Bio of BENNETT, William Henry (b.1843 d.1908), 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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WILLIAM HENRY BENNETT - Vol III, pg 354-357
One of the most eminent American statesmen said that the strongest and best in
the citizenship of the country was evolved when eastern education and training
was grafted onto western enterprise and opportunity. Such constituted the career
of William Henry Bennett, long a distinguished member of the Minneapolis bar and
recognized as one of the strongest factors in the legal profession in the state.
Mr. Bennett was born in Scotland, Windham county, Connecticut, June 28, 1843,
and spent his boyhood on his ancestral estate at Hampton, Connecticut, where he
pursued his early education, while later he attended the Phillips Exeter Academy
at Exeter, New Hampshire, and afterward became a student in Yale University. He
had so far advanced in his studies that when he entered the university he was
assigned to the sophomore class and was graduated in 1866. During his college
days he became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and also of the Alpha Delta Phi.
He was then selected to teach for a year in the Easton (Conn.) Academy, an
endowed school, where it was the rule that a teacher should be continued for but
a year. At the end of that time, however, so successful had Mr. Bennett been,
that the dean of the school made special request to have him retained another
year. This did not coincide with the wish of Mr. Bennett, however, as he desired
to enter upon the study of law, which he did in Albany, New York. After
graduating from the law school of that city he decided to remove to the west and
became junior partner in the firm of Sacket £ Bennett at Sterling, Whiteside
county, Illinois. This association was successfully maintained for a few years,
at the end of which time Mr. Sacket withdrew and Mr. Bennett then continued in
the practice, the firm name being Bennett & Green until 1889, when he removed to
Minneapolis in order to secure better educational facilities for his children
and to benefit his wife's health through a change of climate. Previous to his
arrival in this city, however, Mr. Bennett figured very prominently in the
public life of Sterling. He occupied the position of mayor for two terms and
gave to the city a businesslike and progressive dministration characterized by
needed reforms and improvements. He organized the Library Association and was
instrumental in securing a valuable addition to the then small collection of
books through special entertainments held, the proceeds of which went to
purchase more books. While living in Sterling he was frequently urged to become
a candidate for the offices of senator, of judge and of governor, but preferred
the quiet of his home life and the enjoyment of the companionship of his family
to any political honors or emoluments. His
ambition was never manifest along political lines, yet at no time was he remiss
in the duties of citizenship. He preferred, however, to serve as a private
citizen rather than as an official and his aid and influence were ever on the
side of progress and upbuilding. During the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett in
Sterling they enter­tained in their home many distinguished guests who visited
the town, including President Grant and others.
It was in 1889 that Mr. Bennett arrived in Minneapolis and almost immediately he
was admitted to a partnership under the title of Koon, Whelan & Bennett, taking
charge of a large part of the court work for the firm. He was especially widely
known as a trial lawyer of remarkable power and ability and for years he handled
the important litigation of the Pillsbury Flour Company, the Soo Railroad Lines
and also of the Minneapolis. Street Railway Company. The legal business of the
last named corporation became so important in time that in the last few years of
his life Mr. Bennett maintained his offices at the headquarters of the street
railway company. His unusual ability, his comprehensive understanding of the
principles of jurisprudence and the correctness with which he applied these
principles to the points of litigation, made him a very valuable man and one
whose skill and learning as a lawyer were every­where recognized. He seemed
always to know just the right move to make in any case and he always presented
his cause with clearness, cogency and force. In politics he was a republican,
but he continued to refuse office in order to enjoy home life and never felt
more satisfaction anywhere than at his own fireside.
On the 17th of October, 1876, Mr. Bennett was married to Kate Prescott Wright.
Mrs. Bennett had been one of the young pupils of her husband when he was a
teacher at Easton, Connecticut. Besides his wife, Mr. Bennett left three
children: Prances L., at home; Kate Townsend, now the wife of Louis H. Joss, an
attorney of Minneapolis; and Jane Prescott, who married Dr. H. F. Marston, also
of Minneapolis.
Mr. Bennett attended the Episcopal church until, because of his friendship and
admiration for Dr. Henry Simmons, he became a trustee of the Unitarian church,
and his aid and influence were always on the side of right and progress, of
reform and improvement. He belonged to the Sons of the American Revolution-a
fact indicative of his early ancestral connection with the history of the
country-and his widow and daughters are members of the Daughters of the American
Revolution. He never sought the pleasures or excitements of club life, but found
his interest in his home and took great enjoyment in his library, which was a
choice one, containing many volumes, with the contents of which he was widely
familiar. He also derived great pleasure from travel in company with his family.
He passed away on the 14th of October, 1908, his death being deeply deplored by
his professional associates and all who knew him, but most of all by the members
of his own household, for he was a devoted husband and father and counted no
personal effort or sacrifice on his part too great if it would enhance the
welfare and promote the happiness of his wife and children. At the same time his
ability brought him prominently to the front as a representative of the bar and
his entire career reflected credit and honor upon the legal profession in
Minneapolis.