USA > Minnesota > Stearns County > History of Stearns County, Minnesota, Volume I > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92
President Grant, like President Lincoln, tendered him positions in the civil service, but since the war closed he held no office we believe, except that of a member of the Minnesota house of representatives in the session of 1873, representing six counties in the southwestern part of the state; and he was also presidential elector at large in 1876, and messenger to bear the electoral vote to Washington.
From June, 1871, to September, 1878, Governor Miller resided at Win- dom, Cottonwood county, being employed up to the time of his death as field agent of the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad Company. In 1860 he was a
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM H. THOMPSON
4
325
HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY
delegate to the national convention which nominated Mr. Lincoln, and headed the electoral ticket of Minnesota, in the autumn of that year. From 1853 to 1855 he edited the "Telegraph," a whig paper of much influence, published at Harrisburg, Pa.
Governor Miller was a practical and efficient business man, gratefully remembered for his valuable service alike on the bloody field of battle and in the gubernatorial chair. He died in Worthington, Minn., August 18, 1881.
William H. Thompson, eighteenth worshipful master of North Star Lodge, No. 23, A. F. & A. M., was born on a farm in Westfield, N. Y., January 2, 1852. In 1859 his parents removed to Mt. Clemens, Mich., where they remained about a year. Then they moved to Rockland, in the copper districts in the northern part of the state, where the father held a responsible position with one of the large mining firms. William H. attended the public schools of Rockland, Michigan, until 1867, when the family moved to Douglas county, Minn., where the father took up a homestead. The subject of this notice re- mained at home and engaged in farming with his father until 1877. That year he entered the St. Cloud State Normal sehool, from which he was grad- uated in 1880. During the following six years he taught school. In 1886 he took up the study of law, and in 1888 was admitted to the bar. For two years he practiced his profession at Elbon Lake, Minn. From 1890 to 1907 he was in the employ of the McCormick Harvester Co., and of its successor, the In- ternational Harvester Co., going to Minneapolis in 1904. In 1908 he returned to Stearns county, and took up his residence on his farm in St. Wendel town- ship. In 1910 he retired and moved to St. Cloud. He died April 25, 1911. Mr. Thompson was made a Mason, June 6, 1892, passed June 11, 1892 and was raised July 20, 1892, in North Star Lodge, No. 23, A. F. & A. M. He was also a member of the Chapter, the Commandery and the Shrine.
William H. Thompson was married May 1, 1880, to Mary A. (Whitney) West. Mary A. Whitney was born in Beddington, Washington county, Febru- ary 6, 1843, daughter of George R. and Martha Lyon (Noyes) Whitney. She obtained her early schooling in Maine, and in Fair Haven, in this county. She was first married at Fair Haven, to Caleb W. West, who, as a boy, pub- lished the first newspaper in St. Cloud. Mr. West died August 6, 1873, leaving one son, Harry West, now attorney for the Retail Grocers' Association, at St. Paul. After the death of Caleb W. West, the widow married William H. Thompson, as already noted. Mrs. Thompson is a well preserved woman, much interested in local history, and an active member of the Old Settlers' Associa- tion. No one can give more interesting facts than she in connection with the early days in St. Cloud and Stearns county.
Martin Molitor, president of the Molitor Drug Co., is one of the pro- gressive men of St. Cloud, and takes an active part in all matters pertaining to its advancement and development. His concern is an important one, and he is one of those substantial men who are known throughont the city as useful citizens. He is a native of St. Cloud, born in 1862, son of Michael and Margaret (Burelbech) Molitor. He attended the publie schools and the St. Cloud State Normal school, and grew to sturdy young manhood. For several years he assisted his father in the wheelwright and wagon making
326
HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY
business. He determined, however, that his life work was to be in the drug business. Accordingly he entered the employ of Rhodes & Spencer, with whom he remained ten years, receiving his license during that period. In 1887 he established his present business. Mr. Molitor is a member of the Elks, the United Workmen and the Commercial club. He married Marie Rein- hard, daughter of Bernard and Sarah (Miller) Reinhard. Michael Molitor and his wife were born near Coblenz, in Prussia, Germany, and there spent their early days. He learned the wheelwright and wagon making trade in his native country and followed this business after coming to St. Cloud. After a time he engaged in business here on his own account. He died in 1908. His good wife still makes her home in this city. To Mr. and Mrs. Michael Molitor were born six children : Martin, Mrs. Joseph Rosenberger, Mrs. Christ Schmitt, Elizabeth Threse, and Agatha.
Henry Zehring Mitchell was born at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 30, 1816, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Zehring) Mitchell. His father was born in 1783, in County Tyrone, Ireland, but came, when a boy, to this country with his widowed mother, who settled in Pennsylvania. Joseph Mitchell died near Harrisburg, in that state, in the year 1832. Elizabeth Zehring was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lebanon county in 1789. Her marriage to Joseph Mitchell occurred in 1808; her death in 1859. She was a granddaughter of John Joseph Rupp, who in 1751, emigrated to Pennsyl- vania, from the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany. Her father, Henry Zehring, fought in the Revolutionary War under General Washington, having en- listed at the age of sixteen.
The childhood and early youth of the subject of this sketch were spent in the vicinity of his birth, where he received what was at that time regarded as a liberal education. At the age of twenty he went to Pittsburg and en- gaged in the mercantile business, later removing to Wilkinsburg, a suburb of that city, where he continued in business until his removal to Minnesota. He first came to St. Cloud in the spring of 1856 and again in the late fall to look over the country with a view to making this his future home. He was so favorably impressed that he removed here with his family in the spring of 1857, bringing with him a stock of merchandise. The journey was made all the way by steamboat, with a change at St. Anthony Falls, the time occu- pied being from April 1 to May 6. While on his previous visit he had con- tracted for the erection of a two-story frame building on First avenne, South, near the corner of Tenth street, the first floor of which was occupied as a storeroom, and the upper as a dwelling. Later he removed his goods to one side of a double store-building near the site of the present water power, the other side being occupied by Miller & Swisshelm with a stock of groceries, his stock consisting of dry goods and clothing. Subsequently be removed to the corner of Fifth avenue and Third street, South, and still later to the brick store building at No. 17 Fifth avenue, Sonth, where he continued in the clothing business until 1892, when he disposed of his stock to his son, Charles S. Mitchell and W. S. Elliott, retiring from the activities of commercial life.
By appointment of President Lincoln he was for several years postmaster at St. Cloud, being removed by Andrew Johnson for political reasons. In
MR. AND MRS. II. Z. MITCHELL
327
HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY
1862, at the time of the Sioux outbreak, he was appointed by Governor Alex- ander Ramsey, an old-time personal friend, commissary general of the state, and took an active part in measures for the protection of the people of this part of Minnesota. Later he received the appointment of deputy provost marshal, holding the office until the government had no longer need of that service. In his early life he was a staunch Whig and a great admirer of Henry Clay. On the birth of the Republican party he gave to it his unwaver- ing allegiance.
In 1841, at Wilkinsburg, Pa., he married Miss Elizabeth Ann Cannon, whose birth had occurred at that place in April, 1821. Her parents were of Scotch-Irish descent, and she was the only sister of Mrs. Jane Grey Swiss- helm, well known in journalistic and political circles. Eight children were born to them, four of whom are still living-William B., of St. Cloud; Mary C., widow of Henry C. Burbank, St. Paul; Charles S., editor of the Duluth News-Tribune; Jean G., wife of Dr. Charles E. Walton, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Both General Mitchell and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church, he having been for many years an elder. His death occurred at St. Cloud March 6, 1896, and that of his wife January 6, 1910.
William Bell Mitchell was born at Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1843, his parents being Henry Z. and Elizabeth A. Mitchell. He attended the village schools and a local academy until at the age of thirteen he was for one year at Duff's college, Pittsburgh. Coming in the spring of 1857 with his parents to St. Cloud, he attended a private school. In 1858 he assisted as chainman in surveying and locating the state road from St. Cloud to Breck- enridge on the Red River of the North, which later was practically paralleled by the present Great Northern railway, and is still the main traveled thor- oughfare between these two points. Soon afterwards he became engaged as a compositor in the office of the St. Cloud Visiter, which was owned and pub- lished by his aunt, Mrs. Jane Grey Swisshelm, and for a short time continued school work with a private tutor. In June, 1863, he purchased the printing office plant, the name of the paper in the meantime having been changed to the Democrat. This name he changed later to the St. Cloud Journal, and in 1876 having purchased the St. Cloud Press, consolidated the two with the name of the St. Cloud Journal-Press. The publication of this paper he con- tinued until 1892, when he sold it to a corporation, by which it has since been published, in both daily and weekly editions. After retiring from the newspaper he engaged and has continued in the real estate business, with in- terests in a number of manufacturing and other enterprises.
In 1865 he was appointed by President Lincoln receiver of the United States land office at St. Cloud, being removed by President Johnson for politieal reasons. In 1878 he was appointed to the same office by President Hayes and four years later was re-appointed by President Arthur, serving until 1885, when he was removed, for political reasons, by President Cleve- land. In politics he has always been a Republican, voting for every Repub- lican candidate for president since the first nomination of Abraham Lincoln. In 1887 he was appointed a member of the State Normal school board and resi- dent director at St. Cloud, a position he held through successive appointments
328
HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY
until October, 1901, when he resigned. He was a charter member of the Min- nesota Editorial association, organized in 1867, was the first secretary, being twice re-elected, after which he was president of the association for four suc- cessive terms. He has been a director in the Bank of St. Cloud and its suc- cessor, the First National bank, since each was organized. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, being an elder and a member of the board of trustees.
At Marietta, Ohio, Deeember 7, 1871, he married Miss Emily Whittlesey, whose father, William A. Whittlesey, was a graduate of Yale college; studied law with Joshua R. Giddings, and his uncle Elisha Whittlesey (who was the solicitor in one of the departments at Washington during President Lincoln's administration) ; was a member of the state legislature, and also a member of the Thirty-first congress, declining a re-election. Her mother was Jane Husted Whittlesey. Her only brother, Captain William Beal Whittlesey, was killed at the battle of Mission Ridge. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, of whom eight are now living: Caroline Tilden, wife of George W. Bacon, New York City; Mildred Whittlesey, wife of Edmund B. Smith, Hollywood, California; Eleanor; Leslie, wife of Otto A. Poirier, Virginia, Minn .; Jane Whittlesey, wife of Frederick D. Herbert, Upper Montelair, New Jersey ; Henry Zehring, city editor of St. Cloud Journal-Press (married Miss Grace E. Whitney) ; Ruth Hobby; Dorothy, wife of Arthur B. Anderson, St. Paul, Minn.
Colin Francis Macdonald, for forty years editor of the St. Cloud "Times," was born in St. Andrews, Nova Scotia, September 23, 1843. He is of Scotch parentage, the son of John A. Macdonald, M. D., who was assistant surgeon of the Second Minnesota cavalry during the Civil War, and Marjory Mc- Kinley Macdonald. Both parents were born in Scotland and are now de- ceased. The family left Scotland in 1840 and journeyed to Nova Scotia, where they resided until 1846, and then came to the United States. The family lived in Pittsburgh, Pa., until the spring of 1855, when they removed to Minnesota and settled upon a preemption claim the same year, one and one-half miles above Belle Plaine, Scott county. The subject of this sketch received his edu- cation in the early Minnesota sehools. When seventeen years of age, he be- gan his career in newspaper work in the office of the Belle Plaine "Enquirer." The following year he assisted his brother, the late Judge and Congress- man John L. Macdonald, in establishing the Shakopee "Argus," for which purpose he purchased the press and material of the old St. Anthony "Ex- press," upon which the first paper at the Falls of St. Anthony was printed, and removed it to Shakopec. When a boy of hardly nineteen years of age, Colin responded to President Lincoln's call for men in August, 1862, and enlisted in what subsequently became Company I, Ninth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. This regiment was sent to the frontier because of the great Sioux Indian outbreak of August 15 at the lower Sionx Agency on the Minnesota river. On October 3 of the next year, the regiment was ordered South and passed that winter in Missouri. The following spring it was ordered to Mem- phis, Tenn., where it joined a force operating in Tennessee and farther Sonth. The regiment participated in the battle of Brice's Cross Roads (Guntown, Miss.)
C. F. MACDONALD
329
HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY
and Tupelo, Miss., and the Oxford raid; the pursuit of General Price through Arkansas and across Missouri; two days' battle at Nashville; pursuit of the defeated General Hood; the investure of Mobile; siege of Spanish fort, etc. Mr. Maedonald was a sergeant of his company and color-bearer of his regi- ment. At the close of the war he was commissioned second lieutenant. In 1866 he returned to Shakopee and formed a partnership with Morris C. Rus- sell in the publication of the Shakopee "Argus." The following spring he removed to St. Paul, and for eight years was employed on the "Daily Pioneer" as compositor. In January, 1875, he removed to St. Cloud and purchased from Will H. Lamb, the "Weekly Times," which was founded in 1861. He continued the publication of the "Weekly Times" until September 27, 1887, when he commenced the publication of the "Daily Times" in addition to the Weekly. The "Daily Times" was the first daily paper ever issued in St. Cloud. He continued the publication of the two editions until January, 1903, when he sold an interest in the papers to Fred Schilplin. On June 1, 1907, they incorporated under the general laws, the firm being known as the Times Publishing Company, of which Mr. Macdonald is president and Mr. Schil- plin is the business manager, secretary and treasurer. The "Times" is and always has been a supporter of the Democratic party, and as Stearns county is strongly Democratic, it is influential and profitable.
Mr. Macdonald was elected to represent the Stearns eounty district in the state senate in 1876 and was re-elected in 1878 and 1880. During this period he was a member of the only two courts of impeachment in the state of Minnesota-one for the trial of Judge Sherman Page, of Austin, and the other for the trial of Judge E. St. Julian Cox, of St. Peter. He was one of the four delegates at large from Minnesota to the National Democratic conven- tion at Chicago, in 1884, which nominated Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks. He served for many years as a member of the Minnesota State Central and Congressional committees. He was elected to the office of mayor of St. Cloud in 1883, and re-elected in 1884 and 1885. In 1885 he was ap- pointed by President Grover Cleveland receiver of public moneys at St. Cloud, which position he held until February 10, 1890. He was again appointed to the same position by President Cleveland, March 1, 1894, which office he held for three years and five months. He was elected commander of the depart- ment of Minnesota's Grand Army of the Republic, for the year 1905-1906. He is a member of the Minnesota commandery of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He has been a member of the St. Cloud public library board for eighteen years, fifteen years of which he has been president. He is a member of the Old Settlers' Association of Stearns and adjoining counties in which he takes a deep interest. Mr. Macdonald has always been prominent in the public affairs of St. Cloud and has been connected with all movements tend- ing to build up and benefit the city. He is a Catholic in his religious belief.
October 27, 1868, he was married to Julia E. Lord, daughter of Dr. Charles Lord, of Shakopee, who died in 1876. He was remarried on Febru- ary 10, 1881, to Elizabeth M. Campbell, daughter of Edward Campbell, of Forrest City, Meeker county. To the first union four children were born, two of whom survive; Charles F. Macdonald, secretary of the Duluth Board
330
HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY
of Trade, and Sister Mary, of St. Joseph, a member of the Order of the Good Shepherd. By the second marriage, four children were born, three of whom are living : Edward Albert, a practicing attorney of Marquette, Mich .; Mar- jorie Elizabeth and Jessie Mary.
James Benzie, St. Cloud, of the firm of Benzie & Campbell, granite work- ers, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, November 11, 1868, son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Moir) Benzie. As a young man he became a granite cutter. He landed in America, March 23, 1889, and worked successively in Barre, Ver- mont; Richmond, Virginia; Amberg, Wisconsin; Denver, Colorado (on the capitol building) ; Barre, Vermont, again; Denver, Colorado, once more; and Chicago, Ill. In 1892 he came to St. Cloud, and worked five months for Thomas Breen, after which he went to Wisconsin. Later he worked on the postoffice at Sioux Falls, and on the locks at Cascade Locks, Oregon. Subse- quently he returned to St. Cloud. In May, 1908, James Benzie and John F. Campbell formed the firm of Benzie & Campbell. The company does a whole- sale business in rough and polished granite for building and monumental purposes, the customers being located all over the United States. James Benzie married Sarah H. Alexander, who was born in Arbroath, Scotland, daughter of David and Agnes (Anderson) Alexander. David Alexander died in St. Cloud May 21, 1893, and his good wife still lives in St. Cloud.
John F. Campbell, St. Cloud, of the firm of Benzie & Campbell, granite workers, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, June 17, 1869, son of William and Martha (Taylor) Campbell. He came to America at the age of seventeen, and after a three months' stay in Westerly, R. I., located in St. Cloud. He learned the granite working trade from Matthew Breen, a pioncer. In May, 1908, John F. Campbell and James Benzie, formed the firm of Benzie & Campbell. The company does a wholesale business in rough and polished granite for building and monumental purposes the customers being located all over the United States. Mr. Campbell is a Mason and an Odd Fellow.
William Campbell, St. Cloud, of the firm of Simmers & Campbell, granite workers, was born in Newtonhill, Kincardine, Scotland, May 22, 1862, son of William and Martha (Taylor) Campbell. He obtained a good education, and in 1882 came to America. He landed at New York, and went to Millstone Point, Conn., where he secured employment at his trade as a stone cutter. Later he went to Schuylerville, where among other work, he assisted in the construction of the Burgoyne monument. After working subsequently in New York city he went to Graniteville, Missonri. From there, he came to St. Cloud, and was employed with Brecn & Young. Wilmington, Del., was his next location, and then St. Cloud once more. A visit to his old home was a pleasant diversion, but resulted in disaster. The ship "Oregon," upon which lic was returning to America, was wrecked, and he barely escaped with his life, all his belongings going to the bottom. Not wishing to reach St. Cloud in poverty, he worked a while in Westerly, R. I., and then once more came to the Granite City, where he became foreman for Breen & Young. He, with others, then spent some eight years in the granite business at Rockville, Minn. He is now identified with the firm of Simmers & Campbell, which, perhaps, does the largest business of its kind in Minnesota, handling rough and polished
331
HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY
granite for all purposes. Mr. Campbell has been an alderman for the past four years. He belongs to the United Commercial travelers. Mr. Campbell married Una Greeley, who was born in Maine Prairie, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have had eight children of whom there are living six: John, Martha, Una (deceased), Carl, Florence, William, Elsie and Harold (deceased). John married Mary Schoenberg, and they have two children, twins. Martha married Andrew Fowler, and they have one son.
Samuel Holes was born in England, and in 1833, at the age of seven years, he was brought to this country by his parents. He lived in Pennsylvania, and in Indiana. In 1856 he came to Monongahela county, remaining a year, then returning to Indiana for his wife and son, William J., and in June, 1857, he brought his family to St. Cloud. After looking about for a time, he located sixty miles west of St. Cloud, in what is now Kandiyohi county, this state. In 1862 he eame to St. Cloud, and took charge of one of the "ox trains," so- called, engaged in carrying provisions from St. Cloud to the frontier. He en- listed in Company D, Mounted Rangers, and served fourteen months. Upon his return he worked at various occupations. For a time he had charge of the mill at Le Sauk. He spent the latter years of his life on a farm in St. Wendel township. Samuel Holes married Elizabeth Kouts, and they had four children. William J. and George O. are in the granite business in St. Cloud. Ella is the wife of H. Clark Eldred. Myra is the wife of Howard Hateh.
William J. Holes, one of the pioneers of the granite industry in St. Cloud, was born in Porter county, Indiana, December 31, 1854, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Kouts) Holes. He lived with his parents in various places in Min- nesota, and finished his schooling in the Methodist seminary, in St. Cloud. As a young man he learned the stone-eutters' trade. In 1883 he started in business for himself. His first order was from W. B. Mitehell for stone trim- mings for his building on Fifth avenue. In 1884 he took Mortimor Morriarty as a partner. In 1886, Mr. Morriarty retired, George O. Holes was received into the firm, and sinee then the business has been eondueted under the name of Holes Brothers. In the earlier days the company dealt extensively in building stone, and furnished the granite for such buildings as the Cathedral, in St. Cloud, the Chamber of Commerce bloek and the James J. Hill residenee, in St. Paul, besides hundreds of less important structures. Recently, however, more attention has been devoted to monumental work, and finished stone is shipped to various points through the United States. Mr. Holes is a member of the Masons, the Elks, and the Modern Woodmen, and the United Commer- eial Travelers. He married Anna Ansbora, a native of New York City, daughter of Martin and Sarah (Campbell) Ansbro. Mr. and Mrs. Holes have five eliildren, Ada, Clara, Floyd A., Wilbur, and Dorothy. Ada married Les- ter E. Frost, lives in Winnipeg, and has two children, Elizabeth and Robert E. Clara, formerly a teacher, is now a trained nurse. Floyd A. lives in Port Franeis, Ontario. Wilbur and Dorothy are at home.
William Shield, president of the United Granite Co., St. Cloud, was born in Gryhyttehed (Westmanland), Sweden, Marel 26, 1878, son of Eriek and Christina (Jansson) Shield. He came to America in 1899, lived a year in Chicago, and in 1900 located in St. Cloud. For some time he was employed in
332
HISTORY OF STEARNS COUNTY
the granite trade. In 1908 when the United Granite Co. was formed, he was elected to his present position. The company does a wholesale business in red and gray granite for building and monumental purposes. Mr. Shield has also served as president for a number of years at the Northwestern Granite Manu- facturers' Association, of St. Cloud, and in many other ways as well, has demonstrated his high standing in his chosen line of industry. In 1904, Mr. Shield married Helvig Hellerstedt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Heller- stedt, prominent farmers at Wright country, and they have two children, My- ron and Rolland. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shield are members of the First Swedish Baptist church of St. Cloud, in which they both take a very active interest.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.