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    Ramsey, Justus Cornelius "J.C."

    Sessions Served    Other Information

    Territorial House 1851 (District 3); Territorial House 1853 (District 2); Territorial House 1857 (District 2)

    Party when first elected:  Not Available

    Counties Served:  Ramsey

    BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

    Date of Birth: ??/??/1823
    Birth Place: Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
    Birth County: Dauphin
    Birth Country: United States
    Date of Death: 1/24/1881
    Gender: Male
    Religion:
    Reported Minority: None Reported
    Other Names: J.C.
    City of Residence (when first elected): Saint Paul
    Occupation (when first elected): Grocery Business; Ramsey, Tyson, and Chase Grocery House/Real Estate

    EDUCATION

    Common Schools; At Least Elementary School;

    OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

    FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

    Spouse: Single
    Children:
    Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:

    GENERAL NOTES

    He moved to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1849.

    He was the brother of Alexander Ramsey, who served as Minnesota Governor and United States Secretary of War.

    He was Secretary of the first St. Paul Mason's Lodge and had passed the 32nd degree. He was a charter member of the St. Paul International Order of Odd Fellows' (I.O.O.F) Lodge Number 2.

    The house he built at 252 West Seventh Street in St. Paul, Minnesota is on the National Register of Historic Places.

    He died from a bullet wound to the brain, which was ruled a suicide, in his apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota.

    Total Days Served: 1064

    SESSIONS SERVED

    8th Territorial Legislative Session (1857)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial House
    District: 02
    Elected: 10/14/1856
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/7/1857 to 12/1/1857
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: None Listed
    Party: Republican Party Notes: He is listed as a Republican in the 1856 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 366)
    Committees:
    • County Boundaries (Chair)
    • Mineral Interests

    4th Territorial Legislative Session (1853)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial House
    District: 02
    Elected: 10/12/1852
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/5/1853 to 1/3/1854
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Grocery Business; Ramsey, Tyson, and Chase Grocery House/Real Estate
    Party: Opposition Party Notes: He is listed under the Opposition column in the 1852 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 331)
    Committees:
    • Printing (Chair)
    • Public Buildings
    • Territorial Expenditures

    2nd Territorial Legislative Session (1851)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial House
    District: 03
    Elected: 9/2/1850
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/1/1851 to 1/6/1852
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Grocery Business; Ramsey, Tyson, and Chase Grocery House/Real Estate
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Election Districts
    • Engrossed Bills
    • Public Buildings (Chair)
    • Schools

    OTHER INFORMATION

    Photographs
    Justus Ramsey, Brother of Alexander Ramsey From the Minnesota Historical Society's Visual Resources Database

    Articles & Books About
    "Justus Ramsey House, St. Paul," Minnesota History, Winter 2009-10, p. 335.

    "Secretary Ramsey's Brother: Grief of Old Pennsylvania Friends at His Death," New York Times, January 27, 1881.

    "Rash Ramsey. Another Tragic Event in the Annals of St. Paul. J.C. Ramsey the Victim. Who Fires a Bullet into His Own Head and Drops Dead." St. Paul Daily Globe, January 25, 1881, p. 1.



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