Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, Part 112

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 112

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General Reeve was admitted to the Minneapolis bar in 1871 and for a short time thereafter he was engaged in the active practice of his profession in this city. In 1872 he assisted in the reorganization of the City Bank, in which he became bookkeeper. Later he was promoted assstant cashier and finally he became cashier of the institution, with the exe- cutive affairs of which he was identified for a period of eleven years, during which period the bank never passed a dividend nor declared less than twelve per cent per annum, besides adding substantially to the surplus. He then became man- ager of the Hardwood Manufacturing Company, which was engaged in the manufacturing of flour barrels and which operated four heading and stave mills in Wisconsin, more than two hundred men being employed in its cooper shops, in Minneapolis, and the output having at one time reached the enormous aggregate of sixty-five hundred barrels in a single day,-a record never before or since equalled. A. R. Hall, of Wisconsin, was at that time president of the Company, and with the same was identified its present president, George H. Christian. General Reeve was manager of the Company's business, which included the manufacturing of hardwood lumber barrel stock and barrels. The General retired from the position of manager after the expiration of five years, and he then purchased the old Holly Flour Mills, the opera- tion of which he continued until the plant was destroyed by fire, in 1893. Since that time he lias not been actively en- gaged in business.

It has been a matter of special satisfaction to General Reeve to aid in the upbuilding of the live-stock industry in Minnesota and he has done much to improve the grades of stock raised. On his original place, given the name of Sunny - side Stock Farm, he gave special attention to the raising of fine Ayrshire and Jersey cattle, and his stock has been ex- hibited at leading western fairs, including that at St. Louis, where it has won many prizes. At one time he had a herd of more than two hundred registered Jerseys, including six- teen imported cows.

In association with his brother-in-law, James W. Lawrence, now a representative member of the bar at Santa Monica, California, General Reeve purchased one hundred and sixty acres of the Wilson farm, on Chicago avenue and Lake street, and this tract was platted under the title of the Lawrence & Reeve's Out Lots, which were sold in five-acre tracts.

In politics the General is a Democrat, and in 1890-91 he represented his county in the state legislature, having been clected in a strong Republican district. He was made chair- man of the joint committee on appropriations for the State

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

University, and it was largely due to his carnest and inde- fatigable efforts that the University was not denied its much needed appropriations, including that for the erection and equipment of the first building for the Medical Department. It will be recalled that this so-called "reform" session of the legislature was chiefly notable for its efforts to throttle advancement and even to deny proper support to the various state institutions. The General's experience in the Legis- lature proved all that he desired and he did not appear as a candidate for renomination.

General Reeve was appointed a member, and elected Secre- tary of the Minnesota commission for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, in 1893, and in providing a 'creditable showing for his state he labored with characteristic zeal and ability. He devoted eighteen months to preliminary work and thereafter was present at the fair in Chicago during a very considerable part of the time of its duration. He received no compensation for his efforts in securing the Minnesota ex- hibits at the exposition, and at the close of the same, fifteen thousand dollars of the original appropriation was returned to the state treasury. In the winter of 1891-2 General Reeve was one of the three commissioners selected by the Governor of Minnesota to assume charge of the contributions of flour made by the millers of the United States for the starving peasantry of Russia. The Governor of Nebraska also com- missioned him as one of those to take charge of its contribu- tion of corn. The generous gifts were duly shipped to Russia, and General Reeve and the other members of the commission representing the two states met the relief ship at the Russian seaport of Liban, on the Baltic sea, after which he and his associates gave their personal attention to the distribution of the greatly needed supplies. About three hundred and fifty carloads of food were thus in charge of the commissioners; the Russian government provided transportation of supplies to the famine districts, and the commissioners worked in harmony with the various local committees in its distribu- tion.

In 1899 General Reeve was made Warden of the Minnesota state prison at Stillwater, and he retained this office two years, during the administration of Governor Lind. He did much to bring about needed reforms in the management of the penitentiary and was insistent in urging the building of a new prison, though this was not effected until the manage- ment of the state institutions were severed from politics. His management met with the unqualified approval of the Gov- ernor and the Board of Prison Managers.

In 1883 General Reeve enlisted as a private in Company I, First Regiment, Minnesota National Guard, and in the same he passed through the various grades of promotion until he attained the rank of colonel. In 1898, the regiment tendered its services to the government and it was mustered into the Volunteer service as the Thirteenth Minnesota Volunteer In- fantry. In command of his regiment General Reeve went to the Philippine islands, where he took part in the capture of the city of Manila and other important military operations and where he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He was appointed the first military chief of police of Manila and in April, 1899, he was honorably mustercd out of the Volunteer service. He resumed his office of colonel of the First Regiment, Minnesota National Guard, and in this posi- tion he continued the able and popular incumbent until his retirement, in 1911. He was then given further assurance of his secure hold upon the confidence and esteem of his com-

rades, in that they gladly welcomed his promotion to the office of brigadier general of the entire Minnesota National Guard, comprising three regiments of infantry and three batteries of artillery. He did an effective work in behalf of the state militia and his final retirement from active association with the same occurred in October, 1911. The General is a member of Mili- tary Order of the Loyal Legion, the Aztec Club of 1847, the Society of Foreign Wars and the Society of the Army of the Philippines. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a mem- ber of the Graduates Club of New Haven, the Yale Club of New York, the Commercial Club, the West Side Club, the Automobile Club, and the Lafayette Club. Both he and his wife are valued factors in the leading social life of the com- munity and their attractive home has ever been a center of gracious hospitality. They are zealous communicants of St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, and the General was formerly a member of its vestry.

In Minneapolis, in 1873, was solemnized the marriage of General Reeve to Miss Christine McLaren Lawrence, daugh- ter of the late Captain James W. Lawrence, who was an honored and gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. Captain Lawrence was an officer in the One Hundred and Seventy-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry and he died while in service, at New Orleans. General and Mrs. Reeve have no 'children living.

SYDNEY M. OWEN.

It is to the everlasting honor of the late Sydney M. Owen, who was called to rest February 2, 1910, after an exalted service of twenty-five years as editor of "Farm, Stock and Home," the oldest and the leading agricultural paper in the Northwest, that he did one thing distinctive and individual in life, and did it well. He published an agricultural paper that thoroughly covered the domain of sowing and reaping, and which also gave specific and expert attention to the larger field of economics, governmental policies, and the laws of business as they are related to farming, and was an educator, accurate and reliable, of its readers in these branches of knowledge. Conducting such a journal involved comprehensive learning, ready practical ability, close touch with the trend of the times, and a full understanding of basic principles, all of which he exhibited in a high degree, as many other men have done. But the work also involved clear vision, strict adherence to principles, great force of will and courage and these he exhibited in a high degree, as many other men with equal opportunities and resourecs have not done. He was always true to his convietions and brought all the power of his being into their service.

Mr. Owen was born in Ohio, August 11, 1838, and received the common school education of his time and locality. To this he added a higher course of study in Oberlin University. In 1860 he married Miss Helen A. Feagles, who is still liv- ing. They became the parents of two children, their daughter, Jessie A., who died in her eighteenth year, and their son, Harry N. Owen, who succeeded his father in the publication and management of "Farm, Stock and Home." with the avowed hope of making the paper "a living. useful monument" to the parent's memory, and who has been realizing that hope.

S. M. Over

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

Sydney M. Owen began his long career of usefulness in the service of his country, during the Civil War, as a soldier in defense of the Union in the Fifty-fifth Ohio regiment. After the war closed he became a merchant in Toledo, Ohio, where he remained for a number of years, then moved to Chicago, and there followed the same line of business. But, while mercantile life was in many respects agreeable, and his energy and ability made it profitable, his tastes and in- clinations were all the time in the direction of literature, and his opportunity to follow his bent came in 1884, when his brother, Horatio R. Owen (who died in 1900), founded "Farm, Stock and Home."

In July, 1885, Mr. Owen came to Minneapolis and took editorial charge of this journal. In its very first issue under his editorial management the paper took a stand in favor of a revision of the tariff. Nothing in Mr. Owen's whole record required more courage or showed more clearly his unyielding devotion to what he considered right than his taking this stand in Minnesota in 1885. If an editor is ever justified in carefully feeling his way and avoiding sources of controversy and unpopularity, it is when he is starting his paper. The side Mr. Owen took was not the popular one in this state then, but he saw with great clearness of vision the logical outcome of our tariff system, and he could not keep from declaring the truth that was in him, even though to have done otherwise would have been the profitable course in a material way and for the period.

Mr. Owen did more than this. He discussed with great force and freedom in his paper all economic questions which have a bearing on agriculture, and all his views were based on fundamental principles and elastie breadth of view. This editorial policy made his paper unique among publications of its kind, and gave it a novelty and potentiality which no other had. It also brought him into such close relationship with the Farmers' Alliance that, in 1890 he was selected as its candidate for Governor of Minnesota. The selection was made not only without suggestion or solicitation on his part, but against his expressed wish, for he was not then and never became an office seeker.

He bowed to the behest of his party, however, and became the leader of its fight, and in this, as in everything else he undertook, he threw all his energy into the contest, and as a result made the campaign of that year memorable in Min- nesota politics. Without money, organization, or newspaper support of any kind, even his own paper making no reference to the State campaign, he polled over 58,000 votes and very nearly caused the defeat of the Republican candidate.

Between 1890 and 1895 the Populist or People's party en- joyed its period of prosperity, and in 1894 Mr. Owen was forced against his will to accept its nomination for governor. At this time the Democrats felt certain that a fusion with the Populists would bring the defeat of the Republicans, and were anxious to give Mr. Owen their nomination also. His stern devotion to principle blocked the project. He declined to consider the proposition, and informed the committee that offered him the Democratie nomination . that it was not office he wanted, but the development of a party of and for the people to combat the party of and for the "money power," as it was called in those days, and that he had no more faith in the development of the Democratie party than he had in that of the Republican party in the direction he desired.

In this campaign he polled over 88,0000 votes, getting more than the Democratic nominee, and it is reasonably cer-

tain that if he had abandoned principle and allowed per- sonal ambition to sway him, he would have been elected. His last active political work was as a candidate for Congress in the Fifth Congressional District in 1896. He made this race wholly as a favor to his friends, and, although he was not elected, he gave ample proof that the constituency would have been well and wisely represented if he had been.

It was not in political life, however, that he did his best and most lasting work. Agricultural education, as exam- plified in the State School of Agriculture and the columns of "Farm, Stock and Home" was hiis real life work. When he came to Minnesota there was practically no School of Agriculture in the State. What was called one was merely a skeleton organization with an ordinary high school course of study, and little more. No one then seemed to realize that a school course in farming was feasible. The pre- vailing desire was to have a school that would "articulate with the University." Mr. Owen declared that what was needed was "a school that would articulate, with the farms," and he kept that idea before the people until a course of study was mapped out that made the Agricultural College such a school-one that would educate boys and girls to- ward the farm instead of away from it. He was also an earnest advocate of locating the school where it is, in close touch with the University and the cities, although the ma- jority of his party associates were opposed to this; and it was chiefly through his influence and his writings in his paper that the present location was selected and the neces- sary appropriations to secure it were made.

In 1893 Mr. Owen was appointed a Regent of the Uni- versity to fill out an unexpired term. In 1895 he was re- appointed for a full term, which lasted until 1901, when he retired from the board. But in 1907 he was again ap- pointed, through the solicitation of the graduates and faculty of the School of Agriculture, and under this appointment he continued to serve until his death, giving a great deal of time and energy to the affairs of the University, even after failing health made such work difficult for him.

Mr. Owen realized early in his residence in this State the necessity for conservation of forest areas, and the de- velopment of new growth. In his paper he advocated tree planting and told how trees could be successfully grown on the prairies of the Northwest. He made a decided impres- sion on the public mind and created a strong desire for for- est conservation and tree culture, and there can be no doubt that many a profitable stretch of woods in this section of the country is the result of his efforts in this behalf. He was appointed a member of the Minnesota Forestry Board in 1901, and was its president for several years.

In the personality of Mr. Owen there was a wonderful and ever present charm. He was a man of quick sympathy and infinite patience, and he had a deep love for and confidence in his fellow man which always led him to think the best of everybody he knew His nature was optimistie and sunny, and its influence on others was always wholesome and in- spiring. He grew with his work and the progress of events, keeping his face ever toward the rising sun and his thoughts in the present as a period of preparation for the future. His death, even at the age of seventy-two, was universally deplored throughout this State, and in many others where he was known either in person or by his work, and his life's achievements constitute a proud heritage for the common-

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

wealth in which he lived and labored so long and to suchi excellent purpose and fruitful results.

PUTNAM DANA McMILLAN.

Was born at Fryeburg, Maine, August 25th, 1832. He was the descendant of illustrious ancestors of the colonial and revolutionary times, his great grandfather and grand- father on his father's side being Colonel Andrew McMillan and officer of the French and Indian wars and General John Mc- Millan of the War of 1812. Through his mother Putnam McMillan traces his descent from General Israel Putnam who stands as one of the most distinguished soldiers and pa- triots in the days of the founding of our country. Israel Putnam's grandson, Colonel Israel Putnam Dana, a soldier of 1812, was the grandfather of Putnam MeMillan.

This remarkable record of military service and patriotism which dates from the beginning of American History was honorably sustained by Putnam McMillan and his brother in the crisis of 1861.

Andrew McMillan, Putnam's father, was trained for his heritage of Military service in West Point, graduating from that institution in the early part of the last century. Later he resigned from the service preferring the activities of a civilian career, and settled in Danville, Vermont, when he engaged in business and farming. He was prominent in publie life, a democrat and a member of the state legislature of Maine and Vermont. Andrew McMillan died at seventy-two years of age.

Putnam MeMillan was reared in Danville and at the age of sixteen entered his uncle's store where he was employed for several years. In 1852 he went to California making the journey by water around Cape Horn in a sailing vessel and landing at San Francisco one hundred and forty-one days after leaving Boston. He spent about five years in the mining distriets and San Francisco passing through many interesting and exciting experiences for which California during the "Gold Fever" was remarkable. The return trip was made across the Isthmus of Panama, during the period of Walker's Fillibuster.

In Vermont Mr. McMillan spent several years farming and at the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in the 15th Vermont and served as quartermaster of the regiment. Upon the ex- piration of his service in the army not long after the battle of Gettysburg he went to South America to engage in a sheep ranch enterprise with his cousin. They located in Santa Fe, a province of the Argentine Republie near Rosario and about two hundred miles above Buenos Ayres on the Parama River. He then stocked their land with some five thousand sheep and for a number of years met with success and pros- perity. Later, however, a civil war was waged between the provinces of Santa Fe and Buenos Ayres, Mr. McMillan's ranch being part of the time the contending ground. This was followed by a war between Brazil and Paraguay and then by a horrible scourge of cholera. These disasters wiped out Mr. McMillan's property interests and when his wife and several members of his household snceumbed to the fatal pestilence he returned to the States.

In 1872 after two years in Vermont he paid a visit to Minneapolis and was so favorably impressed with the city that he decided to make it his future home. Soon after

coming to Minneapolis he established himself in the real estate and insurance business. One of his first enterprises was the McMillan addition in Northeast Minneapolis. He made extensive investments in property erecting a number of houses on the East Side and the McMillan Block on Third Avenue and Third Street which he still owns.

His most notable project has been the reclamation of a large tract of swamp land in Freeborn County converting it into rich agricultural land. After buying the property he labored a number of years to secure proper laws for the drainage of the immense area and his efforts finally resulted in the present law under which millions of acres are being reclaimed. Hickory Island Farm, Mr. McMillan's estate, has been transformed from useless land covered with muskrat houses and cattails to a most valuable property and is a noteworthy example of what can be done with one swamp land when properly drained. Mr. McMillan has had no desire to enter public life and has held but one public office, that of alderman of the second ward. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Loyal Legion. Mr. MeMillan was married in 1858 to Helen E. Davis, daughter of the Hon. Bliss M. Davis, a noted attorney of Vermont. Her death oceurred in South America leaving one daughter Emily. His second marriage was with Kate Kittridge, daughter of Judge Kittridge of St. Johnburg, Vermont. They have two children, Margaret and Putnam Dana, Jr. Mr. McMillan is a member of the First Congregational church of which he has held the office of trustee for thirty-three years.

JAMES S. PORTEOUS.

The late James S. Porteous, for nearly thirty years a resi- dent of Minneapolis and during the last two years of his life at Wayzata, on Lake Minnetonka, was born in St. Johns, New Brunswick, September 6, 1856. His parents were born and reared in Scotland, and one of his brothers, older than himself, was a minister of the gospel in Edinburgh. When quite young he went to work for the Stuarts of his native city, humber merchants, and superintended shipments of limber for them from that place, Quebec, and New York City to English ports. At the age of twenty-one he was transferred to their New York City branch oflice, and while associated with them made several trips to Europe on business. In 1881 he was married in Poughkeepsie. New York, to Miss Lonisa G. MeKnight.

In December, 1887, he came to Minneapolis partly for the benefit of his health which had been delieate for a number of years. Soon after his arrival in this eity he entered the employ of Dorilus Morrison as a bookkeeper, but a little later became associated in the same capacity with S. G. Cook & Company, and was with them in the ercetion of the Lumber Exchange Building and in its reconstruction after its partial destruction by fire in the winter of 1891. He was for a considerable time secretary, treasurer, and muan- ager of the building company. He helped to organize the Edison Light and Power Company, which was afterward ab- sorbed by the Minneapolis General Electric Company, and was its treasurer at the beginning. This company erected the Edison building in the rear of the Lumber Exchange, which Mr. Porteous and the late H. C. Akeley purchased some years ago and afterward sold to the Lumber Exchange

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

interests. He spent two years in the successful liquidation of the accounts of the Flour City National Bank when that institution was taken over by the Security National.

Mr. Porteous was one of the organizers and directors of the new Commercial National Bank; an organizer and presi dent of the Federal Securities Company; an organizer of and active in the National Building Managers' Association, an energetic member of the Minneapolis Real Estate Board.

He was president of the Y. M. C. A. for six years, a direc- tor for a much longer time, and his services to the organi- zation were untiring and self-sacrificing. The completion of the new building of the Association, on the commodious and comprehensive plan followed, were in a measure due to him.

Mr. Porteous was a member of Westminster Presbyterian church, and for thirteen years one of its trustees. He was its Sunday school superintendent for four years, and for a long time was president of the Westminster Church Asso- ciation. He was active in social life as a member of the Minneapolis and Lafayette Clubs. The unexpected death of this good and useful man occurred at Eitel Hospital, March 23, 1913, and occasioned deep and widespread grief, especially in Minneapolis and at Wayzata. In Wayzata he had lived for two years, and had been a member of the village council. Upon his death the whole community united in tributes of praise for the nobility and usefulness of his career, his fine business ability, and his elevated and sterling manhood. Mrs. Porteous is still living in Minne- apolis, where she is highly esteemed.

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Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, Part 112

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