Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, Part 44

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 44

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Mr. Pratt was a grocer, later building apartment houses for sale, being so engaged for about twenty years and erecting about forty apartment and residence structures. He put up twelve flat buildings' on Lyndale avenue alone, owning several at his death. He died October 13, 1913, in the home at 2508 Hennepin avenue, in which he had lived for eight years.

Prohibition appealed strongly to Mr. Pratt, and he became an ardent advocate of it, and was proud that the Eighth ward has always been "dry." He was a member of the old Volunteer Fire Department, his grocery store being opposite the first fire house, and his old grocery horse generally led the com- pany to a fire. He was an active worker in what is now the Joyce Methodist Episcopal church, long a member of its board of trustees and prominent in its missions and works of benevolence. He was a close student, of extensive reading, and warmly attached to his home.

Mr. and Mrs. Pratt had six children. Ernest C. is a fuel dealer and member of the school board. Ella V., who was educated at the State Normal School, is a teacher in the Madison school. Burton A. is connected with the Chicago Telephone company. Clyde is a contractor and builder. Harold F. died at the age of seventeen, and Bernice I. is a stenographer and bookkeeper. Mrs. Pratt is a zealous worker in the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Ladies' Aid Society, the Lincoln Circle, missionary interests, and in connection with many other agencies engaged in uplift and improvement work.

CHARLES M. AMSDEN.

Mr. Amsden was born in Belvidere, Boone county, Illinois, on April 12, 1849, and is a son of Noah C. and Sarah S. (Hulbert) Amsden, natives of the state of New York, who came to Illinois in 1846. The son was educated in the public schools of Dubuque, Iowa, and began his illustrious and success- ful business career as a general merchant at Lemars in that state. From 1873 to 1879 he was connected with the Singer Manufacturing company in Louisville, Kentucky, and was successfully occupied in helping to expand its business and add to its prosperity and importance.

But he felt an increasing inclination to dwell in a more northern climate and a region farther removed from the centers of civilization in the East, to enjoy the wider range and broader and better opportunities to be found in the undevel- oped West. So in 1879 he eame to Minneapolis to live and engage in business. Soon after his arrival in this city he became associated with Messrs. Pillsbury & Hulbert in the

grain elevator enterprise, with which he was connected until he retired from business altogether.

In 1882 this firm was incorporated under the name of the Pillsbury & Hulbert Elevator company, at which time Mr. Amsden became a member of it. When Mr. Hulbert sold his interest in the company its name was again changed, and then became the Minneapolis & Northern Elevator company. This was in 1885, and a little while afterward, in 1889, an English syndicate bought the Pillsbury mills, and the company disposed of all its holdings, but Mr. Amsden continued in charge as president and general manager until August, 1908. The line was then leased for two years to Mr. Amsden, and in 1910 Mr. Amsden retired from connection with it. It owned 100 elevators in Minnesota and North Dakota, and carried on a very extensive, active and profitable business. Mr. Ams- den's fine business capacity, excellent judgment and wide sweep of vision enabled him to see, seize and make the most of every opportunity for its advantage and the extension of its operations, and he built its business up to very large propor- tions and made it very fruitful in prompt and abundant returns for the money invested in it.

The trade of this company was very large, as has been indicated, and its demands upon the time and energies of its president and manager were very numerous and exacting. Nevertheless, he found opportunity to give attention to other enterprises and help to make them successful also. He was a charter member of the directorate of the Swedish-American Bank when it was founded in 1888, and remained on the board until the bank was absorbed by the Northwestern National. He is a member of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Minneapolis club, serving as president of the latter in 1898. He still holds his membership in that club, and in addition belongs to the Interlachen, Minikalıda and Lafayette clubs.

While he is not an active partisan and has never held or desired a public office of any kind, Mr. Amsden believes firmly in the principles and theories of government proclaimed by the Republican party, and supports that organization in all state and national elections. In local affairs he considers first and only the good of his community and the welfare of its residents, and seeks always to advance them in all his public declarations and acts, although he is modest and unostentatious in doing so.

Like most other men born and reared in the West and moved by its invigorating inspirations, Mr. Amsden is fond of outdoor life. He finds great enjoyment, profitable recreation and full relief from business cares in horseback riding, and is a devotee of that form of pleasure and improvement. In all the relations of life he is thoroughly upright and straight- forward, and in social relations he is a very genial, companion- able and entertaining gentleman.

WILLIAM HOOD DUNWOODY.

The late William H. Dunwoody, whose death occurred at his home in Minneapolis on February 8, 1914, was a most useful, productive and highly esteemed resident of this city for forty- three years, and during all of that period one of its leading business men and citizens. It was here that he lived his life. Here, also, he accumulated the bulk of his fortune; and liere he has left the greater part of it to be used in connection with works of practical value to the people of his eity.

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

The story of Mr. Dunwoody's life is best told in the fol- lowing thoughtful, appreciative and discriminating account of his career, which was published in "The Northwestern Miller" of this city in its issue of February 11, 1914:

"To few men is it given to see the beginning, the gradual growth and the ample fruition of an enterprise. Usually Paul plans, Apollos waters, but neither of them reaps the fruits. In the case of the late William Hood Dunwoody, who died in Minneapolis on Sunday, February 8, the good fortune was given him not only to bear an important part in the initial work, the foundation building of the milling business in Minne- apolis, but to remain an active participant in its enormous activity until death called him: to both sow and reap; to wisely plan and to share generously in the legitimate rewards of his foresight.

Mr. Dunwoody was a pioneer in the creation of the world's greatest milling center. He was a contemporary of Governor Cadwallader C. Washburn, founder of the Washburn plants, John A. Christian, George H. Christian, Charles A. Pillsbury, John S. Pillsbury and all those famous millers who in the sev- enties performed such valuable service in establishing the or- ganizations which have built up the reputation of spring wheat flour and extended its consumption throughout the world. Of these men, all of them great in their individual ways, Mr. George H. Christian alone now survives.

Moreover, Mr. Dunwoody's career was continued through the coming and going of other notable millers whose work made an impress upon the Northwest, and his influence ex- tended throughout many other activities that were a part of the life of a city which was but a village when he first came to it; railway, financial, elevator interests all received his at- tention, and in all that makes the inner and truer life of a city, its benevolences, improvements, art and learning, his beneficent assistance was never lacking.

He was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, on March 14, 1841. At the age of eighteen he went to work in the grain and feed store of his uncle, Ezekiel Dunwoody, in Philadelphia. Some years later he became senior partner in the firm of Dunwoody & Robertson, doing business in the same city and in the same line.

Mr. Dunwoody came to Minneapolis in 1869, and began his operations by purchasing flour for eastern connections. Two years later he became a miller, as a member of the firm of Tiffany, Dunwoody & Co., operating the Arctic mill, and of H. Darrow & Co., the Union mill, both concerns being under his personal management.

In 1877 Governor Cadwallader C. Washburn, having com- pleted what was then regarded as a phenomenally large flour mill, induced Mr. Dunwoody to go to Great Britain for the purpose of establishing direct connections with the foreign markets. Until that time spring wheat flour had never been sold abroad direct from the mill, and it is doubtful if any con- siderable quantity had found its way there indirectly. Gov- ernor Washburn said to him: 'Go to England. Start the peo- ple there buying our flour, and where stand these mills, which now seem so large, will be erected others far surpassing them in importance and capacity.'

The prophetic vision of the great pioneer miller was not mistaken. Mr. Dunwoody proceeded to Great Britain and his mission was successful. It was not accomplished, however, without mueh opposition and discouragement, but Mr. Dun- woody's superb patience and great taet were fully equal to the demands of the situation, and he established connections

which were destined to be a tremendous force in the develop- ment of the milling industry in the Northwest. For many years the export flour trade was a very important factor in the operation of the Minneapolis mills.

In May, 1878, a fire broke out in the Washburn mills, resulting in a great explosion which, completely destroyed their efficiency. With indomitable resolution the plants were quickly rebuilt on a much larger scale of capacity than before. So great was the possible outturn for that period in the mill- ing business that doubts were generally expressed whether the enterprise could possibly succeed, owing to its largely in- creased capacity. Such suggestions had no influence whatever in curbing the ambitions of the founder and his associates. The latter, in 1879. consisted of Mr. Dunwoody, John Crosby and Charles J. Martin.

On the death of Governor Washburn, which occurred in 1882, the milling plants passed into the possession of the C. C. Wash- burn Flouring Mills company, consisting of the estate and its heirs. This ownership continued for almost twenty years. Meanwhile the properties were leased to Washburn Crosby and Company, of which firm Messrs. Dunwoody, Crosby and Martin were members. During this period Mr. Dunwoody was actively engaged in the business, although Mr. John Crosby was at its head.

The capacity of the plants leased by the firm was then eight thousand barrels. Mr. Crosby died in 1887. In 1888 Mr. Dun- woody, being in ill health, temporarily retired from business, but resumed his connection the following year as vice-presi- dent of the Washburn-Crosby Company, a position he held until the time of his death. For the past quarter of a century Mr. James S. Bell has been the directing head of the company, and Mr. Dunwoody's relations with him continued as they had been with his predecessors, Mr. Crosby and Governor Washburn.

For many years Mr. Dunwoody has been known as a man of great wealth and eminent in many directions besides milling, but it is as a miller that his greatest claim to distinction and success will rest. The two epochs which stand out in his ca- reer above the long, steady years of constant and beneficent activity are those of 1877, when he went to Europe to estab- lish a direct export trade, and of 1899, when he purchased the milling plants from the heirs of the Washburn estate and subsequently transferred them to their present ownership.

This latter episode in his life deserves especial mention, not only because his action was of the utmost importance to the milling interests of Minneapolis, but because it was indica- tive of his character, showing his willingness to sacrifice per- sonal inclination and ease of mind in order to be of service to others.

At that time a strong effort was being made to bring all the larger mills of the country into one huge corporation, hav- ing in mind the creation of a flour trust that ultimately would be able practically to control competition and regulate the output. Thomas A. McIntyre, of New York, was the promoter of this undertaking and he had succeeded in securing the mills of Superior and Duluth, as well as several in Milwaukee, Buf- falo and New York. He was exceedingly anxious to purchase the Washburn mills and include them in his combination, a proposal that seemed the easier of accomplishment because they were owned in Philadelphia by the Washburn heirs, and the Minneapolis company was operating them under lease.

Mr. Dunwoody at the time was not in very robust health. He had been in business in Minneapolis for nearly thirty years

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

and during that time had carried heavy burdens of respon- sibility. He was already in possession of ample means and had nothing to gain by the jeopardy of new enterprises and a fresh start in milling. His tastes and personal inclinations were toward a life of retirement and comparative ease, and he had every justification for permitting the sale of the property to proceed without intervention.

Believing that the formation of the proposed combination was against public policy and would prove a serious detriment to the development of the Minneapolis industry, and a par- ticular hazard to those who found work in these mills, he put aside his personal desires, and, by making the purchase of the plants, placed them beyond the reach of Mr. McIntyre, while at the same time he deliberately put himself in the harness of active business for the remainder of his life.

The foregoing is a relation of the leading events of Mr. Dun- woody's long earcer in the milling business, during which he held a reputation for business honor and probity which was spotless. Other interesting chapters might be written concern- ing his connection with northwestern railway and banking in- terests in which he was prominent. He was chairman of the board of the Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis, an establishment in which he took great pride and which he had done much to upbuild. In many other institutions he was a director, and in all with which he was connected he was held in the especial regard and esteem of his associates. Only re- eently he contributed one hundred thousand dollars toward the funds being raised to build a great art institute in Min- neapolis.

Mrs. Dunwoody was Katie L. Patten. of Philadelphia, who survives him. For some years Mr. and Mrs. Dunwoody have lived in the summer on the shore of Lake Minnetonka and in winter at 'Overlook,' their beautiful Minneapolis residence, which, standing high on the hill, overlooks the great city to the wealth and prosperity of which Mr. Dunwoody contributed so greatly.

At a very notable dinner, probably the most impressive ever held in Minneapolis, given by the directors of the Northwest- ern National Bank to Mr. Dunwoody and Judge Koon on Jan- uary 4, 1912, in congratulating Mr. Dunwoody on his con- tinued activity and his youthfulness of heart, one of the speakers quoted the following lines by Oliver Wendell Holmes:

Call him not old, whose visionary brain Holds o'er the past its undivided reign. For him in vain the envious seasons roll Who bears eternal summer in his soul. If yet the minstrel's song, the poet's lay, Spring with her birds, or heavenly dreams of art, Stir the warm life-drops creeping round his heart- Turn to the record where his years are told- Count his gray hairs-they cannot make him old!

Despite his perennial interest in the affairs of his world; the strong and abiding friendships which grew up between him and the young men who came to take up relationship with him where their fathers, who had passed on, left off; the rational care which he took of his health and the strong ties of affection which constantly brought into his life reserves of strength, Mr. Dunwoody began to grow weaker some months ago. A reeurrent fever which baffled the skill of the best physicians in the country afflicted him and sapped his strength.

At first this was regarded as a passing ailment, and he went

to Philadelphia with Mrs. Dunwoody to consult the eminent physician in whom he had great confidence, Dr. S. Weir Mitch- ell. This journey proved unavailing and he returned to 'Overlook,' where he gradually grew more and more feeble, until last Sunday he peacefully passed to his rest.

For one who knew Mr. Dunwoody intimately and for many years, as the writer did, it is exceedingly difficult to write con- cerning his character without dwelling more upon his acts of beneficence and the unostentatious good he did than upon his achievements in business and his material success, which was very great, but no greater than he deserved. To do this, how- ever, would be to disregard the most emphatic wish that, had he the power to speak, he would most certainly express, and this would scem unjustifiable.

Mr. Dunwoody was one of the very few people in this world who 'do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.' The most unpretentious of men, it seemed actually to pain him to be praised for. his innumerable kind and generous acts, and, as far as possible, he avoided receiving thanks or acknowledg- ments. His gentleness, his thoughtfulness for others, his read- iness to help in time of need, his true kindliness of heart and his sympathy with those in distress or trouble, made him sin- cerely beloved by all who knew him, but he was so exceedingly diffident about being given credit for what he did that very few indeed, even among his most intimate associates, realized to what extent his acts of benevolence reached. Probably his devoted wife, who shared in all his good works and was the companion of a lifetime, did not know more than part of his good deeds, for they were past enumeration and manifested daily in innumerable ways. Veriły 'there is that scattereth and yet increaseth' and this great but humble-minded miller exemplified the truth of the proverb.

In the garden of 'Overlook' there lies an ancient millstone taken from the mill that he helped to make famous. Its owner put it there, doubtless, to remind himself and others of the industry to which he belonged and which he so highly honored by his career. It was a quiet acknowledgment of his indebt- edness to industry and trade for his success, but whatever that debt might have been, as he regarded it, he has paid it back ten thousand-fold by what he has done for others and the beautiful and enduring example of his unostentatious and blameless life.

O still, white face of perfect peace, Untouched by passion, freed from pain- He who ordained that work should cease Took to himself the ripened grain.

O noble face! your beauty bears The glory that is wrung from pain- The high, celestial beauty wears Of finished work, of ripened grain.

Of human care you left no trace, No lightest trace of grief or pain- On earth, an empty form and face- In Heaven stands the ripened grain."

In the disposition of his property Mr. Dunwoody remem- bered the charitable, educational and religious institutions of the city in which he lived so long and to whose welfare he was ardently devoted with great liberality. After making bounteous provision for his widow, relatives, friends, asso-

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

ciates and employes, and in addition to other gifts to public uses, his three great bequests of public interest were:

To the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, for the purchase of pictures and works of art, $1,000,000.

To the Dunwoody Home, for the care of convalescent patients from Philadelphia, to be located on the old Dunwoody farm at Newton Square, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, $1,000,000.

To "The William Hood Dunwoody Industrial Institute," a school where handicrafts and useful trades will be taught, with special emphasis on those relating to milling and machin- ery, the residue of the estate, estimated at $1,000,000 to $3,000,000.

CAPTAIN ROBERT K. ALCOTT.

Independence and originality of thought characterized the life of the late Rev. A. N. Alcott, and the same characteristics mark the individuality of his son, Captain Robert K. Alcott, attorney at law. The father was a clergyman who, entering first the Presbyterian church, gave earnest service to that faith in its pulpits, until he could no longer abide conscientiously by its tenets, and then became as widely known as a minister of the Universalist denomination. He was born near Gowanda, New York, December 6, 1838. In due time he entered and was graduated from Haysville Academy, in Ohio; took the theologi- cal course in Washington and Jefferson University, Washing- ton, Pennsylvania, and being ordained a clergyman in the Presbyterian church, held pastorates in that denomination in Ohio until 1882. He was pastor of a Universalist church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1882 to 1887, then was pastor of the principal Universalist church in Elgin, Illinois, until 1898, when he came to Minneapolis to be pastor of All Souls Universalist church, in the old and cultured University district of the city. Here both Mr. Alcott and his wife were intensely interested in sociological as well as churchi work. Mr. Alcott possessed varied talents, and in addition to his ministerial work had taken special courses in the University of Chicago. He had been admitted to the bar in Michigan, and there had become well known as an eloquent speaker and debater, ever ready to sustain his views in politics as well as religion and sociology. It was his activity in this manner that led him to accept a nomination for Congress as a Prohibition candidate, and it was the same earnest advocacy which made him editor of a paper. In 1896, when the silver issue became paramount, Mr. Alcott cam- paigned through Illinois on the money question as a supporter of the principles of the Republican party. Mr. Alcott con- tinued as pastor of the All Souls church in Minneapolis until 1905, when he went to Webster City, Iowa, and later to Illinois, where he died December 26, 1910.

Captain Robert K. Alcott was born in Shelby, Ohio, October 28, 1878. His early sehooling was in the common schools of Kalamazoo and Elgin, there graduating from the high school in 1895. He went to Leland Stanford University, Palo Alto, California and entered the freshman class. There world hap- penings turned him from college to military life. With fifty other students young Alcott enlisted 1898 in Company K, First California Volunteer Infantry and went to the Philippines where he spent a year and a half. His regiment was among the first of the United States troops sent, and so he was at the battle and capture of Manila. He saw a great deal of

hard service, especially during the insurrection, when he took part in long marches being detailed on important scouting service.

The First California and the Thirteenth Minnesota regi- ments went to the Philippines together, and throughout their service were thrown closely together, sustaining exceptionally friendly relations. So that when young Alcott returned and found his father had meanwhile become a resident of Min- neapolis, he came to this city and in 1900 entered the University of Minnesota, graduating in law in 1904. Mean- while, spurred by his service in the Philippines, he had become interested in military affairs, and it needed little urging on the part of his friends of the Thirteenth Minnesota to induce him to enlist in the First Regiment, Minnesota National Guard. He is a military enthusiast, who believes in making the militia so proficient as to be ready at any moment to step into active service of the nation. He has advanced steadily from the ranks, being now captain of Company K, one of the most proficient units of the crack regiment of the state.

Captain Alcott was for three years in partnership with Milan Velikanje, who is now in Washington. He is now in general practice in partnership with Frank E. Reed with offices in the Century building. He has taken an active part in politics, and is recognized as a forceful and persuasive orator. He has campaigned in the interest of James C. Haynes for mayor, for George R. Smith for congress, and for Governor A. O. Eberhart. He was an incorporator and is an instructor in the Minnesota College of Law, in which he lectures on contracts, domestic relations and many other subjects.

He married Josephine E. Turner, daughter of Joseph Turner, a native of Minneapolis and a former student in the University. They have no children. They are affiliated with the Christian church.

JUDGE ELI B. AMES.

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Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, Part 44

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