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 51
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that he is. In 1881, he married Miss Funk, of Carver. a daughter of the leading merchant of that place, and a lady of fine qualities and attainments, who adorns with grace and dignity their elegant home. They have four bright, happy children. While the past has been bright for Mr. Breden- hagen, the future promises to be brighter, for he is now well started on the road to that success that will mark him one of the leaders of his age.
CAPTAIN JOHN MARTIN.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
JOHN MARTIN was born in Peacham, Cale- donia county, Vermont, on the 18th day of August, 1820. His parents were Eliphet and Martha (Hoyt) Martin, both of whose ancestors were Pilgrims and settled in Connecticut. Cap- tain Martin had in his possession an old candle- stick, a relic of the Mayflower. His parents re- moved to Vermont when that state was a wilder- ness, and their children were brought up on the farm with few educational advantages. By far the best lessons of those days were taught at the mother's knee, for the Christian mothers of New . England taught their children honesty, sobriety and industry. John remained on his father's farm until he was nineteen years of age, when he agreed to pay his father for his time in order that he might start out in life for himself. He went to Hartford, Connecticut, and procured employ- ment on the Connecticut river steamboats, and so continued until the ill-fated " Greenfield " was lost.
He became pilot of the new boat built to re- place the Greenfield, and after a year was made captain. This boat was sold two years later and Captain Martin went with it to the Neuces river, in North Carolina. This was an experiment, as previous attempts to navigate the river had been attended by the loss of many steamboats. Cap- tain Martin's experience on the Connecticut river well qualified him for this difficult undertak- ing, and he was not turned aside by the jeers of the natives. He began trial trips from Smithfield to Newberne, and quickly proved that all that was necessary was a good boat and skillful man- agement. The natives regarded him as a most remarkable man. Hle built two other boats for
the company, improved the river and established a permanent line of steamboats between Smith- field and Newberne. He was captain of the differ- ent boats at times, and after five years he suc- cumbed to the chills and fever and was forced to return to his home. He had saved his earnings, paid the money he promised to his father for his time, and had bought a farm in his native village and placed his parents upon it. He soon regained his health, and set out for California and the gold fields in 1849. His health was greatly benefited by this trip, and prospecting also improved his financial condition. He returned home a year later for a short time, and then took a trip through the west and north. Arriving at St. Anthony in 1854, he settled there without any fixed intention of remaining. There were then about one thou- sand people in St. Anthony, and they were mostly engaged in the lumbering business. Looking back almost forty years to the little struggling settle- ment on the Mississippi, one finds no evidences that Minneapolis would one day feed the world.
The river was the only means of transportation, and the settlers had to provide a winter's sup- plies before the river was frozen. During the winter the United States mail came only once a week by stage from Dubuque, Iowa. These were days of privation and hardship that tested men's nerve and fortitude.
Captain Martin began the lumber business in a small way .in 1855, and laid the foundation of his remarkable and honorable career. Steadily he advanced step by step, always lending a hand .to his fellow-men. He obtained wonderful control over his associates, for his word was his bond, and
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John Martin
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his honesty of purpose and just regard for the rights of others were prominent in all his deal- ings. He became interested in the different saw- mills at St. Anthony, and he saw the lumber business grow from a small enterprise into a gigantic industry. He still retains an interest in the saw-mill on Mission creek, and holds much of the pine lands he located in carly days. During the panic of 1857, when so many western enter- prises were forced to the wall, Captain Martin was unshaken, and he never suffered a reverse in his brilliant financial career.
During the early days, when Minneapolis began to assume the proportions of a city, and at the time when material encouragement was necessary, he was ever found ready to aid every legitimate enterprise for her advancement, not in words alone, but also in that substantial assistance. About 1880 the milling company of Sidle, Fletcher, Holmes and Company was formed, with Captain Martin as its president. The capacity of their mill was one thousand barrels daily, which was gradually increased to meet the demands. This company later became the Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company, and has a daily capacity of ten thousand five hundred barrels. Captain Martin is president of the company.
He is a director in the First National Bank of Minneapolis, the Syndicate Building, the Syndi- cate Insurance Company and the Soo Railroad,
and president of the John Martin Lumber Com- pany of St. Paul. He was one of the projectors of the Soo Railroad, and was its vice-president during its construction, and resigned at the time of his European trip. He was one of the pro- jectors of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway, and helped to organize the First National Bank of Minneapolis.
Captain Martin married in 1849 Miss Jane B. Gillfillen, of Peacham, Vermont, who was a sister of the prominent attorney and ex-congressman, J. B. Gillfillen, of Minneapolis. Mrs. Martin died in 1885, leaving a daughter. In politics Captain Martin is' a Republican. He has persistently avoided political office, but has been of most valuable assistance to his friends.
His home-life is quiet, and marked by sincere de- devotion to his family. His religious affiliations are with the Congregationalists. He has traveled extensively abroad during late years, spending many months on the continent with his family. His last European trip was in 1890; he went es- pecially to bring back his daughter and grand- child whom he had left there when on a former visit.
Captain Martin is a gentleman of kindly man- ners, courteous and considerate to all, with a touch of rare New England frankness, and by his up- right life he has the confidence and respect of all who know him.
HAMILTON M. PEYTON,
DULUTH, MINN.
S INCE 1858 Hamilton M. Peyton has been a a resident of the Lake Superior region, and has been identified with the prosperity of that section since the days of its original settlement.
He was born in Geneva, New York, on March 17, 1835. He is the son of Rowzee Peyton, a de- scendant of the Peyton family, prominent in Vir- ginia, and of Eliza (Murray) Peyton, a daughter of a prominent New York city merchant. The education of young Peyton was obtained by pri- vate tuition in his native city, supplemented by a course at Rutgers' College, New Brunswick, New Jersey. From 1855 to 1857 he resided in Chi- cago. In the last named year he removed to
Hudson, Wisconsin, where he had charge of the United States Land Office. A year later he re- moved to the head of Lake Superior and became engaged in the banking and real-estate business at Superior, Wisconsin. In 1860 he engaged in manufacturing lumber, and in 1864 the lumber firm of H. M. Peyton & Company was organized, and it has continued upon a prosperous career ever since. In 1874 Mr. Peyton removed to Du- luth, and, in 1881, established the main office of the firm of Peyton, Kimball & Barber in that city. The mills, however, are located at Conner's Point, now known as West Superior. In 1881 the firm was reorganized, and continued under the style of
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Peyton, Kimball & Barber. The mills of this firm are among the largest in the northwest, and the firm is the oldest established in this section.
In 1880 Mr. Peyton, with others, organized the American Exchange Bank of Duluth, with a capi- tal stock of twenty-five thousand dollars. This has been increased from time to time, until at present it is five hundred thousand dollars. This bank has never failed paying semi-annual divi- dends of five per cent., and has accumulated a surplus of three hundred thousand dollars ; truly a remarkable record, and one that few banking
houses can show. Since its organization, nearly twelve years ago, Mr. Peyton has been the presi- dent of the institution.
In March, 1864, Mr. Peyton married Miss Martha Newton, a native of Syracuse, New York.
Politically Mr. Peyton is what is termed an in- dependent Democrat. Hc has never sought nor desired public office, but has been called upon by his fellow-citizens to fill positions of trust. He has been trustee of the town of Duluth, alderman of the city, and member of the school board.
COLONEL ANDREW DE GRAFF,
ST. PAUL, MINN.
O NE of the most prominent railroad builders in America is the man whose name heads this sketch. He came from the Mohawk Valley. He was born about seven miles from Amsterdam, New York, October 21, 1811. His father was Nicholas De Graff, and his mother Nelly, née Shannon. They had thirteen children, of whom Andrew was the third. There are still living four sisters and one brother. In 1839 Colonel De Graff married Miss Rachel Pomeroy, of Massa- chusetts. Their children were Charles A. De Graff, Frank De Graff and Minnie De Graff, now the wife of Mr. John A. Berkey, of St. Paul.
Charles was widely known in Minnesota at the time of his death in July, 1887, being at the head of the best breeders of horses and cattle in the northwest. Frank died in St. Paul in 1873, and Mrs. De Graff, a woman of noble character, a devoted wife and mother, has also been called away. Their daughter, Mrs. Berkey, is sur- rounded with a family of interesting children, who add to the comfort of Colonel De Graff in the autumn of life.
In 1814 our subject removed with his father's family into Schoharie county, to the town of Sha- ron, where he remained on the farm until 1830, when he engaged to work on a farm for Mr. John Swart, a farmer near Schenectady. Mr. Swart became associated with Messrs. Veeder and Veeder in building the Utica and Schenectady railroad, the first link of what now constitutes the chain of railways consolidated under the
name of the New York Central Railroad. Hc went to Connecticut with these gentlemen in 1834 as superintendent to construct the Norwich and Worcester Railroad. He soon purchased their interest and completed the road in 1839. For the next two years he was managing the construction of the Auburn and Rochester Railroad. The Attica and Buffalo road was his next task, and finally the Attica and Batavia, being the last link connecting Albany and Buffalo, completing it in 1843. Up to this time he had been associ- ated with his old partners, Captain Veeder, Banta, John Veeder and William Wallace.
In 1843 he went to Sandusky City, and alone took the contract to build the Mad River and Lake Erie road. This accomplished, in 1850 he went to Dayton, Ohio, where he made his home many years, and where he dispensed that gener- ous hospitality and good cheer which have always characterized him and his family. Three years before he had constructed the road from Spring- field to Dayton, also the Greenville and Miami, and the Dayton and. Western was finished in 1849. About the same time he was building the Xenia and London, the Peru and Indianapolis and the Indianapolis and Connellsville roads. He constructed a part of the road from Dayton to Cincinnati in 1852. The Cincinnati, Wellington and Zanesville fell to his lot, which he also com- pleted in 1854. He began the Detroit and Mil- waukee road under Robert Hingham, chief engin- eer, and finished its construction in 1857.
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He was induced to take hold of the Transit Railroad, now the Winona and St. Peter, of the Northwestern system. Many delays were caused by the panic of 1857, and again by the war of the rebellion and the Indian wars on the border, but his untiring perseverance finally consummated the work, and he built the road across Minnesota and to Kamperke Lake in Dakota. In 1868 he began the construction of the road known as the St. Paul and Pacific, from Crow River to Brecken- ridge, and this was completed in 1871, and to Messrs. De Graff and company the contract was awarded that year to build a road from St. Cloud to St. Vincent, as was also the line from Sauk Rapids to Brainard. The failure of the railroad
company in 1872 retarded the construction of these important lines, now a part of the Manitoba and the Northern Pacific system. In 1880 Messrs. De Graff and Company built the road from Wa- dena to Wahpeton, and in 1881 from Minnesota to Little Falls, the latter being the property of the Northern Pacific. The firm of De Graff and Company was composed of Charles A. De Graff and Colonel William Crooks, Colonel De Graff, however, actively directing the work.
Colonel De Graff still enjoys excellent health, is vigorous and active. He is of a happy, cheer- ful temperament, and appears but little older than many men younger than himself by a score of years.
HON. WILLIAM PITT MURRAY, ST. PAUL, MINN.
W TILLIAM P. MURRAY is an able lawyer whose many years of experience in legis- lative halls and whose work as a legislator has placed him by the side of the ablest law makers on this continent. He is a man of tireless energy, a leader of men whose executive abilities are un- surpassed and a Christian gentleman.
He is a native of Ohio, and was born June 21. 1825, the only child of John L. Murray and Mary, née Mccullough, of Irish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, William Murray, was a native of Ireland, who immigrated to America at a com- paratively early day, and became one of the pioneer settlers of southwestern Ohio. The father of William Pitt died when he was a child, and his mother married Henry Rowan, who re- moved with his wife and step-son to Centerville, Wayne county, Indiana. Not long after this the boy returned to his native county to live with his uncle, Mr. J. G. Stillwell, who was a country mer- chant at the little village of Stillwell, named in honor of him. He attended the village school and worked in his uncle's store in his youth, and at the age of seventeen was sent to Miami Uni- versity at Oxford, Ohio, where he spent two years. He then returned to his home at Centerville, In- diana, and entered the law office of Hon. Oliver P. Morton, Indiana's noted war governor and United States senator, where he remained about
two and one-half years. He then attended the University of Indiana, entering the law depart- ment, graduating a year later, and was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1849.
In the fall of 1849 his eyes met a glowing de- scription of St. Paul, setting forth its natural ad- vantages and probable future growth in a letter in the St. Paul Pioneer, Minnesota's first news- paper, written by Charles K. Smith, the secretary of Minnesota territory, who came from Mr. Murray's native town, Hamilton, Ohio. Late in the fall of 1849 he set out for St. Paul, bearing several letters from his friends and a small, but well selected library, with a light heart and a light purse. His journey was ill-timed; it was the beginning of winter before he was well under way. When he reached Galena the river had closed. Proceeding to Dubuque he, with several other young adventurers, procured transportation by wagon to Minnesota. But at Black River, Wisconsin, the party was detained by absolute termination of the road and a severe snow-storm. Here, however, they found a surveying party under Judge Knowlton, then a prominent char- acter, who had contracted to open a road from Black River Falls to Willow River (now Hudson) Wisconsin. Mr. Murray had left his library at Dubuque. He at once engaged with Judge Knowlton and the surveying party to accompany
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them as an employe to Willow River. The trip lasted two weeks, and was one of arduous labor, privation and exposure. The party encamped every night in the snow, the thermometer was twenty-eight degrees below zero, and the day pre- vious to their arrival at Willow River their pro- visions gave out. From Hudson Mr. Murray went across to St. Paul, and registered at Ken- nedy's old Central House, on the evening of December 24, 1849. The next day was Christ- mas, and was spent in presenting his letters, in making acquaintances and seeing the town, and celebrating the day after the manner of the pioneers of the olden time.
He joined the Ohio colony, under the patronage of Hon. C. K. Smith and the Pioncer editor, John P. Owen, and came at once into something like prominence. A day or two after his arrival he began the practice of the law, in a little one-story building on Robert street. At first clients were scarce and fees small ; but the young lawyer had his share of the patronage and did not complain. He was soon drawn into politics, and in 1851 was elected to the lower house of the territorial legislature, which convened in 1852. He was re- elected the following year, and in 1854 was a member of the territorial council from Ramsey county. In the legislature of 1855 he was presi- dent of the council, a position of no little honor and distinction, and rarely held under any circum- stances by a young man of thirty years. He was again a member of the house in the terri- torial legislature of 1857. From the first he was very intimately and actively connected with the legislative affairs and public interests of the city and territory ; the compeer of Stearns, Free- born, Olmsted, Kittson, Nobles, Sibley, the Rices, Ramsey and others of the fathers of the commonwealth of Minnesota. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1857, and his connection with that body added largely to his reputation. He was a member of the house in the state legislature of 1863, and of the senate in the legislature of 1866-7. In 1866 he was again elected representative, but was unable to take his seat by reason of his absence in South America. In 1874 he was again returned to the senate and served in the session of 1875-6. He never was a passive observer of events, but always an active participant. His forces were never in reserve,
but always in front in the midst of the contest where the fight was hottest and the work was hardest. His services, therefore, could not well be anything else than valuable to his constituents, and indeed the people of his city and county came to think they could not well get along with- out him in one or the other branch of the state legislature. In acknowledgment of his eminent services and as a testimonial of the general esteem in which at the time he was held, his name was given to the county of Murray, in the south- western part of the state, upon its organization in 1857. For a period of sixteen years he was an alderman of St. Paul, and six years president of the council.
Here again he displayed his natural character- istics as a leader and worker. All of his energies were enlisted in the discharge of his duties. He never occupied a back seat, never dodged a vote, never shirked a duty. A stickler for the consti- tution and the forms of the law, he was invariably faithful to his oath, and was sometimes compelled to vote against the promptings of head and heart by a regard for his official obligations. It was while in service in the council that he learned the needs of the city in the matter of chartered rights and privileges. Under the first charter the powers of the council were enumerated and were always strictly construed. The authorities must be just, never generous : appropriations of money were limited to official requirements; the de- mands of charity passed unheeded. When the war came on, the council was hard pressed to find legal warrant for its action in appropriating the city's money to aid the volunteers and their families, and the members were for a time forced to act according to the higher laws of patriotism and humanity. It was mainly through the instrumentality of Mr. Murray that the imper- fections in the original law of the city were re- paired from time to time, until it became a masterpiece of its kind. Mr. Murray has been termed the author of the city charter.
In 1876 Mr. Murray was chosen city attorney, to succeed the lamented Willis O. Gorman. Hc held the office through the most important epochs in the city's history for thirteen years, or until July, 1889. Sometimes he was chosen by the council, sometimes elected by the people ; on the latter occasion, as on every other when his case
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was decided by the body politic, he won easily. St. Paul never had a more popular official, nor one more careful. As a legal adviser for the city government for so long a period he had much to do. Duties other than those belonging to the office were thrust upon him. He became both a public and private counselor. The authorities made no move without his sanction, and the poor of the city came to him daily for counsel and ad- vice, as children go to a father. Perhaps no other official ever performed so much actual work; at times the vast public concerns of the city were practically given into his keeping, and he was al- ways busy. It is almost incredible how well he kept these matters in hand, never losing sight of an object, never negligent nor off his guard. He worked early and late. During his office hours he was constantly besieged by visitors; now a a dignitary on an errand of public import, now an unfortunate with a tale of personal suffering. During the later years of his term, when, under the new charter drawn by him, the city limits were extended, there came upon him a vast amount of labor. The new territory had to be developed and improved, and all contracts for the improvement required his revision and approval. The. western and northwestern portions of the city had in him a strong friend and able cham- pion of their interests, but his services to them were not rendered at the expense or the detri- ment of any other locality. During his adminis- tration the limits of the city were expanded from a small area to their present proportions, and the population was increased from forty thousand in 1876 to two hundred thousand in 1889. These results were largely accomplished by a wise and salutary policy of municipal government, of which policy Mr. Murray was in a great part the author. Many of the best provisions of the charter were the conceptions of his mind and the creations of his will and genius. Fully ninety per cent. of all of the legislation affecting the city of St. Paul during the last ten years was drafted by him, and was obtained largely by his influence and personal efforts. His intimate connection with official municipal affairs brought about a sort of personal identification with them, and a charge was often made that St. Paul was governed by one man, and that man was William P. Murray.
He has always been particularly interested in the public school system of the city. In recogni- tion of his services and something of a personal compliment to him, his name was given to one of the most important schools in the city, the Will- iam P. Murray school at St. Anthony Park, in the tenth ward. He was a member of the board of managers of the State Reform School for a long time, and has been prominent even beyond the state in reformatory work.
His position as city attorney for so long a time enabled him to have an intelligent conception of the wants of society and he gave this and kindred subjects much thought and attention. Mr. Mur- ray continued to hold the office of city attorney from 1876 until 1889, at which later date he was ousted by a judgment of the State Supreme Court on a technicality. His retirement was re- gretted by a very large majority of citizens of St. Paul, without party or class distinction. Every old settler felt the slight as a personal grievance. His former associates presented him with a very substantial and valuable testimonial. Everybody paid a tribute to his long and faithful service and his eminent worth. Even the Republican news- papers were moved to expressions of compliment in his behalf. The Pioneer Press said : "The city charter was his evolution, and it is admitted that he was always loyal to the city and always had its large interests at heart; that no one accuses him of using his potent influence in city affairs to make money for himself."
Soon after his retirement, Mr. Murray opened a law office in connection with Mr. F. G. B. Woodruff, and resumed his professional work. Mr. Murray is an excellent general lawyer, and there are certain specialties in which his superior cannot be found in the northwest. He has had much experience in all of the courts, state and federal, not only in Minnesota, but at Washington city and elsewhere. In 1867 he became the attor- ney for a number of citizens of the United States who held claims against the Republic of Vene- zuela. He repaired to Caracas, where he spent nearly a year in the prosecution of claims before an international commission, and during that time he witnessed three successful military revolutions or changes in government. On one occasion, when the city of Caracas was being besieged by a revolutionary force, the house in which he was
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