Bio of RAND, Alonzo T. (b.1858), Hennepin Co., MN ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Laura Pruden Submitted: June 2003 ========================================================================= Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ======================================================== 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 ======================================================== Vol II, pg 196-198 ALONZO T. RAND The name of Rand has been intimately woven into the history of Minneapolis for more than half a century and those years are the ones that have witnessed the remarkable growth and development of the city. Alonzo T. Rand was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1858. His parents were Alonzo Cooper and Celina (Johnson) Rand. Alonzo Cooper Rand was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1831. While still a boy he went to Buffalo, New York, with his parents. There he received his education and there he was married. From Buffalo he moved to Union City, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the oil business with great success. While there he conceived the idea of manufacturing illuminating gas from oil, and in order to perfect his invention, he moved to New York city. There he perfected his process, after which he moved to Aurora, Illinois, where he made a fortune out of his method of making gas. In 1874 he made a trip to Minneapolis and was so impressed with the city and its future possibilities, that he decided to locate here, coming in 1876. Almost immediately be became connected with the gas industry of the city. His process of manufacturing gas revolutionized that industry in Minneapolis, and in a short time he became head of the Minneapolis Gas Light Company. Besides being a clear-sighted and successful business man he had a rare and impressive personality, which is attested by the fact that in 1878, when he had been a resident of Minneapolis only four years, he was elected mayor, to which office he was twice reelected. He made a splendid chief magistrate and gave the city a model administration, bringing to the office the full benefit of his rare executive ability. He was strict in the enforcement of the laws, and was ever looking forward and planning for a bigger and better Minneapolis. At the early age of fifty-four his splendid career was terminated by death. He and his wife and a party of prominent people of Minneapolis were drowned in a boating accident on Lake Minnetonka on July 12, 1885. His wife was as noted in her way as he was in his. There are many attestations extant of her beauty of character, her gentleness and charity. Of these two gifted people Alonzo T. Rand is the son, and his life has proved him to be worthy of such a rich inheritance. Alonzo T. Rand received his education in the public schools of the various places in which his parents resided, and came to Minnesota in 1872, when he was sixteen years of age. The greater part of his youth was spent in hunting and fishing with his father but in 1876, when his father invested in the Minneapolis Gas Light Company and became president of the corporation, Alonzo T. also became connected with the company. After the death of Alonzo C. Rand, Mr. Harvey W. Brown was* president of the Minneapolis Gas Light Company. After his death, Alonzo T. Rand succeeded him and has since been active in that executive capacity. He is also connected with the Northwestern National Bank and the Minnesota Loan & Trust Company, being a member of the board of directors of each of these strong financial institutions. In social and club circles Mr. Rand is well known and popular. He holds membership in several clubs, notably the Minneapolis Club, of which he was president in 1900 and 1901, and the Town and Country and Minikahda clubs. Mr. Rand has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Louise Casey, who passed away. For his second wife Mr. Rand married Mrs. F. B. Semple of this city, who is also deceased. Mr. Rand has a beautiful home at Redtop, on Lake Minnetonka, where he takes rest and recreation. Mr. Rand is one of the best known, men of the city, respected and esteemed not only for his own worth but for the honorable name whose traditions he generously upholds. He has met the obligations of life with the confidence and courage that come of sterling worth and a steadfast regard for the obligations of his citizenship.