Senate 1876-82 (District 25); Senate 1883-85 (District 28)
Party when first elected: Republican
Counties Served:
Anoka, Hennepin, Isanti
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
2/11/1835
Birth Place:
Barnet, Vermont
Birth County:
Caledonia
Birth Country:
United States
Date of Death:
8/19/1924
Gender:
Male
Religion:
Presbyterian
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
J.B.
City of Residence (when first elected):
Minneapolis
Occupation (when first elected):
Lawyer; Lochren, McNair and Gilfillan Law Firm, Minneapolis/Former Teacher
EDUCATION
Caledonia County Grammar School, Vermont; Elementary School;
Caledonia County Academy, Vermont; Secondary; Graduate, 1855
Studied Law; With Nourse and Winthrop, Then With Lawrence and Lochren; Admitted to the Minnesota Bar, July 1860
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
School Board/Administration:
Minneapolis, Minnesota (Board of Education,One of the First School Board Members);
1860 to 1868
[Appointed]
Municipal Attorney:
St. Anthony (Minneapolis), Minnesota (City Attorney);
1861 to 1864
County Attorney:
Hennepin County, Minnesota;
1863 to 1867
[Elected]
Municipal Council/Aldermen:
Minneapolis, Minnesota (City Alderman);
1865 to 1869
County Attorney:
Hennepin County, Minnesota;
1869 to 1871
[Elected]
County Attorney:
Hennepin County, Minnesota;
1873 to 1875
[Elected]
Board of Regents:
University of Minnesota;
1880 to 1888
[Appointed]
U.S. Representative:
4th Congressional District, Minnesota;
03/04/1885 to 03/03/1887
[Elected]
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Rebecca Corse Oliphant (married on January 20, 1870; she died on March 25, 1884); Widower; Hannah Lavinia Coppock (remarried on June 28, 1893)
Children:
Five children (with his first wife): (3 sons, 1 daughter)
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
Charles Duncan Gilfillan
- Other - See Notes
GENERAL NOTES
Toensing indicates that the Gilfillan's were related. We haven't found a source that provides how they were related to each other. Charles Duncan Gilfillan's brother, James, served as the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
He was of Scottish ancestry.
He came to Minnesota in October 1855 and settled in St. Anthony.
"Mr. Gilfillan has always been a Republican in politics..." (Progressive Men of Minnesota, 1897, p. 136)
He was a founder and promoter of the grade school system in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He was listed as a Republican on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)
He served as a Republican Party member of the United States Congress.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the United States House of Representatives in 1886.
He died in Minneapolis, Minnesota and was buried in Lakewood Cemetery in that same city.
He was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Religion provided by Progressive Men of Minnesota, 1897.