Bio of PENNINGTON, Edmund (b.1848), 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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Vol III, pg 598-601
EDMUND PENNINGTON
Edmund Pennington, a railroad switchman at the age of sixteen years, at which
time he had left the public schools to earn his living, is now the chairman of
the board of the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. Such are the
possibilities offered in America for the young man of determination, industry
and capability, that the highest positions are within his reach, success
depending upon the inherent qualities of the individual and his determination.
Along the lines of an orderly progression Mr. Pennington has reached a point of
leadership in railway circles, being connected as an executive with several
lines. Born in Peru, La Salle county, Illinois, September 16, 1848, Edmund
Pennington is a son of Edmund and Sarah (Jackson) Pennington, the former a
native of Chester, England, while the latter was born in Scotland. The father,
who was a civil engineer, came to Amer­ica in 1824, settling first in Simcoe,
Canada, whence he afterward removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and there remained
for a time before becoming a resident of Peru, Illinois, where he engaged in the
manufacture of furniture. In 1853 he removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and two
years later became a resident of St. Anthony, this state, where he remained
until establishing his home in Harding, Iowa, where he continued to reside until
his death in 1876. His wife had passed away a victim of Asiatic cholera in 1849.
Edmund Pennington was educated in the common schools and when sixteen years of
age began his railroad career as a switchman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railroad, remaining with that company until 1886, or for a period of about
twenty-two years, during which time he had won various promotions, retiring as
assistant superintendent. The following year he became connected with the
Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad as superintendent of the
Minnesota division and was general superintendent from the 15th of April of that
year until the 1st of February, 1899, when he was made general manager. On the
20th of September, 1901, he was elected to the second vice presidency, the
duties of that position as well as those of general manager being discharged by
him until the 31st of July, 1905. At this date he became vice president and also
remained general manager, holding both positions until the llth of March, 1909,
when he was elected to the presidency of the company. He is also the president
of the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway and is president of the Mineral
Range Railway and of the Spokane & International Railroad Company. His entire
life has been devoted to railway service and step by step he has climbed to the
highest position that can be offered by the various corporations with which he
is identified.
On the 24th of July, 1905, Mr. Pennington was married to Mrs. Ella Lawler of St.
Paul. He is a well known figure in club circles, belonging to the Minneapolis
Club, the Athletic Club, the Minikahda Club, the Minnesota Club of St. Paul, the
Northland Club of Duluth and the University Club of St. Paul. He has long since
passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, yet he remains
an active factor in the world's work, alert and energetic, with the vigor of a
man of much younger yeats. His forcefulness and resourcefulness are still a
dominant power in shaping the policy of the roads with which he is identified
and his suc­cesses have ever been the merited tribute and reward of
ability.