Territorial House 1851 (District 5); Republican Constitutional Convention 1857 (District 6)
Party when first elected: Not Available
Counties Served:
Dakota, Ramsey
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
2/??/1815
Birth Place:
Sand Lake, New York
Birth County:
Onondaga County
Birth Country:
United States
Date of Death:
2/2/1890 (uncertain)
Gender:
Male
Religion:
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
City of Residence (when first elected):
Saint Anthony Falls
Occupation (when first elected):
Attorney/Former Teacher/Former Clergy
EDUCATION
Cazenovia Theological Seminary, New York; Postsecondary;
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut; College Graduate;
Studied Law; Admitted to the New York Bar, 1845
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Judge:
California (United States Judge);
18?? to 18??
Board of Regents:
University of Minnesota (Treasurer, was not an Elected Regent);
1851 to 1860
[Appointed]
Territorial Republican Constitutional Convention:
6th Council District, Minnesota Territory;
07/13/1857 to 08/29/1857
Territorial Government:
Nevada Territory (Surveyor General, Appointed by President Abraham Lincoln);
06/22/1861 to 07/1862
[Appointed]
School Board/Administration:
Washoe County, Nevada (Superintendent of Schools);
12/1861 to 18??
Territorial Government:
Nevada Territory, State Constitutional Convention (President);
1863 to 18??
Judge:
Nevada Territory Supreme Court;
08/20/1863 to 08/22/1864
[Appointed]
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Emma Bacon (died in 1847); Ann Hendrix Loomis (married in 1848)
Children:
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
GENERAL NOTES
Minnesota Place Names list his death date as February 2. Minnesota in Three Centuries lists February 22.
He was the principle founder of the city of Northfield and it is named for him. (Minnesota Place Names, 2001)
He started teaching school at the age of 15 and became a licensed lay preacher in 1833.
He and six other members of the House resigned in protest over the 1851 apportionment bill. They argued the census count was incorrect. For more information on the resignations, see Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. 2, p. 456 and the links in the Other Information section below.
He moved to the Minnesota Territory in 1849.
He ran for reelection in the 1851 elections but was defeated.
He was one of the founders of the Republican Party in Minnesota in 1855.
In addition to his legislative career in Minnesota, he "was influential in founding the University of Minnesota and was treasurer of its board of regents, 1851-60. In 1861 he removed to Nevada, being appointed by President Abraham Lincoln surveyor general of that territory. He presided over the convention that formed the state constitution of Nevada in 1864 and was one of the judges of its supreme court. Later he organized the company that established the fruit-growing settlement of Riverside near Los Angeles, Calif., and was U.S. judge for that state." (Minnesota Place Names, 2001)
He died in Oleander, California and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Riverside, California.