Nobles County MN Archives Biographies.....Humiston, Edwin R. 1827 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com October 18, 2006, 9:18 pm

Author: Arthur P. Rose (1908)

  EDWIN R. HUMISTON, retired contractor and builder of Worthington, is one of

the very few residents of that city who was present at the founding of the town.

From the fall of 1871 to the present day he has resided continually in that

city, and no man in Worthington is better entitled to a place in this history

than is Mr. Humiston.



  Mr. Humiston was born in Great Barrington, Mass., May 6, 1827, a descendant of

colonial settlers. The founder of the American branch of the Humiston family

came from England after the fall of Cromwell, and became prominent in American

history. The father of our subject was Caleb Humiston, who was born in North

Haven, Conn., in 1779; his mother was Polly (Todd) Humiston, who was born in the

same Connecticut town, and who was of Scotch-Irish descent. The father died in

Hudson, Ohio, in his 76th year, while his mother lived to the extreme age of 91

years, dying in Cleveland, Ohio.



  The family moved from Massachusetts to Hudson, Summit county, Ohio, in May,

1833, and there Edwin R. Humiston grew to manhood. He secured an education in

the common schools of the Ohio town and in Hudson academy, and made himself

useful in a brick yard, of which his father was the owner. He also served a

three years apprenticeship at the carpenter trade there. In the fall of 1855 Mr.

Humiston moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where for one year he was employed by the

Galena Packing Co. and the Dubuque Improvement Co.



  In 1856 Mr. Humiston moved to St. Peter, Minn., where he erected a large grist

and saw mill for Col. B. F. Pratt, and where for two years he served as

millwright and engaged in machine work. It was during his residence there that

the Spirit Lake massacre occured in 1857, and Mr. Humiston was one of forty men

who volunteered at St. Peter on April 12 to go out and punish those Indians who

had participated in the massacre. The volunteers spent some time on the trail,

but were unsuccessful in overtaking the hostiles. Mr. Humiston moved to

Cleveland, Lesueur county, in 1858, and there he remained until he became a

resident of Nobles county in 1871. During the' years he lived there he engaged

in contracting and building, and served one term as county commissioner of

Lesueur county.



  In the fall of 1871 Mr. Humiston moved to the village of Worthington, then

just starting, of which his brother, Prof. R. F. Humiston was the founder. For

several years he did contracting and building and erected many of the first

business and residence buildings in the city. For the past twenty years he has

been retired from active pursuits. In 1888 he was elected register of deeds of

Nobles county and served two years. He has been an ardent republican ever since

the birth of that party. His first vote was cast for Martin VanBuren, the

Freesoil candidate for president, and he has voted for every republican nominee

for president, with one exception, when he was a resident of St. Peter, Minn.,

in 1856, Minnesota then being a territory.



  Mr. Humiston was married at Cleveland, Minn., May 13, 1858, to Mary A. Davis,

daughter of John and Catherine Davis, of Licking county, Ohio. To them have been

born six children, as follows: Fred L., clerk of court of Nobles county, born

Feb. 14, 1859; Willis I., born in Cleveland Dec. 25, 1860; Henry S., born in St.

Peter Aug. 27, 1862, died, Aug. 27, 1904; John D., born in Cleveland Dec. 7,

1865; Edwin Ray, born in Cleveland March 29, 1868; Mary K. (Mrs. Arthur Jones),

born in Cleveland Oct. 2, 1870.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:



AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY

MINNESOTA

BY

ARTHUR P. ROSE



NORTHERN HISTORY PUBLISHING COMPANY 

WORTHINGTON, MINNESOTA 

PUBLISHERS

1908



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