Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, Part 101

Author: Holcombe, R. I. (Return Ira), 1845-1916; Bingham, William H
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago : H. Taylor & Co.
Number of Pages: 1190

USA > Minnesota > Hennepin County > Minneapolis > Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota > Part 101

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Charles G. Gates was born in West Chicago, May 21, 1876, and was, therefore, only thirty-seven years old when he died. He was the son of John W. and Delora R. (Baker) Gates, both born and reared in Illinois. The father was one of the most towering and stupendous of all captains of industry. His business career touched the industrial and financial world at so many points of contact that a recital of them all would be wearying. But he touched nothing small, and was never con- nected with any business transaction, after he struck his proper pace and got fairly under way, but one of magnitude and prime importance. He began his industrial activity as a manufacturer of wire, but soon broadened his operations so that they took in large dealings in steel and grain, and in time covered almost the whole field of large transactions of

every kind. He died in August, 1911, leaving a fortune csti- mated at about $30,000,000, the bulk of which he willed to his wife, who is still living in New York city. After the death of her husband she made an almost equal division of the estate with their only child, the immediate subjeet of this writing.

The son obtained his education in the public sehools of Chicago, and his father earnestly desired him to secure a thorough college training of advanced seholarship, but he opposed the proposal and insisted on going into business in his early manhood. The father argued, persuaded, and pos- sibly even threatened dire results from his displeasure. But the son was literally "a chip of the old block," and firmly adhered to his own purposes. Doubtless his own intuitions were guiding him in the right course, and they overbore all outside influences. At the age of sixteen he began his busi- ness life as secretary to the manager of a large wire mill, and during the next five years he performed the duties of that responsible position with great ability.

When Mr. Gates reached the age of twenty-one his father gave him $50,000 with which to go into business for himself. He at once bought an interest in the brokerage firm of Balwin & Gurney, dealers in stocks and bonds in Chicago. This step was also taken against the advice and wishes of his father, but subsequent events proved the wisdom of the choice, as the son became one of the most extensive and successful stock operators in the world. He carried on his business for some time in Chicago, and then moved to New York city and founded the firm of Charles G. Gates & Company, which was the larg- est stock and bond firm in business on Wall street. The com- pany consisted of twelve members, the elder Mr. Gates being one of the number, but the son retained a majority of the stock. The firm was very successful until its retirement from business in 1897. After his withdrawal from this firm he operated alone until his death and amassed a large fortune by his own efforts.

Among the numerous business projects Mr. Gates aided in creating and bringing to large fruition was the development of the Beaumont Texas oil fields, he being one of the first men of large means who became interested in them. He in- duced his father to invest heavily in that region also, and together they founded the town of Port Arthur, Texas, and contributed liberally to its growth and improvement. The younger Mr. Gates built a rice mill, started a bank, erected a large number of buildings of various kinds, gave the local Lodge of Elks a handsome home and aided in many other ways in making the place important and attractive for business and as a residence. At his death the entire town was in mourning for several days and its people paid him many touch- ing tributes.

One of the largest enterprises in which Mr. Gates was inter- ested was the United States Realty and Improvement com- pany of New York. This company built the Plaza Hotel in that city and many other important structures there and elsewhere. Mr. Gates was one of its largest stockholders and most influential directors. His widow still has an extensive interest in it. But he was interested in many companies in different parts of this country, and was known in every sec- tion of it. He belonged to the Minneapolis, Minikahda, Lafay- ette, Interlachen and Automobile clubs in this city, and many of those in Chicago and New York. In the latter city he was a member and at one time the commodore of the celebrated New York Yacht club.

Chores Grates.

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

On September 29, 1911, Mr. Gates was united in marriage with Miss Florence Hopwood, of Minneapolis, and at once decided to make his home most of the time in this city. With this end in view he bought whatever land he wanted on the Lake of the Isles front regardless of cost, and began the erec- tion of a mansion that was to eost at least $1,000,000. The structure was not finished at the time of his death, but in accordance with his wishes, Mrs. Gates is having it completed on the original design. It will be one of the most magnificent residences in the country, when finished, but language pales before the task of fully describing it.

Like many men of robust physique and vigorous health, Mr. Gates overrated his strength. His extensive business engagements made enormous drafts on his resources, and in the fall of 1913 his private physician, Dr. Fellows Davis, Jr., advised him that in order to recuperate he must pass a con- siderable period in the open air, and agreed to accompany him on a trip for the purpose. In obedience to their wishes he went to Cody, Wyoming, arriving there on Friday, Septem- ber 26. The whole population of the city welcomed him warmly and treated him with marked consideration.

From Cody Mr. Gates rode on horseback twenty miles through the mountains into Shoshone Canyon in one day. He spent a month hunting big game and returned to Cody on Saturday, October 25, to make preparations for his journey back to New York. His preparations were delayed by a slight derangement of the stomach, and on Monday night he began suffering from dizziness and an alarming weakness in the action of his heart. His ailment would not yield to treat- ment, and the next day he died in his private car, which was about to be attached to an Eastbound train. Even in the face of death, however, he did not lose his interest in his fellow men or withhold his unfailing generosity to them, and as the people of Cody had treated him with great cordiality and theirs was a good town, he ascertained the indebtedness of the different churches in the town and paid it. He also made liberal donations to the other 'churches, and was munificent in his generosity to his personal attendants, giving them various sums of money ranging from $100 to $10,000. His remains were taken to New York and buried in Woodlawn cemetery in that city.

ALBERT C. LORING.

Albert C. Loring, son of Charles M. Loring and Emily Cros- man Loring; born in Milwaukee, August 31, 1858. Educated in the public schools of Minneapolis, Minnesota, State Univer- sity of Minnesota, and the West Newton English Preparatory School, West Newton, Massachusetts.

Upon returning to Minneapolis, he entered the office of L. Fletcher & Company, then engaged in general merchandising business and flour milling; and became associated as Secretary and Treasurer of the Minnetonka Mill Company in 1877-one of the earliest mills in the City. He has remained contin- uously in the milling business since that time. He was the organizer of the Galaxy Milling Company-its Secretary and Treasurer-afterwards, its President; was one of the organ- izers of the Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company, being for a long time associated as Manager, and for some years, President of that Company. Upon organization of the Pills- bury Flour Mills Company, he was made President of that

Company. He is President of the North Star Malting Company, and associated in various capacities with quite a number of other financial organizations. A member of the Minneapolis, Minikahda and Lafayette Clubs.

J. A. LATTA.

Almost from boyhood J. A. Latta has been actively identified with the world of banking and with banking business. Pre- paratory to his career as a banker he entered the employ of the County Treasurer of Ionia County, Michigan, soon after he graduated from the High School in Allegan, Mich. This was in 1882 and in 1883 he was made deputy treasurer with full charge of the office. In this capacity he served for two years. After some months in an insurance office,-in 1885,- became teller of the Second National Bank of Ionia, Mich. With this bank and with the banking firm of Webber brothers, its successor, he continued for seven years, then he went to Detroit to accept a position with the Penisular Savings Bank as assistant teller. Here he remained for only a short time as he was soon elected to fill the office of cashier in the First National Bank of Hurley, Wisconsin. Two years later, after having satisfactorily filled this position in Hurley, he went back to Detroit to an advanced position and two years after- ward was appointed State Bank Examiner, and when two years had been given to this service he went back to Detroit as assistant cashier of the Penisular Savings Bank, remaining here for six years.

Mr. Latta's first entrance into Minneapolis Banking circles' was made as vice president of the Swedish American National Bank. This was in 1905, nearly four years before its con- solidation with the Northwestern. National Bank. When this consolidation took place on November 28, 1908, he was elected as vice president of the augmented Northwestern National Bank, which position he is now filling.

Miss Cristine Webber, daughter of John A. Webber, of Port- land, Michigan, became the wife of Mr. Latta on January 15, 1902. Mr. Webber now deceased was of the banking family which is so prominently identified with a number of Michigan Banks. Two daughters have been born to them, Marian and Jeannette.

He and his family are members of St. Mark's Church and he is a 32nd degree Mason. He is a member of the Minneapolis, the Minikahda and the Commercial clubs.

Mr. Latta was born in Ionia County, Michigan, April 23, 1865. He is the son of Patroclus A. Latta and Margaret (Just) Latta, natives of Michigan and New York.

He was reared and educated in Allegan, Michigan, and graduated from the High School of that city in 1880. His father was engaged in the practice of law and educational work. He died at Saugatuck, Michigan, in 1911.

CAVOUR S. LANGDON.

Cavour S. Langdon, railroad contractor and a prominent business man of Minneapolis, is a son of Robert B. and Sarah (Smith) Langdon, a sketch of whose lives will be found else- where in this work. His business activity has been highly beneficial to this part of the country, and his career in the

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

condnet of it has been very creditable to him in the upright and enterprising manner in which it has been wronght out and the success that has attended his judicious, energetic and wisely applied efforts.

Mr. Langdon is a native of New Haven, Addison county, Vermont, where his life began on September 11, 1861. Ile was edneated in the public schools of Minneapolis, and has been engaged in railroad construction work continuously since 1878. when he was but seventeen years of age.

In the public affairs of the community Mr. Langdon takes an earnest and helpful part as a Republican in political faith. But he has never been an active partisan and has never sought or desired a political office; but has served as secretary of the school board for the past two years and as a member since 1911, his term expiring in 1917. The industrial and fiscal agencies at work in this city and state also interest him practically, and he gives them serviceable attention, being a trustee of the Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank, president of the Minneapolis Syndicate and a director of the Minneapolis Trust company. He was also a member of the Minnesota National Gnard from 1879 to 1886. In church affiliation he is an Episcopalian. In the organized social life of the city he is active as a member of the Minneapolis, Minikalda and Lafayette clubs. While his business is always the first con- sideration with him, he frequently finds relief from its burdens and recreation in golf and hunting.

IRVING A. DUNSMOOR.

The old Pine Tree state has contributed an appreciable and valuable quota to the complex social fabric of the Gopher commonwealth, and of this number Mr. Dunsmoor is a rep- resentative. He was born in Franklin county, Maine, on the 25th of June, 1844, and has been a resident of Minne- sota since his boyhood days, his father, James A. Dunsmoor, having been one of the honored pioneers of Minneapolis, where he first made his appearance in the winter of 1852 and where he was joined by his family in the following spring. James A. Dunsmoor secured from the government a pre- emption claim of land on what is now Lyndale avenue, and his original domicile was erected at the present number, 5317, on this fine thoroughfare, which then crossed Minne- haha creek at a point about one-half mile west of his home, which was on the south side of the creek and five and one- half miles distant from the court house of Hennepin county. James A. Dunsmoor reclaimed his land to cultivation and developed a productive farm, besides which he became one of the prominent and influential citizens of the pioneer com- munity. He assisted in the organization of Richfield township and served for a number of vears as its treasurer, besides having been for a considerable period of time the postmaster at Richfield and having also held the office of justice of the peace. He donated five acres of land, at the crossing of Minnehaha creek and Lyndale avenue, to a company which there erected a grist mill, and he also sold small tracts of land to other persons, for the starting of stores, blacksmith shop and other business enterprises. He was one of the most liberal and public-spirited of the pioneer settlers of that sec- tion of the city and his attitude has been that assumed by his son, Irving A., who, as early as 1867, built a store at Rich- field, and served as postmaster for four years prior to his

going to California, the old grist mill previously mentioned having been constructed about the year 1854. The old home- stead of the Dunsmoor family was a house of six rooms and in the same entertainment was given in the early days to settlers who came from points forty or more miles distant to avail themselves of the advantages of the grist mill. The capacity of the little house was thus often taxed, and the sons frequently slept in the hay-mow or on the floor, in order to provide beds for the guests, the home having served as a hotel or inn. The old homestead is still standing and in ex- cellent preservation, but many changes have been made, in- cluding additions to the original building. The place is now inside the city limits of Minneapolis and is one of the land- marks of the section in which it is situated. The old Duns- moor farm is now a part of the Washburn Park addition. About the year 1872 James A. Dunsmoor disposed of the portion of the farm which he had retained and he then re- moved with his wife and other members of the family to California. In Los Angeles, that state, his death occurred about one year later, and there three of his sons still re- side, another son having been a resident of the same city at the time of his death, in 1912. The devoted wife and mother, who likewise was a native of Maine and whose maiden name was Almina A. Mosher, survived her husband by a number of years and passed the remainder of her life in California. She was a zealous and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church and her name merits enduring place beside that of her husband on the roll of the noble and honored pioneers of Minnesota. Of the six sons, Irving A., of this review, and Dr. Frederick A., reside in Minneapolis.

Irving A. Dunsmoor was about nine years of age at the time when the family home was established in Minnesota and he was reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days. He attended a primitive school two miles distant from his home and later continued his studies in a school at Wood Lake, but this discipline was irregular and somewhat desultory, so that his broader and more liberal education was that gained through self-training and through the lessons acquired in the practical school of experience. He assisted in the operations of the pioneer farm and also, until he was fourteen years of age, aided his mother in the domestic affairs of the household, as there were no girls in the family.

When the Civil war was precipitated upon the nation Mr. Dunsmoor did not long wait to respond to the call of pat- riotism. In the autumn of 1861 he enlisted in the first Min- nesota company of sharpshooters, under command of Colonel Peteler, his elder brother, Frank, having enlisted at the first call of President Lincoln, and having taken part in the first battle of Bull Run, in which he received a wound that de- stroyed one of his eyes, so that he was granted his discharge on account of physical disability. Irving A. Dunsmoor, the second of the six sons, proceeded with his command to the front and with the same assisted in the capture of Fred- ericksburg, besides taking part in various engagements of General Pope's campaign leading up to the second battle of Bull Run. He continued on active duty for thirteen months and then received an honorable discharge, having been in- capacitated as the result of sunstroke received on the march. In 1864 Mr. Dunsmoor gave further evidence of his insistent loyalty to the Union, as he enlisted in the First Minnesota Heavy Artillery. At Chattanooga he was detailed in charge of a one-hundred-pound gun that was stationed at a bend of the river, to guard against the advancement of the Con-

ADunamour.

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

federate forces under General Hood. The approach of Hood caused the Union forces at Chattanooga to be hard pressed for adequate food supplies, and the command of which Mr. Dunsmoor was a member went on half-rations for six weeks. He remained at Chattanooga until the close of the war, and his entire period of military service thus covered nearly two years. He made an admirable record as a faithful and valiant soldier and won promotion from the position of private to that of sergeant. He is a member of John A. Rawlings Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in Minneapolis, and while a resident of California he became a charter member of the first Grand Army post organized in the city of Los Angeles; of this organization he served as deputy inspector and also as commander, and through his close and active as- sociation with the Grand Army of the Republic he vitalized and perpetuates the more gracious memories and experiences of his military career. While in California he was made Major and Inspector. of the First Brigade of the National Guard of California.

After the close of the war Mr. Dunsmoor obtained a sol- dier's claim of one hundred and sixty acres of government land, near Sauk Center, Stearns county, Minnesota, but he disposed of the property within a few years and then en- gaged in the general merchandise business in the old home town of Richfield, where he continued to conduct a store for four years. He then, in 1872, accompanied his parents on their removal to California, where he engaged in the mer- cantile business and where he continued to reside for a period of ten years. He was a member of a volunteer fire department at Los Angeles, that state, and when running to a fire was taken ill, the result of his illness being his affliction with asthma. To find relief from this disorder he found a change of climate necessary, and accordingly he re- turned to Minneapolis. For several years he had definite relief from his asthmatic trouble, but the disease again at- tacked him and with greater severity. He made a trip to Honolulu, where he found no relief, and he then returned to Minneapolis.

Mr. Dunsmoor has been successfully established in the real- estate business for the past thirty years and he has platted twelve additions to the city of Minneapolis. One of the most important and attractive of these subdivisions perpet- uates his name, being known as Dunsmoor's Seventh addition and being in the southeastern part of the city. He has re- cently platted Richfield Heights addition, which is a most attractive and eligibly situated district, one and one-half miles southwest of the old Dunsmoor homestead and ex- tending from Humboldt avenue to Morgan avenue. His oper- ations in the local real-estate field have resulted in adding two hundred acres to the improved sections of Minneapolis.

In politics Mr. Dunsmoor has been a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and he and his wife are zealous members of the Hennepin Avenue Methodist Epis- copal church. He is past chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias, and has represented his lodge in the grand lodge of the state, besides which he is past grand guide and past grand master of the Minnesota grand lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

In the year 1867 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Duns- moor to Miss Adeline Burns, of Sauk Center, this state, and concerning their children the following brief data are en- tered in conclusion of this sketch: Albert Irving is a resi- dent of Los Angeles, California; Maude is the wife of Arthur

Armitage, of Minneapolis; Harry is manager of an extensive lumber business at Bottineau, North Dakota. Frederick is floor manager in the important Minneapolis clothing house of Browning, King & Company; and Eva is the wife of Robert H. Rose, secretary of the Northwestern Fire & Marine In- surance Company, of Minneapolis.

NEIL S. LIVINGSTONE.

Mr. Livingstone was born on the Island of Mull, one of the Hebrides, in Argyleshire, Scotland, July 19, 1854. He comes of a very old and honorable Scotch family. His father, John Livingstone, was a first cousin of the celebrated missionary, Dr. David Livingstone, "the weaver of Blantyre," who died practically a martyr to his efforts for the conversion of the heathen of "Darkest Africa," and who was offered, but refused, knighthood in recognition of his exalted services. John Liv- ingstone was likewise a man of fine intellectual attainments, having received a collegiate education, and he aided his cousin. Dr. David Livingstone, in the preparation of the lat- ter's first volume descriptive of his travels and experiences in Africa. Their paternal grandfather was a gallant Scottish patriot and loyally supported the cause of Prince Charles. He participated in the historic battle of Culloden, in which he was severely wounded. Owing to political turbulence and unrest in Scotland various members of the Livingstone family became exiles in Norway, and others came to America, where one of the number, Robert, became a signer of the Declara- tion of Independence and known as a patriot of prominence and influence during the period of the Revolution.

Neil S. Livingstone, attended, in 1909, the great celebra- tion held in Glasgow, Scotland, in honor of his distinguished kinsman, Dr. David Livingstone, and was invited to the cele- bration held in that city in March, 1913, when all Scotland and England gave further commemoration of the services of the great missionary and explorer.

Mr. Livingstone's mother was Catherine St. Clair, of the St. Clairs of Caithness, Northern Scotland, and she was related to Dr. David Livingstone. In his childhood, Mr. Livingstone spoke only the old Scotch Gaclic. When he was about five years of age, he accompanied his parents to America, where the first family home was established in the Province of Ontario, Canada; his parents passed the closing years of their lives in Canada and Minneapolis. In Ontario, Neil S. Living- stone was afforded the advantages of excellent private schools, in which he acquired a good academic education. At the age of 19 he came to the United States, first locating in Wis- consin and later in Minneasota. In the latter State he at- tended the Minnesota State Normal School at St. Cloud, and graduated therefrom in the class of 1880. For a time there- after he engaged in school teaching and was a successful and popular teacher.

After a brief time he found his principal life work and be- came identified with railway and bridge construction, and chiefly in the building of railway bridges, he has won his greatest success and precedence. Utilizing the Howe-truss spans in bridge work, he began his career as an independent contractor in 1893, and he did a large amount of important work on the lines of the Great Northern, the Canadian Pacific, and other leading railway lines of the northwest. His opera- tions have been largely in British Columbia and elsewhere

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IHISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

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Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, Part 101

Author: Holcombe, R. I. (Return Ira), 1845-1916; Bingham, William H Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Chicago : H. Taylor & Co. Number of Pages: 1190

Author: Holcombe, R. I. (Return Ira), 1845-1916; Bingham, William H
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago : H. Taylor & Co.
Number of Pages: 1190