Bio of BANCROFT, Major Alpheus, Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical
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M. A. BANCROFT (Major Alpheus Bancroft) - Vol III, pg 148, 151
M. A. Bancroft, a successful business man of Minneapolis, who with his son,
Ralph H., established the Bancroft Printing Company, Incorporated, of which he
is the president, has likewise become well known as a business developer.
Moreover, he is a man of resolute purpose, accomplishing what he undertakes and
never stopping short of his objective. He was bom in Granville, Massachusetts,
and comes of the same original stock as the historian Bancroft. He says that the
family is remarkable in one respect, inasmuch as none of them is handsome. In
this relation he tells an amusing little anecdote of how on one occasion he met
a news agent on a train and accidentally learned the man's name was Bancroft.
The man was a handsome looking chap and this fact impelled Mr. Bancroft to ask
him to what branch of the family he belonged. "Well," said the man, "to tell you
the truth, I was adopted." If the family cannot claim especial distinction for
good looks, there is much in the family record that is most creditable and
commendable. M. A. Bancroft was a lad of eleven years when his people left New
England and removed westward, settling at Independence, Iowa. He was educated in
the public schools of that state and began the battle cf life on his own account
at an unusually early age. Removing to South Dakota, he there worked in a
newspaper office at Blunt, while homesteading a farm. Finally he settled in
Sioux City, Iowa, and established a printing business, while later he turned his
attention to newspaper publication and became the owner of a chain of country
newspapers, in the publication of which he made a distinct success.
The year 1914 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Bancroft in Minneapolis. He reached
the city in January and took up his permanent abode here. At the time of their
marriage both he and his wife determined that as soon as possible they would
make Minneapolis their home and when conditions were finally adjusted their plan
was carried out. Mr. Bancroft has ever been a zealous advocate and enthusiastic
supporter of the city and is thoroughly content to remain a resident here. Soon
after his arrival he organized the Bancroft Printing Company in partnership with
his son, and on the 16th of May, 1918, the business was incorporated, with Mr.
Bancroft as president of the company and his son, Ralph, as secretary and
treasurer. They are also largely interested in the Brenco Corporation, of which
Ralph Bancroft is president, with M. A. Bancroft as secretary and treasurer. The
staple product of this corporation is an electrical control of gas heating
devices for homes, of which Mr. Bancroft is one of the developers and which is
fast coming into popular favor, its sales already having reached a profitable
figure. He possesses marked mechanical ingenuity and has brought forth several
useful devices.
In 1886 Mr. Bancroft was united in marriage to Miss Drucilla A. Laughlin and
they have become parents of three sons: Ralph H., Howard M. and Dwight A. The
Bancroft Printing Company published a very handsome volume on "How Minnesota
Gave to the United States the First Military Motor Corps."
Mr. Bancroft is a Mason and a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
He also belongs to the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts and to the Calhoun
Com­mercial Club. He has long figured prominently in musical circles and has
been chorus director of many notable musical organizations. He staged the opera
of Queen Esther in Sioux City, with Mrs. Bancroft taking the part of queen, and
also put on "Bel-shazzar's Feast." He has ever found great pleasure in directing
choruses and in promoting musical culture and in this he has reached a measure
of success which, though not financial, has been a contributing factor to the
cultural development of various communities. In a business way, too" he has made
notable progress and the two companies in which he is an official are now placed
upon a sound financial basis.