USA > Minnesota > Wabasha County > History of Wabasha County : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc. : gathered from matter furnished by interviews with old settlers, county, township, and other records, and extracts from files of papers, pamphlets, and such other sources > Part 11
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Probate Courts .- By the act of congress organizing the terri- tory probate courts were established. A special election, to be held in April, 1854, was authorized for the election of county officers by act organizing the county of Winona. A judge of probate was one of the officers to be elected. Andrew Cole was elected. He held the office until January 1, 1855, when he was succeeded by Alfred P. Foster. Mr. Foster filled the office until October 10, 1856, when it was made vacant by the removal of Judge Foster from the territory, and on that date Sam Cole was appointed to fill the vacancy. E. H. Murray succeeded by election, and held during the years 1857 and 1858, followed by Warren Powers, who was elected in the fall of 1858. By re-election Judge Powers held until his death, which occurred in June, 1865. He was succeeded by Mr. Norman Buck,
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who was appointed to fill the vacancy in July of that year. In the fall of 1865 Judge Buck was elected. He held the office until the fall of 1867, when he resigned, and was succeeded for the remainder of the year by appointment of C. N. Wakefield. At the general election in the fall of 1868 Jacob Story was elected to the office. Judge Story has been re-elected at the expiration of each succeeding term, and is still the incumbent of the office. Aside from Mr. E. A. Gerdtzen's tenure of the office of clerk of the district court, which was about seventeen years, Judge Story has enjoyed a longer official term than any other officer of Winona county.
CHAPTER XIII.
BANKING IN WINONA COUNTY.
As is generally the case in new towns, several branches of business are conducted by the same person or firm. It was so in Winona in the banking business. The United States land office for the Winona land district, having been opened in Winona in December, 1854, land agents, money loaners and speculators in real estate soon followed.
The first office of this kind was opened in June in 1855, by Will- iam Ashley Jones, Charles H. Berry and E. S. Smith, under the firm name of Jones, Berry & Smith. They were succeeded by Berry & Waterman, who added to their law business that of receiving deposits and selling exchange on different points. This was done more as a convenience to others than of profit to themselves. This was continned until others engaged in more exclusive banking business.
Early in 1856 Timothy Kirk and his brother had a banking office on the corner of Front and Main streets.
John Mobley opened a banking and exchange office near the corner of Second and Main streets in 1856, and did considerable business for some two years, and retired in 1858.
J. T. Smith had an exchange and loan office, in 1856 or 1857, on Center street, between First and Second streets. He was here about three years.
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Voight & Bergenthal had a banking and loan office, in 1856 and 1857, on Front street, near where Krumdich's elevator now stands.
Bennett's Bank .- In the fall of 1855 Thomas E. Bennett opened a bank and loan office, and succeeded to the business of Voight & Bergenthal, in a building on the levee. In the winter following Taylor, Richards & Burden purchased Bennett's business, and in May, 1857, the firm was changed to Taylor, Bennett & Co., and in 1858 it was again changed to Burden, Bennett & Co., and in 1859 was dissolved and the business -was continued in the name of Thomas E. Bennett until 1861.
Bank of Southern Minnesota .- The Bank of Southern Minne- sota was organized in 1861. Lemuel C. Porter, Thos. E. Bennett, Wm. Garlock and others were stockholders and directors. L. C. Porter was made president and Thomas E. Bennett cashier. This bank was merged in the First National bank in August, 1864.
The Bank of Winona .- This bank was located on Center street, in the building now occupied by the Winona Deposit Bank. Bank of Winona commenced business in May. 1863, Samuel McCord and H. N. Peabody being the principal partners, and the manager was I. Voswinkle Dorselin. Subsequently the business was done under the name of MeCord & Dorselin. In December, 1868, Dorselin, appearing to be the owner of the concern, closed business and went into bankruptcy. On the final winding up of business, in August, 1869, it paid its ereditors about twenty-five cents on a dollar.
The United National Bank .- The United National Bank was organized in 1865, with Thomas Wilson, Otto Troost, Charles Ben- son, A. W. Webster and Thomas E. Bennett as stockholders and directors, with a capital of $50,000. A. W. Webster was president and Thomas E. Bennett cashier.
This bank was located on Second street, in the building since used by the Savings Bank, and in January, 1871, was sold out by its stockholders to the First National Bank of Winona.
The Winonu Deposit Bank was organized and commenced busi- ness in 1868. H. W. Lamberton was president and I. J. Cummings cashier. It was a private bank, and changed to a national organiza- tion under the name of Winona Deposit National Bank, in which name the business was conducted two or three years, when they dis- continued the national organization and returned to the original
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name of Winona Deposit Bank. Its present officers are H. W. Lamberton, president, and W. C. Brown, cashier.
Winona County Bank .- Zaphna H. Lake and A. W. Webster organized the Winona County Bank in 1859, and they filed their organization papers and deposited Minnesota railroad bonds with the state auditor to secure the payment of their circulating notes under the then existing laws of the state. This was the first and only bank having circulation in Winona. They did a straightfor- ward, legitimate banking business for several years, and went out of business in 1865. Mr. Webster took part in the organization of the United National Bank, and Mr. Lake engaged in other business in Winona. Their banking office was near the corner of Second and Main streets.
The Bank of St. Charles, at St. Charles, Winona connty, was organized as a private bank in the spring of 1869, with a capital of $30,000. The stockholders were E. S. Youmans, of Winona ; S. T. Hyde, J. S. Wheeler, J. W. Brockett, of St. Charles, and H. R. Heath, of New York city. The stockholders were directors. E. S. Youmans was president and J. S. Wheeler was cashier.
J. C. Woodard, in June, 1877, succeeded to the Bank of St. Charles, and the business is now conducted in the name of J. C. Woodard, banker.
The First National Bank of Winona (successor to the Bank of Southern Minnesota) was organized August 20, 1864, with a capital of $50,000. The original stockholders were Thomas E. Bennett, Gabriel Horton, Lemnel C. Porter, George W. Neff, William Gar- lock, William Wedel, each of whom was elected a director. In October, 1864, at a meeting of the directors the following officers were elected, viz : L. C. Porter, president ; William Garlock, vice- president ; Thomas E. Bennett, cashier. L. C. Porter has been elected president at each annual meeting of the directors since the organization of the bank to this time, a period of eighteen years. The following persons have been elected cashiers at different times since 1866: I. J. Cummings, G. A. Bnrbank, Herman E. Curtis, C. H. Porter and E. D. Hurlbert, who is now filling that position. William Garlock resigned the office of vice-president in 1868. C. H. Porter was elected vice-president in 1881, and is at this time filling that office.
Second National Bank .- The Second National Bank of Winona was organized April 29, 1871, with a capital of $100,000. The
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incorporators were Thomas Simpson, John H. Prentiss, Joseph A. Prentiss, Henry Stevens, Mark Willson, Gustavus A. Burbank and W. H. Richardson. Each of the above stockholders was elected a director, and the bank engaged in active business in August, 1871, with the following officers : Thomas Simpson, president; G. A. Burbank, cashier. Mr. Burbank resigned in October, 1871, and Mark Willson was elected assistant cashier, and in February, 1872, E. H. Bailey became cashier.
In January, 1873, Joseph A. Prentiss was chosen cashier and Mark Willson vice-president. In January, 1875, Mr. Willson resigned and Lester R. Brooks became vice-president, and in 1876 was made cashier. In 1878 Thomas Simpson resigned his position as president, which he had filled from the first organization of the bank, and was succeeded by Joseph A. Prentiss. In 1880 William H. Garlock was chosen cashier and L. R. Brooks vice- president, who, with J. A. Prentiss, president, are the present officers.
The Merchants National Bank of Winona was organized May 18, 1875, with a capital stock of $100,000, and at the first meeting of the stockholders the following persons were elected directors : Mark Willson, G. W. Bennett, N. F. Hilbert, H. D. Perkins, C. H. Berry, Conrad Bohn and C. C. Beck. Mark Willson, president ; N. F. Hilbert, cashier ; H. D. Perkins, vice-president.
The bank opened for business in July 1875. On April 9, 1879, N. F. Hilbert resigned his position as cashier, and was succeeded by J. M. Bell. July 1, 1879, it was voted to change the organiza- tion from a national to a state bank under the laws of Minnesota, and to transfer its entire business to the new organization.
The Merchants Bank of Winona succeeded to the Merchants National Bank, and was organized in August, 1879, with the follow- ing directors : Charles H. Berry, H. D. Perkins, J. M. Bell, Mark Willson, C. C. Beck, L. J. Allred and C. Heintz, and who proceeded to the election of officers, as follows : Mark Willson, president ; J. M. Bell, cashier ; H. D. Perkins, vice-president.
In December, 1879, J. M. Bell tendered his resignation as cashier, which was accepted, and Geo. F. Crise was elected in his place. The officers of the bank at this time are Mark Willson, president; Chas. H. Berry, vice-president, and Geo. F. Crise, cashier.
The Winona Savings Bank was organized July 1, 1874, and lasted five years. The depositors were notified. to withdraw their
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deposits July 1, 1879, and were paid in full, principal and interest. The trustees were William Mitchell, W. H. Laird, H. E. Curtis, F. A. Rising, Thomas Wilson, E. S. Youmans and C. J. Camp. The officers were Wm. Mitchell, president ; W. H. Laird, vice-presi- dent ; F. A. Rising, treasurer.
The bank was located on Second street, in the old United National Bank building.
The foregoing is believed to be a correct history of banks and of the banking business in Winona county since its early settlement. It is possible that other parties and facts have been overlooked, but the writer has endeavored to include everything pertaining to the subject.
From the time the first deposits were received and the first drafts on eastern banks were drawn by Berry & Waterman, in 1855, the banking business has grown with the increased mercantile and manufacturing business of Winona in proportion until this time. We have now in this city, in successful operation, four banks, two of which are working under the national banking laws, one under state organization, and one a private bank.
The whole amount of capital invested at this time in the bank- ing business in Winona county aggregates $250,000, not including surplus and undivided profits.
The amount of deposits in the banks in Winona is about $900,000, and bills discounted are about the same amount. The rates of interest charged by the banks are from seven to ten per cent per annum.
CHAPTER XIV.
GENERAL HISTORY OF WINONA COUNTY-ITS EARLY SETTLE- MENT, PIONEERS, ETC.
THE local history of this county, as an organization, hardly ex- tends beyond the personal recollections of the present generation. Many of its earliest settlers are yet residents of this locality. Less than a third of a century ago the country lying west of the Missis- sippi in the State of Minnesota was the almost exclusive domain of bands of savages-the possessions of the aborigines, occupied by the
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same race and by the same nation of people who held it when the western continent was first discovered.
Its early settlement by the pioneer successors of this savage race was begun somewhat after the same general plan, although on a very much smaller scale, of that adopted by the Europeans in their first occupancy of North America. They made claims and held them by their rights of discovery. This part of the country was first discov- ered and held in possession by the French.
To maintain a proper connection with the past, a brief synopsis of historical events relative to this section of country, prior to the time this county was created, has been compiled as an introductory chapter to this record of events and incidents of more modern times.
After the discovery of the western continent, the maritime nations of Europe sent out expeditions to make explorations. The parts of the continent first visited in these voyages were taken possession of in the name of the government represented. When these explorations were extended inland the localities were claimed by the same powers. It was in this manner that the whole Missis- sippi valley became at one time a part of the foreign possessions of France, acquired by their rights of discovery and held by their power as a nation.
In 1534 Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, discovered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and sailed up the St. Lawrence river, supposing from its size and depth that he had found the western passage to the Indian ocean, for which he was seeking. He claimed the newly discovered country in the name of the sovereign of France. As an emblem of his first discovery, and as a symbol of possession, he erected a large wooden cross on a conspicuous elevation of land. This was the first claim mark of France in this part of North America.
The French afterward extended their explorations west to the great lakes, assuming possession in their progress. It was not until 1654 that they reached the region of Lake Superior. The real explorers of this part of the country were the fur traders. They advanced with their traffic as far west as Green Bay in 1659.
In these expeditions, from the time the cross was erected by Cartier, these adventurous explorers were usually accompanied by zealous representatives of different orders in the Roman Catholic church, apparently to maintain religious advantages coequal with the civil and military authority claimed over the extended possessions.
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Father Joseph Marquette accompanied Louis Jolliet with five French or Canadian voyageurs up the Fox river from Green Bay. Crossing the portage to the Wisconsin river they descended it to its mouth and discovered the Mississippi river on June 17, 1673.
To Father Marquett has been given the honor of having been the first to discover the upper Mississippi. The river had, however, been visited by Europeans prior to this date. In 1541 the lower Mississippi was crossed by Hernando de Soto, a Spanish adventurer, in his exploration of that part of the country.
In 1679 Father Louis Hennepin accompanied Robert La Salle on his expedition along the shores of Lake Michigan to Illinois, where he spent the winter. In the following spring, 1680, he was intrusted by La Salle to make explorations. With two French voyageurs he went down the Illinois river to its mouth, and then ascended the Mississippi. On his voyage np this river he was made prisoner by a war party of Dakota Indians and taken into the Mille Lac region, on the headwaters of the Mississippi. He was here found by Du- Luth, who was exploring the country of the Dakotas by way of Lake Superior. Father Hennepin visited the Falls of St. Anthony, to which he gave its present name. He was the first to explore the Mississippi above the mouth of the Wisconsin, and the first white man that ever visited the vicinity of this county.
In 1682 La Salle descended the Illinois to its junction with the Mississippi, down which he continued until he entered the Gulf of Mexico. He took possession of the country through which he passed in the name of France, and gave it the name of Louisiana.
In the spring of 1683 Capt. Nicholas Perrot, a Canadian, with twenty men, established a fort or trading-post in what is now the State of Minnesota, below and near the mouth of Lake Pepin. This was the first location occupied by a white man on the west side of the Mississippi. It was soon abandoned by Perrot to carry on his traffic elsewhere. In 1688 he returned with forty men, and again took possession of his trading-post below Lake Pepin.
In 1689 Capt. Nicholas Perrot, in the name of the king of France, by formal proclamation took possession of all of the country on the headwaters of the Mississippi. Not long afterward the whole country from the Alleghanies to the Pacific ocean was claimed by the French and called the territory of Louisiana.
This territory remained in possession of France until 1760, when the country west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain, and in 1763
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HISTORY OF WINONA COUNTY.
all of the country east of the Mississippi claimed by the French was formally ceded to Great Britain.
In 1800 the country west of the Mississippi known as Louisiana was retroceded to France, and in 1803 the United States acquired possession of it by purchase from the French government.
By act of congress in 1804 Louisiana was divided ; the southern part was called the territory of Orleans, the northern portion the district of Louisiana.
In 1812 Orleans was admitted into the Union under the title of State of Louisiana, and the district of Louisiana given the name of Territory of Missouri.
In 1821 the Territory of Missouri was divided ; from the southern portion the Territory of Arkansas was formed, and the State of Mis- souri created and admitted.
The country north of the State of Missouri was left without ter- ritorial organization. In 1834 it was placed under the jurisdiction of the Territory of Michigan, and in 1837 under the judicial authority of the Territory of Wisconsin.
In 1838 the Territory of Iowa was created. It embraced all of the country north of the State of Missouri between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to the northern line.
The State of Iowa was constituted from the southern part of this territory and admitted in 1846. The northern portion was left with- out territorial organization until by act of congress, March 3, 1849, the Territory of Minnesota was created.
The largest portion of this territory, that lying west of the Mis- sissippi. was the northeastern part of the "Louisiana Purchase." The portion lying on the east side of the river was a part of the territory of Wisconsin not included in the boundaries of the State of Wisconsin when admitted in 1848.
The territory of Minnesota, when organized, was without divi- sions, except two or three counties on the east side of the Mississippi, which had been created while they were a part of the Territory of Wisconsin.
By proclamation Governor Ramsey divided the territory into three judicial districts. The country west of the Mississippi and south of the Minnesota formed the third judicial district, to which Judge Cooper was assigned. The first court was held at Mendota in August, 1849.
Governor Ramsey, by proclamation, made the first apportion-
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ment of council districts. The settlements on the west bank of the Mississippi, south of the Crow village to the Iowa line, were included with a part of St. Croix county on the east side of the river and con- stituted the first council district. The settlements on the west side of the river were of half-breed Sioux.
The first territorial legislature held its session in St. Paul, the capital of the territory. It began on September 3 and adjourned on November 1, 1849. The members from the first council district were: James S. Norris, in the council ; Joseph W. Furber and James Wells, in the house. David Olmsted, of Long Prairie, was president of the council ; Joseph W. Furber, of Cottage Grove, speaker of the house.
James Wells was the first representative to the territorial legis- lature from the country along the west side of the Mississippi. He was an Indian trader living on the shores of Lake Pepin, twelve miles below Red Wing. Among his friends and associates he was generally known as "Bully Wells." He was elected by the half- breeds and a few traders and government employés at the election held on August 1. The total votes polled were thirty-three. At this election Hon. H. H. Sibley was elected delegate to congress without opposition.
The first territorial legislature, at its session in 1849 (October 27), created several counties, two of which, Dakota and Wabasha on the west side of the Mississippi, included all of the territory south of the Minnesota river-Wabasha in the eastern part and Dakota lying west along the Minnesota.
In 1853 (March 5) the county of Wabasha was divided by act of the territorial legislature and a part of the southern portion desig- nated as Fillmore county. In 1854 (February 23) Fillmore county was divided, and from the portion along the river the counties of Houston and Winona were created-Houston next to the Iowa line and Winona between Houston and Wabasha counties. The bound- aries given Winona county in the act by which it was created have since been maintained unchanged. These outlines of history gene- alogize this county from the days of the advent of the first white man to the present time, a period of little more than two hundred years.
In this abstract of jurisdiction an omission has been made-the proprietary of this part of the country before it was so formally taken possession of by Captain Perrot. At the time France assumed control it was held by tribes of savage Indians. Of them, prior to
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that period, but little is known with any degree of certainty. Hav- ing no written records their earliest traditions have long been for- gotten, their more modern history only known by its connections with that of their successors, the white race.
Traditions, with mounds and relics antedating traditionary lore, afford speculative study for the antiquary, and present corroborative evidence to the historian that in the unknown periods of the past this section of country was inhabited, and that its population was probably of the Indian race. Their first occupancy is veiled in dark obscurity. Their rights of possession have, however, been continu- ously acknowledged and recognized from the time jurisdiction was claimed for France in 1689 until the treaty by which their lands west of the Mississippi, in what is now the State of Minnesota, were pur- chased and ceded to the United States, when their title was formally transferred to their successors.
The Dakota nation, which held this country, was probably one of the largest warlike nations of the aborigines of North America. When first visited by Europeans their territory extended from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains. This Indian nation was composed of numerous general divisions and subdivisions or bands, having a language common to all (only varied by dialects), with man- ners, customs, etc., differing but little in different localities. Although united as a confederacy for common defense or warlike purposes, each division held a separate interest in the localities they occupied.
The eastern division of the Dakota nation was the Mdaywakan- tonwan, or Spirit Lake villagers. It was this division that made prisoner of Father Hennepin in 1680. At that time they were in possession of the country on the east side of the Mississippi to Lake Superior. The country south of the lake was held by the Ojibways, who were the first to hold communication with the traders. They were the first supplied with fire-arms, which gave them such an ad- vantage over the more warlike Sioux that they drove them back and took possession of their homes in the Mille Lac region. The Sioux were forced to the southward and westward, but successfully main- tained their lands on the west side of the Mississippi, and a strip along the east side, from about a hundred and fifty miles above the Falls of St. Anthony to about one hundred and fifty miles below.
There were seyen bands in this division. The villages of three of them were on the Mississippi, below the falls ; the others were on the lower part of the Minnesota river.
CHAPTER XV.
TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS.
By treaty in 1805, through Lient. Pike, the first representative of our government that visited this part of the " Louisiana pur- chase," this division of Sioux made the first sale of any of their lands. For the establishment of military posts the United States purchased from them a section of country nine miles square, on each side of the Mississippi, which included the Falls of St. Anthony and the present site of Fort Snelling. A section of country nine miles square, at the mouth of the St. Croix, was also secured for the same purpose. It was not until several years after that this purchase was utilized by government. The corner-stone of Fort Snelling was laid on the 10th of September, 1820, but it was not occupied by soldiers until the following year. The site was first taken possession of by Col. Leavenworth with a company of soldiers in 1819.
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