Bio of FISHER, William A. (b.1846 d.1911), 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 A. FISHER - Vol II, pg 655-656
William A. Fisher, long well known in connection with hotel management in
Minneapolis, being proprietor of the Waverly Hotel, which he conducted to the
time of his death, was also widely known because of his activities in political
and church circles and his effective work for the advancement of public
morality. A native of Belleville, Illinois, he was born July 7, 1846, and was a
son of Aaron and Elizabeth (Harrison) Fisher, the latter being a daughter of
Thomas Asbury Harrison, a native of New Hampshire, who came to Minneapolis at an
early day.
Spending much of his youth in his native state, William A. Fisher there began
his education, pursuing his studies in the public schools of Illinois until
fourteen years of age, and with his brother, Thomas A., he came to Minnesota in
1860. They went first to Brooklyn Center, near Minneapolis, where they lived for
ten years, and then took up their abode in the greater city. In the meantime,
Mr. Fisher, when a youth of eighteen, had enlisted for service in the Union
army, becoming a member of Company F, Eleventh Minnesota Infantry, as a bugler.
With that command he served until the end of the war and he always proudly wore
a little bronze button that proclaimed him a representative of the Grand Army of
the Republic, his member­ship being in Rawlins Post, of which he was one time
commander.
Mr. Fisher had not yet reached the age of twenty years when his military service
was over and following his return to Minneapolis he resumed his studies in the
public s«hools. Later he engaged in farming at Brooklyn Center, where he
remained until he took up his abode in Minneapolis in 1870. In 1874 he became a
steamboat captain on the upper Mississippi river and devoted the two succeeding
years of his life to navigation interests. He afterward turned his attention to
the commission business, and in 1877 he became identified with hotel management,
a work in which he was extremely successful. He opened the Fisher Hotel, which
he conducted for a time, and in 1889 he built the Waverly Hotel at Eleventh and
Harmon streets, which he conducted to the time of his death, which occurred on
the 20th of March, 1911. He was always a genial and popular host, mindful of the
comfort and welfare of his guests, and he was extremely popular with all those
who were his patrons.
In 1869 Mr. Fisher was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Smith, a daughter of
John T. and Mary Ann (Bates) Smith of Nova Scotia, who came to Minneapolis from
Maine in 1865. Three daughters and two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fisher:
Alberta, now the wife of Hugh R. Ruettell of Grand Forks, North Dakota; Ernest
W., living in Minneapolis; Elizabeth, who is the widow of Franklin L. Barker and
resides in Honolulu; Minerva, the wife of Henry L. Buhse of Minneapolis; and
Thomas Asbury, who is in Honolulu and who was an active worker with the Young
Men's Christian Association during the World war. After the father's death
Ernest Fisher continued the management of the Hotel Waverly until 1914, when it
was sold. Mr. Fisher was a Mason and was very popular in both social and
political circles. He always gave stanch support to the republican party and was
president of the fourth ward republican club. He never held public office until
elected to the house of representatives, however, in 1910. He was elected from
the fortieth district and was serving at the time of his demise. He was likewise
a prominent member of the Hennepin Avenue Methodist Episcopal church and was
deeply interested in all those forces which make for the uplift of the
individual and the benefit of the community at large. When he passed away
Charles A. Fowler, his colleague in the state legislature from the fourteenth
district, paid to him a high and well merited tribute, saying: "Mr. Fisher
cherished all that was good and noble in life. A man of high personal integrity,
it was his constant endeavor to advance public morality. He contributed freely
of his time and his services to his country, state and city. He sought no high
political reward, but performed his responsibilities as a citizen modestly and
unpretentiously. He lived through the great days of our country, in which he
took an active part. Coming to Minnesota in pioneer times, he encountered all
the hardships of early settlers and when the country needed men for battle he
responded willingly. It may hot be fitting that I should be the one to move an
adjournment for the day as a mark of esteem for our departed colleague, but I
hope some one will." Immediately W. F. Kunz of Minneapolis moved that the house
adjourn, which was done out of respect to Mr. Fisher's memory. He was rich in
these possessions which awaken confidence and regard in every land and every
clime and many there are who cherish most pleasant memories of his friendship
and comradeship.