Hennepin County MN Archives History - Books .....History Of Hennepin County 1882
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Book Title: History Of The Minnesota Valley

HENNEPIN COUNTY.

CHAPTER XLVI.


  The bill which fixed the boundaries of Hennepin county passed the territorial
legislature in 1852, and was approved March 6th of the same year. Previous to
the passage of this act it formed a part of Dakota county. The bill provided
that it should embrace "so much of Dakota county as lies north of the Minnesota
river, west of the Mississippi, and east of a line, commencing at a place known
as the Little Rapids, on said Minnesota river; thence in a direct line north by
west, to the fork of Crow river; thence down said river to its junction with the
Mississippi." The bill further provided that Hennepin county be attached to
Eamsey county for judicial purposes, "until further provided for." For elective
purposes it was to remain, as then, in conjunction with Dakota county, so far as
related to the election of a councillor and two representatives, until the next
apportionment. Section third of the bill provided that, "When the treaty of
Mendota, concluded with the Dakota Indians, shall be ratified by the United
States Senate, the county of Hennepin shall be entitled to elect, at the next
general election, such county and other officials as the organized countie* were
entitled to." Section fourth provided that the county commissioners elected
should be authorized to establish the county seat temporarily, "until the same
is permanently established by the legislature, or authorized votes of the
qualified voters of said county." The county was formally organized on the 21st
of October, 1852. Eleven days previous an election was held at the house of John
H. Stevens at which seventy-three votes were polled, representing about one-half
of the voters residing in the county. Another voting place was fixed at Mendota,
for the accommodation of those living along the Minnesota river. Previous to the
election a mass meeting was held, at which the following ticket was nominated,
irrespective of party:

   Dr. A. E. Ames, representative; Alexander Moore, John Jackins and Joseph
Dean, county commissioners; John T. Mann, county treasurer; John H. Stevens,
register of deeds; Warren Bristol, district attorney; Isaac Brown, sheriff;
David Gorham, coroner; Joel B. Bassett, judge of probate; Charles W. Christmas,
county surveyor; Edwin Hedderly, Eli Pettijohn, S. A. Goodrich, assessors;
George Parks, road commissioner. The entire ticket was elected without
opposition and the parties named became the first officers of Hennepin county.
They were nominated and elected without effort on their part, and in many
instances against their expressed wish. The first meeting of the board of county
commissioners was held on the 21st of October and Alexander Moore chosen
chairman. Dr. H. Fletcher was the first justice of the peace before the county
organization, and Edwin Hedderly the first after the county organization.

   The name Snelling was inserted in the original bill for organizing the county
by John H. Stevens, by whom it was drafted; by the suggestion and strong support
of Hon. Martin McLeod, the name Snelling was struck out and Hennepin inserted.
At the next session of the territorial legislature a bill was passed changing
the boundaries on the southwest to make room for a county seat at Chaska.

   In 1856, the boundaries on the east were changed so as to include St. Anthony
within the county limits.

   Of the counties bordering on the Minnesota river, Hennepin county can never
occupy a secondary place in interest; indeed, the foremost place among the
counties of the whole State must be awarded it both by reason of priority in
settlement and as being the nucleus from which the other settlements radiated,
to say nothing of the commercial and manufacturing importance to which it has
attained. The name, too, is suggestive of more than common interest. Hennepin,
whose life was one of romantic adventure, is here immortalized in the name of
the county containing the falls that he discovered and so much admired. He was
born in Flanders in 1640, became a missionary to Canada in 1670, and in 1680
discovered the falls now known as the Falls of St. Anthony. It was Father
Hennepin who robbed them of their beautiful Indian name, Kakabika-Irara, meaning
severed rock, curling water, and substituted the name of his patron saint. He
describes the impressive ceremonies by which a chief presented his offering to
the Great Spirit, one of whose abodes the Indians supposed this waterfall to be,
paid his adorations and besought him for success in the enterprises undertaken.
Jonathan Carver gives a similar and more striking account of these Indian
ceremonies. He came in 1767, and exhibited here the speculating genius of his
Yankee ancestors, together with a close observation of things the records of
which are a valuable acquisition to the early lore of Minnesota. He was the
first of the numerous land speculators. He roamed about much with a keen eye to
the main chance, while he at the same time took in the scenery, the future
probabilities, and ventured various prophecies for the future of the State,
predicting that what is now St. Paul would soon have eastern and western
communication.

  Leaping over the intervening years, we come to events connected with the
settlement of the county.

   In 1805, Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike was ordered to what is now
Minnesota to expel British traders and form alliances with the Indians. He
accomplished his purpose and obtained a grant from the Sioux, for the purpose of
the establishment of military posts, of nine miles square, at the mouth of the
St. Croix; also from below the confluence of the Minnesota, up the Mississippi,
to include the falls of St. Anthony, extending nine miles on each side of the
river. For this grant the United States paid two thousand dollars, and granted
to the Sioux permission to pass and repass, hunt or make any other use of the
said districts as they had formerly done. No occupation under this grant was
ever taken at the mouth of the St. Croix, and none at the mouth of the St.
Peter's, now Minnesota, until 1819, when Colonel Leavenworth, with the Fifth
United States Infantry, was dispatched to establish the post. On his way he
garrisoned the posts at Prairie du Chien and Bock Island with detachments of his
regiment, completed the organization of Crawford county, Territory of Michigan,
which then included a large portion of the present State of Minnesota, and
proceeded to the point fixed upon for the fort. He arrived in September, and
built temporary barracks on the opposite side of the river from the present
fort, the remains of which are still visible above the present village of
Mendota. Log cabins, plastered with clay, constituted the barracks for the
ensuing winter. Here the officers and their wives, who accompanied them, spent
the winter. The corner-stone of the fort was laid September 20th of the
following year by Colonel Leavenworth, but he was superseded by Colonel Josiah
Snelling, by whom the fort was completed and named Fort St. Anthony. This name
was changed, by suggestion of General Winfield Scott, in 1824, after his
inspection of the work, to Fort Snelling, as a compliment to the skillful
management of its construction by the officer in command.

   Hereafter, Fort Snelling became a landmark and the point of departure for
operations of all kinds. The first saw-mill in Minnesota was the Government
mill, built in 1822 within the military reservation at the falls of St. Anthony.
The first farming in Minnesota was an experiment by Lieutenant Camp in 1823,
within the reservation, which resulted successfully. To the saw-mill, a run of
mill-stones was added for grinding provender, in 1823, which was the first
grinding done in Minnesota.

   In 1823 the first steamboat, the Virginia, passed the rapids at Rock Island
and came up to the fort. The practicability of navigation was thus demonstrated,
but regular mails to the fort were not established for many years after. The
arrival of tins steamboat was an important event in the development of the
North-west, while it was a matter of astonishment and horror to the Indians. To
them it appeared a huge monster, threatening death and destruction as it filled
the air with the hot breath of its puffing and coughing. First the women and
children took to flight, while the braves attempted to exhibit indifference,
although disposed to give the monster a wide berth.

   After the boat was fastened and the blowing off of steam began, the bravest
yielded to the prevailing panic and sought cover in hiding places at a safe
distance. The scene for a few moments was ludicrous. Women and children were
running with their disheveled hair flowing; mothers forgetting their children in
their terror.

   The fort, from the date of its erection, became the center from which the
American fur traders branched out their trading posts, those of the
North-western, a British company, having been long before discontinued by
authority of the  United States government. Here occurred the first white
marriage in Minnesota, Lieutenant Green to a daughter of Captain Gooding, in
1820, and during the same year occurred the first birth, a daughter of Colonel
Snelling, that died the following year. Here the first settlers found a
harborage, and the first missionaries to the Sioux a resting place and encampment.

   For many years the fur traders and the French voyageurs in their employ,
comprised the bulk of the white population of the North-west. Operations had
been carried on since 1670 in the North, by the Hudson Bay Company, and later by
the North-western Fur Company, who, in 1798, established trading posts in
Minnesota.

   With these companies whisky was the most important article of trade, and in
their wake followed drunkenness and licentiousness. Hundreds of half-breeds,
speaking the languages of both parents, and uniting the bad traits of both,
resulted from the licentious intercourse of fur traders and voyageurs with the
native tribes. Disputes arose in 1816 between these rival British companies. The
North-western Fur Company, whose headquarters were Canada, traded by way of the
lakes and had virtually pre-empted the territory claimed by Lord Selkirk before
his colony arrived and did not recognize his claim as a part of the Hudson Bay
Company's territory, as they had never before extended their lines so far south.
What is well known now was not well understood when Charles II. made his grant
to the Hudson Bay Company.

   Maps and charts made out at the time indicate a small territory, while the
boundary lines are immense in extent. It is not, therefore, remarkable that a
misapprehension should have existed in regard to their boundaries. The Hudson
Bay Company transported their goods by way of Hudson Bay. After the
establishment of the Red River settlement by Lord Selkirk in 1812, petty strife
began, which, in 1816, culminated in open hostilities. In consequence of these
hostilities, the colony of Red River was greatly weakened by emigration to the
United States and Canada. The great flood on the Red River, in 1825, was another
cause for emigration. With the emigrants went large numbers of the half-breeds
and voyageur's to connect themselves with the operations of the American fur
companies, who offered better terms and better treatment than they had received
from the haughty and overbearing Hudson Bay Company, They scattered through the,
country and with an instinct as unerring as the Indians, selected the most
eligible sites on the streams.

   We find them along the St. Croix, at St. Paul, at St. Anthony, and all
available points, occupying the ground before the white settlers arrived.

   They were usually crowded out without much difficulty, and moved from claim
to claim. Occasionally, when the characteristics of the prevailing race
predominated, they made good their claims and held them against intruders.

   Omitting minor events and the petty operations of traders, voyageurs and
half-breeds, we come to the year 1837, memorable for the consummation of the
treaties with the Chippewas and Sioux, by which the pineries of the North-west
were ceded to the United States. This was a time of speculation, when town
builders multiplied and stakes were stuck, trees blazed and hastily-built
shanties sprung up at all eligible sites.

   In 1838, Franklin Steele, who had made his first claim at the falls of St.
Croix, sold out his claim to accept the appointment of sutler at Fort Snelling.
Watching, however, the favorable time, he made the claim at St. Anthony Falls in
June, 1838, built a claim cabin, and from that date until his death, in 1880,
was a powerful and devoted friend to Hennepin county. He kept his residence at
the fort, employing his means in profitable enterprises until the time came for
the development of the vast water-power at the Falls of St. Anthony. This was
the first claim made within the present limits of Hennepin county, if we except
those attempted by officers of the fort, which an act of congress made
inoperative, and those made by traders and half-breeds, none of which were
continued or improved. With the latter class belongs a claim made in 1826 by J.
R. Brown, the pioneer town builder of Minnesota, at Brown's creek, now
Minnehaha. The little stream is said to have received its name in honor of Major
General Brown, previous to the occupation of J. R. Brown.

   In 1847, the first enterprise in the county limits outside the reservation,
began in the erection of Mr. Steele's saw-mill at St. Anthony. The circumstances
connected with the erection of the mill were as follows:

   In June of this year William A. Cheever obtained a claim near the present
site of the university, crowding out perhaps or buying off some of the
half-breeds who had possession of all the valuable locations near the falls, not
covered by the claim of Franklin Steele. Through Mr. Cheever negotiations were
opened between Hon. Robert Rantoul and Caleb Cushing of Massachusetts and
Franklin Steele, which culminated July 10th in the sale to them of nine-tenths
of the water-power for twelve thousand dollars, and following the sale measures
were at once taken for the erection of mills.

   One of the half-breed claimants above alluded to is too important a character
to be overlooked, and this is the famous guide Pierre Bottineau, who had been
piloting emigrants from the Red River country since 1834, and in 1845 moved on a
claim at St. Anthony Falls. June 9th, 1846, he purchased for $150 of Findley and
Russell, traders at Fort Snelling, a claim extending from Boom island to the
stone arch bridge. To this he added other claims, and was an extensive owner of
land which became quite valuable, a portion of which was platted as an addition
to St. Anthony, and is now known as Bottineau's addition.

   In an address of Judge Atwater we find Charles Wilson was the first American
settler at St. Anthony. He arrived in the spring of 1847. He may have been
connected with the fur trade, but does not appear in the history of the
development at the falls.

   Most of those who came to build the mill and enter into lumbering enterprises
became identified with the interests of the county as permanent settlers. Ard
Godfrey was secured from Maine to superintend the construction of the mill, and
arrived in the fall of 1847. During this year John Rollins, Calvin A. Tuttle,
Luther Patch and his son Edward, Sumner W. Farnham, Caleb D. Dorr, Robert W.
Cummings, Charles W. Stimpson, R. P. Russell, John McDonald, Samuel Ferrald,
Joseph and William R. Marshall, Daniel Stanchfield and others arrived. Luther
Patch brought his wife and two daughters, who were the first resident white
women at St. Anthony. Calvin A. Tuttle brought his family. R. P. Russell brought
a small stock of goods from the fort, where he had been since 1839, and in
connection with Tuttle, opened a store, the first in St. Anthony, in a room of
the log house on Steele's claim, occupied at the same time by Luther Patch and
family as a residence. Mr. Russell and Miss Patch were married October 3d, 1848,
the first wedding in St. Anthony.

   The winter of 1847-8 was fraught with misfortunes. In addition to minor
details, Rantoul and Gushing failed to meet their payments, and when their paper
came back protested, it was a source of great embarrassment to Franklin Steele,
and, as all depended on him, to the whole settlement. In spite of all
difficulties Steele's mill began to run in the spring of 1848, and many of the
inconveniences disappeared. Many new settlers came in and new houses were built.

   It must be borne in mind that up to this time these lands still belonged to
the United States government. No survey had been made, and no title to the land
had been or could be conveyed until such survey was made and recorded.
Settlements were simply squatters' claims, and all exchanges, transfers and
deeds had been in anticipation of the survey and government land sale. In 1848
the sale took place, and the lands were entered by the several claimants at the
government price, one dollar and a quarter per acre.

   In 1849 John H. Stevens, the first settler of Minneapolis, came up in a party
of ten enterprising men. They stopped first at St. Paul, but soon set out on
foot to examine the Canaan of their hopes, determined to make this their future
home.

   When they reached Fort Snelling they, like all their predecessors, coveted
the forbidden fruit, the land within the reservation. They were fully satisfied,
however, when they reached St. Anthony, where the land was open for occupancy.
The country charmed them beyond any they had ever seen, and they forgot their
fatigue in admiration.

   Contentment did not long remain with Colonel Stevens, while the unoccupied
lands which have since become the site of Minneapolis lay within reach but
unoccupied, and the best claims on the St. Anthony side taken.

   Permission was obtained in 1849 from the secretary of war by Hon. Robert
Smith to occupy a claim, including the old mill and house built so long ago by
the quartermaster of Fort Snelling. John H. Stevens obtained by similar
correspondence permission to take a claim on the west side of the river. Late in
the fall of 1849 Mr. Stevens commenced building his house, and the following
spring completed it and moved on his claim. His was the first house in
Minneapolis, with the exception of the Government house on the knoll near the
mill, built in 1822. Stevens' claim extended from that of Hon. Robert Smith,
just at the falls, along the river to Bassett's creek. The Nicollet House
occupies now what was about the centre of this claim. Following these claims
come J. P. Miller, Dr. Hezekiah Fletcher, John Jackins, Warren Bristol, Allen
Harmon, Dr. A. E. Ames, Edward Murphy, Charles Hoag, J. B. Bassett, Emanuel
Case, Waterman Stinson, Edwin Hedderly, Charles W. Christmas, Judge Isaac
Atwater and others, some with and others without permission from the war
department.

   The cabins of these settlers were scattered over what is now Minneapolis at
intervals of about half a mile. They had no churches nor permanent improvements
until after 1855, when the reservation was reduced and the land placed in market
as government land. In April and May the settlers were able to prove, up and
obtain title to their lands.

   Soon the two great incorporated companies that now control the water power
took hold of its development. The St. Anthony Water Power Company took control
from the center of the channel on the west side of Hennepin Island to the east
shore. The Minneapolis Mill Company took control of the remainder, from the
center to the west shore.

   The settlement and growth of Minneapolis from this time was marvellous, and
we find it in 1881 with a population of 50,000, covering an area of nine square
miles with houses, the largest city north-west of Chicago and Milwaukee, and
except St. Louis and Kansas City, the largest between the Mississippi river and
the Rocky mountains.

   On the admission of the state of Minnesota in 1858 the county was organized
with the same boundaries and the county commissioners organized the various
towns. Most of the towns still exist under the same names and boundaries,
although some changes have occurred in regard to both, and some new ones have
been carved out of the old. Medina did not exist by that name, but a part of
what is now Medina was organized as Hamburg. Crystal Lake did not exist at all,
but has since been organized as has Champlin, and the boundaries of all the
eastern tier of towns have been changed to conform to the new organization.

   Settlements in most of the towns were made from 1852 to 1854, but town
organization did not take place until 1858, when the state government was erected.

   As Fort Snelling was included within the limits of Richfield, called Richland
at the time of organization, the first settlement was, as a matter of course,
made in this town.

    The Swiss from Lord Selkirk's colony came here. Philander Prescott, known as
interpreter and Indian farmer, settled in Richfield and built a mill. He resided
here until his tragic death in the Indian massacre in 1862 near Fort Ridgely.
Richfield has within its bounds the famous Minnehaha Falls, rendered immortal to
fame by Longfellow's poems.

    The town has now a population of 1,501; area of 22,988 acres, the assessed
value of which in 1880 was $702,670; personal property, $119,614.

    Bloomington is one of the oldest towns in the county. Peter Quinn was the
first white man to settle and cultivate the soil of this town. He was appointed
Indian farmer, in accordance with the treaty, and began his work in 1843 and
remained until 1854. He came into the county in 1824, after being many years in
the employ of the Hudson Bay Company.

    Rev. Gideon H. Pond, who with his brother Samuel, organized the first
mission to the Dakotas, moved here with his Indian bands in 1843 from Lake
Calhoun. Hon. Martin McLeod, whose romantic career ended here, came to Minnesota
over the Northern plains from the Red River, in 1837, and nearly paid with his
life for his temerity in making the perilous journey during the winter. His two
companions, Parys and Hays, perished, and only the indomitable pluck of Pierre
Bottineau, the guide, brought McLeod through. Mr. McLeod was a man of good
education, and filled with credit many important offices in the county.

    The settlement of the town was mainly subsequent to 1852. The present
population is 820; acres of land, 23,205, of which the assessed value is
$460,538; assessed valuation of personal property, $52,320.

    Eden Prairie, like the two preceding towns, borders on the Minnesota river.
The town was first settled in 1852 by John McKenzie, David Livingston, Alexander
Gould, Hiram Abbott, Samuel Mitchell and sons, R. Neill, Aaron Gould and others.
In this town, only a few days subsequent to the town organization, a fearful
Indian battle was fought between about 200 Chippewas and sixty or seventy
Dakotas, in which the latter were victorious. The battle was witnessed by some
of the settlers.

   The present population is 749; acres of land 19,883; of which the assessed
valuation is $266,303; assessed valuation of personal property, $38,293.

    Besides these three towns on the river, the county embraces seventeen
others, making twenty in all; Minnetonka, Excelsior, Minnetrista, Independence,
Medina, Crystal Lake, Brooklyn, Osseo, Champlin, Dayton, Hassan, Greenwood,
Corcoran, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Minneapolis and St. Anthony. The length of the
county from north to south is about thirty-two miles; its greatest breadth about
twenty-eight.

    It embraces an area of 354,904.96 acres. The forty-fifth parallel of
latitude passes through the middle of the county as well as through the
principal city, Minneapolis. The assessed valuation of taxable property in the
county, in 1880, was $38,183,474. Its population by the census of 1880 was
67,013. A simple statement of the receipts and shipments of the principal
commodities by the various railroads to and from Minneapolis during the year
ending May 31st, 1880, will indicate the extent of the business of the county,
although it will not embrace all.

    Shipments of lumber, 1,467,700,000 feet; flour, 1,650,630 barrels;
millstuffs, 55,746 tons; wheat, 76,000 bushels; corn, 113,850 bushels;
merchandise, 10,166 cars; oats, 57,200 bushels; machinery, 743 cars; livestock,
774 cars; other articles, 1,623 cars. Total shipments of all kinds, 48,447 cars.

    Railroad receipts of leading articles: Wheat, 8,103,708 bushels; com,
392,200 bushels; oats 262,100 bushels; barley, 70,700 bushels; flaxseed, 124,900
bushels; mill-feed, 9,176 tons; lumber, 22,770,000 feet; flour, 110,700 barrels;
merchandise, 12,643 cars; live stock, 929 cars; machinery, 730 cars; barrel
stock, 1,229 cars; coal, 2,713 cars; all other articles, 4,265 cars. Total of
all kinds of freight, 47,307 cars.

    Following we give a few biographical sketches of early settlers.

    Dr. Alfred Elisha Ames, deceased, was born December 14th, 1814, in
Colchester, Vermont. In 1832 he went to Painesville, Ohio, where he attended
school during the winter, working for his board with a doctor. He became
interested in medicine, and read it whenever opportunity was afforded. In 1836
he, with his newly-wedded wife, Martha A. Pratt, migrated to Boone county,
Illinois, where his father's family had preceded him. He attended lectures at
Rush Medical College, Chicago, from which he graduated in 1845. Coming to
Minnesota in 1851, he located a claim and built a shanty on the present site of
Minneapolis. He formed a partnership with Dr. J. H. Murphy and began his
practice of medicine at St. Anthony. In 1852 Dr. Ames was elected to the
territorial legislature, and in 1854 was chosen probate judge. He drew the bill
for incorporating the village of Minneapolis, in 1856, and was appointed its
postmaster. In 1868 he visited his native place, also California, then returned
to this city and continued practice here until his death in September, 1874. Dr.
Ames was a member of the Episcopal church. He was a member, and usually a leader
in all medical societies, and also actively interested in all matters pertaining
to educational advantages. Dr. Ames was an enthusiastic worker in the cause of
masonry.

    Judge Isaac Atwater is a native of Homer, Cortland county, New York, and a
graduate of Yale College, also of the Yale law school. Upon being admitted to
the bar he commenced a successful practice in New York city, which he continued
until 1850, when he removed to St. Anthony and entered into partnership with
Hon. John W. North. Judge Atwater was appointed one of the regents of the State
University, also secretary of the board, which responsible position he held for
nine years. He was editor-in-chief of the St. Anthony Express from 1851 until
his elevation to the supreme bench, upon the organization of the state
government, in 1857. In 1864 he resigned the office of supreme judge in
consequence of a determination to visit the Pacific states, where he remained
three years in the practice of his profession, after which he returned to
Minneapolis. For years he occupied a seat in the city council, and was a member
of the board of education, of which body he was for three years the president.
Judge Atwater belongs to the Protestant Episcopal church, and is one always
ready to bestow aid and assist in the elevation of mankind. In 1849 he married
Miss P. A. Sanborn, a lady who is universally respected.

    John Berry, deceased, one of the pioneers of Hennepin county, was born in
Buxton, Maine, in 1801. Came to St. Anthony in 1851, and followed farming. He
was the first man to raise a crop on the west side, having made a claim on
section 31, east of Cedar lake, in April, 1851, and resided there until 1857,
after which time he lived in the city. He married Hannah Bunker, February 12th,
1826. The children living are: Mrs. W. A.  Bowell, of Minneapolis; Mrs. D. L.
Paine, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Mark T., surveyor and superintendent for
Dean and Harrison. Mrs. Berry died April 23d, 1879. Mr. Berry lived with his
son, Mark T., until his death, which occurred in April, 1881.

   A. H. Bode was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1838. He came to America and
located at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1848, and attended the public schools of
that city until 1853, when he entered a lawyer's office. In August, 1865, he
came to Minnesota as general freight end ticket agent of the Minnesota Central
Railway, and after its purchase by the Milwaukee and St. Paul, remained as
general agent until 1871. Since 1873 he has been with the Minneapolis and St.
Louis Railway. He was married at Horicon, Wisconsin, December 26th, 1858. They
have eight children.

   R. W. Cummings, a native of Lycoming, Pennsylvania, was born in June, 1825.
He located at Cottage Grove, Minnesota, in 1845. There he opened a farm and made
some improvements, but lost it, because of being a minor. In 1847 he came to St.
Paul and worked as clerk for Mr. Jackson in the mercantile business. The fall
following he came to St. Anthony and made a claim at what is now the junction of
the main line and branch of the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad,
improved it and followed general farming until 1853, when he went into the real
estate business, and has been thus occupied until the present time; his office
is at 100 Central avenue. Mr. Cummings' wife was Martha Estes, of St. Anthony.

   Ard Godfrey, a native of Penobscot county, Maine, was born at Orono, January
18th, 1813. His father and elder brother being mill-wrights, he learned that
trade, and at the age of eighteen had charge of building a lumber-mill. In 1847
he came to St. Anthony to take charge of the improvements of the water power
then inaugurated by Franklin Steele, Rantoul and others. In 1852 he had a claim
made for him by Captain Monroe, of Fort Snelling, near Minnehaha Falls, where he
has since lived, with the exception of seven years spent in this city, to give
his children better educational advantages. In 1853 he built a saw-mill on
Minnehaha creek, and 1866 a grist-mill; both were destroyed by fire. He was
married in January, 1838, to Harriet N. Burr, of Maine.

   John G. Lennon was born at Bolton, England, July 6th, 1815. He came to
America in 1841, as  supercargo of a vessel, for the firm in whose employ he had
been. In 1843 located at St. Croix Falls, remaining two years, when he returned
to St. Louis and engaged with the American Fur Company. He returned to Mendota,
Minnesota, in 1846, and the next year removed to St. Paul. In 1849 he took
charge of the St. Anthony outfit, and remained until 1856; then began business
for himself in the mercantile and lumbering line. This he sold in 1859, and
removed to Sibley county, remaining until the rebellion. He accompanied the
Sibley expedition to Devil's Lake and the Missouri river, as assistant in the
commissary department under Captain Forbes. He returned to Fort Snelling in the
fall of 1863, then went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he was quartermaster of the
first division of the Sixteenth corps under General Mower. They disbanded at
Louisville Kentucky, where he remained in the real estate business and
prosecuting claims for the Government. In 1873 he returned to Minneapolis, and
has since continued in the real estate business. During the winter of 1877 he
suffered a stroke of paralysis, from which he has never fully recovered. He was
married at Fort Snelling to Mary B. McLain, in 1851. Their children are
Catherine and John.

   Anson Northrup, one of the most noteworthy characters in the roll of
pioneers, was born in Connewango, New York, January 3d, 1817, where he lived
with his father till the spring of 1839, when he moved to Morgan county,
Illinois. In May, 1844, he moved to what is now Stillwater and built a hotel,
the first house in the place. He also bought 160 acres of land which now
embraces about one-half the site of that vigorous young city. In 1849, he sold
his interest there and built the American House at St. Paul, the first all frame
building in the place. The American was formally opened to the public July 4th,
1850, and soon thereafter sold, after which Mr. Northrup came to St. Anthony and
commenced the erection of the St. Charles Hotel. In 1858, he visited the Pacific
coast, returning after an absence of four months.

   At the breaking out of the rebellion, Mr. Northrup entered the army,
receiving the appointment of wagon-master in the First Regiment Minnesota
volunteers. In August, 1862, he obtained leave of absence, and hastened home to
aid in protecting the home borders. The day following his arrival in
Minneapolis, he obtained a captain's commission from Governor Ramsey, with
instructions to raise a company of mounted men, and proceed with all haste to
the relief of Fort Ridgely, which was then besieged by the murderous savages.

   It is but simple justice to state here that Captain Northrup was the first to
relieve the distressed inmates of the fortress. Others, with less modesty, and
as surely with less honesty, have claimed the laurels due only to this old
patriot, who never courted even a passing compliment for his timely services.
Since the close of the war, Captain Northrup's life has been marked by the same
spirit of change and adventure that characterized his previous years. For two
years he kept the First National Hotel, five years was spent at Duluth, mainly
in contracting and jobbing for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and in
1874, he came to St. Paul, then took a short trip to Texas, from whence he
returned to St. Paul, and remained until May, 1880, when he removed to Fort
Snelling and opened a boarding-house. Mr. Northrup put up the first brick
building in Minneapolis. Anson Northrup married Miss Betsey Jane Edwards, August
23d, 1838, at Waterbury, N. Y., by whom he has had ten children, six of whom are
now living.

   John Sargent Pillsbury, ex-governor of the state of Minnesota, is a native of
Sutton, Merrimac county, New Hampshire, born July 29, 1828. When about 16 he
entered business as salesman in a store at Warner. He then removed to Concord,
where he remained four years in the business of merchant tailor and cloth
dealer. In 1855 he located at St. Anthony, Minnesota, engaging in the hardware
business with success. In 1858 he was elected a member of the city council and
re-elected for six successive years. In 1863 he was appointed one of the regents
of the University of Minnesota, and its present gratifying condition is largely,
owing to his prudent endeavors. In 1872 he engaged in the manufacture of flour
in Minneapolis, with his nephew, C. A. Pillsbury. In 1863, he was elected state
senator from Hennepin county, and re-elected for four following terms, and again
in 1872 and the succeeding term. In 1875 Mr. Pillsbury was elected governor, and
re-elected in 1877 and 1879. His administration has been marked by a thorough
devotion to the interests of the people of this state. He married in Warner, New
Hampshire, November 3, 1866, Miss Mahala Fisk. They have had four children: Ida,
Susie May, Sadie Belle and Alfred Fisk.

   Rev. Gideon H. Pond was born in Washington, Litchfield county, Connecticut,
June 30, 1810. In 1834 he received a letter from his brother, Samuel W. Pond, a
school teacher at Galena, Illinois, proposing a missionary enterprise to the
Dakota Indians. The proposition was accepted, and in 1834 provided with neither
brass, scrip nor purse he joined his brother, and arrived at Port Snelling in
May. They began their labors among the small bands of Dakotas around Lake
Calhoun and Harriet. They built a rude cabin on the east shore of Lake Calhoun,
and labored together three years, when Gideon H., leaving his brother in charge,
went to Lac qui Parle, where a Presbyterian church had been organized, and
offered his services as Indian farmer and teacher. He remained there a few years
and returned to Lake Harriet.

   In 1843, owing the repeated disturbances between the Chippewas and Dakotas,
the latter changed their location to the banks of the Minnesota river. Mr. Pond
followed their fortunes and located in Bloomington, where his family now live.
Services were held every Sabbath, and schools were maintained during the week,
for the red children, by Mr. Pond and his assistants.

   In 1852, in accordance with a treaty, the Indians were removed from the
vicinity, but Mr. Pond had become attached to this place as a home and remained
here until his death. Mr. Pond was married November 2, 1837, at Lac qui Parle,
to Miss Sarah Poage, who died in 1853. In 1854 he married Mrs. Sarah Hopkins,
widow of a missionary who was drowned in the Minnesota river at St. Peter. Mr.
Pond died January 20, 1878.

   Captain John Rollins, one of the pioneers of this region, was born in New
Sharon, Franklin county, Maine, March 23, 1806. In the fall of 1848 he came to
Minnesota, arriving at St. Anthony Falls in December. At that time there were
only four houses in the place. The following spring he brought out his family
and has since been a resident of Minneapolis. For two years he navigated the
Mississippi above the falls, on the little steamer Governor Ramsey, He has since
been chiefly interested in lumbering and farming. Married at Newport, Maine, in
1832, Mina Betsey Martin, who has borne him nine children, seven of whom are
living.

   Roswell P. Russell, one of the oldest settlers in this county, was born at
Richland, Vermont, March 15, 1820. He engaged with one McKenzie to go to Fort
Snelling and take charge of the stock of goods taken there by Baker. From
Prairie du Chien to La Crosse they came in a Mackinaw boat, but at the latter
place the boat was frozen in and they were obliged to pursue their journey on foot.

   They arrived at Fort Snelling about the 5th of November, 1839, and he
remained there until 1847 when he and Findley made a claim on the east side,
extending from Boom Island to the present stone arch bridge, and back
indefinitely; two years after they sold this claim to Pierre Bottineau. In 1847,
Mr. R. P. Russell opened the first store in St. Anthony, in a two story building
of hewn logs erected by Franklin Steele.

   In 1854 he was appointed receiver in the land office, which position he
filled three years. In the fall of 1858 he bought the hardware stock of Spear &
Davison, which he sold two years later and turned his attention to farming until
1862, when he, in company with George Huy, erected a planing mill; in 1878 they
added to the building and converted it into a flour mill. He was also one of the
firm who, in 1870, built the Dakota mill. Mr. Russell has been active in both
public and private life; has served one term in the legislature, and often in
town offices; he was the first chairman of the town board, and holds that
position at the present writing. October 3, 1848, his marriage occurred with
Marion Patch.

   Franklin Steele was born in 1813, in Pennsylvania. When a youth he was
advised by Andrew Jackson, late president of the United States, to identify
himself with the West. Mr. Steele and two or three others, in the summer of
1837, came to the Falls of St. Croix and made claim to the valuable water-power
there. The following winter was passed in Washington and elsewhere, but in the
summer of 1838 he returned, and upon being appointed sutler to the army, at Fort
Snelling, he disposed of the St. Croix property and became interested on the
east side of St. Anthony's Falls. It was not until 1848 that there was a sale of
lands by the government, and that year he completed the first saw-mill on the
east side of the falls. In 1851 he secured a site for the preparatory department
of the University of Minnesota, and was the largest contributor toward the
erection of the first academic building. It was Franklin Steele who contracted
for the swinging of a wire suspension bridge over the Mississippi just above the
cataract, the first bridge which spanned the great river from Lake Itasca to the
Gulf of Mexico. During the Indian outbreak of 1862 Mr. Steele hurried to the
scene of slaughter with the necessary supplies, riding in an open buggy, at the
head  of the column. In 1843 he married in Baltimore, Anna Barney, and with his
bride, came to Fort Snelling when it was surrounded by Indians. During the
latter years of his life he passed the winters in Washington but always spoke of
Minnesota as his home. While riding with an acquaintance on the 9th of
September, 1880, Mr. Steele was suddenly siezed with dizziness, soon after lost
consciousness, and at an early hour the next morning his spirit departed to his
God. It will be long before his friends and his family will forget Franklin Steele.
             "To live in hearts we leave behind Is not to die."

    Colonel John H. Stevens, the pioneer of Minneapolis proper, is a native of
Lower Canada, where he was born June 13th, 1820. His first move was to the lead
mines of Illinois and Wisconsin. During the war with Mexico, he served with the
army of invasion and after the war closed, he came to the territory of
Minnesota, which had recently been set apart from Iowa. He located on the
original townsite of Minneapolis, opposite the Falls of St. Anthony, The nearest
habitation of white men was Fort Snelling. He has lived to see grow from his
humble home a city of fifty thousand souls. He has frequently been honored with
seats in the senate and house of representatives in the state legislature, and
has also held high and responsible offices of trust and honor, both civil and
military, with the greatest success and credit. He was married May 10th, 1850,
in Rockford, Illinois, to Miss Francis H. Miller, of Oneida county, New York.

   William Drew Washburn, was born at Livermore, Androscoggin county, Maine,
January 14th, 1831. He graduated from Bowdoin College, and was admitted to the
bar in 1857; the same year he came west, and was appointed agent of the
Minneapolis Mill Company, in which he afterwards became a partner. In 1861 he
was commissioned by President Lincoln, surveyor general of Minnesota; built a
large saw-mill, and has since been actively engaged in the .lumber trade. He was
the chief mover in projecting the Minneapolis and St. Louis railway; he is
president of the company. In 1872, he built the finest lumber mill in the state,
at Anoka, and has since built a large flouring mill at the same place. In 1873,
he, with others, built the Palisade mill, here. November, 1878, he was elected
representative of the third congressional district, and in 1880 re-elected. He
married in 1859, Lizzie Muzzie, of Bangor, Maine.

   Henry T. Welles, was born April 3d, 1821, in Hartford county, Connecticut.
Belonging to one of the best families of his native state, he was favored with
rare advantages, and in 1843 graduated from Trinity College, Hartford. The first
ten years after leaving college were mostly spent on the farm, divided with
duties of a public character, and in 1850 he was honored with a seat in the
legislature of his native state. Upon his arrival at St. Anthony in 1853 he
became interested in the lumber business, and also purchased considerable real
estate. In 1855 he was elected mayor of that city. He removed to Minneapolis in
1856, since which time he has been closely identified with the interests of the
city. Mr. Welles has held various offices of trust, but since 1864 has had
neither time nor inclination to engage in political matters; he never hesitates,
however, to give substantial aid in all matters that are of advantage to the
city and state of his adoption.

   J. C. Whitney was born in April, 1818, at Springfield, Vermont. In 1829,
moved with his parents to Canada, and remained until twenty years of age. He
attended college, at Oberlin, Ohio, and in 1849, graduated from Union Seminary,
New York. The same year removed to Stillwater, Minnesota, where he was pastor of
the First Presbyterian church until 1853; at that time he came to Minneapolis,
and held the position of pastor of the First Presbyterian church here four
years. In 1857 removed to Forest City, and returned here in 1860. In 1862,
enlisted and served three years; was appointed quartermaster with the rank of
captain. Returned in 1865 and engaged in real estate business. Mr. Whitney
married in 1849, Eliza Bayard.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from 

History of the Minnesota Valley
Minneapolis: North Star Publishing Co. (1882)

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mn/hennepin/history/1882/historyo/historyo63gms.txt

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