Fifty Years In The Northwest by William H. C. Folsom
1844. He served as a soldier during the Mexican War. He was the first
2805 words | Chapter 179
toll collector on the St. Anthony Falls wire suspension bridge. He
finally located on Steele's farm near Minnehaha falls, and is now
living in Clayton county, Iowa.
R. W. CUMMINGS was born in Lycoming, Pennsylvania, June, 1825. He
settled at Cottage Grove, Minnesota, in 1845, and in 1848 made a claim
in St. Anthony, and improved it as a farm until the city required it
for lots, since which time he has been engaged in the real estate
business.
ELIAS H. CONNER was born in New Sharon, Maine, in 1824. In 1848 he
came to Lakeland, Minnesota, and in 1849 to St. Anthony Falls, where
he had charge of the work on the first suspension thrown across the
Mississippi at that point. He also built the first bridge that spanned
the St. Croix at Taylor's Falls. In 1855 he was married to Hannah
Rollins.
C. F. STIMSON was born in Maine, April 19, 1822. He came to Stillwater
in June, 1848, and thence to St. Anthony Falls, where he followed
lumbering. He was treasurer of Ramsey county for one year. In 1879 he
moved to his farm near Elk River. He has a wife and two children.
WILLIAM DUGAS was born in Three Rivers, Canada East, May 17, 1809. He
came to New York in 1831. He spent some time traveling, visiting
Africa, New Orleans, Indian Territory, Iowa, and Illinois, and other
places more or less remote. He came to Minnesota in 1844, and was a
representative in the first territorial legislature. Later he removed
to St. Anthony Falls. He afterward removed to Dayton, Minnesota. He
was married at Prairie du Chien in 1844.
DAVIS GORHAM was born in Quebec; came to Virginia, where he spent two
years, and thence to Maine, where he lived twelve years. In April,
1849, he came to St. Anthony Falls, and made valuable land claims near
Lake Calhoun. He followed lumbering for about twelve years. In 1864 he
started for California, but was driven back by the Sioux Indians. In
1867 he settled in Plymouth, where he has been supervisor for ten
years.
EDWIN HEDDERLY was born in Philadelphia in 1814. In 1849 he came to
St. Anthony Falls and in 1851 made a claim of one hundred and sixty
acres west of the river, within the present bounds of Minneapolis. He
served on various committees for selecting a name for the new city and
its streets, and until his death was ever active and influential in
all matters pertaining to the welfare of the city. He was married to
Mary J. Kennard, of Philadelphia. Eight children of this union survive
him and are residents of the city. Mr. Hedderly died in 1879.
LOUIS NEUDECK, born December, 1821, came to St. Anthony Falls in 1849.
He subsequently lived in Missouri, Illinois and at Stillwater, but in
1855 returned to the Falls. He died in 1864. He was supposed to have
been killed by Indians while absent in Montana, the only clue to his
sad fate being the recovery of his revolver having his name inscribed
on it, from an Indian. He left a widow and five children.
ANDREW J. FOSTER was born in Cooper, Maine, June, 1827, and came to
the Falls in 1849, where he engaged in the lumbering, grocery,
gardening, and real estate business. He married Mrs. Mary Averill, of
Stillwater. Their children are Ada, William, Owen and Elmer.
A. D. FOSTER, a Pennsylvanian, born in 1801, came to St. Anthony Falls
in 1848. He assisted in building the Gov. Ramsey, the first boat above
the falls. He has engaged in fruit culture and merchandising. He was
married in Pennsylvania and has three children; Josiah, resident in
Indianapolis; Lysander, a physician in Minneapolis; and a daughter,
married.
CHARLES E. VANDERBURGH, a native of Clifton, Parke county, New York,
born Dec. 2, 1829, graduated at Yale College an 1852, and served for
awhile as principal of Oxford Academy, New York. He studied law and
was admitted to practice in 1855. In 1856 he came to Minneapolis,
which has since been his home. In 1849 he was elected judge of the
district court, which at that time embraced all the territory west of
the Mississippi from Fort Snelling to the north boundary line. He has
been continuously re-elected, an evidence of the high estimation in
which he is regarded by his fellow citizens.
Judge Vanderburgh has been twice married. His first wife, Julia M.
Mygatt, wedded Sept. 2, 1857, died April 23, 1863, leaving two
children, William Henry and Julia M. His second wife was Anna Culbert,
married April 15, 1873. They have one child, Isabella McIntyre. His
daughter Julia was accidentally drowned Sept. 12, 1871.
DORILLIUS MORRISON was born at Livermore, Oxford county, Maine, Dec.
26, 1816. He received a common school and academic education. He
taught school awhile, and then engaged in the mercantile business, the
last eleven years at Bangor, when in the spring of 1853 he came to
Minneapolis, where he became prominent as a business man, following
lumbering, dealing in real estate, milling and railway building. He is
one of the projectors and proprietors of the Minneapolis Mill Company.
He is also sole owner and proprietor of a cotton mill costing
$100,000. He was deeply interested in the Northern Pacific railroad.
He was the first mayor of Minneapolis, in 1867, and served as senator
in the sixth legislature in May, 1840. He was married to Harriet
Putnam Whitmore, a descendant of Gen. Israel Putnam. They have three
children, Clinton and George Henry, residents of Minneapolis, and
Grace E., the wife of Dr. H. H. Kimball, of Minneapolis.
H. G. O. MORRISON, brother of Dorillius, was born in Livermore, Maine,
Jan. 24, 1817. He graduated at the Bangor high school. He worked at
printing in his youth, read law and was admitted to practice in 1838,
locating afterward at Sebre, Maine. He was a member of the Maine
senate in 1841. In 1855 he came to St. Anthony Falls. He moved to
Dakota county soon after, and represented that county in the state
legislatures of 1860-61. He resided in Dakota county for twelve years.
He was assessor of internal revenue from 1869 to 1873, during which
time he lived in St. Paul. In 1873 he removed to Minneapolis, where he
has since resided. He has been twice married. His second wife was
Rebecca Newell. They have three children, Daniel W., Samuel B. and
Stanford.
JUDGE F. R. E. CORNELL was born in 1821, in Chenango county, New
York; was educated at Union College, New York; studied law and was
admitted to practice in 1846. He came to Minneapolis in 1854. During
his residence in New York he was a member of the state senate. In
January, 1875, he took his seat as associate justice of the supreme
court of Minnesota, which office he held until his death, which
occurred in 1879.
GEN. A. B. NETTLETON came from Ohio, and became one of the editors of
the Minneapolis _Tribune_. He served during the Civil War,
participated in seventy-three battles, and was promoted through the
various grades from private to brigadier general.
JUDGE ISAAC ATWATER was born in Homer, Cortland county, New York. He
graduated at Yale College in 1844, practiced law in New York City
until 1850, when he came to St. Anthony Falls and practiced law with
G. W. North as partner. He was one of the first regents of the State
University; edited the St. Anthony _Express_ from 1851 to 1857; served
as district attorney from 1853 to 1857; was elected associate justice
of the supreme bench in 1857, resigned the position in 1864, and
removed to California, where he practiced law. After an absence of
three years he returned to Minneapolis, where he has been honored with
the offices of alderman, president of the Board of Education, etc. He
was married to Pamelia A. Sanborn in 1849. Their son John B. is
associated with his father in law practice.
REV. DAVID BROOKS, a venerable pioneer clergyman of the Methodist
Episcopal church, was born in England in 1802. He was educated there
and preached ten years in the Wesleyan connection. He came to America
in 1842, and joined the Methodist Episcopal church, which he has
served faithfully since as pastor and presiding elder in Northern
Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He was among the pioneer preachers
in the latter state. In 1853 he was presiding elder of a district that
included all of the present Minnesota conference. In 1854 he secured
the charter for Hamline University, and was instrumental in obtaining
a donation of $25,000 from Bishop Hamline for its endowment.
REV. JABEZ BROOKS, D.D., son of Rev. David Brooke, was born in
England, and came to America in 1842. He is a graduate of Middleton
Wesleyan University. For several years he was professor of Greek, and
later president, of Hamline University. He served also as professor
of Greek in Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. He has for many
years been professor of Greek in the State University.
JOHN S. PILLSBURY was born in New Hampshire, July 29, 1828. He
received a New England common school education. He came to the Falls
in 1855, and by close application to business acquired a position of
wealth and influence. He has occupied many prominent positions in
Minneapolis and the State. He served five terms as state senator, from
the sixth to the tenth legislatures. In 1863 he was appointed a regent
of the State University. He was elected governor of the State in 1875,
and re-elected in 1877. He was married in November, 1856, to Mahala
Fisk, of Warner, New Hampshire. Their children are Ada, Susie, May,
Sadie Belle, and Alfred Fisk.
HENRY T. WELLES was born in Connecticut, April 3, 1821, graduated at
Trinity College, and came to St. Anthony Falls in 1853, where he
engaged successfully in the lumbering, banking and real estate
business. He is a liberal, public spirited citizen, contributing
freely to all enterprises looking to the growth and welfare of the
city as well as to charitable objects.
DAVID BLAKELY has been prominent in journalism, having been connected
at various times with papers in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Chicago: He
was one of the founders of the Minneapolis _Tribune_.
WILLIAM LOCHREN, a native of Tyrone, Ireland, was born April 3, 1832;
was brought to America when he was two years old; was educated in
Vermont; admitted to the bar, and came to the Falls in 1856, where he
has since practiced law, excepting a term of service in the army
during the Rebellion as first lieutenant of Company E, First Minnesota
Volunteers. Since the war he has served as city attorney, as state
senator in 1868 69, and as district judge from 1883 to the present
time. In 1871 he was married to Mrs. Martha Demmen, who died in 1879.
EUGENE M. WILSON was born in 1834, in Monongalia county, Virginia. His
ancestors were Scotch-Irish, who came to this country at an early
date. His grandfather served in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Wilson
graduated at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1852,
read law with his father, was admitted to practice in 1855, and came
to Minneapolis in 1857. He served as United States district attorney
during President Buchanan's administration. During the Rebellion he
was captain of Company A, First Minnesota Cavalry, serving on the
frontier until 1853, when the company was discharged by the completion
of term of enlistment.
[Illustration: J. S. Pillsbury]
Mr. Wilson was a member of the United States house of representatives
in 1871-72 and state senator in 1879. He served four years as mayor of
Minneapolis, from 1872 to 1876. Mr. Wilson was married Sept. 6, 1865,
to Mary E. Kimball, of Minneapolis. They have three children, Mary O.,
Helen K. and Eugenia.
R. B. LANGDON, born in Vermont in 1826, received an academic
education, and at twenty-two years of age commenced railroading on the
Rutland & Burlington road. He has since been continuously engaged in
superintending the construction of railroads in ten states of the
Union, and in 1858 supervised the grading of the St. Paul & Pacific,
the first railroad enterprise in Minnesota. He served as state senator
for seven terms, commencing in 1873 and closing in 1881 (excepting the
term of 1879). He has a wife and three children.
WM. M. BRACKET, the originator of the Minneapolis fire department, was
born in Maine in 1843. His father served six years as consul at
Halifax, Nova Scotia, during which time William resided at that place.
During the Rebellion he served two years as a musician in the Sixth
Maine Volunteers, and was then appointed paymaster's clerk at
Washington, District of Columbia. In 1865 he came to Minneapolis,
where he has since been continuously connected with the fire
department.
THOMAS B. AND PLATT B. WALKER are natives of Ohio. Thomas B. came to
Minneapolis in 1862, and engaged in surveying, railroad engineering
and examining lands. By close application and sound judgment he has
accumulated wealth, from which he dispenses liberally to worthy
enterprises. He has contributed largely to the building of the
athenæum. His wife is a prominent contributor to, and upholder of, the
charitable enterprises of the city.
PLATT B., a younger brother of Thomas, is a fluent speaker, a popular
lecturer and a kind hearted, genial man. He has been till lately
editor and publisher of the _Mississippi Valley Lumberman_, and has
taken an active part in the improvements of the waterways of the
West.
AUSTIN H. YOUNG, a native of Fredonia, New York, born Dec. 8, 1830,
received his education at Waukegan, Illinois; removed to Prescott,
Wisconsin, in 1854; commenced the practice of law in 1862 and served
as state senator in Wisconsin in 1863. He came to Minneapolis in 1866
and practiced law. He was elected judge of the Fourth Judicial
district in 1877.
HENRY G. HICKS was born in Wyoming, New York, in 1838. He learned the
trade of harness maker; was educated at Oberlin, Ohio; served as a
soldier during the war of the Rebellion, and was wounded at the battle
of Missionary Ridge. In 1865 he came to Minneapolis. He was admitted
to the bar in 1875; has served as sheriff, as city justice and as a
representative in the twentieth, twenty-first and twenty-second state
legislatures. He was elected district judge in 1886.
JOHN P. REA was born Oct. 13, 1840, in Chester county, Pennsylvania.
He received a common school education. In 1861 he enlisted in Company
B, Eleventh Ohio Volunteers, and was breveted major for meritorious
services. In 1867 he graduated at Ohio Wesleyan College; studied law
and was admitted to the bar in 1869. In 1875 he removed to
Minneapolis; edited the _Tribune_ one year; continued his law practice
in 1877; was elected probate judge, served four years, and in 1886 was
elected district judge without opposition.
He has been an active Grand Army man, a member of Geo. N. Morgan Post,
and has served as commander of Minnesota state department, also as
senior vice commander-in-chief of the national department. In 1887 he
was elected commander-in-chief of the national department of the Grand
Army. In 1869 he was married to Miss Emma Gould, of Ohio.
JOHN MARTIN was born in Caledonia county, Vermont, in 1820. His
educational advantages were limited to the common schools. He was
raised on a farm, but at eighteen years of age bought his time of his
father for sixty dollars. For twelve years he followed steamboating,
seven on the Connecticut river and five on the Neuce river in North
Carolina. In 1851 he went to California, but returned to Vermont the
following year, and for two years engaged in farming. He came to
Minneapolis in 1854, where he engaged in lumbering and dealing in pine
lands. In the past twelve years he has been interested in railroad
enterprises. He has been vice president of the Minneapolis & St.
Louis, and Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic Railway companies.
Mr. Martin is an enterprising and sagacious business man, and is
highly esteemed for his many excellent qualities. He was married in
Vermont in 1849, to Jane Gilfillan, and has one daughter.
JOHN DUDLEY was born in Penobscot county, Maine, in 1814. He came to
Minneapolis in 1852, where he engaged in business, dealing in logs and
lumber. He built mills in Prescott in 1861. The flour mill at Prescott
has a capacity of one hundred barrels per day, and the saw mill a
capacity of 3,000,000 feet per annum. He recently purchased the saw
mill at Point Douglas built by A. J. Short. This mill has a capacity
of 6,000,000 feet.
[Illustration: ST. ANTHONY FALLS IN 1886.
VIEW OF SUSPENSION BRIDGE ABOVE THE FALLS, AND ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS &
MANITOBA RAILWAY BRIDGE BELOW THE FALLS.]
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