USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > The biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of representative men of Chicago, Minnesota cities and the World's Columbian exposition : with illustrations on steel. V. 2 > Part 36
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The liquor law enacted at that session, under the pledge of "high license, local option and a rigid enforcement of the law," met with a sturdy opposition that, at times, threatened violence, but it is now an acknowledged model of its kind; is accepted and approved by the people, and has been adopted by several other states of the Union. That act, the railroad law and other
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general legislation have proven wise and benefi- cent, and they stand to-day, stamped with the approval of time and the vindication of history, and the statutes of the state, the only work in which naked history is written, will show more of importance accomplished, and less to alter or amend, than in any like limited period of the commonwealth. At the expiration of his term Governor McGill retired to private life, content to leave his fame to the analysis of the coming years.
Governor McGill has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Eliza E. Bryant, daughter of Charles S. Bryant, an attorney-at-law and author of prominence. She died in 1877, survived by two sons and one daughter, as follows: Charles H., born 1866; Robert C., born 1869, and Lida B., born 1874. He was again married in 1880, to Miss Mary E. Wilson, a daughter of J. C. Wilson, M. D., a prominent physician of Edinborough, Pennsylvania. Mrs. McGill is an educated, accom- plished lady, one "to the manner born" in the first ranks of social life. The children by this
marriage are Wilson, aged seven, and Thomas, aged two years.
In concluding this brief and unfinished biogra- phy, it may be well to say that when Governor McGill arrived in the new State of Minnesota, in 1861, he was not yet twenty-one years of age, had no acquaintance in the state, and was with- out resources other than God had given him and he had acquired by studious application in the schools of his native town. His success was due to innate ability and a laudable ambition to excel. He rose because he did his work well in every position in which he was placed. His advent was not like the meteor, rendered luminous by con- tact with unwonted atmospheric conditions, but was the steady progress of an entity leaving its impress on the way it came and finding its equi- librium high in the scale of human endeavor. He is yet comparatively young, with a record unsul- lied, a reputation without a blot and a future before him that will, in due time, be written by some later and abler historian.
CAPTAIN HENRY D. STOCKER,
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
THE gentleman whose name heads this sketch is a very able lawyer, who enjoys an extensive practice at the Minneapolis bar. He is an eloquent advocate, learned in all of the subtleties of his profession, and is a man of excellent judgment. He is considered one of the best counselors in the west. He is thorough in the investigation of a subject, and his briefs for the courts are unsurpassed. He is an earnest, forcible, logical speaker, and there is so much of fairness and candor in his manner that his words have great weight with both court and jury.
Henry D. Stocker is a native of Cabot, Cale- donia (now Washington) county, Vermont, where he was born June 23, 1836. His father, Samuel Stocker, was a minister of the Methodist Episco- pal faith, who was widely known for his eloquence and scholarly attainments. His mother's maiden name was Harriet Jane Davis. The paternal line of this family is said to have had its origin in Ger- many. Its progenitor settled in America at an early day.
Henry first attended a district school, and after- wards a graded school at Lowell, Massachusetts. and later spent a short time at Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, and moved thence with his parents to McHenry county, Illinois. He commenced his legal studies in the office of Messrs. Joslyn & Hanchett, a prominent law firm of Woodstock, the county seat of that county. There and at McHenry, in the same county, he spent three years pursuing his legal studies.
At the opening of the civil war in 1861, he en- listed in the service of his country, and with Mr. Hanchett, one of his former tutors, raised a com- pany, which was assigned to the Sixteenth Illi- nois Cavalry. Mr. Hanchett was commissioned captain and Mr. Stocker first lieutenant, but soon after going south the former was assigned to the duties of judge advocate, and the latter assumed command of the company, retaining it until the battle of Jonesville, Virginia, on the 3d of January, 1864, when he, with his whole company, were made prisoners of war. In that battle Lieutenant
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Stocker was severely wounded, receiving two sabre cuts on his head, and two bullets in his body. So severe were his wounds that he could not be removed with his comrades, and he was left at a house near by, where he remained two months. During his convalescence he became convinced that the family with whom he had been left were not wholly without sympathy for the Union cause. This fact encouraged him to plan an escape, which, with the aid of some negroes, he was enabled to carry into effect, and got through the rebel lines in disguise. This was a memora- ble incident in his life. It was a bold strike for freedom, surrounded as he was by dangers, the ex- citement of which nerved him to bear the hard- ships which, in his disabled and exhausted condi- tion, would otherwise have forced him to remain inactive.
Reaching the Cumberland River in safety, he floated down that stream until he deemed himself at a sufficient distance from the rebel lines to at- tempt to cross the country, and then made his
way to the Federal army. There he was placed on the staff of General Schofield with the rank of captain. He was soon afterward made assistant provost marshal, and was ordered back to Nich- ollsville, Kentucky, where he had command of that post until December, 1864, when, on account of the trouble which his unhealed wounds caused him, he was reluctantly compelled to accept an honorable discharge.
Captain Stocker was admitted to the bar in 1866; he then went to Lake City, Minnesota, where he practiced law with excellent success until 1888. In 1888 he removed to Minneapolis, and resumed the practice of his profession, and is doing a thriving and profitable business.
Captain Stocker is a Republican in politics, but the duties of his profession so far engross his at- tention that he is not what can be called an active politician.
He is prominent in Masonic circles, and a mem- ber of Ark Chapter, No. 53, and Lake City Com- mandery, No. 6.
HON. HENRY J. HORN,
ST. PAUL, MINN.
A1 MONG the lawyers of St. Paul who have achieved eminence, the subject of this sketch occupies a conspicuous place. Modest and unassuming, courteous in manner, self-poised and dignified in demeanor; respectful of the feel- ings and opinions of others, honorable in the highest and best sense, possessing those delicate instincts which characterize the true gentleman, his is a worthy example of the high-minded gen- tleman and successful lawyer.
Henry J. Horn is one of the best known law- yers in the northwest, and one of the oldest practitioners at the St. Paul bar, and also one of the best informed, especially in real-estate and corporation law, to which he has given much at- tention. . He is not only a professional lawyer, but he has always been a diligent student of the whole circle of literature, and no man keeps more thoroughly abreast of the decisions of the courts of last resort than he. He is an acknowledged authority in the law pertaining to real estate and corporations, having been continually engaged in
suits of this nature for many years. He has witnessed the growth and expansion of the law on these subjects, and nearly every leading case in the state and federal courts referring to the same has had his careful scrutiny.
He conducts all of his business with a strict regard to a high standard of professional ethics, and his honor and integrity have never been questioned.
He is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was born March 25, 1821. His paternal grandfather, who was of Dutch ancestry, came to America and settled in Pennsylvania prior to the war of the Revolution. Henry's parents were John Horn and Priscilla, née Fentham. His father was a carriage maker by occupation, but he became a somewhat noted Democratic poli- tician, and was much in political life. At one time he was a naval officer in the custom-house at Philadelphia. His brother Henry, the uncle of our subject, was a prominent Pennsylvania Demo- crat, a member of congress during Andrew Jack-
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son's administration, and for one term he was collector of the port of Philadelphia.
Our subject received a thorough English and classic education in his native city. He studied law with the Hon. Henry D. Gilpin, attorney- general of the United States under President Van Buren. He pursued an elaborate course of study until his admission to the bar, in Phila- delphia, in 1849. He then entered upon the practice of his profession in that city, continuing there six years.
In June, 1855, he settled in St. Paul, where he has since been engaged in the general practice of his profession without intermission. At one time he was a partner of Mr. Reuben B. Galusha, and at another he was in partnership with Mr. W. W. Billson, who was at one time United States District Attorney. The greater portion of the time, however, he has been without an associate. In 1857 he was elected city attorney, and served until 1860; and he was chosen county attorney for Ramsey county in 1864, and served two years. He also served one year as corpora- tion counsel, a special office created for the
time, while the late ex-Governor Gorman was city attorney.
He has been closely identified with the inter- ests of St. Paul, and in the early days was a member of the historic military company, the " Pioneer Guard," under its first commander, Cap- tain A. C. Jones, who was subsequently an officer in the Confederate service. From 1857 to 1859 he was a member of the Board of Education. For several years he was a director of the Cham- ber of Commerce, and is one of the trustees of Macalister College. He has been, from time to time, of much service to the city in amending and remodeling its charter, and did good work while on the school board.
On September 1, 1859, at St. Paul, Mr. Horn married Miss Fanny Banning, a sister of the well-known pioneer banker of St. Paul, and an estimable lady of fine accomplishments.
Their union has been blessed with eight chil- dren, five of whom survive, viz .: Priscilla F., now Mrs. John W. Adams, of St. Paul ; Henry J., Jr., a civil engineer ; Alexander E., now a prac- ticing lawyer, and Leonore and Mabel.
JAMES F. R. FOSS,
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
J AMES F. R. FOSS, President of the Nicollet National Bank of Minneapolis, is pre-emi- nently a self-made man. He was born in Bidde- ford, Maine, on March 17, 1848. His parents were among the early settlers of Maine; his mother, Frances Jordan, tracing her ancestry to the Rev. Jordan, who purchased a large tract of land in Maine, while that state was still a portion of the colony of Massachusetts. Our subject's father, James Foss, who died when our subject was four years old, was for many years town clerk of Bid- deford.
James was educated in the public schools, and after leaving the navy attended the Bucksport (Maine) Seminary. His purpose was to fit himself for a college course, but his health failing, he was obliged to leave school. At the opening of the war of the rebellion, young Foss, fired with patri- otism, entered the naval service. He served on the United States frigates Sabine, Niagara, Hartford
and Savannah, from 1861 to 1863, and when receiv- ing his discharge at the age of sixteen, he was offered a midshipman's commission, but did not accept the offer. He was among the very young- est men who served the government in the civil war. From 1863 to 1873 he occupied several positions as clerk and bookkeeper in the cities of Boston, New York and Providence. In 1873 he accepted a position as bookkeeper in the Shoe and Leather National Bank of Boston ; he held that position eighteen months, and then, owing to ill health, resigned his position and became second mate on a coal schooner for two years. In 1875 he accepted a position as bookkeeper in the Mar- ket National Bank of Brighton, Massachusetts, and soon afterward took a like position in the Merchandise National Bank of Boston. At the end of the year the directors, appreciating his ability, elected him cashier. Mr. Foss was the youngest man who, up to that time, had been
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elected cashier of a national bank in the city of Boston. After seven years of faithful and satisfac- tory service, he resigned the office, that he might avail himself of the superior advantages offered in the northwest, and removed to Minneapolis.
Here he organized the Nicollet National Bank, and to show how well he was thought of by the moneyed men of Boston, it need merely be stated that when the Nicollet National Bank was organ- ized with a capital stock of five hundred thousand dollars, three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars of that amount were subscribed by Boston capitalists, who knew Mr. Foss, and were familiar with his abilities and methods.
The Nicollet National Bank was organized in 1884, and for four years after its organization Mr. Foss was its cashier. In 1888 he was elected president, and has filled that position since.
On February 22, 1877, Mr. Foss married Miss Alvena M. Baker, of Auburndale, Massachusetts. Mrs. Foss is descended from an old Pilgrim family, whose ancestors came to the colonies in the May- flower. They have three children, viz .: Minnie Frances, born in 1878; James Franklin, born in 1887, and Florence Ellen, born in 1881.
What Mr. Foss has accomplished in this life, he owes to his own exertions and native endowments, and it is but due to state that he has conducted the affairs of the bank of which he is the presiding officer in such manner as to meet with the ap- proval of both the stockholders and directors.
His conservative and at the same time liberal pol- icy, together with his executive and financial abil- ities and conscientious methods of business, have won for him universal respect and gained the con- fidence of all.
HON. ROBERT A. SMITH,
ST. PAUL, MINN.
T HE present mayor of St. Paul, the subject of this sketch, since his earliest manhood, has been a chosen representative of the people.
Robert A. Smith was born in Boonville, War- rick county, Indiana, June 13, 1827. His father, William Smith, was a native of England, and by occupation a merchant. His mother was Eliza- beth B. Graham, of the Graham family, noted in the " first blue books" of Virginia. She was born in the " Old Dominion," and was educated accord- ing to the high standard of its noted seminaries. She was married to William Smith, in Boonville, Indiana. Robert A. Smith attended the graded schools of his state and finished his educational course with five years' study at the University of Indiana, and was graduated from the law department of that institution in 1850. After his graduation he formed a law partnership with the Ion. William F. Parrott, of Boonville. Mr. Smith's career as a lawyer at Boonville was interrupted by his being elected auditor of War- rick county. His term of office was for four years, but in the third year of his term he re- signed to accept the appointment as private sec- retary to his brother-in-law. Hon. Willis A. Gor- man, the territorial governor of Minnesota. He
accompanied Governor Gorman to St. Paul, and not long afterward was appointed territorial libra- rian, a position which he held until 1858.
In May, 1856, he was appointed by the county board treasurer of Ramsey county, and in the fall of that year he was elected for the full term of one year, on the independent democratic ticket. His remarkably long administration of the duties of this important office furnishes a faithful illustration of his popularity with the people, of Minnesota, regardless of political beliefs. He was again and again chosen, until he had served twelve years as treasurer of the county.
In 1866 he engaged in the banking business in St. Paul, becoming a member of the firm of Dawson, Smith and Reed. He was one of the incorporators of the Bank of Minnesota, and is its present vice-president. In 1883 he was elected a member of the city council, and served by re-elec- tion for four years. During the last three years he was president of the council, and at times acting mayor. In March, 1887, upon the resignation of the late Hon. Edmund Rice, he was chosen mayor by the council, and in May, 1888, was elected by the people. He was re-elected in 1890 by an overwhelming majority; the people, regard-
Robert A Smith
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less of party, seeming to want no one else for their chief executive. He was a member of the state legislature in 1885, and in 1886 was elected to the state senate from Ramsey county. His personality is well known in the state, but it is pertinent that a brief note should be made of it here for the benefit of this National work and for the instruction of its readers abroad, as the mission of this history, as should be the high pur- pose of all histories, is to present to the world only unquestioned facts in a truthful yet graceful manner.
The student of physiognomy, and all men are such, will find corroboration for every word of color or grace herein recorded, in the steel en- graving of Mr. Robert A. Smith, which faces this sketch.
As an individual or official he has never faltered in the honest expression of his opinions, or in the execution of the functions of his high office, as deemed best by him for the general welfare of the public. He has never proved recreant to any trust, or been remiss in his obligations as a repre- sentative man of the people or as a private citizen. He is plain in his manner, and his honesty is characterized by an unaffected simplicity, which is the natural attribute of the typical American and gentleman. He possesses a strong personal mag- netism and commanding presence. He has made an exceptional record as mayor of a large and progressive city, the very progress of which is
largely due to his intensified energy and interest in it. He has nothing of the demagogue in him, but rules by a mild self-poise and honest under- standing of his position and its duties to the peo- ple. He has never set one bad or dangerous pre- cedent as an official, but has ever sought to do justice to all, protecting alike the rights and property of the rich and the poor. He is gener- ous and contributes largely to all public benefits. He is at all times accessible, and at all times good- natured ; and while observing the decorum due any high office, he would sooner resign his posi- tion than forego a hearty laugh. He has only once in his life sought an office-that being his very first appearance in official life. He is one of the men who have been sought by the office.
In the memorable campaign for his second term as mayor he never left his office to do any political work, but while his opponent was ap- plying every method known in hot campaigns, Mayor Smith contented himself at his desk at work, saying : "If the people want me, they will elect me ; if they do not, they will elect the other man. I will resort to no method to defeat the sacred rights of the majority." Such is the man who holds the chief office in the gift of the people of St. Paul.
Mr. Smith married in 1851 Miss Mary E. Stone, of Bloomington, Indiana. Of five children born to them, one son and two daughters survive ; two daughters have died.
HON. GEORGE BROOKS YOUNG,
ST. PAUL, MINN.
G EORGE B. YOUNG is an influential man and an able lawyer, who enjoys a large practice, and who has been engaged in some of the most important litigation in his state. He is well versed in all of the learning of his profession ; has sound, practical judgment, and easily grasps the salient points of a case. As a judge, he was able and just. To a thorough knowledge of the principles of the law, he adds great industry and accuracy. He is a logical, forcible speaker, ' and personally has most admirable qualities. Kindly, social and genial, he is esteemed as a citi- zen by all who are favored with his acquaintance.
He was the fourth son of the late Rev. Dr. Alexander Young, minister of the New South Church, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was born in that city on July 25, 1840, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1860, and from the law school of that institution in 1863. He read law in Boston and New York, and was admitted to practice in the latter city in November, 1864. He became a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in April, 1870, and there practiced law until April, 1874, when he was appointed an associate justice of the supreme court of the state, which office he held until January, 1875. Since May, 1875,
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he has resided in St. Paul, engaged in the prac- tice of the law in partnership, until 1880, with Stanford Newel, Esq., and since January, 1883, with Mr. William H. Lightner. From 1875 until May, 1892, he was reporter of the supreme court of the state, and in 1878 he edited a compilation
of the general laws of Minnesota. He is a lec- turer upon "The Conflict of Laws" in the Law School of the State University.
He married in September, 1870, Ellen, the daughter of the late Daniel Fellows, Esq., of Edgartown, Massachusetts.
EDWIN WINSLOW HERRICK,
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
A NY biographical history of the northwest would be imperfect which omitted refer- ence to those citzens of Minneapolis who have been prominently engaged in the various depart- ments of commerce and finance, whose labors, ability, enterprise and capital, have so largely contributed to her wonderful development, and who have been so closely indentified with the various movements and agencies which have placed her among the prosperous commercial centers of our land.
Closely connected with the development of Minneapolis is the name of Edwin W. Herrick, a man whose long experience in business affairs, whose knowledge of men, rare executive abilities and pleasant social qualities have won for him the highest respect and confidence of his fellow citi- zens. The Herrick family are descended from Eric the Forester, and the lineage is plainly traced from the time of William the Conqueror in the eleventh century. The most ancient ancestor of record, bearing the family name, was Sir William Herrick, of Leicester, London and Beau Manor Park, in England. He was a mem- ber of Parliament from 1601 to 1630, and was knighted by King James I, in 1605. He was an attaché of the court of Queen Elizabeth, and by her was commissioned embassador to the Otto- man Porte. He was subsequently appointed to a lucrative position in the exchequer, which he held through the remainder of the reign of Elizabeth and that of James I. In 1595 Sir William pur- chased from the Earl of Essex the magnificent estate in the county of Leicester, known as Beau Manor Park, which is still in the possession of his descendants in direct line, and for nearly three hundred years has been the home of the English branch of the family and the headquarters of the
race. Henry Herrick, fifth son of Sir William, born in 1604, at Beau Manor, immigrated to America in 1653, settling, first, in Virginia, and, later, at Salem, Massachusetts. He was the pro- genitor of the family in America. Ephraim Her- rick, a direct descendant of Henry Herrick, and grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and removed from Massa- chusetts (about 1620) to that part of western New York then known as the "Holland Pur- chase."
Edwin W. Herrick was born in Sheridan, Chau- tauqua county, New York, on the 13th of June, 1837, the son of Alfred N. and Caroline (Ambler) Herrick. His father owned a farm lying near the bleak shore of Lake Erie, and it was here that Edwin, his brother and two sisters, spent their early years. His father was a man of great strength of character, a willing worker in every good cause, prominent in educational affairs and a leader in all humanitarian movements. His death occurred in 1846. After his father's death, and from the age of nine to seventeen years, young Herrick lived with his grandfather, Hon. David Ambler, in Oneida county, New York, and with his uncle, Haven Brigham, who was his guardian, in his native town. During the winter months he attended the common schools, and this, with the addition of two terms at the old academy at Fredonia, comprised all of his school education. Fully realizing that his success in life must depend solely upon his own efforts, he, at the age of seventeen, accepted a position in the store of his brother-in-law, at Richmond, Ohio. He was expected to sweep, put up and remove the blinds and saw wood, receiving his board as compensation. He had been taught that what- ever was worth doing at all was worth doing well,
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