and skillfulh' did he manage affairs in the 
 senate that no changes were made with regard to 
 the patrol limits, but, on the other hand, nuich 
 needed legislatii ni \\;is ])rnmiited li\- him. Muring 
 the l;ist session uf liis menibershii) lie was chair-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 377 
 
 man of the judiciary committee of the senate. .\Ir. 
 Smith has also l)een highly honored by the mem- 
 bers of the G. A. R., being elected commander of 
 the Department of Minnesota in 1893. He was 
 the first master of Ark Lodge, A. ]•". & A. M., 
 and i.■^ a member of Ark Chapter, Darius Coni- 
 mandery, of the Knights Templar, and of Zurah 
 Temple. He is one of the most useful and active 
 members of the Calvary ISaptist church. He 
 was married in 1872 to Mary Hardy Chadbourne, 
 of Lexington, Mas.sachusetts, who died in 1874 
 In 1870 he married Laura i'.ean, of Delaware. 
 ( )hio. He has four children. 
 
 CHARLES WOOD EBKRLLLV. 
 
 It takes pluck and perseverance, ccjmbined 
 with strength of character and steadv habits, to 
 become a successful business man. Such quali- 
 ties C. W. Eberlein must have possessed to have 
 secured, without the aid of personal influence, 
 the position of secretary of the St. Paul Trust 
 Company when hardly twenty-five years of age, 
 and which he has held since that time, a period of 
 over seven years. Adam L. Eberlein, the father of 
 Charles, was a native of Lancaster County, Penn- 
 sylvania, and descended from a line of substantial 
 German and Scotch-Irish families, old settlers in 
 that region. His wife, Eliza Turner Wood (Eber- 
 lein), was born at "Kennerslie," the old family seat 
 in Northumberland County, \irginia, a descendant 
 of the early settlers of the northern portion of 
 that state, and, by her descent through the ISall, 
 Kenner and Turner families, connected with many 
 of the old families of \ irginia. She was a great 
 grand-daughter of Colonel Rodham Kenner, a 
 very active patriot in events jirinr ti> and durino- 
 the War of Revolution. Her father, 1-Tederick 
 Wood, was a native of Xewburyport, Massachu- 
 setts, and a member of the Xew England family 
 of that name descended from Puritan stock. 
 Charles was born October 3, 1863, at AfcConnels- 
 ville, Morgan Countv, ( )hic). His early education 
 was received in the public schools of his native 
 town, graduating from the high school in his 
 sixteenth year. He then commenced his business 
 life by assisting the postmaster at McConnelsville. 
 
 holding this position of assistant postmaster for 
 a couple (jf years, though for a time working as a 
 clerk in the postoffice at Columbus, Ohio. In 
 1 88 1 anil 1882 lie served as deputy clerk for the 
 court of conuuon pleas of Morgan County. 
 Desiring to ol^tain a better education he entered 
 Denison Cniversity, (iranville, ( )hio, the fall of 
 the latter vear. si-iending two years in college. 
 Mr. Eberlein then engaged in newspaper work 
 and edited the McConnelsville Herald during 
 1885 and 1886. In June of the latter year he 
 removed to St. Paul and took a clerical position 
 in the business office of the St. Paul Dispatch. 
 Earlv the following year he became business man- 
 ager and secretarv of that coq)oration. In the 
 spring of 1888, however, he resigned this position 
 and entered the office of the St. Paul Trust Com- 
 pany, his occupation being that of bookkeeper. 
 He had been witli this concern but a few months 
 when he was elected to the office of secretary of 
 the corporation, which office he still retains. At 
 college he was a member of the r>eta Theta Pi 
 fraternitv. In politics he is an Independent 
 Republican. Mr. Eberlein is a member of \\"ood- 
 land Park P.aptist Church of St. Paul. He is 
 not married.
 
 378 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAMES HEXRY DUNN. 
 
 Dr. Dunn is a physician and surgeon in ^Nlin- 
 neapolis, the son of James and ^lary O'Hair 
 Dunn, of DubHn, Ireland. James Dunn was a 
 merchant wlio failed in 1845 and emigrated to 
 America. He sened in the Mexican war and 
 located in Indiana, .'-■uhsetiuently ho removed to 
 }iIinnesota, and in 1854 took a farm in Winona 
 County on a soldiers' warrant. The subject of 
 this sketch was born at I'ort Wayne, Indiana, 
 May 29, 1853. He lived on his father's farm till 
 he was fifteen, and received his early education 
 in the common and higher schools of Winona 
 County. He entered the state normal school at 
 Winona where he graduated in 1872. He took 
 private instruction in the modem languages, 
 studied medicine at Rush Medical College and 
 was graduated from the medical department nf 
 the University of Xew ^'ork City, Alarch, 1878. 
 He was instructor in the second state normal 
 school in 1S78 and 1879, and engaged in general 
 medical practice till 1883. He then went abroad 
 to pursue his studies, and in 1884 and 7885 took 
 post-graduate studies, in the German tmi\rr- 
 sities of Hcidell)erg and \'ienna. "-ivinsr his 
 
 especial study to such medical branches as 
 at that time were, in default of laboratories 
 here, more successfully taught in Europe than in 
 America. A short observation of French prac- 
 tice was made during a summer in Paris. He 
 also took a short tour of Italian hospitals. Un 
 his return to America he located in Minneapolis, 
 where he has since practiced his profession. He 
 was elected city physician in 1887 and 1888, and 
 organized the first cit\- hospital. He has been 
 surgeon in charge of St. Mary's Hospital since 
 its foundation in 1887, and surgeon to Asbury 
 Hospital since 1884. He is consulting surgeon 
 of the Great Northern Railway Company, pro- 
 fessor of genito-urinary and adjunct professor of 
 clinical surgery in the University of Alinnesota. 
 His practice, though at first general, has become 
 especially surgical, genito-urinar}' and consult- 
 ing, Dr. Dunn having become one of the most 
 ]jrominent cinisulting practitioners in the North- 
 west. His ambition is to excel in the great art of 
 clinical diagnosis and surgical technique, rather 
 than to pursue special and original researches, 
 though many experimental studies to confirm or 
 refute new medical and surgical theories have 
 1)een pursued. h'or example, some disputed 
 in Minnesota, a study of one hundred and 
 fifty four cases published in 1 888, experi- 
 mental work in abdominal surgery and an 
 original application of a supracubic cys- 
 totomy for cancers of tlie urethra (Annals of Sur- 
 gery, 1804.) '^ nc^^' niethod of tenotomy is now 
 in preparation. Dr. Dunn is a teacher, a student, 
 investigator and ])ractitii)ner of that which has 
 been discovered and believed, rather than one 
 absorbed in the new to the exclusion of the old. 
 He has had a wide experience and large success 
 with all established procedures of general surgery, 
 and is conservative in adopting the new and lit- 
 tle-tried measures until their value and usefulness 
 have been proven. He is a member of the Min- 
 neapolis Club, the .State Historical Society, the 
 Minnesota State Medical Associatinn, and an ex- 
 president of the latter, the Minnesota Academy 
 of Medicine, the ,A.merican Medical Association, 
 the Associatidu of .'\nierican ' 'bstetricians and
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 370 
 
 gynecologists, and is a l'rc;(|uunt conlril)Utor to 
 various medical ami surgical journals. 1 )r. Dtnni 
 has one of the largest private libraries in the 
 Northwest, especially complete in new and old 
 literature of American, English, I'rench and Ger- 
 man surgical authorities, lie was married in 
 1885 to Agnes, daughter of lion. J. L. Macdon- 
 ald, formerly judge of the Third Judicial District, 
 now practicing attorney of St. Paul. They have 
 one child, James L., aged eight years. 
 
 GEORGE PARKER. 
 
 The name which stands at the head of this 
 sketch is that of the mayor of Hastings, a l)road- 
 minded, [nihlic-spiritcd man, jealous of the repu- 
 tation of the city which he represents, and deserv- 
 ing of credit for the efficient and able manner in 
 which he has conducted its afifairs. George 
 Parker was liorn in the village of Pakenham, 
 Ontario, in 1849. He lived with his parents until 
 twenty-six years of age, in the meantime accjuir- 
 ing a good, liberal education, and also spending 
 considerable of his time in work on the farm. 
 In 1875 he engaged in the mercantile business in 
 the province of Manitoba, but removed to St. 
 Vincent, Minnesota, in 1878, where he established 
 himself in the livery business. In 1882 Air. 
 Parker again engaged in farming in Pemijina, 
 North Dakota, but the following year he entered 
 upon the business of railroad contracting and 
 building. The first contract was on the Canadian 
 Pacific westward from Winnipeg. After the 
 completion of that line he obtained a contract in 
 Iowa on the extension of the Chicago, Milwau- 
 kee & St. Paul from Cedar Rapids to Ottumwa. 
 In the fall of 1884 he built a small portion of the 
 then Minnesota Northwestern, now the Chicago- 
 Great Western railroad. It was about this time 
 that he located in Hastings, where he has since 
 resided. Mr. Parker is a Republican in politics, 
 and has always taken an active interest in public 
 affairs. In the spring of 1895 he was elected 
 mayor of Hastings on the Republican ticket, and 
 re-elected in 1806. He is a member of the I. O. 
 
 ( ). F. and the A. O. U. W. He is a member of 
 the Baptist church, and was married April 20, 
 1875, at Pakenham, Ontario, to Miss Mary J^l. 
 Ilemenway. Two children have been born to 
 them, Mary Maud and Dora May, of whom the 
 former is deceased. Mr. Parker's parents were 
 of Irish e.xtraction, born in the Xorth of Ireland. 
 His father, George Parker, came to Ontario when 
 but a boy, locating at Perth, where he learned the 
 cooper's trade. He subsequently conducted a 
 large coopering establishment at Pakenham with 
 satisfactory financial results. He was a strong 
 supporter of the Reform party and an active par- 
 ticipant in puljlic affairs. His wife, the mother 
 of George Parker, was .Miss Abalinda Eliza 
 Toughey, who emigrated with her parents from 
 Ireland to Quebec in her childhood. Later she 
 l^ecame a resident of Perth, where she was mar- 
 ried. Ma\or Parker, of Hastings, is an ardent 
 advocate of temperance principles and a total ab- 
 stainer himself, and has not only done much to 
 encourage the virtue of temperance in the city- 
 over which he presides, l)nt he has also done 
 mucli to attract capital and build up the com- 
 mercial interests of that conmuniitv.
 
 380 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 STEPHEX MILLER, 
 
 The fourth guveriior of Minnesota, Stephen 
 Miller, was born in Perr)-, Cumberland County, 
 Pennsylvania, January 17, 1S16, the son of David 
 and Kosanna .Miller, and the grandson of Alcl- 
 chor Miller, who came to America from Germany 
 about 1785. His education was secured in the 
 conuuon schools of Cumberland County, which 
 were not of a high order in that early day, but he 
 added largely to this rather slender stock of in- 
 formation bv extensive reading and research at 
 a later dav. He was ambitious and possessed of 
 energy and determination that enaljled him to 
 make a success of everything he undertook. In 
 1S34, at the age of eighteen, he was in the for- 
 warding and connnission l)usiness in Harrisburg, 
 in which he ])rospered for years. At tliis period 
 of his life he was married to Miss Margaret Funk, 
 of Dauphin County, who was a hclijmcet in every 
 true sense, and encouraged him in liis ambition to 
 make a mark in the world. In ])olitics as a young 
 man he was a Whig, which party made him ])ro- 
 bate officer <<\ I )aui)hin County in 1X40, and kejit 
 him in that office until i<S55. P>esides attending to 
 his pu1)lic duties during these years, he edited the 
 
 Telegraph, an influential Whig newspaper, pub- 
 lished at Harrisburg. In 1855 Governor Pollock 
 appointed him flour inspector at Philadelphia, a 
 position he held until 1858, when failing health 
 caused him to go into the new West. He came 
 to Alinnesota, locating in St. Cloud, one of whose 
 leading merchants he soon became. In two years 
 he was made delegate at large to the national Re- 
 publican convention which nominated Lincoln 
 for the presidency, and the same jear his name 
 headed the electoral ticket in Minnesota. At the 
 commencement of the war Mr. ]\Iiller enlisted as 
 a private. Before he had seen any service, how- 
 ever. Governor Ramsey appointed him as lieu- 
 tenant colonel of the First Infantry, and he 
 served with that regiment in the Army of the 
 Potomac until September, 1862, when he was 
 made a colonel and placed in command of the 
 Seventh regiment. His first campaign as com- 
 mander of this regiment was against the Sioux 
 Indians in this state, where he distinguished hiiu- 
 self for gallantly and ability. It was under his 
 direction that the thirty-eight Indians who had 
 been convicted of murder, were hanged at Alan- 
 kato at the close of the Indian outbreak. Subse- 
 (|uentl\- he was promoted to the rank of brigadier 
 general, l.)ut saw no service in that capacity, being- 
 elected governor nf the state in the fall of 1863. 
 As governor he contributed in every way possible 
 to the comfort of .Minnesota troops in the field, 
 and favored the plan of the government to bring 
 the war to a speedy and successful close, .\fter 
 retiring from the office of governor he was out of 
 politics until 1873, when he was sent to the legis- 
 lature to represent the six southwestern counties 
 of the state. In 1876 he was again on the Repub- 
 lican electoral ticket, and was the messenger wha 
 carried the official result to Washington. He was 
 employed 1)\- the .Sioux City & St. Paul railroad 
 land com])any during tlie last vears of his life, and 
 resided first at Windom and later at Vv'orthinglon, 
 in which latter place he died in 1881. I'lic funeral' 
 was attended by a large compain- of people from 
 .St. Paul, and he was buried with Masonic honors. 
 ( )f four children, one, a daughter, died in infancy. 
 The eldest son fell at Gettysburg, fighting for his 
 country. The second son was a captain and com-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 381 
 
 niissary in tlir aniiy, hut has for sonic years bcun 
 lost sij;iil iif l)y the people of this state. The 
 youngest son is an employe of the go\iriniirnt in 
 the printing office in Washington. 
 
 THEODORl". LI'.OFOLL) SCITL'R.MEIER. 
 
 Mr. Schurnieier is one of the leading repre- 
 sentatives of commercial life in the city of St. 
 Paul, a member of the firm of Lindoke, Warner 
 & Schurmeier, wholesale dry goods merchant-. 
 What success he has achieved in business life is 
 due entirely to his untiring persevereiice and de- 
 votion to the commercial atifairs in w liicli lie was 
 f^ngageil. Theodore Leopold Schurmeier was 
 born at St. Louis, Missouri, March 14, 1852. the 
 son of Caspar H. Schurmeier and L'ar(jline 
 Schurnieier. His father was engaged in the 
 wagon and carriage manufacturing business in 
 that city, but in 1854 moved with his lanuly to 
 St. Paul, where he has since lived and become a 
 well-known business man. The subject of this 
 sketch received his early education in the public 
 schools of that city, and in the Lialdwin L'niver- 
 sity at Berea, Ohio. He entered the employ of 
 J. J. Hill now president of the Great Northern 
 system, in 1870, when but eighteen years of age. 
 He was employed in tli€ railroad of^ces for four 
 years, when he was engaged as a bookkeeper for 
 the First National Bank of St. Paul. Shortly 
 afterward he was made teller of that institution, 
 occupying this position until 1878. The whole- 
 sale dry goods firm of Lindcke, Warner & 
 Schurnieier was organized July I, of that year, 
 Mr. Schurmeier becoming one of the constituent 
 members, with which firm he has been connected 
 ever since, having in charge the finances and 
 credit of this business concern since its organiz- 
 ation. Mr. Schurmeier has been very successful 
 from the start. He has a natural aptitude for 
 business life, and to the thorough training which 
 he had had in commercial affairs and methods, 
 his sagacious conduct of the business and his 
 faithful discharge of the responsible <luties en- 
 trusted to him, is due, in great measure, the pros- 
 perity which the firm enjoys. He is licld in high 
 
 esteem by all liis business associates for his 
 sound judgment and his careful and conservative 
 handling of the vital interests of the firm with 
 which he is connected. 2^Ir. Schurmeier seldom 
 errs in his calculations touching the financial 
 interests of which he has charge, and as a finan- 
 cier his judgment is never questioned. Aside 
 from his interest in the firm of Lindcke, Warner 
 & Schurmeier, he is interesteil largely in other 
 financial institutions. He is a director of the 
 First National Bank of St. Paul, also in the St. 
 Paul Trust Company, and is the owner of consid- 
 erable valuable real estate in that city. Mr. 
 Schurmeier is liberal in his views and generous 
 in his contributions to all worthy and benevolent 
 oI)jects of charity. He is president of the Min- 
 nesota State Iiiiniigration .\ssociation, also of the 
 Northwestern Immigration Association, cover- 
 ing all of what is commonly known as the North- 
 western states, and including the Province of 
 Manitoba. He is also trustee of St. Luke's hos- 
 pital. In November, 1882, he was married to 
 Caroline Eudora Gotzian, and has three children, 
 Conradine, Theodora and Hildegarde. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Schurmeier's residence on Crocus Hill is a 
 model of architectural beauty and elegance, in- 
 dicative of the refined tastes of the owners.
 
 382 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 AUGUSTUS LUTHER CROCKER 
 
 A. L. Crocker is one of those active, enterprising 
 business men who have done so much to make 
 IMinneapohs what it is, the conimerciak industrial 
 and financial metropolis of the X(^rtlnvest. He 
 comes of old New England stock which originally 
 emigrated to this country frtjm England. On both 
 sides the family records carry back the line of 
 descent through a long line of honorable and 
 useful men. His father, Thomas Crocker, was 
 a man of considerable property, whose place of 
 business was at Paris, ( )xford County, JMaine. Hi'; 
 mother's maiden name was Almira Davis, whose 
 family was also prominent in the annals of New 
 England. Augustus Luther was born at Paris, 
 Maine, May 4, 1850. He attended the public 
 schools of his native town and also at Paris Hill 
 academy, where he i)repared for Rowdoin College. 
 He received the degree of A. .\1. fnmi that insti- 
 tution in 1873, and also took a post-graduate 
 course in mechanical engineering. After taking 
 his engineering degree, he went to lun-ope in 
 1875 to pursue his engineering studies and for 
 the advantages of travel. He traveled extensively 
 on the Continent until 1877. when he returned to 
 
 America and was for three years interested in the 
 construction and management of openhearth and 
 Ijessemer steel works at Springfield, Illinois, and 
 also at St. Louis. In the fall of 1880 he came to 
 Minnesota and located at Minneapolis, where he 
 engaged in business in the manufacturing and 
 machinery line. Subsequently he went intu the 
 real estate and investment business. .Mr. Crocker 
 possesses an active mind and is a man of great 
 energy and industry. He takes an active interest 
 in whatever makes for the benefit of the city at 
 large, and has attained a leading position among 
 the enteq)rising and puljlic-spirited citizens of the 
 city. It was at his suggestion and largely through 
 his etrorts that the Ikisiness Men's Union was 
 organized in 1890, of which organization he was 
 the first secretary. In 1893 ^^^ took an active part 
 in the reorganization of the BoartI of Trade and 
 was elected as its president. In January, 1895, 
 the Northwest Business Federation was organized 
 and ~S[i-. Crocker was elected president, represent- 
 ing the Minneapolis Board of Trade, .\mong 
 other important matters of ]nil)lic interest to 
 which he has given a great deal of attention is 
 the development of deep \\aterv.ays and the i)roj- 
 ect of connecting the great lakes with the At- 
 lantic ocean bv ship canal. Mr. Crocker was 
 sent to the Toronto convention as a representa- 
 tive of the Board of Trade in 1894, and was there 
 chosen chairman of the executive committee. 
 He has made a special study of the subject of deep 
 waterways and inland navigation, and prior to the 
 Cleveland convention of 1895 carried on an active 
 campaign among the representatives of the 
 Northwestern and New England states in Con- 
 gress, enlisting their interest in the project and 
 pledging them to the support of legislation favor- 
 able to the construction and maintenance of deep 
 waterways between the lakes and from the lakes 
 to the Atlantic Coast. The success of the Cleve- 
 land convention in 1895 was largely due to his 
 eft^orts in this respect and in recognition of his 
 services he was continued in the responsible i)osi- 
 tion of chairman of the executive conunittee. Mr. 
 Crocker has also taken a dccii interest in the 
 cau.se of good city governnuiit ,ind rcjjresented
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 383 
 
 llic I'.uanl iif Trade in the iminicipal ix'furni con- 
 veiitiiin al I 'hila<K'l])hia in i8i>4, wliirh organized 
 the National .Munieipal Reform League, and also 
 represented the same body in the national mu- 
 nicipal reform convention in ,\l innia|)olis in Ue- 
 ceiuber of the same year. He is a member of the 
 executive coiumittee of the National .Municipal 
 League, and a life member of the .\merican Insti- 
 tute of Mining luigineers, and is a member of the 
 Minneapolis Library Hoard. .\lr. Crocker is a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church, where the 
 same activity \vhich he manifests in business 
 affairs is enlisted in the cause of religion and good 
 morals. He was married January 3, 1883, to 
 Clara Peabody. They have three children, Ruth, 
 Catharine and Thomas. 
 
 RICH.\RI) EXOS THOMPSON. 
 
 R. E. Thompson is a prominent _ lawyer and 
 politician of Preston, Fillmore County, Minne- 
 sota. Though a native of that county, he is of 
 Nonvegian ancestry. His father, Iver Thomp- 
 son, came from Norway in 1848. He first lived 
 in Chicago, and while there was married to Miss 
 Cecilia W'alder. Miss Cecilia was also a native 
 of Norway, but she came to this country with her 
 parents in 1837, settling in Michigan. A few 
 years later they came to b'ilmore County and set- 
 tled on a farm. Here their son Richard was born 
 in the year 1857. He attended the common 
 schools in his vicinity, following the pursuit of 
 enlarging their farm work, afterwards as he grew 
 to manhood, teaching in the district schools of 
 the vicinity. I'rom 1874 to 187c) he taught al- 
 most continuously, and at the latter date he com- 
 menced the study of law in the ofSce of Judge 
 H. R. ^^'ells at Preston, Minnesota, and was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in November, 1881, and entered 
 into partnership with Judge .\. D. Grav, imder 
 the firm name of Gray & Thompson. The firm 
 opened an ofifice and commenced practice in 
 Preston. They have been very successful and 
 have built up an extensive law business, which 
 they still enjoy. For the last ten years Mr. 
 Thompson, with his brother, A. W. Thompson, 
 has also been in the abstract business of Filmorc 
 
 County, the otiice being maintained under the 
 name of Thompson Brothers having the original 
 and only set of abstract books and tract index 
 of Fillmore County. .Mr. Thompson has always 
 been a Republican. .At an early date he took an 
 interest in the local politics and soon became an 
 influential man in his county. He was deputy 
 clerk in the district court of Fillmore County 
 from 1881 to 1885. In the fall of 1882 he was 
 elected as a member of the House of Represen- 
 tatives of the State Legislature. During the ses- 
 sion which followed he was one of the few who 
 voted for the Hon. William Windom from first 
 to last in the memorable struggle in which Win- 
 dom was defeated by D. ^L Sabin. In 1885 Mr. 
 Thompson was re-elected to the House of Rep- 
 resentatives and served with honor during that 
 term. In November, 1894, he was elected to the 
 State Senate for four years, ending in 1898. From 
 1890 to 1805 he was a member of the State Cen- 
 tral Republican Conmiittee. Move than ten 
 years ago Mr. Thompson became a ^ faster ^fa- 
 son, and is now a Knights Templar in the Malta 
 Commander}', No. 25, at Preston. On December 
 16, 1884, he was married to Anna Thompson, 
 and they have two children, ^'ictor C. bom Sep- 
 tember 26, 1885 and Inez bom !\fay 13. 1891.
 
 384 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JA.MES H. TUTTLE. 
 
 Rev. James H. Tuttle, D. D., was born at 
 Salisbury, Herkimer County, Xew York, July z-j, 
 1824. In his youth he attended for a while the 
 academy at Fairfield, New York, and afterw-ards 
 spent two years in Clinton Liberal Institute. 
 Plans were formed for attending Harvard Univer- 
 sity, but they were never carried out. All his life 
 Dr. Tuttle has been a diligent and faithful student 
 and a great traveler. I'^ew men are better informed 
 upon all subjects or can put their knowledge into 
 more attractive form or employ it for more prac- 
 tical purposes. He was brought u]) in a Baptist 
 family, l>ut when quite young his religious views 
 changed and he became a L'niversalist. Soon 
 after this change took place he decided to enter 
 the ministry. His first settlement was at Richfield 
 Springs, New "\'(irk. when he was but twenty 
 years of age. The ne.xt one at h'ulton, ( )swego 
 County, in the same state, where, in 1848. he 
 married Miss Harriet E. Merrinian. ( )f this 
 union two sons were born. The mother died in 
 Dresden, Germany, where she had gone, hoping 
 to recover health and strength. Her death 
 occurrcfl in 187-^. In 1886 the oliler son, James, 
 
 passed away in his early manhood. He was a 
 man of sterling wortli, spotless integrity and 
 great business ability — universally honored. The 
 younger son, George H., is one of the most prom- 
 inent of the younger surgeons in New York City. 
 The subject of this sketch remained at h'ulton 
 until 1853, when he was called to Rochester, New 
 \ ork. The success of his ministry in the two 
 smaller fields he had cultivated, made the larger 
 church, in the more important place, feel sure that 
 he who had been so "faithful over a few things," 
 was qualified for greater responsibilities. These 
 hopes were not in vain. His ministrv increased 
 in excellence and power. In 1859 he removed 
 to Chicago, taking the pastorate of the Second 
 L'niversalist Church, which rapidlv grew in 
 numbers and influence under his ministry. In 
 1866 a few L'niversalist families in Minneapolis 
 were worshipping in Harrison's Hall, while their 
 first meeting-house was being erected. Dr. Tuttle 
 came up from Chicago to preach before the L'ni- 
 versalist convention of the state. The trustees of 
 the new society invited him to bring his family, 
 spend the summer vacation at Alinneapolis, and 
 preach for them on -Sunday. He came and the 
 summer lengthened into a pastorate of a quarter 
 of a century. "I have had five pastorates in all," 
 he says, "and my last three pastorates cover thirty- 
 eight years. No minister has been more fortunate 
 in the gift of noble, generous parishes. Half a 
 century! What changes have happened during 
 this period! A majority of the w-orld's greatest 
 inventions date within it. Compare our whole 
 country, our Northwest especially, to-day with 
 what they were fifty \ears ago. What revolutions, 
 and what progress m religious thought have 
 everywhere occurred in this space of time!" The 
 Church of the Redeemer grew, under his pasto- 
 rate, with the growth of the city, from a handful 
 of worshippers to a large and ixiwcrful congrega- 
 tion. In 1801, having comjileted his twenty-fifth 
 year of service, he retired from active work, and 
 liis associate. Rev. Marion D, Shutter, was chosen 
 pastor, The title nf Pastor Emeritus for life was 
 conferred upon Dr. Tuttle. The coiu])letion of 
 his twenty-fifth vear in the |)astorMte was pu1>lich' 
 celebrated — representatives of all deiioininations
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 385 
 
 in the city taking paft. iJr. Tultlc s life is inter- 
 woven witii the history of the city. No man 
 stands higher than he in the estimation of the 
 community. He has been prominent in all good 
 works, identified with all charitable and humane 
 enterprises, and always upon the side of rati(Mial 
 reforms. His influence has extended far beyond 
 this city, and in neighboring towns and states he 
 has been widely sought fur the lecture platform 
 as well as for the pulpit. He is known and 
 loved by people of all religious beliefs and of 
 no religious belief — by all who recognize the 
 supremacy of character. 
 
 ISAAC ALBERT BARNES. 
 
 Isaac Albert Barnes is a native of New Bed- 
 ford, Massachusetts, and traces his ancestry back 
 to the early settlement of the country. His 
 father, Isaac Barnes, Jr., anil his 'mother, Emily 
 Weston (Barnes), were both born at Plymouth, 
 Massachusetts, and moved to New Bedford about 
 1850. The family line is easily traced back to 
 John Barnes, who settled in Plymouth in 1632, 
 twelve years after the town was founded. Isaac 
 Barnes, great-grandfather of the subject of this 
 sketch, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. 
 Isaac Albert Barnes was born in New Bedford, 
 September 7, 1852. His family were people of 
 moderate circumstances, and although eager to 
 obtain an education he was denied the advantages 
 of college training. He attended the public 
 schools and a private school at New Bedford, and 
 gained experience and self-reliance, as many other 
 successful men have, as a little street merchant 
 selling newspapers and apples. But he had deter- 
 mined to be a lawyer, and finally succeeded in 
 entering the Albany law school, where he gradu- 
 ated in 1877. He also read law in the office of 
 Barney & Knowlton, of New Bedford, Massa- 
 chusetts, and was admitted to the bar of that state 
 from their ot^ce. This firm was among the lead- 
 ing members of the Eastern bar, Mr. Barney 
 having been for a number of years associated 
 with Ben Butler, while Mr. Knnwlton is now 
 attorney general of Massachusetts. Mr. Banies 
 also practiced law in Boston for a time. 
 
 and March 10, 1882, came to Minneapolis 
 in search of a wider and more promising field 
 fur a young attorney. He was induced to select 
 .Minneapolis as his home through a previous fam- 
 ily acquaintance with the late Judge John M. 
 Berry. Since his arrival here he has been en- 
 gaged in the practice of law, and has also made 
 considerable investment in real estate. He was 
 interested in platting and selling Barnes" addition 
 to the cit\- (if Minneapolis, Barnes" re-arrange- 
 ment of Wright's addition, Barnes" subdivision in 
 Layman's addition, Coplin"s re-arrangement and 
 Cole and Weeks" re-arrangement. Mr. Barnes is a 
 Republican, and while he has never held any pub- 
 lic office, has always taken an active interest in 
 public affairs. He is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Club of Minnesota: was twice a member of 
 the e.xecutiye committee. He is a member of the 
 Commercial Chili (if Minneapolis and of Plym- 
 outh Congregational church Se])tember 7, 1886, 
 he was married to Lizzie L. \\'ilson. daughter of 
 Hon. Hudson Wilsdu, (if Faribault, ^finn. They 
 have three children living. Harriet W ., Katherine 
 and .Sarah Elizabeth. Mr. P.arnes has a pleasant 
 home on .Stevens a\emic. and he and Mrs. Barnes 
 enjov the society and friendship of a large circle 
 of cultivated people.
 
 386 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAMES PAIGE. 
 
 Tames Paige, an attorney at law, and a 
 teacher in the law department of the University of 
 Minnesota, was l)orn Xuvembcr 22, 1863, at St. 
 Louis. His father is Rev. James Alexander 
 Paige, a minister o£ the Presbyterian church for 
 over forty years. Rev. ,Mr. Paige was a graduate 
 of Princeton College and Theological Seminary, 
 and was tlie first cha]5lain appointed in the War 
 of the Relx'llion by Abraham Lincoln. His 
 commission was dated June 4, 1862, and he was 
 assigned to the hospitals in the city of St. Louis, 
 where he remained in service during the entire 
 war. He is now pastor of the Presbyterian church 
 at Carlton, Minnesota. His wife. Caroline Howe 
 Paige, was the daughter oi Hon. Zimri llc)we, of 
 Castleton. Aermont. Her grandfatlier, John 
 Howe, served in the war of the Revolution, and 
 her father, Zinn-i Howe, was drafted in the War 
 of 181 2, and served as secretary to Cieneral Ornies. 
 He was a graduate of Middlebury College, of 
 wliich he afterwards hicame trustee, and for many 
 years was prominent at the bar and on the bench 
 of his native state. Another ancestor of Mr. 
 Paige's, whose name was Mcdoun, received l>v 
 grant from George TIT., the water power and ad- 
 
 jacent land at Ware, Massachusetts. It is thus 
 seen that ^Ir. Paige traces his ancestr}- back to 
 very earl}' New England times. His own life, 
 however, with the exception of his years at col- 
 lege, has been spent in the West. His early edu- 
 cation was obtained in the common schools and 
 high schools of Illinois and Missouri. At the 
 age of si.xteen he entered I'hilips Andover Acad- 
 emy, at Andover, Alassachusetts; here he was first 
 inspired with a desire for a collegiate and profes- 
 sional education. Graduating from .A.ndover in 
 1883, he at once entered Princeton College, from 
 which institution he graduated in 1887, receiving 
 the degree of A. B. While in college, jMr. Paige 
 was president of his class for some time, and he is 
 now permanent secretary of the class organiza- 
 tion. He was a Cliosophic and received the medal 
 for the best disputation in the Baird prize, with 
 special conunencement honors in economics. 
 Three years after graduating he received the de- 
 gree of A. M. from Princeton. Shortly after leav- 
 ing college Mr. Paige came to Minne- 
 apolis, and in the fall of 1887 he conmienced the 
 study of law. When the law department of the 
 I'niversity of Minnesota was established, a year 
 later Mr. Paige matriculated. He graduated from 
 the law school in 1890 with the degree of LL. B., 
 and he received the degree of LL. M. from the 
 same institution about three years later. In i8yo 
 Mr. Paige was admitted to the bar and formed 
 a partnership for the ])ractice of law with 
 his brother, Howe Paige, under the firm 
 name of Paige & Paige, which partner- 
 ship still continues. After lieiiig admitted to 
 the bar he became quiz master in the college of 
 law, and subsequently he became teacher in the 
 same institution. He has continued as a teacher 
 in the law school for the past .seven years. Dur- 
 ing this time, in addition to his professional work, 
 he has published the following l)ooks: "Illustra- 
 tive Cases in Torts," "Illustrative Cases in the Law 
 of Domestic Relations," "Illustrative Cases in 
 Partncrshiii," "Illustrative Cases in .\gencv," "Il- 
 lustrative Cases in Commercial Paper," and 
 "Charts in Real Property:" and has now in course 
 of publicatii in. "Illustrative Cases in Criminal 
 T,aw." Tlu'se books are used largclv throughout
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 387 
 
 the law sclionls of the l.'iiilcd States. Mr. Paige- 
 is a member and officer of Westminster Presby- 
 terian churcii. lie wa'- niarried on June kj, 
 1.S95, to .Miss .Mabeth liurd, daugiiter of Dr. lul- 
 ward P. linrd, of Xewhuryport, Massachusetts. 
 
 CLATDE BASSETT LEONARD. 
 
 Claude Bassett Leonard is engaged in the 
 practice of law in Minneapolis. His father is 
 Rev. Charles H. Leonard, D. D. Dr. Leonard 
 was pastor of the Church of the Redeenier (Lini- 
 versalist) at Chelsea, Massachusetts, for about 
 twenty-five years, prior to 1869. Since 1869 he 
 has been professor of homiletic and pastoral the- 
 ology in, and dean of the theological school con- 
 nected with Tufts College. His mother's maiden 
 name was Phebe A. Bassett, daughter of John 
 Bassett, late of Atkinson, New Hampshire. Mrs. 
 Leonard died April 19, 1872. The family have 
 been residents of New England on both sides for 
 several generations. Claude V>. Leonard, the sec- 
 ond of four children, was born at Chelsea, Mas- 
 sachusetts, ]\Iarch 26, 1853. He began his edu- 
 cation in the conmion schools at Chelsea, which 
 he attended until he was seventeen. He then we}it 
 to Dean Academy, at Franklin, Massachusetts, 
 where he prepared for college. He entered the 
 freshman class at Tufts College in 1872 and was 
 graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1876. 
 While in college lie was a member of the Theta 
 Delta Chi fraternuy. On completing his college 
 course he entered the law office of Starbuck & 
 Sawyer, at Watertown, New York, and remained 
 with them until ( )ctober, 1878. when he was ad- 
 mitted to the bar at a general term of the supreme 
 court, held at Rochester, New York. A month 
 later he turned his face westward in search of 
 the fresher fields and larger opportunities prom- 
 ised in the Northwest. He reached jNIinneapolis 
 November 7, 1878, and opened a law ofifice in the 
 Brackett Block, First Avenue South and Second 
 Street. In the latter part of 1879 he was appoint- 
 ed clerk of the probate court by Judge John P. 
 Rea, and remained in that office until 1882. In 
 January. 1882, he formed a law partnership with 
 Edward ]\I. Johnson, the style of the firm being 
 
 Johnson & Leonard. In April, i8i;i, Alexander 
 McCune became a member of the firm, the style 
 of which has been since that time and is now, 
 Johnson, Leonard & McCune. This firm is 
 located in handsome offices in the Farmers' and 
 Mechanics' Savings liank Building and is en- 
 gaged in the general practice of law, special at- 
 tention being given to real estate, corporation 
 and probate law. For several years Mr. Leonard 
 has made a special study of probate law and 
 practice, and in 1889 he was nominated by the 
 Republicans for the office of Probate Judge of 
 Hennepin County. That did not prove to be a 
 good year for Republican candidates, and Mr. 
 Leonard was defeated, with every other candi- 
 date on the county ticket. Mr. Leonard is a 
 Past Master of Cataract Lodge, No. 2, A. F. 
 & A. M., a member of St. Anthony Falls chapter, 
 No. 3, R. A. M. He is also a Past Sachem of 
 Dahkotah Tribe, No 5, Improved Order of Red 
 Men. His church connections are w-ith the 
 Second L^niversalist Church of ^linneapolis. He 
 was luarried at WatertOAvn, New York, April 14, 
 1880, to Ella J. Eddy, daughter of Henr>^ W. 
 Eddy, late of that citv. They have three daugh- 
 ters, Ruth E., Emily B. and Elva L.
 
 388 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 GEORGE HL'XTL\GT(3N. 
 
 George Huntington has for seventeen years 
 been professor of logic and rhetoric in Carleton 
 College, Xorthtiekl, .Minnesota. He has also 
 during this time frequently supplied vacant pulpits 
 in churches in the "Twin Cities" and elsewhere 
 throughout the state. Professor Huntington. 
 however, is more ^\■idely known for his literary 
 efforts. He is almost constantly engaged in some 
 form of literary work. His literary labors began 
 in his student days and have Ijeen continued more 
 or less regularly ever since. "Shining Hours" 
 was his first hook, a juvenile story pitblished 
 anonymously by D. Lothro]j & Co. Other books 
 from his ]jen are the ".Spectre of Pratt's Parish," 
 a satire on making finance the dominating consid- 
 eration in parochial affairs: "The Rockanock 
 Stage," a story of ])arochial life in a small village; 
 "Xakoma." a stor\- of pioneer days in Minnesota; 
 "Kings and Cujjbearers," a tale of college life in 
 the West; "Robber and Hero." telling of the 
 famous jamcs-^'ounger raid at Xorthllcid, and 
 "Maud iiravton." a sc(|uel to "Kings an<l ("iip- 
 bcarcrs." Prrifessor Huntington for a year or 
 more cditerl the .Sundav Schonl Teacher, and for 
 two or three vcars the Scholar, He has also 
 
 been a contributor to a number of papers and 
 periodicals, especially to The Interior, of Chicago, 
 for which he has wTitten both under his own 
 name and under the pseudonym of "Parson 
 Penn," and The Advance, also of Chicago, for 
 which he has furnished poems, articles, letters 
 of travels, short stories and serials, many of his 
 books being first published in serial form in this 
 periodical. Professor Himtington was born in 
 Prooklyn, C(.)nnecticut, Xovember 5, 1835. He 
 is the son of the late Ur. Thomas Huntington, 
 and Paulina Clark (Piuntington). Dr. Thomas 
 Huntington was a clergyman as well as a physi- 
 cian. He was not only deeply interested in the 
 subject of natural science, but was also an enthu- 
 siastic student of theological subjects. Jedidiah 
 Huntington was a clergv'man as well as physi- 
 this sketch, was an officer in the Revolutionary 
 War. He entered as a captain and was made 
 colonel and lirigadier general and a member of 
 \\^ashington"s staff', and on his retirement was 
 lireveted major general. He was collector of 
 customs at Xew London, Connecticut, under four 
 administrations; served as treasurer of the state, 
 and as a delegate to the convention for the ratifi- 
 cation of the United States constitution. A loses 
 Clark, the maternal grandfather of Professor 
 Huntington, was a substantial farmer and ]iromi- 
 nent citizen of Brooklyn, Connecticut. George 
 attended the district school and the village 
 acadenn-, InU the dominating intiuences of his 
 youth were received at his home. Plere the boy 
 was taught Latin by his father and drawing by his 
 mother; surrounded liy a cultured home circle he 
 learned to read and think seriously, and here 
 acquired the high character which he exhibited 
 later in life. When but seventeen \ears of age 
 lie was teaching in a country school. It was at 
 this time, through revival meetings conducted by 
 his uncle, Rev. George Clark, that the youth 
 Iiecame a Christian, and joined the Congrega- 
 tional Church. George's parents, thinking that 
 lie had an cspeci;il aptitude for mechanical pur- 
 suits, apprenticed him to the steam engine busi- 
 ness in the sliojis of Corliss iS: Xightendale, in 
 Pro\-idencc, Rhode Island. In 1S57 he \vent to 
 Chicaijo to erect in the Hour mill of .\danis.
 
 PROGRESSIVH MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 389 
 
 Brothers the first Corliss engine used in that city, 
 after which he returned to I'rovidcnce, and having 
 completed his prei)aratory studies, entered lirovvn 
 Ihiiversit)-. During his sophomore and junior 
 years Air. Huntington regularly supplied the 
 ])uli)it at the Charles Street Mission, which he had 
 liellied to found. His health gave way under the 
 strain of hard stu<ly and ftjr a year he was com- 
 pelled to live in enforced idleness. The next 
 year was partiallv devoted to ministerial labors, 
 and the vear following to theological study at 
 Andover. He was ordained in Central Village, 
 Connecticut, in 1863, which was his first field. 
 His next pastorate was in Charles Street Church, 
 now the North Church, Providence, Rhode Island, 
 where he remained five years. He removed from 
 there to Oak Park, Illinois, holding a pastorate 
 at this place for nine years. This he resigned in 
 1879 to accept his present position as professor 
 of rhetoric and logic in Carleton College. Pro- 
 fessor Huntington was married, June 30, 1863, 
 to Caroline A. Alason, of Brooklyn, Connecticut. 
 They have had but one child, who died in infancy. 
 
 CHARLES ALONZO VAN DUZEE. 
 
 Charles Alonzo Van Duzee, of St. Paul, is 
 descended on his father's side from the original 
 settlers of the Hudson River \'alley who came 
 from Holland in the Seventeenth century. ( )n 
 his mother's side his ancestors were from Wales, 
 and settled in Eastport, ]\Iaine, early in the historv 
 of that section. Charles Alonzo is the son of 
 Edward M. \^an Duzee, an accountant in good 
 circumstances. Edward JM. has an honorable rec- 
 ord as a soldier, having served during the entire 
 War of the Rebellion, and having been promoted 
 during his term of office to the command of his 
 regiment as major, the rank which he held when 
 mustered out of service. The subject of this 
 sketch was born at Independence, Iowa, March 10, 
 i860. After the close of the war the family re- 
 moved to Minnesota and located at Anoka where 
 they remained for two or three years. They 
 then moved to Alinneapolis, where Van Duzee 
 senior, was active in organizing and establishing 
 the First Baptist Church. The family remained 
 
 in .Minneapolis until 1875, \vlien they removed to 
 -St. Paul. Charles Alonzo began his education in 
 the public schools of Anoka and of Minneapolis. 
 He also attended the University of Minnesota, and 
 graduated from the College of Dentistry in June, 
 i8<;o, at the head of his class, receiving the 
 only prize offered for excellence. His train- 
 ing as a dentist covered a period of nearly 
 five years, first in the office of his preceptor 
 and then three years at the university. After 
 that he taught special branches in the College of 
 Dentistr}', University of Minnesota, for two 
 years. Upon graduation from the College of 
 Dentistry he established his office in St. 
 Paul, where he has built up a comfortable prac- 
 tice. Dr. \'an Duzee has served thirteen years 
 in the National Guard of the state, and now holds 
 the rank of major in the Third infantry. He 
 has been for three years a member of the state 
 board of dental examiners, of which he is now 
 secretary and treasurer. He was married May 12, 
 188 1, to Miss I'annie J. Parker, of St. Paul. They 
 have a son named Judson P., aged eleven years, 
 and a daughter. Ruth, aged two. Dr. A'an Duzee 
 recalls as one of the interesting facts of his boy- 
 hood that he earned his first dollar in piling mill 
 wood in Minneapolis.
 
 300 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ARTHUR WESLEY PORTER. 
 
 Arilmr Wesley Porter is a native of 
 Massachusetts, born at Chelsea, >v:oveinber 14, 
 1851, almost in the shadow of Bunker Hill 
 monument. His ancestors were English Tories 
 living in Charleston, Massachusetts, at the time of 
 the Revolution, who, at the beginning of the hos- 
 tilities, took advantage of the amnesty ofifered to 
 the adherents of the Crown and emigrated to 
 Nova Scotia. The family subesquently returned 
 to New England, and Asa Porter, father of Ar- 
 thur Wesley, took up his residence at Chelsea. 
 The subject of this sketch received his early edu- 
 cation under his mother's direction, who was for 
 more than thirty years a public school teacher in 
 Chelsea and vicinity. He passed through the 
 usual high school grades, graduating from the 
 Chelsea high school in 1869, and was accepted 
 for admission to Harvard College. In the 
 meantime his voice had developed unusual (|ual- 
 ity and power and he turned his attention espe- 
 cially to the study of music. Among his in- 
 structors were some of the finest in this country, 
 T. W. Adams, Signor Ardavani, George L. 
 
 Osgood, il. W. Whitney, the great basso, and 
 Dr. Guilmette, the famous dramatic singer. Air. 
 Porter entered enthusiastically into the study of 
 music and united hard work to imtiring perse- 
 verance. After two years with the quartette choir 
 in St. Luke's Church, in Chelsea, he was invited 
 to the position of basso in the Warren Avenue 
 Baptist quartette in Boston. He was introduced 
 to the position by Myron W. \\hitney, under 
 whom he was studying. While singing in this 
 church, a much more flattering offer was re- 
 ceived from the Shawmut Avenue Baptist 
 Church, which he accepted and where he re- 
 mained for nearly two years. During all this 
 time Prof. Porter continued his studies, develop- 
 ing his voice and preparing himself for the work 
 of a teacher of vocal music and voice culture. 
 He came to Minneapolis as earl\- as 1882, and 
 has resided here ever since, where he has 
 achieved a notable success as a teacher and won 
 distinction as a vocalist. He possesses a basso 
 voice of great compass, extending from C sharp 
 below to F sharp above, and possessed of dra- 
 matic quality, and is equal to all the demands 
 that may be made upon it for choir or concert 
 singing, for oratorio or opera. In 1889 the 
 Gounod Club, of Alinneapolis, had arranged to 
 give the oratorio of the Messiah, assisted by 
 Mrs. Htmiphrey Allen, of Boston, and Theo- 
 dore Toedt, of New York. D. AI. Babcock, the 
 celebrated basso of Boston, was cast for the basso 
 parts, but suddenly became ill. Cpon three 
 hours' notice Prof. Porter took his place and 
 sang his score with entire success, particidarly 
 in the great aria "W'hy Do the Nations," for 
 which he was warmly complimented by Mrs. 
 .\llen and Mr. Toedt. Some idea of the elas- 
 ticitv of his voice may be inferred from the fact 
 that it permits him to sing successfully the 
 part of "Lucifer" in Sullivan's Golden Legend, 
 and also the part of "Elijah" in the oratorio of 
 that name, and being especially adapted for the 
 dramatic parts of these works. Mr. Porter devotes 
 his attention almost entirely to teaching voice 
 culture, and has won a sure place in the esteem 
 of the jicople of Minneaiiolis as an artist of merit.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 .-{'Jl 
 
 \AiU A1EL\ iLLE CRAl 'IS. 
 
 Among the pioneers of Minnesota was the 
 late Major Amasa Crafts, who settled in Minne- 
 apolis in 1S53. Major Crafts was an officer in 
 the Maine troops during the Mexican War, bnt 
 was never called into active service. At the out- 
 break of the Rebellion his health had become so 
 impaired that he was incapacitated for active 
 service in tlie cause of the Union, although it was 
 his strong desire to offer himself in his country's 
 service at that time. Major Crafts' family is 
 traceable on his mother's side to the early settle- 
 ment of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Simon 
 Stone located on the banks of the Charles River 
 in 1635. The land occupied by him is now incor- 
 porated in beautiful Mount Auburn Cemetery; 
 but it remained as the family estate for over two 
 hundred years. It was known as "Sw-eet Auburn," 
 and the broad sw^eep of lawn overlooking the 
 river was surmounted by a spacious colonial 
 mansion. ( )ne of Simon Stone's sons was among 
 the earliest graduates of Harvard, and various 
 members of the family have occupied prominent 
 positions in Massachusetts. The Crafts family is 
 also one of the oldest in New England, having 
 settled in Boston in 1630, the year of the founding 
 of the city. A branch of this family still lives on 
 the ancestral estate. When .\rajor Amasa Crafts, 
 one of the founders and builders of the city of 
 Minneapolis, located in Minnesota, he engaged 
 in the lumbering business and in wholesale pork 
 packing, and also acquired large real estate 
 interests, which, with the development of the city, 
 became very valuable. The family residence. 
 erected in 1857 ''•"d the first brick house in the 
 city, once stood on the present site of the Century 
 building, corner of Fourth street and First avenue 
 south, and at the time of its construction was 
 regarded as quite a pretentious establishment. 
 Major Crafts' wife was l\Tary Jane HenryC Crafts), 
 who was also a native of Maine. Her male ances- 
 tors were chieflv seafaring men at the time when 
 this country had a merchant marine of importance. 
 The subject of this sketch was born in l\Iinne- 
 apolis, October 3. 1863. He attended the public 
 schools and entered the Universit\' of Minnesota. 
 
 from which he was graduated in 1886. He repre- 
 sented his class in the home oratorical contest in 
 his senior year. During the last tw^o years he 
 was leader of his class in college work, and in 
 recognition of his standing was appointed one of 
 the commencement orators. He gave consider- 
 able attention to gymnasium exercises and took 
 the championship in general athletics. ]\Ir. Crafts 
 was urged to enter the ministry bv President 
 Northrop, of the University of Minnesota, and 
 also by the president of Dartmouth College, 
 but having chosen medicine for his profes- 
 sion he adhered to his original purpose, and 
 prepared himself at Harvard, taking the four- 
 ycar course, then optional, leading his class on 
 the final examinations, and winning the degree of 
 A. M. by the work attained. Subsequently, he 
 received successive hospital appointments at the 
 Boston City Hospital, and, being entitled by his 
 competitive examinations to first choice, w-as 
 afforded the best opportunities for the study of 
 nervous diseases. In 1891 he was elected a 
 member of the Hospital Club, and was received 
 into fellowship in the ^lassachusetts "Medical 
 Society. Diu-ing the summer of 1801 he took 
 charge of the practice of one of the leading
 
 392 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 physicians of JJoston, in his temporary absence, 
 but in September returned to Minnesota, and has 
 been engaged in practice in Minneapolis ever 
 since. Dr. Crafts has contributed quite exten- 
 sively to medical publications, chiefly in the line 
 of his specialty. He holds the chair of nervous 
 diseases in the medical department of Hamline 
 University, and has been visiting neurologist to 
 the ^Minneapolis City Hospital since 1894; also to 
 the Good Samaritan Free Dispensary. He is a 
 member of the board of directors of the Good 
 Samaritan Hospital and Dispensary Association 
 and secretary of the visiting staff; is treasurer of 
 the Hennepin County Medical Societv: treasurer 
 of the Minneapolis I'ranch of the \\'estein Societ\ 
 for the Suppression of Mce; a member of the 
 American Medical Association; of the American 
 Academv of Political and Social Science; a fellow 
 of the Massachusetts Medical Society; a member 
 of the Minnesota State Medical Society; a member 
 of the Hennepin County Medical Society; a 
 member of the Har\'ard Medical Alumni Asso- 
 ciation; a member of the Boston City Hospital 
 Chtb. the ^linnesota Congregational Club and of 
 the IMinneapolis Board of Trade. Dr. Crafts has 
 always taken an active interest in Sunday school 
 work, and in 1892 was elected a member of the 
 central conunittee of the State Sunday School 
 Association. In 1893 he was chosen president, 
 and re-elected in 1894 and 1895, and is now 
 member of the board of directors. He is president 
 of the Minneapolis Sunday School ( )fficers' Asso- 
 ciation, and in 1893 started, and for a year edited, 
 the Minnesota Sunday School Herald, organ of 
 the state association, but now merged into the 
 International Evangel, ptil)lishe<l at St. Louis. 
 Dr. Crafts is a Republican in politics, but has 
 never taken a very active part in political affairs. 
 His church membership is with the First Congre- 
 gational Clnirch of Minneapolis. He is not 
 married. 
 
 DAXTFI, THO.M.XS McVRTHCR. 
 
 One of the leading bankers in Southwestern 
 Minnesota is D. T. Mc Arthur, cashier of the 
 First National Bank of Tracv. Mr. Mc.Xrthnr's 
 ancestn' is Scotch. C)n the paternal side he traces 
 
 his famil}- line back to Archibald and Mary (Mc- 
 Gregor) McArthur, who were born near Green- 
 ock, in the highlands of Scotland. His grand- 
 father, Donald ]\lc Arthur, was also born in 
 Greenock and married Catharine McDonald, of 
 Inverness. He spent his last days in Cheltenham, 
 Province of Ontario, Canada. Daniel McArthur, 
 father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 
 Toronto, Canada, and reared to the occupation 
 of farming. He came to Alinnesota in 1857, and 
 was married the following year to Jane Martin, 
 daughter of Thomas and Jane (Annet) Martin, 
 who were natives of Edinburgh, Scotland. The 
 paternal grandparents of Airs. Mc.-\rthur wx're 
 John and .Margaret (Colwell) Martin, who lived 
 all their lives in Edinburgh. Her maternal grand- 
 parents were James and Jane (Ste\-enson) 
 Annett, who were Ijorn near Glasgow, where 
 they lived and died. Daniel Thomas McArthur 
 was born in Farmington township, C.)lmsted 
 County, Minnesota, February 4, 1865. His ele- 
 mentary education was received in the district 
 schools and the puljlic schools of Rochester, 
 Minnestita. Later he pursued his studies in the 
 private school conducted by Sanford Xiles of 
 that place. When twenty years of age he entered 
 tlie Lincoln Cmmty liank, a private banking in- 
 stitution at Lake Benton, Minnesota, where he 
 was employed two years. He then went to 
 Dakota where he remained four years, engaged 
 in banking, in the real estate business and in mer- 
 chandise. In 1891 he moved to Tracy, INIinne- 
 sota. and in connection with Messrs. Tucker and 
 Holway purchased the small private bank owned 
 bv lohn E. Evan.s, known as the Commerce 
 liank, and organized the first state liank, with a 
 capital of twenty-five thousand dollars, which was 
 increased to thirty-five thousand dollars two years 
 later. ( )n the eighth of .\])ril, 1S95, the liank was 
 reorganized and the Mrst National Bank was 
 oijencd with a capital of fifty thousand dollars. 
 Mr. McArthur has served as cashier of the bank- 
 ing institution since it was first organized. The 
 bank has been very successful in its business, a 
 great deal of wliicli is due to the efficient man- 
 agement of Mr. Mc.Xrthur. In addition to his 
 banking interests Mr. Mc.Xrthur has also exten- 
 sive real estate holdings. lie is the nwner of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 393 
 
 fifteen huiulrcd acres of land in Southern .Minne- 
 sota, of which sixty-five acres He within the cor- 
 porate Hniits of Tracy. Un this particular piece 
 of land he conducts an experimental farm, which 
 is managed according to the latest scientific 
 methods. In his political views Mr. McArthur 
 is an ardent adherent of the principles of the Re- 
 publican ]5arty, and he takes an active interest in 
 all local affairs, giving his support to all efforts 
 calculated to advance the public welfare of the 
 community. He has served as president of the 
 village council of Tracy, also as treasurer, and is 
 now serving his second term as alderman. He is 
 a young man as yet, but his success so far in life 
 gives promise of his taking a foremost position 
 among the financiers of the state. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias, has been past 
 chancelor and a delegate to the grand lodge; of 
 the Ivy Leaf Lodge, No. 36, Order of Rebecca: 
 of ]\Iodern Woodmen of America; of the Man- 
 kato Lodge of the 1^.. 1'. O. E., and is connected 
 with the Chosen I'riends, Lodge Xo. 100, of 
 Tracv. 
 
 HENRY ADELBERT RIDER. 
 
 Mr. Rider is the sheriff of Morrison County, 
 Minnesota. He is of English descent, his grand- 
 father having come to this country from Eng- 
 land when a Ixjy. His grandmother was also of 
 English origin. His father, Bradford Rider, was 
 born in Rhode Island, and was a farmer in mod- 
 erate circumstances. His mother's maiden name 
 was Harriet Holmes. Henry was born at .\orth 
 Adams, Massachusetts, January 16, 185 1. He 
 had only the advantages of a common school 
 education. In 1878 he came West and was con- 
 nected with the engineering department of the 
 Northern Pacific railroad in Dakota and Mon- 
 tana until 1880. In that year he went to Mexico 
 as an engineer for the Mexican National railroad, 
 running from the City of Mexico to Salvatierra. 
 In 1882 he liecame connected with the Canadian 
 Pacific railway as an engineer in charge of 
 bridges. In 1883 he came to Minneapolis and was 
 connected with the civil engineering department 
 
 of the Northern I'acific Railway Company, re- 
 maining in their service until 1886, when he lo- 
 cated in Little Falls Minnesota, and during that 
 summer was resident engineer for the Minneapo- 
 lis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic near Prentice, Wis- 
 consin. In 1888 he was again connected with 
 the Northern Pacific railroad and remained in 
 the service of that company until 1891, during 
 that time having charge of the building of round 
 houses and terminal buildings. In 1893 he had 
 charge of the preliminary surveys of the Missis- 
 sippi & Leech Lake railroad. In politics Mr. Rider 
 has always been a Republican, and takes an act- 
 ive interest in the promotion of the principles 
 of that party. In 1894 he was nominated and 
 elected sheriff of Morrison County, which posi- 
 tion he still holds. He is a member of the IMa- 
 sonic order, I. O. O. F., A. O. U. W., K. O. T. 
 M., and M. W. O. A. He is past grand in the 
 I. O. O. F. and past grand warden of the same 
 order, and at present is foreman of the A. O. U. 
 W. His church affiliations are with the Episco- 
 pal church. Mr. Rider w^as married in January, 
 1886. to Mrs. Emma J. Merrick, of Afinneapolis. 
 Mr. and Airs. Rider reside at Little Falls. Minne- 
 sota.
 
 394 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAMES WOUDWARl) STRONG. 
 
 The above name is inseparablv associated 
 with that of Carleton College at X(jrthfield, which 
 is recognized as one of the leading educational 
 institutions of the Xorthwest. .Mr. .Strong has 
 been president of this college since its organiza- 
 tion in 1870, and to him is due the credit of 
 bringing it to the high plane which it occupies 
 at the present time. Dr. Strung was born of 
 Puritan ancestry; he is a descendant, on the 
 paternal side, of Elder John Strong, who came 
 to America in 1630, and was the first ruling clder 
 in the church at Xortham]non, Massacluusetts, 
 where he died in 1699. about ninety-four years 
 of age. This founder of the American branch of 
 the Strong family was the father of eighteen chil- 
 dren, most of whom had large families. Manv 
 of their descendants have been ])rnmincnt in the 
 history of this country — notably Governor Caleb 
 Strong of Massachusetts, and William .Strong of 
 the Ignited States supreme bench. On the 
 mother's side the family connections were with 
 the first president of Dartmouth College ("Presi- 
 dent Eleazer Wheelock) and Prof. I'.ezalecl 
 Woodward, who were in the fifth and sixth 
 
 generation direct descendants from .Miles Stan- 
 dish. Elijah Gridley Strong, the father of the 
 subject of this sketch, was born in Brownington, 
 (Jrleans County, \ermunt, in 1803. He was a 
 farmer and a merchant in moderate financial 
 circumstances and a man of the strictest integrity. 
 He was active in public affairs, served his county 
 as a sheriff for twelve years, and was a leader in 
 the advancement of the religious and educational 
 interests of the community in which he lived. 
 In 1848 he moved with his family to Montpelier, 
 \'ermont, and three years later to Beloit. Wis- 
 consin, where he died in 1859. His wife, Sarah 
 Ashley Partridge (Strong), was a native of Nor- 
 wich, A'ermont, coming of a family prominent in 
 military affairs. She was left an orphan in infancy 
 and was brought up bv her uncle. Rev. James 
 \A'heelock Woodward, who held a pastorate in her 
 native town. She was a woman of unusual 
 strength of character, combined with delicacy and 
 refinement. Her family government was almost 
 ideal, and her memory is held in fond remem- 
 brance by her children. She died at r)eloit. W^is- 
 consin, in June. 1865. James Woodward Strong 
 was born at Brownington, X'ermont, September 
 29, 1833. His early education was received in a 
 district school. Later he entered an academy at 
 MontjH'lier. \'ermont. which was under the charge 
 of Nathaniel G. Clark, who became secretary of 
 the American Board of I'oreign Missions, and to 
 whose personal intfuence young Strong owed a 
 great deal in the shaping of his character. When 
 but thirteen years of age the lad earned his first 
 money working in a ]irinting ofifice in Irasburg, 
 \'ermont. I'rom his fifteenth to seventeenth year 
 he clerked in a bookstore at lUirlington. \'ermont. 
 When his family came West and settled at Beloit, 
 Wisconsin. Janie.s came with them and soon 
 became a student at Beloit College, ^\'hile pur- 
 suing his studies he \\as successively teacher in a 
 district school, telegraph operator, citv clerk and 
 city superintendent of schools. He graduated as 
 valedictorian of his class in July. 1858. Overwork 
 in college caused him a serious optical difficulty 
 and during his senior vear his lessons were 
 learned by hearing alone. After leaving college 
 he was for a few months a telegraph operator and
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 395 
 
 a reporter at Madison, Wisconsin. Havinjjf, how- 
 ever, decided to study for the ministry, he entered 
 the L'nion 'I'liccili iwjcal Seminary at New York, 
 from which he ,L;ra(hiated in 1862. I-"or two years 
 he held a pastorate in the Congregational Church 
 at iirodhead, Wisconsin, whence he came in 
 January, 1865, to the Congregational Church at 
 l'"ai"il)ault. In 1870 Mr. Strong was elected presi- 
 dent of a college which three years before had 
 been located at Northfield, Minnesota. At this 
 time, however, the colleg'e was more of an idea 
 than an accomplished fact. Mr. Strong's execu- 
 tive force and abilities as a leader and organizer 
 soon inspired confidence and won friends for 
 the enterjjrise. Through his influence William 
 Carleton of Charlestown, Massachusetts, made an 
 unconditional donation of fifty thousand dollars, 
 and under his administration Carleton College 
 has become one of the foremost educational 
 institutions of the Northwest. Forbidden by his 
 eyes, which have lieevi a source of trouble to him 
 since his college davs, President Strong has been 
 denied the ]>rivilege of special literary work and 
 has written l)ut little kir publication, but has 
 devoted himself successfully to laying the founda- 
 tions of an institution broad in its curriculum, 
 thorough in its culture and Christian in its spirit. 
 The post-graduate course of Carleton"s "School 
 of Pure Mathematics and Practical Astronomy," 
 and its special astronomical work and publica- 
 tions, have given the institution a reputation in 
 Europe as well as in America. President Strong 
 is one of the charter members of the Minnesota 
 Congregational Club. For nearly a score of 
 vears he has been president of the Minnesota 
 Home Missionary Society, and also a corporate 
 member of the American Board of Foreign Mis- 
 sions. For the past thirty years he has been a 
 member of nearlv every national council of the 
 Congregational bodv held in this country. r)n 
 September 3, 1861, he was married to Mary Dav- 
 enport of P)eloit, Wisconsin, a direct descendant 
 of Elder John Davenport of the New Haven 
 Colonv. Three children have resulted from this 
 tmion, William "Rrinsmade, Edward Williams and 
 Arthur Dunning. 
 
 JACOB FRANCIS F(JRCE. 
 
 Jacob Francis Force, M. U., Secretary of 
 the Northwestern Life Association, traces his an- 
 cestry on his mother's side from the Adams fam- 
 il\- of Connecticut. Henry Force, great grand- 
 father of Dr. Force, was a soldier in Col. Hazen's 
 Congress regiment. He was at the battles of 
 Monmouth, Springfield, Cherry \'alley, Yorktown 
 and at the surrender of Cornwallis. The subject 
 of this sketch was born at Stillwater, Saratoga 
 Ctjunty, New York, March 2, 1843. He attended 
 the village schools and Stillwater Academy. On 
 leaving school he engaged in mercantile business, 
 but at the age of nineteen, on August 13. 1862, 
 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Twentv-fifth 
 Adlunteers at Troy, New York. He served 
 in Co. K. as a private, corporal, sergeant and 
 first sergeant. He was appointed first lieutenant 
 of the Twenty-.seconcl I'. S. colored troops, De- 
 cember. 1863, and promoted to the office of cap- 
 tain. .September 30, 1864. he was severely wound- 
 ed at I'ln-t Harrison, near Richmond, and 
 was discharged on account of his wounds, April 
 10. i86q. Dr. Force was at the surrender of
 
 396 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 Harper's I'errv, Septeinl)i.'r 15, 18O2. at (.iettys- 
 burg during the two days of the fight, at Mine 
 Run, Bristol Station, Aul)urn Ford, t'etershiirg, 
 Dutch Gap Canal, etc. On leaving the army lie 
 returned to mercantile business for a time but 
 soon took up the study of medicine. He had 
 also, while engaged in Ijusiness, after the close of 
 the war, taken a course of study at the Bryant and 
 Stratton Business College in Newark, New jersey. 
 His medical studies were continued in the Albany 
 Medical College, where he graduated in 1871. 
 The following }ear he came \\'est and settled at 
 Heron Lake. Minnesota, and engaged in the 
 practice of his profession. In 1885 he removed 
 to Minneapolis in search of a larger and more 
 profitable field. Dr. h'orce has attained promi- 
 nence in various capacities. He is a medical 
 director of the X<,rthwesteni Life .\ssociation. 
 having been chosen for that position in 1S87. In 
 1888 he was made secretary- and treasurer of the 
 association and in 1895 he became its manager. 
 He is also a director in the Metropolitan Bank of 
 Minneapolis. Politically Dr. Force is a Repub- 
 lican. His first ballot was cast for Lincoln while 
 lying in the hospital in the fall of 1864, his vote 
 being sent home to New York. Since he came 
 to Minnesota he has been county superintend- 
 ent of schools in Jackson County during four 
 years; postmaster at Heron Lake eight years, 
 and pension surgeon for the United States gov- 
 ernment for a period of thirteen years. Dr. Force 
 is a member of the Foss M. E. Church, where 
 he has been actively identified for the past ten 
 years. He is also a member of the Masonic 
 order, the G. A. R. and the Loyal Legion. He 
 was married April 4, 1867, to Sarah F. Mesick. 
 They have three children living, Frank Wilson, 
 a druggist at Windoni, .Minnesota, Charles E., as- 
 sistant secretary, Xorthwestern Life Association, 
 and a daugliter. May. who was graduated from 
 the high sclujol in 181;:^. 
 
 Tllo.MAS CHALMERS CLARK. 
 
 Dr. Clark, of .Stillwater. Minnesota, traces his 
 ancestry liack to the landing of the ship Mary 
 and Jolin. from England, al Dorclicster, Massa- 
 chusetts, in i6_^o. lie was born at Onincv, 
 
 Massachusetts, April 22, 1853. His father, Rev. 
 Xelson Clark, was a native of Brookfield, Ver- 
 mont, where he was born in 1813. For thirty- 
 five years he was pastor of Congregational 
 churches in Vermont and ^Massachusetts. He 
 removed to Minnesota in 1880, and soon after- 
 wards died. His wife, Elizabeth Gilman, was 
 grand-daughter of Rev. Samuel Hidden, who was 
 for forty-five years pastor of the Congregational 
 Church at Tamworth, New Hampshire. She is 
 now living at Stillwater, Minnesota. As above 
 stated, the family line is traced back to the early 
 settlement of the countrv on the father's side. 
 The founder of the family in this country was 
 one of the company led by Thomas Hooker, 
 which settled on the Connecticut River, and 
 his descendants living for several generations 
 at North Hampton, ^lassachusetts. On the 
 mother's side the family line is traced directly 
 to Anne, daughter of Thomas Dudley, one of 
 the early colonial governors of Massachusetts. 
 .\nne Dudley married Silas Bradstreet, who was 
 also a colonial governor of Massachusetts. The 
 members of the family on both sides belong to 
 the sturdy New England stock, whose impress 
 has been so strongly stamped upon the social, 
 intellectual and religious life of our country. 
 Thomas Chalmers began his education in the 
 common schools of Massachusetts and was grad- 
 uated from Bristol Academy, at Taunton, ^lassa- 
 chusetts, in 1870. He removed to Stillwater, 
 -Minnesota, in the fall of that year and engaged 
 in teaching. He was thus employed until the 
 spring of 1877. About this time he commenced 
 the study of medicine with Dr. \\'. H. Pratt, of 
 -Stillwater, and also served as hospital steward in 
 the state prison in the spring of 1877 and until 
 the fall of 1879. He graduated from the Rush 
 Medical College, in Chicago, in 1881, as the vale- 
 dictorian of a class of one Inmdred and seventy- 
 two. Tie leturned to Stillwater, where he began 
 to jM-actice medicine, and is so engaged at the 
 present time. Dr. Clark has always taken an 
 active interest in military affairs. He enlisted in 
 Company K. h'irst Regiment M. N. G., in 1883,. 
 at the time of its organization. He went in as a 
 private, was promoted to first lieutenant and 
 assistant surgeon in 1886, was made capt;iin and'
 
 PKOOKESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 397 
 
 assistant sur.iJfon in 1894, ami major and surgeon 
 in 1805. He was a nicnilK-r of the First Rcgi- 
 iiiciil and llir State Ixillc Teams from 1SS5 mitil 
 i89(;. lie (|ualilied as a shari)slK)<jter at every 
 encampmenl held since 1884, and was deccsratcd 
 as a distingtiislied ritleman in iSoo. I )i-. Clarl< is 
 an ardent Republican. He was chairman of tlie 
 Republican C'ount\- t'onnnittec in i8(jo, and alter- 
 nate to the Republican Xatiiinal (.'onvenlinn in 
 Minneapolis in i8<j2. With exception of the 
 ofifice of coroner he has never held any political 
 office, nor has he desired any. He is a member 
 of the county, state and naticMial medical societies; 
 a member of the Association of Military Surgeons 
 of the I'nited States: is one of the board of 
 managers of the Minnesota Society of the Sons 
 of the American Revolution; is a Knights Templar 
 and an active member of the Masonic order; is 
 past master of St. John's Lodge, Xo. i. and past 
 high priest of the Ro)al Arch Chapter, No. 17. 
 Dr. Clark is also active in Christian work. He 
 is a member and elder of the First Presbyterian 
 Church of Stillwater. He was married in June. 
 1882, to Miss Sarah A. Stephens, of New York 
 Cit\-, and has three children liviii"-. 
 
 MARTIN NORWOOD HILT. 
 
 Mart. N. Hilt is one of the younger, active 
 business men of Minneapolis. He is a native of 
 Indianapolis, where he was born r)ctober 24. 
 1868. His father, Franklin L. Hilt, was born in 
 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and moved to 
 Indianapolis when a boy. During the war he 
 was state inspector of arms. Later he engaged 
 in the manufacture of architectural iron, jail work 
 and similar line of iron construction. He died in 
 1884. His wife was Miss A. E. Nonvood. She 
 was born in Indianapolis, and her grandfather 
 was one of the veterans of the state and an early 
 settler in Indianapolis. Mart. Hilt was born at 
 Indianapolis and attended the district and high 
 schools of that city. He earned his first money 
 by selling papers. From the time he was eight 
 years old until he was twelve he devoted most of 
 his time out of school to this work; afterwards 
 he worked in the office of R. F. Catterson & Son, 
 
 real estate and rental business. During a vaca- 
 tion in 1885 his brother, Geo. L. Hilt, moved to 
 Minneapolis and Martin succeeded him as man- 
 ager of the rental business of the firm. He con- 
 tinued in this business until March, 1888, w'hen 
 he moved to Minneapolis to accept a position in 
 the rental ofifice of his brother, as manager of 
 the insurance branch of the business. This ar- 
 rangement continued until August, 1894, when, 
 upon the death of Mr. Geo. L. Hilt, he succeeded to 
 the entire business under the style of the Hilt 
 Agency. Mr. Hilt makes the rental business an 
 exclusive one, believing that he can best serve 
 the interests of his clients in that way. While 
 engaged in building up a business Mr. Hilt has 
 had little time to give to political atifairs. He has 
 always taken an active interest in the primaries, 
 and has always been a Republican. He is a 
 member of the Commercial Club, and is the Past 
 Regent of the Cecilian Council, 1367, R. A., and 
 a member of the Grand Council of Minnesota. 
 He was first Secretary of the Cecilian Council 
 and one of its organizers. He is a member of 
 the Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1892 
 Mr. Hilt was married to Miss Abbey C. Winslow, 
 a daughter of ^Ir. C. M. Winslow. The\- have no 
 children.
 
 398 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEX OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 SEA\'ER E. OLSON. 
 
 The above name is a houseliold word through- 
 out tlie State (jf Minnesota, and will Ije readily 
 recognized as that of tlie head of the firm of S. E. 
 Olson Co., of Minneapolis, which runs one of the 
 largest retail stores in the Xorthwest. Mr. (Jlson 
 was born in the parish of Ringsaker, near Haniar, 
 in X'orway, on February 2, 1846. His father was 
 a contractor and builder. Seaver's early training 
 was strongly religious in its character, both his 
 parents being members of the Baptist Church 
 and holding strong religious views, and in other 
 respects his home advantages were unusuall}' 
 favorable. Tollef Olson, an uncle of Seaver's, 
 was for fifty years a seminary professor, receiving 
 at the end of this period a gold medallion from 
 the king for being the (ildest educator in contin- 
 U(nis service in that country. It was under his 
 uncle's tuition, uj) to his tenth year, that voung 
 Scaver received his early educational training. 
 That the elementary knowledge he received at 
 that early age was of great value may be judged 
 from the fact that from his tenth to twelfth year 
 he taught a district school. The ( )lson family 
 emigrated to America in 1838, landing at Quebec. 
 From tliere thev came directlv to the Ignited 
 
 States and located at La Crosse, Wisconsin. The 
 father "took up" a piece of public land a distance 
 of seventeen miles from that place and pursued 
 the occupation of an agriculturist until his death 
 in 1884. The subject of this sketch worked on 
 the farm for a vear, and then secured employment 
 in a general store in La Crosse, where he worked 
 for nearly two years. He was but fourteen years 
 old at this time and desired to have a college 
 education, which his parents could not afford to 
 give him. He determined to secure it himself, 
 however, and with this purpose in view started 
 
 out for Ileloit, Wise 
 
 He struggled for 
 
 nine months attending school and W(.)rking at 
 such employment as he could get to pay his 
 expenses, but finally was compelled to give up 
 the hope that he had cherished for so long, deter- 
 mined in mind, however, that his younger lirother 
 should not lack the college education of which 
 he had been deprived. It is to Air. Olson's credit 
 to say that this purpose, formed in youth, he 
 carried out later in life. He took his brother off 
 the farm and for ten vears furnished him the 
 means of completing his studies, both in this 
 country and in Eurtjpe, having fitted him for 
 the honored position which he afterwards held as 
 president of the South Dakota State University. 
 This brother lost his life in the disastrous Tribune 
 fire in i88g. After giving up his idea of attending 
 college ."leaver obtained a position in a store in 
 ISeloit. The proprietor of the store shortlv after- 
 wards opened another at Cambridge, \\'isconsin, 
 and the young lad was given the management of 
 it. He held this position until Januarv i, 1864, 
 at which time his former emi)loyer at La Crosse 
 offered him the position of head bookkeeper and 
 general manager of the store in which he had 
 worked as a lad. .\lr. ( )lson held this res]:)onsil)le 
 position until January i, 1867, at which time he 
 started out in business for himself and opened a 
 store in Rushford, under the firm name of S. E. 
 ( )lson (S: Co. This firm did a large business, but 
 in 1870 .Mr. Olson sold out and attached himself 
 to his former employer in La Crosse as a partner. 
 Three years later he organized in La Crosse the 
 w^holcsalc and retail dry goods house of Olson, 
 Smith 1*^ Co. This firm was dissolved in 1876, the 
 jobbing interests of the concern being retainer!
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 399 
 
 b}- Mr. CJlsim. In 1878 lie removed his stuck to 
 Miiine;ii)olis ami became connected with the tinii 
 of N. 15. liarwood & Co. The failure of this 
 house, however, two years later, left the young 
 merchant stranded, lie was not discouraged, 
 however, but in company with M. I). Int^ram 
 succeeded in bcirrowing sufficient money to buy 
 the remnant of the stock from llu- sheriff's sale, 
 and started up in business again under the firm 
 name of Ingram, ( )lson & Co. The business 
 became prosperous in a short time, so that in 1887 
 Mr. Olstju was able to purchase Mr. Ingram's 
 interest and continue the business as sole tnvner. 
 The business grew to such an extent that .Mr. 
 Olson decided to make a venturesome departure. 
 In 1803 '1*? built a large business block on the 
 corner of h'ifth street and First avenue south, 
 Alinneapolis, in which a dei^artment store was 
 opened. In 181)4 'i^' organized the present S. E. 
 Olson Co. .Mr, ( )lson is an enterprising and 
 progressive merchant and has within that short 
 time built up an enormous trade, the .^. E. Olson 
 mammoth establishment being one of the largest 
 of its kind west of Chicago. In all matters 
 tending towards the welfare and development of 
 Minneapolis, Mr. ( Mson has always taken an act- 
 ive part. He is said to have been one of the first to 
 suggest the idea of an exposition in Minneapolis, 
 and contributed a great deal of his time to make 
 the expositions successful. He was for several 
 years president of the .State Bank of IMinneapolis. 
 De,spite his busy life he has devoted some 
 attention to politics, and is one of the recognized 
 leaders of his nationality who espouse the Repub- 
 lican cause. He has, however, refused all tenders 
 of office. Mr. Olson's church connections are 
 with the Baptist body. He was married in 1880 
 to Miss Ida Hawlev, of Minneapolis. 
 
 HENRY PR.\TT ITH.\:M. 
 
 H. P. Upham, President of the First National 
 Bank of ,St. Paul, comes of a family probablv as 
 ancient as am in England. The name is found 
 recorded in the Domes-day Book prior to the 
 Norman conquest. The first of the Upham familv 
 who settled in America was John Upham, who 
 
 landed at Weymouth, .Massachusetts, in 1635, 
 His descendants took a prominent part in the 
 stirring events of the Colonial period, partici- 
 pating in the various wars from that of King 
 Philip to the Revolution. Mr. Upham is ninth in 
 the line from the original John, the emigrant. His 
 father, Joel W. Upham, was a native of Brookfield, 
 Massachusetts. He married .Miss Seraphine Howe, 
 also of an old Colonial family. She died in 1839. 
 Mr. Uphaiu, who was one of the pioneer manufac- 
 turers of the famous turbine water wheels, died at 
 Worcester in i87(). Their son, Henry P, Upham, 
 was Iiorn in Millhury, Massachusetts, on January 
 26, 1837, He was educated at the ])ublic schools 
 of Worcester, Alassachusetts, and in 1856, after 
 i|uitting school, came West to seek his fortune in 
 the then almost unknown territory of Minnesota. 
 Mr. I'pham reached .St. Paul on .^^arch 19, 1857. 
 It was then a straggling village, with little about 
 it to indicate its future importance. Though not 
 yet of age, Mr. Upham confidently embarked in 
 business in the new village, forming a partnership 
 with Chauncy W. Griggs. The firm engaged in 
 tlie lumber business and continued for some vears 
 with success. In 1863 Mr. I'pham became teller 
 in the bank of 'I'hompson Brothers, then the 
 leading institution of its class in the citv. When
 
 400 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 these gentlemen organized the h'irst National 
 Bank of St. Paul, Mr. L'phani became its teller 
 and later its assistant cashier. In iS6<j he took 
 part in the organization oi the City IJank of -St. 
 Paul, of which he was cashier. I*"our years later 
 it was deemed advantageous to consolidate with 
 the First National r)ank, and l\lr. L'pham became 
 cashier of the consolidated institution, and in 
 18.S0, upon the death of Horace Thompson, he 
 was elected president. As the head of one of 
 the leading Jinancial institutions of St. Paul. Mr. 
 Upham has been a conspicuous figure in the 
 conmiercial life of that city for a sciire of years. 
 On September 23, 1868, Mr. I'pham married 
 ]\Jiss Evelyn G. Burbank. daughter of the late 
 Colonel Simeon I'.urliank. The\ have three chil- 
 dren, Gertrude, Grace and John Phincas. The 
 fondness for books and reading, which Mr. 
 L'pham has indulged to the extent of collecting 
 a large private librar}', has also Ijeen recognized 
 by his election to various societies of a literary, 
 historical and geneological character. He is 
 regarded as one of the most thorough geneolog- 
 ical scholars in the I'nited States. For several 
 years he was a director of the St. Paul public 
 library. Mr. U]:)ham is a valued member of the 
 American Antiquarian Society ancl Society of 
 Antiquity of Worcester, Massachusetts, of the 
 I^linnesota Historical Society, of the ^linnesota 
 Club, of the Ramsey County Pioneer Association. 
 of St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, and of the 
 Masonic and Ivnights Templar orders. 
 
 DANIEL FLSH. 
 
 Judge Daniel Fish, of Minneapolis, traces his 
 ancestry back to Daniel Fish who migrated 
 from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 1680. A 
 branch of the same family also settled on Long 
 Island from which sprang Hamilton I-'ish, Gov- 
 ernor and .Senator of .New York and Secretary of 
 State under President Grant. Daniel Fish, 
 father of the subject of this sketch, was a farmer, 
 who, in 1840 emigrated from Western New "S'ork 
 and settled on a farm in Winnebago County, lli- 
 nois, in the spring of 1841, and died in T847. 
 
 some weeks before the birth of his son. The 
 mother of the elder Daniel was Sarah Ireland, 
 member of a family somewhat distiguished in 
 early New York history as containing a number 
 of Baptist clergymen. Parmelia Adams, the 
 mother of the subject of this sketch, was born in 
 Washington County, New York, in 1810, the 
 daughter of Elisha Adams, whose father, Edward, 
 was a soldier of the Revolution. Judge Daniel 
 Fish was born on a farm near Cherry Valley, Win- 
 nebago County, Illinois, January 31, 1848. Up to 
 the age of fourteen years he attended the district 
 school, but at that time left home and for a year 
 and a half was a student in the public schools at 
 Rockford, in the same county, supporting 
 himself as a chore bov in the family of 
 Maurice B. F)errick, now of Chicago. On 
 January 4, 1864, when but a lad of six- 
 teen, Daniel enlisted as a private in Com- 
 pany G, Forty-fifth Illinois A'olunteer Infantry, 
 joining his regiment near Mcksburg. He served 
 with it until the fall of Atlanta, coming home on 
 a furlough, but before it had half expired, hear- 
 ing of Sherman's proposed march to the sea, he 
 started with all haste to join his regiment. He 
 was too late, however, only being able to get as 
 far as Nashville, where he l)ecame attached to a 
 Provisional Division of the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee. He fought under General Steedman at 
 Nashville, and followed Hood's retreating troops 
 into Alabama, whence he was transferred with 
 the Twenty-third Corps to North Carolina, .going 
 by sea from .Vnnapolis to Morehead City, and 
 thence by rail to New Berne. Though but a lad of 
 .seventeen, young Daniel marched with the Provi- 
 sional Division as sergeant of his company, and 
 was in the thick of the fight at Southwest Creek 
 (sometimes called the Battle of Kinston'), on the 
 way to Goldsboro where he met Siierman's army 
 and rejoined his old regiment. .\ftcr the sur- 
 render of Tohnson he marched to Washington 
 and took part in the grand review, being finally 
 mustered out at Louisville, Kcntuck-y, Julv 12, 
 1865. After leaving the army he spent one win- 
 ter in a district school in Iowa, and then engaged 
 in business as a bookseller at Manchester, in 
 which business he remained for four vcars, it
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN 01" MINNESOTA. 
 
 lol 
 
 enabling him to complete a fair comnKjn school 
 education and to acquire a familiarity with gen- 
 eral literature. In the winter of 1870 and 1871 
 he taught a country school in Jones County, 
 Iowa, continuing at the same time the study of 
 law begun while at Manchester. The following 
 spring he was admitted to the bar, and imme- 
 diately started for the Xorth Star state. .Mr. Fish 
 arrived in .Mnneapolis May 13, 1871, without any 
 money and with no property except a few dozen 
 books. I'art of these he sold at auction and 
 proceeded on to Brainerd. I"or a while he 
 worked on the N. P. railroad as a shoveler on the 
 dump, then crossing to what is now the Great 
 Northern road, worked his way to Delano, in 
 Wright County, where he put out his sign as a 
 lawyer, judge Fish's first office was in the ]n\h- 
 lic room or office of the Delano hotel, and he 
 earned his first professional fee assisting the late 
 Judge Cornell, then attorney-general, in a nuir- 
 der trial. To add to his meagre income he en- 
 gaged in soliciting insurance, acting as real estate 
 agent, collecting and the like. In the spring of 
 1872 he established the paper now known as the 
 Delano Eagle, but five months of excessive labor 
 as editor and general factotum in a newspaper 
 office broke his health, and since that time he has 
 steadily pursued the practice of his profession. 
 In 1875 he was elected Judge of Probate of 
 Wright County, and two years later was defeated 
 as a candidate f(.)r county attorney. In 1879 he 
 was appointed. In- Governor Pillsbury, Judge of 
 Probate to fill a vacancy. The fall of the follow- 
 ing vear, however. Judge Fish removed to I\Iin- 
 neapolis, where he has been a member of the law 
 firms of Fish & ( )vitt. Msh, Evans & Holmes 
 and Young & Fish, his present partner being the 
 Hon. A. H. Young, for many years a Judge of 
 the District Court. Judge h'ish was the first 
 attorney of the board of park commissioners, and 
 conducted the early and important litigation 
 which established the powers of the board and 
 settled the foundations of the present system of 
 parks and boulevards in Minneapolis. He was 
 also the attorney of the board of state park com- 
 missioners and as such had charge of the legal 
 proceedings which resulted in the acquisition of 
 
 Minnehaha Park. He became the attorney of 
 the board of court house and city hall commis- 
 sioners in June, 1887, and has been its legal ad- 
 viser during its entire existence. The same year 
 he became the general counsel and trust officer 
 of the Minnesota Title Insurance and Trust Com- 
 pany, serving as such for about five years, but 
 resumed his general practice in 1892. In 1896 
 he was strongly supported for the office of Dis- 
 trict Judge. Judge Fish is a Republican, takes 
 an active part in the campaigns of his party, and 
 was an alternate delegate to the famous Chicago 
 convention in 1880. He was Commander of the 
 John A. Rawlins Post, G. A. R., in 1886; As- 
 sistant Adjutant General of the Departrnent of 
 Minnesota the same year; Adjutant General of 
 the National Encampment in 1888, and is at pres- 
 ent Judge Advocate on the staft' of Department 
 Commander McCardy. His church connections 
 are with the Park Avenue Congregational church. 
 He was married .\ugust 21, 1873, to Elizabeth 
 ?vl. Porter, daughter of Rev. Giles M. Porter, 
 then of Garnavillo, Iowa, and a niece of the late 
 President Porter, of Yale College. They have 
 had five children, Annie, wife of Rev. Charles 
 Graves of HumVjoldt, Iowa: Elizabeth. Florence, 
 Horace and Helen.
 
 402 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIA}.! HALL YALE. 
 
 Govermir Yak-, as he is familiarly known, has 
 been a leading member of the Ijar of the North 
 Star state for a period of forty years. His reputa- 
 tion as a lawyer is state-wide, while he has a 
 national reptitation as a champion of Republican 
 principles. He is a lineal descendant of Thomas 
 Yale, who came to America in 1637, and settled 
 at Xew Haven. Connecticut. It was his son. 
 Elihu Yale, in whose honor ^'alc Colles;e was 
 named. Elihu returned to England when a child: 
 afterwards went to the Plast Indies, where he ac- 
 (|uired a fortune; returned to London and became 
 governor of the East Indian Company. His 
 munificent gifts to the college at Xew Haven 
 caused its name to be changed to "Yale." Wil- 
 liam Hall Yale is the son of Wooster and Lticy 
 (Hall) Yale, and was born in New Haven, Con- 
 necticut, November 12, 1831. Wooster Yale 
 settled on the farm originally opem-il by Captain 
 Tliomas Yale, a nephew- of I'.lihu ^'aU•. at \\'all- 
 ingford, Connecticut. He was at one time an 
 extensive shoe manufacturer in his native town of 
 Wallingford: later in life he had an exchange 
 office at New Haven, of wliich countv he was 
 
 sheriff for several years, returning to Wallingford 
 a short while before his demise. From his sixth 
 to eleventh year young William attended the 
 [jublic schools of Wallingford. One of his school 
 mates of that period was Gen. Joseph R. Hawley, 
 now a United States senator from Connecticut. 
 For the next three years the boy worked on the 
 farm, his only opportunities for education being 
 such as the winter term of a district school 
 afforded. Subsequently he spent three years at 
 the Connecticut Literary Institute at SufHeld. 
 When but eighteen William commenced teaching 
 school at Norwalk, in his native state. He fol- 
 lowed that profession there for about five years, 
 employing his leisure time in reading law in the 
 office of G. R. Cowles, an attorney of that city. 
 In 1854 he secured a position as bookkeeper of 
 the Sharp's Rifle Manufacturing Company, at 
 Hartford, where he remained till the spring of 
 1857, when he came West and located at \\'inona, 
 Minnesota. In the summer of that veav he was 
 admitted to the bar. He practiced alone for a 
 while, then became a partner of Judge William 
 Mitchell, which partnership continued until 1874. 
 For three or four years he practiced alone, then 
 took as partner one of his former law students, 
 AI. B. Webber, the firm being known as Yale & 
 Webber. Mr. Yale s early associates at the bar 
 were such men as Daniel S. Norton, later L^nited 
 .'states senator from Minnesota; the late Hon. 
 William Windom ; Jtidge Thomas Wilson, after- 
 wards member of congress: William Mitchell, 
 now a member of the supreme bench, and C. H. 
 Berry, afterwards attorney general of the state 
 and United States district judge for the Territory 
 of Idaho. Even with such men as contemporar- 
 ies Governor Yale soon acquired eminence in the 
 legal fraternitv. His cases were prepared with 
 great care, and he is regarded as one of the best 
 pleaders that ever stood before the bar in Minne- 
 sota. Since coming to the state, Air. Yale has for 
 more than two-thirds of the time held some civil 
 or political ofifice. Six months after locating at 
 Winona he was elected city ju.stice, holding that 
 office for two vears; before the expiration of the 
 term he was elected judge of probate to fill an 
 unexpired term : was subscquentb- prosecuting
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 403 
 
 attorney for two terms; was a state senator in 1867 
 and i8()<S; lieutenant J4;overnor from i(S7o to 1874, 
 and senator aj^ain in 1876 and 1877, also in 1895 
 and 1897. An evidence of Mr. Yale"s i)o|nilarity 
 is the fact that each time lie was elected lientt-nant 
 governcir Ik- had the lari^est majiirit\ uf ;in\ man 
 on the Republican ticket, and the last time he was 
 chosen senator he received five hundred majority 
 running ag'ainst a very pojndar candidate in a 
 strong- Democratic district. Governor Yale has 
 been an active member of the Rei)ublican ])arty 
 since the campaign of 1856, and has been promi- 
 nent in the counsels of his part\- in the state of 
 Minnesota. In 1876 he was appointed a delegate 
 to the Rei)ublican national convention at Cincin- 
 nati, l)Ut owing to sickness in the family he was 
 unable to attend. He attended the national con- 
 vention held in Minneapolis in 1892 as a dele- 
 gate. The state conventions of the Repul:)lican 
 party in 1872, 1873 and 1880 were presided over 
 by Mr. Yale: the latter year bringing him the 
 honor without opposition. During the four years 
 he presided over the senate, j\Ir. Yale won for 
 himself golden opinions for the promptness and 
 impartiality with which he discharged his official 
 duties, and he acquired an enviable reputation as 
 a parliamentarian. He is a fluent and eloc|uent 
 speaker, and is recognized as a ])ower on what- 
 ever side of the question he is found. In 1894 
 Governor Nelson apixiinted 3ilr. Yale as one of 
 the regents of the state university, which honor 
 he appreciated more highly than any office to 
 which he had ever been chosen: but under a re- 
 cent decision of the supreme court he could not 
 serve until his term as state senator expires. ]\[r. 
 Yale is active in church an<l l)enevolent enter- 
 prises, and has l^een a prominent member of the 
 Episcopal church in Southern Minnesota ever 
 since coming to this state. He was married in 
 185 1 to Sarah E. Ranks, of Xorwalk, Connect- 
 icut, who died in 1871, leaving one child, Charles 
 R. Y'ale, who is general claim agent for the 
 Great Northern Railway. In ( )ctober, 1872, he 
 was married again to ^fary Louisa Hovt. also of 
 Norwalk, who has one child, \\'illiani Hoyt Yale, 
 wlio is now a student at the state tmiversitv. 
 
 OLIXER CRO.MWELL WYMAN. 
 
 The employment of (jur energies upon the 
 work at hand will almost invariably bring its re- 
 ward to those using such methods in. all the pur- 
 suits ui life. The success achieved h\ Mr. 
 Wynian, who is the senior member of the whole- 
 sale dry goods house of W'yman, Partridge & 
 Co., is but another evidence of what perseverance 
 in business will accomplish. ( )liver Cromwell 
 Wyman was born at Anderson, Indiana, January, 
 1837. His father, Henry Wyman, a native of 
 .\'ew York, was prominently identified with the 
 early history of the state of Indiana, and also 
 with that of Michigan. His death, occurring in 
 the latter state in 1891, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-nine \ears, closed a successful i)rofessional 
 career of more than fifty years in the practice of 
 medicine. Mr. \\'vman's mother's maiden name 
 was Prudence Rerry. She died Init a few months 
 after her son's birth: her ])arents were pioneer 
 settlers in the Hoosier state. When Mr. Wyman 
 was but seven years old. he removed to the state 
 of Iowa with his maternal grandmother. With 
 the advantage of but a common school education,
 
 4-04 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 Mr. W'viiian, at the early age of {(jurteen years, 
 began his active Inisiness career at Aiarion, Iowa, 
 wliere he remained in business until 1874, when 
 he came to .Minnesota, locating in Minneapolis. 
 He at once engaged m active business, establish- 
 ing the wholesale dry goods house of Wynian & 
 Mullin. -Mr. .\lullin having been a former business 
 partner at ]\larion, Iowa. The firm's Inisiness 
 place was 220 Hennepin avenue. In iS jo Mr. 
 Mullin withdrew from the partnership, and Mr. 
 George Henry Partridge, who had lieen associ- 
 ated with the credit department of the house f'lr 
 some vears, became the junior partner, under the 
 name of Wyman, I'artridge & Co., Samuel 1 ). 
 Coykendall. of Rondimt, \ew York, remaining 
 the special partner. The firm continues the same 
 at the present time. The business of this hcuise 
 has gradually increased since its beginning here, 
 and it is now one of the largest wholesale dry 
 goods houses in the West. The Inisiness is nnw 
 located in their own building, corner of First 
 avenue north and Fourth street, a very desirable 
 localitv for the convenience of the wholesale trade. 
 It must be gratifying to any man to realize that 
 his earlv business methods, so judiciously fol- 
 lowed, have achieved good results. Mr. Wyman's 
 political affiliations have been with the Demo- 
 cratic party. Fle does not, however, take any 
 active part in party politics. In 185S he was 
 married at Loudon, Iowa, to Charlotte E. ^Mullin, 
 who died Octolx-r i, 1880. Flis second marriage 
 was in i88q, to I'.ella M. Ristine. of Cedar Rapids, 
 Iowa. Mr. Wvman has four children living. 
 
 1)]LL( )X O'BRIEN, 
 
 Minnesota owes much to the liroad-niinded, 
 earnest ciiaracters found among her early settlers. 
 Such was Dillon O'Brien, one of the foremost 
 Irish-Americans of two decades ago. Dillon 
 O'Brien was born at Kilhiiore, in Roscominon 
 County, Ireland, on July 1. 1817. His education 
 was received from ]irivate tiitm-s and later at the 
 Jesuit College of Clongowes, from which he 
 graduated. In i8^() he married Miss Elizabeth 
 Kelley. In 1857, with his wife imd faniil\-, then 
 consisting of four children, he came to this 
 countrv. and after a vcar's residence in Michigan, 
 
 he was appointed to take charge of the govern- 
 ment school at La Pointe, on Madeline Island, 
 Lake Superior. The school was aftenvards moved 
 to the mainland, near Bayfield. Mr. O'Brien 
 remained at its head until 1863, when he moved 
 to St, Anthony, and a little later to St. Paul, where 
 he continued to live until his death on February 
 12, 1882, Air. O'Brien's friends found him a man 
 of rare and charming qualities. He had been 
 brought up and spent his early manhood ill 
 circumstances which placed him lieyond any 
 anxiety as to material comforts. Yet ease and 
 lu.xury brought neither enervation nor narrowing 
 of sympathies, and when loss of fortune came he 
 met it with undaunted courage. Mr. (J'Brien 
 grasped, as if Iiy intuition, the spirit of American 
 life. He recognized the possibilities of the devel- 
 (ipment of the Northwest with great clearness, and 
 with a characteristic hopefulness and enthusiasm 
 lent himself to the work of bringing his country- 
 men from the crowded seaboard cities of the East 
 to the broad farming lands of the Northwest. He 
 was one of the first to point out the mutual 
 advantages to the state and the settler of finding 
 a home here. He organized the first Irish emigra- 
 tion society in the early si.xties. It was the pur- 
 pose of this society to induce emigrants leaving 
 Ireland, or already arrived in the East, to seek 
 homes in Minnesota. The society was productive 
 of excellent results, not nnlv in the actual work it 
 accomplished, but bv calling the attention (if the 
 people to the importance of the general subject. 
 When the state afterwards formed an immigration 
 department, Mr. O'Brien was appointed one of 
 the commissioners. In the isolation of the long 
 winters on the shores of Lake Superior, Mr, 
 O'Brien's naturally fine literary- powers found 
 expression in the preparation of his first novel, 
 "The Dalys of Dalystown," which he published 
 in St. Paul, shortly after he went there to live. 
 This book was followed by three others, "Dead 
 Broke," "The Widow Melville's Boarding House" 
 and "Frank Blake," all published in St. Paul. 
 He was the leading spirit in establishing the 
 "Northwestern Chronicle" and was its first editor, 
 .\s a lecturer he was very successful and traveled 
 cxtensivclv to accept engagements for the plat- 
 form. Though imich of Mr. ( VP.rien's life w^as.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 405 
 
 devoted to the work of helping his lelluw men 
 to a better condition in hfe, he had nothing of 
 the professional reformer in his disposition. 
 Aside from his writing and public speaking his 
 greatest work was accomplished i)y personal 
 efiforts applied on individual cases where good 
 might be accomplished. lie was a man of very 
 marked personality, but at the same time had 
 not an enemy in the world. This was probably 
 due to the punctilious respect which he had for 
 the rights of others. In conversation, where he 
 was at his best- — witty, fluent, graceful and spon- 
 taneous — there was never a word of mere gossip 
 or scandal or an unkind allusion or an unfeeling 
 jest. Air. O'Brien was a total al)staincr from an 
 early period in his life and he was a constant 
 worker in the cause of temperance. As far as he 
 acted with any party he was a Democrat. In 
 recognition of this fact and of his services to 
 the community, the Democratic party gave him 
 a complimentary nomination for clerk of the 
 supreme court in 1870 — at a time when the 
 possibility of election to any state office on a 
 Democratic ticket was nut of the question. 
 
 T( )HX HENRY KERRICK, 
 
 John Henry Kerrick is a dealer in machinery 
 in Minneapolis, the head of the firm of Kerrick 
 & Frost. He was born in Gilletts, Bradford 
 County, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1842, the son 
 of John D. Kerrick, now deceased, and Margaret 
 M. Decker (Kerrick). The only educational ad- 
 vantages he enjoyed in youth were those of the 
 common schools. Mr. Kerrick entered the em- 
 ploy of A. T. Nichols & Co., of W'illiamsport, 
 Pennsv Ivania, as a bookkeeper in their machine 
 works. This was his first business engagement. 
 Subsequently he traveled for them as salesman 
 for several years, and. finally, located a branch 
 house for this firm at hulianapolis, which did 
 the largest business of any establishment in that 
 line in the state. He sold his interest in the 
 Indianapolis establishment in 1880 and came to 
 Minnesota, locating at Minneapolis, where he 
 engaged in the same line of business, outfitting 
 saw mills, planing mills, sash and door factories, 
 machine shops, etc. His business increased very 
 
 rapidly, and for several years he did the largest 
 machinery business then carried on west of 
 Chicago, amounting to over half a million dollars 
 in the course of twelve months. The hard times 
 of 1884 caused embarrassment, which was subse- 
 (juently recovered from and the business re- 
 established muler the firm name already given, 
 and is now conducted with success. Air. Kerrick 
 has an honorable record as a soldier. He enlisted 
 in the army in the ( )ne Hundred and Seventy- 
 ninth New York \ olunteers as a private and 
 participated in the battles of Cold Harbor 
 Spottsylvania Court House, White House Land- 
 ing, Petersburg, and was at the surrender of Lee 
 at Appomatto.x. At the battle of Petersburg the 
 flag fell from the hands of the color sergeant, 
 who was shot in seven places, and Mr. Kerrick 
 seized it and carried it from Petersburg to the 
 close of the war and back to Elniira. New York. 
 He is a meml^er of Morgan Post, No. 4, G. A. 
 R. He has always been a loyal stipporter of 
 the candidates and principles of the Repub- 
 lican party. He is a member of the Fowler M. 
 E. Church, a new society organized in 1894 
 bv Bishop Fowler. Mr. Kerrick was married 
 .\pril II, 1876, to Mrs. Mrginia A. Smith. They 
 have no children.
 
 406 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHRISTOPHllK WEBBER HALL. 
 
 For nearl\- a score of }ears I'rofessor C. \\ . 
 Hall has occupied a prominent place in the faculty 
 of the University of Minnesota. He is a native 
 of Wardsboro, \'ermont, and was Imrn on Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1845. His father, Lewis Hall, was for 
 many years a farmer at Wardsboro. His mother 
 was a daughter of Captain Calvin Wilder, a pros- 
 perous tanner of Plymouth, \'ermont. The Hall 
 family, it appears, migrated from Enfield, Con- 
 necticut, soon after the admission of \'ermont as 
 a state. They doubtless belonged to the family 
 which played so important a part in the settle- 
 ment (if the Xew Haven Colony, in 1638, and 
 the subsequent history of the Xew Haven and 
 Connecticut Colony. During his boyhood, young 
 Hall attended the school at W'est W'ardsboro vil- 
 lage, and tin- select school in the vicinity, after 
 which lie went to Iceland and (iray Seminary, at 
 Townshend, \ ernumt, fur several terms. In 
 1865, his father having moved to Athens, \'cr- 
 niont, his schooling was transferred to Chester 
 Academy, where he pursued his studies, support- 
 ing himself by teaching penmaiisliip. It was 
 through the advice of Hcnrv H. .Shaw, principal 
 of this academy, that llir l)()y resolved upon tak- 
 ing a college cfiurse. In the fall of 1867 he en- 
 
 tered Aliddlebury College. By teaching school 
 winters, and devoting his vacations to active occu- 
 pations, he was enabled to complete his course 
 without interruption and graduate in 1871. Dur- 
 ing his college career }\[r. Hall excelled in mathe- 
 matics and scientific studies. He won two W'aldo 
 scholarships: secured the Ixjtanical prize offered 
 his class; was assigned the scientific oration at 
 commencement, and was elected to membership 
 in the I'hi Beta Kappa Society. In the Greek 
 fraternity life of his college, ^Ir. Hall was a mem- 
 ber of the Detla Cpsilon B)rotherhood. There 
 are two things in the college life of Dean Hall 
 which, more than all others, moulded his subse- 
 (|uent career. The first was his love for natural 
 history and the delightful companionship of his 
 teacher. Professor Henrv INIartin Seelv, which 
 was thus secured. The other was his love and 
 reverence for President Kitchell, then in the 
 height of his intellectual and moral powers. The 
 first year after leaving college was spent in Glenn's 
 halls, Xew York, as jjrincipal of the Glenn's 
 I'alls Academy. Reaching the conclusion that 
 the Western states offered unusual advantages to 
 the young teacher, in the summer of 1872 Mr. 
 Hall started for the West. The position of prin- 
 cipal of the high school of Mankato, Minnesota, 
 was secured and filled for one \ear, when the 
 superintendency of the city schools of ( )watonna 
 was acce])ted. This position was held until 1875. 
 I-'rofessor Hall's scholarly ambitions led him to 
 wish for further study and in the sunmier of 1875 
 he went to Europe, accompanied liy his bride, who 
 was Aliss Ellen A. Duimell, daughter of Af. H. 
 I^unnell, of Owatonna. Thev had been married 
 on July 2/, 1875. Mrs. Hall died C|uite suddenly 
 at Leipzig on the twenty-first of the following 
 February. Professor Hall continued his studies at 
 Leipzig University until December. 1877, when he 
 returned to this countr\ ;in(l during the remainder 
 of the winter was occu])ied with a course of lec- 
 tures on general zoologv at Middlebury College. 
 ,\botit this lime lie \\as iii\-ited to join the faculty 
 of the L'niversity of Minnesota, and he entered 
 u]ion his new duties in the s]M-ing of 1878. He 
 was soon ])ronioted to the prolessorship of geol- 
 ogy, mincralog\- and biology. In i8i)i he was 
 relieved of the charge of biologv, the rapid devel- 
 (i]i!nenl of tlie work in pinsiology, zoology and
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 407 
 
 bolaii) ikniandiny llic estaljlislnnenl uf new de- 
 partments. CJn DeeenilHT J(>. if^f>3, lie was mar- 
 ried to Mrs. Sophia L. llait;lit, daut;liler of Eh 
 Seely of Ushkosh, Wisconsin. .Mrs. ilall was a 
 woman of rare brilhancy and of a broad, generous, 
 lovely character. She (bed on July 12, 1891, leav- 
 ing Professor Hall an infant daughter, Sophia. 
 In i8(j2 the resignation of his colleague, Pro- 
 fessor \Vm. A. Pike, Dean of the college of 
 Mechanic Arts, necessitated the reorganization 
 of the technological work in the university and 
 Professor Hall, who has been closely identified 
 with the establishment of the school of mining 
 and metallurgy, was appointed dean of the re- 
 organized department, which was called the Col- 
 lege of Engineering, Metallurgy, and the Me- 
 clianic Arts. The organization comprised seven 
 professional courses leading to degrees. With 
 the growth of the university during the past nine- 
 teen _\ears. Dean ilall has lieen most intimately 
 identified. This has been particularly true of the 
 advancement in scientific investigation, and the 
 development of the departments in natural his- 
 tory. Aside from his work as a teacher Dean 
 Hall has written many papers. One of the last 
 and, perhaps, that of most popular character, is 
 the Historical Sketch of the University of .Minne- 
 sota, prepared for the "Gopher," issued by the 
 class of 1897. In 1896 he was the alumni orator 
 at the conuiiencement exercises of his alma 
 mater. Most of Dean Hall's writings relate to the 
 geology of Minnesota. As assistant Geologist 
 on the Geological Survey of Minnesota, 1878- 
 1881, and assistant I'nited States geologist from 
 1884 to the present time, he has had an extensive 
 field experience. For the past thirteen years he 
 has been the secretary of the Minnesota Academy 
 of Natural Sciences, and to a large extent has 
 directed its work, l-'or a number of years he has 
 edited its bulletin and has furnished many scien- 
 tific papers for its pages. Dean Hall is a mem- 
 l)er of the Congregational denomination ; in pol- 
 itics a Republican. He is a member of several 
 leading scientific societies, the more prominent 
 l5eing the American Association for the Advance- 
 ment of Science, the .Society for the Promotion 
 of Engineering Education, the American Forestry 
 Association and the Geological Society of 
 America. 
 
 WILLIAM WATKINS SMITH. 
 
 Among the substantial financial institutions in 
 the southwestern part of the state is the banking 
 house of Griffith & Smith at Sleepy Eye. W. W. 
 Smith, of this firm, is the son of W'illiam A. 
 Smith, who removed from Goshen, Orange 
 County, New York, to Oakfield, Fond du Lac 
 County, Wisconsin, in 1846, where lie acquired a 
 large farm, some six hundred acres, and amassed 
 a handsome fortune as a farmer. Mr. W. A. 
 Smith was active in promoting the cause of edu- 
 cation and provided amply for his own children 
 in this respect. His wife was Miss Martha Strong 
 ^^'atkins, a native of Hamptonburgh, Xew York, 
 a ladv of superior culture and many Christian 
 graces. The\' were married in 1846, and reared 
 a family of five children, of whom William was 
 the voungest. Mrs. Smith's ancestors were of 
 English and Scotch descent and came to this 
 country during the Colonial days. Mr. Smith's 
 ancestors were Colonial settlers, and his father 
 won distinction in the War of 1812. The subject 
 of this sketch was born February 24. 1857. at 
 Oakfield, Wisconsin. He remained on the farm, 
 attending the countrv school in winter, until the 
 fall of 1876. when lie entered Lawrence I^niver- 
 sity. at Appleton. ^^'lsconsin. He graduated
 
 408 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 there in June, 1881, in the Latin Scientific course, 
 with the degree of JJ. S. Un the fifth of the follow- 
 ing July he set out for Canton, South Dakota, 
 where he had secured a position in what is now 
 the First National Bank of that city. He re- 
 mained there one year, when he became persuaded 
 that a similarly conducted institution un his own 
 account would be more to his advantage, and he 
 formed a partnership with Clarence L). Griffith, 
 of Appleton. Wisconsin, with whom he proceeded 
 to Sleepy Eye. where the_\- established a banking 
 business under the name of the ^Merchants Bank. 
 This enteqjrise was inaugurated August I, 1882. 
 and has been in operation without change of part- 
 nership ever since. Air. Smith has had ([uite a 
 successful business career, but has not forgotten 
 that the first dollar he ever earned was received 
 for hoeing corn while a l)oy. for a neighbor. Ik- 
 is a Republican in iicilitics. though he never has 
 taken a very active part in party affairs. He has 
 been a member of the local school board for 
 twelve years, and treasurer of that body for six 
 years. He was also complimented by Governor 
 Nelson with an appoiiitment on his stafif with the 
 title of major. He is a tnember of the !.''.( ). F. 
 and the Knights of Pythias. He is not a member 
 of any church, but is an attendant and supporter 
 of the Congregational church, of Sleepy Eye. He 
 was married September 2g, 1885. at Kasson, Min- 
 nesota, to ]Miss Ada Cogswell Bunker, youngest 
 daughter of John E. Bunker. They have two 
 children, Arthur Bunker and William Watkins, 
 Jr. Mr. Smith's business interests are not con- 
 fined to Sleepy Eye, but he is interested in liank- 
 ing institutions at Echo and Montevifleo. 
 
 JOHN P.KTTERSDN REA. 
 
 John Patterson Rea was born on election 
 dav and has taken an active interest in politics 
 ever since. He comes of a line of distinguished 
 ancestors. His father, Sanuiel A. Rea, was a 
 woolen manufacturer. His jjaternal grandfather, 
 Samuel Rea, was a sf)ldier in the Revolution and 
 a cousin of General John Rea, of Penns\lvania, 
 who after the Revohition serverl many vears in 
 the legislature of Pennsylvania and in the con- 
 
 gress of the United States. Judge Rea's mother's 
 maiden name was Ann Light. She was the 
 daughter of Samuel Light, of Lebanon County, 
 Pennsylvania, who built the New Market iron 
 works in that county in 1807 or 1808, and grand- 
 daughter of Jacob Light, who settled at Cincin- 
 nati, ( )hio, in 1 79 1. Her mother was a daughter 
 of John Light, secretary of the meeting that 
 adopted the Lebanon resolves in 1775, and who 
 was a member of the Lancaster committee of 
 safety during the Revolution. His grandmother 
 on his father's side was Mary Patterson, a cousin 
 of General Robert Patterson, of Philadelphia. 
 Judge John P. Rea, the subject of this sketch, 
 was born in Lower Oxford, Chester County, 
 Pennsylvania, October 13, 1840. He attended 
 the common schools and Hopewell Academy for 
 four terms. In 1867 he graduated in the classical 
 course at Ohio W'esleyan University, Delaware, 
 Ohio. He was prize essayist of the academy in 
 i860 and also prize essayist of his class in college, 
 and he was selected by his class in 1866, as presi- 
 dent of the Zetagathean Society, to sign the grad- 
 uation diplomas. He studied law for about six 
 months at Piqua, Ohio, but completed his law 
 studies with Honorable ( ). J. Dickey, of Lan- 
 caster, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the 
 bar August 20, 1868. He practiced there till 
 December, 1875. He removed to Alinneapolis 
 January 2, 1876, and was editor of the .Minne- 
 apolis Tribune from January 10, 1876, till May I, 
 1877. Since that time he has practiced law in 
 Minneapolis, except while sen'ing on the bench. 
 He entered the army as a private in Company B, 
 Eleventh ( )hio Infantry, April 16, 1861. He was 
 tendered and declined a second lieutenancy in 
 the Eighteenth I'nited .States Infantry, July, 1861. 
 He helped to recruit Company I, First Ohio Vol- 
 imteer Cavalry, in .\ugust, 1861, and was com- 
 missioned second lieutenant of that company. 
 He was afterwards promoted to first lieutenant 
 and on April i, 1863, was raised to the rank of 
 captain. Novemlier 2^. iSf)^, he was breveted 
 major for gallantry in action at Cleveland, Ten- 
 nessee. He served until Xovembcr 22, 1864, and 
 was then nnistercd out on the expiration of his 
 enlistment as the senior ca]itain of the regiment.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 409 
 
 He was detailed by General Thoinas to conimaiul 
 his escort in May, 1862, l)ut prcferriiij^ U) remain 
 in his company obtained a release from the detail. 
 When at home with his company in i''ebruar\-, 
 1864, he was offered and declined a commission 
 as colonel of a new regiment. He was in every 
 engagement of his company up to the close of 
 his service, and connnanded it in the battles of 
 Blackland, Bardstown, Wasliin.!;t<iii, I'erryville, 
 Galatin, Stone River, Tullahoma, .Xolensville, Elk 
 River, Alpine, Chickamauga, .Shelbyville, Mac- 
 Alinnville, l-'armingtun. C'levclantl, Charlestown, 
 relief of Knoxville, Moulton, Decatur, Rome, 
 Kenesaw Mountain, Lovejoy .Station, Kilpatrick's 
 raid around Atlanta and on numerous sc(_mting 
 raids. He only missed ten days of service during 
 the term of his enlistment, eight of which days 
 were while in the hands of the enemy as a 
 prisoner. Judge Rea was one of the early mem- 
 bers of the Grand Army of the Republic, having 
 joined at Piqua, Ohio, in December, 1866, and 
 was a delegate to the first ilepartment encamp- 
 ment of that state. He has been post commander 
 of George. H. Thomas Post at Lancaster, Penn- 
 sylvania, and of George N. Morgan Post of Min- 
 neapolis, senior vice commander department of 
 Minnesota for 1881 and 1882, department com- 
 mander in 1883, senior vice commander-in-chief 
 in 1884 and 1885. and commander-in-chief in 
 1887 and 1888. Judge Rea has also been actively 
 interested in politics, and made his first speech 
 in favor of the abolition of slavery in 1857. In 
 1858 he stumped Chester County, Pennsylvania, 
 for Honorable John Hickman, and was on the 
 stump for the Repul)lican party for every year 
 from that time until he removed to Minnesota. 
 He learned his politics from John Hickman and 
 Thadeus Stevens, and was frecpiently elected to 
 membership on political committees and in polit- 
 ical conventions. He was appointed assessor of 
 internal revenue for the Xinth Pennsylvania dis- 
 trict bv President Grant in 1869, and held the 
 office until it was abolished in May, 1873. Since 
 coming to Minnesota he has held the ofifice of 
 judge of probate court in 1877 and was re-elected 
 in 1879 and declined a third term. He was 
 appointed judge of the Fourth judicial district 
 in April, 1886. was elected to succeed himself 
 
 r ' ' ' 
 
 ^^S^M 
 
 * 
 
 '^ 
 
 l^v 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 ^ 
 
 mIHi 
 
 ■d 
 
 without opposition in the fall of that year and 
 served until July, 1890, when he resigned. He 
 has been a member of the law firms in Minne- 
 apolis of Rea & Hooker, Rea, Hooker & Woolley, 
 Rea, Woolley & Kitchel, Rea & Kitchel, Rea, 
 Kitchel & Shaw, Rea, Miller & Torrance, Rea & 
 Hubachek, and is now the head of the firm of 
 Rea & Healey. He was a member of the Phi 
 Kappa Psi college society at Ohio Wesleyan 
 Cniversity and was president of the executive 
 council of that fraternity for two years, is a mem- 
 ber of the Sons of the Revolution and the Loyal 
 Legion, holding the ofifice of junior vice com- 
 mander for Minnesota for one year, and was 
 also for one vear a member of the council in chief 
 of the order. He was brigadier general of the 
 staff of Governor Hubbard for two years, and a 
 member of the board of visitors of West Point 
 Academy for the year 1893. He has always been 
 a Republican. Init refused in 1892 to support the 
 Republican candidate for president, preferring 
 ]\Ir. Cleveland. On the current financial issue 
 he proclaims himself an uncompromising bimet- 
 allist. Judge Rea is a member of the Presby- 
 terian Church, and was married October 26, 1869, 
 to Emma M. Gould, of Delaware, Ohio. They 
 have no children.
 
 410 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN NELSON. 
 
 Air. Nelson is the head of the Nelson-Tenney 
 Lumber Company, manufacturers and dealers in 
 lumber at Alinneapolis. Mr. Nelson is a splendid 
 example of the self-made man, and an instance 
 in which the making has been well done. He 
 was born of humble parents in Greenup County, 
 Kentucky, May 4, 1843. His parents were na- 
 tives of Somerset Count}', Maryland. His father 
 lost his health and the support of the family de- 
 volved upon the sons. This left Benjamin F., 
 with little opportunity for schooling, and when 
 seventeen years of age he engaged with a partner 
 in the lumber business. This, after two years, 
 was broken up by the war, and an attempt at 
 farming was unsuccessful for the same reason. 
 Kentucky, although a slave-holding state, and 
 sympathizing for the most part with the Confed- 
 eracy, was controlled by the strong arm of the 
 Federal power, and such of her sons as saw fit 
 to enter the Southern army did so from a firm 
 conviction of right and duty, rather than from 
 loyalty to their state. Mr. Nelson was nineteen 
 years of age when he enlisted in Company C, of 
 the Second Kentucky Battalion, and went into 
 active service under the command of the Confed- 
 erate general, Kirby Smith. Fie served success- 
 
 ively under Humphrey Marshall, Wheeler, For- 
 rest and Morgan, and participated in the battles 
 of Chickamauga, Mclnville, Synthiana, Shelby- 
 ville. Lookout Mountain, Mount Sterling and 
 Greenville, besides numerous cavalry skirmishes. 
 Mr. Nelson was in the thickest of the fight 
 for over two years. In 1864, while on re- 
 cruiting duty in Kentucky, he ventured into the 
 Federal lines as far as the Ohio river. He had 
 secured a few recruits and was returning with 
 thein when he was captured and sent to Lexing- 
 ton. While he was confined in prison there 
 fourteen men were taken out and shot, two of 
 them being recruits captured with Nelson, and for 
 a time he was in danger of suffering the same fate 
 on suspicion of being a spy. He was, however^ 
 sent to Camp Douglas, in Chicago, where he was 
 held tmtil 1865, when he was sent to Richmond 
 and paroled at the close of the war. Air. Nelson 
 returned to his home in Kentucky, where he was 
 employed in a saw mill for a few months, and 
 then decided to try his fortune in the far West. 
 It was the third day of September, 1865, that he 
 landed in St. Paul. He only remained there one 
 day, when he came on to St. Anthony. He was 
 much impressed \\'ith the A-alue of the water 
 power, and believed the falls would be sur- 
 rounded by a great city. Mr. Nelson went to 
 work at rafting lumber, and when the season was 
 over took up a claim near Waverlv, where he 
 built a house, but farming did not suit him, and 
 he again went into the lumbering business. In 
 1872 Mr. Nelson formed a partnership with W. 
 C. Stetson in the planing mill business. The 
 business increased until they found it necessary 
 to build another mill in order to take care of 
 their trade. At this time they conunenced deal- 
 ing in luml)cr in a small way, which rapidly in- 
 creased imtil 1880, when the partnershi]i was 
 dissolved. In 1881 Mr. Nelson associated with 
 himself in business William Tcnnev and H. W. 
 McNair, and. later, H. B, Frey was admitted to- 
 the partnership. Soon afterwards Mr. McXair 
 withdrew and W. I"". Brooks entered tin- firm. 
 It is now organized under the name nf the 
 Nelson-Tenuev Lumber C'ompany. This com- 
 ])anv has two large saw mills, with a capacity of 
 scventv-five million feet a vear. .Mr. Nelson is.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 411 
 
 interested in various utlier enterprises. In 1887 he 
 bought the Minneapolis Straw Paper mill, and in 
 1888 the Red River paper mill at T'ergus Falls. 
 These were consolidated under the name of the 
 Nelson Paper Company. In 1890, together with 
 T. B. Walker he bought the print paper mill in 
 Minneapolis, and the old and new companies were 
 merged into the Henne])in Paper Company, 
 operating at Little Falls. He is also a director 
 of the Metropolitan bank. B. F. Nelson com- 
 mands the respect and confidence of his fellow 
 citizens of Minneapolis in a marked degree, and 
 has held numerous important public offices. In 
 1879 he was elected alderman of the First ward, 
 and was continued in office until 1885. When 
 the park board was organized Mr. Nelson was 
 elected to service in that branch of the munici- 
 pal government. For seven successive years he 
 served as a member of the school board, and in 
 1894, when the question of the price of gas was 
 submitted to arbitrators, Mr. Nelson was selected 
 by the city as its representative. In the same 
 year occurred the great strike on the Great 
 Northern railway, and Mr. Nelson was selected 
 as one of the committee of citizens of Minneapo- 
 lis to arbitrate in that dispute. Mr. Nelson was 
 a member of the original building committee of 
 the Minneapolis Exposition ; he gave a great deal 
 of his time to personal supervision of the con- 
 struction of the building, and has been on the 
 board of directors of the Exposition ever since. 
 He is now one of the owners of the property. Mr. 
 Nelson is a Democrat in politics, but a man of 
 broad and liberal views. He has served his party 
 locally as an active worker on campaign commit- 
 tees, and exerts a large influence in its plans and 
 deliberations. Notwithstanding his extensive 
 business and many public duties, Air. Nelson has 
 found time to sec some of the world, having 
 traveled extensively in Me.xico, Europe, Egypt 
 and the Holy Land. His religious connection is 
 with the Methodist Church, and his eminent busi- 
 ness capacity was recognized in his selection as 
 trustee of Hamline L'niversity. He has been twice 
 married, first in i860, to Martha Ross, who died 
 five years later, leaving two sons, William E. and 
 Guy H. His present wife was l\Iary Fredinburg, 
 who has one daughter. 
 
 EDWARD H. HUEBNER. 
 
 E. H. Huebner, mayor of Winthrop, Sibley 
 County, is one of the progressive young Repub- 
 lican politicians of central Minnesota, and a lead- 
 ing member of the bar in that part of the state. 
 Mr. Huebner is of foreign descent, as his name 
 indicates. His father, who is not now living, was 
 Conrad Huebner, a native of Austria. His 
 mother, who is also dead, was born in Switzer- 
 land. Mr. Huebner was born in Chicago, Jan- 
 uary 23, 1865. During the same year his parents 
 moved to New Ulm, Minnesota, and Edward 
 grew up there, attending the common schools of 
 the town and later the State Normal School at 
 Mankato, from which he graduated in 1886. Soon 
 after he entered the office of John Lind, at New 
 Llm, and commenced reading law. He was ad- 
 mitted to practice in 1888. After a year with Mr. 
 Lind he removed to Winthrop and opened an 
 office of his own. He at once took an active part 
 in the politics of the county, and in 1890 was 
 nominated for the office of county attorney, on 
 the Republican ticket. The county had always 
 been democratic by three hundred majorit\% but 
 Air. Huebner accepted the nomination and came 
 within three votes of defeating his opponent. This 
 was considered a remarkable run as the opposition
 
 412 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 candidate had two years before won o\-er two 
 other candidates by a pkirality of nearly five hun- 
 dred votes. In i8q2 Mr. Huebner was again nomi- 
 nated and was elected, being the first Republican 
 to be elected to the office of county attorney in 
 Sibley County. He was re-elected in 1894, and 
 in March (if the same year was elected mayor of 
 W'inthrop. He declined re-nomination for the 
 mayoralty in 1895, '^^^'^ ^^'^^ induced to accept in 
 1896 and was again elected. Among the secret 
 societies to which Mr. Huebner belongs are the 
 Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows. He 
 occupies the office of Chancellor Commander of 
 the local lodge of Knights of Pythias. He is a 
 member of the Congregational church. Though 
 now thirtv-one \ears of age. Mr. Huel.)ner is a 
 bachelor. 
 
 jAMKS THOMPSON McCLEARY. 
 
 In November, 1896, James Thompson Mc- 
 Cleary was elected for the third time to congress 
 as the representative of the Second Minnesota 
 district. This honor has been most worthily 
 bestowed, for Mr. .McCleary ranks as one of the 
 leading Republican members of the house, and on 
 economic and financial (|uestions is an authority 
 of national rejuitation. During the political cam- 
 paign of 1S96 he was one of the most forceful and 
 convincing e.xponents of Republican principles of 
 whom the party could boast. In congress Mr. 
 McCleary is not addicted to much speaking. His 
 motto seems to be, '"Speak well but not often." 
 In the Fifty-third congres-s he made two note- 
 worthy speeches, one against the repeal of the 
 federal election laws, a subject which his extensive 
 and thorough-going studv of constitutional his- 
 tory and constitutional law had well fitted him to 
 discuss; the other, on the tariff, in which he pre- 
 sented clearly tlic fumlamcntal ])rinciples on 
 which rests the whole doctrine of protection. 
 Mr. McClcary"s most famous speech was 
 made in congress on the afti'rnnon of I"cbrnnr\- 12. 
 1896, in closing the general debate on the senate 
 amendment providing for the independent free 
 coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1. In the 
 national campaign of i8f/) this speccli was the 
 
 document most widely circulated in all parts of 
 the country. Indeed, investigation shows that in 
 point of circulation no other speech ever delivered 
 approaches it. It was translated into several for- 
 eign languages, and the reports show that in all 
 forms its circulation exceeded eleven million 
 copies. In its leading editorial of January 28, 1897, 
 the Cincinnati, Ohio, Times-Star says: "Among 
 the men whose names have been frequently 
 used of late in connection with cabinet positions 
 is Congressman James T. ^IcCleary of Minne- 
 sota. He has been proposed for secretary of the 
 treasury, and the leading papers of the country 
 are saying that the northwest could not have a 
 better representative in the cabinet. It is interest- 
 ing to glance at Mr. McCleary's career. He finds 
 himself famous at forty-four, after four years of 
 public life. Elected to the Fifty-third congress, 
 he was an observant and unassuming member. 
 Re-elected to the Fifty-fourtli congress, his op- 
 portunity came. In the first session ^[r. Towne 
 of Duluth, a Reiniblican representative from the 
 same state, deserting the party platform, made a 
 speech in favor of the free coinage of silver. 
 His colleague, Mr. AlcCleary, was selected to re- 
 pl}-. This speech in reply to J\Ir. Towne was a 
 master stroke. In the array of facts, in the ajipeal 
 to history, in the analysis of Mr. Towne's argu- 
 ments, in force of logical statement it was over- 
 whelming. The instances of fame gained by a 
 single speech are rare. We do not now recall 
 another case in America of a man leaping into 
 national ] imminence at one bound. The nearest 
 approach to it, perhaps, was Sumner's rise to anti- 
 slavery eminence as a result of his eloquent ad- 
 dress on 'Freedom Xational, Slavery .Sectional' 
 Tom Convin was at the height of his fame when 
 he made his celebrated speech against the Mex- 
 ican war. Daniel \\'ebster's re]iutation as an 
 orator, patriot and statesman was country-wide 
 before he delivered his innnortal oration in replv 
 to Ilaync. Patrick Henry was not (ni1<nii\\ri when 
 he thrilled the burgesses of Mrginia with his 
 matchless ])lca for indeijendencc. .Miraham Lin- 
 coln had a natinnal fame when he made his 
 Cooper Institute speech. Robert ( i. Ingersoll 
 was a familiar name when he nominated lames G. 
 Plaine in the ( incinnati convention. General 
 C,;irfield was a i-onsiiicuous slatesm.in and orator
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 before he spoke so ably for anolliei- al Chicago 
 that he got the prize himself. In 1895 few people 
 outside of his congressional district of Minne- 
 sota had heard of James T. McCleary. In 1896 
 he was one of the greatest figures in the national 
 campaign. His speech on the currency ques- 
 tion was distributed b}- the million copies and of 
 all the literature sent out by the campaign com- 
 mittee it did the best service for the sound money 
 cause." Mr. McCleary was bom in Ingersoll, (Jn- 
 tario, February 5, 1853. His fkther, Thompson Mc- 
 Cleary, was an architect and builder. His mother's 
 maiden name was Sarah McCutcheon. From his 
 earliest boyhood he was a careful student. After 
 leaving the high school of his native town, he 
 entered McGill university, at Montreal, where his 
 education was completed. Before coming of age, 
 he came to the United States, settling in Wiscon- 
 sin, where, after serving with great success for 
 several years as a teacher in the public schools, 
 he was elected superintendent of schools of Pierce 
 county. In this position he achieved a reputation 
 that quickly spread Ijeyond the confines of the 
 state. He was acti\-cl\- interested in teachers' 
 institutes, and the (|uality of his work as an 
 educator was such as to stamj) him as one of the 
 leading champions in the state, of newer and bet- 
 ter methods of education. In 1881 he 
 resigned the office of county superintendent to 
 accept that of state institute conductor in Minne- 
 sota and professor of history and civics in the 
 state normal school at Mankato. These positions 
 he held until June, 1892, when he entered the 
 field of congressional politics. During the vaca- 
 tion seasons of his school work in Minnesota Mr. 
 McCleary conducted teachers' institutes in \Ms- 
 consin, the Dakotas, X'irginia, Tennessee and Col- 
 orado. In 1888 he published "Studies in Civics," 
 and in 1894 "A Manual of Civics," works of much 
 merit, which are used as text books in the best 
 schools of the country. In 1883 he was elected 
 secretary and in 1891 president of the Minnesota 
 Educational Association. His specialties as a 
 student and teacher of history and civics naturally 
 led him to an investigation of living American 
 economic questions. These complex subjects he 
 pursued in all their ramifications with great dili- 
 erence and intelligence for vears before he entered 
 
 the domain of politics. As may easily be inferred, 
 it was by means of this inquiry' that he was brought 
 face to face with the thought that if he should 
 become a member of congress, a practical field 
 would at once be opened in which he might make 
 a fair test of his theories. Political conditions in 
 the Second Minnesota district were such as to 
 favor his ambition. His hosts of warm personal 
 friends in all parts of the district easily secured 
 liim the nomination, and he was elected by a 
 large majority, and has been twice re-elected by an 
 ever-increasing vote. His quick rise in public life 
 to a position of national prominence is due to the 
 years of study already referred to. His training 
 had peculiarlv adapted him for a public career, 
 and when the great political parties in 1896 
 divided on the financial question, he was ready 
 without additional preparation to take imme- 
 diately a position as one of the accredited spokes- 
 men of the Republican side. This he did with 
 honor to himself and benefit to the party, as has 
 already been noted. Mr. McCleary was brought 
 up in the Presbyterian church. His wife's maiden 
 name was Mary Edith Taylor. They have one 
 son, Eeslie Taylor McCleary, who is his father's 
 private secretary. The family home is in Mankato.
 
 414 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 IGXATIL'S DUXXELLY. 
 
 Ignatius Uonnelly was born in Philadelphia 
 in the year 1831. His father, Dr. Philip Carroll 
 Donnelly, was an eminent physician of Philadel- 
 phia. He was a native of the parish of Fintona, 
 in Tyrone County, Ireland. He came to America 
 in the early part of the present century, and in 
 1826 married Aliss Catherine Frances Gavin, who 
 was born in Philadelphia in 1810; a daughter of 
 John Gavin, who came to this country from Tyr- 
 one County in the latter part of the last century. 
 Mr. Donnelly's mother died on June 13, 18S7, at 
 Philadelphia. She was a woman of great mental 
 endowment. The Donnelly family is supposed to 
 have settled in the northernmost part of Ireland 
 more than two thousand A'ears ago. From this point 
 they have found their way inward during the suc- 
 ceeding centuries to the center of Tyrone County. 
 Dr. Donnelly, the father of Ignatius, held a num- 
 ber of important positions in and about Philadel- 
 phia, and was one of the founders of the Philadel- 
 phia College of ]\Iedicine. He was respected by ail 
 who knew him and was long remembered b}^ the 
 poor of Philadelphia for his many charities. His 
 son, Ignatius, was educated in the public schools 
 of Philadelphia, graduating from the Philadelphia 
 High School in 1849. Soon afterward he en- 
 tered upon the study of law in the ofifice of Benja- 
 min H. Brewster, later attorney-general of the 
 United States. In 1853 he was admitted to the 
 bar, and at once entering upon the practice of his 
 profession soon built up a considerable business. 
 !Mr. Donnelly was nominated by the Democrats in 
 1855 for the state legislature, but declined the 
 nomination because of difference of opinion with 
 the party on the slavery question. During the 
 same year he was married to Miss Katherine Mc- 
 CafTrey, who was a native of Philadelphia, and 
 had been principal of a boys' grammar school in 
 that city. This was the beginning of an ex- 
 ceptionally happy married life. In the spring of 
 1856, Mr. Donnelly, accompanied by his wife, 
 made a journey through the west, visiting Chi- 
 cago, the state of Iowa, and finally St. Paul. He 
 was so pleased with the prospects of Minnesota, 
 that, with Mr. John X^iningcr, brother-in-law of 
 
 Governor Ramsey, he purchased six hundred and 
 forty acres of land in Dakota County and laid out 
 the town of Xininger. The new town throve apace, 
 but unfortunately about one year later the panic 
 of 1857 swept over the country and Xininger col- 
 lapsed under the blow. Mr. Donnelly had built 
 a beautiful house, but found himself practically 
 bankrupt. It was during this same year that Mr. 
 Donnelly first entered politics. He was nomi- 
 nated for state senator by the Republicans of his 
 county, but was defeated. Next year he was 
 nominated again and was beaten by only six votes. 
 I\Ir. Donnelly was by this time becoming thor- 
 oughly identified with the life of his adopted state. 
 In November of 1858 he resumed the practice of 
 law; shortly afterwards forming a partnership with 
 Archibald AI. Hayes and Oren T. Hayes, the 
 name of the firm being "Hayes, Donnelly and 
 Hayes." At the same time Mr. Donnelly organ- 
 ized the Agricultural Society of Dakota County, 
 which was one of the first societies of its kind or- 
 ganized in Mimiesota. It was during the follow- 
 ing year that Mr. Donnelly first appeared on the 
 lecture platform. His first lecture was on "Style and 
 Composition as Indicative of Character." This 
 lecture was repeated at other places and was high- 
 ly conmiended ; the people of the new territory be- 
 gan to realize that a man of superior intellectual 
 attainments had come among them. On June 
 20, 1859, Mr. Donnelly's name was presented 
 for nomination as lieutenant-governor before the 
 Republican convention. On the third ballot he 
 was nominated, and was probably one of the 
 youngest men ever ]ilaced in this jjosition. The 
 campai,gn which followed was a most active one 
 and Donnelly stumped the state most efi'ectively. 
 For the first time the Republican party carried 
 Minnesota. It was during his service as lieutenant- 
 governor that I\fr. Donnelly had the ojiportunity 
 of issuing a proclamation, as acting governor, call- 
 ing for volunteers, in response to the national call 
 issued by President Lincoln. ^luch of the ex- 
 ecutive work pertaining to the enlistment and or- 
 ganization of the regiments devolved upf)n the 
 lieutenant-governor. In 1861 he was renominated 
 and rc-clccted lioutcnant-governor bv a large ma- 
 joritv, and in ^RGz was niiniinaled for Congress
 
 PROGREvSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 415 
 
 vvithuut uppusition. VVilhiu a inuiilli alter his 
 nomination the Sioux massaci'c occurred. There 
 was a call for volunteers, and Donnelly joined 
 General H. H. Sibley, who was to be in command 
 of the relief expedition, and went to the front, in 
 the election that fall, Mr. Donnelly had about 
 one thousand two hundred majority. He took 
 his seat in the House in December, 1863, as a 
 member of the Thirty-eighth Congress. It was 
 early in his congressional career that Mr. Don- 
 nelly wrote a famous letter to Thaddeus Stevens, 
 protesting against the swindle incorporated in cer- 
 tain estimates for expenses required to carry out 
 the stipulations of the Indian treaty of the Chip- 
 pewas, of March, 1863. Mr. Donnelly charged 
 that enormous amounts would be stolen if the 
 estimates were accepted. The letter created a 
 sensation, and Mr. Donnelly regards it as the 
 turning point in his political career. He be- 
 lieves it was the initial cause of the great opposi- 
 tion to his renomination to Congress, and of the 
 enmity which many politicians felt for him during 
 succeeding years. However, he was re-elected 
 and took an active part in the proceedings of the 
 Thirty-eighth and Thirty-ninth Congresses. There 
 was much opposition to his renomination in 1866, 
 but notwitlistanding the bitter fight waged against 
 him, he was not only renominated but re-elected 
 over Colonel William Colville, a strong Demo- 
 crat, of a brilliant war record, by a majority of 
 four thousand two hundred and sixty-eight votes. 
 This was his last term in Congress. It was during 
 this term that the famous conflict with Elihu 
 Washburn took place. This contest with a po\v- 
 erful man, backed by a still more powerful circle 
 of political friends, made Donnelly famous. His 
 speeches in Congress attracted national at- 
 tention. But in the campaign for renom- 
 ination ]\lr. Donnelly was nominated by 
 part of the convention, and General Hub- 
 bard by the remainder. Hubbard subsequently 
 withdrew and Donnelly's enemies set up General 
 C. C. Andrews in his place, who drew of¥ enough 
 votes to defeat Donnelly, and a Democrat. Eugene 
 Wnison, was elected. In i860 he became a can- 
 didate for United States Senator, but Governor 
 Ramsev secured the nomination after a hot po- 
 
 litical battle. After his defeat, in 1868, for Con- 
 gress, Mr. Donnelly continued to act with the 
 Republican party until 1870. In that year, at the 
 written solicitation of three thousand five hundred 
 Republicans he consented to run for Congress on 
 a low tariff platform, at the same time receiving 
 the endorsement of the Democrats. In 1872 he 
 supported Horace Greeley as a Liberal Repub- 
 lican. He was prominent some years later in 
 the organization of the State Farmers' Alliance, 
 with which he was closely identified as long as 
 it remained a force in politics. Since the or- 
 ganization of the People's Party he has been a 
 conspicuous member not only of the state but of 
 the national organization. During the past 
 twentv vears he has served a number of terms in 
 the state Senate and House of Representatives. 
 In 1878 he was the candidate for Congress of the 
 Independent Greenbackers, and received the en- 
 dorsement of the Democratic party. His Re- 
 publican opponent was W. D. ^^'ashbum. and as 
 a result of the close election there followed a 
 somewhat sensational but unsuccessful contest be- 
 fore the Elections Committee of Congress. 
 Throughout his long political career ^Ir. Don- 
 nellv's pen had not been idle. He nearly always 
 had some sort of a literan' venture on hand, and
 
 416 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 was almost continuously an editor of some kind of 
 a newspaper. During the winter of 1 880-81 he 
 attempted something more extended in literan 
 work. His first book was "Atlantis,"' which re- 
 ceived very extended notice and was reprinted in 
 England, and translated and published in I'rance 
 and Germany. More than twenty editions have 
 been printed in different languages. "Ragnarok," 
 followed and achieved almost as wide a reputa- 
 tion as its predecessor, the first edition of five 
 thousand copies was sold in two months. This 
 has also been republished in England. But Don- 
 nelly's greatest literary celebrity is due to his 
 "Great Cni-ptogram," in which he endeavors to 
 establish Bacon's authorship of Shakespeare's 
 plays. In 1889 "Caesar's Column" appeared. * >f 
 this book seven hundred thousand copies have 
 been sold, and it has been translated int(j several 
 languages. It was followed a year or sn 
 later bv "Dr. Huguet," an appeal to char- 
 ity written on behalf of the negroes; and 
 this was followed by "The Golden Bottle,'' 
 which has been extensively printed in Eng- 
 land and other countries. It is an attempt to 
 show, by a romance, that the solution of the 
 world's troubles is an abundant supply of money. 
 Mr. Donnelly has never been known to make a 
 statement of his religious views. He has never 
 been a member of any church, but his friends say 
 that his books show the profoundest respect for 
 Christianity and a most unshaken belief in the 
 immortality of the soul. Mr. Donnelly's charac- 
 ter is described as a most extraordinarj' combina- 
 tion of fierce determination, amiability and mag- 
 nanimity. His remarkable command of language, 
 his oratorical powers, his ready wit. his unflag- 
 ging industry and undoubted courage, have con- 
 tributed in their several ways to the development 
 of his most interesting career. 
 
 JOHN 1 1 .\ R k 1 X( ;T( )X .^TE\E\'.S. 
 
 The first settler on the west bank of the .\lis- 
 sissip])i, on the site of the city of Minneapolis, 
 was Colonel John TI. .Stevens. Since he came 
 to Minnesota and took up his farm overlooking 
 the Falls of St. Anthony, in 1841), he has been 
 
 one of the most conspicuous and interesting 
 figures in Minneapolis affairs. Few men have 
 the privilege of seeing great cities built up on 
 the sites of their modest frontier homesteads. 
 Colonel .Stevens has not only seen this, but he 
 has been an active participant in the upbuilding 
 process. Colonel Stevens is a native of Canada, 
 though his parents and ancestors for generations 
 were Xew England people. He ttaces his line 
 back to Captain Stevens, who served with honor 
 in King Philip's war during the early colonial 
 times. Gardner Stevens, Colonel .Stevens' father, 
 was a native and a citizen of \'ermont. He mar- 
 ried Del)orah Harrington, also of X'ermont. who 
 was the only daughter of Dr. J(_)hn Harrington, 
 whi.i was a surgeon in the colonial army during 
 the revolution. John was their second son. He 
 was born on June 13, 1820. The boy was edu- 
 cated at the common schools in the East, and 
 in the puljlic schools in Wisconsin and Illinois, 
 in which latter state he cast his first vote in 1842. 
 During his earlv manhood the Mexican war 
 broke out, and Colonel Stevens enlisted and 
 served through the war. For a year or so after 
 the close of the war he remained in Wisconsin 
 and Illinois, and in 1849 came to Minnesota. 
 Upon arriving at the I'alls of St. ,\nthony. 
 Colonel Stevens formed a business partnership 
 with b'ranklin Steele, who had a store at the little 
 hamlet on the east bank of the river. But the 
 voung man saw clearly the advantages of a site 
 on the west Ijank. This ground was then a niili- 
 tarv reservation, and repeated attempts to secure 
 permission to settle upon it had been unsuccess- 
 ful. Colonel Stevens, however, finally secured 
 official leave, and at once took up a farm on the 
 site now covered by the heavy business portion 
 of Minneapolis, and the great tiour milling ilis- 
 trict. 'J'lie following year he brought a young 
 wife from Illinois to this new farm and estab- 
 lished the first home in Minneapolis ])roper, or 
 the original .Minnea|)olis. Vov a time Colonel 
 .Stevens worked this river-side farm, but it soon 
 became evident that the ground was needed for 
 a town. He was a practical surveyor, ami with 
 generous public spirit he platted the land to 
 which he had already become attached, laid out 
 cit\ lots and blocks, and subse(|uenll\- gave awav
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 417 
 
 many of Iheni to people who woukl occupy lliciu. 
 From that time on Colonel Stevens was for many 
 years foremost in furthering the interests of the 
 city and state. He took a lively interest iu the 
 promotion of inunigration and the exploration 
 and settling of the country west of .Minneajjolis, 
 in those clays an almost unbroken wilderness. 
 Many incidents in his long life in the state are 
 of absorbing interest. For several years after 
 he built his house on the river bank it was the 
 center of the life of the young conmumity. A 
 liberal hospitality was dispensed. Immigrants, 
 neighbors, hunters and explorers, and often the 
 Indians themselves, were entertained at that old 
 house. In it churches, societies, lodges and boards 
 were organized. The old building, after lieing 
 moved from place to place as the city develcjped, 
 has at last found a resting place, appropriately, 
 near the Falls of Minnehaha, in the beautiful park 
 now belonging to the city, whither it was moveil 
 by the school children of Minneapolis in the 
 spring of 1896. Colonel Stevens' love for agri- 
 culture and everything pertaining to the farm 
 was of enormous benefit to the young farming 
 community of Minnesota. His influence was felt 
 in the establishment of the agricultural and horti- 
 cultural associations, and in the promotion of 
 good methods of farming and stock raising. He 
 was the first man to bring thoroughbred stock 
 into the state. After his farm at the Falls was 
 made a city site, he carried on farming at other 
 place, at one time having a large establishment 
 at Glencoe, Minnesota. His lifelong devotion 
 to agriculture was honored by his election to 
 the office of the president of the Minnesota State 
 Agricultural Society. Though never seeking 
 ofiice. Colonel Stevens was in the earlier times 
 called to serve the public in several ofificial capaci- 
 ties. He was the first register of deeds of Henne- 
 pin County and served for several terms in both 
 branches of the state legislature. During the 
 Indian uprising, as brigadier general of the 
 militia, he commanded troops and volunteers sent 
 to the front. With all his cares and duties he 
 has during his bnsy life found time to do a great 
 deal of writing, and has owned a number of 
 papers. Among those which he has conducted 
 or edited were the St. Anthony Express, The 
 
 Chronicle, Glencoe Register, Farmer and Gar- 
 dener, Farmers' Tribune, and Farm, Stock and 
 Home. In 1890 he published a book of personal 
 recollections, entitled, "Personal Recollections of 
 Minnesota and Its People, and Early Histor}- of 
 Minneapolis." He also contributed several chap- 
 ters to the publication known as "Atwater's 
 History of Minneapolis." Colonel Stevens was 
 married on ]\lav i, 1850, to Miss Frances Hellen 
 Miller, a daughter of Abner Miller, of Westmore- 
 land, New York. They were married at Rock- 
 ford, Illinois. They have had six children. Mar)- 
 Elizabeth, the first white child born in Minne- 
 apolis, died in her seventeenth year. Cathrine 
 D., the second child, is the wife of P. B. Winston. 
 The third daughter, Sarah, is not living. Gard- 
 ner, the fourth child, and only son, is a civil en- 
 gineer. Orma, the fifth, is now Mrs. Wm. L. 
 Peck. The sixth, Miss Frances Hellen, is mar- 
 ried to Isaac H. Chase, of Rapid City, South Da- 
 kota. It is characteristic of Colonel Stevens that, 
 though comfortably off at the present time, he 
 has never made his wonderful opportunities for 
 personal profit a means of amassing wealth. The 
 public spirit and broad generosity of the man 
 have made such a course practically impossible 
 for him.
 
 4.18 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 AUOLPII CiL'STAF GALLASCU. 
 
 Mr. Gallasch is cashier of the Northern Ex- 
 cliange Bank, of St. Paul. He was born at West 
 Bend, Wisconsin. His father, Adolph Gallasch, 
 was a miller by occupation, but onl}' enjoyed mod- 
 erate financial success. His mother, Amoene 
 Wolfrom (Gallasch). was the daughter of a wealthy 
 manufacturer, and a lady of many accomplish- 
 ments. When Adolph was but six years old his 
 parents migrated to the North Star state, locating 
 at Winona. The boy received his early education 
 in the common schools of that place, which was 
 supplemented by a course at the St. Paul Business 
 College. After leaving this institution, he secured 
 a position as bookkeeper at Red Wing, with .Mr. 
 W. E. Hawkins. Here he remained for two 
 years, when he accepted a similar position with 
 C. Betcher & Co. He was with this firm for 
 three years, when he rcmfived to Crooks! on and 
 engaged in the mercantile business, in partnership 
 with John W. Hack, under the firm name of 
 Hack & Gallascli. The firm enjovcd a pros]ier(ius 
 business and continued successfully until i8So, 
 when it was dissolved, Mr, Gallasch having in the 
 meantime engaged in other business enterprises. 
 
 In 1887 he was appointed cashier in the Scaiulia 
 American Bank at Crookston, which position he 
 held until 1890, when he resigned, and was elected 
 vice-president of the bank. He is now a director 
 of this institution. In 1895 h^ ^^'^^ offered the 
 cashiership of the Northern Exchange Bank, at 
 St. Paul; this office he still holds. Mr. Gallasch 
 is also president of the Polk County Bank, at Thief 
 River Falls, Minnesota. In addition to his ex- 
 tensive banking interests, Air. Gallasch is also in- 
 terested in several other business enterprises, and 
 is president of the Red River \"alley Loan & In- 
 vestment Company, of Crookston. Air. Gallasch 
 is comparatively a young man as yet, and the 
 success which he has achieved in l:>iisiness is a 
 convincing proof of his enteqjrising character and 
 his abilities as a financier. The first money ever 
 earned by Mr. Gallasch was as a lad picking hops; 
 later working in the harvest field for two seasons. 
 With the exercise, ln)wever, of economy, and con- 
 servative business methods in the investment of 
 the money he had earned, Air. Gallasch has at- 
 tained a business success that promises much for 
 the future. He is a Republican in politics, and 
 while a resident of Crookston served as city treas- 
 urer for two terms. He is a member of the 
 Crookston Lodge A. E. & A. Al.. and of the 
 Commercial Club of St. Paul. His church af- 
 filiations arc with the German Lutheran body. He 
 is not married. 
 
 THOAIAS CANTY. 
 
 Thomas Canty is associate justice of the 
 Supreme Court of .Minnesota, and a notable ex- 
 ample of a self-made man. Thomas Canty is of 
 Irish ancestry. His parents were Jeremiah Canty 
 and Anna Stanton (Canty). They were both born 
 in the county of Kerry, Ireland, Imt met and 
 married in London. Tlnmias L'anty, father of 
 Jeremiah, was a well-to-do farmer fifty years ago, 
 but somewhat extravagant, and during the famine 
 of 1848 he became impovcrislied. The family 
 scattered and Jeremiah left for London in seai-ch 
 of his fortune. Thomas, the subject of this 
 sketch, was born in London, .April 24. 1854, and
 
 PROGRBSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 419 
 
 came to America with his parents when Init two 
 years of age. His father was a laborer and settled 
 first at Detroit, Michigan, then removed t(j Lodi, 
 Wisconsin, to Clayton County, Iowa, and finally 
 purchased a farm near Monona, Iowa, where he 
 died when Thomas, his eldest son, was twenty 
 years of age, leaving a widow and seven children. 
 Thomas attended school regularly until lie was 
 nine years of age, and was a very apt pupil. After 
 that he was onlj- able to attend school a few 
 months each winter. The teachers were gener- 
 ally incompetent, but Thomas was ambitious and 
 pursued his studies with great success, and with 
 a preference for mathematics. In the spring of 
 1861J, at the age of fifteen, he passed the exami- 
 nation and received a first grade certificate 
 to teach school in Clayton County, Iowa. When 
 he was but thirteen a dispute arose with regard 
 to the rent his father should pay for the farm 
 he occuiiied. and it was agreed that the farm 
 should be surveyed. Thomas found an error in 
 the surveyor's figiu'cs, walked fourteen miles 
 through a snow stt)rni to the house nf the sur- 
 veyor, had tlie error corrected, saved his father 
 sixty dollars, and prevented a law suit. His 
 mother wanted him to be a blacksmith and in- 
 sisted that he leam some trade. He was deter- 
 mined to be a lawyer. In 1872 he went South 
 determined to find a suitalMe position as teaclicr 
 and landed penniless and friendless at Carbon- 
 dale, Illinois, where he worked sixteen hours a 
 day driving a mule used in pulling buckets out of 
 a coal shaft. In this way he earned mone\' 
 enough to take him to Texas. There he taught 
 school for four years, in the meantime applying 
 himself diligently to his studies, and altliough un- 
 able to take a college course, he thus ac(|uired 
 substantially the same advancement which a col- 
 lege training would have given him. In the mean- 
 time his physical strength had been exhausted, 
 his father had died and he went back to the low-a 
 farm to regain his health and help his mother 
 take care of the family. He remained on the 
 farm two years devoting all his spare time to 
 the study of law. Owing to crop failures debts 
 had accumulated which he assumed. He de- 
 feated a graduate of Harvard and another of the 
 University of Wisconsin for a position as prin- 
 
 cipal of a high school, took his earnings and 
 paid a thousand dollars of his debt and got an 
 extension of time on the balance. In the spring 
 of 1880 he went to Grand I'orks, Dakota, to 
 practice law, but, not satisfied with the outlook, 
 he returned Octolier I, of the same year, to .Min- 
 neapolis, and entered the law office of Seagrave 
 ."^mith and was admitted to the bar the following 
 February. He was so poor that he was obliged to 
 l)oard himself, but his indomitable will carried him 
 through. His first case was a contest over the title 
 to a tract of land near Lake Minnetonka which 
 had been lost by two prominent attornevs, but he 
 look up a new line of defense and won his case. 
 Another notable series of cases was that 
 of the employes of the contractors en- 
 gaged in opening .Sixth avenue Xorth. In 
 this case he had arrayed against him 
 fourteen able lawyers, but Mr. Canty won 
 every case. He defended the appeals to the dis- 
 trict court and again in the supreme court, but 
 he was successful in ever\- instance. At the time 
 of the street car strike in 1889 he won distinction 
 and popular applause by his successful resistance 
 of the action of the numicipal court in sentencing 
 men to the work house whom he claimed were 
 in no wav connected with the strike. He took
 
 420 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 the men under sentence out of jail on 
 writs of habeas corpus, carried their cases 
 to the district court, argued them before 
 Judge Smith and secured tlieir release. 
 Judge Canty was a Republican until recent 
 years and aggressive in his defense of Re- 
 publican principles, but the developments during 
 Grant's second term cooled his enthusiasm con- 
 siderably. His first vote was cast for the Hayes 
 electors, but he never approved of the decision 
 of the electoral commission, doubted Hayes' 
 election and v,-as particularly displeased with the 
 action of the commission in refusing to go thor- 
 oughlv into the evidence. He continued to vote 
 the Republican ticket, however, on state and 
 national matters until the passage of the McKin- 
 ley bill. In local politics he was always inde- 
 pendent. In the fall of 1890 Air. Canty was 
 nominated by the Democratic party for judge of 
 the district court in Hennepin County. Up to 
 that time he had never been a candidate for or 
 held any public office. He was elected and held 
 that office for three years. On July 14, 
 1892, he was nominated for associate justice of 
 the Supreme Court by the People's Party of Min- 
 nesota, and was also nominated for the same 
 office by the democratic party on the next third 
 day of August, and was elected. He entered 
 upon the discharge of his duties in that enviable 
 and honorable position the first of January, 1894. 
 His record on the district bench was that of a 
 careful, painstaking, able jurist, and since his 
 elevation to the higher office of the supreme 
 bench he has sustained himself in that regard 
 and justified the highest expectations of his 
 friends. Judge Canty is a member of the Order 
 of Odd Fellows, is a thirty-second degree Alason 
 and a Shriner. He has never married. 
 
 SEAGRAVE SMITH. 
 
 Seagrave Smith is senior judge of the dis- 
 trict court of the Fourth Judicial District, com- 
 posed of Flennepin, Wright, Anoka and Isanti 
 Counties. Mr. Smith is of Welsh and English 
 Ancestry. His father was a farmer and fkalcr in 
 livestock in Stafford, 'rnll-nul ('lainty, Connec- 
 ticut, and was of Welsh descent. I lis ancestors 
 
 were among the early settlers at Scituate, Massa- 
 chusetts, and those of his mother were English, 
 and settled at Uxbridge, ^Massachusetts. Alary A. 
 Smith's maiden name was Seagrave, from whom 
 Judge Smith takes his name. Seagrave Smith 
 was born September 16, 1828, at Stafford; Con- 
 necticut. When a boy he worked upon his fa- 
 ther's farm and attended the school of the village 
 until he was fifteen years of age. He was then 
 placed under the tutelage of Rev. George W. 
 Pendleton, a Baptist clergyman, of whose church 
 his father and mother were members. After 
 three years" study with a tutor, he entered the 
 Connecticut Literary Institution, at Suffield, 
 Connecticut, where he was graduated in 1848. 
 .Seagrave had made up his mind to be a lawyer, 
 but his father was strongly opposed to that con- 
 clusion, and offered to transfer him one-half of 
 his property and an equal partnership in the busi- 
 ness, and threatened that if his offer was not ac- 
 cepted, he W(iuld furnish him no further financial 
 assistance. This did not deter the young man 
 from his purpose. He went to teaching school 
 and reading law, entering the office of Alvin T. 
 Hyde, September 9, 1849, at Stafford, his native 
 town. Air. Smith continued his studies until he 
 was admitted to the bar, August 13, 1852. In the 
 spring of 185 1 he was appointed clerk of the Pro- 
 bate Court. Soon after his admission to the bar, 
 he made up his mind to go west, but he was the 
 only child of his parents and his mother objected 
 to his going so far away, and prevailed upon his 
 father to give him a thousand dollars with which 
 to buy a law library, if he would remain in the 
 east. Seagrave took the thousand dollars, 
 bought his library, and settled in Colchester, 
 Connecticut, in ( )ctober, 1852, and began the 
 practice of his profession. In the fall of 1854 he 
 was elected town clerk, in 1855 he was elected 
 as a Demociat to the state senate, and still later 
 was appointed clerk of the Probate Court of the 
 Colchester district, which office he held until his 
 removal to the west in 1836. In Jul\-, 1836, Air. 
 Stuith made a tri]) to the west, in accordance 
 with lii^ long eult'rtaiued purpose: visited Kan- 
 sas, but was not pleased with the ])rospect, and 
 came to .St. Paul. The outlook there was more 
 ])roiuising ;in(l he decided to make that his future 
 home. .Settling up his business in Colchester,
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 421 
 
 he returned t(j Minnesota in the spring of 1857, 
 and located at Hastings, Ijringing his family, 
 consisting of his wife and two children. He 
 formed a partnershij) with J. W. Uc Silva, and 
 began the practice of law. He continued in that 
 business at Hastings until 1877, when he re- 
 moved to Minneapolis. During his residence in 
 Hastings, he was the attorney for the Hastings 
 & Dakota Railroad, the St. Paul & Chicago 
 Railway, the Minnesota Railway Construction 
 Company, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
 Paul Railroad. Mr. Smith is a Democrat, and 
 took an active part in politics in Dakota County, 
 holding many important positions, among which 
 was that of County Attorney, to which he was 
 elected in 1857; County Commissioner, to which 
 he was elected in i860, Judge of Probate, to 
 which lie was elected in 1861, and re-elected in 
 1863 and 1865, holding the ofifice six years. In 
 1867 he was elected to the State Senate, and in 
 1873 was again chosen for County Attorney. In 
 1875 he ran as an independent candidate for the 
 State Senate against Ignatius Donnelly, and was 
 defeated by a small majority. He took an especial 
 interest in the public schools, and was influential 
 in establishing the graded schools of Hastings. 
 But Hastings was too small a field, and in 1S77 
 Mr. Smith moved to Minneapolis, He formed 
 a partnership with W. E. Hale, which continued 
 until the spring of 1880. For three years he 
 conducted his business without a partner, but in 
 1883 he went into partnership with S. A. Reed, 
 which continued until March. i88q, when he was 
 appointed Judge of the District Court of the 
 Fourth Judicial District, which position he now 
 holds. In i8yo he was elected without opposition, 
 being supported by all parties, and was elected 
 again in i8g6 on the Democratic ticket. In 
 1887 he was elected City Attorney by the City 
 Council, and held the office for two terms. Judge 
 Smith has been honored liy his political friends 
 with numerous nominations to important posi- 
 tions, among which were Judge of the District 
 Court in the h'irst Judicial District, in 1864, and 
 again in 1874. and Attorney General of the State 
 of Minnesota in 1869. In 1884 Judge Smith was 
 the Democratic nominee for District Judge for 
 the Fourth Judicial District, but was defeated by 
 Hon. A. H. Young. In 1888 he was nominated 
 bv the Democrats as their candidate for Chief 
 
 Justice of the Supreme Court, but was defeated 
 by Hon. James Gilfillan. He was nominated by 
 the Democrats for the same office in 1894, but 
 was defeated by the present incumbent, Hon. C. 
 M. Start. In each instance he ran ahead of his 
 jiarty ticket, which was in the minority. Judge 
 .*>mith as a lawyer and judge possesses superior 
 ability and strict integrity, and has discharged 
 the duties of the responsible position he now oc- 
 cupies in such a manner as to command the con- 
 fidence and respect of the profession and the pub- 
 lic generally. Judge Smith is very domestic in 
 his habits. He enjoys the comforts of home and 
 the society of his family, and can always be found 
 at home when not engaged in business elsewhere. 
 He has been married three times: first to Miss S. 
 Almira Cady, the eldest daughter of Captain 
 John P. Cady, of Monson, Alassachusetts. The 
 issue of this marriage was four children, two sons 
 and two daughters: two of these are still living, 
 Cady and Claribel. He married for his second 
 wife, Mrs. Fidelia P. Hatch widow of Professor 
 Homer Hatch, of Hastings, Minnesota. By this 
 marriage he had one son, Theron S., who is now 
 living. For his third wife he married Mrs. Har- 
 riet P. Norton, of Otis. Massachusetts, widow of 
 Albert T. Norton, who had lived and died in 
 Flastings. Minnesota. She is still living, but has 
 nci living children.
 
 422 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ^■ 
 
 y^-^. 
 
 WILLIAM \VL\1)(J.M. 
 
 No other of .Minnesota's sons has been able to 
 measure up to the stature of William Windom as 
 a statesman. For ten years he sat in the house of 
 representatives, for twelve \ears he was a distin- 
 guished member of the United States senate, and 
 two jjresidents of the United States called upon 
 hini to discharge the important duties of secre- 
 tary of the treasury. While a member of the cab- 
 inet of President Harrison, he died, January 29, 
 1891, and in him the whole nation felt that it had 
 lost one of the al)lest and most careful men who 
 ever served it as head of the treasury^ department. 
 Mr. Windom was a Quaker by descent, and his 
 father and mother, Hezekiah and Alercy Windom. 
 traced tlieir ancestry back to Quaker families that 
 settled in \ irginia early in the Eighteenth cen- 
 tury. He was the youngest child of the family, 
 and was born in Helmont County, Ohio, May 10, 
 1827, and there passed the first ten years of his 
 life. His parents then went to Knox County, 
 Ohio, which became the permanent family home, 
 and here it was that the youngest son passed the 
 remainder of his boyhood and youth and cstali- 
 lishcd the splendid character upon which he so 
 succcssfullv builded his future. As a bov Mr, 
 
 Windom was attracted to the profession of law, 
 and notwithstanding the opposition of his parents, 
 who as Quakers regarded the law with peculiar 
 disfavor, and were anxious that their, son should 
 learn an "honest trade," took an academic course 
 at Alartinsburg, Ohio, which he followed by a 
 thorough law course in the office of Judge R. C. 
 Hurd. of Mt. Vernon, Ohio. In 1850, at the age 
 of twenty-three, he was admitted to the bar, and 
 after five years of practice in his native state, 
 came to Minnesota, locating in Winona. In 1856, 
 after he had been a resident of this state for one 
 year, he was married, in Wandck, Massachusetts, 
 to Ellen Towne, third daughter of the Rev, R. C. 
 Hatch. It was in the fall of 1858, when he was 
 thirty-one years of age, that he entered public 
 life, and was elected as a republican to the Thirty- 
 seventh congress. This was the commencement 
 of a brilliant congressional career, which termi- 
 nated in 1869, when he was appointed L'nited 
 States senator to fill the unexpired term of I ). S. 
 Norton, deceased. The legislature elected him to 
 the senate in 1871, and re-elected him in 1877. 
 Mr. Windom's name w-as presented to the na- 
 tional Republican convention of 1880 as a candi- 
 date for nomination to the presidency, and the 
 loyalty with which the delegates from Minnesota 
 supported him during twenty-eight ballots fur- 
 nishes one of the most interesting incidents in the 
 political history of the state. President Garfield, 
 who was the nominee of that convention, made 
 Mr. Windom secretarv of the treasurv in his cab- 
 inet, and in this position he served until the death 
 of Garfield and the accession of Mr. Arthur. 
 .Sliortly after his retirement from the cabinet the 
 Minnesota legislature again elected him to the 
 United States senate, where he served nut another 
 unexpired term, retiring from that bodv March 
 3, 1883. P'rom this time until March, i88<), when 
 he entered President Harrison's cabinet to take 
 the treasury portfolio, he devoted himself to his 
 private business. As a national financier he had 
 a high standing, and from 1889 to t8<)i, the war 
 of his death, was regarded as one of the most 
 brilliant members of the Harrison administration. 
 He achieved a world-wide reputation in connec- 
 tion with his idan for refunding the public debt. 
 It was in aj)i)reciation of his skill in finance and of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 423 
 
 his distinguislicd public services that tiie Board of 
 Trade and Transportation of New York invited 
 him to api)ear Ijefore it for an address. He was 
 reciuested to fix the date liimsclf, which he did 
 for fanuary 29, iStji. On that day lie i^roceeded 
 fnnn Washington to New York, where he joined 
 a brilliant company of New York business men 
 at Delmonico's. During the progress of the 
 banquet he resi)nndcd to the toast, "( )ur Coun- 
 try's Prosperity Dependent L'pon Its Instruments 
 of Commerce." He spoke for forty minutes, and 
 the applause which greeted him at the close was 
 a fitting tribute to what was pcriiaps the most 
 brilliant oratorical cfTort of his life. He arose in 
 his place to bow his thanks to the gentlemen 
 whose guest he was. and, sitting down, the fes- 
 tivities were about to proceed when it was dis- 
 covered that he was dead. He had passed away 
 from heart disease inunediately upon taking his 
 seat, certainly without warning, and probably 
 without pain, for when attention was attracted to 
 him his eves were closed and he looked as if he 
 had fallen asleep. 
 
 CHARLE.S AlUNRO START. 
 
 C. M. Start occupies the honoraljle pijsition of 
 chief justice of the Supreme Court of Minnesota. 
 Judge Start is a son of Simeon Gould Start and 
 Marv S. (Barnes) Start. His parents were both of 
 English descent and from the south of England. 
 He was born October 4, 1839, at Bakersfield. 
 Franklin County, \'ermont, and received his 
 schooling at Barre Academy. He began his study 
 of law in the office of Judge William C. Wilson at 
 Bakersfield, \'ennont. where he was admitted 
 to practice in i860. He was engaged in the prac- 
 tice of law until he enlisted in July, 1862, in Com- 
 pany I of the Tenth \'ermont \'olunteers. He was 
 commissioned first lieutenant of the same com- 
 pany August II, the same year. On December 
 I, 1862, he resigned from the service on a sur- 
 geon's certificate of disability. The next year, 1863, 
 he removed to Minnesota and settled in October 
 at Rochester, where he began the practice of law 
 and where he has resided ever since. Judge Start 
 is Republican and cast his first vote for Lincoln in 
 i860. His abilitv as a vonnsf lawver was recog- 
 
 nized in Olmsted t_'ount\- in his election to the 
 office of count)- attorney for eight years. In 1879 
 he was elected attorney-general of .Minnesota and 
 served from January i, 1880, until March 12, 1881, 
 when he resigned to accept an appointment to 
 the office of judge of the Third Judicial District. 
 He conducted the duties of that office with such 
 signal ability that he was unanimously re-elected 
 for three successive terms and was occupying 
 that position when, in i8()4. he was nominated by 
 the Republicans for chief justice of the Supreme 
 Court. He was elected and took his seat on Janu- 
 ary 5, 1805. He now holds that position, 
 the most honorable in the gift of the state, and 
 discharges the duties of his office with great 
 aliility and fairness, and has the confidence of the 
 people and of the legal profession of the state 
 in an unusual degree. He possesses those quali- 
 ties which go to make up the best equipment of 
 the careful, conscientious and able jurist, and his 
 selection to this office has given unanimous satis- 
 faction, not only to the members of his own party, 
 but to the Democratic jiarty as well. Judge Start 
 is an attendant of the Congregational church. He 
 was married .\ugust 10, 1865, to Clara A. A\'ilson, 
 of Bakersfield, \'ermont. Thev have one child, 
 Clara L. Start.
 
 424 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES GRA\ES TITCOMB. 
 
 Charles Graves Titcomb, of St. Paul, was 
 born at Nashua, New Hampshire, March 20, 1844. 
 Mr. Titcomb is a son of John Pierson Titcomb. a 
 merchant of Harvard, Illinois, and of Lavinia 
 Atwood Smith (Titcomb). His grandfather on 
 his father's side was a graduate of West Point, 
 where he completed his military course with high 
 honors. He was also a poet as well as a musician 
 of marked ability. John Pierson Titcomb's mother 
 was of French birth. The grandparents of the 
 subject of this sketch on his mother's side were 
 residents of Bangor, Maine. Charles Graves re- 
 ceived his early education at Charlestown, Alas- 
 sachusetts, and was early employed in Boston in 
 an art establishment, where he earned his first 
 dollar. He received his musical education in 
 Boston, and in 1865 came West to Chicago, where 
 he spent a number of years as a teacher of music. 
 In 1882 he removed to St. Paul, and has been 
 successfully engaged as a teacher of the piano in 
 that city ever since. He numbers among his 
 pupils a large number of musicians of talent, 
 among them teachers who have achieved success 
 with his methods. He w'as the organist at the 
 House of Hope Presbyterian Church for ten 
 
 years, but is at present filling the position of or- 
 ganist at the First Baptist Church in St. Paul. 
 Mr. Titcomb has an honorable record as a soldier, 
 having enlisted in the Forty-seventh ]\Iassacliu- 
 setts regiment as private and serving under Gen- 
 eral Banks in the Department of the Gulf, from 
 which service he was honorably discharged after 
 the fall of \'icksburg. 
 
 ROBERT BRUCE LANGDON. 
 
 From 1848, up to the time of his death,. 
 July 24, 1895, Mr. Langdon was engaged in the 
 construction of railroads, and a full account of 
 his life would almost comprise a history of 
 railroad building in the United States during 
 that period. Air. Langdon was bom on a farm 
 in New Haven, \'erniont, November 24, 1826. 
 On both his father's and mother's side his 
 ancestry was English. His father, Seth Lang- 
 don, was an agriculturist, and was also born at 
 New Haven. His paternal grandfather was a 
 captain of a Massachusetts regiment in the Revo- 
 lutionary War. At its close he settled in Con- 
 necticut, but later removed to Vermont, and was 
 one of the pioneers of that state. The mother 
 of R. I). Langdon was of an English family by 
 the name of Squires. Robert Bruce Langdon 
 grew up to manhood in his native towm, receiv- 
 ing his early education in the district schools, 
 which was supplemented by a brief academical 
 course. He began his business career in 1848 
 as the foreman of a construction company 
 engaged in building the Rutland & Burlington 
 Railroad in \'ermont. A short time later he left 
 his native state in the employment of Mr. Selah 
 Chamberlain, coming West, and for several 
 years was engaged in railroad construction work 
 under his employer in Ohio and Wisconsin. 
 The first contract Mr. LangtUm received on his 
 own account was for fencing the Chicago & 
 Northwestern Railroad from h'ond du I^ac to 
 ^linnesota Junctinn. In 1853 he had charge 
 of the construction of a section of seventy-five 
 miles of the Illinois Central road from Kanka- 
 kee, Illinois, to Urbana, ( iliin, and later was 
 engaged on contracts for the .Milwaukee & La 
 Crosse and the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 425 
 
 railroads. 'J'hc tirsl gruuiul Inukcn for a rail- 
 road in Minnesota was done under tlic direction 
 of Mr. Langdon in 1858. At tin- oullireak ol 
 the Civil War he was compelled to abandijn the 
 construction of the .Moliile iS: ( )hio Railroad, on 
 which he had been engaged two years. During 
 his business career as a railroad contractor, in 
 association with I). M. Carfjcntcr, D. C. 
 Sliepard, A. H. Linton and other gentlemen Mr. 
 Langdon constructed more than seven thousand 
 miles of railroad in the states of N'erniont, < 'hio, 
 Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Mimiesota, Ten- 
 nessee, Mississippi, Iowa, the Dakotas, Montana 
 and the Northwest Territory. But in addition 
 to being one of the foremost railroad contractors 
 in the Ignited States, !ie was connectect with the 
 management of some of the most important 
 lines in the Northwest as a stockholder and 
 director. He was vice president and a director 
 of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad, and 
 f(jr several years a vice president of the .Minne- 
 apolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic Railroad. 
 Mr. Langdon also turned his energies in other 
 directions aside from that of railroad building, 
 and was connected with numerous other enter- 
 prises in the Northwest. He was held in great 
 esteem for his ability as a financier and his 
 indomitable business energy, and his advice was 
 sought as to a great many public, as well as 
 private, enterprises. He Iniilt the canal of the 
 Minneapolis ]\Iilling Company in 1866; was 
 president of the company which built the Syn- 
 dicate Block and the Masonic Temple in Minne- 
 apolis; was a director of the Twin City Stock 
 Yards of New B)righton, and of the City r>ank 
 of Minneapolis: a jjartner in the wholesale gro- 
 cery firm of George R. Newell & Co., and was 
 interested in the Terminal Elevator Company 
 and the I'elt Railway, connecting the stock yards 
 at New I'righton with the interurban .systems of 
 railroad. Not oidy was he active in all enter- 
 rises tending to the upbuilding of his city and 
 state, but Mr. Langdon also took an active part 
 as a legislator, and was distinguished for his 
 close attention to the interests of the community 
 which he represented and for his sound and 
 practical ideas. He was connected with the 
 Repiililican part\- all his life. In 1872 he was 
 
 elected to the upper house of the state legisla- 
 ture, and his services were so satisfactory in that 
 body that he was successively re-elected, ser\'ing 
 continuously until 1878. In 1880 he was again 
 elected to the senate and served until 1885. He 
 was the choice of his party for the same ofifice 
 in 1888, but was beaten bv his Democratic 
 oijponent b\- only a few votes, this defeat being 
 due to the Farmers' Alliance landslide of that 
 year. He was also a member of the state senate 
 at the extra session called by Governor Pillsbury 
 to act upon the adjustment of the state railroad 
 bonds, and was an earnest supporter of all efiforts 
 made toward securing adequate legislation for 
 the final settlement of this vexatious question. 
 It is noteworthy of Mr. Langdon's popularity 
 that he ne\-er had a competitor in a convention, 
 receiving his nomination by acclamation. He 
 often represented his party in state conventions, 
 and was a delegate from Minnesota to three 
 national con\entions: at Cincinnati in 1876, and 
 Chicago in 1884 and 1888. To his influence to a 
 consideral)le extent is due the fact that Minne- 
 apolis secured the national convention in 1892. 
 He had a large ac(|uaintance among men of 
 national reputation in this country, and his influ- 
 ence was widespread and potent, iK^t only in
 
 426 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 molding the business and political destinies of 
 his city and state, but in the councils and the 
 national conventions of his jjarty. He was a 
 man of large, robust physique, a:id possessed a 
 personality that was both magnetic and impres- 
 sive. His numerous bvisiness enterprises did not 
 deter him from studious habits formed in youth, 
 and few men w'ere his conversational equals on 
 such a diversity of topics. The sterling qualities 
 of his character were such as to endear him to 
 men in all walks of life, and his death is mourned 
 by a large circle of sincere and devoted friends. 
 His name has been honored by having two 
 towns named for him, viz.: Langdon, in North 
 Dakota, and Langdon, in Minnesota. Mr. 
 Langdon was for some time president of the 
 Minneapolis Club. In his religious faith he was 
 an Episcopalian, and up to the time of his death 
 was a vestryman of St. Mark's Church. He was 
 married in 1850 to Miss Sarah Smith, a daughter 
 of Dr. Horatio A. Smith, of New Haven, \"er- 
 mont. In 1866 he brought his family to Minne- 
 apolis, where they have ever since resided. The 
 family consists of three children, Cavour S. 
 Langdon, Airs. H. C. Truesdale and Mrs. W. l~. 
 Brooks, all three of whom are married and live 
 in Minneapolis. 
 
 JOHN B. SANBORN. 
 
 Of the many gallant soldiers whom Minnesota 
 gave to the armies of the North during the war 
 for the preservation of the Lnion, General John 
 B. Sanborn, of St. Paul, is one of the most 
 eminent, and to the glories of a military career 
 he has added those of an ec|ually brilliant civil 
 career. As a lawyer and statesman he has occu- 
 pied a conspicuous j^lace in the life of Minnesota 
 for more than a generation. He was born in 
 Epsom, .Merriniac Countv, New llanipshire, 
 Deceml)er 5, 1826, on the homestead which has 
 been in jjossession of the Sanborn faniilv for 
 seven successive generations, and ahhonL;h now 
 beyond "three score years and ten." i'- in roni])letc 
 possession of all liis ])owcrs of mind and l)odv. 
 On both sides he is descended from Xew l''ng- 
 land families, and his grandfathers were revolu- 
 tionary soldiers. I lis boyhood years were passed 
 
 on the farm, and he acquired his early knowletlge 
 of books at a country school. President Franklin 
 Pierce advised him to study law, and so he 
 entered the office of Judge Asa Fowler, in Con- 
 cord, in 1851, and was admitted to the bar in 
 that town in 1854, at the age of twenty-seven. 
 It was in this year that he removed to Minnesota, 
 locating at St. Paul, where he began the practice 
 of his profession, and has since resided. 'I'heo- 
 dore I'Vench was his first partner in the law, and 
 subseipiently the firm became Sanborn, I'Yench 
 & Lund. In 1859 he served as a member of the 
 lower house of the legislature, and in i860 was 
 elected to the state senate. When the civil war 
 began, in the spring of 1861, Governor Alexander 
 Ramsey appointetl him adjutant general of the 
 state, and after organizing and e<|nipping the 
 First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifih Regiments 
 of \ Klunteer Infantry, and two batteries and one 
 battalion of cavalry, he enlisted in the Fourth 
 Regiment, in December, 1861, and was made its 
 colonel. From this time on to the close of the 
 war he was constantly in the service. In the 
 spring of 1862 the Fourth Regiment was ordered 
 .South, and joined General Halleck's army in 
 front of Corinth. After an eventful spring and 
 sunnner, Sanborn, on .September ly, 1862, being 
 then in command of the First Brigade of the 
 Third Division, Army of the Mississippi, took 
 part in the fiercely contested battle of luka. His 
 brigade was in the hottest part of the fight, losing 
 six hundred men in killed and wounded, but not 
 without some compensation, for to it belonged 
 the credit of saving the day. (General Rosecrans 
 took occasion, in his orders, to give .'^anborn the 
 most flattering mention for his skill antl gallantry. 
 ' )n ( )ctober 3 and 4, he connnanded a Iirigade 
 at the battle of Corinth, and sustained the 
 reputati(in previousK- made at Tuka. From this 
 time on he was in all of Grant's campaigns in 
 the Mississippi X'alley. including tlu' campaign 
 against \'icksl)urg. l-'rom .\]iril 15 to May 
 2, 1863, (jeneral .^anboni connnanded the 
 Seventh Division of the !-^e\(.-nteenth .Army 
 Corps. Resuming connnand of his brigade, he 
 was in engagements ;it Raymond. Mississijipi, 
 May 12: at Jackson. May 14: at Champion 
 TTills. Ma\' 16. rnid in the ;issanlt on \'icksbm-sr.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 427 
 
 May 22, un wliiih last named ilay lie was again 
 in coniniaiid of llic Seventh Division. Cjenerai 
 Grant elected Sanborn's brigade to lead tin- 
 advance into N'icksbnrg, on Jnly 4, after tin- 
 snrrcnder. In 1X62, shortly aftei- luka and 
 Corinth, i'resident Lincoln pronK)ted Sanborn to 
 the i)osition of brigadier general of volnnteers. 
 btit the appointment lapsed owing to the adjonrn- 
 ment of congress, March 4, 1863, before his name 
 was reached for confirmation, lie <h(l not receive 
 his commission nntil Angnst 4, 11^63. or after 
 the events referred to in the [)receding paragraph 
 of this article. In ( )ctober, 1863, he took com- 
 mand of the Southwest Missouri district, where 
 he remained until the close of the war, sup- 
 pressing the guerrillas who infested that country, 
 and in various other ways assisting in the restora- 
 tion of order. It was in the fall of 1864, while in 
 this station, that he resisted the attempt of the 
 Confederate forces inider (ieneral Sterling Price 
 to invade I\lissoin'i, having under his conunand 
 during the invasion period nearly all of the 
 Federal cavalry forces west of the .Mississippi, 
 some ten thousand men. In all of his engage- 
 ments with Price, and tlie\- were numerous, 
 he was victorious, capturing a numl)er of guns, 
 taking several thousand prisoners, and so crip- 
 pling Price that he was of little further service to 
 tlie Confederacy. In June, 1863, General Sanborn 
 went to P'ort Riley, Kansas, from which head- 
 quarters he directed the opening up of a line of 
 travel to Colorado and New Mexico, and sup- 
 pressed an Indian uiirising, all in the short period 
 of ninety days. In June, 1866, he was mustered 
 out of the service, and returned to St. Paul, 
 resuming the iiractice of law, the tirm name now 
 being Sanliorn & King. In 1868 this ijartnership 
 was dissolved, and General Sanborn in 1871 had 
 associated himself with his ne])hew, Walter H. 
 Sanborn. In 1880 Edward P. Sanborn, another 
 nephew entered the firm. In 1867 General San- 
 l)orn was named, with Generals .Sherman and 
 Terry, Senator lohn P>. Hciulerson of Missouri, 
 and Colonel Samuel Tap])an, as peace conmiis- 
 sioners to treat with a number of hostile Indian 
 tribes, including the Sioux, Arrapahoes. Kiowas 
 and Comanches. In 1872, and again in 1882, he 
 was a member of the Alinnesota legislature. His 
 
 
 I 
 
 £S»€ 
 
 "% 
 
 last service in that body was as state senator from 
 1 8' JO to 1894. Ill i860 he was a candidate for 
 the L/nited States senate and was defeated by 
 .Morton .s. Wilkinson by two votes. He took an 
 active part in restoring the credit of the state at 
 the time of the recognition and settlement of the 
 railrc ad Ijond debt. General Sanborn has been 
 honored in various ways in addition to those 
 mentioned. He was the first commander of the 
 Alinnesota Commanden- of the Loyal Legion 
 and of the Grand .Army of the Rci)ublic in Min- 
 nesota, bor several years he was president of 
 the .St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. He has 
 been a trustee of the State Historical Societv, 
 vice president of the National (jerman-American 
 Rank, and director or officer of a number of 
 other prominent societies and institutions. In 
 March, 1857, he was married to Miss Catharine 
 Hall, of Newton, New Jersey, who died in i860. 
 In November, 1865. he married .Miss .Anna Nixon, 
 of Bridgeton, New Jersey, a sister of the Hon. 
 John T. Nixon, of the Federal Court of New 
 Jersey. She died in June. 1878. .April 15. 1880, 
 General .Sanborn married Miss Rachel Rice. 
 daughter of Hon. Edmund Rice, of St. Paul, who 
 has borne him four children.
 
 428 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRANK U. EDDY. 
 
 Frank M. Eddy, of Glenwood, Pope County, 
 member of congress from the Seventh District, is 
 a striking example of a self-made man. Any- 
 where else but in a republic the door of opportun- 
 ity never would have swung open before him, and 
 his talents never would have been recognized. He 
 would have lived and died in the humble station 
 in which he was born, and in no large sense would 
 the world have profited bv his being in it, or even 
 been ready to give him a hearing. Mr. Eddy 
 comes from the sturdy I'uritan stock of Xew 
 England, and away back in the twilight days of 
 the colonies his ancestors played no mean part in 
 the successive stages of the political drama whose 
 great climax was American independence. Early 
 in the centurv one liranch of this faniih' settled in 
 the then unknown West, and to this branch Con- 
 gressman Eddy belongs. He is a Minnesotan by 
 birth, and bears the unic|ue distinction of being 
 the first of her native sons to be called to either 
 branch of the federal congress. .April t. 1856, he 
 was born at Pleasant Grove, ( )lmste<l County, 
 Minnesota, and when four vears old followed his 
 parents to Towa. In 186^ the family returncfl to 
 
 Elmira, Olmsted County, where young Eddy re- 
 mained until 1867, when he settled in Pope 
 CovnUy. In 1874 we find him again in Olmsted 
 County going to school in the winter and during 
 vacation season working in a brick yard in order 
 to earn money with which to pursue his studies. 
 In 1878 liis schooling was at an entl, and he be- 
 came a country school teacher. He taught one 
 term in Filmore County and one in Renville 
 CoiuUy, and in the winter of 1879-80 he returned 
 to Pope County, where he continued to teach for 
 three years longer. In 1883 .Mr. Eddy was 
 "cruiser" or land examiner for the Northern 
 Pacific railroad company, a very humble position, 
 but one which seemed to promise more in the 
 wa}' of opportunities than the schoolroom. The 
 change was for the better, for in 1884 Mr. Eddy 
 went into politics and became the Republican 
 candidate for clerk of the district court of Pope 
 County. He was elected and held this position 
 for ten years, or until he was elected to congress 
 for the first time, in 181J4. He is also an expert 
 stenographer, and was court reporter of the Six- 
 teenth Judicial District for several years. To his 
 education in English he has added a thorough 
 knowledge of the Scandinavian language, and his 
 studies in this direction have repaid him many 
 fold in smoothing the difficulties of a political 
 canvass in an agricultural district among con- 
 stituents, a large portion of whom speak one or 
 the other of those languages. Mr. Eddy was 
 elected to congress in 1894 by a plurality of about 
 eight hundred votes over the sitting' member, H. 
 E. Poen. The district was considered as being 
 safely in the possession of the new Populist party, 
 and his success was something of a surprise to 
 those wild (lid not know the man and his almost 
 limitless resources in politics. In 1896 he was 
 elected a second time, his plurality being upwards 
 of two thousand and two hundred. This last was 
 a personal victory, for every Republican candidate 
 for presidential elector and every Republican 
 candidate on the state ticket went out of the Sev- 
 enth District with a lu'a\\ margin of votes 
 against him. Mr. Eddy is one of the best cam- 
 paigners in Minnesota politics, and his powers of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 +29 
 
 ciulurancc arc ruiiiarkahlc. In c(ini;rL'ss he has 
 fultillcil every pledge and cniiie up to every ex- 
 pectatit)!!. lie is a close observer, an intelli.nent 
 and jxUient investigator, a thorough student ol 
 men and events, and one of the best posted men 
 on the political issues of the day of whom the 
 stale can Ijoast at this time, ilis growth to the 
 full stature of jjublic manhood has been very 
 rapid. He pmmises to be an im])ortant factor in 
 the life of this state for vears to come. 
 
 ALEXANDER M. HARRISON. 
 
 Alexander M. Harrison is a lawyer, practicing 
 his profession in .Minneapolis. He is a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and was born in \'enango County, 
 the fifth of November, 1847. His father, Charles 
 Harrison, was descended from English stock. 
 He was born at Orange, New Jersey (where his 
 family has lived ever since), and followed the 
 occupation of an agriculturist in \'enango County, 
 P'ennsylvania. With the industrious and frugal 
 habits of the New Englander, he had attained 
 comfortable financial circumstances. His wife's 
 maiden name was Catharine E. DeWitt, who was 
 of Dutch descent. Alexander was given by his 
 parents considerabl)- better educational advan- 
 tages than those usually accorded to farmers" 
 boys, especially of that period. His elementary 
 education was received in the district school in 
 Perry, in \'enango County, and later in an 
 academy in the same town. When thirteen years 
 old he left home and attended an academy at 
 Pleasantville, in the same state. He remained 
 here until he was eighteen, then entered the 
 Fredonia .\cademy, at Fredonia, in Chautau(|ua 
 County, New York, from which institution he 
 graduated three years later. Having made up 
 his mind to make law his profession in life, Alex- 
 ander had begun studying law during liis leisure 
 hours in the Fredonia x\cademv. After leaving 
 there, he worked for a while in the oil fields ot 
 his native state, rimning a stationary engine for 
 drilling and pumping oil wells, with which to 
 earn money to complete his law studies, and in 
 this wav he earned his first dollar. Having 
 
 secured sufficient funds to pay his expenses at 
 Ann Arbor, he entered the law de])artment of the 
 University of ^lichigan, and graduated in x\pril, 
 1870. He came West and located at Charles City, 
 Iowa, where he "hung out his shingle" and began 
 the practice of his profession, in which he has 
 been actively engaged ever since. Until August, 
 1873. Air. Harrison continued his practice alone, 
 but at this time he became associated with Samuel 
 B. Starr and John G. Patterson, under the firm 
 name of Starr, Patterson & Harrison. This part- 
 nership continued until October, 1878, when it 
 was dissolved by the death of .Mr. Patterson. The 
 partnership was continued, however, by Messrs. 
 Starr and Harrison until December i, 1886. when 
 the latter gentleman came to Minnesota. He 
 located in Minneapolis, where he has succeeded in 
 building up a lucrative legal business. Mr. Har- 
 rison's political affiliations have ahvays been with 
 the Republican party, of which he is an ardent 
 supporter and an active campaigner. On August 
 13, 1873, he was married to Lizzie O. Chapin. at 
 Silver Creek. New York. Air. and Mrs. Harrison 
 have three children: Aferton E., aged twenty, 
 now a sophomore in the state university; Ruth 
 Harrison, aged ten, and FTelen, aged six.
 
 430 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAM LDWIX HASKLLL. 
 
 W. E. Haskell, the head of The Times News- 
 paper Company, of Minneapolis, was born on 
 June i8, 1862, on Bunker Hill, Charlestown, Mas- 
 sachusetts. His newspaper talent may be said to 
 have been inherited, for his father, Edwin B. Has- 
 kell, of Boston, has been a life-long newspaper 
 man. Mr. Haskell, senior, learned the printer's 
 trade as a boy and later became a reporter on the 
 Boston Journal. He advanced to an editorial 
 position and afterwards became associate editor of 
 the Boston Herald. With R. M. Pulsifer, C. A. 
 Andrews and others he ])urchased the Herald not 
 long after the war, and was identified with the 
 wonderful growth of that great newspaper proja- 
 erty during succeeding years. Mr. Haskell has 
 now retired from active newspaper life and is 
 devoting himself to the care of his estate, to 
 travel and study, and to the work incident to his 
 position as head of the Metropolitan Park Com- 
 mission of Boston. The Haskell family is of 
 French origin. A Norman knight of the family 
 of D'Ascelles who married a daughter of the royal 
 house of France and uIid accompanied William 
 the Conqueror to I'jigland, is the earliest known 
 progenitor of the family. He was the forefather 
 of the present Earl of Dudley, of England. In 
 
 1645 tliree brothers of the family came to Glou- 
 cester, Massachusetts, from England. A branch 
 of this stock founded New Salem, Maine, and 
 later moved to East Livermore in the same state, 
 where Mr. Edwin Haskell was born in 1836. He 
 married Miss Ann Celia Hill, who was of Hugue- 
 not e.xtraction. The early education of their son, 
 William, was had in the private schools of 
 Charlestown, Chelsea and Newton, Massachusetts. 
 He then entered Allen's English and Classical 
 school at West Newton, to prepare for college, 
 but before commencing his college course spent 
 two years in study in Europe, most of the time 
 at Leipsic. Entering Harvard college in 1881, 
 he graduated in the class of 1884 with the degree 
 of A. B. His education w-as planned along such 
 lines as to fit him for his intended profession — 
 that of newspaper work. Mr. Haskell came to 
 .Minneapolis on November 10, 1884, and became 
 editor and half owner of the Minneapolis Tribune. 
 This connection continued until ^.Iay, 1889, and 
 from 1885 he was at the same time part owner 
 and president of the Journal Printing Company. 
 From i88g to 1894 he was engaged in the real 
 estate and investment business. L'pon the pur- 
 chase of the Minneapolis Times by the Journal 
 Company on July i, 1894, Mr. Haskell, who was 
 then vice president of the Journal Printing Com- 
 |)any, became editorial manager of the Times. 
 .Six months later, in January, 1S05, he became 
 general manager of the Times, and on January i. 
 i8(;7. he ]nirchased the Times from the Journal 
 Companv and relinquisheil his interest in the 
 latter company. He is now editorial and business 
 head of the Times. During his three years of 
 connection with the Times Mr. Haskell has been 
 the moving force of the paper: its inunediate suc- 
 cess is to be attributed to his energy and good 
 management. His i)olic\' has been to always fol- 
 low the line of absolute independence. Dmnng all 
 his newspaper life Mr. Haskell has been much 
 interested in tlu- ilcvrloimient of iiliolographic 
 illustration for the il;iil\ |)ri-ss, and has clont' nuich 
 for the ;ii1. As in his ne\\s]>a|H-r life, Mr. Has- 
 kell is, personallv. inde|ien(lent in politics. He 
 has held no political offices, but has served as 
 aid-de-camp witli the rank of major on the staff 
 of Ciovernor .'\. I\. McGill, ;md was aid-de-camp
 
 PKOGRIiSSlVH MEN OK MINNIvSOTA. 
 
 431 
 
 with the rank of colonel on the staff of Governor 
 W. R. Aferriani during both his terms of office. 
 He belongs to no societies and only to social 
 clubs. Mr. Haskell was married on .November 
 I, 1884, to Miss Annie E. Mason, who died on 
 February 18,1886. ( )n hebruary 22, 1887, he was 
 married t(_i Miss ( )lga von Waedelstadt, of St. 
 Paul. Thev have four children; C'elia Elizabeth, 
 William ^^■aedelstadt, ( ieorge Childs and Edwin 
 Dudley. The family residence is at 1710 Third 
 avenue S, Minneapolis. 
 
 ALLEX I'RANlv EERRIS. 
 
 A. F. l^'erris, president of the l'"irst National 
 Bank of Brainerd, Minnesota, is a native of i\ew 
 York. His father, William l-'erris, was born in 
 Otto, New York, August i, 1827, and secured 
 work in a store at Gowanda, New York, when 
 only fifteen years old. While living at Gowanda 
 he was married to Miss LSuelah A. Allen, a native 
 of that place, and daughter of Judge Daniel 
 Allen, of the district court. Judge Allen was a 
 prominent man in his state, and was once nomi- 
 nated for the governorship, but declined to run. 
 He was a native of JMassachusetts and his wife 
 was Esther Manley, daughter of Capt. John 
 Manley, of Connecticut. William I'\nTis was 
 for fifteen years agent of the Erie railroad at 
 Perrysburgh, New York, and it was at that place 
 that his son Allen was born on July 22, 1865. 
 In 1872 ]Mr. Ferris moved to Minnesota and 
 established himself at Brainerd as agent of the 
 Northern Pacific railroad and of the United 
 States Express Company. In 1881 he organized 
 the First National Bank of Brainerd and was 
 president of the bank at the time of his death 
 in 1882. Young Allen was only seven years old 
 when his parents removed to Minnesota. He at- 
 tended the common schools at Brainerd and 
 took two years at Carleton College at North - 
 field. In 1885, when twenty years of age, he 
 entered the First National Bank as teller and 
 during the following year was elected cashier. 
 In 1892 he was made president and still occu- 
 pies that position. I\Tr. Ferris has taken a 
 prominent part in the public affairs of his city. 
 
 He was elected an alderman in 1891 and was 
 made vice president of the city council. In 1892 
 and 1893 he was re-elected. In 1894 he was 
 elected as a member of the lower house of the 
 state legislature. He took a very active part in 
 the legislation of the ensuing legislative term, 
 and as chairman of the railroad committee of the 
 house of representatives was influential in shap- 
 ing important legislation. He was the author 
 of the important seed bill which formulated a 
 plan for aiding the farmers who lost everything 
 by the forest fires of 1894 and needed seeds for 
 sowing in the spring of 1895 ''i order that they 
 might get a fresh start. The work of Mr. Ferris 
 in the house was rewarded by a re-election in 1896. 
 Governor Merriam appointed Mr. Ferris to the 
 Game and Fish Commission in 1891. and for five 
 years he was secretary of that body. Mr. Ferris 
 is president of the Chenquatana Club of Brainerd, 
 vice-president of the Board of Trade, captain of 
 the Brainerd Division, No. 7, U. R. K. P., a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic body, of the Knights of 
 Pythias and of the Improved Order of Red Men. 
 On Tune 8, 1888, he was married to Miss Annie 
 M. Stegee. They ha\c one child. Frank W. 
 Ferris, who is now six \ears old.
 
 432 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 LUCIAX SWIFT. 
 
 Lucian Swift, manager of The .Minneapolis 
 Journal, is a native of Akron, Ohio, where he was 
 bom July 14, 1848. His father, Lucian Swift, 
 moved from Connecticut to the Western Reserve 
 when a young man and settled there for the prac- 
 tice of law. He served some time as clerk of the 
 courts of Sunnnit County, and also represented 
 the people of that locality in the state senate. The 
 genealogical line of the Swift family is traced back 
 to 1635, when the first member of the family in 
 this country came from England among the earl\- 
 colonists. Judge Zephaniah Swift, Chief Justice 
 of Connecticut for nearly twenty years, was the 
 great grandfather of the subject of this sketch. 
 His father moved to Cleveland when Lucian was 
 a mere lad. Here the boy had the adx-antages of 
 c.Kcellent schools and was graduated from the 
 high schools in 1865. He then entered the Cni- 
 versitv of Michigan, took a special course in min- 
 ing engineering and was graduated with the de- 
 gree of M . !•".. While in college he was a meiuber of 
 the Delta Ka'ijpa Epsilon fraternity. Returning t( . 
 Cleveland, he engaged in the mercantile business 
 for about two years, but not finding it congenial 
 to his tastes he adopted the course pursued by so 
 many of the enterprising and ambiticnis young 
 men of the Eastern and Middlr slates, and in the 
 
 spring of 187 1 came West for the purpose of 
 settling at Duluth, but obtained a situation with 
 George B. Wright, of Minneapolis. Mr. Wright 
 was a surveyor of government land. Soon after- 
 wards he became land agent for the Xordiern 
 Pacific Railroad Company, and for five years 
 .Mr. Swift was employed by him in making plats 
 of land grants, rights of way, and other work of 
 that kind. This work sent him still further onto 
 the frontier. He camped at one time in a tent 
 on the site of the city of Fargo, and attended an 
 editorial l)anc|uet at Georgetown, on the banks 
 of the Red river, where he listened to that gifted 
 traveler, llayard Taylor. In 1876 he resigned his 
 position with Mr. Wright and paid a brief visit 
 to his home. ( )n his return to the Northwest, 
 he secured a position as bookkeeper in a mercan- 
 tile house, but soon found a better situation as 
 cashier of the Minneapolis Tribune. He re- 
 mained with the Tribune through various ad- 
 ministrations of its property and policies, accpiir- 
 ing a thorough knowledge of the publishing busi- 
 ness. In November, 1S85, in company with .\. J. 
 Blethen, \\\ E. Haskell and H. W. Hawley. he 
 bought The Evening Journal and became mana- 
 ger, secretary and treasurer of the comjiany, the 
 position which he still holds. The Journal at 
 that time had a circulation of aljout ten thousand 
 copies. Under his administration it has been re- 
 markably successful, and has increased in pat- 
 ronage and circulation in a manner which sub- 
 stantially demonstrates the wisdom and skill with 
 which it has been conducted. It has now a cir- 
 culation of forty thousand copies, occupies a fine 
 building C)f its own on I'ourth street, and is one 
 of the best ec|uip]5ed newspaper establishments in 
 the \\'est. r>ut, while giving attention closely to 
 his own responsible position, Mr. Swift has been 
 in demand as a prdUKitcr n\ pul)lic enterprises, 
 as a member of the Board of Trade, the Business 
 I'nion, the Exposition Association, of which he 
 was director and Ireasiu'er. and has been identified 
 activeb' with many of the most important public 
 enter|)rises and undertakings in Minneajiolis dur- 
 ing llu-p;ist ten \ ears, in which his excellent judg- 
 ment and Inisiness sagacity have been nnich relied 
 upon. Mr. Swift was married in 1877 to Miss 
 Minnie E. b'uller. daughter cif Rev. George W. 
 Fuller, now a resident of Lake Cit\', Minnesota. 
 Thev have one daughter. Grace F.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 433 
 
 GEURGI': WASlliXGTuX i;ATCilELI)J::R. 
 
 George W. liatchelder, of l'"aribault, Aliniie- 
 sota, was one of tlie pioneers of thai city, and 
 duriiis;' his long residence has become one of the 
 best-known members of the legal profession in 
 Stnithern Minnesota. In addition to his emi- 
 nence in the practice of law, .\lr. I'.atchekler has 
 been consi)icuous in politics; always identified 
 with the democratic party, he has been its can- 
 didate at various times for Congress, for justice 
 of the Supreme Court, for state senator, and for 
 mayor of the city of l'~aribault. Mr. Batchelder 
 traces his ancestry back for one hundred and 
 fifty years thrtiugh a long line of New England- 
 ers to Rev. Stephen liatchelder, who migrated 
 from .Surrey, England, about 1730, and settltd 
 in Hampton, Massachusetts. He was a Congre- 
 gational clergyman. Among his descendants 
 were Daniel Webster and |iihn G. W'hittier. The 
 grandfather of G. W. llatchekter was a Revolu- 
 tionary soldier. He lived at Portsmouth, New 
 Hampshire, and moved with his family to \ er- 
 mont about 1 706. Here his son, John liatchel- 
 der. married Alice Kittridge, who was a daughter 
 of Samuel and Harriet Ivittridge. The Kittridge 
 family also came from Massachusetts, and emi- 
 grated to \'ermont in 1800. ]\Ir. liatchelder at- 
 tended the pulilic schools near his home, and 
 fitted himself for college at Phillip's Academy, 
 in Danville: entered the Cniversity of \'erniont 
 in 1847 ''"'1 graduated in 1851. receiving the de- 
 gree of A. B., and afterwards that of A. M. He 
 was a member of the Sigma Phi Society, and 
 also of the Phi lieta Kappa. To sustain himself 
 during his college course Mr. liatchelder taught 
 school during his vacations, and upon graduat- 
 ing, took charge of the graded schools of \\'in<l- 
 sor, \'ermont. After one year at Windsor he 
 went south and taught for another year in the 
 Academy at Tazewell, East Tennessee. Another 
 }-ear was spent in teaching at Rogersville. East 
 Tennessee. During all this time Air. Batchelder 
 was reading law, and in 1854 he was admitted 
 to the bar. The following year he came to Min- 
 nesota, then a territory, and in A fay. 1855, set- 
 tled at I'aribault. He has since resided at Fari- 
 bault, and has been in cdntinunus ])ractice of the 
 
 law. His first law partner was Hon. John M. 
 I Jerry, late Justice of the Supreme Court of Min- 
 nesota. When Air. Berry went upon the bench 
 Mr. Batchelder became a partner of Hon. Thomas 
 S. Buckham, now judge of the fifth judicial dis- 
 trict of Alinncsota. He now has associated w'ith 
 him his son, Charles, under the firm name of 
 r.atchelder & Batchelder. Air. Batchelder has 
 been fre(|uently honored by his fellow citizens 
 with nomination and election to public office, 
 though as a Democrat in a Republican state, 
 county and district, the more important nomina- 
 tion was frequently not equivalent to election. 
 He was a candidate for Congress in 1868 for 
 the Southern District of the state. In 1871 and 
 
 1872 he served as state senator, and in 1888 was 
 nominated by his party for justice of the Supreme 
 Court. During the years 1880 and 1881 he was 
 mayor of Faribault, and for fifteen years, end- 
 ing in i8ij2. he served as chairman of the lioard 
 of Education. Afr. Batchelder \vas married on 
 July 12. T858, to Aliss Kate E. Davis, daughter 
 of Cornelius Davis, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 
 They have three children ; a daughter. Georgia 
 L. Batchelder. and two sons. Chas. S. and John 
 D. Batchelder. both of whom are in the legal 
 iiractice.
 
 434 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 HOMER C. ELLER. 
 
 Homer C. Eller was for over twenty years a 
 prominent member of the St. Paul bar. He 
 died November 3. i8y6. .Mr. Eller was a native 
 of the Hoosier state, where he was born July 9, 
 1845, ^t Mishawaka, in ."^t. Joseph County. His 
 father, ]\Ioses Eller, was born in Pennsylvania. 
 In 1817. when but nineteen years of age. he mi- 
 grated with his father to Montgomery County, 
 Ohio, where he was reared on a farm until he 
 was nearly twenty-one, when he learned the trade 
 of cabinet maker. His wife, Elizabeth Weeks, 
 was a native of ( )hio, her parents at an early date 
 coming from South Carolina to Alontgomery 
 County. Her death occurred in 1853, and a year 
 or two later the family was broken up. Homer, 
 then lint twelve years of age, was working on a 
 farm in .Stnithern Michigan for board and clothes 
 and attending a winter school. A little later he 
 traveled on foot thnmgh ])ortions of Southern 
 Michigan selling books and charts. When about 
 thirteen the lad went to South Rend, Ttidiana, 
 where, until August, 1861, he made his home 
 with E. R. Farnam. Early in 1861 lu- entered 
 the postoffice at South IJend as a clerk. In 
 August he enlisted as a nuisician in Company F, 
 
 Twenty-nmth Indiana. In December, 1863. he 
 re-enlisted, and remained in the service, bemg a 
 portion of the time in detached service, until 
 December 2, 1865, when the regiment was mus- 
 tered out. He was present at the battles of 
 Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Triune, Stone River,. 
 Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, and in several minor 
 engagements. The early education obtained by 
 Mr. Eller was such as the common and grammar 
 schools of Southern Michigan and Northern In- 
 diana afforded. This he supplemented by a 
 course of self instruction in the higher mathe- 
 matics, ptirstied while he was in the army with 
 such books as he could carry in a knapsack, and 
 by a short period spent in the Northern Indiana 
 College and Academic School after his discharge. 
 In 1866 Mr. Eller entered the law office of Hon. 
 W. G. George, of South Bend, Indiana, as a stu- 
 dent, and subseqtiently attended the law depart- 
 ment of the University of Michigan, graduating 
 with the law class of 1868. For nearly a year 
 after graduation he worked as chief clerk in the 
 postoffice at South Bend. He had decided to 
 come west in order to enjo_\' better opportunities, 
 and in the fall of 1869 he located in St. Paul, and 
 entered the law office of Messrs. Bigelow & Clark,, 
 afterwards Bigelow, Flandrau & Clark. He re- 
 mained connected with this firm until August i, 
 1874, when he formed a partnership with John D. 
 (J'Brien under the firm name of O'Brien & Eller. 
 T. D. O'Brien was later admitted to the firm, and 
 it was known as O'Brien, Eller & ( )'Brien. In 
 ( )ctober, 1885, Mr. Eller severed his connection 
 with the firm and formed a new partnership with 
 Messrs. Greenleaf Clark and Jared How, the firm 
 being known as Clark, Eller & How. In Jan- 
 uary, 1888, Judge Clark retired from active prac- 
 tice, from which time the firm was Eller & How. 
 Air. Eller enjoyed an extensive practice and had' 
 the esteem of all the members of the St. Paul bar, 
 and his death was deeply regretted not finly by 
 the members of his profession but b\- a large 
 circle of friends and ac(|uaintances. In ( )ctober, 
 7876. Mr. Eller l)ecame the editor of the .Syllabi, 
 a small Ugal publication of eight pages, then 
 commenced and published weekly bv John B. 
 West & Co. After six months' a]3])earance this 
 publication was changed to the Northwesterir
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 435 
 
 Reporter, which was llie he.^iiniiiiL; ni the iia- 
 tiimal reporting- system and extensive puhlishiny 
 business now eonfUietec! h\' tiie West rublishin<^ 
 Coni])an\'. Mr. I^iler continued as ecHtor of liie 
 Kt)rthwestern Reporter until May. nSSj. Mur- 
 ing this ])eri()tl lie i>repared a digest of volumes 
 one to twenty-five of the Minnesota rejiorts, 
 which were published by the West I'ublishin.t;' 
 Company in 1S82. When the St. Paul nuniicipal 
 •court was organized Mr. J'lUer was aiJjJoiiUed the 
 first special judge, and served until his successor 
 was elected. He also served one term as a mem- 
 ber of the board of park conuiiissioners. in his 
 politics, Mr. ICller was a [■iepublicin, but he never 
 took a very active part in the campaign. In 
 June, 1877, he was married to Miss Mary S. 
 Creek, who died in August of the same _\ear. 
 August 28, 1871J, he was married to Miss Ada 
 Farnam. Four children resulted from this union: 
 Clark, Harriet, Kenneth and Louise. 
 
 CLAYTON R. COULEY. 
 
 J\lr. Cooley's father, Warren Cooley, was by 
 trade a mechanic, and worked at this occupation 
 during his life-time, attaining a moderate compe- 
 tence, iiis native state was Massachusetts: he 
 was born at I'alma, in 1820, and died in .Minne- 
 apolis, in 1887. His wife, the mother of the 
 subject of this sketch, survives him. Her maiden 
 name was Eleanor F. Morris: she was born in 
 Alton. Illinois, in 1833. Their son Clayton was 
 horn in Houston County, Minnesota, Octoljer 16, 
 1859, and shortlv after his birth they migrated 
 from this state to Iowa, first locating at Dubuc|ue, 
 afterwards at (fedar Falls and Eldora, in the same 
 state, the boy receiving his education in the 
 public schools of the latter town. The first 
 dollar Clayton ever earned was as a lad, working 
 in Burt's novelty factory in East Dubuf|ue. The 
 first permanent business engagement he secured 
 after leaving school was in a drug store at Eldora. 
 He (|uit this liusiness, however, after a short time 
 and took a position in an abstract and loan office 
 in the same city. Fie held this position until 
 February, 1884. at which time he located in 
 Minneapolis. He first secured emplovmcnt with 
 
 Geo. \V. Chowan & Co., but subsequently entered 
 the ofilice of Merrill & Albee, an aljstract firm. 
 In September, i88fi, -Mr. Cooley acquired Air. 
 Merriirs interest in the firm, and the business 
 has since that time been conducted under the 
 name of .Albee & Cooley. In politics Mr. Cooley 
 is a Republican, his first vote having been cast for 
 James A. Garfield. He took an active part in 
 local politics, and was rewarded for his .services 
 in 1892 by being nominated for the office of 
 courity auditor of Hennepin County, and was 
 elected. He was re-elected to the same office in 
 1894. his term expiring January I, 1897. Mr. 
 Cooley has been one of the most capable men 
 that has ever occupied this office, and he is held 
 in high esteem by all who know- him. Though 
 he took a course in the law department of the 
 University of Minnesota, graduating in 1893. it 
 was not with the intention of devoting himself to 
 the practice of law. but rather as an aid to him 
 in his private business, to which he is now 
 devoting all his time, having been relea.sed from 
 public duties by expiration of his .second term 
 as auditor. He is a prominent Mason, a member 
 of the Knights of Pythias, the Roval Arcanum, 
 and the Ancient Order of United \\'orkmen: 
 also of the Minneapolis Commercial Club.
 
 436 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 FRANK W. SXEED. 
 
 Frank W. Sneed is the pastur of the First Pres- 
 byterian church in Alinneapohs, one of the lead- 
 ing churches of that denomination in the state. 
 He is tliirty-four years of age and has been in 
 the niinistr)- for nine years, and was honored by 
 his ahiia mater in 1896 with the degree of cluctor 
 of divinity, l.)eing the youngest ahnnnus upon 
 whom his college has conferred this degree. 
 After a residence of two years in this city he finds 
 himself one of its most jxiindar and influential 
 ministers, with a rapidly widening circle of 
 friends and influence. On his father's side JMr, 
 .Sneed is descended from English stock, and on 
 his mother's side his ancestors were Scotch-Irish. 
 His paternal ancestors were attached to the estab- 
 lisheil church. llis great-great-grandfather im 
 his father's side came to America in an early day 
 and settled in .-Mbemarle County, Mrginia. He 
 was Thomas Jefiferson's first school teacher, and 
 his son became Jefferson's i)rivate secretary. .Xt 
 the commencement of the revohmtionary war this 
 son enlisted in the continental armv, serving for 
 the most part under deneral Green, fie was 
 present at the batik- of Monmouth, and could 
 speak with the autlmritN- of an e\-e witness of the 
 
 historic interview^ between Washington and Lee 
 on that memorable day. He had two sons, John 
 and .\le-xander, of whom the latter, with his 
 lather, settled near Danville, Kentucky, where the 
 father died at the ripe age of one hundred and 
 one years. Alexander Sneed was a farmer and 
 left three sons and two daughters, all of whom 
 are now dead, save John Al. Sneed, father of the 
 subject of this sketch, and Sallie Campbell Sneed,. 
 who is better known as Mrs. \'est, wife of United 
 States Senator \'est from Missouri. John M. 
 Sneed is a prosperous farmer in Pettis County,. 
 Missouri. He was the captain of a company of 
 state troops during the civil war, and the owner 
 of a large number of slaves. After the war had 
 ended he gave homes to those of his former 
 slaves who had not deserted him at the time of 
 emancipation. Frank W. Sneed was born on this 
 Pettis County farm, near the city of Sedalia, in 
 1862. Through his Grandmother Sneed, Mr. 
 Sneed is descended from Colonel Robert Camp- 
 bell, who commanded a regiment at Kings" 
 Mountain under his uncle, William Campbell, 
 whose wife was a sister of Patrick Henry. It was 
 before Robert Campbell's lines that General I*'er- 
 guson fell mortally woimded. Until he was 
 fifteen years of age JMr. Sneed attended 
 the country jiublic school; after this a 
 private academy in .'^edalia, where he re- 
 mained until he was nineteen. In 1881 he entered 
 Westminster College at Fulton, Missouri, from 
 which he was graduated in June, 1885, going in 
 the fall of the same year to McCormick Theo- 
 logical Seminary, at Chicago. To the deep re- 
 ligious influence of Westminster College Mr. 
 .Sneed attriljutcs in large part his conversion, and 
 choice of a profession. His first pastorate was at 
 Riverside, Illinois, from Alay, 1888. to February, 
 1892. FTe then went to Columbia. .Missouri, 
 where he remained until January, 181)5, when he 
 came to .Minneapolis. He had been invited to 
 act'cpt this last charge in Xovember preceding,, 
 and ,'U tlie time the invitation was extended he 
 had never been in .Minnea])olis, nor had he ever 
 been seen by any member of the First church. 
 Mr. .Sneed is a vigorous writer .-unl a graceful 
 and polished sjieaker. .\t cnllege lu' won the 
 William II. Mari|uess prize for oratorv, ;ind sub-
 
 PROC.klvSSIVU MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 437 
 
 sec^ucnt years have aiiiplx fultilK'<l the prnniise of 
 that college trium))h. ( )n .\la\ icS, 1X1^3. Mr. 
 Sneed was married to Eulalie Hcjckaday, daughter 
 of T. (_). Ilockadav, of Colunihia, Missouri, ancl 
 grand daughter of Majnr James S. Rollins, who, 
 from 1861 to i<%5. was a nunil)er of congress 
 from Missouri. 
 
 WILI.IA.M .MI'IXlllCLL. 
 
 William .Mitchell, associate justice of the 
 Supreme Court of .Minin'sota, resides at Winona, 
 where he settled in the spring of 1857. lie is 
 the son of John and Alary (Henderson) Mitchell 
 and is of Scotch ancestry, hoth parents having 
 been born in Scotland. 1 1 c w as born November 
 19, 1832, at Stamford, Untaricj. He prepared for 
 college at a private school in his native country 
 and entered Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, 
 Pennsylvania, in 1848, where he graduated in 
 1853. He taught two years in an academy ai 
 Morgantown, West N'irginia, after which he read 
 law with Edgar C. Wilson (father of the late 
 Eugene Wilson of Minneapolis) of the same place, 
 and was there admitted to the bar in the spring 
 of 1857. Almost immediately thereafter he left 
 \'irginia for the West and settled in Winona, 
 wdiere he began the practice of law. He was in 
 constant and successful practice until he was 
 elected judge of the third judicial district of this 
 state, and took his seat in January, 1874. He had 
 held other offices, however, prior to that date, 
 having been elected to the legislature for the ses- 
 sions of 1859 and i860, and subsequently was 
 county attorney for one term. He was re-elected 
 to the district bench in 1880. but resigned to 
 accept a seat on the supreme bench to which he 
 was appointed by Governor Pillsbury in 1881, 
 when the number of justices was increased from 
 three to five. He has thrice been elected to the 
 supreme court without opposition, and has dis- 
 charged the duties of that honorable and responsi- 
 ble position with such a1)ility and integrity as to 
 add each year to the esteem and respect in which 
 he is held by the people of the state. He is a 
 gentleman of thorough literary culture, as well 
 as profound legal learning, a man of broad com- 
 
 mon sense and high character, possessing in a 
 remarkable degree the qualities of mind which are 
 essential to judicial eminence. His judicial opin- 
 ions cover a wide range of subjects, and are 
 studied with respect and approval in many of the 
 courts and law schools of the country. It is said 
 of Judge Mitchell, that no attorney appears before 
 him without feeling that his arguments are being 
 listened to with most patient attention to the end. 
 Judge Mitchell has been interested in local 
 enterprises in Winona County and contributed 
 much to the growth and prosperity of that city. 
 He has held the position of president of the 
 Winona and Southwestern Railway, and also pres- 
 ident of the \Mnona ."savings Bank. He was 
 originally Republican, but becoming dissatisfied 
 with some of the reconstruction measures of the 
 partv during the administration of President 
 Tohnsoiii he has since acted chiefly, though not 
 in a partisan sense, with the Deiuocratic party. 
 He has been married twice. In .September, 1857, 
 to E. Tane Ilanwav. of Morgantown, Virginia. 
 She died ten years later. In July. 1872. he mar- 
 ried Mrs. Francis X. Smith, of Chicago. He has 
 iiad six children. He was reared in the Presby- 
 terian church and is an attendant of that church. 
 thouyli not a meiulier.
 
 43S 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAKOB FJELDE. 
 
 Jakob Henrik Gerhard Fjekle was a sculp- 
 tor, of whose artistic productions the city of 
 Minneapolis has reason to be proud. The name 
 Fjelde is taken from a place on the western coast 
 of Norwav, and translated into English it means 
 "mountains." So far as known, the first person 
 to bear that name was Gullik Fjelde. a theologi- 
 cal student, who married, in 1750. r)artha .\liche- 
 let, of a well-known military family, who had im- 
 mis^rated from France, being Huguenots. I'aul 
 ( ierhard I'jelde. father of Jakob, descended in di- 
 rect line from (iullik, was a cabinet maker and 
 wood carver in .-Valesund, Norway, a man of fine 
 artistic tastes, who early discovered the talent of 
 his son and ])rovided for his educatinn in art. 
 His wife, Claudine Thomane liolctte, nee Hin- 
 chen, was of (ierman descent, belonging to a fam- 
 ilv of meridiants and sea cajitains, whu came tn 
 Xorwav from Germany. Tlu- subject of tliis 
 skctcli was born in Aalc>und, .\'orwa_\'. .\|)ril 
 10, 1855. As a bov he showed considerable 
 talent in an artistic way, and at the age of ten 
 years his father began to encourage him in the 
 work of wood carving, .\flcr having worked lor 
 some time in that line, in tlu' sjjring of 1S77 he 
 
 was sent to study sculpture under 1!. Bergslien, 
 in Christiana, who was at that time the most emi- 
 nent sculptor of Norway. After studying a year 
 and a half with Bergslien Jakob went, on his 
 teacher's advice, to Copenhagen, where he stud- 
 ied and worked for three years in the Royal Art 
 Academy. During this time he modeled in Prof. 
 Bissen"s studio, and here made his first work 
 from his own conception, a piece entitled "The 
 Boy and the Cats," which made him known as aa 
 artist in Denmark and Norway. At the age of 
 twenty-tw( 1 he went to Rome with orders to be 
 executed in marble at that place. In Rome he 
 made marble busts entitled "A Sabine Ciirl" and 
 a life-sized female figure named "Primavera" 
 (Spring), which was highlv spoken of by the 
 Roman ijress when exhiljited there in 1883. This 
 figure now belongs to the art gallery in I'lergen, 
 Norway, .'\fter two years in Rome, young 
 Fjelde returned to Copenhagen, where, in 1883, 
 he attended the artists' convention. From Copen- 
 hagen he went to liergen, where orders were 
 awaiting him, and during his three gears' stay 
 there made several marble and bronze busts. In 
 1887 Air. J'^jelde came to America and located in 
 Minneapolis, where he lived till his death, 'Slay 5, 
 \Si)6. Here he made a number of portrait busts in 
 plaster, marble and bronze, among them being 
 Hon. Albert Scheffer, of St. Paul; Airs. S. P. 
 Snider, of Alinneapolis; Prof. Oftedal. of .Min- 
 neapolis; Prof. Sverdrup, of Alinneapolis; Judge 
 R. R. Nelson, of St. Paul; Senator Knute Nelson. 
 of Alexandria; Jutlges \'anderburgh, of the su- 
 [iieme bench, and Lochren, Young and Hooker, 
 of the Hennepin district court. The heroic figure 
 entitled 'History." which adorns the front of the 
 lilirarv of ?dinneapolis, is from his hands. jMr. 
 Fjelde also executed the monument for the First 
 Minnesota regiment on the battlefield at Gettys- 
 burg, and the grou]) of "Hiawatha and .Minne- 
 haha," which were displayed in the Minnesota 
 World's b'air building, and afterwards in the inib- 
 lic librar\- in Minnea])olis. lie also made twenty- 
 four spandrel figures for the I'niversity library 
 to reiiresent different branches of science and art. 
 .\lr. i'jelde eoni]iletcd just before his death the 
 ( )le Bull nioiuunenl, whicli is now erected in the
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 439 
 
 city of Minneapolis. lie was a s^cntKinaii nl very 
 modest pretensions, l)iit was recoi^nized as an art- 
 ist of great merit and held in high esteem by all 
 who enjoyed his personal ac(iuaintance. 
 
 AXAK ALEXANDER HARRIS. 
 
 A. A. Harris, of I )iilulli, cnmes of an uld 
 southern family which traces its line back to the 
 Revolutionary War. Mr. Harris' great grand- 
 father came from England and settled in North 
 Carolina long before the colonies declared war. 
 He was in the Revolutionary army, and was with 
 Washington at Yorktown, when the surrender of 
 Lord Cornwallis terminated that conflict. His 
 son, Mr. Harris' grandfather, was a soldier in the 
 War of 1812. Henrv Washington Harris, Mr. 
 Harris' father, was born in Kentucky in 181 2. 
 He was always a fariuer, and although of limited 
 education, was a man of nnich conmion sense and 
 always a leader in the conmumity where he lived. 
 He died in Texas at the age of seventy-seven. His 
 wife was Miss Maria Dawson, the daughter of a 
 distinguished Democratic politician of Kentucky 
 of the earlv times. He was a soldier in the Mexican 
 war, and achieved distinction. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Harris were married in 1836. Their son was 
 born on January 16, 1838, and Mrs. Harris died 
 when he was two years nld. The educati(.)n ob- 
 tained by the young scion of this old family was 
 obtained froiu the old-fashioned conuuon schools 
 of Simpson, Franklin County, Kentucky, where 
 he was "born and raised," to use the phrase of 
 the people. As he grew to luanhood he de- 
 termined to be a lawyer and entered a law office 
 in Ixentuckv. Hut befi)re he was ready to prac- 
 tice the W'ar of the Rebellion broke out, and 
 young Harris enlisted as a Confederate soldier 
 early in 1861. He was in the first battle of Bull 
 Run and many other notable engagements, and 
 in one battle was seriously wounded. As has 
 been the experience of manv other ex-Confed- 
 erates he has found, since the close of the war, 
 that many of his best friends were L^nion soldiers. 
 In 1865 INIr. Harris commenced the practice of 
 his profession. In 1871 he moved to Fort Scott, 
 Kansas, and on July 22. 1803 he became a citizen 
 of Dnluth. This move was made because after 
 mature consideration he came to the conclusion 
 
 that Dnluth was the most promising young city 
 in the United States. Upon establishing himself 
 in Dnluth Mr. Harris at once secured a large 
 practice. Nearly thirty years of law practice had 
 given him a wide experience. He had been 
 connected w ith many important cases, both civil 
 and criminal. He was retained, and was leading 
 counsel, in the great case of Alerritt vs. Rocke- 
 feller, growing out of the transactions of the 
 parties to the suit in mining and railroad 
 pniperties. Mr. Harris was for the plaintiff', 
 wlici, in June, 1895, obtained a judgment 
 against the defendant for nine hundred and 
 forty thousand dollars. The argument made by 
 Mr. Harris in this case was, perhaps, the best 
 work of this kind which he has done. He has 
 received nnich praise and congratulation on the 
 success of the snit and the excellence of his con- 
 duct of the case and his argument. Mr. 
 Harris has been, from earl\- manhood, a Dem- 
 ocrat, but has never held office. He is a 
 meiuber of the Inde])endent ( Vder of Odd Fel- 
 lows, and of the Methodist church. On May 
 29, 1 866, he was married at Lebanon, Tennessee, 
 to Miss Tsaliella S. Evans. They have two chil- 
 dren, Henry Evans Harris, who is now his 
 father's law partner, and Laurenz R. Harris, an 
 electrician.
 
 -t-iO 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN' OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 WJilMmX/: 
 
 DA\ 11) REYXULUS. 
 
 David Reynolds, better known as General 
 David Reynolds, was born Christmas Day, 1814, 
 in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and dietl in 
 .\linnea]xjlis. hebruary 5, 1896. On his fatherV 
 side his ancestors were English and Welsh, and on 
 his mother's. Huguenots. When he was eight 
 years of age the family renujved to Monroe 
 Countv, ( )hio, and nine \ ears later to Henry 
 Count}', Iniliana. With Init limited educational 
 advantages, such as the common schools of the 
 time afforded, he entered a general store as clerk, 
 and was there employed fur three years. His aiu- 
 liition, however, was to obtain a better education, 
 and he became a student at Asbury Cniversity, 
 at Greencastle. Indiana. He had as his associates 
 in that school men who afterwards became dis- 
 tinguished, as .Senator X'oorhees, .Senator Mc- 
 Donald, Senator llaiian and ( iovcrnor i 'orter. 
 l'])on coni]5leting his course at the university he 
 entered t!ie law office of Fletcher, Butler &• 
 Yandes, at lndiana]>olis, and was admitted to prac- 
 tice in all the courts of the state. Soon after this 
 the Mexican war broke out and he was api)ninted 
 by Governor Whitiomb ailjutant general of the 
 state of Indiana, .\rting in th;il c;i|)acit\- he oi- 
 
 ganized, equipped and sent forward all the troops 
 enlisted from that state. Although this proved a 
 very laborious task, he discharged it personally 
 without either an assistant or clerk, and as com- 
 pensation received the sum of one hundred dollars 
 a year. Subsequently he was conmiissioned to go 
 to Washington to make a settlement for moneys 
 advanced by the state, but his services were so 
 highly apjireciated that at tliis time he was jjaid a 
 reasonalile compensation for his work. His 
 brotlier. Major L. .S. Reynolds, was inventor and 
 patentee of important improvements in flour mill- 
 ing, which were the Iseginning of modern methods 
 of flour manufacture. David was engaged to go 
 to Eastern cities and finally to England and 
 France to introduce these new appliances. Gen- 
 eral Reynolds, in 1865, together with his brother, 
 Major L. S., and his brother. Dr. T. L. Revnolds, 
 removed to Minneapolis. He foresaw the future 
 growth of this cit\- and made investments on 
 Xinth and Tenth streets and I""irst and .Second 
 avenues South, which have come to be of great 
 value. Although he did not engage actively in 
 business pursuits, he contributed in many wavs to 
 the general advancement and ])rosperity of the 
 city. In politics. General Re}noUls was always an 
 ardent Democrat. His last public appearance was 
 as president of a large ratification meeting held in 
 Minneapolis on the occasion of President Cleve- 
 land's first election. His church connections were 
 with the Methodist denomination, and in 1874 
 he organized what was called the "Little Giant" 
 r.ible class. It began with a single menilier. but 
 afterwards grew to number three hundred and 
 fifty-two. On its list of members may be found 
 the names of inan\- of our most prominent pro- 
 fessional and business men, and during its exist- 
 ence it gained a wide fame over the whole coun- 
 trv, and its leader represented it at one time in a 
 convention at Chautauqua. General Reynolds 
 was married in Tndianai>olis, .\pril 2, 1863, to 
 Miss Jennie Mc( )uat. who was of Scotch lineage. 
 She died a year and one month later at Rochester, 
 New York, leaving a daughter named Jennie, at 
 present a resident of Minneapolis and widow of 
 the late George L. Hilt, tieneral Rexnolds left 
 an honorable name and the record of \';dnab!e ;ind 
 long continued usefulness in the connnunit\. and 
 liis uK'niorv is honored 1i\ all who knew him.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 441 
 
 HENRY HASTINGS SllilJ'.Y. 
 
 llcnry H. Sil)k'y was one of the most proiii- 
 iiu-iit figures in the early life of this state. While 
 a delegate in eoiigress from the then territory of 
 Wisconsin he was instnmientai in bringing about 
 the organization nf the territory of Minnesota. 
 The new territory was officially proclaimed !)>■ 
 Governor Alexander Kamsey, June I, 1849, and 
 in August of that year Mr. .Sibley was unan- 
 imously returned to congress as its re]iresentativc. 
 He was re-electeil in 1851, and could have had a 
 third term l)Ut declined it. He was a member of 
 the constitutional convention in 1857. and in 
 October of that year was elected Governor, the 
 first and onlv democrat to fill that position. He 
 distinguished himself as a soldier during the In- 
 dian wars of the early sixties, and from the end 
 of his militar}- career to the time of his death in 
 1891, was one of the most influential and best 
 known citizens of the state. For more than a 
 score of years following 1849 t'^^ history of his 
 life was in a large sense the history of Minnesota, 
 and among the glorious compariv of her pioneers 
 and founders there is none to whom she owes 
 more than to him. .Mr. .Sibley's parents were 
 among the early settlers of .Michigan. His father. 
 Solomon Sibley, was Imrn in Massachusetts, m 
 1760, and was a lawyer. He removed to Ohio in 
 1795 and to Michigan in 1797, locating at Detroit. 
 He was the first delegate elected to the first ter- 
 ritorial legislature of the Northwest territory. In 
 1820 he was a member of congress: in 1824 was 
 appointed judge of the supreme court of the ter- 
 ritory, which oiTice he held until 18,^7. I-"rom 
 1827 to 1837 he was chief justice. He held 
 numerous other oflices of importance, and died 
 at Detroit in 1846, one (if Michigan's most pnjm- 
 inent and puljlic sjiirited citizens. His wife was 
 Miss Sarali Whip])le, cinl\- daughter of Colonel 
 Ebenezer Sproat, a gallant revolutionar}- officer. 
 She was born in Rb.ode Island in 17S2, and when 
 seven years of age went with her ])arents to ' 'hio. 
 She was a woman of vigorous anil cultivated mind 
 and great force and strength of character. .She 
 died at Detroit in 185 1. Henry Hastings Sibley, 
 the fourth child, and second son of these parents, 
 who, by the way, traced their ancestry in England 
 back to the time of the Norman conquest, was 
 
 born at Detroit, .Michigan, February 20, 1811. 
 He was educated at the public schools of that 
 city, and studied the classics for two years under 
 a private tutor. His father had intended him for 
 the law, but after reading Blackstone for a year 
 he confessed that the law did not suit him. After 
 much debate, his parents concluded to allow him 
 to follow his own inclinations, and so, in June, 
 1828, in his eighteenth year, he turned his face 
 towards the great Northwest. His first eniploy- 
 luent was as clerk at Sault Ste. Marie, in the store 
 of a sutler, who supplied the wants of four com- 
 panies of United States troops stationed in that 
 vicinity. After a few months he became agent 
 for Mrs. Johnson, whose husband had been an 
 Indian trader of large business, and who kept 
 the business going after her husband's death. In 
 this employment young Sibley got an insight into 
 Indian afTairs which he turned to good use later 
 in life. Early in 1829 he was a clerk in the emplov 
 of the American Fur Company, of which John 
 Jacob Astor was the head. His headquarters 
 were at Mackinac, whither Sibley went to report 
 for duty. This position he held for five years, 
 during part of which time he was purchasing 
 agent for the company. It was in Mackinac that 
 he made his first entrance into official life. Al- 
 though not yet of age, he was made justice of the
 
 442 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 peace for Mackinac County in 183 1. Three years 
 later lie became a partner in the Fur Company, 
 and was placed in control of all the CDuntry above 
 Lake Pepin to the headwaters of the streams 
 flowing into the Missouri, his headquarters being 
 at what was afterwards known as Mendota. He 
 inspected the Fur Company's posts, supervised its 
 business and dictated its policy as to trafific with 
 the Indians. In 1836 he built two st(.)ne houses 
 at Mendota, one for a residence and the other 
 for a store, and these houses are still standing. 
 Thev were the first stone houses built in the state. 
 He was living at Mendota at the time of his mar- 
 riage, in 1843. Mr. Sibley continued in the F'ur 
 trade until 1853. at which time he withdrew from 
 active business and devoted himself to the man- 
 agement of his property interests, which by this 
 time had become very large. It was in 1848 that 
 he was chosen delegate to the Thirteenth congress 
 from Wisconsin territory, and during this term 
 he was largely instrumental in securing the organ- 
 ization of Minnesota territory. The contest to 
 bring about the organization, which was very bit- 
 ter, began in the senate in December, 1848, and 
 ended in the house March 3, 1849. I" August. 
 1849, Mr. Sibley was sent to congress from the 
 new territory, and again in 185 1, and in 1853 he 
 declined the third nomination. In 1855 he was a 
 member of the territorial legislature from Dakota 
 County, and in 1857 he was a member of the con- 
 vention which drafted the constitution which is 
 still the supreme law of the state. It was through 
 the action of this convention that the territory was 
 prepared for statehood and admitted to the union. 
 At the first election in the new state, held October 
 13, 1857, at which time tin- new constitution v,'as 
 also adopted, Mr. Sibley was elected Governor, 
 defeating Hon. Alexander Ramsey. He refused 
 to be a candidate for second term, and once more 
 retired to private life. In August, i860, he was 
 a delegate to the National democratic convention, 
 which met at Charleston, South Carolina, to nom- 
 inate a ])ro-slavery candidate for thr presi- 
 dency. When the war began he prompt- 
 ly announced himself as a union ni.-m, 
 and during the four years whicli followed 
 did all in his ])ower to strengthen the 
 general govcrinncnl in the .Vorthwest. He was 
 
 a candidate for office the last time in 1880, when 
 the democrats of what was then the third con- 
 gressional district tried to elect him to congress, 
 but failed. When the Sioux outbreak and mas- 
 sacre occurred in 1862, Governor Ramsey ap- 
 pointed Mr. Sibley to the command of the mili- 
 tary forces sent against the savages, and after a 
 vigorous campaign of three months the Siotix 
 were conquered and driven to their reservation. 
 Over two thousand were made prisoners, 
 and three hundred and three were condemned to 
 death, of which number, however, President Lin- 
 coln saved all but thirty-eight. In Septem- 
 ber, 1862, the president conmiissioned Colonel 
 Sibley as Brigadier general, with headquarters at 
 St. Paul, and during 1863, 1864 and 1865 he was 
 engaged in campaigns in defense of the frontier 
 against various hostile Indian tribes. In Novem- 
 ber, 1865, he was breveted major general, and in 
 August, 1866, was relieved of his command and 
 made a member of a mixed civil and military 
 commission to negotiate treaties with the hostile 
 Sioux. This work was performed at F'ort Sully, 
 and the treaties were ratified by the senate. Gen- 
 eral Sibley again retired to private life after com- 
 pleting the work assigned to him as a member 
 of the Indian conmiission. In 1867 he was elected 
 president of the St. Paul Gas Light Company, a 
 post which he held until the time of his death. 
 He also served as president of two banks, the 
 Cii}- liank and the Minnesota Savings Bank, aft- 
 erwards merged into the First National Bank. 
 Ft)r a number of years he was a director of the 
 Sioux City railway. He aided in organizing the 
 St. Paul chamber of commerce, and was its pres- 
 ident in 1871 and 1872. He was a director of the 
 First National Bank from 1873 to 1891. In 1888 
 he was commander of the Loyal Legion of Min- 
 nesota, and from 1885 to the time of his death 
 was president of the Minnesota club. He be- 
 longed to Acker post, G. A. R., from 1885. Gen- 
 eral Sibley was a regular attendant at St. Paul's 
 Episcopal church. St. Paul. hiU did not become 
 a member of it until a fi'w months before his 
 di'ath. As already stated, he was married in 1843. 
 The bride was Sarah J. Steele, daughter of Gen- 
 enil I. Steele, of Baltimore, Maryland. She bore 
 him nine children and died JMay 21, 1869. Four of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 4-43 
 
 llie children ai\' living, Augusta (Mrs. Douglas 
 Pope), Sarah Jane (.Mrs. lilbeit A. Young), 
 Charles Frederirk, and Alfred ISrush, all of 
 vvhoni reside in St. I'aul. (ieneral Sibley was a 
 charter nienilier (if the Minnesota Historical Soci- 
 et)- (1849) and of the Old Settlers' Association of' 
 Minnesota (183H), and was greatly interested in 
 the work which hoth are doing. In 1868 he was 
 named a regent of the state university, which 
 position he continued to fill with honor until his 
 death. In 1888 the college of New Jersey, at 
 Princeton, conferred upon him the degree T.L. D. 
 February 18, 1 891, at the ripe age of eighty years, 
 he died. 
 
 LEVI H. McKL'SlCK. 
 
 L. H. McKusick is county attorney of Pine 
 County, Minnesota, which office he has held 
 since 1878. He is of Scotch ancestry on his 
 father's side and English on his mother's. His 
 father, Levi E. McKusick, was a farmer in mod- 
 erate circumstances in Maine, and during his life 
 time took an active part in local politics, at one 
 time serving as a member of the legislature of 
 that state. The maiden name of the mother of 
 the subject of this sketch was Fannie A. Mar- 
 shall. Levi H. was born at r^)aring, Maine, 
 March 31, 1854. His early education was re- 
 ceived in the common schools of his native town, 
 and in the academy at St. Stephens, New llruns- 
 wick, which he attended three terms. Later he 
 took a course in the state normal school at Cas- 
 tine, Maine. In order to obtain sufficient funds, 
 however, with which to pursue his studies, he 
 had commenced teaching school, for a few 
 months each year, when but seventeen years of 
 age. This plan was pursued by 'Sir. [McKusick 
 for about six years. Having a desire, however, 
 to make law his profession in life, during his 
 leisure hours he took up its study in his brother's 
 ofifice. As soon as he had completed his law 
 studies, decichng that the \\'est would afford him 
 better opportunities in his chosen profession, 
 Mr. McKusick came to Minnesota, locating at 
 
 Pine City in August, 1877. Inuring that fall and 
 the following winter he taught school at this 
 place, at the same time devoting his spare time to 
 the further study of law. The following spring 
 he was admitted to the bar and innnediately hung 
 out his shingle in Pine City. The fall of the 
 same year he was nominated for the office of 
 county attorney of Pine County and elected 
 His re-election to the same ofifice every term 
 since that time is an indication of the esteem in 
 wdiich he is held by the community in which he 
 lives. He has also built up an extensive law- 
 practice. Mr. McKusick's political affiliations 
 have always been with the Repulilican part\-, and 
 he has always taken an active part in local affairs. 
 He was elected to the state legislature in 1883. 
 and re-elected twice to the same ofiice. in 1885 
 and 1889. He served on the judiciary commit- 
 tee and was an earnest supporter of the bill for 
 the taxation of unused railroad lands in the ses- 
 sion of 1889, which bill, however, did not pass 
 at that session. He is an attendant of the Meth- 
 odist church. He is married and has a family 
 consisting of wife and five children, Clinton L., 
 Fred P, Alice H., \\'iniam John and Marion 
 Helen.
 
 444 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINXESOTA. 
 
 DAXIEL I'.L'CK. 
 
 Jonathan Buck, father of Judge Daniel Buck, 
 of the Minnesota Supreme Court, was born at 
 Boonville, Oneida County, New York, in 1804, 
 and died in 1883. He was a farmer in comfort- 
 able circumstances, and spent all his years on the 
 farm where he was ])<nn. Judge Buck's mother 
 was Roxana Wheelock, who was born at Clarc- 
 mont. New Hampshire, m 1799, and died in 1842. 
 She was a sister of Charles Wheelock, colonel of 
 the Ninety-seventh New Ytjrk \'olunteers in the 
 War of the Rebellion, afterwards brevetted briga- 
 dier general. The father of Jonathan ]]uck was 
 Daniel Buck, who settled in Boonville about the 
 year 1800. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 War, and enlisted first in 1778 or 1779 in Captain 
 Benjamin Bonney's company, under Colonel 
 Porter, and re-enlisted in 1780 in Captain John 
 H. Smith's company, William Richards, colonel. 
 He was 1)orn in 1762 at Ihidgewater, Massachu- 
 setts, and his residence at the date of his enlist- 
 ment was Chesterfield. Massachusetts. He died 
 about the year 1843. The first American ancestor 
 of the Buck family was one Isaac Ihuk, who, in 
 October, 1635. with several other persons, was 
 transported frf)m England to Boston in the ship 
 Amelia, Captain Ceorge Downs, for refusing to 
 take the r)ath of conformit\'. He was at th.'it time 
 
 thirty-four years of age. His wife, who was 
 Erances Marsh, and whom he married before 
 leaving England, followed him to America in 
 December, 1635. Isaac Buck went to Scituate^ 
 Alassachusetts, where he bought land. In the his- 
 tory of that town he is described as follows: 
 "Lieutenant Isaac Buck was a brother of John 
 Buck, and was in Scituate before 1647. * * * 
 In 1660 he built a house near the harbour, on the 
 Duckfield, so-called even now. * * * He 
 was a very useful man, often engaged in public 
 business, and the clerk of the town for many 
 years. He was a lieutenant in King Phillips' 
 war, and repulsed the Indians with great loss from 
 Scituate in Alarch, 1676. He died in 1695." 
 Thomas Buck was the eldest son of Isaac Buck, 
 and he settled in Bridgewater, Massac'nusetts, be- 
 fore 17 1 2. Mathew Buck was a son of Thomas. 
 Buck, and he also lived in Bridgewater. He was 
 the father of Daniel Buck, of Revolutionary fame, 
 already referred to, who was born in 1762. Judge 
 Daniel Buck, of whom this sketch treats, was 
 1)orn in Boonville, New York, September 8, 
 1829. He received the rudiments of an education 
 m the common schools and finished at Rome 
 .\cademy, Oneida County,,and Lowville Academy, 
 Lewis County, New York. He came to Minne- 
 sota ;\lay 13, 1857. and pre-empted land at Ma- 
 delia. In that year he settled in P.lue Earth 
 County. After leaving school he studied law, 
 and when he came to Minnesota he was actively 
 engaged in its practice. He was elected to the 
 legislature in 1858, but the legislature did not 
 meet in that }ear. and so he could not serve. In 
 1865, while a member of the house of represent- 
 atives, he secured the passage of a law providing 
 for the location of a normal school at Mankato. 
 I'or four years he was county attorney of Blue 
 Earth County, and in 1878 he was elected to the- 
 state senate for the full term of four years. For 
 five years he was a member of the Mankato 
 school board, and for five years more he was a 
 member of the state normal school board, and 
 while serving in this last named ca]incitv he as- 
 sisted in tile selection (if sites for the mirmal 
 schools at Winona, Mankato and St. Cluuil. He 
 had principal charge of the eonstructiim (if the 
 ^Tankato ndrmal schofil buildings. IK' was ;is- 
 sr)ciate counsel for the st;Uc at the time of the trial
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 445 
 
 of the five iiiillimi loan hill, and v\as allunie}' for 
 the claimaiilh in the suit for the reward offered 
 for the capture of the Younger jjrothers. In iS.^8 
 he was a candidate for lieutenant governor, but 
 was defeated with ihe nniaindt'r of the Uenio- 
 cratic ticket. He was elected judge of the Su- 
 preme Court in I<S(;2, for the term of six years, 
 commencing the tirst .\l0nda3' in January, 1894, 
 and was cippointcd judge of the Supreme Court 
 October 2, 1893, to fill the vacancy caused by the 
 resignation of judge Dickinson. He has aKvays 
 been a Democrat, and as long ago as 1859 was 
 that party's candidate for secretary of state in 
 Minnesota. He was a delegate to the national 
 I^emocratic convention in .St. Louis in 1876, and 
 voted for W. J. Bryan for ])resident in 181 ;6. In 
 the legislature of 1879 he introduced a bill for 
 the insolvent law of the state. Tt was passed, but 
 the governor interposed a veto. In 1881 he intro- 
 duced it again, and this time it became a law. 
 Judge Ruck was a member of the court of im- 
 peachment on the trial of K. .St. julien Cox. He 
 is not a church member, but sympathizes with the 
 Quakers, his mother having been a member of 
 that society. October 25, 1858, at Elgin, Illinois, 
 he was married to Lovisa A. Wood, and three 
 children have been born to them, Charles Delos 
 Buck, February 24, 1864, died November 27, 
 1882, while a student at the state university; 
 Alfred A. Buck, April 16, 1872; and Laura \L 
 Buck, June 15. 1874. The latter is now Mrs. 
 William L. Abbott. 
 
 ALEXIS JOSEPH FOURNIER. 
 
 Alexis Joseph Fournier is a young man 
 whose genius as an artist is recognized and ad- 
 mired by the people of Mnineapolis and the 
 juries of all the principal exhibitions of Amer- 
 ica, and one whose struggle for success in his 
 art has enlisted the sympathy of his fellow citi- 
 zens in a high degree. He was born Juh' 4, 1865, 
 in the first frame building built in St. Paul. His 
 father, Isaial Fournier, was a mill-wright, and 
 now resides in Minneapolis. He was born in 
 Montreal, Canada, of French parentage, and was 
 a pioneer in Minnesota, having come to St. Paul 
 in i860. When Alexis was a babe he was stolen 
 out of his cradle in a log cabin near what is now 
 
 West St. Paul, by an Indian sc|uavv, who, it was 
 believed, took him in order to secure the blanket 
 in which he was wrapped. He was, however, soon 
 afterwards recovered. The family subsequently 
 removed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. At the age 
 of twelve years he was sent to Milwaukee to an 
 academy conducted by priests, where he was in 
 school for three years and where he acquired a 
 knowledge of the German language. His tastes 
 were first formed in this school, and he was en- 
 couraged to carve wooden images and crucifixes 
 for the decoration of the church altar. After leav- 
 ing school he was compelled to support himself, 
 which he did by selling newspapers and work- 
 ing as office boy. his lodging place at that 
 time being for a time in the hull of an 
 old vessel frozen fast in the river at Milwaukee. 
 About this time he became interested in the work 
 of an old scene jiainter, and from him took his 
 first lessons in the use of color. His familv had 
 removed to Winona, and he returned there, re- 
 maining at home only one summer. In 1879 
 he came to Minneapolis and was employed at 
 sign writing and decorative painting, in the mean- 
 time devoting his siiarc time to sketching from 
 nature and cop\ing old pictures. Tt was his 
 fortune to be employed in the decoration of Pot- 
 ter Palmer's residence, in Chicago, under A. F.
 
 446 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 Jacassy, celebrated for his designing and illus- 
 trations. One morning while finishing a sketch 
 he was surprised to find Mrs. Palmer watching his 
 efforts with apparent interest and gratified to re- 
 ceive her approval for the excellence of his work. 
 He returned again to Minneapolis and devoted 
 most of his time to scene painting and executing 
 orders for pictures of local interest for friends 
 and admirers. He opened a studio and devoted 
 his time to landscape painting. auKjng his patrons 
 being ^Vlr. J. J. Hill, of St. Paul, who purchased a 
 large painting of St. Anthony Falls and the mill- 
 ing district. He executed a number of orders 
 for pictures of local landscapes and old home- 
 steads for the State Historical Society and did 
 considerable designing and sketching for the 
 newspapers and magazines. In the spring of i8yo 
 he built a modest home at Washburn Park 
 and devoted his summer months during the next 
 two or three years to sketching and studying 
 from nature in the picturescjue country surround- 
 ing his home. In the winter of 1891-92 he was 
 attached to an exploring party as artist in the 
 San Juan country of Colorado, Arizona, Utah and 
 New Mexico, and upon return of the party his 
 drawings were elaborated in colors for the cliff 
 dwellers' exhil)it at the Columbian Exposition. 
 Upon his return from Chicago he was engaged 
 to arrange and superintend the art department 
 of the Minneapolis Exposition, the feature of this 
 gallery being the prominence given to local artists 
 and architects, and in this undertaking 
 he was highly successful. In 1893 Mr. Fournier 
 sailed for Paris in order to continue his art studies 
 in the Julien Academy, and remained abroad 
 nearly two years, working under such masters as 
 Jean Paul, Laurens, Benjamin Constant, Joseph 
 P)lanc. ancl others. The first winter was devoted 
 largely to the completion of a sketch taken of 
 Minnehaha Creek, near his home, which, when 
 completed, he called "A Spring Morning." To 
 his intense delight and encouragement it was 
 accepted for the Salon. On varnishing day in 
 the Salon dc Champs-Elysees (1894) he was met 
 by his master, Benjamin Constant, who remarked: 
 "Ah, yon are here todav. Well, that means vou 
 
 have something here," and upon the picture being 
 pointed out to him, Mr. Constant said: 
 "Yes, you have a good composition and good 
 lines in that. Yes, indeed, it is a spring morning, 
 and I see that you already understand nature. 
 Well done. Keep right on, my friend." It was 
 a happy day for the struggling young artist, and 
 his joy was still greater when his picture was 
 again commended by Alexander Harrison, who 
 saw it at the American i\rt Association rooms in 
 Paris, and remarked to a friend: "That's a good 
 thing. That fellow is on the right road. We will 
 hear from him some day soon." Air. Fournier 
 spent his winters at work in the academy and 
 his summers in company with other artists, 
 chiefly Gaylord S. Truesdale, the animal painter, 
 in the provinces and in Italy, where he obtained 
 material for many pictures. In 1895 li^ ^'^'^s again 
 represented in the salon with a picture, "Le 
 Repos," representing some cows and sheep at 
 rest in a pasture. This was hung next to one by 
 the famotts Jerome, and was the subject of favor- 
 able connnent from the h'rench journalists. He 
 visited the famous galleries on the continent and 
 in England, and exhibited while abroad in such 
 galleries as the Salon, Societie des Artistes, Crys- 
 tal Palace. London, the American Art Association, 
 in Paris, the Xational Academy, in Xew York, and 
 the St. Louis Exposition. He returned in the lat- 
 ter jjart of 1805, bringing with him a large amount 
 (.f completed work which he has exliibited at 
 Minneaiiolis and in other cities. Mr. Fournier 
 was married in 1886 to Aliss Enmia F'rick. of 
 Fine Island, Alinnesota. They ha\-e two children, 
 Crace and Paul. Although now onlv thirt\-onc 
 years of age, Mr. Fournier has given promise of 
 great success in his profession, and his career will 
 be followed with interest and great expectations. 
 
 WILLIAM RICHARD M( )RRIS. 
 
 The Afro-American race aiifords not a few 
 examples of the ability of that peoiile to arise 
 aliove race ])rejudice and the disadvant;iges of 
 birth to ]iositions of standing and influence in 
 tile ciinmumity. ( )ne such example is fmmd in
 
 PROGRESSIVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 447 
 
 the subject of tliis sketch. Wihiain Riilianl 
 Morris was lioni near Fleniingsbur^'-, Kentucky, 
 February 22, 1859, the son of Hezckiah Morris, 
 a slave. His mother's maiden name was FJiza- 
 beth Hopkins. His father havint;' died wht'U he 
 was only two years of age, his mother moved, after 
 the war, to Ohio, wlierc Wilham attended the 
 puhHc schiKils of New Rielnnond and Cincin- 
 nati, and hiter a pay scliool in Chicago, llhnois. 
 He entered I'isk University at Nashville, Tennes- 
 see, when seventeen years of age, graduat- 
 ing with high honors from the classical 
 deiiartnient in the class of 1884. He was 
 a]Jt and studious, and recognized as a 
 bright scholar, a logical debater, a good 
 essavist and an eloquent and forcible speak- 
 er. He was termed a "typical Fiskitc" by 
 leason of his fine scholarship, devotion to his 
 race and strict adherence to the principles of 
 rectitude. He was made a member of the faculty 
 after graduating, and was for more than four 
 years the only Afro-American member of that 
 bodv of twenty-five professors and teach- 
 ers. He taught classes in mathematics, lan- 
 guages and the sciences at Fisk University for 
 five years, giving complete satisfaction. While 
 a student he taught public schools in Mississippi 
 and Arkansas during vacation. He represented 
 the Afro-Ariiericans of the South at the annual 
 meeting of the A. M. A., at Madison, Wisconsin, 
 in 1885, delivering an address entitled "The 
 Negro at Present," which won im- him a wide 
 reputation. In 1886 he was employed by the 
 State superintendent of education of Tennessee, 
 to hold institutes for Afro-American teachers of 
 that state. He has lectured at diiiferent times 
 and written articles for the press which have been 
 highly commended. In 1887 he received the de- 
 gree of M. A. from his Alma Mater, and in the 
 same year was admitted to the bar by the supreme 
 court of Illinois, in a class of twenty-seven, being 
 one out of three to receive the same and highest 
 mark. He was also admitted to the bar by the 
 supreme court of Tennessee, and practiced some 
 at both Chicago. Illinois, and Nashville, Tennes- 
 see. He resigned his position at Fisk University 
 in June. 1880, and came to IMinneapolis, and has 
 practiced in that citv ever since, having been the 
 
 first Afro-American lawyer to appear before the 
 courts of Hennepin County. He has handled a 
 number of important cases and won for himself 
 an enviable reputation as a lawyer, both in civil 
 and criminal practice. One of his most im- 
 portant cases was the defense of "Yorky,"' or 
 Thomas Lyons, in the famous Harris murder trial, 
 who was discharged. He is a Republican in pol- 
 itics and a member of the Fifth District Con- 
 gressional connnittee. He has taken the lead in 
 Minneapolis in everything pertaining to the up- 
 building of his race, and has never wavered in 
 the struggle for their rights. He was elected 
 president of the Afro-American State League in 
 1891. He is also a thirty-third degree Mason, 
 a member of the Supreme Council. Sheik of Fez- 
 zan Temple of the Mystic Shrine, High Priest 
 and Prophet in the Imperial Council, Scribe of 
 the Chapter, Deputy Supreme Chancellor of the 
 Knights of Pythias. Brigadier General of the 
 Uniform Rank, a trustee of the .Supreme Lodge, 
 Generalissimo of the Commanderv K. T., and an 
 N. F. of the ( )dd I'ellows. He is a member of 
 the Plymouth Congregational church of Minne- 
 apolis. July 14, 1806, he married Miss Anna M. 
 La Force of Pullman. Illinois, a most estimable 
 voung woman of acknowledsred literare abilitv.
 
 4-4-8 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 GEORGE U. NEWELL. 
 
 Minneapolis wuuld never liave become the me- 
 tropolis she has if it had not been that she num- 
 bered amoni:;' her early residents many who, as 
 enterprising' liusiness men. realized the impor- 
 tance of her location and the futnrc in store for 
 her.and devoted their best efforts to the upbnildin,ef 
 of the city. Among that list of public-sph-ited 
 men the name of George R. Newell stands prom- 
 inent. Mr. Xewell is senior partner of the firm 
 of George R. Xewell & Co., one of the largest 
 wholesale grocery honses in the Northwest. This 
 firm has bnilt up a trade which extends through- 
 out the whole Northwest, and has a business that 
 amounts to several million dollars yearly. Mr. 
 Newell has achieved success in life entirely im- 
 aided by fortune. He is a native of the state of 
 New York, and was l)orn in Tonawanda, July 31, 
 1844, the son of Hiram Newell and riioebc New- 
 ell. Tliiani Newell was actively engaged in the 
 dry goods trade during his career, liut has now re- 
 tired from 1)usincss, and is residing at Saratoga 
 Springs. New York. The Newell famih- comes 
 from good old New England stock. George at- 
 tended the public schools of his native village 
 
 until he was twelve years of age, and then 
 launched out into active business. He worked at 
 all sorts of jobs, but mostly clerking in stores. 
 In 1866 he came West to enjoy the advantages 
 which the new region afforded, and for some time 
 worked on a .Mississippi steamboat. In 1867 he 
 secured a position as a clerk in Minneapolis and 
 worked at this occupation for three years. In 
 1870. in partnershii.) with Messrs. Stevens & 
 -Morse, he opened a grocery store, the firm being 
 known as .Stevens, Morse & Newell. The part- 
 nership was dissolved in 1873, ^ml Mr. Newell 
 continued the business alone for a year. He then 
 entered into partnership with Mr. H. G. Harri- 
 son, the firm being called Newell & Harrison. 
 As such it continued for ten years, at which time 
 the present firm of George R. Newell & Co. w'as 
 organized. Mr. Cavour S. Langdon being taken 
 into partnership with 'Sir. Newell. Through its 
 several changes of partnership and location, the 
 firm constantly increased its trade. l*"or a long 
 time they occui)ied a large building at the corner 
 of Mrst and Washington avenues North, but the 
 constant accession to their trade compelled a re- 
 moval, and the splendid storehouse at the corner 
 of h'irst avenue and Third street was erected. This 
 l)uilding is of pressed brick, five stories high, with 
 high basement, and covers aliout a quarter of a 
 block, being especiall\- planned for the wholesale 
 grocery trade. The business affairs of this firm 
 have been conducted by Mr. Newell with a 
 sagacity and prudence that has established for it 
 a high reputation in the conunercial world. Mr. 
 Newell has always been a leader in any movement 
 lending to further the interests of Minneapolis, 
 giving his support to every projected enterprise 
 that gave pronnse of help in building up the city, 
 and has been an active spirit in the Jobbers' Asso- 
 ciation, the Pioard of Trade and other commercial 
 organizations. He is one of the most approach- 
 able of men. accessible at all times, and is as 
 pnpular ami held in .as higli esteem by his em- 
 ploves as he is bv his liusiness associates, who 
 recognize his integrity and worth as a business 
 man. Mr. Newell's ])olitical affiliations have 
 alwavs Ix'en with the Republican party, though he 
 has never taken any active part in ])olitics. He
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN 0[^ MINNESOTA. 
 
 449 
 
 is a Mason and a nu'nihci' nl the Minnrapi ilis anil 
 Commercial Clnhs. lie was maniecl in 1X70 to 
 Mrs. Alida l'"erris, of Wyoming, \e\v York. 
 
 n.\Rrrs f. .morg.vx. 
 
 In February, i<S54, Darius F". .Morgan was born 
 in Jackson County, Iowa. His paternal ancestors 
 were New England farmers, who, emigrating 
 from Wales about the middle of the last 
 century, |;>layed a cons])icuous i)art in the revolu- 
 tionary struggle for liberty. I'>\- his mother, Ruth 
 Du])rey, of .\leadville, I'ennsylvania, he is de- 
 scended from a I'rench Huguenot family, which in 
 early Colonial times fled from religitnis ])ersecu- 
 tion at home to the hos]iitable shores of the new 
 world. His father, Harley Morgan, was a native 
 of \'ergennes. \ ermont, but in 1S4J Ijrought his 
 family West to the Mississippi valley, settling tirst 
 in Jackson County, and fourteen years later in 
 \\^inneshiek County, Iowa, in which latter county 
 young ]Morgan spent his boyhood antl youth, and 
 laid tiie foundation of a substantial education in 
 the common schools. In 1876, until which time 
 he had lived with his father, working on the farm 
 in summer and going to school in the winter, he 
 began to studv law, and in the fall of 1877 he was 
 admitted to the bar at Austin, .Minnesota, which 
 city had now been his home for almost a year, and 
 where he had supported himself as a student, as 
 a reporter in Judge Page's court. A year after 
 admission to the bar he went to Albert Lea, where 
 he formed a professional partnership with John 
 A. Lovely, which lasted for ten years. In Novem- 
 ber, 1888, Mr. ?\lorgan was elected to represent 
 Freeborn County in the lower house of the legis- 
 lature, and in the session of i88<) he was chair- 
 man of the committee on approjiriations. In 1890 
 he removed to Minneapolis, where he formed a 
 partnership in the law with W. H. Eustis, which 
 lasted until Air. Eustis' election as niavor of Min- 
 neapolis in Xovemlicr, iS()j. Ma\- I, i8()3. the 
 firm of Hale, Morgan & Mrmtgomerv was organ- 
 ized, and it became in a short time one of the 
 strongest at the Hennepin bar. In i8<)4 Mr. 
 Morgan was sent to the state senate from the 
 Thirty-second District, comprising the Alinneap- 
 
 oiis I'ifth and .sixth wards, for a term uf four 
 years, in the sessions of 1895 ^"^1 1897 '^^ served 
 with distinction as a member of the judiciary 
 committee of the senate. In 1895, he was, in addi- 
 tion, the chairman of the finance committee. In 
 1897 he was chairman of the committee on cor- 
 porations and a member of the committee on 
 ta.xes and ta.x laws. These are among the most 
 important committees of the senate. Mr. Morgan 
 early became attached to the Republican party. 
 His eloquence made him a power on the stump, 
 and his good judgment and conservatism made 
 him useful in i;art\- counsel. For almost eighteen 
 years he was a member of county and state cen- 
 tral conmiittees. F'or two sessions of the legis- 
 lature he has been on^ of the leading members 
 of the senate, and few men in the state are more 
 widely or more favorably known. In 1876 Mr. 
 .Morgan was married to Ella .M. Hayward, of 
 \\ aukon. Iowa, and a son and two daughters 
 were born of the union. In March, 1893, ^'•'S- 
 Morgan died, and after almost three vears had 
 passed by, Mr. Morgan married again. The pres- 
 ent Mrs. Morgan was Mrs. Lizette F. Davis, of 
 .\uburn. Xew York. Senator Morgan belongs to 
 but one secret societv, the Elks. He attends 
 Gethsemane Episcojial church with his fann'lv.
 
 450 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JAMES ALBERTUS TAWNEY. 
 
 The representative in congress from tlie First 
 Jilinnesota District is a self-made man in all that 
 the term implies. James Albertus Tawney was 
 born near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in Mount 
 Pleasant township, January 3, 1855. Tawney 
 pere was a farmer and blacksmith, in very modest 
 circumstances, and when fifteen years of age the 
 son began to learn the blacksmith's trade in his 
 father's shop. After graduating from the bellows 
 and forge, young Tawney learned the trade of a 
 machinist, and it was for the purpose of going to 
 work at this trade that he came to Winona, Min- 
 nesota, August I, 1877. ( )n January i, 1881, he 
 began to read law in the office of llentley & 
 Vance, in Winona, having read at his home for 
 two long years i)rior to this time, a little while 
 each morning before going to the sho]), and in the 
 evening after the day's work was done. It thus 
 ]iap]jened that when he entered the ofificc of Bent- 
 ley & Vance and began to devote all of liis time to 
 the work he made rapid progress. In 1882, July 
 10, he was admitted to the bar. Then it was that 
 he became a student in the law deiiartnu-nt of the 
 University of ^^1sconsin. tin- onlv school lie had 
 
 attended since he was fourteen years old. After 
 finishing the course, Mr. Tawney returned to 
 Winona, which city has ever since been his home. 
 In iSyo he was sent to the state senate from 
 Winona County. He was a delegate in the Re- 
 publican state nominating convention of 1892, and 
 made an eloquent speech nominating Knute Nel- 
 son for governor. He served with great honor 
 in the legislature in i8gi and 1893, and was 
 elected to congress as a Republican in November, 
 
 1892, before his term as state senator had expired. 
 In 1894 he was returned to congress for a second 
 term, and in 1896 for a third term. Mr. Tawney's 
 congressional record has been a bright one. He 
 made his maiden speech in congress (-)ctober 6, 
 
 1893, in opposition to the bill of H. St. G. Tucker, 
 of \'irginia, providing for the repeal of the federal 
 election laws. This speech was regarded as one of 
 the strongest that was made against the bill. Jan- 
 uary 19, 1894, he made the famous speech which 
 gave him the sobriquet "Barley Jim.'" It was 
 against the proposition to reduce the tariff on bar- 
 ley, and showed conclusively that if the tariff were 
 reduced Canadian barley would come into the 
 American market, and to a large extent drive out 
 the home grain. The speech appealed with great 
 force to every member of the house, any part of 
 whose constituency was interested in raising this 
 cereal. January 24 1894, he made a speech in 
 favor of the maintenance of the McKinley tariff 
 on iron ore, and the day following spoke in oppo- 
 sition to the effort of Mr. Wilson and his friends 
 on the floor to repeal the reciprocity clauses of the 
 McKinley bill. All (if these speeches added to his 
 reputation as a forceful and logical debater. His 
 congressional record in connection with pension 
 legislatiiin is good, and the old soldiers of the 
 First District are his friends to a man. The main 
 sections of his bill providing for the settlement of 
 disputes between labor and capital In- arbitration 
 w'erc incoi-porated in the Olney bill, which passed. 
 Mr. Tawney was a memlier of the wavs and means 
 committee of the b'ifty-fourth and l'ift\-fifth cun- 
 gresses. and took a leading part in constructing 
 the tariff bill j^resented at the extra session 
 in 181)7. ,\s an attorney he stands in the 
 front rank, and his ])ractice has included
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 451 
 
 sonic (_)f tliL' mi.ist iiii|)< iriaul cases ever 
 tried in the state. In 1H83, December 19, Mr. 
 Tawney was married to Miss Ennna r>. Xewall, 
 at Winona. Thev have five children. 
 
 ANSEL OPPENHI'.iM. 
 
 Ansel ( )])pcnlieini, of the tnni of (.)ppen- 
 heim & Kalnian, was born in New York City, 
 on January 5, 1847. His father, Isaac Oppen- 
 heini, was a merchant of New York. He gave 
 his son an academic education, and fitted him 
 for his profession. Ansel studied law and was 
 admitted to the bar in Minnesota in 1878. Seeing 
 in the Northwest a promising future, the young 
 lawyer conmienced the practice of his profession 
 at St. Paul, forming a co-partnership with Hon. 
 John B. P>risbin. He was well fitted for success 
 in the law, but the remarkable chances offered 
 for the dealing in real property letl him to 
 abandon an extensive practice and to engage in 
 the real estate business. His judgment in this 
 matter proved to be most excellent, as in the suc- 
 ceeding ten or fifteen years Mr. Oppenheim was 
 successful, and through his extensive influence 
 has been enabled to do a great deal for the ad- 
 vancement of the interests of his city. It was 
 to his firm and its associates that the city of Si. 
 Paul is largely indebted for the Union Stock 
 Yards in South St. Paul, the Metropolitan Opera 
 House and several other large enterprises. Mr. 
 Oppenheim was one oi the leading promoters of 
 what is now the Chicago (Ireat Western Rail- 
 road, which was the first railroad to enter St. 
 Paul from the west side of the river. He is now 
 vice president of the company. During the con- 
 struction of the I'nion Stock Yards he was 
 president of the company, btu now retains offi- 
 cial connection with the concern as vice presi- 
 dent. Mr. Oppenheim is also a director of the 
 Bank of Minnesota, and is and has 1)een identified 
 with many leading financial and commer- 
 cial enterprises in his city. In 1880 Mr. 
 Oppenheim was appointed by (^i)veni(^r Hub- 
 bard as a member of the State Dward of Equali- 
 zation. For one term he ser\'ed as asseiu- 
 blyman in St. Paul, and was conspicuous in this 
 capacitv as an active protuoter of the city's wel- 
 
 fare. He has a large and valuable acquaintance 
 with foreign and eastern capitalists, which has 
 been exceedingly useful to him in his great en- 
 terprises. Mr. (Jppenheim was married in 1869 
 to Miss Josie Greve, daughter of Herman Greve, 
 one of St. Paul's prominent citizens. Mr. Greve 
 was a native of the province of Westphalia, Ger- 
 many. He came to St. Paul in 1855, and invested 
 largely in real estate. Much of his life was spent 
 in farnfing in X'ernon County, Wisconsin. In 
 1880 he moved tn ."^t. F'aul and engaged actively 
 in business, and at the time of his death was one 
 of the largest holders of real estate in that city. 
 Mrs. Oppenheim is pronunent in St. Paul society 
 and is a writer of no mean ability. She was 
 educatetl in a convent and added to this the cul- 
 ture obtained by extensive travel. For years she 
 was the companion of her father, Mr. Greve. Mr. 
 and Mrs. ( )ppenheim have three sons. The oldest, 
 Herman, is at the present time Assistant Corpo- 
 ration Attorney of St. Paul. The second son, 
 Lucius, is the traveling freight agent of the Chi- 
 cago Great Western Railroad. The third son. 
 Greve, now ten years of age, is attending school. 
 Mr. Oppenheim is a member of the Minnesota 
 Club, of St. Paul, and is a Mason in good stand- 
 ing. In politics he is a Democrat.
 
 452 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON SOAIERMLLE. 
 
 One of the most prominent members of the 
 legal profession in Southern Minnesota is George 
 Washington Somerville, of Sleepy Eye, Brown 
 County, Minnesota. Mr. Somerville was born in 
 Ripley County. Indiana, June 3, 1855; son of 
 William and Rachel (Cunningham) Somerville. 
 On his father's side he is of Irish descent, his 
 grandfather having been born in the north of 
 Ireland, emigrating to this country when but 
 nineteen years of age. William Somerville was 
 born in Pennsylvania, but lived in Indiana from 
 boyhood until his removal to this state in i860. 
 when George W. was but five years of age. He 
 settled on a farm in Mola township, ( )lmsted 
 County, wdiere he still resides, and is one of the 
 most pros])erons agriculturists in that fertile sec- 
 tion of the North Star state. He is also promi- 
 nent as a horticulturist, liaving early begun to 
 ornament his farm with evergreens, to which he 
 added the useful fruit varieties. He now has one 
 of the best orchards in the state of Minnesota. 
 He has been a prominent member of horticultural 
 societies, and \vas for several years a lecturer on 
 horticulture with the State Farmers' Institute, 
 l)eing recognized as one of the most conii)eteiit 
 
 authorities on the subject in this state. He was 
 also honored by the people of his neighborhood 
 by being elected to the lower house of the legis- 
 lature in 1872; he has also held several town 
 offices. George Washington Somer\'ille received 
 his elementary education in the district school of 
 his neighborhood, which he attended only three 
 months out of the year, the balance of the time 
 working on his father's farm. In his sixteenth 
 and seventeenth years he attended the village 
 school at Eyota, in the same county. In 1872 his 
 family moved to Rochester, this state, where 
 George entered the high school, from which he 
 graduated in 1876. Then, having a predilection 
 for the profession of law, he pursued its studies 
 during the following year in the office of H. C. 
 Butler, of that city. In 1878 he entered the law 
 department of the University of Michigan, gradu- 
 ating the year following. Innnediatelv after his 
 graduation he returned to Minnesota and located 
 at Sleepy Eye, where he began the practice of his 
 profession. He has remained at this place ever 
 since and built up an extensive practice. His 
 popularity is attested by the fact that he was re- 
 nominated three times to the office of county 
 attorney of Brown Countv, declining a fourth 
 nomination, serving in this office from 1882 to 
 1888. He has also been citv attorney of Sleepy 
 Eye fiir a number of years and still holds that 
 position. In politics he has always been a Repub- 
 lican, and is a leader in the counsels of his party. 
 He has attended a number of state Republican 
 conventions as a delegate, and is a member of 
 the e.xecutive committee of the Re]niblican .State 
 League. He is a Mason and a Knights Templar, 
 a member of Zuhrah Temple, Mystic .Shrine, and 
 is also an ( idd Fellow. November 21, 1 88 1, 
 he was married to Mary Fuller, of Rochester, 
 Minnesota. ^1r. and ]\frs. .Somerville have four 
 children. Madge. Saxe, Caroline an<l \\\ Wavne. 
 
 TIFNRV ADONIR.AM SWIFT. 
 
 Henry .-\. .'>\vift, the third governor of Minne- 
 sota, was descended from revolutionary sires. 
 \\illiani Swift, the first .American of the family, 
 ga\'e up his lionu' in Countv Suffolk, Fngland.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 453 
 
 ill lO^o, ami cnissini;' the Atlantic, Iccatcd in J Jos- 
 tun. Ill 1O34 lir went to Watcrtown, Massachu- 
 setts, which was lonj? the family lionir. His son, 
 also William Swift, lived in .'^amlwicli, and was a 
 representative in the legislature in the years 1664- 
 67. Dr. Isaac Swift, grandfather <>i the subject 
 of this sketch (1753-1802), sat in the Connecticut 
 legislature in 1772 and 17<>9- J 'i-' was also a Rev- 
 olutionary soldier. After the battle of Concord 
 and Lexington, with ;i number of neighbors, he 
 proceeded to Jioston and enlisted in the patriot 
 army. The regiment went into the field in the 
 spring of 1777 at Camp Peekskill, Xew York, and 
 in September was ordered, under (ieneral .Mc- 
 Dougal, to jtiin Washington's army in Pennsyl- 
 vania. It fought at (iennantown, October 4, 
 1777, and wintered at N'alley Forge, 1777-78. Dr. 
 Swift was assigned the post of surgeon, in which 
 capacity he served until the close of the war. His 
 son, Lsaac Swift, Jr., was born at Ceirnwall. Con- 
 necticut, in i7yo, and was graduated from Cohmi- 
 bia Medical College, Xew York city. He at once 
 started on a Western tour, but was detained at 
 Ravenna, Ohio, on account of an accident to his 
 horse. Piefore the animal had recovered from the 
 effects of the accident, the doctor had actiuired 
 what promised to develop into a lucrative prac- 
 tice, and so he decided to remain in Ravenna. In 
 1818 he was married, in that place, to Eliza 
 Thompson. The old ."-^wift homestead, where Dr. 
 Swift took his liride, is still the home of his 
 daughter. Airs. E. R. Waite. There had been no 
 cluirch organization in Ravenna when Dr. Swift 
 arrived, but soon after his coming the young men 
 of the town — none of them church members — in- 
 stituted religious meetings. Dr. .Swift read the 
 sermons and led the singing. These meetings 
 were not discontinued until a church was organ- 
 ized. Eliza Thompson, Governor Swift's mother, 
 was the daughter of Isaac Thomps(jn and Pa- 
 tience Cam])bell Th<;)m]ison, of Stockbridge, Mas- 
 sachusetts. She was born in Pittsfield. Massachu- 
 setts, in 1800, and was fourteen years of age when 
 the family moved to Ravenna, ( )hio. ( )ther an- 
 cestors of Governor .'-^wift were Governor Thomas 
 ]\Iayhew, of Martha's \'ineyard, proprietor of the 
 \ ineyard, and preacher for thirtv-three years, and 
 
 riionias Tup])er. one of the original grantees of 
 Cape Cod, deputy for nineteen years, and who 
 besides, spent much time in "gosijelizing tlie In- 
 dians." Governor .'-■wift was born in Ravenna, 
 ( )hio, in the homestead already referred to, .March 
 -'3, 1823. His ])arents were educated and refined 
 ])eople, and his home influences were the best. 
 He was graduated from Western Reserve College, 
 Hudson. ( )hio, and went at once to Alississippi, 
 w here he taught school for a year. The condition 
 of the South did not please him, and he returned 
 to Ohio as soon as his contract as a teacher was 
 terminated. He studied law, and in 1845 was ad- 
 mitted to the bar at Ravenna. During the winters 
 of 1847-48 and i848-4() he was chief clerk of the 
 ( )hio house of representatives. In 1833 he located 
 in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he opened a law and 
 insurance office. Joining the company that plat- 
 ted the town of St. Peter, he removed to that place 
 in 1856, becoming register of the United States 
 land office. In 1857 he was nominated for con- 
 gress by the Republicans, Init was defeated with 
 the remainder of the ticket. In the fall of i86ihe 
 was elected president pro tem of the state senate, 
 and succeeded Ignatius Donnellv. who had re- 
 signed the office of lieutenant governor to begin 
 his work in congress. The same session of the leg-
 
 454 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 islature elected Governor Alexander Ramsey to the 
 office of United States senator, and Mr. Swift, who 
 was ex-officio lieutenant governor, became gov- 
 ernor. It was near the end of the term, and 
 although he was urged to Ijecome a candidate for 
 the nomination, he steadily declined, and per- 
 mitted the hi.mor to go to Stephen Miller, who 
 was sulisequently elected. It is said that he 
 might have gone to the United States senate had 
 he so desired. The legislature of 1864-65 stooil 
 readv to elect him to that high position, but he 
 did not care for the office, and it was given to D. S. 
 Xortcin. .Mr. Swift was a student, and his tastes 
 were thoroughly domestic. He was ready to 
 give up public position in order to be with hi^ 
 familv. While always conscious of the duties 
 devolving ui-ion him as a citizen, and standing 
 readv to discharge them, he frankly confessed that 
 his ambition did not lie in the direction of hold- 
 ing office. A thorough distaste for the methods 
 of the politician perhaps encouraged him in his 
 determination to forego a public life, but none of 
 the considerations referred to were strong enough 
 to prevent him from bearing his full share of the 
 public burden in times of emergency. T.ut for the 
 fact that his presence seemed to l>e of more im- 
 portance in the legislature, he would have enlisted 
 in the Union army at the beginning of the civil 
 war. In 1862. at the time of the Sioux uprising, 
 he was among the first to go to New Ulm to 
 assist in its defense against the savages. He was 
 accompanied by William G. Hayden, then cotmty 
 auditor of Nicollet County. When they arrived 
 in New Ulm the people were without protection 
 and utterlv helpless. Fortunately some men from 
 Nicollet and Swan Lake had arrived, making in 
 all a ])artv of eighteen. They at once organized 
 themselves into a company and advanced on the 
 Indians, holding them in check until help came. 
 But for this timely aid there is no doubt that New 
 Ulm would have been in ashes in four or five 
 hours, for the Indians had already set fire to five 
 large buildings, some of which were not more 
 than a block and a half from the Dakota house, 
 and the inhabitants would have l)een nnu-dercd, 
 the Indians having sufficient evidence of the com- 
 plete panic that prevailed prir)r to the arrival of 
 
 the men. The hardships of that campaign devel- 
 oped the disease which brought Governor Swift 
 to his death, February 25, 1869, in St. Peter. One 
 of the leading newspapers of the state summed 
 up his character in these words: "A man of rare 
 and delicate mould, high-hearted, generous, ten- 
 der, true, loyal to friendship, self-respecting, in- 
 capable of meanness; a man to be loved and 
 trusted above his fellows: a man .so happy in the 
 singular beaut\- of his private and domestic life 
 that public honors souglit him out only as un- 
 welcome messengers to duties that could not be 
 declined. In all the state no man for years has 
 filled a larger or warmer place in the public heart 
 than Henry A. Swift." In 1851 Air. Swift was 
 married to Ruth Livingston, of Gettysburg, Penn- 
 sylvania. Her grandfather, Stephen Stevenson, 
 served during the whole of the Revolutionary 
 W^ar. His regiment, the Nineteenth Pennsyl- 
 vania, took a prominent part in the battle of Stony 
 Point, under the command of Colonel Richard 
 llutler. Stephen Stevenson, from lieutenant of 
 the Nineteenth Pennsylvania, was promoted to 
 the captaincy of the Fourth Pennsylvania, in 1781. 
 He was a memlier of the Society of Cincinnati. 
 Mrs. Swift died in 1881. Df the chidren that were 
 born of this union two daughters survive, Airs. 
 W. M. Spackman, of New York city, and Mrs. 
 G. S. Ives, of St. Peter. 
 
 CHARLES F. HENDRYX. 
 
 Charles F. Hendryx is one of the best known 
 newspaper men in Minnesota. He came to the 
 state in 1874, and was successively night editor 
 and city editor of the Minneapolis Trilounc during 
 tile time when it was owned bv his father. In 
 1870 he went to .Sauk Center, ])urchasing the 
 Weekly Herald, whose editor and jiroprietor he 
 has been since that time. Mr. Hendryx was born 
 at Cooperstown, New York, .\pril 22, 1847, and 
 was the onlv son of James I. Hendryx, who for 
 twentv-five \ears was editor of the ( )tsego Repub- 
 lican, of Coo])erstown. He attended the jniblic 
 schools in Cooperstown, and at the age of fifteen 
 was sent to the Deer Hill Institute, at Dnnbury, 
 Connecticut, an F.iiiscopal school for bovs. where
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 455 
 
 he remained for several years. The gold pin 
 which he still wears he won as a prize at this in- 
 stitute. For one year he attended the Coopers- 
 town seminary, and after that was a student at 
 Hobart College, Geneva, New York. He finished 
 his school education at Cornell University, gradu- 
 ating from that institution as a memlxT uf its first 
 senior class in i86(j. Senator J. B. Foraker, of 
 Ohio ; Rev. Dr. Rhodes, now pastor of St. John's 
 church, St. Paul, and Judge Buckwalter, of Cin- 
 cinnati, were Air. Hendry,x's classmates at Cor- 
 nell. In 1873 the elder Hendryx dispensed of his 
 interests in Cooperstown and with his son, 
 Charles F., came to Minneapolis, becoming pro- 
 prietor of the Tribune. The investment was not 
 a profitable one, and in 1879, father and son 
 moved to Sauk Center, where the former died in 
 1883. Although he has always been an ardent 
 Republican, and has taken an active part in poli- 
 tics since coming to Alinnesota, IXfr. Hendryx 
 has held but one public ofiiice, and that not a very 
 lucrative one. During President .\rtliur's ad- 
 ministration he was postmaster at Sauk Center. 
 In 1896 he was one of the delegates-at-large from 
 this state to the national Republican convention 
 at St. Louis, and voted there with the other dele- 
 gates from this .state for William McKinley as 
 the partv's noniinee for the presidencv. T\Tr. 
 
 1 kiidryx for years has exerted a strong influence 
 among public men in .\liimesota. As an editorial 
 writer he is strong, clear and convincing; as a 
 public s])caker (ju cducaii(jnal anfl literary' subjects 
 as well as iiulitical, he is eloquent and forceful, 
 with a command of language that enables him to 
 clothe his thoughts attractively and elegantly. 
 On September 6, 1876, he was married to Miss 
 I'anny Gait Taylor, daughter of the late Colonel 
 William Henry Harrison Taylor, who for sixteen 
 years was state librarian. Mrs. Hcndry.x is a first 
 cousin of ex-President Benjamin Harrison, and, 
 nf course, a grand daughter of e.x-President Wil- 
 liam Henry Harrison. The union has Iieen 
 blessed with three children. The family is prom- 
 inent in Fpiscopal church circles in northern Min- 
 nesota. 
 
 CHARLES DICKERMAX .MATTESON. 
 
 Charles Dickerman .Matteson, of St. Paul, 
 is the treasurer and acting secretary of the 
 Security Trust Company. Mr. Matteson is the 
 
 son of Sumner W. .\hitteson and Louise Dicker- 
 man (Matteson). an<l was preceded in his present 
 office bv his father. His father carried on the
 
 456 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 banking and l^rokerage business, at Decorah, 
 Iowa, for a number of years prior to 1891, when 
 he moved to St. Paul to take the position of 
 secretary and treasurer of the Security Trust 
 Company. The subject of this sketch was born 
 September 13, 1869, in the picturesque village of 
 Decorah, Iowa. He spent his boyhood days in 
 that village and graduated from the high school 
 in the class of 1887. In the fall of the same year 
 he entered the l^niversity of Minnesota and de- 
 vntcd two years to the work of a scientific 
 course. He then decided to spend a year in the 
 law school at the same institution, believing that 
 this would be of advantage to him in the way of 
 a business education. While in this department 
 he joined the Dillon chapter of the Phi Delta 
 Phi Society. Instead, however, of proceeding 
 then tcj a Inisiness engagement he decided t(i 
 e.Ktend his studies in the I'niversity of Michigan, 
 at Ann Arbor, where he entered the class of 
 1892, taking the literary course. While there he 
 became a member of Peninsular Chapter of the 
 Alpha Delta Phi, a literary society. After com- 
 pleting his college work in June. 1892, Mr. Mat- 
 teson came to St. Paul, where his family had re- 
 moved from Decorah. He spent the following 
 fall and winter in study and in March, 1893, en- 
 tered the service of the Security Trust Company. 
 Since the death of his father in July, 1895, 'le has 
 been treasurer and acting secretary of that 
 company. In the sunmier of i8i>4 Mr. Mat- 
 teson was elected a member of the St. Paul In- 
 vestment & Savings Society , and in January, 
 1896, was made a director of the Duluth Union 
 Land Company. He is also director of the Secur- 
 ity Trust Company, and in March, 1896, upon the 
 incorjxjratiiin of his father's estate was made sec- 
 retary, treasurer and director of the S.W.Matteson 
 estate. Having (jrepared himself with care for a 
 business career and lia\'ing alreaiK- nhtained no 
 small degree of success in financial institutions. 
 Mr. Mattcson may be said to have before him a 
 bright future as a financial njirvatcir. 
 
 PREDF.RICK \'AXF.SS I'.Ki )W\. 
 
 Frederick \ aness ISrown is of New 
 England ancestry on his father's side. The 
 earliest member nf the faniih- known to tile fani 
 ilv records was |ohn Ilrown, who c;inie to .M;is- 
 
 sachusetts Bay colony in the ship Lyon in 1632. 
 His descendant, \\'illiam Pirown, and the great- 
 grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a 
 soldier in the War of the Revolution. Frederick 
 y. is a son of Orestus S. Brown, who resides at 
 Shakopee, Minnesota. Orestus came to Minne- 
 sota from ^Michigan in 1869, and is a farmer in 
 comfortable circumstances. His wife, Eveyln 
 Bortle (Brown), mother of Frederick \'aness, 
 died at Shakopee, March 8, 1871. Frederick V. 
 was born in Washtenaw County, Michigan, 
 .March 8, 1862, and was seven years old when his 
 parents came to Minnesota. He commenced his 
 education in the common schools of Shakopee, 
 and f(_)r une \ ear attended the preparatory de- 
 ])artinent at Hamline Lniversity. During his 
 boyhood and up to the age of nineteen he 
 worked nn his father's farm ihn-jng the summer 
 months and attended schoul cm the average about 
 four niduths a year. At the age of nineteen he 
 went t(i St. Paul, where he was employed in the 
 office of the iDCunidtivc de])artmcnt of the Chi- 
 cago, -St. I\iul, Miimccipolis & ( )maha road. He 
 remained there till 1883, when he returned to 
 Shako])ee to commence the study of l.'iw with 
 -Senator II. J. Peck. During the ne.xt two years 
 he read law and taught in the puldic schools, 
 junr 17, 1883, Mr, I'.i'iwn w;is .ulniitted to the 
 bar in Scott Cnuntx', ;md furuH'd a partnership
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 457 
 
 with Judge Luther M, llrowii, fur thi- ])rac'tice of 
 law at Shakopce. Juflgc Urown ilieil in 1886, 
 and for the next tlirec years Mr. lirown was asso- 
 ciatetl professionally with Senatcjr Peck. In the 
 spring of i88y he removed to St. Paul, and 
 shortly afterward beeanie the special attorney of 
 the McCorniick JIarvesting Machine Company, 
 which relation continued until 1892. At that 
 time he removed to .Minneapolis and resumed 
 the general practice of law. In 1894 he formed 
 a partnership with George W. BnfSngton, which 
 partnership still continues. Mr. Brown has de- 
 voted his entire attention ever since he was ad- 
 mitted to the bar to the practice of his jjrofcssion, 
 in which he has been highly successful. His 
 political affiliations are with the Democratic 
 party, and his first presidential vote was cast for 
 the Democratic electors in 1884. He has always 
 adhered to that party on national affairs, but has 
 been independent in state and local politics. He 
 has never sought or obtained political preferment 
 in any form. Mr. Brown is a member of the 
 Masonic Order, his membership dating from 
 1887, when he was made a member of King 
 Solomon's Lodge, No. 44, at .Shakopee. He 
 is a Royal Arch Mason, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Minneapolis Mounted Knights Tem- 
 plar Commandery, No. 23. He has taken 
 an active |)art in the work of various 
 Masonic lodges, and has held various offices in 
 the several bodies. Mr. P.rown was married 
 November 11, 1886, to Esther A. Bailey, of 
 Prescott, Wisconsin. The\- have t^\•o children, 
 Jessica Marie and H^oward .Sclden. 
 
 OLE H. HELLEKSOX. 
 
 O. H. Hellekson is a meml)er of the firm of 
 Erickson & Hellekson, dealers in hardware, 
 lumber and machinery at Wheaton, Minnesota. 
 His father, Hellek Hellekson, is a farmer in Icnva 
 County, Wisconsin, and in fair financial circum- 
 stances. He emigrated from Noi-way in 1841, 
 coming to Wisconsin and settling on the farm 
 where he has resided ever since. He served 
 throughout the Civil War and has an honorable 
 war record. His wife, Julia Loftsgaarden (Hel- 
 lekson"), the mother of the subject of this sketch, 
 
 was also born in Norway. CJle H. Hellekson 
 was born on the farm in Iowa County, Wisconsin, 
 on January 13, 1859, where he lived until he was 
 twein\-one \ears of age. He received his earlv 
 education at the common schools of his district, 
 attending them as much of the time as he could 
 be spared. When of age he borrowed sufficient 
 money to enable him to take one term at college, 
 after which he taught school for two terms, 
 returning to college to take the commercial 
 course with the money that he had earned. 
 In 1885 he came to Minnesota and located at 
 Wheaton, commencing work as a clerk at the 
 salary of fifteen dollars a month. Later 
 he was promoted to the position of book- 
 keeper, and finally became manager in 1886. 
 He bought a quarter interest in the busi- 
 ness the following year, and in the two 
 \ears following purchased enough more to get a 
 one-half interest in the present business, that of 
 dealing in hardware, lumber and machinery, under 
 the firm name of Erickson & Hellekson. Mr. 
 Hellekson owes his success in business to his 
 close attention to the same and to his strict 
 adherence to the principles which produce busi- 
 ness success. His political affiliations are with 
 the Republican party, and he takes an active 
 interest in local affairs, having served as president 
 of the village council for three successive terms.
 
 458 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 His church connections are with the Lutheran 
 church. He was married t'ebruary 24, 1887 to 
 Lena Olson Dokken. They have three children 
 living, Cora Francis. Minnie Henrietta and 
 Spencer Howard. 
 
 DORILl'S :\IORRISOX. 
 
 Of the earlv pioneers of Minnesota — the men 
 who have seen it develop from a vast wildernes.s 
 into a state second in commercial importance to 
 none in the Northwest and wht) contributed to 
 that result — none are more deserving of the ap- 
 pellation of a self-made man than Dorilus Mor- 
 rison, hroni early youth he was compelled to 
 relv upon his own resources but by perseverance 
 and industry, in connection with his natural busi- 
 ness sagacity, he gradually climbed the ladder of 
 success, and can now look back with pardonable 
 pride on a life that has been an eminent success. 
 The ancestry of Mr. Morrison is Scotch. He is 
 the son of .Samuel Morrison, an early settler in 
 the state of Maine, and a wheelwright l)y trade, 
 and Betsey Benjamin (Morrison). His birth oc- 
 curred in the town of Livermore, (Oxford County, 
 .Maine, on the twenty-seventh of December, 
 1814. Dorilus received a coimnon school 
 education, which was sup])lemented by a 
 three months' course in an academy at 
 Redfield, in his native state. .\fterwards 
 he taught for a while in a country district 
 school. While yet in his eighteenth year he 
 secured enii)loyment with William H. liritan, a 
 merchant, farmer and general trader, working for 
 a salary of seven dollars a month and board; the 
 second vear he worke<l for ten dollars a month, 
 and on demanding twelve dollars a month the 
 third year, and being refused, he left and sought 
 emidoynu'iit elsewhere. Within three months, 
 however, his former employer offered him twent}- 
 five dollars a month if he would return. He 
 accepted this offer and al the end of the year lie 
 came a partner in the business. He continued as 
 such for five years, enjoying good success, and 
 laying bv a small fortinu of four llmusand dollars. 
 Tn i!-!42 he removed to I'.angor and eng;igeil in 
 
 the mercantile and lumbering business, which 
 business he pursued prosperously until 1853. He 
 had at this time saved up about twenty thousand 
 dollars, and being attracted by the opportunities 
 Minnesota afforded for carrying on the lumbering 
 business, he came to this state the following 
 spring with the purpose of locating pine lands for 
 himself and others. His visit impressed him so 
 favorably that he returned to Maine, disposed of 
 his interests there, and returned in the spring of 
 1855 and located at St. Anthony. He secured a 
 contract to supply the saw mills, located at that 
 time on the east side of the ^Mississippi, with logs 
 from the pineries, having invested in a large tract 
 of pine lands on the Rum river. This business 
 was continued for many years. After the com- 
 pletion of the dam built bv the Minneapolis Mill 
 Company, .Mr. Morrison built a saw mill and 
 opened a lumber yard, engaging extensively in 
 the lumber business, until 1868, when accttmti- 
 lated interests had become so large that he turned 
 this business over entirely to his sons. .Mr. .Mor- 
 rison was principal incorporator of the Minneapo- 
 lis Mill Company, which was incorporated in 
 1856, acting as its treasurer. This compan\- were 
 the builders of the first dam and canal, an under- 
 taking which proved marvelous in its results — 
 making Minneapolis what it is to-day. This com- 
 pany built saw mills and sold mill sites both upon 
 and below the dam. The outlay was large, and for 
 years the enterprise proved unremunerative. r)Ut 
 Mr. Morrison foresaw the immense possibilities 
 of the future and bought up the shares of the 
 stockholders who were so severely pressed by 
 the demands made upon the resources of the com- 
 pany that they gladly reliiuiuished their holdings. 
 In time, Mr. Morrison's faith in the ultimate suc- 
 cess of the enterprise was justified f)y the result. 
 He remained a director, and served several times 
 as president of the company, until the property 
 was sold to an English syndicate, which now 
 ow^ns it. This company owned all the water 
 power upon the west side of the river, several 
 saw mills and flour mills, a large elevator and the 
 North .Star \yoo1cn mill. Tn 186(1, when the con- 
 stniction of the Korthcrn Pncific Railroad was 
 commenced, Wr. Morrison associ.ited with him
 
 PKOGRESSIVK MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 459 
 
 Messrs. Bracket!, King, Kastman, VV'aslibuni and 
 Shepherd, of Minneapohs; Merriani, of St. I'aul; 
 I'ayson and Cauda, of Chicago; llaUh, of New 
 Hanip.shire, and Rose and Robinson of ('anada, 
 and secured the contract for l)uilding the first 
 section of this road, fi<iiii llu' St. Louis river to 
 the Red river, a distance of two liundred and 
 forty miles. The work was jnished and the com- 
 pleted road turned over tt) the coni])an\- in 1872. 
 j\Jr. Morrison was chosen as one of the directors 
 of the road, which position he held uiuil the gen- 
 eral reorganization of the company, after the fail 
 ure of its financial agents, jay Conke & Cu. 
 Again in 1873, in association with ^(ime of tlu 
 gentlemen above nientir^ned, he secured the con- 
 tract for the next section of two hundred miles of 
 the road, from the Red ri\er to the .Missouri. 
 There was no money forthcoming when this con- 
 tract was completed, and .\lr. Morrison assumed 
 the shares of his associates and receivetl in pa\- 
 ment a large tract of the company's lands in 
 Northern Minnesota, which contained pine tim- 
 ber. He was also a large stockholder in the [Min- 
 neapolis Harvester Works; assuming the stock 
 of his associates when the enterprise almost 
 proved a failure, he made the business a success. 
 Notwithstanding his large business interests, Mr. 
 Morrison still found time to devote to the public 
 affairs of the village which has grown up to the 
 metropolis of to-day. When the Union Board of 
 Trade was organized in St. Anthony in 1856 Mr. 
 Morrison was chosen its president, and was a di- 
 rector for several years. In the several trade or- 
 ganizations which followed this board in the pio- 
 neer days he has always been an active participator 
 and worker. In i864he was elected to the state sen- 
 ate, his colleagues in the legislature from Henne- 
 pin County being such men as John S. Pillsbui-y, 
 Cyrus Aldrich and Judge F. R. E. Cornell. When 
 the city of Minneapolis was incorporated in 1867, 
 Mr. Morrison was chosen its first mayor, and in 
 1869 was again elected to the same office. In 
 1871 he was elected to a term of two years on 
 the board of education, and later, in 1878. he was 
 re-elected to a term of three years, and was 
 chosen president of the board. When the park 
 Tjoard was organized Mr. Alorrison was chosen a 
 
 commissioner, and was also re-elected to the same 
 office. He devoted much time to the services 
 demanded of him as a commissioner, and ]\Iinne- 
 apolis' present beautiful park system owes much 
 to Mr. .Morrison's labor and counsel. He w-as 
 also interested in the Athenaeum, the predecessor 
 of the present public library, serving on the board 
 of managers, giving a good deal of his valuable 
 time to aid in building up this institution. In his 
 politics .Mr. Morrison has always been a staunch 
 Republican. He has been a believer in the L'ni- 
 versalist faith for a great many \ears, and been a 
 liberal supjjorter of the Church of the Redeemer. 
 In 1840 Mr. Morrison was married at Liverniore, 
 Maine, to .Miss H. K. Whittemore, who became the 
 mother of three children, George H., now dead; 
 Clinton and Crace, wife of Dr. H. H. Kimball. 
 She died in 1881, at Menna. Austria, while on a 
 European trip. His ]MX'sent wife was -Mrs. A. G. 
 Clagstone, who is a lady of artistic taste and lib- 
 eral culture. Though eighty-two years old, Mr. 
 Morrison is still enjoying robust health, due to 
 the active life he has always led. and always re- 
 invigorated by the frequent journeys he takes to 
 sea side resorts.
 
 460 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES E. WALES. 
 
 Air. Wales is president of the Pioneer Fuel 
 Company, of Minnesota. He is the son of William 
 W. and Katharine (Bundy) Wales. The father 
 is a native of North Carolina, and was I)orn in 
 Iredell County, March 4. 1818. He removed to 
 Greensboro, Indiana, in 1845, where he engaged 
 in the drug business. It was at this place, three 
 vears later, he married the mother of the subject 
 of this sketch. In 185 1 he migrated to the Xortli 
 Star state, locating at St. Anthony, and engaged 
 in the book and stationery business. This busi- 
 ness he conducted successfully until 1884, since 
 which time he has l:)een engaged in missionary 
 work, nuich of his time being devoted to mission- 
 ary labors among the mountaineers in his native 
 state, this work being in accordance with a cher- 
 ished plan c)f his early life. While a resident of 
 St. Anthony .Mr. Wales was a member of the 
 Minnesota Territorial Council: was city clerk 
 for several years, and also served as ;i member of 
 the school board for a long time. He was post- 
 master at .St. -Xnthony, now East Minneapolis, 
 under President Lincoln'^ ;i(lniinislration. and 
 was twice mayor of the city. He was active in re- 
 ligious work, and was a member of the Society 
 
 of Eriends. His son Charles is a Minnesotian 
 by birth. His primary education was received in 
 the public schools of East Minneapolis. The first 
 dollar he ever earned was by selling newspapers, 
 in this capacit\' developing early the habits 
 of economy and the sagacity which he later 
 exhibited in business life. His first reg- 
 ular employment was in connection with 
 the first coal business established in Min- 
 neapolis, and ever since that time Mr. 
 \\'ales has been actively engaged in the busi- 
 ness then established. Being a believer in spe- 
 cialties in btisiness as well as in the professions, 
 and also believing that the field in the coal trade 
 was suiSciently broad, he concentrated his entire 
 energy to that line of business, and with such 
 satisfactory results that the company which he 
 represents stands at the front, not only with the 
 people throughout the Northwest, but also with 
 the financial institutions, producers and carriers 
 in the East. The company is successor to the 
 first coal business established in Alinneapolis, and 
 is very appropriately named the Pioneer Fuel 
 Company. Ever since its incorporation Mr. 
 Wales has been its president. I'^rom a local busi- 
 ness of a few hundred tons annually the com- 
 pany's Ijusiness has been extended until now it 
 amounts to mam hundred thousands of tons, 
 representing millions of dollars. The company 
 has large shipping wharfs at Duluth, Minnesota, 
 and Gladstone, Alichigan, on which the coal is 
 stocked during the season of lake navigation for 
 distriljution throughout the Northwest. In con- 
 nection with these wharves the company also has 
 large storage yards in the principal Northwestern 
 cities. The large business of this company has 
 demanded the outlay of a very large capital, and a 
 complete organization in the details. Mr. Wales 
 has devoted his time so closelv to the coal trade, 
 and has been so full\' occupied in this way that 
 he has avi.iided responsibilities in other directions. 
 He has been a life-long I'ieiniblican, and is a mem- 
 ber of the ])rinci|)al clubs, business organizations 
 and Masonic bodies. P)y birth Mr. Wales is a 
 member of the .Societv of Friends, but he is also 
 ;i contributor to ;md a fi-e(HU'nt atti-ndant at other 
 churches. Mr. W'ales is a widower and has one 
 child, Charles Ravmond Wales.
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 46] 
 
 HORACE AUSTIN. 
 
 Horace Austin, the sixth governor of Minne- 
 sota, was born October 15, 1831, at Canterbury, 
 Connecticut, the son of a well-to-do farmer. After 
 finishing his education in an academy at Litch- 
 fit'ld, Maine, he taught at IJclgrade Academy, 
 in the same state, of w'hich institution he was 
 principal for a short time. He studied law at 
 Augusta, Maine, in the office of Lot M. Alorrill, 
 afterwards I'niled States senator, and in 1856, at 
 the age of twenty-five, came to Minnesota, locat- 
 ingatSt. Peter. In 1862 he enlisted as a lieutenant 
 and was promoted to captain of cavalry, taking an 
 active part in the Sil)ley campaign against the 
 Indians on the Missouri. The \ear following he 
 was elected judge of the Sixth Judicial District. 
 His advancement was rapid after this, and in 1869 
 he was elected governor by about two thousand 
 majority. A glance at his inaugural address will 
 give some idea of the man and of the condition of 
 the state in this early day. He reviewed many of 
 the questions then agitating the people, some of 
 which lived into the next decade, while others are 
 still pressing for solution, and his advice was 
 always sound and timely. He advocated the re- 
 vision of the criminal code, which was so intricate, 
 even in that day, as often to lead to injustice. He 
 advocated the improvement of the Duluth harljor, 
 and saw very clearly the future importance of 
 Duluth as a shipping point for the products of 
 the Northwest. He was opposed to excessive spe- 
 cial legislation, which in those days frequently 
 crowded out more important legislation of gen- 
 eral interest. He recommended that state and 
 federal elections should come in the same year. 
 In the early seventies the people of Minnesota 
 enjoyed the luxury of an election every year. He 
 suggested a convention to prepare a new state 
 constitution, believing the original constitution to 
 be no longer suited to the needs of the people. 
 That old constitution, however, is still the su- 
 preme law of the state, and the failure to secure a 
 constitutional convention in 1R71 vi'as repeated in 
 1896. The internal improvement lands previously 
 granted to the state by congress had not been set 
 apart for public use at the time of Governor Aus- 
 
 tin's election, and the legislature of 1871 appor- 
 tioned them among a number of railroad corpor- 
 ations. Governor Austin promptly vetoed the 
 liill, which led to an amendment to the constitu- 
 tion [(rohibiting the legislature from appropriat- 
 ing the proceeds arising from the sale of these 
 lands unless consent was first given b\- the pecjple 
 at the polls. After serving for two years with 
 honor to himself and credit to the state, Governor 
 Austin was re-elected in 1871 by sixteen thousand 
 majority. In his inaugural message of 1872 he 
 made a strong ajipeal fur biennial sessions of the 
 legislature, an appeal to which the future was not 
 slow to respond. Shortly after his second term as 
 governor Mr. Austin became third auditor of the 
 United States treasury, a position which he filled 
 under Secretaries Bristow, Morrill and Sherman. 
 Following this he was for seven years in the de- 
 partment of the interior, and subsequently he was 
 a member of the ?ifinnesota railroad and ware- 
 house commissi! iu. He is at this time engaged 
 in the practice of law in the city of MinneapoHs. 
 He is a member of the Loyal Legion. Mr. 
 Austin was married in March. 1859. to ]Miss Mary 
 Lena Morrill, of .Kugusta. Maine. Of six chil- 
 dren, one son and five daughters, all are living 
 save one daughter.
 
 462 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 LOUIS A. REED. 
 
 Louis A. Reed is a practicing attorney-at- 
 law. Wr. Reed was a farmer's boy, his father, 
 Adam Reed, being engaged in tlie business of 
 farmer and miller in Alason Count}-, Illinois, 
 where the subject of this sketch was born Jan- 
 uary 23, 1855. His father was of German descent, 
 while his mother's ancestry was English. Mr. 
 Reed had only the early educational advantages 
 which come to the farmer boy of the common 
 school during the winter, and plenty of muscle 
 training and muscle building in the summer on 
 the farm. He had a taste for books, however, 
 and in a course at Illinois Normal University, at 
 Normal, Illinois, prepared himself for the profes- 
 sion of a teacher. He also took a partial course 
 at the Illinois Industrial University at Cham- 
 paign, but left college at tlu' end of his sopho- 
 more year. He taught school ami cnntinued his 
 studies by hiiuself. He was attracted toward the 
 profession of law and began the stud\- of law in 
 the ofifice of (ieorge W. Ellsl)ury, at .Mason City, 
 Illinois. In casting about for a more promising 
 field for the practice of his profession he de- 
 cided upon Minneapolis and came to Minnesota 
 in July, 1.S80. lie t^ntered the office of Rca. 
 
 Vv'oolley & Kitchel, and continued his studv 
 until April i, 1883. when he began the practice 
 of law alone. After John G. Wnolley Ijecame 
 county attorney, he assisted him as assistant 
 county att(jrney of Hennepin („ount}', but without 
 compensation from the count}'. On December 
 I, 1883. he formetl a partnership with Tohn G. 
 Woolley and Charles P. Uiddle, under the lirni 
 name of Woolley, 1 Middle & Reed. After the 
 dissolution of this firm he entered into partner- 
 ship with Robert D. Russell, now judge of the 
 district court, and (ieorge D. Einerv, ex-judge of 
 the numicipal court, the firm's name being Rus- 
 sell, Emery «& Reed. This partnership was 
 formed Januar}- i. 1886. Still later he became 
 a partner with William A. Kerr, in the firm of 
 Reed & Kerr, which partnership was maintained 
 until .\lr. Kerr was elected to the numicipal 
 Ijcnch. ^Ir. Reed is a Republican, but has held 
 no public office. His devotion to his partv and 
 his skill in the management of political affairs 
 made him chairman of the Re].nil:)lican county 
 committee of Hennepin Count\- in i8(;o. In i8c>4 
 he was made chairman of the Republican judi- 
 ciary conmiittee, and he still holds that position. 
 His conduct of campaigns of which he was the 
 directing spirit, has been distinguished b}' ability 
 and success. Mr. Reed is a .Mason, a member 
 of Khurum Lodge, Xo. 112. is a Knight of 
 Pythias and a Modern Woodman, and, also, a 
 meinl)er of the Conunercial Club, of Minneap- 
 olis. His church relationship is v.ith the Lowry 
 Hill Congregational Church, of which he is one 
 of the supporters. .Mr. Reed was married July 
 8, 1880, to Isabelle Trent. The\ ha\e two boys, 
 .Mbert P. and Russell C. -Mr. Reed has taken 
 a high rank in the legal professitju of Minne- 
 apolis, and is hekl in general esteem on account 
 of his sterling (|ualities and recognized ability. 
 
 ANDREW P. SWAXSTR( )M. 
 
 Andrew P. .Swanstroni is a native ol 
 New York, having been horn in \Villiamsburg, 
 in that slate, Siplcmlier 4. 18411. llis ])arents re- 
 sided in Xe\\ ^'ork and .Massaclnist'tts until i86t, 
 when thcv set tluir f.ices westwaril and located
 
 PKOC.KIiSSIVIv MKN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 463 
 
 at Red Wing, Minnesota, April 21. Andrew was 
 the oldest of a family of six, and his father being 
 the victim of misfortune it iK'canic necessary for 
 him to assist in the family's support by such 
 employment as he could secure, his first venture 
 being witli a saw-buck and saw, soliciting odd 
 jobs of sawing wood. Subsequently he obtained 
 regular employment in a printing office, that of 
 tlie Goodhue Count\ XOlunteer, where he learned 
 the trade which he followed for nearly twent\'- 
 one years. In 1870 he went to .St. Paul and was 
 employed on the St. Paul Press, Dispatch and 
 Pioneer Press until 1887. His aptness and in- 
 telligence advanced him from one position of 
 trust and responsibility to another until he had 
 thorouglily mastered the business. In the winter 
 of 1887 he was elected assistant secretary of the 
 state senate and held that position for three ses- 
 sions. His political preferences, it may be 
 needless to say, are Republican. For five years 
 he was employed in the law office of Uri L. 
 Lamprey, one of the leading attorneys of St. Paul. 
 In i8q2 he was elected to the secretaryship of 
 the Minnesota Masonic Relief Association, now 
 the Minnehaha Afutual Life Association, which 
 he is managing with conspicuous ability. Mr. 
 Swanstrom is a member of the St. Paul Commer- 
 
 cial Club, ;in organization wiiich is doing much to 
 further tin- interests of that city. He has been 
 an active worker in Masonic bodies for the past 
 twenty years, and has been hon(jred with many 
 positions of distinction and trust. He is a mem- 
 ber of Ancient Landmark Lodge, Xo. 5, St. 
 Paul; of Minnesota Royal Arch Chapter, No. i, 
 St. Paul; Council R. & S. M., St. Paul; Damas- 
 cus Connnandery, i\o. i, St. Paul; Osman Tem- 
 ple, A. A. O. N. M. S., St. Paul, and is at pres- 
 ent secretary of the Scottish Rite bodies of that 
 city. Mr. Swanstrom is a member of the Epis- 
 copal Church and an active participant in its 
 work. He was married in 1875 to Miss Anna 
 E. Comer. They have twn children, a son and 
 a daughter. 
 
 I- k.\.\K CECIL METCALF. 
 
 Fraid< C. .\lelcalf, register of deeds of Henne- 
 pin Count)-, is practically a "Minneapolis boy," 
 for, although he was born at Dundas, Minnesota, 
 in 1865, his parents moved to Miimeapolis the fol- 
 lowing year, and this city has been his home ever 
 since. His father was employed by the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway company, as a 
 locomotive engineer, filling the post faithfully for 
 ten years, when exposure resulted in a severe at- 
 tack of inflammatory rheumatism, from which he 
 never recovered sufficiently to resume work, and 
 w hich resulted in his death in 1882. When Frank 
 became old enough, he entered the public 
 schools, beginning at the Washington building, 
 which stood on the site of the present courthouse. 
 Pressing steadily upward in his course, he reached 
 the high school in 1879. After attending the high 
 school for a short time he left to obtain a business 
 education, and was graduated from the Curtiss 
 P>usiness College in 1881. During the seven long 
 \ears of his father's last illness, Frank's mother, 
 w ho was a very energetic woman, nursed her hu.s- 
 i)and. sent Frank to school, and supported herself 
 and family by keeping boarders. His mother 
 died in 1888. After graduating from the 
 business college, Frank entered the employ 
 of the C. M. <<v: St. P. R. R. Company 
 as "truckman" in their freisrht house: he
 
 464 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ways a self-made man, and the very large measure 
 of success which he already has achieved is the 
 result of patient and intelligent effort added to his 
 personal wurk and unmistakable force of char- 
 acter. 
 
 soon entered the freight office as clerk, and by 
 his energy and a steady application to business, 
 worked his way up to the position of chief clerk, 
 having served in almost every intervening posi- 
 tion. During the year of 1889 he left the employ 
 of the railway company to engage in the real 
 estate business, and was still so engaged when 
 elected register of deeds in i8y6. April 10. 1889, 
 he was married to Miss .^adie Chase Elliot. 
 daughter of W'yman Elliot, one of the oldest and 
 best known residents of Minneapolis, and resides 
 at No. 4621 I'remont avenue .'^, where he has a 
 very cosy little home for his family, which con- 
 sists of his wife and two boys, the elder nearly 
 seven years of age. and the other i)orn on the 
 ;March 26, 1897. just too late to participate 
 in his father's "trimiiiihal entry" tt) the office of 
 register of deeds. Mr. Metcalf has been active in 
 politics for a nunilxr ni \cars. having never held 
 an office, however, until this year. Mr. Metcalf 
 belongs to the .A.. 1". and .\. M. Xo. 19: Benevo- 
 lent and Protective Order of I'^lks .Vo. 44: Royal 
 Arcanum. l-"oresters and Red Men among the fra- 
 ternal societies. In jiolitics he is a Republican. 
 and it was this jwrty that gave him the office he is 
 now filling. He is a member of the Tark .\vcnue 
 Congregational church. Mr. Metcalf is in many 
 
 NILS ( ). WERXER. 
 
 Xds O. Werner is president of the Swedish 
 American Xational Hank at .Minnea])olis and one 
 of the substantial and successful business men of 
 that city. He is the son of Ole X. \\'erner a 
 Swedish farmer in moderate circumstances and 
 of Kjerstin Swenson (Werner). His ancestors 
 were farmers in Sweden for several hundred years. 
 The}- Ijelonged to that independent _\-eomanry 
 who have to a large degree, since the time of 
 Charles XH., controlled the political destiny of 
 that country and wield the balance of power there 
 today. Air. Werner was born in Kristianstad, 
 on the nineteenth dav of January, 1848. He 
 was educated at the common schools until he 
 reached the age of thirteen, when he entered col- 
 lege at Kristianstad, and graduated at the age of 
 twenty, in 1868. He was amlntious to avail himself 
 of the superior advantages for business success 
 offered in the L'nited States, and in 1868 he emi- 
 grated ti) America, where his parents had already 
 preceded him. He located at Princeton, Illinois, 
 in October, 1868, and began the study of law 
 with James S. Eckles, father of the present comp- 
 troller of currency, and remained with him until 
 September. 1870, when he came to ^Minnesota and 
 located in Red Wing. He continued his legal 
 studies there with Hon. W. W'. I'hclps until 1871, 
 when he was admitted t<i the liar, .^ome idea of 
 his courageous self-reliance may be inferred from 
 the fact that when he landed in Red Wing he had 
 l)ut sevcntv-five cents and did not know a person 
 in that p;irt of the wnrld. .\s S(»>n as he was admit- 
 teil to the bar he ojiened an office by himself and 
 had a good business from the start. Three years 
 later, in 1874. he was elected judge of jirobate 
 of Goodhue County, and held that position for 
 ten vears without opposition from cither party. 
 During this time he was .-i iiartner with Hon, O. 
 M. ll.ill. and rontinued the ])ractice nf his )iro-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 465 
 
 fession. ^l\-. Werner was for nine years a mem- 
 ber of the board of education of Red Wing and 
 chairman of the high school CDnmiittce. He was 
 also for a number of years a member of the city 
 covmcil of Red Wing. In ]888 he assisted in 
 tlie organization of the Swedish-American Bank 
 at Minneapolis, becoming its cashier and man- 
 ager. This brought him to Minneapolis to live. 
 In 1894 this institution was made a national bank 
 and Mr. Werner was selected its president, which 
 office he now holds. His political affiliations 
 have always been with the Republican party. He 
 never held any political office except that of a 
 local character already described, but was gen- 
 •erally a delegate to state and congressional con- 
 ventions. He was a member of the state central 
 committee from 18S6 to 1SS8. His church con- 
 nection is with the Lutheran denrniiination. He 
 was married August 17. 1872, to Eva Charlotte 
 Anderson. They have tlirce children, Carl Gustaf. 
 Anna Olivia and Nils ( )laf, aged respectively, 
 twenty-two, twenty and twelve years. Mr. ^^^er- 
 ner has established a rcinit;iti(in as a careful and 
 conserv.itive business man, and enjovs the con- 
 fidence of his business associates and of the busi- 
 ness commimitv in a high degree. 
 
 .\|().Si;.S DlliliLI-: Ki'IXYON. 
 
 Moses l)il)l)le Kenyon is public examiner and 
 superintendent of hanks m .Miimesota. Mr. Ken- 
 yon was born August 13, 1843, at Granville, 
 Washington County, New York, a son of Almon 
 Kenyon, wlio suljsequentlv becaiue a prosperous 
 farmer in central Wisconsin. His wife, mother 
 of the sui)ject of this sketch, was Lura Dibble. 
 His early education began in the district 
 schools of Wisconsin, and he finished the sopho- 
 more year in the Lawrence University at Apple- 
 inn. Wisconsin. In October, 1866, Mr. Kenyon 
 came to .Minnesota and located at Rochester. 
 in January, 1873, he was appointed clerk 
 in the state land office and was advanced 
 subsequently to the position of deputy aud- 
 itor, March i, 1875. He held this office 
 until March i, 1888, when he resigned to accept 
 the appointiuent by Governor McGill as public 
 examiner and su])erinten(lent of banks. In Jan- 
 uary, i8(jo, Mr. Kenyon was re-appointed by 
 Governor Merriam, and again, in Januarj, 1893, 
 re-appointed by Governor Nelson, and in Jan- 
 uary, 1895, I'tceived his present appointment by 
 Governor Clough. Air. Kenyon holds a very 
 important position in the public service, and has 
 made a useful and efficient officer. His public 
 career includes his service as deputy state audi- 
 tor for thirteen years, and previous to that he 
 held a position in the state land office. While 
 clerk in the land office he called the attention 
 of the auditor to the attempt of the St. Paul & 
 Chicago Railway Com])any to secure twice the 
 amount of swamp land granted by the state. 
 The railroad project was finally defeated in the 
 courts, a re])ort of which is contained in 24 Min- 
 nesota, 517. As a result four hundred and si.xty- 
 two thousand three hundred and thirtv-six acres 
 of land were saved to the state. Mr. Kenyon 
 was the author of the law relating to banks of 
 discounts and dtixjsits, passed without a dissent- 
 ing vote liy the legislature of 1895, which in 
 general contains provisions in regard to supervis- 
 ion of state banks, siiuilar to those contained in 
 the national bank law as applied to national 
 banks. He has achieved a high renutation as 
 a public officer, and i« regarded as peculiarly
 
 466 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 qualified for the duties wliich his position im- 
 poses. He was admitted to tlie bar in 1893, liav- 
 ing taken tlie course pi escribed by the University 
 of Minnesota. Air. Kenyon issued a pamphlet 
 on national finance in December, 1895, which 
 attracted wide attention. He was married Jan- 
 uary 22, 1868, to Ida N'inccnt. They have one 
 daughter, Alice L. Air. Kenyon resides in -St. 
 Paul. 
 
 .A.LEX.\NDER RU.SSEL ARCHIBALD. 
 
 Among the institutions founded for instruc- 
 tion in special lines of eilucation none have at- 
 tracted more students than those established to 
 instruct yoimg men and women in the rudiments 
 and principles of ccMnmcrcial business. ( )ne of 
 these institutions is the Archibald Ikisiness Col- 
 lege of Minneapolis, cf)nducted by Alexander 
 Russel Archibald, a native of Nova Scotia. Ills 
 father, Matthew Archibald, was a farmer in mod- 
 crate circumstances in Halifax C'omUy. His 
 mother's niaidi-n name was Jane ( Irant, whose 
 father was a native of .Scotland. The .\i-clnbalds, 
 however, were of English descent. They lo- 
 cated originally in T.ondonderry, Xew Hani])- 
 shirc, and afti-rwards removed tn Xova Scotia. 
 
 Man)' of them attained to honorable positions in 
 the gift of the people of that country, such as 
 the governorship, membership in the people's 
 parliament, etc. A brother of Alexander was a 
 member of the people's parliament for the city of 
 Halifax for several terms, and has now a life 
 position as sheriff in that city. The subject of 
 this sketch was born July 27, 1847, in Musquodo- 
 boit, Halifa.x County, Xova Scotia. His early 
 education was obtained in the common schools 
 where only the ordinary rudimentary branches 
 were taught. Later he attended and graduated 
 at Kiml)all Cnion Academy, in Xew Hampshire. 
 He was there honored with the presidency of 
 his class and selected to give the parting ad- 
 dress. From the academy he went to Dartmouth 
 College. Being possessed of limited means he 
 was oldiged to teach school part of the time in 
 order to pay his expenses, and yet his rank in 
 his class was among the first three all through 
 the four years. He also competed for and 
 gained the oratorical prize. \\'hile in college he 
 was a member of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity 
 
 anil represented that societ)- as a delegate to its 
 national conveiUion in Xew York in 1873. He 
 was graduated in iS7.|\\itii a degree of .\I.A., and 
 in Septembei- nf tlie same year he came to .\lin-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 467 
 
 ncsota and located al CjIciicuc, as priiu'ipal of 
 Stevens Seminary. He remained tlurc through 
 the school year of 1876 and 'j-j, hut in the latter 
 year came to Minneapolis and founded the Archi- 
 bald Business College, an institution whose 
 graduates occupy many positions of trust in the 
 Northwest. Mr. Archibald was married in Au- 
 gust, 1877, at Glencoe, to Miss Sarah Jane Apple- 
 ton. They have one child, (leorge S., now in 
 his fifteenth year. Mr. /\rcliil)ald recalls among 
 his early experiences that lie earned his first 
 dollar while working in a ha\- field on a Nova 
 Scotia farm. Mr. Archibald is a Republican in 
 politics. He has always voted that ticket and 
 is a substantial supporter of the Republican 
 party. He has never held any political office 
 of his own, but as a delegate to local and gen- 
 eral conventions has assisted in securing political 
 honors for bis friends, manv of whom have rea- 
 son to remember his action in the premises with 
 gratitude. 
 
 ARTHUR NEWMAN DARE. 
 
 Arthur Newman Dare, the editor and pub- 
 lisher of the Elk River, Minnesota, "Star News," 
 is a man whose success, achieved in newspaper 
 publication, has been due entirely to his own 
 unaided efforts. He was born in Jordan, ( )non- 
 daga County, New York, Mav 25, 1850. His 
 father, Alfred Dare, was a miller in moderate 
 circumstances. He was a native of Wales and 
 came to this C(juntry in 1838, when l)Ut 
 twenty years of age. He died in 1888. Mary 
 Matilda Allen (Dare), the mother of the 
 subject of this sketch, was l)iirn in \"cr- 
 mont, in humble circumstances. The sul)- 
 ject of this sketch had only the advan- 
 tages of a common school education, with a 
 short attendance at the village academy of his 
 native town. He came to Minnesota with liis 
 parents in 1867, locating in .Minneapolis. Here 
 he entered the ]n-inting office of the Minneapolis 
 Tribune, learning the trade of printer. He 
 worked at his trade for three or four )'ears in the 
 Tribune office until a desire for travel took hold 
 of him. He embarked as a sailor on a whaling 
 ship from New Bedford. ^Massachusetts, in 1872, 
 
 and was gone two and a half years. During this 
 time he had many exciting adventures in New 
 Zealand and the Pacific Ocean. On his way 
 home he made a trip through England. Com- 
 ing back to Alinnesota he settled at Elk River 
 and connnenced working at his old trade. He 
 was made local editor of the Elk River "Star," 
 and a year later bought a half interest in this 
 paper. The following year he bought the "Star" 
 outright. In 1881 he bought the Elk River 
 "?\'ews" and consolidated the two papers as the 
 "Star-News." This paper Mr. Dare has edited 
 and published since that time. He has built up 
 a paying circulation, and established for his paper 
 a good reputation, so that locally it exerts a large 
 influence. .\lr. Dare is a Republican in politics. 
 He has no ambition politically, though he has 
 always taken active interest in the welfare of 
 his party. He has been Chairman of the County 
 Republican Committee continuously for fifteen 
 vears, and in 1894 ^^'^s elected to the State Legis- 
 lature, though the nomination for this latter office 
 came unsought. He was re-elected in 1896. He 
 has for thirteen \ears been a member of Sherburn 
 Dodge, A. l'. & .A. M. In 1879 he was married 
 to Susan May .\lbce. Mr. and Mrs. Dare have 
 three children. Daphne, Susan and Laurence.
 
 468 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOHX FIXLEY GCXJDXOW. 
 
 John Finley Goodnow traces his descent 
 from the Harrison who signed the Declaration 
 of Independence. He is of English and Scotch- 
 Irish ancestry, the son of James Goodnuw and 
 Nancy T. Lattimore (Goodnow). He was born 
 June 29, 1858, at Greensburg, Indiana. His 
 parents came to Alinneapohs in 1870, and lie 
 attended the public schools of this city until 
 1875, when he graduated from the high school. 
 He then entered tl e I'niversity of Minnesota, 
 from which he graduated in 1879. J\lr. (jood- 
 now was the chemist in the state board of health 
 subsequent to his graduation from the univer- 
 sity. He studied medicine with Dr. Hewitt, 
 president of the state board of health, in Red 
 Wing for two years. He did ncit i)ursue the 
 practice of medicine, however, but returned to 
 Minneapolis and engaged in the lumber and 
 fuel business in which he has been interested 
 for fifteen years. Mr. (ioodnow takes an es- 
 pecial interest in politics and has exerted a large 
 influence in the Republican jiarl\ of this city and 
 state during the last ten years. He is now 
 president of the state Republican League, and 
 has held that office ffir two terms. He has been 
 
 a member for three terms of the Republican state 
 central committee; has been chairman of the 
 city Republican connnittee, and has been twice 
 chairman of the resolutions committee of the 
 Xational Republican League, and is vice presi- 
 dent of the Xational Protective Tariff League. 
 He is regarded as one of the most skillful and 
 successful leaders of the Republican party in this 
 state, and has achieved a national reputation 
 through his connection with the National 
 League of Clubs, and through his activity for the 
 nomination of \\'illiani McKinley. At the na- 
 tional convention of this organization in 1895, 
 at Cleveland, he was urged to accept the presi- 
 dency, but was obliged to decline on account of 
 his business interests. To his skill in shaping' 
 the deliberations of the platform connnittee of 
 the league at the Denver convention in 1894 is 
 attributed in a large degree the harmonious and 
 satisfactory outcome of that meeting. Mr. Good- 
 now has never asked for any political office for 
 himself, choosing rather to serve his party in 
 the capacity of an adviser and in working in its 
 interests. He is a Mason, a Knights Templar 
 and .Shriner, and while a student in the univer- 
 sity he was a member <jf the Chi Psi fraternity. He 
 was also elected a member of the honorary 
 society of Phi ISeta Kappa in recognition of his 
 scholarship and attainments as a student, and in 
 i8()5 was a delegate of the university chapter 
 to the triennial conference. He is also a mem- 
 ber of the social order of Hoo Hoos, where his 
 geniality and good fellowship make him a wel- 
 come addition. He is an attendant of the West- 
 minster Presbyterian Church. Mr. Goodnow 
 was married October 5. 1881, to Mary E. Hamil- 
 ton, who died June 15, i8()0. Their living chil- 
 dren are twcT sons. 
 
 PERCY DOWXIXG GODFREY. 
 
 Percy Downing CJodfrey, of St. Paul, is a 
 lawyer, a member of the firm of Otis & Godfrey. 
 His father. Jaccib T. Godfrey, was a farmer and 
 also a practical cnginet-r at Hampton I'each, 
 New Hampshire. When the war broke out he 
 offered his services to his countrv and made an
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 469 
 
 honorable record as a soldier. Jacob's wife was 
 Nettie H. (Downing) Godfrey, who, before her 
 marriage, resided at Rye lieach, New Hampshire. 
 She was a school teacher by profession, and 
 is known to literature as a writer of verse 
 and an author of some distinction. The 
 Godfrey family have been citizens of Hampton, 
 New Hampshire and vicinity since the town was 
 settled in 1638. The complete genealogy of the 
 family is given in the history of Hampton, and 
 several of this sturdy New England family have 
 rendered efficient service in the several wars on 
 behalf of their country, from the Revolutionary 
 War to the last great conflict. Percy Downing 
 was born at Hampton, iMarch 12, 1871. He at- 
 tended the public schools and Hampton Acad- 
 emy and High School, graduating with honors 
 in 1887. He was chosen 1)y his class as the class 
 poet. He came to Minnesota in 1887, and 
 located in St. Paul, where he secured a position 
 in the law office of Judge A. C. Hickman, and Ix'- 
 gan there the study of law. Later he took the 
 law course in the I'niversity of Alinnesota. grad- 
 uating w'ith the class of 1892 with the degree of 
 LL. P). He was admitted tri the bar on his 
 twentv-first birthdav. receiving his diploma 
 through the State Poard of F,xaniincrs and .Su- 
 
 preme Gnuri. ( jn tlic same day, .March 12, 
 1892, he formed a partnership with Arthur G. 
 t Jlis, of St. i'aul, under the style of Otis 
 <!<: Godfrey, succeeding the firm of C. E. ik. 
 A. G. Utis, C. E. Utis having been elevated 
 tci the district bench. .Mr. Godfrey is now 
 in active jjractice. J 11 p(;litics his affiliations 
 are with the Rrimblican parts. He was secre- 
 tary of the Ramsey County congressional con- 
 vention in 1892, and in 1896 secretary of the 
 I'ourth Congressional District convention to 
 select delegates to the Naticjnal Republican con- 
 vention ; has served on the city and county com- 
 mittees, an<l he is at ])resent serving on the Re- 
 publican iC.xecutive Connnittce. He has always 
 taken an active part in the promotion of 
 Rci)ublican iirinciples. .-Mthough ofifered of- 
 fices of trust, he has declined nomination, pre- 
 ferring to devote his time to his professional 
 duties. In 1893 '"^ declined the appointment 
 of assistant city attorney of St. Paul. He is now 
 United States Connnissioner of the L'nited States 
 Court of Claims. .Mr. Godfrey is vice-chancellor 
 of St. Paul Lodge Knights of Pythias and a mem- 
 ber of tlie Odd Fellows, I^lks and Masons. His 
 church connections are with the Congregational 
 body, and he holds the office of secretary of the 
 board of trustees of Bethany church. He was 
 married June 30, 1892, to Minnie R. Lawton, of 
 St. Paul. They have two children, Otis Hickman 
 and Gladvs Elizabeth. 
 
 CORNELIUS B. SHOVE. 
 
 C. B. Shove is of a family which traces its line 
 for two hundred and fifty years, to the early set- 
 tlement of New England. Alonzo Shove, father 
 of Mr. C. B. Shove, was a manufacturer of boots 
 and shoes at Syracuse, New York, w-here Cor- 
 nelius was born November 8. 1844. Six years 
 later the family moved to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, 
 where the son passed his bovhood. and received 
 the common school education available in a 
 countn,- village. When he was thirteen years 
 old he entered a banking and insurance ofifice at 
 Manitowoc. In this position, which he occupied 
 for eleven years, he acquired a practical training 
 in business whicli fitted iiim for the responsible
 
 4.70 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 
 position which ht- has since attained in tlic insur- 
 ance business in this citv. Mr. Sliove"s first ex- 
 perience in insurance was in 1868, when he 
 entered the employment of the late J- T). Bennett, 
 of Cincinnati, an old and successful insurance 
 manager. For a while -Mr. Shove was stationed 
 at Macon, ^Missouri, as a local ag'ent. When the 
 Andes Insurance Conijiany was organized at 
 Cincinnati, Mr. Shove removed to that city, and 
 was appointed special agent of the company. In 
 this position he traveled widely and acquired a 
 large experience in general insurance matters, 
 and in the management of the company's affairs. 
 Afterwards he was appointed state agent of tin- 
 company for Iowa. The Andes was ruined by 
 the great Chicago and Boston fire, and for sev- 
 eral years he was engaged as special agent and 
 adjuster of several companies. In the year 1878 
 he came to Minneapolis, and after a short time 
 organized the .Millers and Manufacturers' Insur- 
 ance Company. I'his company was organized 
 under a new law authorizing a combination of 
 stock and nuitual plans. It was something of an 
 innovation ui^on cstal)lishcd insurance theories. 
 but has i^rovcd a coni])lete success. The Millers 
 and Manufacturers' Insurance Companv com- 
 menced business on Mav i. 1881. It i^ essen- 
 
 tially a nuitual company, distributing to such of 
 its policy holders as come under the mutual 
 agreement, the surplus of premiums paid by 
 them, over the actual cost of the insurance. Mr. 
 Shove has been Secretary and General Manager 
 of the company since its organization, initil a few 
 years since he became its President. He is an 
 inveterate worker, and enthusiastic in his busi- 
 ness, and proud of the sttccess of his company. 
 In 1883 Mr. Shove was married to Mrs. Carrie 
 A. Norton, of Chicago. They live at 1002 Haw- 
 thorn avenue, ^Minneapolis. 
 
 WALTER L( )LTS BADGER. 
 
 \\ alter Louis Badger is a native of Wiscon- 
 sin. He was born at Fond du Lac, May 27, 1868, 
 the son of George A. Badger, for years a suc- 
 cessful merchant in that city, and Harriet E. 
 Hastings (Badger.) lioth parents came from 
 good New England stock, and were natives of 
 Massachusetts. Walter Louis attended the pub- 
 
 lic schools mitil he was lourtecn. when, ambi- 
 tious to earn mone\- to get into business, he left 
 school. In the nuantiine his j)arents had moved, 
 in iSjcS. t(i .Minnc;i|iiilis. and when W'alli-r began
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN ()!■ MINNESOTA. 
 
 471 
 
 to look for opportunit) to cani niniiL'), one ot 
 the tirst things which presented itsi'lf was em- 
 ployment ill the office at tlic I'air < irounds, when 
 the fair was known as "I till King's Show." He 
 began his business career in the real estate office 
 of J. (ioklsbury, and continued there until going 
 into business for liimself in 1886, in the saine 
 line of trade. Tn 1890 he became a special part- 
 ner of the firm of Corser & Co., anrl remained 
 witli that firm three years. He tlien withdrew and 
 resumed the business ak)ne in tlie Xew ^'ork 
 Life Building, where he built up a good business 
 and has charge of a numljcr of large estates, in- 
 cluding the real estate business of the Northern 
 Trust Company, and some other prominent cor- 
 porations. Air. Badger is a Republican, although 
 he has never taken a very active part in party mat- 
 ters. His principal interest in ]5olitics relates to 
 municipal affairs, and he is an active promoter 
 of municipal reform. He is a member of the 
 Conuuercial Club of Minneapolis, the Royal Ar- 
 canum, a director of the Board of Trade, and 
 also of the Northern Trust Company. He is 
 an active member of Plymouth Church, and 
 has been for a number of years treasurer of the 
 Sunday school. He was married in iSgo to Miss 
 Anna Dawson, of Keokuk, Iowa. They have 
 two children, Lester Roberts and Norman Daw- 
 son, aged four and two years, respectively. 
 
 GEORGE ROSS SMITH. 
 
 The ancestors of George Ross Smith belonged 
 to that courageous band of men who, with Daniel 
 Boone, were the pioneers of civilization in Ken- 
 tucky. The descendants of this branch of the 
 Smith family have lived there since that time, for 
 tlie most part engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 The}' have been patriotic, too, when the country 
 needed their services. Robert Smith fought in 
 the War of 181 j; F.dwnrd and James Smith, a 
 generation later, served in the Mexican War, and 
 David Smith respoufled to his country's call at 
 the outbreak of the Civil ^\'ar, sei-\-ing in the 
 Second Minnesota. David is the father of the 
 subject of this sketch. He came to Minnesota 
 from Kentucky in 1854, settling on a farm in 
 Steams Coimtw where he still resides. His wife's 
 
 maiden name was Katharine Crowe. Their son 
 George was born May 28, 1864, at St. Cloud. 
 He was provided by his parents with educational 
 advantages somewhat better than the average 
 farmer bo_\' of that period received. L'p to his 
 fifteenth year he attended the district school in 
 the winter, working during the summer months 
 on the farm. He then entered La'Ke View 
 Academy, from which he graduated in 1886, 
 receiving the gold medal awarded by this institu- 
 tion for proficiency. After his graduation he 
 taught for a while in this school, and later became 
 its principal, which position he filled until 1891. 
 At this time, h;i\ing a predilection for the law as 
 a profession, he entered the law department of 
 the State I'niversity. from which he graduated in 
 1893. He was elected president of his class in 
 the senior year. Upon his admission to the bar 
 Mr. Smith opened an office in Minneapolis and 
 began active practice. He has gradually advanced 
 in his profession by conscientious work and com- 
 mands the respect and esteem of the bar and the 
 bench. In pcilitics he is a Republican, but has 
 never been very active in party work. His society 
 membership is confined to the Delta Chi law 
 fraternity. Jaiuiary 9, 1895, he was married to 
 Mrs. F. y. H(^ran.
 
 472 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OP MINNESOTA. 
 
 \'ERXOX .MORTOX SMITH 
 
 \'ernon Alorloii Smith, chief of police of 
 the city of ^Minneapolis, is a civil engineer by 
 profession and has followed that business botli 
 in civil and niilitar\- life. He is the son of Sam- 
 uel R. Smith, and was born in Stowe, \'ermont, 
 September 15, 1841. I'dr four generations the 
 family have lived in this country, but the descent 
 is mixed English, Irish and Scotch. Mr. Smith 
 had only the school advantages of the public 
 schools in his youth, but he made a special study 
 of civil engineering and fitted himself for that 
 profession. He had practiced his profession, 
 however, for only a brief time when the war 
 broke out and he enlisted as a private soldier. 
 During nine months of his serxice he was con- 
 nected with the engineer corps, the whole period 
 of his military service occupying two years. On 
 his leaving the army he returned to his home in 
 Vermont, and resumed the practice of his pro- 
 fession as engineer. His fellow townsmen rec- 
 ognizing his worth selected him as their repre- 
 sentative in the Vernidut legislature and he 
 served them two years in that capacity, 1867 and 
 1868. Mr. Smith was on the look-out, however, 
 for better ()p])ortimities than oft ere 1 tlu'inselves 
 
 in Vermont in his line of business, and in 1873 
 came to Minnesota and located in Minneapolis. 
 He lived here two years and during that time 
 became interested in the milling business in the 
 old Dakota Alills, under the name of Beedy, Huy 
 & Co. He then removed to Lyon County in 
 this state, and while a resident of that cotmty 
 he was twice elected County Commissioner. In 
 1884 he returned to Minneapolis, and has been 
 a resident of this city ever since. Since locating 
 in Minneapolis he was for two years, in connec- 
 tion with his son and son-in-law, T. H. Croswell, 
 surveyor for the government in the Red Lake 
 agency, where he laid out about fifty townships 
 in the years 1890 and 1891. He served two years 
 in the Minneapolis city council from the Second 
 ward, having been elected in 1888. When W. H. 
 Lustis was chosen mayor of Minneapolis in 
 1892, he appointed Mr. Smith Chief of Police. 
 The appointment proved to be a very fortunate 
 one and Mr. Smith discharged the duties of the 
 office with such ability that when Robert Pratt 
 succeeded Mr. Eustis as Mayor in 1894 he re- 
 tained Air. Smith at the head of the police de- 
 ]3artment. L nder his administration changes 
 were made in the management of that department 
 looking to a better discipline and a greater gen- 
 eral efliciency in the force. Air. .'-^niith is a 
 member of the Commercial Club of Minneap- 
 olis, the Engineers' Club, the Knights of Pythias 
 and the A. C). I'. W. He has a pleasant home 
 on the East Side. His wife was Isidore C. 
 Lathrop, whom he married at Stowe, \'ermont, 
 Xovemlier 10, i86,v Thev have three children 
 — one daughter, Mrs. Mar\- I. Crosswell, of Mer- 
 riam Park; D. S. .Smith, superintendent of the 
 Street Railway of St. Paul, and LeRoy \'. Smith, 
 superintendent of a large farm in Xorth Dakota. 
 
 PHILIP TOLLEI- ME(i.\.\RI)EX. 
 
 Phil. T. .Megaarden, chief de])ut\- sheriff of 
 Hennepin County, is a nali\e of Iowa and l)y 
 descent of Xorwcgian extraction. His parents 
 were botli 1-orn in Xorwa\-. The father, Tollef 
 K. Mega;irden, wa- a ile.-iler in livestock and 
 later a railroad contractor. Mr li\cd in .\ll,-i-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 478 
 
 makee County, Iowa, at the time of the breaking 
 out of the war, and enlisted in the Fourth Iowa 
 Cavalry, serving three years. At the close of the 
 war he removed to Dickinson County, where he 
 lived until iSjy.when the family removed to Min- 
 neapolis. Philip was born in Allamakee County, 
 on October 2, 1864. He was the oldest of seven 
 children. During liis early childhood he attended 
 the public schools near his home in Iowa and 
 in Minneapolis. In the fall of 1878 he had re- 
 solved to prepare for the Lutheran ministry, and 
 entered Augsberg Seminarv, .Minneapolis, but 
 the next year his father died suddenly leaving 
 Philip at the head of a family of seven and with 
 little means for their support. Putting aside the 
 plans which he had made, the boy commenced a 
 struggle for a livelihood. He obtained such 
 employment as he could, first as clerk in a fuel 
 office, then bookkeeper and later as court offi- 
 cer in the municipal court. .\11 this time he was 
 studying as best he could, sometimes attending 
 ■evening school and again employing a private 
 instructor. He managed to get a course in a 
 lousiness college and at last entered the univer- 
 sity law school, from which he graduated in 
 1892, taking the degree of LL. P.. He was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in the supreme court during 
 the same year. In iSc)^ he comijleted a post- 
 
 graduate course in the law school and received 
 the degree of LL. M. Mr. .\legaarden com- 
 menced the practice of law, but on January 1, 
 :.S<;5, discontinued it to accept the office which 
 lie now holds. He intends to resume practice 
 upon leaving the sheriff's office. Since coming 
 Ml age .Mr. .\legaarden has been a staunch Re- 
 publican, and has taken an active part in political 
 affairs. He is a member of the Inion League 
 and other political clubs. He has taken a promi- 
 nent part in the order of the Knights of Pythias 
 and is at present Chancellor Commander for the 
 second lime of .Monitor Lodge Xo 6, K. of P. 
 He has at times filled nearly every office in this 
 lodge. Repeatedly elected to represent his lodge 
 in the Miimesota Grand Lodge, and being a 
 member of the Grand Lodge of the Domain of 
 .Minnesota, he has taken a prominent part in the 
 affairs of the order in the Xorthwest. He has 
 held the office of Deputy Grand Chancellor of 
 the Grand Lodge. Mr. Megaarden is also a 
 member of .Xorth .Star Division, Xo. i, Uniform 
 Rank, Knights of Pythias. He holds member- 
 ship in the Khurum Lodge, Xo. 112, .\. F. and 
 A. M., and is also a member of Ridgely Lodge, 
 Xo. 85, I. O. O. F., and of ]\Iinnewa Tribe, Xo. 
 II, of the Im]M-oved Order of Red Men. He is 
 a member of the Minneapolis Commercial Club. 
 Mr. Megaarden is unmarried. 
 
 Gl'STAX THEDEX. 
 
 On the twelfth day of November, 1862 Gustav 
 Theden was born at Xor, \'ermland, Sweden. 
 He was educated in the schools of his native 
 country, and graduated from Karlstad College 
 in 1S80. .Shortly after taking his degree he 
 emigrated to the United States, settling in 
 Chicago, where he Ijecame editor of Missions 
 A'aiinin, a position which he held for eight years, 
 when he came to Alinneapolis, since his home. 
 Since his residence in ]^Iinneapolis, Mr. Theden 
 has been editor of the Minneapolis \'eckoblad, 
 a religious and political newspaper in Swedish, 
 having a circulation of about fourteen thousand. 
 He is now one of the proprietors of that paper. 
 He has a good understanding of militan- tactics,
 
 474 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 having had a cart-ful training along this line in 
 the mother country. He is a member of 
 the Swedish Mission Covenant Church, and is 
 unmarried. It was in the campaign of 1892 that 
 :\Ir. Theden first made himself felt in politics. 
 He was engaged by the Republican .State Central 
 Committee to make a number of speeches in the 
 Swedish tongue at various jKiints over the state. 
 Having studied law with a marked degree of 
 success, and having many of the arts and graces 
 of the public speaker, he made a reputation in 
 that campaign which two years later secured him 
 the nomination as a candidate for the state senate 
 from one of the Minneapolis districts. He was 
 elected by a large majority, and his term of office 
 will not expire until the first of January, 1899. 
 During his first term as member of the state 
 senate he became known as the champion of 
 measures designed to benefit labor, notably the 
 lien law, which owes its present efficiency in this 
 state in large part to his efforts. He was also 
 back (A legislation intended to give voice to the 
 demand for additional safeguards to be thrown 
 around the licjuor traffic. His chief work as a 
 temperance reformer is embudicd in a bill nulli- 
 fying an ordinance of the city of .Minneapolis 
 providing that only meiubers of the ])olice depart- 
 
 ment should be qualified to swear out warrants 
 for a violation of the Sunday closing law, so- 
 called. .\t the opening of the present session of 
 the legislature (in January, 1897), he became the 
 ciiamjjion of that large and growing class of 
 citizens who believe that the modern department 
 stores are against public jiolicy. He moved the 
 conmiittee of investigation that was busy for a 
 large part of the session sifting out the facts 
 connected with that s\stem. and was made its 
 chairman. Mr. Theden is a striking represen- 
 tati\e of the successful young man in politics, 
 and his career so far has been an honorable one. 
 He enjoys the confidence of a rapidly widening 
 circle of acqtiaintances and friends, and his ftiture 
 is very promising. 
 
 L( )RA.\ CH.\RLES STEVENSON. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a lawyer prac- 
 ticing his profession in iMinneapolis. He was 
 born in (Jakland County, .Michigan, August 20,. 
 1861, the son of John W. Stevenson and Frances 
 A. Bird (Stevenson). John Stevenson \\as a 
 farmer and followed that occupation until re- 
 cently, when he nujved into a small village near 
 Detroit. He is of Scotch descent, his grand- 
 parents having both been born in Scotland. Mr. 
 Stevenson's descent on his uKither's side is from 
 the Wentworth family, quite numerous in New 
 York. The grandparents of Loran, both on his 
 mothers' and father's side, settled in Michigan 
 in the early days. Loran began his education in 
 a country school about a mile and a half from his 
 fathers home, to which he was obliged to walk 
 every day. Later he attended the Michigan state 
 normal school for about three years, and after 
 that sjjent one }ear at the state university at .-Knn 
 Arbor, but did not complete the course of study 
 or graduate from anv institution of that kind. 
 In 1883 he located in Minnesota. He was then 
 engaged as a conunercial traveler and made his 
 headquarters in Mankato. He followe<l this 
 business for abmit three years, ;ni(l while a resi- 
 dent of Mankato, was m;irried, Xovember 8. 1887, 
 to Miss Icnne Lettus. The following day he 
 came to Minueapulis to live, and soon afterw.irds
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 475 
 
 cumnienced the study of law with C. J. liartlesun. 
 July 12, 1889, he was admitted to the bar and 
 has been engaged in the practice of law ever 
 since. His business has gradually increased and 
 is now satisfactory in its results. Mr. Stevenson 
 is a Republican and a member of the Union 
 League. He is also a member of the Commer- 
 cial Club and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows and the Improved Order of Red Men. Mr. 
 Stevenson was not favored by fortune in his early 
 life, and enjoyed only such advantages as come tu 
 the son of a farmer in moderate circumstances, 
 compelled to relv niainlv upon himself for what- 
 ever advancement he could obtain. After com- 
 pleting his studies at the normal school and at 
 the University of Michigan he spent some time in 
 the occupation of teacher, but his business and 
 professional experience has been mainly in the 
 profession of law. He has no children. 
 
 BERNDT ANDERSON. 
 
 Berndt Anderson is dairy commissioner 
 of the state of Minnesota. Mr. Anderson 
 is a native of Sweden, having been born at Lund. 
 August 2, 1840, the son of Lars .\nderson and 
 
 Anna Christiansen (Anderson.) Mr. Anderson 
 enjoyed the educational advantages afforded by 
 the elementary schools of his native town, after 
 which he attended the University of Lund, where 
 lie was graduated in 1865. His diploma for that 
 institution gave him admission as an officer in 
 the internal royal department at Stockholm. He 
 was naturally of a scientific bent, and subse- 
 quently pursued the study of natural science in 
 Berlin and Dre.sden, Germany, for two years. He 
 came to America in 1880 and located in Minne- 
 sota. He was a gentleman of fine attainments 
 in letters and the sciences, and was employed 
 as associate editor of "The Minnesota Stats 
 Tidning," at .Miimeapolis. Subsequently he 
 became one of the stock company which 
 purchased this paper, and afterwards started 
 a Swedish jiaper, "Skaffaren," of which he was 
 made editor-in-chief. He has held that posi- 
 tion during the last twelve years, and at the head 
 of that successful journal has exerted a wide in- 
 fluence, especialh' among his fellow countrymen. 
 
 He has always taken an active interest in politics, 
 and was a delegate to the Republican state con- 
 vention which nominated W. R. Merriam for gov- 
 ernor. In January, 1893. he was appointed by
 
 476 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 Governor Nelson to the office of chief of the- 
 dairy and food commission, and was re-appointed 
 in 1895. Mr. Anderson is prominent in the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church, is a member of the 
 first church of that denomination in St. Paul, 
 where he resides, and has been its reviser for 
 five years. He was married in 1 87 1 to Emma 
 Yhnell, at Stockholm. They have two daughters 
 and three sons. The office which Mr. Anderson 
 occupies is one of growing importance in this 
 state. The dair}- interest is employing more capi- 
 tal and labor and becoming more widely ex- 
 tended every year. The state is peculiarly 
 adapted to this industry, and the products of the 
 dairies of Minnesota are accorded a very high 
 rank wherever they are brought into competition 
 with those of other sections. Mr. Anderson has 
 been active in promoting the interest of this in- 
 dustry, protecting the producers from injurious 
 and unlawful competition and raising the grade 
 of dain,' stock and the dairy product. 
 
 COURTLAXD XAY DICKEY. 
 
 Courtland X. Dickey, clerk uf the district court 
 of the Fourth Judicial District, for Hennepin 
 County, was born January i, 1855, in Jefferson 
 County, Indiana. His father and grandfather, 
 who lived for many ) ears in the Hoosier state, 
 trace then- ancestry back to an ancient family in 
 the north of Ireland, a branch of which established 
 itself in this country alnuist a hundred years ago. 
 These first Dickeys settled in Xew Jersey, and 
 after some years went to Xorth Carolina. Mr. 
 Dickey's paternal grandfather married, in i80(S, 
 Miss Elizabeth Stark, a near relative of the hero (if 
 the battle of Bennington, and located with his 
 wife in what was afterwards .Scott Comity, Indi- 
 ana, but then a wild fnjntier country. The elder 
 Dickey assisted in the orgaiii/atinn of Scott 
 County, and here his sun, the father of the subject 
 of this sketch, was Ijorn. This son l)ecame a law- 
 yer, but before he was twenty-four years of age 
 was elected cmmtv auditor. Locating in Jefferson 
 County, he served as postmaster for nine years, 
 and then became successively deputy auditor and 
 recorder. He was serving his second term in the 
 
 latter office at the time of his death in 1874. .Mr. 
 Dickey was the fourth of a family of five children. 
 The first ten vears of his life were passed on his 
 father's farm. When the family moved to the 
 town of Madison, in [efferson County, he began 
 to go to school, and to cultivate what he was not 
 long in finding out was a decided taste for music. 
 This musical talent helped him to earn his first 
 dollar. In 1878, at the age of twenty-two, he went 
 to California on account of ill health, remaining in 
 that state until 1883, when he came to Minneapo- 
 lis, which city has since been his home. Mr. 
 Dickey's first eni])lo\nieiit after coining to Min- 
 neapolis was as a copyist in the office of the clerk 
 of the district court, a jiositiiiii which he secured 
 in competitive examination with eighty-four other 
 apjdicants. 1 )uring the terms of E. J. Davenport 
 and Captain Terrell he was deputy clerk-, an<l in 
 1882 he \vas elected clerk. In 181/1 he was re- 
 elected. In the year icjoi, when his second term 
 will end, Mr. Dicke\- will have been in the clerk's 
 office of Mi'nni|iin ('ouiil\. in one ca])acity or 
 other for eighteen years. He is one of the most 
 efficient men who ever filled the office of clerk of 
 llie district Court in the state, .\11 of liis political 
 honors have been received at tlie hands of the Re- 
 luiblican partw and to tliis party he has always be- 
 lontred. The earlier nH-mliers of tlie famib were
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEK OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 477 
 
 Whigs or Rcpulilicaiis witlmut an I'xceplii mi. lie 
 is a Royal Arch Mason, a incnihi'i- of the- II. !'.(). 
 E., and of the Tniprovcd < )rilir of Rcil Men. His 
 family is identified with the I iiiversalist church, 
 hilt he helon.Lis to no religious organization. 
 
 \ IRGIL TI, TI.XRRIS, 
 
 X'irgil II, llarris. judge of jiroljate of Meeker 
 Countw was bom at Newark. • )liio, .May 14, 1840. 
 He is the son of Daniel and .Martha ( Dowling) 
 Harris, The founders of the llarris family in 
 this country were among the earliest settlers in 
 Virginia, and their descendants are scattered 
 all over the Southern States. liphriam Harris, 
 grandfather of the suliject of this sketch, was a 
 personal friend of Aaron I'.urr, who had the 
 famous duel with Alexander Hamilton. He was 
 present and took part in the first declaration of 
 independence at Charlotte, North Carolina, two 
 years previous to the signing 1 )f the formal decla- 
 ration, ICphriam migrated from Kentucky to 
 Ohio in company with Daniel lioone. taking a 
 claim on what is now a part of the city of Newark. 
 The Dowling family is of Irish descent, X'irgil's 
 maternal grandfather, having thrashed a liritish 
 landlord for not returning the salutation "Good 
 morning" in a propei' manner, decided it was 
 good policy to move West, Martha Howling. 
 mother of the subject of this sketch, was born 
 in Pennsylvania, and mo\-ed to ( »hio with the 
 family in 1825, locating near h'rederick. As an 
 illustration of the hardships of life of the jiioneers 
 of that dav it might be mentioned that this young 
 girl walked barefooted and <lrove cattle all the 
 way from Pennsylvania to ( 'hio. \ oung Harris 
 received his early education in the traditional log 
 schoolhouse near his home, and later t( lok a 
 complete course in a business college at Ashland, 
 Ohio, and at Indiana]iolis, Indiana, with a high 
 school course at I'>uc\rus. < )hi(i. In 1862 he 
 joined Company 1!, ( )ne Hun(lre<l and ICleventh 
 Ohio \'olunteer Infantry, at h'ostoria, ( )hio, ami 
 served three years in the Civil War, He had an 
 honorable war record, fighting in all twenty-eight 
 battles with the armies of the Cumberland and 
 Ohio. After his discharge from the army he 
 returned home and wurked on the farm. His 
 
 health having been considerably impaired from a 
 sun stroke while serving in the army, Mr, Harris 
 decided to come to Minnesota, and in I'cbruary, 
 1870, he located at Litchfield, where he has lived 
 ever since. His attention has been chiefly devoted 
 to the drug business, which he carried on from 
 1873 to 1890. He also built and is owner of a 
 brick block in Litchfield, He is a Republican in 
 politics, and in 1896 was elected to the office of 
 judge of probate of Meeker County, which office 
 he still holds. He has had the office of mayor 
 of Litchfield, chairman of the board of county 
 commissioners, and justice of the peace. He is 
 a member of the I. O. O. F.. the A. O. U. \V., 
 and the (i. A. R., l)eing past conunander of the 
 Frank Daggett Post. Litchfield, and junior vice 
 department conunander of Minnesota. His relig- 
 ious affiliations are with the Christian Church. 
 In 1868 he married Lizzie H. Hill, of Marion 
 Countv, Ohio, four bo\-s resulting from this union, 
 lUirtillion Enuuit, John F,, ?yIaro A, and Ernest 
 \'. Mr. Harris has devoted some of his leisure 
 time to Classical Literature, and is at present 
 engaged in a forthcoming work entitled "A Trip 
 Through Hell — An Epic of the I'nseen." which 
 will be copiouslv illustrated and ])ub!ished in the 
 near future.
 
 478 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 GUSTA\' ADOLPH SCHUBERT. 
 
 Gustav Adolph Schubert is an orches- 
 tral ami band leader in Minneapolis. Mr. 
 Schubert is a native of Eilcnburg, Germany, wherf 
 he was born August ii, 1848. He attended the 
 common school, which in that city was by no 
 means to be compared with the American insti- 
 tution. At an early age he developetl unusual 
 musical talent and was sent for musical educa- 
 tion to Leipsic. In 1865 he became a member 
 of the .Symphony Orchestra in Halle, which at 
 that time was one of the finest organizations in 
 Germany. He also played in several concerts 
 under the famous musical director, Dr. Robert 
 Franz. Subsequently he was chosen conductor 
 of the orchestra in Flensburg, Germany. Dur- 
 ing all this time he continued the study of his 
 art and was awarded his diploma as a singing 
 teacher in Germany in 1876. In May, 1884, he 
 removed with his family to America and located 
 in Minneapolis. In the following year he won 
 the second prize at the thirteenth ( iornian sing- 
 ing contest in St. Paul, and in 1S87 he again 
 won the second prize of the fourteenth contest 
 of the German Singing Society in Alinneapolis. 
 Prof. Schubert was for a time connected with 
 Danz's orchestra, but is now engaged as the 
 
 leader and conductor of an orchestra and mili- 
 tary band which bears his own name. In 1889 
 he formed a partnership with E. I'. Thyle which 
 continued until 1891. Upon its dissolution Mr. 
 Schubert continued as a leader of the Schubert 
 orchestra and has played important engagements 
 in Alinneapolis and vicinity. IJefore coming to 
 America, Mr. Schubert, as a native of Germany, 
 was enlisted in the army of the empire, and 
 fought in the war between Germany and France 
 in 1870 and 1871. He was corporal of the 
 Twenty-fifth Infantry Regiment in that war. Pre- 
 vious to the outbreak of that war he was a sol- 
 dier in Flensburg. He fought in the battles of 
 \'illerechsel. and the three days' fighting of 
 Hericourt, besides several other important en- 
 gagements. He is a member of the Turner 
 Society, the Knights of Honor, the Krieger 
 .Society, the Western Knights, the Sons of Herr- 
 mann and the ( )rder of the World. He is also 
 a member of the German Lutheran Church. On 
 the sixth day of March, 1872. he was married to 
 Mrs. Christine Johannsen. They have three chil- 
 dren, Caroline Jacobine, who is now Mrs. F. G. 
 Callahan, Katharine Charlotte and W'ilhelmene 
 Pauline. 
 
 PET E k 1 ; FLA C RAN E. 
 
 Peter ilela Crane, of .Minneapolis, was 
 born in Wisconsin, Alarch 6, 1847. His father, 
 \ . G. Crane, had shortly before that removed 
 from New York to Wisconsin. He was a me- 
 chanic and a farmer in reduced circumstances, 
 his lack of means being due to prolonged illness. 
 E. F. Crane, a brother of the father of the subject 
 of this sketch, is a Baptist minister, now over 
 ninety years of age, who is .said to have baptized 
 over three thousand people. The subject 
 of this sketch attended the district school, 
 which in the early days tjf Wisconsin was 
 comparatively a primitive affair. His at- 
 tendance, however, was confined chiefly to 
 the winter months, his services, as in the 
 case of most farmers' boys, being re(|uired 
 on the farm in the summer. Tn the spring of 
 i86(). Pi-lrr r.ela CrMiie c.-imc to Minne- 
 sota in a covered wagon and settled on a farm 
 near Montevideo. He has had (\\\\\v a \;u-ied
 
 rKOCKKSSIVlv MKN 01' MINNESOTA. 
 
 4-79 
 
 career, having been engaged in farming, in sell- 
 ing farm machinery, and as a fnc and life insur- 
 ance agent. In 1874 he was appdinted the agent 
 of the St. Paul I'ire and Marine and the Minne- 
 sota P'armers' Fire Insurance companies, which 
 he managed with success. In 1880 he accepted 
 the general agency for Dakota of the St. Paul 
 Fire and ]\Iarine Company. In 1885 he engaged 
 in the life insurance business, and in 1887 he 
 organized the Odd Fellows' National Benevolent 
 Association the membership of which was 
 confined exclusively to the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows. In January, 1892, 
 tlie company was changed to a general 
 msurance company of the natural premium 
 plan. The name was also changed to the 
 National ^futual Life Association. Mr. Crane 
 is president of this company and is giving it his 
 especial attention. His political affiliations are 
 with the Republican party, although he does not 
 take a very active part in politics. He is a 
 member of the Montevideo Lodge, I. O. O. F., 
 and of Sunset Lodge, A. F. & A. M. His church 
 connections are with the Congregational body. 
 
 On December 20, 1876, he was married to Miss 
 Addie L. Lawrence, who died May 3, 1888. He 
 has six children, Mary L.. Mertle E., Alta R., 
 Bela L., Harold C. and Gladise E. 
 
 EDWARD JOSEPH McMAHON. 
 
 Edward Joseph McMahon is of Irish de- 
 scent. Thomas McMahon, his father, emigrated 
 from Ireland to this country in 183 1, settling at 
 BufTalo, New York. Bridget Shaughnessy (Mc- 
 Mahon), his mother, was also of Irish birth, 
 coming to the United States when thirteen 
 years of age. The McMahon family removed 
 to ^Minnesota in 1857, settling at Faribault, 
 where they engaged in farming and became 
 fairly prosperous. Edward was born at Fari- 
 bault, Tanuarv 10, 1859. He received a good 
 general education, somewhat better than that of 
 the average farmer's boy, attending the public 
 schools at Faribault, and graduating from the 
 high school at the head of his class in his six- 
 teenth vear. For the next five years he worked 
 on his father's farm, but, having a predilection 
 for the profession of law, he left the farm and 
 entered the law office of John H. Case, at Fari- 
 bault, to take up its study. He was studious in 
 his habits, and at the end of two years, in 1882, 
 was admitted to practice. ^Ir. McMahon de- 
 cided to remove to North Dakota to take up 
 the practice of his profession, and he hung out 
 his shingle in the little town of Hope. It was 
 but a short time after his arrival that he w-as 
 appointed countv attorney. This appointment
 
 480 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 came to him in a rather pecuHar way. He was 
 comparatively a stranger, but one oi the county 
 commissioners came to him one day to get his 
 opinion on the legahty of a certain measure that 
 was bothering the commissioners. The other 
 local attorneys hail declared it leyal, Ijut -Mr. 
 jNIcAIahon gave an opposite opinion, and was 
 able to so convince the conuiiissioners. When 
 they held their next meeting the\- elected the 
 young attorney for the ofBce above mentioned. 
 Mr. JMcMahon established a profitable practice 
 in Hope, but in 18S9 removed to Minneapolis in 
 order to have a wider field. He formed a part- 
 nership in 1893 with 1'. A. ("lilman. under the 
 firm name of Gilman & McMaiion. which still 
 continues. They do a general law business and 
 enjoy a profitable practice, many times engaged 
 in important cases in the states (if Wisconsin, 
 North and South Dakota. Mr. .\lcMahon has 
 ahvavs been a Republican. While in North Da- 
 kota he was electe<l to the oftice of county 
 clerk and register of deeds for Steele County, 
 for the term of 1882-84. He is a member of 
 the Commercial Club, of ]\linneapolis, and of 
 the I. (). O. F., and is also a Mason, belonging 
 to all the Masonic bodies in the city, and ha'; 
 served three times as Master of Khurum Lodge. 
 No. 112. 
 
 ED.MUND ROWE W.\RD. 
 
 .Mr. Ward has been a resident of .Minneapolis 
 only since January y, 1895, ^^^^'- ^'^^ '""^s found it 
 a profitable field for his business, and has been 
 highly successful in his capacity as manager of 
 the Phoenix .Mutual Life Insurance Company of 
 Hartford, in Minnesota. Mr. Ward is a native of 
 Ontario, Canada, and was born in Oxford county, 
 April 10, 1S53. the son of Benjamin and Sarah 
 Hill Ward. 'I'lie father was a farmer, and \u\- 
 mund grew up <in the farm, attending the country 
 schools. He K-ft the farm at the age nf twenty- 
 six, and first learned the carpenter and joiner's 
 trade, which occupation he followed in Saginaw, 
 Michigan, mitil 18K9. I'art of his lime his Imsi 
 ness was that of builder and contraclnr. under the 
 firm name of Denny I't Ward, .-nid p.ni of ilie 
 
 time as president of the Co-operative Building 
 Association in Saginaw. It was not until 1889 
 he took up the busmess of life insurance as a so- 
 licitor. Since that time his advancement has been 
 rapid, as follows: .Six months after beginning 
 the business he was appointed state special agent 
 for the L'nion Central Life Insurance C'jmpany. 
 Six months later he was advanced to the position 
 of district general agent for the same company, 
 under which contract he handled a large part of 
 the company's assets in the way of loans, and 
 made a success of it. On Jtine i, 1891, he re- 
 signed his position with the Cnion Central to 
 accept an oflfer from the Phoenix Mutual Life of 
 Hartford, as special traveling agent. The first of 
 the following January, 1892, he was appointed 
 assistant manager for the same company in .Mich- 
 igan. In June of the same year he was appointed 
 executive special agent for the same company for 
 Michigan and Ohio. In January, 1895, 1'^' ^'''^^ 
 offered his present ])osition as manager for Min- 
 nesota for the Phoenix Mulii;d Lifi- and accepted 
 it. His success for 181)5. as shown b\- the insur- 
 ance commissioner's report, was \er\- t'licourag- 
 ing. lia\iiig written tliree times .'is much business 
 as the company had received in any preceding 
 year, while his 1)usiness for 1896 exceeds that of
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 4-81 
 
 i8y5 by mure lliaii an liundrcd per iciit. Mr. 
 Ward is president of the Minneapolis Association 
 of Life I'nderwritcrs and vice-president of the 
 National Association of Life rndervvriters. He 
 is a nieniher <if .Minneapolis Loiltje, N'o. 19, A. F. 
 & A. M.; also a member of the Minneapolis Com- 
 mercial Club. He was married in 1872 to Eliza- 
 iDCth A. Dell, of .St. Mary's, ( )ntario. They have 
 two children, Robert E. and .Maud II. P. 
 
 WILLARI) i'.^'nil'.K ri.xiux 
 
 W. B. Pineo, of Minneapolis, is a spe- 
 cialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose 
 anil throat. Dr. I'iueo was born at Col- 
 umbia, Maine, April 22, 1858. His father 
 Benjamin C. Pineo, was a stone contractor in 
 moderate circumstances. His mother's maiden 
 name was Cordelia W. Ramsdell. On his father's 
 side, Ur. Pineo is descended froiu Jacques Pineau, 
 the French Huguenot, who landed at Plymouth 
 in 1700. Dr. Timothy Stone Pinneo, grand 
 uncle of W'illard, was the author of Pinneo's 
 Grammars and the revisor of the .McGuffcy 
 readers. He graduated from the classical and 
 medical departments of Yale College with high 
 honors, ami was professor of belles lettres at 
 Marietta College, Ohio. Still later he was at the 
 head of a school in Greenwich, Connecticut. Dr. 
 Peter Pineo, of Boston, another grand uncle, was 
 distinguished for his splendid war record. The 
 subject of this sketch received his early education 
 at Oak Hill .Seminary at ilucksport, Maine, and 
 Kent's Plill Seminary at Redfield, Maine. In Sep- 
 tember, 1882, he came to Minnesota and not long 
 afterwards began the stu(i\- of medicine. He re- 
 ceived medical diplomas from the Minnesota 
 Hospital College and from the medical depart- 
 ment of the Universit\- of Minnesota in 1885. He 
 was valedictorian of his class and president of 
 the alumni association. During the winter of 
 1889-90 he received instruction on the eye, ear, 
 nose and throat at the Polyclinic and Manhattan 
 Eye and Elar Infirmary of New 'V'ork city. Dur- 
 ing the year 1895 h*^ niade a tour of the eye and 
 ear hospitals of Berlin, \'ienna, Paris and London. 
 Dr. Pineo owes little to anv one but himself for 
 the success which he has attained in his jirofes- 
 
 sii.m, the money necessary to enable him to pur- 
 sue his medical studies having been earned while 
 teaching in the public schools. For five years 
 following his graduation from the university, Dr. 
 Pineo was associated with Dr. Dunsmoor in the 
 general practice of medicine in the city of Minne- 
 apolis, but since that time he has made a specialty 
 of the diseases of the C}'e, ear, nose and throat, 
 and has confined himself to that line of practice. 
 In politics he is a Repul)lican and a reliable sup- 
 porter of Republican ijrinciples, although he has 
 never taken a very active part in politics. He is 
 a member of the .Minneapolis Commercial Club, 
 the Minneapolis Whist Clul), the Benevolent and 
 Protective t )rder of Elks, and has received all the 
 degrees conferred in Masonry in this state. He 
 is past master of Plennepin Lodge, Xo. 4, and 
 .Minneapolis Council, Xo. 2, and past junior 
 warden of Zion Connnanderv, Xo. 2. He is at 
 present wise master of St. \'incent de Paul Chap- 
 ter of Rose Croix, Xo. 2. of the Ancient and 
 Accepted .Scottish Rite and is Right Worshipful 
 District Deputy (irand Master of the state of 
 Minnesota. He is also vice-president of the 
 Masons' bVaternal .\ccident Association of Min- 
 neapolis. He was married Xovember 28, 1884. 
 to Saidie Kendal Cobb, granddaughter of Xa- 
 thaniel Cobb, of Boston, the noted philanthropist.
 
 482 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 MARTIN MARTY. 
 
 Right Reverend Martin Marty, O. S. U., Sec- 
 ond Bishop of St. Cloud, is a native of Switzer- 
 land. He was born at Schwvz, January 12, 1834. 
 He earlv resolved to devote his life to the service 
 of the church, and entering- the great Benedictine 
 Abbey of Einsiedeln, made his profession Ma\ 
 20, 1855. The young monk had already pursued 
 his theological studies with such zeal and talent 
 that the next year he was ordained priest, on the 
 fourteenth of September. About that time a colony 
 of monks from Einsiedeln were sent to Indiana 
 and founded the Monastery of Saint ^Meinrad. 
 Dom Marty arrived in i860 to share the labors of 
 his brethren. The little comnuinity prospered, a 
 college was established and the missicMi work be- 
 came more extensive. In 1870 Pope Puis IX. 
 erected St. Meinrad's into an abbey, constituting 
 the fathers connected with it intn the Helveto- 
 American Congregation, and its jirior, Martin 
 Marty, was made mitred abbi)tt. The corner stone 
 of the new nxjuastcry was laid M;iy 22, 1872. Ab- 
 bot Marty jiresidcd for several years, perfecting 
 the institutif)n inider his care and extending the 
 missions, erecting churi-hes and foslering educa- 
 tion. He had a long cherished desire, hdwever. 
 to undertake mission work among the Indians. 
 and in 7876 he set nut with Sduu- fatliers to the 
 
 Dakota Territory. The work there gave such 
 promise that he resigned the dignity of abbot to 
 devote himself to his new duties. In 1879 the 
 territory of Dakota, comprising one liun- 
 dred and seventy-five thousand s<|uare miles, 
 was formed into a vicariate apostolic and 
 entrusted to the care of the zealous Benedictine, 
 who was consecrated Bishop of Tiberias, Febru- 
 ary I, 1880. He continued in charge until 1889, 
 when the vicariate was divided into the dioceses 
 of Jamestown and Sioux Falls, Bishop Marty 
 retaining the latter. In this year he was selected 
 by President Cleveland to serve as a member of a 
 commission appointed to treat with the Chippewa 
 Indians o\ Minnesota concerning the cession of 
 their lands, and with Senator Henry Rice and Dr. 
 Joseph Whiting, he visited the different reserva- 
 tions and secured from the Indians their consent 
 to the proposals made by congress. In 1895 
 Bishop Marty was transferred to the See of St. 
 Cloud as successor of Rt. Rev. Bishop Zardetti,. 
 who was transferred to the Archiepiscopal See of 
 Bukarest, in Roumania. At the beginning of 
 1896 the diocese of St. Cloud numliered seventy- 
 two priests, eighty churches, twelve chapels, one 
 university and seminary, forty-six parochial 
 schools, with an attendance of five thousand one 
 hundred children; one orphan asylum, containing 
 one hundred orphans ; five other charitable insti- 
 tutions, and a population of about forty thousand 
 Catholics. The See of St. Cloud is one of the 
 most important in the Northwest, and to the care 
 and promotion of this important work Bishop 
 .Marty devoted his entire time and energy, 
 i I'lishop Mnrty died September 18, 1896.) 
 
 LARS M. RAX I). 
 
 Lars M. Rand came from that station in 
 life with which he has in the years of his 
 later success and pros])erity always retained a 
 large sympathy. He is the son of Mathias O. 
 Rand, a laborer in Pergen, Norway, where he 
 was born January 2.^, 1857. He comes of a long- 
 lived family. His four grandj^arents all lived to 
 be over ninety years of age. .Mr. Rand 
 attended the cotnmon schools of P.ergen, 
 and of Mimiesot;i .-ifter his reniM\al to this 
 country. lie came t'l America in 1875. He
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 483 
 
 took the literary course at the State Normal 
 School at Winona. After leaving school he read 
 law with Hon. William H. Yale, of that city. He 
 was admitted to the practice of law there in 1884, 
 and in the same year was elected Judge of Crim- 
 inal Court in the city of Winona. He held this 
 office until the latter part of 1883, when he re- 
 moved to Minneapolis in search of a larger field 
 for the enijjloyment of his talents in the practice 
 of his ])rofession. In 1887 City Attorney Sea- 
 grave .Smith appointed J"dge Rand as his assist- 
 ant, and he served two years in that capacity. 
 Since that time he has been a member of the 
 well-known law firm of (ijertsen & Rand, and 
 enjoys a lucrative practice. In 1890 he was 
 elected to the citv council from the Sixth ward, 
 and \vas re-elected alderman from the same ward 
 in 1894, both times with a very large majority. 
 Judge Rand is a Democrat, and is a member of 
 the Democratic state central conmiittee. He has 
 for a numl:)er of years taken an active part in 
 promoting the interests of his party, and is rec- 
 ognized as one of its influential members in this 
 state. He is democratic in his sympathies and 
 feelings, and has achieved a reputation as an 
 advocate of the interests of the conmion people. 
 In official life he has always opposed the grant- 
 ing of franchises and special privileges, and took 
 an active part in opposition to the Street Railway 
 
 Com|)any in tiicir lung controversy with the 
 council over tiie cpiestion of transfers, a contro- 
 versy which finally resulted in the complete tri- 
 umph of the council and the attainment of a sys- 
 tem of transfers which is probably as nearly per- 
 fect as it could be made, and altogether in the 
 interest of the public. Judge Rand, as a mem- 
 ber of the council, opposed the existing garbage 
 and gas and electric contracts which he regards 
 as unfavorable to the city. He is an earnest 
 advocate of the city owning its own street rail- 
 way and lighting plants. He is also a persistent 
 advocate of eight hours as a sufficient work day, 
 and of the adoption of that rule in all public work 
 l)y the city. Judge Rand is a .Mason, Knights of 
 Pythias, Turner, and a member of the Benevolent 
 and IVntective ( )rder of Elks. He is identified 
 with the Lutheran Church, and in 1884 was mar- 
 ried to .Miss Jennie M. lieebe, of Winona. They 
 have two children, Lars and I-'lorence. 
 
 JA.MKS H. BRADISH. 
 
 James H. llradish comes of an old Massa- 
 chusetts family which traces its line back to the 
 early Colonial times. His father, Cyrus Brad- 
 ish, was born in Haverhill, Xew Hampshire, in 
 1 8 14. His mother, whose maiden name was 
 Hannah llaciielder, was a native of the same 
 place. Soon after their marriage, Cyrus Brad- 
 ish and his wife moved to Cabot, Vermont, 
 where .Mr. liradish engaged in farming. Their 
 son James, was one of si.x children. He came 
 W est with .some of his brothers in 1862, settling 
 at Menasha, Wisconsin. Though only si.xteen 
 years old he entered the armv witli his brothers, 
 serving for a time as captain's clerk. Later in 
 the war he enlisted as a regular private and 
 sencd unlil .\ugust 30. 1865, when he was 
 mustered out. His regiment went through the 
 Atlanta campaign and participated in .'^herman's 
 great march to the sea. Mr. Bradish was 
 wounded at Resaca, on May 14, 1S64. Innne- 
 (liatelv on being mustered out of the army Mr. 
 Bradish entered [■viijon College, and after a six- 
 vears' course, graduated in 1871. He then en- 
 tered Columbia College law school in New 
 York Citv. and after two years graduated with 
 the deg-rec of LL. B. He at once begun the
 
 484 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 practice of law at Ripijii, Wisconsin. After 
 about two years Mr. Ijradish came to Alinne- 
 apolis and became associated with the Honor- 
 able C. Al. P(jnd, nciw judge of the District 
 Court. I his partneisliip terminated after a 
 tim.e. l)Ut Mr. !'> radish has continued in active 
 practice. In the spring of 1892 he was ap- 
 pointed assistant general solicitor of the Min- 
 neapolis, St. Paul & -Sault Ste. Marie Railroad 
 Conii)any. Since coming' to Minneapolis Mr. 
 Bradish has taken a very active part in politics. 
 In 1888 he was elected alderman from the Xinth 
 ward, for a term of four years, and w as re-elected 
 after a most vigorous contest in 1892. In the 
 council Mr. ISradish has taken a ])articular in- 
 terest in the ]5atrol limits law of Minneapolis. 
 One of his acliievements in the council was 
 that of securing the bridging of the Great 
 Northern Railway tracks, at the street crossings 
 on the ICast Side. He is cliairman of the coun- 
 cil conmiittec on roads and bridges. Mr. Brad- 
 ish became a nicmlicr of the park board in 1891. 
 On October i, 1874, ^Ir. Bradisli married a 
 college class-mate. Miss Sarah h". Powers, a 
 daughter of Moses H. Powers, of Green Lake, 
 Wisconsin. Mrs. Bradish graduated in the 
 classical course at Ripon College, traveled ex- 
 tensively in F.urope and is a ladv of highest cul- 
 
 ture. They have two children, Bertha and 
 Herman. Herman is now senior in the High 
 School, Bertha organist at Pilgrim Church, and 
 a fine musician. 
 
 ASA FRIEND GOODRICH. 
 
 Asa Friend Goodrich is a native of Minne- 
 sota, and was born October lo, 1865, at St. Paul. 
 His father was Augustus J. Goodrich, at one 
 time one of the proprietors of the old St. Paul 
 "Pioneer,"' prior to its consolidation with the 
 "Press." Subsequently Mr. Goodrich became 
 secretary and treasurer of the St. Paul Gas Light 
 Company. His business ventures were success- 
 ful and he accumulated a comfortable estate. His 
 wife, Rachel Friend, was a daughter of Kennedy 
 T. Friend, an old pioneer of St. Paul. Asa at- 
 tended the grammar schools and high schools 
 of St. Paul, and after completing the high school 
 course decided to take up the study of medicine. 
 He entered the Pennsylvania College of Dental 
 .Surgcr\- at Philadeliihia in tlic winter of 1885-6. 
 
 m , 
 In the fall of 18S6 ho entered the Hahnemann 
 Medical College in Philadelphia, where he was 
 graduated in .March, i88(), at the head of his class. 
 In 1891 he went to 1 'hil.-idelphia and lool< ;i post-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 485 
 
 graduate and huspital course fur six niunlhs. lie 
 then returned to St. Paul and l)egan the practice 
 of his profession. I )r. Goodrich is a member of 
 the Minnesota .State institute of Ilomeopathy; 
 Ramsey County I iMineiipatliic Medical Society, 
 also N. W. Academy of Homeopathic Surgeons, 
 and has l)eon highly successful in his professional 
 career, hi i)()litics he is a republican, although 
 his identification with his partv has not le<l Iiini 
 into actual ])articipation of party affairs. 1 le is a 
 member of the People's Church, in .St. Paul, al- 
 though raised in the Methodist Church. He is a 
 member of Summit Lodge, No. 163, A. [■'. and 
 A. M. In June, 1889, he was married to Marion 
 L. Banker, daughter of M. L. I'lankcr, whose 
 parents were both descended from old New York 
 families, traceable back to the period of the 
 Revolution, and whose early meml^ers fought 
 in the Continental Army. The Goodrich family 
 are of English descent, and can be traced to 
 the time of William the Conqueror. Goodrich 
 Castle and (Goodrich Court are still to be seen 
 in England on the old ancestral estate. The 
 American branch of the family was founded in 
 Connecticut, and later removed to New York. 
 It was prior to the Revolution, and members 
 of the family were engaged in that war on the 
 side of the Colonies. The I<"riend family, the 
 family of Dr. Goodrich's mother, were among 
 the \'irginia and Mar\'land ])ioneers, and of Ger- 
 man descent. 
 
 EDWARD JAMES CONROY. 
 
 The chairman of the board of county commis- 
 sioners of Hennepin County, Minnesota, is Ed- 
 ward James Conroy, who is a resident of Minne- 
 apolis. Mr. Conro\' was l^orn in Oshkosh, Wis- 
 consin, November 15, 1864, the son of Thomas 
 and Afargaret Conroy, both of whom were born 
 in Dublin, Irelaml. Thev emigrated to this coun- 
 try in 1854, settling at Oshkosh. \\'isconsin. 
 Thomas Conroy was a carpenter l,>v trade, and he 
 follcMived this occupation in ( )shkosh, becoming 
 fairly prosperous. Edward received but a com- 
 mon school education in the pulilic schools of 
 Oshkosh, which was supplemented bv a three 
 months' course in a commercial collesfe. From 
 
 the time he was able to wurk > oung Conroy tried 
 to be of assistance to his famih . He earned his 
 first dollar as a lather, at which he became an 
 expert, and which line of work he followed during 
 his school vacations. When only seventeen years 
 of age he left home and removed to Minnesota, 
 locating in Minneapolis. Here he learned the 
 plasterer's trade, at which trade he worked for 
 the next two years, accjuiring a general knowl- 
 edge of the business of a master mason and con- 
 tractor. In 18S3 he commenced in business on 
 his own account as a contractor of mason work, 
 which he has followed ever since. From the first 
 he was successful in obtaining remunerative 
 contracts, and many down town blocks and 
 homes in Minnea])olis attest to his skill and enter- 
 prise. Mr. Conroy has always affiliated with the 
 Democratic party, and has been an active partici- 
 pator in the affairs of his city for the past ten 
 years. In 1888 the Democrats of the Second 
 ward nominated him for the office of alderman, 
 but he was defeated. In iSgi he was chosen as 
 assistant sergeant-at-arms in the upper house of 
 the state legislature. The following year he was 
 a nominee on the Democratic ticket for county 
 commissioner in the Fiist District of Hennepin 
 County, and elected for a term of four years. In 
 his short period of service as a countv commis-
 
 486 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 sioner, Mr. Conroy has earned for himself an 
 enviable reputation as a man of sterling honesty, 
 integrity and uprightness in handling public 
 business. He was so well liked by his associates 
 on the board that, notwithstanding a Republican 
 majority, he was elected to the chairmanship, 
 which he maintained during the four years of his 
 term with dignity and impartiality. He was re- 
 elected to the same office in 1896 by a large ma- 
 jority. In the campaign of 1894 he was chairman 
 of the Democratic county conmiittee, also of the 
 Democratic campaign committee. Mr. Conroy 
 has also served on the board of tax levy for four 
 years, being one of the most efficient members of 
 that board. Aside from the duties of his ]iublic 
 office, Mr. Conroy has been identified to a consid- 
 erable extent with the real estate and building 
 interests of ^Minneapolis, and his success thus far 
 in life gives promise of still better results in the 
 future. 
 
 CH.\RLES ERA.STU.'^ LEWIS. 
 
 Mr. Lewis is president and treasurer nf the 
 Charles E. Lewis Company, grain conunission 
 stock brokers, of Minneapolis. He was born in 
 Edgerton, Williams County, Ohio, Xovember 
 II, 1858. His father. William S. Lewis, is a 
 native of Richland Count\', in that state, where 
 he was born in 1812. ^^"he^ l)Ut seventeen years 
 of age he moved to Williams County, where he 
 still resides, in moderate circumstances. He has 
 always been a stalwart Republican, and from 
 I8(i() to 18()4 served as sheriff of his county. 
 Eliza Wanamaker (Lewis), the mother of Charles 
 E., was also a native of ( )hio. .She was born in 
 1811 in Trumbull County, and moved to W iC 
 liams County in 1830, where she resided until 
 her death in 1887. The Wanamakers, of Pemi- 
 sylvania, are near relatives. Charles E. had only 
 the advantages of a conmion school education, 
 attending the ]niblic schools of his ncighl)iir- 
 hood until he was but thirteen years nld. 1 K- 
 had learned tclegrajjhy, and at this age secured 
 a ]iosition on the Lake Shore (.I- Michigan 
 Southern railway as night operator. Three years 
 
 later, in 1874, he moved to Hannibal, Ali>S(juri, 
 where he remained until 1880. During the six 
 years he lived at Hannibal he was in the employ 
 of several different railroads as an operator and 
 clerk. Leaving Hannibal he went to Chicago, 
 entering the employ of the Chicago, Rock- 
 Island & Pacific railway in the ticket audit de- 
 partment. In 1883 he came to Minneapolis, and 
 for the ne.xt two years he was employed as a 
 clerk and operator with the Minneapolis & St, 
 Louis railway, the Western Union Telegraph 
 Company, the Minneapolis Tribune Company 
 and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, 
 h'rom 1885 to 1888 he was in the emplo\- of 
 Pressey, Wheeler & Company, conunission mer- 
 chants and stock brokers. After their failure in 
 the latter year, Mr. Lewis decided to go into 
 business for himself. The firm name of his con- 
 cern has been changed two or three times since 
 that date, but on July 1, i8<)6, it was incorporated 
 as the Charles E. Lewis Company. This lirm 
 has been built up by Mr. Lewis' inilustr\- and 
 conservative business methods until it is now one 
 of the solid and snbstaiuial grain commission 
 firms of Minneapolis. Mr. Lewis' political affili- 
 ations have always bet-n with the Republican
 
 PROGRESSIVE MliN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 487 
 
 party. lie is a iiicinhn- m| [Uv M iiinraixjlis, 
 Coiiiiiiercial, Town and (.'onntry C'lnhs and tlic 
 Long Meadow (iun t'lub, and the llununer 
 Fishing and Hunting Chih. He was married in 
 1884 to Mary E. Xorris, (jf Hannibal, .Missouri. 
 Thev have ncj children. 
 
 CHARLE.S A. TUI.l.l'.R. 
 
 The patronymic of the family of which the sub- 
 ject of this sketch is a meniber was ori.ginally 
 spelled Tullar. The spelling was changed b\' 
 Artemidorous Tuller, grandfather oi Charles, who 
 thought it was easier to write "e" instead of "a." 
 In an old deed, signed liy him in 1804, however, 
 lie spelled his name "Tullar," and it is also noted 
 that in an old contract, which was signed in 182O 
 bv two meml)ers of the familw this same differ- 
 ence of spelling occurs. Artemidorous Tuller, 
 who was of old New England stock, was a me- 
 chanic bv profession, and possessed considerable 
 inventive genius. The first crooked ax helve 
 turned out was made b\- him. His son, Hiram 
 \Mniting Tuller, father of Charles A., was 1)orn at 
 Lower Sandusky, Ohio, in 1824. When he was 
 but eight years of age the family moved to Jones- 
 ville, Michigan. He still resides there, the oldest 
 pioneer living in that locality. In business life 
 he has been quite active, and attained a comfort- 
 able afifluence as a contractor and 1 milder. Um^- 
 ing the Civil War he held a clerkshij) in the war 
 department at Washington, under tieneral Meigs, 
 and also shouldered a nuisket at the time General 
 Early attempted to take Washington. He has 
 always taken a prominent place in the community 
 in which he lives, and has occu])ied many town- 
 ship and village offices. He was also a clerk of 
 the state senate in the .session of 1865 and 1867. 
 Clara E. Ximocks, his wife, was a native of New 
 York. .She was born at Houseville, in Lewis 
 County, November I, 1827, of English descent. 
 Their son Charles first saw life at Jonesville, 
 Alichigan, June 26, 1866. The lad's education 
 was received in the graded and. high schools of 
 his native to\vn. He graduateil from the latter 
 in his eighteenth \ear and at once engaged in 
 
 active business life. 'J"lie first dollar he earned 
 was by acting as agent for the Detroit Evening 
 News, carrying the papers every morning. He 
 was at the same time also working in the post- 
 ofKce of his native village, holding the position 
 of assistant postmaster. In August, 1885, in 
 response to a telegram from Charles A. Nitnocks, 
 then manager of The Minneapolis Journal, he 
 came West to take a position as collector with 
 that paper in Minneapolis. This position he held 
 until January i, i88y, at which time he was pro- 
 moted to the position of bookkeeper, to fill a 
 vacancv caused l)v the resignation of the lady 
 who had filled that position. In ;\larch, 1890, he 
 was promoted to the jiosition of cashier of The 
 Minneapolis Journal, and still later, in Janii- 
 ar\% 1895, to that of assistant manager. In- 
 dustry, perseverance and model habits are the 
 qualities which have enabled Mr. Tuller to rise 
 to the responsible po.sition he now fills. He is a 
 conscientious and hard worker, and a shrewd and 
 conservative manager of the responsibilities de- 
 volving upon him. He is a member of the Royal 
 Arcanum, and is an attendant of the Episcopal 
 church. He was married June 7. 1893. to Marv' 
 E. Tho'mpson, of Minneapolis.
 
 488 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 THEODORE LAMr.EKT HAVS. 
 
 Theodore Lambert Hays, general Xortliw estern 
 representative of Mr. Jacob Litt, the well-known 
 theatrical manager, and having under his charge 
 the Bijou Theater in Minneapolis and the Grand 
 Opera House in St. Paul. Lambert Hays, his 
 father, was one of the oldest settlers in .Minneapo- 
 lis. He was bom in Germany on Ghristmas Daw 
 1842, and came to America when l)Ut eight years 
 old. He lived for a short time at Alliany. New 
 York, and then at Kenosha, Wisconsin. In 1855 
 he came to Minnesota and located in St. Anthony. 
 He was apprenticed to the first baker doing busi- 
 ness in the little village by the falls, and siton 
 learned the trade, embarking in business for him- 
 self in 1865. He built the first bakery on the 
 west side of the Mississippi, the old Cataract, "n 
 the site of the old Central Market house. He 
 later liuilt the People's Theater, and re-built it 
 when it was burned a year or two afterwards. He 
 was engaged in active business until 1887. .Mr. 
 Plays was always public spirited. He was a mem- 
 ber of the vohmtcer lire (K'i)artnicnt cif the early 
 sixties, and remained so until it was ])ut on a |)aid 
 basis, doing his share toward fighting ilie fires 
 that afflicted the little wooden town of .\linneap- 
 
 olis at that period. He also assisted in estabhsh- 
 ing the first Turnverein society in .Minneapolis, 
 and the building of the West .Side Turner Hall, 
 and throughoiu his career gave considerable at- 
 tention to the maintenance of the Turner societies. 
 He died in May, 1893. His wife. .Mary Gertrude 
 Rauen, emigrated to this country from Germany 
 with her parents, and were among the early set- 
 tlers of .Minnesiita. She is a sister of Peter Rauen, 
 a prominent resident of North Minneapolis. 
 Theodore Lambert Hays was born March 2y, 
 1867. His education was received in the ccunmoii 
 schools of Minneapolis, and he was a pupil in the 
 high school up to the tenth grade. He then took 
 a business course in the Curtiss Business Col- 
 lege. During his Ijusiness career Mr. Plays has 
 always been actively identified with his father's 
 business affairs. His first position after leaving" 
 school was with the Minnesota Title Insurance and 
 Trust Company, being employed among others 
 to make a transcript of county records in the 
 office of the register of deeds. He gave up this 
 position in a short time to become interested 
 with \V. E. .Sterling in the management of the 
 People's Theater, which had been erected by 
 Lambert Hays, his father. .\ little later this the- 
 ater was leased b\^ lacol> Litt, h^-ank L. Bixby 
 acting as resident manager. The theater was 
 changed at this time from a stock theater to a 
 combinatiiin Imuse, and Mr. Hays began his first 
 experience in this business. He served as treas- 
 urer under Mr, Bixby with such success that 
 when the latter was transferred to St. Paul. Mr. 
 Hays was appointed manager, a position he has 
 held ever since. Lender his able direction this 
 playhouse has established for itself a record of 
 sterling success, and is considered one df the 
 best paying theatrical properties in the Northwest. 
 In 1806 ^Ir. Hays became Jacob Litt's general 
 representati\-e in the Northwest, and took charge 
 of the Grand ( )ih ra House in St. Paul in addition 
 to the Bijou in Minneapolis. Lender its new man- 
 agement the Grand enjoyed more prosperous sea- 
 sons than ever before. Mr. Ila\s possesses the 
 ccinfidence nf tile ]iiiblic to a considerable degree 
 as an aiinisement caterer, and enjoxs the friend- 
 ship and res])cct of his associates. 'I'hoiigli his
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 489 
 
 lather was a slaiiiicli and ciilliusiaslic JJciiiucrat, 
 Theo. L. Hays has never been so positive in his 
 jjolitical feelings, and has always l)cen indej^en- 
 dent in his support of candidates for office. He is 
 a member of the F.Iks, the Royal Arcanum, the 
 Knights nf i'ythias and the (.'ommercial L'lul). 
 In religion he is a Catholic. J le was married in 
 Jamiary, i8<J3, to Mary- Ellen Roberts, at Chi- 
 cago, and has one child, Thcodiirc .Albert T'.d- 
 ward Hajs. 
 
 K( )l 
 
 i.\.\ll.'^()\. 
 
 One of the best known ami alilcst of tin.: 
 yotmger men of the district bench in Minnesota 
 is Judge Robert Jannson, of the l'"(jurth judicial 
 District. He is of Irish descent, his father, .A.le.K- 
 ander Jamison, and his mother, .Mary (Roberts) 
 Jamison, having been born in the north of Ireland. 
 The}- came of the sturdy Presbyterian stock of 
 that region, and while in their teens emigrated to 
 America. Ale.xander Jamison, who became a 
 mason and builder, located at Red Wing, ^linne- 
 sota, in 1S57, and in the course of time became 
 well-to-do. Here his son Robert was born, Sep- 
 tember 4, 1858. As a young man of nineteen 
 that son was graduated from the Red Wing high, 
 school in 1S77. Coming to Minneapolis in the 
 fall of that year he began a special course of study 
 in the state uuiver.sity, which lasted for three 
 vears, and then, having jireviously made u]) his 
 mind to enter the ])rofession of the law. he l)egan 
 his preparatory \\<irk in the office of Judge John. 
 M. Shaw, in Minneapolis. In 1883 he w-as ad- 
 mitted to the bar. and two vears later, in 1885. 
 w-as appoii-ited assistant county attorney of Hen- 
 nejMn County. He distinguished himself very 
 early in this office by the skill which he displayed 
 in the ]-)rosecution of the Fiarrett brothers for 
 nmrder. These cases will be remembered as 
 Ijeing among the most sensational in the criminal 
 history of Hennepin Count \-. In Xovember. 1888, 
 Mr. Jamison, bv vote of the people, was advanced 
 to first place in tlie county attorney's office. He 
 served for 01-ie term as county attorney and de- 
 clined nomination for a second term. The death 
 of Jtidge Frederick Hooker, in 1803, created a 
 -vacancy oi-i the bench of the Fourth District, and 
 
 .\lr. Jamison was appoiiUed by ( iovernor i\.nute 
 Xelson in Sei)teml)er of that year, to fill it. In 
 1894 'le \\<is elected to succeed himself for a term 
 of si.x years, commencing January i, 1895. Al- 
 though comparatively a young man he has 
 acquitted himself with great credit as a judge and 
 has developed high cjualifications for the judicial 
 office. Mr. Jamison has always taken an active 
 interest in ])olitics, and during the campaign of 
 1892 was chairman of the Republican state central 
 committee. In the field of practical ])olitics the 
 future was opening up before him with consider- 
 able brilliancy when he suddenly and quite unex- 
 pectedly to his many friends, stepped aside in 
 order to receive judicial honors. It is not im- 
 probable, however, that he regards this retire- 
 ment as being only temporary. \\'hen elected to 
 the bench for the full term in 1894. he received 
 the largest vote by several thousand ever cast for 
 a judicial candidate in the Fourth District. Few 
 men in the more recent political life of Minne- 
 sota have had a larger or more enthusiastic per- 
 sonal following, or have been more worthy of it. 
 Mr. Jamison was a member of the Chi Psi frater- 
 nity w hile in college. He is a Mason and an Elk. 
 .August 16. 1883, he was married to .Adalinc L. 
 Can-ip, of Minneapolis, and three children have 
 been born of the union. Glee, Xeil antl Lou.
 
 490 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 ALOXZO THO.MAS STEIUUXS. 
 
 A. T. Stebljins. nienilicr of the state senate 
 from (._)hnsted Countv, and one of the prosperous 
 merchants of Southern Minnesota, is a native o! 
 Massachusetts, and was born at Mansfield, in tiiat 
 state, September 21. 1847. His father, Thomas 
 Warren Stelibins, now in his eiglity-first \car, 
 for a numl^er of }ears has been associated -uith 
 him in business at Rocliester. The elder Steb- 
 bins came from I'rench Huguenot ancestors, who 
 emigrated to America in 1734. His father and 
 grauflfather served in the \\ ar of the Revolution, 
 and his father in the War of i<Si2. His wife was 
 Harriet Idandon. and when the subjci-t (if this 
 sketcli was one year old she died. In 1850 the 
 family moved to Kecne, Xew Ham])shire., where 
 young Stebbins filled liiinself for high sclmol. 
 When he was ten years of age the faniilv came 
 West, locating on a farm in Winona Countv. Min- 
 nesota. The son ])r(i)iiptl',- resumed his studies. 
 wf)rl\ing on the farm dm-ing the sunnner and at- 
 tending the Winona high school dm-ing the 
 winter. After finishing the cmirse, he went to" 
 Boston where he attended the liryant & Stratlon 
 Conmiercial College, from which he graduated 
 in 1865. From 1865 to 1867 he was a clerk in a 
 
 hardware store in Winona. This was his first work 
 away from home. Subsequent to that period he 
 was bookkeeper for a prominent grain firm in 
 ^^ inona, which position he held until 1871, when 
 he went to Rochester, and \vith his father bought 
 the hardware store of H. A. llrown of that place. 
 'i'he new firm was named Stebbins & Co., and it 
 has been prosperous from the beginning. In 
 1892 Stebbins & Co. bought the hardware store of 
 the A. ( )zniun estate in Rochester. Mr. Stebbins 
 lias always been a Republican in politics, and cast 
 his first presidential vote in 1868 for Grant. From 
 1883 to 1885 he was a member of the city council 
 of Rochester. In 1889 he represented Olmsted 
 Count)- in the lower house of the legislature, and 
 in 1804 ^^'^s elected to the state senate. During 
 his ser\ice in the lower house Mr. Stebbins was 
 chairman of the connuittee on insane hospitals, 
 and did much to promote the building of the hos- 
 pital at Fergus Falls. For the last two sessions 
 of the legislature he has been chairman of the 
 insane hospitals committee of the senate, in that 
 capacity displaying sound judgment, marked busi- 
 ness ability, and an intelligent and painstaking 
 interest in the management of these institutions. 
 At present he is at the head of three prominent 
 business associations in Southern Minnesota, 
 namel)-, the Rochester Hoard of Trade, the South- 
 ern Minnesota Fair Association, and the Southern 
 Minnesota Mutual hire Insurance Company. Mr. 
 Stebbins is an enthusiastic ^lason. He is a mem- 
 ber of Rochester Lodge, No. 2r. A. F. & A. M.; 
 Halcyon Royal Arch Chapter Xo. 8; Home Coni- 
 mandery, Xo. 5, Knights Templar, and Osnian 
 Temple. A. A. (). X. M. .^. He has served as 
 presiding officer in the blue lodge, chapter and 
 commandery. He is past captain general of the 
 Minnesota Grand Coninianderv, Knights Temp- 
 lar, and at jiresent is serving as deputv grand 
 m.ister of the Minnesota Grand Lodge, A. F. & 
 A. M. In additinn to belonging to the above 
 named M.iscinic bodies, .Mr. .Stebbins is a nicmber 
 of the Knights of Pythias, A. O. V. W., Knights 
 of Honor and Sons of the American Revolution. 
 He attends the Congregational church but is not a 
 member of it. .September 26, 1871, Mr, Steliljins 
 was married to Miss Adelaide L. .'^tebbins. in 
 r>rookline, \'ermont. Two children ii,'!\-c blessed
 
 PROGRESSIVU MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 4-91 
 
 the uniuii, Mahollo ( '., born July 26, 1873, and 
 George M., h'uu Jiil\ 25, 1875. Tlic latter is a 
 student in thr law ik'partnicnt ni the State 
 University. 
 
 .\Lr.h:K r \\ii.i.i.\.\i .^■i( x kto.x. 
 
 The siibjeet of this sketch is a member of 
 the state senate h-oni the rwrntirtli 1 )islriet, serv- 
 ing his second tei'm. lie is the son of Jnhn C . 
 Stockton and Martha j. S']])])}- (Stockton) His 
 father was a farmer in comfortable circumstances 
 in Wisconsin, living a very quiet life, but li(inore<l 
 and respected by his neighbors. Albert \\ illiani 
 Stockton was born in Kosciusko County, Indiana, 
 March 30, 1844. lie removed with his parents 
 to Richland County. Wisconsin, in the fall of 
 1855. He lived on the farm with his parents 
 until the outbreak of the war, receiving a conuuon 
 school education. ( )ii August 22, 1862, he en- 
 listed in Company 1!, 25th Wisconsin N'olunteer 
 Infantry, going into cam]) at La Crosse. In Sep- 
 tember the regiment was ordered to Ft. Snelling 
 to participate in the Indian war then raging, where 
 the regiment was divideil, the right wing going up 
 the Minnesota river and the left .going up the 
 Mississippi, the companies being located at dif- 
 ferent points. The ci)mi)an\ in which Mr. Stock- 
 ton was enlisted was stationed at Alexandria. In 
 December it was ordered to re|)ort at I't. Snelling, 
 and from there went to Cam]) Randall, Madison. 
 Wisconsin. In l''ebruary, the following year, the 
 comj^anv went South, the first sto]) l)eing made 
 at Columbus, Kentuckv. Mr. Stockton has an 
 honorable war recortl. He served with liis com- 
 pany continuously, not losing a day from sickness 
 or otherwise, ])artici])ating in all the battles in 
 which the company was engaged until June 14, 
 1864, when he was severely wounded by a gun 
 shot wound in the right thigh, at the battle of 
 Peach Tree Orchard, in front of the Kennesaw 
 IMountains, Georgia. Mr. Stockton, like thous- 
 ands of others, exjierienced (|uite a serious time in 
 various hospitals at Resaca, Georgia: Chattanooga 
 and Xashville Tennessee: Madison and Prairie du 
 Chien, Wisconsin. In June, 1865, he was dis- 
 charged with his reigment at Madison. Wisconsin. 
 
 /^: 
 
 He then returned home and for several years was 
 engaged as a clerk in a general store. In August, 
 1872, he removed to i''anbault, Minnesota, where 
 he has since resided. Mr. Stockton has occupied 
 many j^ositions of public trust. He served as dep- 
 uty county auditor of Rice County for twelve 
 years. He then held the position of assistant cash- 
 ier of the I'irst National Hank of I'aribault for two 
 years. In 1886 he formed a partnership and has 
 been engaged in the niaiuifacture of llour and fur- 
 niture ever since that time. He has, however, 
 always taken an active interest in all enter]3rises 
 tending to buikl u]) and jiromote the best interests 
 of h.is city and county generally. l-"or ten years 
 Mr. .'-Stockton has acted as chairiuan of the board 
 of county conmiissioners of Rice County. In 
 i8qo he was honored l)y the jieople of his dis- 
 trict with an election to the state senate, and was 
 re-elected in 1894. He has been active in pro- 
 UK iting legislation lor the good of the community. 
 having served on various committees and oc- 
 cu])ied a jxisition on the finance conuuittee each 
 term. In the session of 1895 he was chairman of 
 the railroad commission. Mr. Stockton is held 
 in general esteeiu by all who know him for his 
 intblic s])irit as well as for his admirable personal 
 character.
 
 492 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MIXNESOTA. 
 
 WILLIAA[ HENRY NORRIS. 
 
 William Henry Xorris was born at Hallowcll, 
 Maine, July 24, 1832. His father was Rev. \\il- 
 liam Henry Norris, a Methodist clergyman for 
 fifty years, who died in 1878. Rev. ^Ir. Norris 
 shared the lot of itinerant mmisters, living for 
 different periods in Brooklyn and in New Haven, 
 and in 1839, at the age of thirty-four, going to 
 South America in charge of Methodist mission- 
 ary churches. During this time he was located 
 in Montevideo and Buenos Ayres. He endured 
 the privation of a missionary's life and never had 
 a salary beyond a thousand dollars. He was al)le, 
 however, to afford his children a liberal education. 
 He was descended from a family of Irish farmers, 
 who settled in New Hampshire about 1750. The 
 subject of this sketch attended no school until 
 past fifteen years of age, receiving his early edu- 
 cation at the hands of his father. He then fitted 
 for college at Dwight's High School, in Brook- 
 lyn, and in 1850 entered Yale college, where he 
 graduated in 1854 as valedictorian of his class. 
 While he was in college he was a memlter of 
 Linonia. Alpha Delta Phi and Phi Beta Kappa 
 societies. After leaving college he taught school 
 a vear at Marmarnncck, New 'S'ork. He then 
 
 took part of the law course at Harvard Univer- 
 sity. A year later he came West and settled in 
 Green Bay, Wisconsin; continued his studies in 
 the law office of James H. Howe, and in 1857 
 was admitted to the bar. He remained with Mr. 
 Howe until 1862. The next ten years he carried 
 on his law practice alone. He was then associ- 
 ated professionally with Thomas B. Chynoweth 
 for six years, and subsequently with E. H. Ellis. 
 Twenty-three years were spent in the practice of 
 law at Green Bay. During the greater part of this 
 time Mr. Norris was local attorney of the Chicago 
 & Northwestern railroad, and for six years attor- 
 ney f<jr the Green Bay & Minnesota railroad, 
 now the Green Bay & Western. These en- 
 gagements led him to make a specialty of railroad 
 law. He moved to Minneapolis in 1880, and 
 opened an office for general practice. In January, 
 1882, he was selected by the Chicago, Alil- 
 waukee & St. Paul Railway Company as its state 
 solicitor. In his trial of claims and in all his 
 practice in behalf of his railroad clients he has 
 been highly successful, having, in several cases, 
 advised his clients to disregard acts of the legis- 
 lature as unconstitutional, contentions upon 
 i.vhich the court has, in each case, ruled in his 
 favor. In politics he is a Republican, but does 
 not always vote the entire ticket selected by his 
 party. He is a member of all the Masonic orders, 
 and a member of Plymouth Congregational 
 church. He was married at Green I'.ay in 1859- 
 to Hannah B. Harriman. daughter of Joab Har- 
 riman, a ship builder of Waterville, Maine. They 
 have three children, Louise, wife of .A.lfred 1). 
 Rider, of Kansas City; Georgia and Harriman. 
 
 WILLIAM .M. JAAiES. 
 
 \\'. M. James is the editor and manager of the 
 Brcckcnridge Telegram. He has only had charge 
 of this paper for three years, but during that time 
 he has increased its circulation three hun- 
 dreil ])er cent and made it one of the 
 leading Republican papers of Northern Min- 
 nesota. His father, Robert James, was a 
 prosperous farmer on tlie north shore of 
 Lake Erie, in Elgin Comitv, 1 hit;irio, hax'ing
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 493 
 
 m mim. 
 
 come to Canada from the north of Ireland. His 
 ancestry, however, was Scotch. He died in 1893. 
 His wife, Lorena Markle, was born in Ontario, 
 and is still living- in Elgin County. The subject 
 of this sketch was born on the farm in Elgin 
 County, Ontario, February 16, 1858. He received 
 his education in the common and high schools 
 of Ontario, which are noted for their thorough- 
 ness, and graduated from the Collegiate In- 
 stitute at St. Thomas, Ontario, in 1881. 
 He taught school, however, previous to 
 his attending the institute, and also while 
 pursuing his studies — seven years altogether, 
 two years of which were spent in St. 
 Thomas. Air. James first came to Minnesota in 
 September, 1883, locating at Minneapolis, where 
 he worked for a time in a wholesale hardware 
 house. He moved to lireckenridge in 1884, hav- 
 ing received the appointment of principal of the 
 graded schools at that place, which position he 
 held for three years. He then went into the mer- 
 cantile business, but sold out the following year. 
 1888. At this time he was appointed postmaster 
 at Ereckenridge by President Harrison, holding 
 that office during the latter's administration. In 
 1880 Mr. James also engaged in the drug and 
 stationer)' business, in which he is still engaged. 
 
 In 1893 Mr. James entered into partnership with 
 J. C. Wood and bought the lireckenridge Tele- 
 gram, of which he assumed charge as editor and 
 manager. In October, 1896, .Mr. James became 
 cnvner of the \yd\)vy, which Ijy his pluck and per- 
 severance, as slated above, he had built up to 
 to be one of the leading paj^ers of that part of the 
 state. .Mr. James' ])olitical affiliations are with 
 the Republican ])art\-, anrl he has been active in 
 promoting its ])rinciples. He has served iiis 
 county committee as secretary for six years. He 
 also acted as village justice for eight years. He 
 is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a 
 Kniglit reni])lar; also a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias and the .\. ( ). V. W. His church con- 
 nections arc with the .Methodist Iqjiscopal church. 
 Ik- was married in 1886 to Maggie Harvey, 
 daughter of the late Williau) Harvey, M. P., of 
 Canada. They have had four children, Harvey, 
 Horace. Ada and .Marv. 
 
 CHARLES JOHX BARTLESON. 
 
 Charles J. Bartleson was born April 3, 
 1844, at Macomb, Illinois, the son of Charles 
 Mahelm Uartleson, of German descent, and Mary 
 Ann Airey (Bartleson), of an old English Quaker 
 family, whom Charles Mahelm married at Liver- 
 pool. Charles W. spent many years in successful 
 navigation as the commander of a packet ship. 
 Mrs. Bartleson sailed with her husband for sev- 
 eral years, their home meanwhile being estab- 
 lished at Philadelphia. In 1837 Captain Bartle- 
 son determined to quit the sea, and removed to 
 the far West, settling at Macomb, Illinois. Here 
 Charles J. Bartleson was educated in the public 
 schools and in the old McDonough College, then 
 an institution of some note. In 1S61 he enlisted 
 in the Second Illinois Cavalry and ser\'ed with the 
 Western army in Crant's campaigns up to the 
 siege and surrender of \ icksburg, when he went 
 with his cnnnnand to the Department of the Gulf 
 antl served with General Banks in his Red River 
 campaign. Mr. Bartleson was slightly wounded 
 at \'ermillion Bayou, Louisiana, but boasts that 
 his three vears of rough riding in the armv was 
 the making of lum physicallv. At the close of the
 
 494 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MIXNESOTA. 
 
 war Mr. Bartleson l)egan the study of law in the 
 office of John S. Thompson, at Aledo. Ilhnois. 
 He was admitted to the bar in April, 1867. He 
 then practiced his profession in that city for five 
 years in connection with his preceptor, Judge 
 Thompson, at which time he removed to Minne- 
 apolis, and has since been engaged in the practice 
 of law at this point. While not desiring to be 
 regarded as a specialist, he has been chiefly in- 
 terested in the law and litigation pertaining to 
 real estate, in which he is considered well 
 equipped, especially with reference to the decis- 
 ions of our own courts liearing u])on that branch 
 of the law. Mr. Bartleson is not a promoter of 
 litigation. On the other hand he takes more 
 pride in so advising his clients in the conduct of 
 their business as to avoid imneccssary conlri)- 
 versy than in litigation of causes, and conse- 
 quently is commonly on the defensix'c and less 
 frequently in court. In politics .Mr. liartleson is 
 a Democrat. He has, however, never held a 
 political office and has no aspirations in that 
 direction. He is a member of tlie Minneapolis 
 Club, the Commercial Club, the Minnctoaka 
 Yacht Club and the G. A. R. He Vv'as married 
 May 9, 1871, to Harriet Xewell Wright, and has 
 three daughters and one son. Main']. I'.lanchc, 
 I\Tatid and Charles Albert. 
 
 WILLI. \.\1 KAIXEY MARSHALL. 
 
 William Ix. Marshall, the fifth governor of 
 Mitmesota, was one of the founders of the Repub- 
 lican party in this state. He was chairman of the 
 hrst Republican meeting held in territorial days, 
 and was the first candidate of the new party for a 
 territorial office. He was the fifth son of Joseph 
 and Abigal (Shaw) Marshall, the former a native 
 of Kentucky and the latter of Pennsylvania, and 
 both of his grandfathers were revolutionary 
 soldiers. His father was of Scotch Irish descent, 
 and many of the sturdy traits of character com- 
 mon to that mixture of blo(jd were prominent in 
 the son. Mr. Marshall was liorn in r)Oone County, 
 Missouri, Uctober 17, 1825, and got the major 
 portion of his education in the common schools 
 at Quincy, Illinois. School days over, he vvcnt 
 to the lead mining region of Wisconsin, where 
 he was a miner and surveyor until 1847, when he 
 went to St. Croix J~alls to enter a land and tree 
 claim. In this latter place he opened a general 
 store and secured appointment as deputy receiver 
 of the L'nited States land office. In 1848 he was 
 elected to represent the St. Croix N'allev in the 
 Wisconsin legislature, luit his seat was unsuc- 
 cessfully contested by Joseph Bowron, because 
 his home in St. Croix Falls was on the west side 
 of the state line. Late in 1847 he located a claim 
 in St. Anthony I' alls, Minnesota, biu did not jK'r- 
 fcct the title to it imtil two vears later, 1849, '•'' 
 the fall of which \(.ar he was elected a member 
 of the first territorial legislature of the state. He 
 li^•ed on his claim at St. Anthony until 1851. when 
 lie removed to .St. Paul, which cit\- was ever 
 afterwards his home. He opened the first iron 
 store in that place, and when trade was dull, 
 added to his income b\ surve\'ing public lands. 
 This business promised so well that he ga\-c u|) 
 his store and apjilied himself exclusively to it for 
 several years. In 1855 he became one of a com- 
 pany of business men who opened a banking 
 house in .St. Paul The venture was prosi)erous 
 until 1857 when it went down before the financial 
 storms of that year. Mr. Marshall next ojierated 
 a dairy farm near St. I\uil ,'ind sold nulk from his 
 wagons. This business, while ]>ros]')erous enough, 
 did not suit his tastes, and in i8!)i lie iiurchascd 
 the Timc^ and the Minnesotan. Re|iublican daily
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 495 
 
 licwspaiJcrs puhlislicd in St. I'anl, and c.-i)Us(;li- 
 (.lated tlicni, callin.i;' the consolidated paper the 
 Press, lie was editing this paper, when, in 1862, 
 he enHstetl in the Seventh .Minnesota Regiment 
 of vokinteer infantry, lie soon heeanie lierten- 
 ant-colonel of the regiment, and in a year was 
 made its colonel, in the place of Stephen Miller, 
 who had been eU'cted governor. 1 le was a brave 
 officer and displayed a high order of executive 
 ability in the handling of his command. In 
 1862 he was with General .Sible\ in the Indian 
 campaign in this stale, and conunaiided the bat- 
 talion that went to the relief of I'.irch Coolie. In 
 1863, .still being lieutenant-colonel, he com- 
 manded his regiment in Sibley's expedition to 
 the Upper .Missouri, taking part in the battle of 
 P>ig Mound. Tn < )ctober, 1863, he went south in 
 conmiand of the regiment, and was commissioned 
 as colonel on Noveiuljcr 6, of that year. In 
 |une, 1864, he joined the right wuig of the Six- 
 teenth Army Corps, at Memphis, Tennessee, and 
 was assigned to the first brigade of the first di- 
 vision. With his regiment he took part in the 
 battles of Tupelo, Mississippi, in July, and was 
 in the expedition to O.xford in August. He was 
 m the skn-mishes at Tallahatchie river in the fall 
 of that year, and went from there to Arkansas 
 and ^Missouri in pursuit of General Price. De- 
 cember 1 5 and 1 6, he w as at the battle of .Xashville, 
 and on the fifteenth succeeded to the conuiiand 
 of the third brigade, on the death of Colonel Hill. 
 He was at the siege of .Moliile in March an<l 
 April, 1865, and was wounded in the advance 
 on Spanish Fort. In May, June and July, 1863, 
 he was in command of the post at Salem. .\la- 
 bama. He was breveted brigadier general in 
 March, 1865, for gallant services at Xasliville, 
 and nuistered out with his regiment at I'drt 
 Snelling, in August, 1865. In the fall of that 
 year he was elected governor of the state, and 
 was re-elected in 1867, serving until January, 
 1870. At the expiration of his second term he 
 was chosen vice-isresident of the Marine National 
 Rank of St. Paul, and president of the St. Paul 
 .Savings Bank. In 1874 he was appointed a 
 member of the board of railroad commissioners, 
 and continued to ser\-e itntil 1883. From 1883 
 
 U) 1893 he engaged in a number of enterprises, 
 among them farming, stock raising and the buy- 
 ing and selling of real estate. These ten years 
 marked the least successful period of his life. In 
 the fall oi 1893 he was elected secretary of the 
 Minnesota Historical Society, and in 1894 was 
 stricken with paralysis. In January, 1895, '^^ 
 resigned as secretary becau.se he could no longer 
 discharge the duties of the ofifice. In March of 
 that }ear the resignation was reluctantly accepted, 
 and .Mr. Marshall on the advice of friends, went 
 to Pasadena, California, in the hope that the 
 change of climate might helj) him. After his 
 arrival in California he had another stroke of 
 paralysis, and died January 8, 1896. The re- 
 mains were brought to St. Paul where the funeral 
 \vas -held, one of the most ini])osing in the his- 
 tory of that city. January- 16, at Christ church. 
 The sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. C. 
 Mitchell, of the Xew Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) 
 church, of which the dead man was one of the 
 founders. March 22. 1854. Mr. Marshall was 
 married to Miss .\bby Langford. of Utica, Xew 
 York. A son, who was born of this union, died 
 in 1892, leaving a widow and one child. These 
 two were with Mr. Marshall during his last ill- 
 ness in ."-^t. Paul and Calit'ornia.
 
 496 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 JOHX THOMAS BAXTER. 
 
 John Thomas Baxter is a lawyer prac- 
 ticing his profession at Minneapolis. His father, 
 Thomas Baxter, was a miller, and was engaged in 
 that business at Bangor, Wisconsin, at the time 
 of his death in 1875. His mother's maiden name 
 was Susannah Lewis. The suliject of this sketch 
 was born at Ilcrliii. Wisconsin, ( )ctol.)er 14, 1863. 
 He began his education in the connnon schools 
 and attended the high school at West Salem, Wis- 
 consin, walking back and forth, the distance of five 
 miles, eaclulay. Inthisway he made his preparation 
 for college. He began his college course at Riixm. 
 where he continued for three years. During his 
 stay at Ripon college he earned his living as ex- 
 press messenger for the American Ex]:)ress Com- 
 pany, having a "night run," which took him a\\a\- 
 from home in the evening, brought him iiack in 
 the morning, and thus enabled him to attend the 
 college exercises in the day time. .Mr. Baxter ex- 
 cels as a speaker, and represented his college in 
 the Wisconsin state oratorical contest in his 
 junior year. He took the first honors, and, theri-- 
 fore, represented Wisconsin in the interstate ora 
 torical cf)ntcst, held at Iowa City, in the si)ring of 
 1884. The same year he was elected president of 
 the Wisconsin Collegiate Association. The course 
 of study pursued by him was the classical. 
 
 including Greek. At the end of his junior 
 year he decided to drop out of college for a year 
 and then finish his course at Williams College, to 
 which he was attracted by the celebrated Dr. 
 Mark Hopkins. He entered the junior class at 
 Williams in 1885, and while there he was a mem- 
 ber of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, which was the 
 oldest college society at that institution, and the 
 chapter to which Garfield had belonged. He was 
 elected editor of the Williams Literary Monthly, 
 and received the first junior prize in oratory. 
 In his senior year he won the Graves prize for an 
 essay on "The New Political Economy." At grad- 
 uation he was awarded the \'an \'echten prize, 
 given at each commencement to that member of 
 the graduating class, who, by a vote of the faculty 
 and students, is declared the best extempore 
 speaker of the class. This distinction was won in 
 a class of sixty-six members. But the incident of 
 his college course which possesses the most in- 
 terest for Mr. Ba.xter, w as the fact that he was the 
 last student who ever recited under the venerable 
 Dr. Mark Hopkins. It was a recitation in moral 
 ])hilosophy. Dr. Hopkins died just before the 
 commencement at which ?\lr. Baxter graduated. 
 Mr. Baxter came to .Minneapolis in 1887, and be- 
 gan the study of law with Kitchel, Cohen & 
 Shaw, and was admitted to the bar in 1889. He 
 has been in active practice since 1 890, and has been 
 the secretary of the Minneapolis Bar Association 
 since February, 1892. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, but is independent enough to vote for meas- 
 ures and men without nuich regard for party lines. 
 He is a member of Park Avenue Congregational 
 church. October 14, 1 891 he married Gertrude 
 Louise Hooker, daughter of William Hooker, 
 of Minneapolis, and niece of the late Judge 
 Hooker. They have two daughters, I'.cth and 
 Helen. 
 
 JOSEPH STROXGE. 
 
 Joseph Stronge is a manufacturer in St. 
 I 'an!. His father, Sanuiel Stronge, was a farmer, 
 residing near Dublin, Ireland. The Stronge fani- 
 ilv includes a number of ])roniinent officers in 
 the British arnu', some of whom ser\ed at 
 Waterloo, under Wellington. Sanuiel Stronge's 
 wife, Charlotte Sexton, was a relative of Se-cton,
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 497 
 
 •cunspicuous as a leader of the Irish Parliamentary 
 party in the British parliament. Joseph was born 
 in County Kildare, Ireland, August 6, 1863. He 
 was educated in the public schools, which in that 
 section were regarded as unexcelled in any part 
 of the world. He came to America in 1882 and 
 found employment in Albany, New York, as a 
 clerk in a book store, at the nuuiificent salarv 
 of five dollars a week. .Subsequently, in 1883, he 
 went to Toronto, Canada, and later to Montreal, in 
 1886. Then he came to .St. Paul in 1887, where 
 he had secured a position as a traveling salesman 
 for the Oppenheimer Millinery Company. Mr. 
 Stronge traveled for four \ears for this house, his 
 field of operations lieing in Wisconsin ami 
 Northern Michigan. He was very successful in 
 his business, and is said to have been paid the 
 highest salar}- drawn by any commercial traveler 
 of St. Paul. In iSi)2 he decided to go into busi- 
 ness on his own account, and since that time has 
 carried on as manv as four retail stores at one 
 time. In the spring of 1895 '"-' concentrated all 
 his liusiness into one large wholesale and retail 
 establishment, and in the fall of 1895, i" addition 
 to this, opened a manufacturing concern in St. 
 Paul under the name of the Stronge Manufactur- 
 ing Compan\-. for the manufacture of children's 
 headwear. In this he has also been hiqlilv suc- 
 
 cessful and sells the output of his factory to job- 
 bers and retailers all the way from Chicago to 
 the Pacific Coast. Mr. Stronge is not closely 
 identified with any political party, but is an advo- 
 cate of sound money, and is also a believer in 
 the wisdom and feasibility of the income tax. 
 Ilis church connections are with tlie Episcopal 
 denomination, with which he was identified in 
 Ireland. He was married in 1891 to Miss Louise 
 Williams, and lliey have one son, Sidney Ray- 
 niniid, three years of age. 
 
 PHII.II' ANDREW KAUEER. 
 
 h is not slating the fad loo strongly to say 
 that nearly all of the bright and enterprising 
 young men at the head of the country weekly 
 newspa])ers of .Minnesota have come to occupy 
 these ])ositions through their own industry and 
 pluck. Philip A. Kanfer, publisher of the Red 
 Lake balls (iazette, is not an exception to the 
 nde. When but fifteen years of age he began 
 active work in a newspa])er cjffice, working as a 
 ])rinter's "devil" on the Ked Lake Palis Gazette. 
 \\ itli industrious and sober habits, and improve- 
 ment in his general education bv close observa- 
 tion and study, he found himself in a position to 
 become the proprietor of this ]5aper in 1892, after 
 nine years of newspaper training. He has con- 
 ducted the Gazette since that time, and with high- 
 ly satisfactory results. The Gazette is now the 
 official paper of Red Lake F'alls city and of Red 
 Lake Count\, of which Red Lake Falls is the 
 county seat. .Mr. Kaufer is a native of this state, 
 and was born at Mankato, Iul\- 22, 1868. He is 
 the son of H. li. Kaufer and ?ilonica Eitterer 
 ( Kaufer). Iloth parents are of German descent. 
 The father is still living at the age of seventy-six, 
 virile and bright as a man of fifty years. He estab- 
 lished the first pottery manufactory in Minnesota 
 at Mankato, and has acquired a sufficient fortune 
 to make himself independent financiall\' by his 
 operations in that business, and through judicious 
 real estate investments. His wife is an unusally 
 well read woman, of high ideals, and well informed 
 on all current questions of the dav. .She was born 
 in the backwoods of Indiana, and was taught to 
 read German bv her mother. Her knowledge of 
 English was acf|uired unaided. Philip received
 
 498 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 his elementary trainiiii; in the CathoHc college of 
 Mankato, which was supplemented by attendance 
 at the Mankato public schools. The boy imbibed 
 his mother's taste for the ac<|uirement of general 
 knowledge, and this, with the sturdy and indus- 
 trious characteristics inherited from his parents, 
 enabled him to persevere in his chosen profession 
 and to finally secure ownership of the paper on 
 which he had labored. Mr. Kaufer is a member 
 of the Roman Catholic church. He was married 
 Septemlser 3, i8g4' to Lizzie A. Boyle, a teacher 
 in the jiublic schools of Red Lake Falls, and has 
 one child, I'hil .\. Kaufer. jr., liorn June 22, 1896. 
 
 ARNT KJOSNE.S PEDERSON'. 
 
 A. K. I'ederson is the son of I'eder Ulson 
 Kjosnes and Helga Arntsdatter \'igen (Kjosnes). 
 Following the usiral custom of the Xorwegian 
 people, he adopted as his surname Pederson ; that 
 is, to say, Arnt, of Kjosnes, the son of Peder. He 
 was born December 28, 1845, in the parish of 
 Selbo, near Throndhjem, Norway. His ancestors 
 were nearly all tillers of the soil. ( )n account of 
 the father being in straightened circtmistances 
 financially, the children (of win mi there were 
 
 eight) were compelled in early youth to help in 
 the work on the farm. From his eighth to his 
 twelfth year, .\rnt alternately worked at his own 
 home and for his neighbors, his younger brothers 
 having grown up so he could be spared from 
 home. He received his education in the common 
 "religious school." which he attended until his 
 fifteenth year. He then left home and com- 
 menced work in a saw mill, continuing in this 
 occupation for four years, until he was unfortu- 
 nate enough to have three fingers cut off. The fol- 
 lowing winter he drove a team, but in the spring 
 started at work in a saw mill again, where he re- 
 mained for five years, or until i86t), when he 
 emigrated to America. Having no money of his 
 own, he borrowed sufficient funds to cross the 
 ocean, and arrived in Minneapolis ]\Iav 16, 1869. 
 He immediately commenced work at his former 
 occupation, that of tending a circle saw in a saw 
 mill. He kept steadily at this work for eleven 
 years, when he was compelled to quit on account 
 of the growing weakness of his eyes, caused by 
 constant straining. During this time, however^ 
 
 Mr. 
 
 I eclersi m 
 obtained 
 
 nac 
 
 This he now nn)rtgage< 
 
 hundred dollars, and 
 
 lad betn frugal in his habits and 
 1 biiiise and lut in Minneapolis. 
 fnr t\\(i thousand and five 
 'ctling a bill of huiiber
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 499 
 
 wriit tii Apitk'ti HI, Miiinesiila, wlieri- he (jngaged 
 in llir luniljui- l)Usincss. In tliis he- lias been very 
 successful, now cduducting- one of the most ex- 
 tensive hnnher and hardware business, between 
 Minneapolis and Aberdeen. .\t lirst, on account 
 of the money he had outslandiui:;; among the 
 farmers, Mr. I'ederson was soniewhat handi- 
 cappi'd in securing credit for lumber, and reniem- 
 Ijcrs with grateful a])preciation the assistance af- 
 forded him by the old Washburn Mill Company, 
 and states that thev were more bencticiai to him 
 than the connuercial agencies. In connection 
 with his lumber and hardware business, Mr. 
 Pederson also owns a tin sho]) and a harness sho]). 
 and deals in lime, brick, i)ainl. wood, coal, etc. 
 He was instrumental in organizing the Citizens 
 Ilank, of Appleton, in i8c)2. of which institution 
 he is president. In i)olitics .Mr, i'ederson has 
 always cast his lot witli the Republican party, and 
 is an enthusiastic supporter of its principles. His 
 first vote he cast for General (irant for president. 
 He has been active in local politics, but has held 
 no office except that of town supervisor for two 
 terms, and member of the village council for 
 twelve years successively, one excepted. On May 
 22, 1870, Afr. Pederson was married to Mary C). 
 Fuglem, who was also born in .'^elbo, Xorway. 
 They have had ten children, of whom six are 
 living: five boys and one girl. 
 
 WILLIAM NORTHCOURT PORTEOCS. 
 
 William iSorthcourt Porteous, M. D., 
 was born in Ontario, Canada, June 20, 1857. His 
 father, David Porteous, was a student of medicine 
 and surgery in Edinburgh LTniversity, Scotland, 
 but in those days anaesthetics were not in use 
 and the sufferings of patients operated upon so 
 unnerved him that he gave up the practice, emi- 
 grated to New Brunswick, and engaged in the 
 milling business there. His father was an ad- 
 miral in the British Navy, receiving his appoint- 
 ment to that rank just before his death. The wife 
 of David Porteous was Jessie Bell, daughter of 
 a leather manufacturer conducting a large busi- 
 
 -^ 
 
 ness in Canada. The iiell family were also ex- 
 tensively engaged in the lumber business in 
 that country. The subject of this sketch grew 
 up in ( )ntario, where he attended the common 
 and granmiar schools and ])repared for McGill 
 I'niversity at Montreal. After completing a 
 university course he went to Scotland to ])ursue 
 liis studies in medicine and surgery at Edin- 
 burgh University, where his father had been a stu- 
 dent before him. He also took a course of study 
 at London College, at London, England. Like 
 many of the enterprising, aml)itious young men 
 of Canada, Dr. Porteous was attracted by the 
 better opportunities afforded in the states, and in 
 i8g2 came to Minnesota and settled in Minne- 
 apolis for the practice of his prcjfession. Since 
 his residence here he has made a specialty of the 
 treatment of the ear, the nose and the throat, 
 and has attained prominence in his profession 
 for which he had carefully prepared. Dr. Por- 
 teous is a member of the Presbyterian church. 
 In 1894 li^ married Miss Alma Norton Johnson, 
 daughter of Col. Charles W. Johnson, of Minne- 
 apolis. Mrs. Porteous is a leader in social and 
 musical circles and the possessor of a contralto 
 voice of rare qualitv and power.
 
 500 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 CHARLES HENRY GOODRICH. 
 
 Dr. Charles H. Goodrich, of St. Paul, is one 
 of the prominent members of the dental pro- 
 fession of Minnesota. Though a native of Michi- 
 gan he has lived in Alinnesota nearly all his life. 
 Dr. Goodrich's father was Augustus J. Good- 
 rich, a native of Elroy, New York, but long a 
 prominent business man of St. Paul. Air. Good- 
 rich came to St. Paul in 1859. At the close i>f 
 the war he was business manager of the old 
 "Pioneer," and for eighteen years prior to 1886 
 he was secretary and treasurer of the St. Paul 
 Gas Light Company. When an eastern syndi- 
 cate bought the stock of the company in 1886, 
 Mr. Goodrich retired, and in May, 1887, he died 
 at the age of .seventy-one years. He was married 
 three times. His second wife wasMiss Martha Wil- 
 bur, who was born at Alexander, New York, in 
 1827. Her father was colonel of a regiment of 
 militia and represented his district in the New 
 York Assembly. Her brothers are prominent 
 citizens of Erie County, \cw ^'ork, two of them 
 being Doctors of Divinity in Methodist pulpits. 
 She was married to Mr. Goodrich in 1856, and 
 died on January i, i860, soon after the family 
 moved to Minnesota, and when her son Charles 
 was but a vcar old. Dr. Goodrich was born at 
 
 Kalamazoo, Michigan, on January i, 1859. He 
 attended the public schools of St. Paul until 1875, 
 when he found employment as a clerk in a retail 
 hardware store. L'pon the failure of his employer 
 about two years later, he entered the dental 
 office of Dr. Louis W. Lyon. This gave him an 
 opportunity of fitting himself for his profession. 
 He studied under Dr. Lyon and took a course 
 at the Pennsylvania College of Dentistry, grad- 
 uating in 1880. Since entering upon practice Dr. 
 Goodrich has been very successful. His standing 
 in the profession was recognized recently by his 
 appointment on the State Board of Dental Ex- 
 aminers. He is a member of the .\merican 
 Dental Association, the Southern .Minnesota 
 Dental Association and the Minnesota Dental 
 Association, and was at one time president of 
 the latter organization. Dr. Goodrich is a Re- 
 publican in politics, though he was at one time 
 a Democrat. He is a member of the People's 
 Church. In 1886 he was married to Aliss Fannie 
 Jewell Howgate. They have one child, a son of 
 eight years, named Robert Earl Goodrich. 
 
 JOHN FRANKLIN McGEE. 
 
 John Franklin McGee is a lawyer practicing 
 his profession in Minneapolis. Mr. McGee is of 
 Irish descent. His father, Hugh McGee, emi- 
 grated to this countr)- from the north of Ireland,, 
 in 1850, while yet a lad of fifteen. He settled 
 at Amboy, Lee County, Illinois, and engaged in 
 the railroad business as a mechanic, where he 
 still lives, retired, in comfortable circumstances. 
 John Franklin was born at Amboy, January i, 
 1861. His mothers maiden name was Margaret 
 Heenan. Mr. .\lcGee attended the city school 
 of Amboy, graduating from the high school in 
 liis twentieth year. During his last year at the 
 high school he read law with ( '. II. Wooster, of 
 Amboy. From there he went to Clinton, Illinois, 
 and entered the office of Moore & \\'arncr. the 
 latter uieniber of the tii-ni now being a member 
 of congress. The senior member of this firm, 
 Mr. Moore, was ]iartner with United States Senator 
 David Davis, of Illinois, from :S5_:5 until the death 
 of .Senator Davis. Mr. Mc(!ee was admitted to 
 practice in the su])renu' court of Illinois. Xovem-
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 501 
 
 ])cr lo, 1882. Ik- came west, however, the fol- 
 lowing April, settling in Devils Lake, Dakota 
 Territory, going into partnership with D. E. Mor- 
 gan, at present district judge at Devils Lake. 
 Mr. ;\lcGee assisted Mr. ^Morgan, who was prose- 
 cuting attorney at that time, trying all the impor- 
 tant criminal cases from the organization of the 
 county until leaving for Minneapolis. The most 
 important case Mr. McGee tried while at Devils 
 Lake was the sensational ( )swald murder case, 
 in April and May of 1886. He removed to .Min- 
 neapolis in April, 1887, and entered into partner- 
 ship with A. H. Xoyes. which partnership was 
 continued until August 19, 1889. Since that 
 time Mr. McGee has not entered into any other 
 partnerships. His specialty is that of corporation 
 law. He was the representative of the old Chi- 
 cago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railroad, and is 
 also of its successor, the Chicago Great Western. 
 He is also attorne\- fur a munher of elevator com- 
 panies. ( )ne of the most important cases in which 
 he has been interested, and one which became of 
 national interest, was that of Xorman Brass vs. 
 North Dakota, a suit brought to overthrow the 
 grain laws of that state, W'hen this case was 
 finallv atincaled to the supreme court of the 
 Ignited State-., the law was upheld by a vote of 
 
 live to four. lie has never been very active in 
 ])(jlitics, but is an indei)endenl Rei)ul.)lican in his 
 belief. He has not held any political (jfifice. He 
 was married September 14, 1884, to Libbie L. 
 Ryan, of Wapella, Illinois. They have four chil- 
 dren. 
 
 JOIIX I'., lit )L.\I1'.RRG. 
 
 John \L liulmberg, a ])roniinent representa- 
 li\(' of the Swedish naticjuality in .Minnesota, was 
 l)orn in Smaland. Sweden, on December 17, 1850. 
 He received a common school education in his 
 native town, and in 1873 emigrated to America, 
 locating in .Minneapolis, which is still his home. 
 lie had learned the trade of mason in Sweden, 
 and followed it in this country for ten years after 
 liis arrival here. lie then became a contract(jr 
 and builder, which is his business at this time. 
 I'roni povertv and ol)Scurity he has been able to 
 build his fortunes >ip until at the present time he 
 is one of the best known people of his nationality 
 in Minnea])olis. and one of the wealthiest, also. 
 
 In politics. Mr. Holmberg has always been a 
 consistent Republican, working earnestly for the 
 success of that party in every campaign. In 1892, 
 as a reward in part for his faithful services, he
 
 502 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 was sent to the legislature from the old Thirty- 
 second representative district of Minneapolis, 
 comprising the Fifth and Sixth wards. He served 
 during the session of 1893 ^"^h credit to him- 
 self, fully answering the expectations of his con- 
 stituents, and was, in the fall of 1894, elected to 
 the office of sherifY of Hennepin County, which 
 he held for one term. [Mr. Holmberg is a Luther- 
 an in religion. He belonged to the Swedish Au- 
 gustana church for about twenty years, but is at 
 present a member of St. John's English Lutheran 
 church in .Minneapolis. He is president of the 
 Flour City Realty Company. He earned his first 
 dollar in America by carrying building stone up 
 to the fourth floor of the old Washburn A flour 
 mill, the one which was destroyed by an explo- 
 sion a number of years ago. killing a number of 
 employes. In the fatherland Mr. Holmberg had 
 only the advantages which came to the children 
 of the poorer people. His father, who died thirty- 
 three years ago, was a farmer, and was not al)le tu 
 give his son any start in the world, except that of 
 a good name. All tliat Mr. Holmberg is he owes 
 to his own efforts, a fact in which he very properly 
 takes considerable pride. His mother is living 
 and makes her home in ^linneapolis. !\[r. Holm- 
 berg is married and is the father of six cliililren. 
 
 JULIUS C. GILBERTSOX. 
 
 Dr. }. C. Gilbertson is a successful physician of 
 Luverne, Minnesota. He is a native of Norway, 
 but has lived in this country ever since he was 
 si.x years of age and by education and assimila- 
 tion is thoroughly American. His ancestors 
 were of the Norwegian peasantry. Engebret 
 Gilbertson, his father, was a farmer and was very 
 poor when he came to America in 1867 with his 
 wife and his young family. He settled in Good- 
 hue County, Minnesota, but after two years 
 moved across the river to Pierce County, Wis- 
 consin, where he still lives in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances, having become independent and at 
 the same time raised a large family. \'iiung 
 Julius went to the district school in llie neigh- 
 borhood in the winters and worked hard on tln' 
 farm during the rest of the year. In t88o, when 
 nineteen years old, he harl advanrt-d so far as to l)e 
 
 able to secure a certificate to teach in the county 
 schools. However he did not avail himself of 
 this opportunity but entered Red Wing Seminary 
 the next year and graduated in 1884. At this 
 time his father offered to mortgage his farm in 
 order to secure the means for Julius to further 
 pursue his studies but the son w'ould not hear 
 iif it, and went to teaching" school, at the same 
 time studying as much as might be in his spare 
 time. In the spring of 1885 he opened a small 
 general store at Esdaile, Wisconsin, but after 
 two years he tired of mercantilism and sold his 
 business to i\lr. A. A. Ulvin. He attended spe- 
 cial lectures at the University of Wisconsin the 
 following winter and in 1888 entered the medical 
 department of the University of [Minnesota. Three 
 more years of hard work ensued and in 1891 he 
 graduated, receiving the class honors. After 
 graduation from the L'niversity and having passed 
 successfully (he examination of the state medical 
 board, Dr. (gilbertson settled in Luverne and at 
 once engaged in the-practicc nf his profession. 
 He has been very successful and h;is liuilt up a 
 large and lucrative practice — j)robably as large as 
 any in that part of the state. He has no specialty 
 and his jiracdce is general, hut lie has been espe- 
 cially successftd in the treatment of nervous dis- 
 orders. Dr. ' "I'lbert'^nn was married on Novem-
 
 PROGREvSSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 503 
 
 bcr 27, i8i;5, to Miss Tlica 1 1. I UI^'sdii at IJlair, 
 Wisconsin. lie is a incmlicr (if the Lutheran 
 church. Jn jjolitical bcHcf he is a Repubhcaii. 
 He has never held an office excej:)! that of town 
 clerk in Wisconsin fr. mi iS,S5 to 1887. 
 
 IF.RDINAND I'.ARTA. 
 
 h'erdinanil I'.arta is a St. I'anl attorney 
 and jirominent Republican politician of Ramsey 
 County. He was born September 8, 1857, in tiie 
 town of L'ninn. \ ermm C/nunu, Wisconsin. His 
 fatlier -was Joseph .M. Carta, who came to the 
 L'nited States from P)ohemia in i84(), and later 
 settled on a farm in Wisconsin and from 1865 
 devoted his attention to the invention and perfec- 
 tion of a twine l^inder. in which he was successful. 
 His mother's maiden name was Alary Holak. 
 Mr. Barta received his education in the public 
 schools in the vicinity of his home. Like most 
 western boys of the time he was obliged to do 
 much for himself at an early ao;e. I'roni his 
 seventeenth year he studied and tautjlit alternately 
 and in this wa\- manaL;ed to keep uj) with his class 
 and secure a full course in the high school at 
 1-a Crosse. I'roni 1870 to 1882 he studied law in 
 the office of Howe & Tourtellotte, and held a 
 clerkship under Leonard Lottridge for a year 
 prior to his admission to the bar in November, 
 1882. In .Mav, 1883, he decided to seek a new- 
 location in the west. Stopping in St. Paul, he 
 determined to locate there, opened an office and 
 has maintained a successful practice ever since. 
 Mr. Barta has been a Republican ever since he 
 attained his majority. Soon after coming to 
 St. Paul he began td take an active part in the 
 political affairs of the city and county and was for 
 six years a member of the city and county Repub- 
 lican coiimiittees. His first candidacv for office 
 was for the legislature from the Fifth ward of the 
 city of St. I^aul in the fall r)f 1804. for which office 
 he was elected, although the district had a normal 
 Democratic majoritv of five hundred. While in 
 the legislature he devoted his time to hard and 
 effective work in the interests of his constituents, 
 being a member of several of the more important 
 committees. He was renominated for the office 
 without oj)])iisiti(in in t8ij6 and was re-elected. 
 
 Air. Barta is a member of the Alasonic frater- 
 nity. He was married in January, 1888, to Miss 
 Lena Brings, daughter of Joseph and Lucy 
 Brings, who were early settlers of St. Paul. They 
 have one son, whose name is Joseph. 
 
 TPIOAfAS J. DOL'GHERTY. 
 
 Several presidents have been born within the 
 borders of the state of Ohio; and from Ohio have 
 come many of the progressive citizens of the 
 Xorthwestern states. Thomas J. Dougherty, 
 postmaster at Northfield, Minnesota, was born at 
 Alarietta, Ohio, on September 15, 1856. When 
 he was about three years old his parents removed 
 from Ohio to Wisconsin, settling on a farm in 
 St. Croix County. He received his early educa- 
 tion in the public schools of the same county, 
 and later spent two years in the St. Croix County 
 Collegiate and Alilitary Academy, a school which 
 flourished for a short time at Hudson, Wisconsin. 
 He then taught school in St. Croix and Polk 
 counties for several terms. Mr. Dougherty came 
 to Alinnesota in 1876 and became a citizen of 
 Northfield, Rice County, where he has lived ever 
 since. He first entered the office of Perkins & 
 Whipple as a law student and remained with them 
 until 1 871 1, when he was offered, by Warder,
 
 504 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 Mitchell & Co., manufacturers of the Champion 
 reapers and mowers, the responsible position of 
 general collector for Alinncsota, Wisconsin, Iowa 
 and North and South I )akota. He accepted the 
 offer thus made him and held the position for 
 eight years, resigning in 1877 to enter upon the 
 practice of law. Pie went into partnership with 
 O. F. Perkins. This firm continued until 1893, 
 when Mr. Perkins died, and R. J. Drake suc- 
 ceeded to his part of the business. The new firm 
 thus formed still exists as Drake & Dougherty. 
 In politics .Mr. Dougherty is a Democrat, and has 
 been a i)rominent figure in the imlitical affairs of 
 Northfield and Rice County. At one time he was 
 nominated by the Democratic jjarty of his county 
 as a candidate for judge of ])robate. He is a 
 member of the Northfield city council, and the 
 citizens of the Third ward have foimd his services 
 so valuable that they have retained him con- 
 stantly as their councilman since 1890. He has 
 also .served as a member of the schtxil board dur- 
 ing the last four years. Tn January, 1896, Presi- 
 dent Cleveland appointed him ])ostmaster at 
 Northfield. On October 5. 1882, at Hazelwood, 
 Minnesota, he married .Miss Katie llennessy, of 
 that place. Mrs. Dougherlx- died Nov. 26, 181/). 
 
 1 RANK A. DAY. 
 
 I'rank A. Day, of Fairmont, Martin County, is 
 one of the best known newspaper men and poli- 
 ticians in the state. His newspaper, the Martin 
 County Sentinel, is a high class country weekly, 
 and it is the boast of its editor that it has the 
 largest circulation of any country weekly in Min- 
 nesota. Air. Day was born in 1855 in (ireen 
 County, Wisconsin. In 1874 he came to Fair- 
 mont and established the Sentinel which he has 
 conducted ever since. In 1878 he was elected to 
 the lower house of the legislature and had the 
 distinction of being the \oungest member of the 
 body. In 1886 he was elected a member of the 
 state senate and was re-elected in 1890 and 1894. 
 It was during the first session of his last term, in 
 i8t)5, that he was elected president of the senate, 
 and filled the office of lieutenant governor for the 
 two years' term made vacant bv the promotion of 
 Lieutenant Governor Clough to the office of gov- 
 ernor. Until the campaign of 1806 Mr. Day's 
 political affiliations hail l)een with the Republican 
 
 partv. h'or two terms lie was a member of the 
 Republican .state central coiumiiuc. In i8i)j he 
 was one of Minnesota's delegates-at-large to the 
 Republican natii ral conwulion in M inneaoolis,
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 505 
 
 and has been a prominent figure in all the impor- 
 tant Republican gatherings in the state fur a 
 dozen years or more. In the campaign <A i8ij6, 
 however, Mr. Day, with Hon. John Lind, llun. 
 John Day Smith, Congressman C. A. Towne, 
 State Senators D. F. Morgan and S. B. Howard, 
 and other men formerly pruinincnt in the Repub- 
 lican party of the state, organized the free silver 
 Republican party of Miimesota, and sui)ported 
 Bryan and Sewall and the free silver fusion candi- 
 dates in the stale campaign. Several of the gen- 
 tlemen above named were nominated for ofifice, 
 Mr. Lind being chosen by the new movement as 
 its candidate for governur, and being subse- 
 quently indorsed by the Democratic and Poimlist 
 parties. Mr. Smith was a candidate for presi- 
 dential elector, Mr. Towne for congress from the 
 Sixth District, and Mr. Day was nominated by 
 acclamation for congress from the Second Dis- 
 trict, and without effort on his part was indorsed 
 by the Democratic and Populist parties. Although 
 swept down to defeat with the other free silver 
 candidates in Minnesota, Mr. Day"s popularitv at 
 home was attested by the fact that he overcame a 
 large Republican majority in Martin County, car- 
 rying it by one hundred and fifty-four, and ran 
 nine hundred and fifteen ahead of his ticket in the 
 Second District. As a public man Air. Day has 
 exerted a marked intiuence, has helped to shape 
 most of the important legislation of the state dur- 
 ing the past ten years, and has made himself 
 known from one end of the state to the other. He 
 is married and has four children — two l)ovs and 
 two girls. 
 
 CHARLES SUMNER CAIRNS. 
 
 Charles Sunmer Cairns is a lawyer practicing 
 his profession at Minneapolis. His ancestors on 
 both sides of the family came to America from 
 Great Britain before the Revolutionary war. His 
 father's name was Robert Cairns and his mother's 
 maiden name was Alary A. Haynes, one of whose 
 paternal ancestors was Sanuiel Haynes, one of the 
 nine founders of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 
 He came from England in 1635 in the ship 
 "Angel Gabriel." Charles Sumner Cairns was 
 
 born July 4, 1856, on a farm near Duncan Falls, 
 Muskingum County, Ohio. His early education 
 was obtained in the common schools of that 
 county, after which he entered .Muskingum Col- 
 lege, at New Concord, Ohio, where he graduated 
 in a classical course in 1876. He took a law 
 course in the University of Michigan, graduating 
 in 1882, and for some time thereafter he continued 
 to read law in the ofiice of Roby, Outten & Vail, 
 at Decatur, Illinois. In 1883 he came to Minne- 
 apolis and opened a law office with D. S. 
 Frackelton. After the dissolution of that partner- 
 ship he continued business by himself until 1895, 
 when he entered the firm of Fletcher, Cairns & 
 Rockw^ood. Mr. Cairns is a Republican and takes 
 an active interest in local and state politics. He 
 was elected to the lower house of the state legis- 
 lature and served in the session of 1893. He also 
 has served the Republicans as a member of cam- 
 paign connnittees and has taken a leading part 
 in the management of public affairs in his own 
 city. \\'hen the state census of 1895 was taken 
 Air. Cairns was made chairman of the citizens' 
 committee, appointed to look after the interests 
 of the city in that connection, and performed the 
 duties imposed upon him with such success as to 
 meet with the hearty approval and conmiendation
 
 506 
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 of his fellow citizens. Mr. Cairns is a man of 
 high character and his appointment at the head 
 of that committee was a guarantee that the work 
 would be done fairly and honestly. At the same 
 time it was prosecuted with vigor and intelligence, 
 and it is due to his efforts that the census of 1895 
 was regarded as the most reliable ever taken in 
 the citv. He is a member and first vice president 
 of the Union League, a member of the Board of 
 Trade and also of the Commercial Club. His 
 church membership is with Wesminster Presby- 
 terian church, of which society he is one of the 
 deacons. His wife is a daughter of Isaac Shella- 
 barger, of Decatur, Illinois, to whom he was 
 married October 30, 1884. Her maiden name 
 was Frances \'. .'^hellabarger. 
 
 CHRISTIAN' J( )HNSUN. 
 
 Dr. Christian Johnson, of Willmar, is a native 
 of Denmark, where he was born in X'eile Amt, 
 Jutland, July 17, 1853. He is the son of J. V. 
 Ramsing, a farmer in comfortable circumstances, 
 and Zidzel Christiansatter (Ramsing). The an- 
 cestors of Dr. Johnson were largely identified 
 with the military afTairs of their country. His 
 maternal grandfather was a cavalry officer in Na- 
 poleon's army in Russia. Christian was taught 
 the rudimentary branches b}- his mother, who was 
 a lady of many accomplishments. Later he at- 
 tended the common school, but received his 
 academic instruction under private tutelage. 
 When but si.xteen years of age he emigrated to 
 America. He had no money, friends or acquaint- 
 ances, but he worked at such odd jobs as he could 
 secure in New York and Boston, in the meantime 
 continuing his studies in the public schools and 
 under private teachers as nnicli as his means 
 would allow. Having a desire to follow the medi- 
 cal profession, he connncnced studying for that 
 purpose in Boston. In 1874. however, lie was 
 compelled to return to Denmark to settle up the 
 family estate. For the next three years he pur- 
 sued the study of medicine in Copenhagen. In 
 1878 he returned to this country with the inten- 
 tion of completing his studies, but circtunstances 
 making it necessary that he should visit Minne- 
 sota, lie decided to locate here, and in 1870 settled 
 in Royalton, in ^Morrison County. In 1883 he 
 passed the state medical examination anrl com- 
 
 menced the practice of his profession. He moved 
 from Royalton to New London in 1886, residing 
 in this place until the spring of 1895, at which 
 time he moved to Willmar. Dr. Johnson has 
 enjoyed a large and remunerative medical practice 
 throughout Kandiyohi County. He has also 
 served as I'nited States pension surgeon at Will- 
 mar for several years. In addition with his pro- 
 fessional practice he has been identified with a 
 number of business enterprises. In i8()5 he began 
 the publication of the Willmar Tribune, but a 
 few months later entered into ])artnership with 
 Victor E. Lawson, under the firm name of John- 
 son & Lawson. This firm continued the publica- 
 tion of the Tribune, which was a decided success 
 from the start. Dr. Johnson is one of the mem- 
 bers of the New London Real Estate Company, 
 which built the Great Northern hotel, and made 
 extensive improvements in that town. He is also 
 owner of con.siderable real estate in and around it. 
 Wliile a resident of New London Dr. Johnson 
 was closely identified with even- public enter])rise. 
 He was one of the incorporators, and until lately 
 one of the directors of the .State Bank of New 
 London, and served as president of the village 
 and of the school board, and in a number of other 
 village offices. ITp to 1893 Dr. Johnson affili- 
 ated with the Republican party, and took an active 
 part in the local politics, ser\'ing the state central 
 committee as a stump speaker. He disagreed 
 with the party, however, on the issue involved in
 
 PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 507 
 
 the repeal uf the Sheniian law. and juiiieil the 
 People's party in the eainpait^ii of 181)4, taking 
 an active part. lie was a eamlidate for election 
 to the lower house of the legislature, but was 
 defeated by only twenty-nine votes. In the cam- 
 paign of 1896 he was a leading candidate for the 
 People's party congressional nomination, and was 
 also a delegate to the iiati<inal convention <if that 
 party in .St. T.ouis. 
 
 HENDRICK GORDON WEB.STER. 
 
 Hendrick Gordon Webster traces his ances- 
 try back to Colonel David Webster one of the 
 early settlers of i'lymouth, Xew Hampshire. Mr. 
 Webster was born in Plymouth, New Hampshire, 
 in 1847. ^^^ 's the son of David C. Webster arid 
 Nancy Gordon (W'elister). He is a grandson of 
 Colonel William W ebsler of the New Hampshire 
 militia, and a great-grandson of Colonel David 
 Webster, who commanded a regiment of New 
 Hampshire troops in the Continental Arnu'. The 
 document formally discharging Colonel Webster 
 and his regiment from the I'ontinenlal Armv at 
 Saratoga, signed by Brigadier General Bailey, 
 chief of stafT for General Gates, is still in the pos- 
 session of the family. Colonel David Webster 
 was one of the earlier settlers of New Hampshire 
 about 1765, and the family resided there for three 
 generations. He was a farmer and ke])t a tavern 
 on the site now (jccu])ied by the famous Pemmi- 
 gewasset House, at Plymouth. The subject of 
 this sketch obtained his early education in the 
 Nashua, New Hampshire, high school and in 
 Plymouth Academy. He then began the study 
 of pharmacy and went into business as a druggist 
 in Boston. He was engaged in that business 
 also in Newton and in I'^all River, ^ilassachusetts. 
 As a citizen of Fall Ri\er he took an active 
 interest in local affairs and was made a member 
 of the Fall River city council. He has always 
 been a Republican and active in that party. He 
 came to Minnesota in t88o and embarked in the 
 drug business in this city. In 1883 a number of 
 the progressive pharmacists of the state united in 
 the organization of the Minnesota State Phariua- 
 ceutical Association its objects being to promote 
 the advancement of pharmacy in this state. Mr. 
 Webster was one of the charter members and was 
 active with others in securing the passage by the 
 
 legislature of 1885 of a law regulating the prac- 
 tice of pharmacy. This law provided for a board 
 of pharmacy, to be appointed by the governor, 
 to enforce its provisions. All persons who were 
 engaged in the drug business at this time were 
 registered, either as pharmacists or assistants, and 
 were permitted to continue as such, but the board 
 was required to examine as to the qualifications 
 of all who thereafter wished to engage in the 
 business, and to cause the prosecution of violators 
 of the law. The board hold quarterly examina- 
 tions of candidates for registration. These exam- 
 inations are Ixith practical and theoretical and 
 very thorough. Candidates in order to pass these 
 examinations find it necessary to pursue some 
 regular course of instruction in pharmacy, in 
 addition to the practical experience of the drug 
 store, and so, as the result, a flourishing depart- 
 ment of pharmacy has been added to our State 
 Cniversity, besides two private schools which 
 have been established since the enactment of the 
 law. and which are well patronized by students 
 of pharmacy. Thus it will be seen that good 
 progress has already been made toward securing 
 for the people of our state the services of more 
 intelligent and skilled pharmacists. Mr. Webster 
 is a member of the Plymouth Congregational 
 Church. He was married in 1870 to Abbie Rich- 
 ardson Stevens, in Newton. Massachusetts. He 
 lias one son. George Gordon.
 
 ixi)i:x. 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE STATE 9 
 
 BIOGRAPHIES. 
 
 Ackeniian, Julius H ^So 
 
 Adams, Samuel E 33^^ 
 
 Allen, Edward L 3*2 
 
 Ames, Albert A 64 
 
 Anderson, Berndt 475 
 
 Anderson, John D 313 
 
 Andrews, John W 5 ^ 
 
 Ankeny, Alexander T 115 
 
 Archibald, Alexander R 466 
 
 Arctander, John W 2iy 
 
 Austin, Horace 461 
 
 Babb, E. C 34i 
 
 Badger, Walter L 470 
 
 Baldwin, Dwight M 80 
 
 Barnes, Isaac A 385 
 
 Barta, Ferdinand 503 
 
 Bartleson, Charles J 493 
 
 Batchelder, George W 433 
 
 Baxter, John T 496 
 
 Beardsley, Benjamin F 301 
 
 Beemer, Henry 359 
 
 Belden, Clarendon D 158 
 
 Belden, Henry C 67 
 
 Bicknell, William C 205 
 
 Bissell, Frank E 1 73 
 
 Bixby, Tams 50 
 
 Black, George D 118 
 
 Block, Julius H 83 
 
 Boardman, Frederick H 275 
 
 Bobleter, Joseph 232 
 
 Booth. Walter S 89 
 
 Boyesen, Alf E 57 
 
 Page 
 
 1 Irabcc, Frank J 335 
 
 I '.radford, Isaiah H 200 
 
 r.radish, James H 483 
 
 liriggs, Asa G 268 
 
 Ihill, Ilascal R 364 
 
 Brown, Calvin L 247 
 
 Brown, Charles W 143 
 
 Brown, h'rcdcrick \" 456 
 
 Brown, Henry F 193 
 
 Brown, Scba S 290 
 
 Bruckart, 1 )aniel W 358 
 
 Buck, Cassius AF 271 
 
 Buck, Daniel ) ) ] 
 
 Burke, Andrew H /2 
 
 Burnett, ^ViIlianl J it,2 
 
 Butler, Pierce 317 
 
 Butts, Ednnmd G 256 
 
 Byrnes. Tiniothv E 201 
 
 Cairns. Charles S 505 
 
 Calderwood. John F 168 
 
 Calhoun, John F 198 
 
 Campbell, Erford A 259 
 
 Canac-AIarquis. Ferdinand P 162 
 
 Canty, Tlionias 418 
 
 Carleton, Frank H 112 
 
 Car])enter. Clarence P 352 
 
 Case. Christopher F 87 
 
 Childs, Hcnn- W 322 
 
 Clark, Thomas C 396 
 
 Clark. William W 251 
 
 Clement. Thomas B 164 
 
 Clough, David A[ 274 
 
 Colbum. Nathan P 70 
 
 Collins. Loren W 32 
 
 Conklin, J. Frank 107 
 
 Conroy. Edward J 485
 
 510 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Pagt 
 
 Cooley, Clayton R 435 
 
 Cotton, Joseph B iy4 
 
 Countrjman, Ambrose D 3^6 
 
 Cowles, Egbert 165 
 
 Cox, Albert J i99 
 
 Crafts, Leo IM 39 1 
 
 Crane, Peter B 4/8 
 
 Crocker, Augustus L 38-2 
 
 Cross, Judson N ^7^ 
 
 Cutts, Anson B i ^9 
 
 Dare, Arthur N 4^7 
 
 Darragh, Edward J 63 
 
 d'Autremont, Charles. Jr 9^ 
 
 Davis, Cushman K iS 
 
 Davis, Charles R Uo 
 
 Day, Frank A .^04 
 
 Dickey, Courtland N 47'J 
 
 Dickson, Frederick N 146 
 
 Dodge, Willis E i35 
 
 Donnelly, Ignatius 4i4 
 
 Dougherty, Thomas J 303 
 
 Douglas, Wallace B 3 1 5 
 
 Dowling, Michael J '63 
 
 Drew, Charles W ^02 
 
 Dunn, James H 37° 
 
 Dunn, Robert C iSo 
 
 Dunsmoor, Frederick A 190 
 
 Dunwoody, William H T04 
 
 Easton, William E ^-'8 
 
 Eberlein. Charles W 377 
 
 Eddy, Frank .M 4-'8 
 
 Edgerton, George B i7 
 
 Edwards, Clement S i3" 
 
 Filer, Homer C 434 
 
 Elliott, Charles B 66 
 
 Ernst, Casper 65 
 
 Eustis. William H 4.^ 
 
 Evans, Louis A 5.t 
 
 Evans, Robert G 40 
 
 Faricy, John T 262 
 
 Farmer, Benjamin F 307 
 
 Farmer, John Q 74 
 
 Ferris, .'Mien F 43 1 
 
 Fish, Daniel 400 
 
 Page. 
 
 Fjelde, Jakob 438 
 
 Flandrau, Charles E 121 
 
 Ilannery, George P 362 
 
 Fleming, William A 127 
 
 Fletcher, George H 278 
 
 Fletcher, Loren 38 
 
 P'oot, Silas B 324 
 
 Foote, Hiram W 170 
 
 Force, Frank W 361 
 
 Force, Jacob F 395 
 
 Fosnes, Christopher A 329 
 
 Foss, James F. R 284 
 
 Fournier, Alexis J 445 
 
 Frater, John T 53 
 
 Fryberger, William ( ) 339 
 
 Furlong, John J 217 
 
 Gallasch, Adolph G 418 
 
 Gaylord, Ernest R 355 
 
 Getty, George F 149 
 
 Gibbs, John L 340 
 
 Gilbert, Cass 1 34 
 
 Gilbertson, Julius C 502 
 
 Gilfillan John B' 136 
 
 Gjertsen, Henry J 128 
 
 Gjertsen, M. Falk 281 
 
 Godfre}-, Percy D 468 
 
 Goodnow, John F 468 
 
 Goodrich, Asa F 484 
 
 Goodrich, Charles H 500 
 
 Gossman, Louis E 189 
 
 Grant, Donald 68 
 
 Graves, Charles H 182 
 
 Gray, Archibald D 78 
 
 Grondahl, Jens K 88 
 
 Hadley, Emerson 325 
 
 Haecker, Theophilus L 160 
 
 Hale. William F 84 
 
 I lall. Christoi)hcr W 406 
 
 Hammer, I'"rederick 353 
 
 Haney, Charles F 294 
 
 Harris. Anak A 439 
 
 1 TaiTJs, ^Mrgil H 477 
 
 Harrison, .\lcxander M 429 
 
 Haskell, \\'illiam E 430 
 
 Hay. Eugene G 365
 
 INDEX. 
 
 511 
 
 i'agc. 
 
 Hayne, Marcus P 1 97 
 
 Hays, Theodore L 4^H 
 
 Hays, Willet M iS^J 
 
 Heatwole, Joel P 62 
 
 Heilniaicr, Carl 161 
 
 Hellekson, Ole H 457 
 
 Hendrickson, Hans W 349 
 
 Hendryx, Charles F 454 
 
 Hewitt, William E 351 
 
 Hicks, Henry G 1 22 
 
 I-Iield, Willard J <)7 
 
 Hill, James J 101 
 
 Hilschcr, John !•' 131) 
 
 Hilt. Martin .\ t,<.)J 
 
 Hinds, Charles G 345 
 
 Hirsch, Christian J- B 283 
 
 Holbrook, Franklin G 253 
 
 Holmheref, Jolin E 501 
 
 Hubbard. T.ticitis F 60 
 
 Huebner, Edward H 411 
 
 Hunt. Lewis P 204 
 
 Huntington, George 388 
 
 Huntsinger. John S 114 
 
 Ives. Francis 76 
 
 James, William !\ [ 402 
 
 Jamison, Robert . . 489 
 
 Jayne, Trafiford N 124 
 
 Jenks, George W , 326 
 
 Johns, Henry 221 
 
 Johnson. Aleck E 218 
 
 Johnson, Charles H 207 
 
 Johnson, Christian 506 
 
 Johnson, Edward M 129 
 
 Johnson, Gustavus ^31 
 
 Johnson, Richard W 108 
 
 Johnson, William E 151 
 
 Johnston. D. S. P. 82 
 
 Jones, Edwin J 4^ 
 
 Jones. Harry W 1 20 
 
 Joyce. Frank M 2SS 
 
 Kaercher, Aaron R 263 
 
 Kaufer. Philip A 407 
 
 Kellam. Charles R. J 216 
 
 Kellog. Frank P> 254 
 
 Page. 
 
 Kellogg, James A 244 
 
 Kenyon, Moses D 465 
 
 Kepncr, Thomas E 175 
 
 Kerrick, John H 405 
 
 Kc\es, Edward \) 369 
 
 Kiley, Edwaid C 336 
 
 Kingsbury, Olin W 327 
 
 Kingsley, X'athan C 36- 
 
 Kitchel, Stanley R 310 
 
 isleeberger, George R 113 
 
 Koehler, Robert 174 
 
 Koerncr, August T 318 
 
 Koon. .Martin 1! 48- 
 
 Ladd, Henry E 321 
 
 Lannners, Louis F 191 
 
 Lancaster, William A 375 
 
 Lane, Freeman P j,(y 
 
 Langdon, Robert B 424 
 
 Langum, Sanuiel A 240 
 
 Faraway, tJrlo AI 314 
 
 Lawrence, Wesley M 138 
 
 Leatherman, Robert L 299 
 
 Lee, William E 224 
 
 Leonard, Claude B 3S7 
 
 Lewis, Charles E 486 
 
 Lewis, Henry J 332 
 
 Lewis, C)lin B 125 
 
 Liggett, ^^■illiam M 166 
 
 Littleton, Samuel T 245 
 
 Lochren. William 320 
 
 Lohrbauer. Harold J 223 
 
 Loring, Charles M 46 
 
 Love. George A 3 1 r 
 
 Lovejoy, Stephen B 186 
 
 AicArthur, Daniel T y)2 
 
 McCleary. James T 412 
 
 AlcElliogott, Thomas J 220 
 
 McGee, John F jcx> 
 
 McGill, Andrew R 30 
 
 McTntyre, John C ^ig 
 
 McKinnon, Alexander 291 
 
 McKinnon. John R -^63 
 
 McKusick. Levi H 443 
 
 McMahon. Edward J 470 
 
 McMillan. Frank G 234
 
 512 
 
 INDEX 
 
 rage. 
 
 AlcMillan, i'utnam D 344 
 
 -Mac Kenzie, George A 148 
 
 Alacdonald, Colin F 210 
 
 JMacdonald, John L 308 
 
 JNlaron, Frank A 133 
 
 Marshall, William R 494 
 
 2\Iarty, Martin 482 
 
 jNlatteson, Charles D 455 
 
 Z\Ieeds, Asa D 153 
 
 ]\legaarden, Philip T 472 
 
 Mendenhall. Rufus J ^j-j 
 
 JMerriam, William R 184 
 
 r^Ierrick, Ambrose N 126 
 
 :\Ierritt, .-Vl'fred 252 
 
 Merr)^ Charles W 215 
 
 jMetc'alf, Frank C 463 
 
 JNIichael, James C 159 
 
 ^Miller, Stephen 380 
 
 Miner. Jnlius E 212 
 
 Miner, Nelson H 230 
 
 r^litchell, WilHam 437 
 
 JNlitchell, William P. 102 
 
 Mohler, A. L j-j 
 
 J\loodey, James C 171 
 
 M oore, Albert R 296 
 
 Moore, James E 214 
 
 I\lorey, Charles A 285 
 
 I\l organ, Darius F 449 
 
 2\lorris, Samuel V., Jr 303 
 
 Morris, W^illiam R 446 
 
 Morrison. Dorilus 458 
 
 Morrison, Robert G 145 
 
 Morton. Howard McI 276 
 
 !\Iuehlberg, Hermann 302 
 
 Mullen, John T 147 
 
 :\rnnro. William J 85 
 
 Nelson, ISenjamin F 410 
 
 Nelson, Knute 366 
 
 Nelson, Nicholas A 209 
 
 Nelson, Rennselaer R 370 
 
 Ncthaway, John C 142 
 
 Neumeier. Frederick C 267 
 
 Newell, George R 448 
 
 Ney. Christopher W 293 
 
 Nordeen. Tohn A 261 
 
 Norris. ^\■iIliam TT 492 
 
 i'age. 
 
 Northrop, Cyrus 73 
 
 Nye, Carroll A 279 
 
 Nye. Frank AI 181 
 
 Nye, Wallace G 86 
 
 O'Brien, Christopher D 179 
 
 O'Brien, Dillon 404 
 
 O'Brien, Thomas D 31 
 
 Odell, Robert R 298 
 
 Olmsted, E. Benton 265 
 
 Olson, Seaver E 398 
 
 Oppenheim, Ansel 451 
 
 Oswald, John C 233 
 
 Oiilie, Erik N 354 
 
 Ozmun. Edward H 374 
 
 Paige, James 386 
 
 Paris, Alfred W 288 
 
 Parker, George 379 
 
 Partridge, George H 39 
 
 Pattee. William S 106 
 
 Pederson, Amt K 498 
 
 Pendergast, W'illiam W' 96 
 
 Penney, Robert L 328 
 
 Peterson, James A 227 
 
 Peterson, John 237 
 
 Peterson, Samuel G 357 
 
 Petzet, Walter 238 
 
 Pfaender, W' illiam 42 
 
 Pillsbuni-. Charles A 5G 
 
 Pillsbury, Fred C 225 
 
 Pillsburs", George A 155 
 
 Pillsbury, John S 195 
 
 Pineo. Vviliard B 481 
 
 Porter. Arthur W 390 
 
 Porteous. William N 499 
 
 Potter. Edwin G iii 
 
 Powers. Le Grand 208 
 
 Pratt. Robert 257 
 
 Prince, Frank Al 95 
 
 P'urdy. Milton D 109 
 
 Ouist. Peter P 152 
 
 Ramsey. Alexander 27 
 
 Rand. Lars W 482 
 
 Ransom. Arthur E 356
 
 INDKX. 
 
 513 
 
 I\ra, Jnliii 1' 408 
 
 kced, Louis A 462 
 
 Reynolds, David E 440 
 
 Rice. (Gilbert IT 222 
 
 Rice. Henry X 226 
 
 Richardson. Xathan 110 
 
 Kicliter, {■'.dward W 260 
 
 Kici<er. i'".nos M 239 
 
 Rider. Henry A 393 
 
 Rogers, Edward G 105 
 
 Rosen. Peter 248 
 
 Russell, Robert U 368 
 
 Ivyan. 1 )ennis E 306 
 
 ."^ahin. 1 )\vis;lit M 60 
 
 Sanborn. John I! 42() 
 
 .Savage, luhvard 301 
 
 Schilliui;, William V 203 
 
 Schlener. John A 41 
 
 .Schniid, John 11 300 
 
 Schnntz. I'rilz 282 
 
 -Schubert. ( lustav A 478 
 
 Scliurnieier, Theodore L 381 
 
 Scott, Louis X 3O7 
 
 .Scott, Thomas \'> 236 
 
 Searin,c;, Edward E 346 
 
 Searle, Dolson B I<j2 
 
 Secor, David 33.I 
 
 Severance. Cordenio A 167 
 
 .Sheffield. Benjamin B 100 
 
 .Sheldon, Theodore B 242 
 
 .Shepard, Irwin 52 
 
 Shove, Cornelius B 46() 
 
 .Sibley. Henry H 441 
 
 Sim]ison. David E jR<) 
 
 .Sinclair, Daniel 137 
 
 Smalley, Eugene \' 1 34 
 
 Smith. Charles A 34 
 
 .Smith, Cyrus L 202 
 
 -Smith, George R 471 
 
 Smith, John Day 376 
 
 .Smith. Seagrave 420 
 
 .Smith. \'ernon M 4j2 
 
 Smith. William \\' 
 
 407 
 
 Page. 
 
 .Somerville, George W 452 
 
 Stackptjle, A. J 249 
 
 Stacy, Edwin P 243 
 
 Staples, I'Vanklin 185 
 
 Start, Charles M 423 
 
 -Stelibins, Alonzo T 490 
 
 .Steenerson, 1 laivor 54 
 
 .Stetson, I'rank L 258 
 
 .Stevens, l-'rederick C 187 
 
 .Stevens, I lirani I-" 172 
 
 -Stevens, John II 416 
 
 -Stevens, .Marion S 21 j 
 
 Stevenson, Loran C 474 
 
 .Stewart, I )arwin A 343 
 
 Stewart. CJeorge W 333 
 
 -Stickney, Alpheus B 178 
 
 Stillman, Ransom L 269 
 
 Stockton. All)ert W 4(11 
 
 .Straka. Ejiiil 3^7 
 
 Strong. James W 394 
 
 Stronge, Joseph 496 
 
 Swanstrom, Andrew P 462 
 
 S\\ eningsen, SannuT 169 
 
 Swift. Henry A 4:52 
 
 -Swift. Lucian 432 
 
 I'awnt-y. James A 4^0 
 
 'i'aylor, Armstrong ^71 
 
 Tew, .Martin E 330 
 
 Iheden, Gustav 473 
 
 Thompson, J. H ijg 
 
 Thom])-son, Richard E ^(i^ 
 
 Thorpe, Lars ( ) jtj 
 
 Titcomb, Charles G 424 
 
 l\)dd, Irving 36(3 
 
 Tomlinson, Harr\' A 250 
 
 Towne. Charles A 92 
 
 Truelsen, Casper H 188 
 
 Tryon, Charles J 81 
 
 'Fuller, Charles .A 4S7 
 
 Tuttle. James H 384 
 
 Ci)ham. Henry P n^^ 
 
 'f) 
 
 .Sneed. Erank \V 436 
 
 Snyder, Fred B 141 
 
 .Snyder. Harry 246 
 
 \ an Duzee. Charles .A 389 
 
 \ an Hoesen. F^rancis B (^4 
 
 \ an -Sant, -Samuel R ^72
 
 514- 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PagL-. 
 
 \'an Tuyl, Charles W 206 
 
 \anderburgli, Cliarles K 34- 
 
 X'anderpoel, Florance A 144 
 
 A'on Baumbach, Frederick yo 
 
 \'oreis, Benjamin F 213 
 
 Wales, diaries E 460 
 
 Walker. Alfred E -'31 
 
 Walker, Thomas B 58 
 
 \\'alling:. Plympton A 241 
 
 \\'anl, Albert L 13 ) 
 
 Ward. Edmund R 4S0 
 
 Ward, Gershom B 177 
 
 Ware, Robert L 347 
 
 Warner, Xathaniel F 2ji 
 
 Washburn, Jed L 270 
 
 Washburn, \Mlliam D gi 
 
 Weaver, Edgar 1S3 
 
 Webber, Edward J 373 
 
 Webber, Afarshall B 207 
 
 Webster, Hendrick G 507 
 
 1' 
 
 Welch, \ictur J 
 
 Wellcome, J. W. li., Sr.. 
 
 Wells, Robert J 
 
 Werner, Nils (J 
 
 Wheaton. J. Frank 
 
 White, Frank T 
 
 White, William G 
 
 Wilson, Joseph P 
 
 Windoni, \\'illiani 
 
 \\'instiin, Philip B 
 
 \\ ise, John C 
 
 Wolfer, Heniy 
 
 Woodward, l-'ranc R. E. 
 ^\'^ight, Jonathan W . . . 
 
 W)-man, George H 
 
 W\man, James T 
 
 Wvman, ( )liver C 
 
 ige. 
 
 266 
 
 295 
 464 
 
 35<J 
 264 
 
 3-23 
 28b 
 
 422 
 IIO 
 
 ^35 
 
 3t'4 
 348 
 305 
 
 2%7 
 
 44 
 403 
 
 ^'ale, William H 402 
 
 Young. Austin H 29 
 
 Zoch. 1 lernian E i"]}.
 
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 :,Fn 7 1966 
 
 
 
 
 NOV 1 7 
 
 196G 5 
 
 
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