Caleb D. Dorr was born at East Great Works, Penobscot county, Maine. He became a practical lumberman, and, coming to the Falls in 1847, bought of Hole-in-the-Day, a Chippewa chief at Swan River, one hundred trees at five dollars per tree, for St. Anthony Falls improvements, the first timber floated down the Mississippi above the mouth of Rum river.
Mr. Dorr was in the employ of the government for ten years, locating state and school lands. He has followed the business of scaling logs, and has also been boom master. He was married to Celestia A. Ricker, of Maine, March 4, 1849.
Rev. Edward Duffield Neill, the well known author of the "History of Minnesota," was born in Philadelphia Aug. 9, 1823. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Amherst College, Massachusetts, graduating from the latter in 1842. He studied theology at Andover Theological Seminary, Massachusetts, and in 1847 preached as a missionary amongst the miners in and around Galena, Illinois. He was transferred to St. Paul in April, 1849, where he organized a society and erected the first Protestant church building in Minnesota not on mission grounds. It was situated on Third and Market streets. He also built for himself, on the corner of Fourth and Washington streets, the first brick house in the city. In 1855 he organized the House of Hope society and acted as its pastor five years. He was also the prime mover in establishing the Baldwin School. In 1855 he secured the building of the St. Paul College, for some years conducted as a classical school and afterward consolidated with the Baldwin School. He was the first territorial superintendent of public instruction, in 1851-2, and served as state superintendent from 1858 to 1864. He was called to fill many educational trusts.
April 29, 1861, he was appointed chaplain of the First Minnesota Volunteers, and served as such over two years. He was with his regiment at the battles of Bull Run, Fair Oaks and Malvern Hill. President Lincoln appointed him hospital chaplain, he became one of the president's private secretaries, and continued in that relation during the presidency of Andrew Johnson. In 1869 President Grant appointed him United States consul at Dublin, where he resided two years. Returning to Minnesota in 1871, he removed to Minneapolis and conducted the Baldwin School and St. Paul College, under the title of Macalester College, and located his school in the old Winslow House, Minneapolis. In January, 1874, Mr. Neill connected himself with the Reformed Episcopal church.
Mr. Neill has been a busy worker in literary, chiefly historical, fields. Editions of his "History of Minnesota" were published in 1858, 1873 and 1878. He has published many other valuable historical works. He is a ready and versatile writer, and is an authority on the subjects concerning which he treats. Mr. Neill was married to Nancy Hill, at Snow Hill, Maryland. Their children are Samuel Henry, Edward Duffield and John Selby Martin.
John Wensignor, a native of Switzerland, was born May 22, 1825; came to America in 1833, to St. Anthony Falls in 1849, and engaged successfully in mercantile pursuits. Mr. Wensignor has been a generous man to the poor, and although public spirited, has persistently declined office. Mr. Wensignor died in 1886.
Robert H. Hasty was born in York county, Maine, Dec. 12, 1823. He came to Stillwater in 1849, and engaged in lumbering. He was surveyor general of the First district two years. He enlisted in Company I, Sixth Minnesota, at the organization of the regiment in 1862, was commissioned second lieutenant, promoted to first lieutenant, and resigned Jan. 15, 1865. In 1881 he removed to Crystal Lake, Minnesota.
Stephen Pratt, a native of Penobscot county, Maine, was born, in 1828; came to St. Anthony Falls in October, 1849, where he followed lumbering until 1858. He was a member of the First Minnesota Cavalry during the Rebellion. In 1864 he removed to a farm. He died in 1887.
Capt. John Tapper was born in Dorsetshire, England, March 25, 1820; came to America in 1840, and to Prairie du Chien and Fort Snelling in 1844. He served as a soldier during the Mexican War. He was the first toll collector on the St. Anthony Falls wire suspension bridge. He finally located on Steele's farm near Minnehaha falls, and is now living in Clayton county, Iowa.
R. W. Cummings was born in Lycoming, Pennsylvania, June, 1825. He settled at Cottage Grove, Minnesota, in 1845, and in 1848 made a claim in St. Anthony, and improved it as a farm until the city required it for lots, since which time he has been engaged in the real estate business.
Elias H. Conner was born in New Sharon, Maine, in 1824. In 1848 he came to Lakeland, Minnesota, and in 1849 to St. Anthony Falls, where he had charge of the work on the first suspension thrown across the Mississippi at that point. He also built the first bridge that spanned the St. Croix at Taylor's Falls. In 1855 he was married to Hannah Rollins.
C. F. Stimson was born in Maine, April 19, 1822. He came to Stillwater in June, 1848, and thence to St. Anthony Falls, where he followed lumbering. He was treasurer of Ramsey county for one year. In 1879 he moved to his farm near Elk River. He has a wife and two children.
William Dugas was born in Three Rivers, Canada East, May 17, 1809. He came to New York in 1831. He spent some time traveling, visiting Africa, New Orleans, Indian Territory, Iowa, and Illinois, and other places more or less remote. He came to Minnesota in 1844, and was a representative in the first territorial legislature. Later he removed to St. Anthony Falls. He afterward removed to Dayton, Minnesota. He was married at Prairie du Chien in 1844.
Davis Gorham was born in Quebec; came to Virginia, where he spent two years, and thence to Maine, where he lived twelve years. In April, 1849, he came to St. Anthony Falls, and made valuable land claims near Lake Calhoun. He followed lumbering for about twelve years. In 1864 he started for California, but was driven back by the Sioux Indians. In 1867 he settled in Plymouth, where he has been supervisor for ten years.
Edwin Hedderly was born in Philadelphia in 1814. In 1849 he came to St. Anthony Falls and in 1851 made a claim of one hundred and sixty acres west of the river, within the present bounds of Minneapolis. He served on various committees for selecting a name for the new city and its streets, and until his death was ever active and influential in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the city. He was married to Mary J. Kennard, of Philadelphia. Eight children of this union survive him and are residents of the city. Mr. Hedderly died in 1879.
Louis Neudeck, born December, 1821, came to St. Anthony Falls in 1849. He subsequently lived in Missouri, Illinois and at Stillwater, but in 1855 returned to the Falls. He died in 1864. He was supposed to have been killed by Indians while absent in Montana, the only clue to his sad fate being the recovery of his revolver having his name inscribed on it, from an Indian. He left a widow and five children.
Andrew J. Foster was born in Cooper, Maine, June, 1827, and came to the Falls in 1849, where he engaged in the lumbering, grocery, gardening, and real estate business. He married Mrs. Mary Averill, of Stillwater. Their children are Ada, William, Owen and Elmer.
A. D. Foster, a Pennsylvanian, born in 1801, came to St. Anthony Falls in 1848. He assisted in building the Gov. Ramsey, the first boat above the falls. He has engaged in fruit culture and merchandising. He was married in Pennsylvania and has three children; Josiah, resident in Indianapolis; Lysander, a physician in Minneapolis; and a daughter, married.
Charles E. Vanderburgh, a native of Clifton, Parke county, New York, born Dec. 2, 1829, graduated at Yale College an 1852, and served for awhile as principal of Oxford Academy, New York. He studied law and was admitted to practice in 1855. In 1856 he came to Minneapolis, which has since been his home. In 1849 he was elected judge of the district court, which at that time embraced all the territory west of the Mississippi from Fort Snelling to the north boundary line. He has been continuously re-elected, an evidence of the high estimation in which he is regarded by his fellow citizens.
Judge Vanderburgh has been twice married. His first wife, Julia M. Mygatt, wedded Sept. 2, 1857, died April 23, 1863, leaving two children, William Henry and Julia M. His second wife was Anna Culbert, married April 15, 1873. They have one child, Isabella McIntyre. His daughter Julia was accidentally drowned Sept. 12, 1871.
Dorillius Morrison was born at Livermore, Oxford county, Maine, Dec. 26, 1816. He received a common school and academic education. He taught school awhile, and then engaged in the mercantile business, the last eleven years at Bangor, when in the spring of 1853 he came to Minneapolis, where he became prominent as a business man, following lumbering, dealing in real estate, milling and railway building. He is one of the projectors and proprietors of the Minneapolis Mill Company. He is also sole owner and proprietor of a cotton mill costing $100,000. He was deeply interested in the Northern Pacific railroad. He was the first mayor of Minneapolis, in 1867, and served as senator in the sixth legislature in May, 1840. He was married to Harriet Putnam Whitmore, a descendant of Gen. Israel Putnam. They have three children, Clinton and George Henry, residents of Minneapolis, and Grace E., the wife of Dr. H. H. Kimball, of Minneapolis.
H. G. O. Morrison, brother of Dorillius, was born in Livermore, Maine, Jan. 24, 1817. He graduated at the Bangor high school. He worked at printing in his youth, read law and was admitted to practice in 1838, locating afterward at Sebre, Maine. He was a member of the Maine senate in 1841. In 1855 he came to St. Anthony Falls. He moved to Dakota county soon after, and represented that county in the state legislatures of 1860-61. He resided in Dakota county for twelve years. He was assessor of internal revenue from 1869 to 1873, during which time he lived in St. Paul. In 1873 he removed to Minneapolis, where he has since resided. He has been twice married. His second wife was Rebecca Newell. They have three children, Daniel W., Samuel B. and Stanford.
Judge F. R. E. Cornell was born in 1821, in Chenango county, New York; was educated at Union College, New York; studied law and was admitted to practice in 1846. He came to Minneapolis in 1854. During his residence in New York he was a member of the state senate. In January, 1875, he took his seat as associate justice of the supreme court of Minnesota, which office he held until his death, which occurred in 1879.
Gen. A. B. Nettleton came from Ohio, and became one of the editors of the Minneapolis Tribune. He served during the Civil War, participated in seventy-three battles, and was promoted through the various grades from private to brigadier general.
Judge Isaac Atwater was born in Homer, Cortland county, New York. He graduated at Yale College in 1844, practiced law in New York City until 1850, when he came to St. Anthony Falls and practiced law with G. W. North as partner. He was one of the first regents of the State University; edited the St. Anthony Express from 1851 to 1857; served as district attorney from 1853 to 1857; was elected associate justice of the supreme bench in 1857, resigned the position in 1864, and removed to California, where he practiced law. After an absence of three years he returned to Minneapolis, where he has been honored with the offices of alderman, president of the Board of Education, etc. He was married to Pamelia A. Sanborn in 1849. Their son John B. is associated with his father in law practice.
Rev. David Brooks, a venerable pioneer clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, was born in England in 1802. He was educated there and preached ten years in the Wesleyan connection. He came to America in 1842, and joined the Methodist Episcopal church, which he has served faithfully since as pastor and presiding elder in Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He was among the pioneer preachers in the latter state. In 1853 he was presiding elder of a district that included all of the present Minnesota conference. In 1854 he secured the charter for Hamline University, and was instrumental in obtaining a donation of $25,000 from Bishop Hamline for its endowment.
Rev. Jabez Brooks, D.D., son of Rev. David Brooke, was born in England, and came to America in 1842. He is a graduate of Middleton Wesleyan University. For several years he was professor of Greek, and later president, of Hamline University. He served also as professor of Greek in Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. He has for many years been professor of Greek in the State University.
John S. Pillsbury was born in New Hampshire, July 29, 1828. He received a New England common school education. He came to the Falls in 1855, and by close application to business acquired a position of wealth and influence. He has occupied many prominent positions in Minneapolis and the State. He served five terms as state senator, from the sixth to the tenth legislatures. In 1863 he was appointed a regent of the State University. He was elected governor of the State in 1875, and re-elected in 1877. He was married in November, 1856, to Mahala Fisk, of Warner, New Hampshire. Their children are Ada, Susie, May, Sadie Belle, and Alfred Fisk.
Henry T. Welles was born in Connecticut, April 3, 1821, graduated at Trinity College, and came to St. Anthony Falls in 1853, where he engaged successfully in the lumbering, banking and real estate business. He is a liberal, public spirited citizen, contributing freely to all enterprises looking to the growth and welfare of the city as well as to charitable objects.
David Blakely has been prominent in journalism, having been connected at various times with papers in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Chicago: He was one of the founders of the Minneapolis Tribune.
William Lochren, a native of Tyrone, Ireland, was born April 3, 1832; was brought to America when he was two years old; was educated in Vermont; admitted to the bar, and came to the Falls in 1856, where he has since practiced law, excepting a term of service in the army during the Rebellion as first lieutenant of Company E, First Minnesota Volunteers. Since the war he has served as city attorney, as state senator in 1868 69, and as district judge from 1883 to the present time. In 1871 he was married to Mrs. Martha Demmen, who died in 1879.
Eugene M. Wilson was born in 1834, in Monongalia county, Virginia. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish, who came to this country at an early date. His grandfather served in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Wilson graduated at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1852, read law with his father, was admitted to practice in 1855, and came to Minneapolis in 1857. He served as United States district attorney during President Buchanan's administration. During the Rebellion he was captain of Company A, First Minnesota Cavalry, serving on the frontier until 1853, when the company was discharged by the completion of term of enlistment.
Mr. Wilson was a member of the United States house of representatives in 1871-72 and state senator in 1879. He served four years as mayor of Minneapolis, from 1872 to 1876. Mr. Wilson was married Sept. 6, 1865, to Mary E. Kimball, of Minneapolis. They have three children, Mary O., Helen K. and Eugenia.
R. B. Langdon, born in Vermont in 1826, received an academic education, and at twenty-two years of age commenced railroading on the Rutland & Burlington road. He has since been continuously engaged in superintending the construction of railroads in ten states of the Union, and in 1858 supervised the grading of the St. Paul & Pacific, the first railroad enterprise in Minnesota. He served as state senator for seven terms, commencing in 1873 and closing in 1881 (excepting the term of 1879). He has a wife and three children.
Wm. M. Bracket, the originator of the Minneapolis fire department, was born in Maine in 1843. His father served six years as consul at Halifax, Nova Scotia, during which time William resided at that place. During the Rebellion he served two years as a musician in the Sixth Maine Volunteers, and was then appointed paymaster's clerk at Washington, District of Columbia. In 1865 he came to Minneapolis, where he has since been continuously connected with the fire department.
Thomas B. and Platt B. Walker are natives of Ohio. Thomas B. came to Minneapolis in 1862, and engaged in surveying, railroad engineering and examining lands. By close application and sound judgment he has accumulated wealth, from which he dispenses liberally to worthy enterprises. He has contributed largely to the building of the athenæum. His wife is a prominent contributor to, and upholder of, the charitable enterprises of the city.
Platt B., a younger brother of Thomas, is a fluent speaker, a popular lecturer and a kind hearted, genial man. He has been till lately editor and publisher of the Mississippi Valley Lumberman, and has taken an active part in the improvements of the waterways of the West.
Austin H. Young, a native of Fredonia, New York, born Dec. 8, 1830, received his education at Waukegan, Illinois; removed to Prescott, Wisconsin, in 1854; commenced the practice of law in 1862 and served as state senator in Wisconsin in 1863. He came to Minneapolis in 1866 and practiced law. He was elected judge of the Fourth Judicial district in 1877.
Henry G. Hicks was born in Wyoming, New York, in 1838. He learned the trade of harness maker; was educated at Oberlin, Ohio; served as a soldier during the war of the Rebellion, and was wounded at the battle of Missionary Ridge. In 1865 he came to Minneapolis. He was admitted to the bar in 1875; has served as sheriff, as city justice and as a representative in the twentieth, twenty-first and twenty-second state legislatures. He was elected district judge in 1886.
John P. Rea was born Oct. 13, 1840, in Chester county, Pennsylvania. He received a common school education. In 1861 he enlisted in Company B, Eleventh Ohio Volunteers, and was breveted major for meritorious services. In 1867 he graduated at Ohio Wesleyan College; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1869. In 1875 he removed to Minneapolis; edited the Tribune one year; continued his law practice in 1877; was elected probate judge, served four years, and in 1886 was elected district judge without opposition.
He has been an active Grand Army man, a member of Geo. N. Morgan Post, and has served as commander of Minnesota state department, also as senior vice commander-in-chief of the national department. In 1887 he was elected commander-in-chief of the national department of the Grand Army. In 1869 he was married to Miss Emma Gould, of Ohio.
John Martin was born in Caledonia county, Vermont, in 1820. His educational advantages were limited to the common schools. He was raised on a farm, but at eighteen years of age bought his time of his father for sixty dollars. For twelve years he followed steamboating, seven on the Connecticut river and five on the Neuce river in North Carolina. In 1851 he went to California, but returned to Vermont the following year, and for two years engaged in farming. He came to Minneapolis in 1854, where he engaged in lumbering and dealing in pine lands. In the past twelve years he has been interested in railroad enterprises. He has been vice president of the Minneapolis & St. Louis, and Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic Railway companies. Mr. Martin is an enterprising and sagacious business man, and is highly esteemed for his many excellent qualities. He was married in Vermont in 1849, to Jane Gilfillan, and has one daughter.
John Dudley was born in Penobscot county, Maine, in 1814. He came to Minneapolis in 1852, where he engaged in business, dealing in logs and lumber. He built mills in Prescott in 1861. The flour mill at Prescott has a capacity of one hundred barrels per day, and the saw mill a capacity of 3,000,000 feet per annum. He recently purchased the saw mill at Point Douglas built by A. J. Short. This mill has a capacity of 6,000,000 feet.