Minneapolis City (part 40 of 80)

While in the active conduct of his business he was laid aside by an acute attack of intestinal inflammation, and after afewda^'s of painful sickness passed away Januaiw 25, 1888.

Henry Godfrey Sidle. The presi¬ dent of the First National Bank of Min¬ neapolis is the oldest bank officer in con¬ tinuous service in the city, as he wdll be readily conceded to be the ripest in ex¬ perience and the most successful in finan¬ cial administration. For nearh^ thirtythree years he has been connected with the business, which he now administers, and w'hich has grown, with the marvel¬ ous increase of business in the commun¬ ity", from a private banking house, w"ith small capital, to the leading bank in the city, w"ith a capital and surplus of nearly" a million and a half dollars, and a de¬ posit line of five million dollars. Before engaging in banking he had a mercantile experience of twenty -four years as clerk and proprietor of a store in his native state. His training was in the school of practical business and finance, which w"ith good judgment, an intuitive percejDtion, and cordial and conciliating man¬ ner, have placed him at the head of the profession.

H. G. Sidle is a native of Yoi'k, Penn., w"here he w"as born Jvdy 22, 1822. He w'as the youngest of three sons born to Henry" and Susannah (Kootz) Sidle. The elder brother w"as the late J. K. Sidle, so many y"ears his associate, both in the store in I'ennsylvania, and in the bank in Minneapolis. His great-grand-father, Godfrey Sidle, w"hose name he bears, was a native of Hamburgh in Germany", w"hencc he emigrated to this .country- in the early part of the last century. His grand-father served in the army of the Revolution. The Sidles were farmers of laborious and thrifty habits. Henry Sidle learned the trade of blacksmith, but engaged in merchandise, to which he trained his sons. Henrj^ had the advant¬ ages of the sons of thrifty families of his time in the public schools ofYork, and at the age of seventeen was taken into the store. After a clerkship of eleven years, his father relinquished the business to his two sons, J. K. and Henry, who con¬ ducted it on joint account for the next thirteen years. They had a large and prosperous trade, and enjoyed the confi¬ dence and patronage of the community where they had grown to manhood. But like so many ambitious young men thej^ became dissatisfied with the limitations of an eastern town, though so thriving one as was York, and longed for the more abundant opportunities and broader field for enterprise in the West. In 1857 J. K. Sidle made a tour through the West, and at Minneapolis found the conditions and prospects which satisfied him, and determined him to locate here. He had associated with him, Peter Wol¬ ford, a wealthy capitalist ofYork Coun¬ ty. They opened a private bankinghouse, under the style of Sidle, Wolford & Co. Upon the completion of the Nic¬ ollet House the firm took one of the offi¬ ces on the ground floor, fronting Wash¬ ington avenue, and occupied it for many years. Henry continued to carry on the store at York, but visited his brother in 1858 and made observations of the place and its prospects, determined not to re¬ linquish a properous business until he had practical demonstration that a bet¬ ter one awaited him. This was soon furnished b}^ the prosperity which at¬ tended the new banking firm, and in 1863 the store at York was sold, and Henry joined his brother in Minneapolis, and entered the banking firm, in which, however, he had an interest from the start. In 1865 the banking firm of Sidle, Wolford & Co. was dissolved, Mr. Wol¬ ford engaging in other business. The Sidle brothers now organized a bank, under a state charter, with the name of Minneapolis Bank, with a capital of $50,000. It issued circulating notes and carried on a regular banking business of deposit, discount and circulation. J. K. Sidle was president and H.G. Sidle cash¬ ier. When the national banking system was established, taxing the circulating notes of state banks out of existence, the First National Bank of Minneapolis was organized in 1865, and the business of the Minneapolis Bank transferred to it. It was the continuation of the old bank, under a new name, with the same capi¬ tal, officers and business. The bank was very successful at the start, and has al¬ ways enjoyed the fullest confidence of the community. Its chief officers were inde¬ fatigable in their attention to its inter¬ ests, and confined the operations to the legitimate business in which they were engaged. They never speculated nor en¬ gaged in outside operations except as an investment of surplus capital. Thecapital of the bank was successively increased , as its enlarging business required, to $100,000, $400,000, $600,000, and fin¬ ally, about 1879, to $1,000,000. While the bank was always managed bj^ the Sidles, so that it was familiarly spoken of as Sidle's bank, it had, nevertheless, a substantial Board of Directors, who represented in the fullest degree the con¬ servative and substantial element of bus¬ iness in Minneapolis.

Upon the lamented death of J. K. Sidle in 1888, the Board of Directors unani¬ mously elected H. G. Sidle to the presi¬ dency, and appointed his sons, Henry K. and Charles K., cashier and assistant cashier, which positions they still hold.

The National Exchange Bank was organized in 1867, with a capital of $50,000, and officers, H. Miller, of Troy, N. Y., president, and W. P. Westfall, cashier. This bank continued in opera¬ tion and did a large business, until 1875, when it was forced, by the stringency of the times and some large losses, to sus¬ pend, and a receiver was appointed to wind up its affairs, which was accom¬ plished with such success that its depos¬ itors were paid in full.

The State Bank of Minnesota was merged into the State National Bank of Alinneapolis, June 1, 1868, with a capi¬ tal of $100,000. R. J. Alendenhall was president, and R. J. Baldwin cashier. In 1875 Air. Alendenhall was succeeded Iw T.A. Harrison, and in 1877 Joseph Dean succeeded Air. Baldwin as cashier. In 1878 the business of the bank was trans¬ ferred to the Security' Bank, with T. A. Harrison as president, and Joseph Dean as cashier. The capital was increased to $300,000, and again in 1879 to $400,- 000, and finally in 1880 to $1,000,000.

Thomas Asbury Harrison. The late Thomas Asbury Harrison had many of the traits of a great man. He resembled in some respects another great Ameri¬ can, sprung from the common people, Abraham Lincoln. He possessed the same never-failing evenness of temper, the same cheerfulness under trying con¬ ditions, the helpfidness to others, the in¬ tuitive knowledge of men, the retentive memory, the moral and mental upright¬ ness which characterized the martyred president. Like Lincoln, his first thought was for others, not of himself; to put his neighbor at ease, to make the stranger feel at home. He was always ready with a jovial story. As a business man he was greater than Lincoln. His judg¬ ment and sagacity in business matters were well nigh infallible. Few men in so long a business career have made so few mistakes. In his family relations the depth of his loving kindness, his patience, was never fathomed. He was almost the ideal husband and father.

Such was Air. Harrison in his matur¬ ity and old age. But the saying that " the boy is father to the man " was pecidiarly true in his case. He early showed traits which distinguished his after life.

He was born at Belleville, St. Clair countv^ Illinois, December 18, 1811, and died in Alinneapolis, October 27, 1887, nearly seventy-six years of age. His parents came from the South, the father being a native of Georgia, and the mother of North Carolina. They settled at Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis, in 1803, when the southern part of the state was almost an unbroken forest. The^^ were pioneers in agriculture, in manufacture, and in Alethodism, the Rev. Thomas Harrison being an ordained elder in the M. E. Church. He preached for many years twice a week.

Air. Harrison's mother, though born and raised among all the traditions of the South, evinced at an early age that repugnance towai'd slavery and oppres¬ sion which has been so distinctive a characteristic in her descendants. Soon after her marriage she said to her hus¬ band one day: "I am a Southern woman and I love the South, yet I hate slavery ; 1 will never own a slave. But if we live here without slaves we shall be nothing but ' poor white trash.' Let us go north where the curse of slavery is not toler¬ ated." That same 3^ear the^" broke all the ties of their Southern home and came North. The\' first engaged pn farming, and later in milling, undergoing, with their rapidlv' increasing famiK', all the hardships and privations of earl vifioneer life.

hood days, was the fourth of nine child¬ ren, born, as already mentioned, in 1811. His early life was full of hard work, and the opportunities for acquiring an edu¬ cation in those da3"S were meager indeed. All his school life would comprise less than the modem school year. But when he did attend school he applied himself to his studies, as in all that he did, with intense earnestness. It was his good fortune to have a teacher who under¬ stood and encouraged him, though he gained knowledge of the genuineness of his pupil's character through a little mis"- ad venture. The school - a private one - was located in the village, where the distinction between pupils, a sharp one, was drawn on the line of store clothes and homespun. Those who wore the former looked upon themselves, and were pointed to by others, with pride, whereas those who were clothed in the latter were subject to many humiliations. Young Harrison was not among the fortunate ones, and he was soon made to feel that he belonged to a lower order of existence in that school world. Un¬ fortunately for him, his seatmate was a boy whose clothes entitled him to rank among the aristocracy' of the institution, and he lost no opportunity to annoy his less fortunate fellow. One day Absury dropped his knife on the floor by acci¬ dent, and in stooping to pick it up his tormentor put his hand behind his head so that he could not regain his seat, struggle as he might. He grew desper¬ ate at last, and with one supreme effort broke away. As he rose to his feet, white with anger, he dealt the youthful op¬ pressor a stinging blow squarely in the face. The master, whose name was Sparks, saw this part of the disturbance, but not what had preceded, and called Thomas to the platform, where he was compelled to remain, an object of deris¬ ion and scorn, for nearly half a day.

When the school had been dismissed the teacher took him to task for his con¬ duct. "I am very sorry to say that I am grievously disappointed in you," he continued, "you have seemed so eagerto learn, your conduct has been good, and now to spoil it all in this wa3^ I am very, very much disappointed."

A characteristic reply. But his brief school life did not pass without its grat¬ ifying achievement. It was a rule of the master that the pupil who made the greatest advancement should be made the teacher of his class at the end of a certain length of time. When the mo¬ ment came to announce the name of the fortunate one, young Harrison was com-, pletely overcome to have the honor be¬ stowed upon himself. No success, no honor in after life, ever gave him so keen a pleasure as this. To think that he, the farmer's boy, the pupil in homespun, should have such greatness thrust upon him. This was ample compensation for all the school 'trials and sorrows he had undergone.

Later, but still while quite young, Mr. Harrison tried his hand at clerking in a store, but he was not consiDicuously suc¬ cessful in that calling. His temperament and mental habit were such that he must hew his own way in the world, after his own fashion. When grown to manhood he built the first Harrison mill in Illinois, mostly on borrowed money. A short time after the mill was finished and full of wheat, it was discovered to be on fire one winter morning, and burned to the ground. The loss was almost total. This disaster, which would have been

Overwhelming to a weaker man, onl3^ spurred him on to renewed activity. The structui'e was rebuilt at once, Mr. Har¬ rison working as a common laborer to save one man's wages. The new mill was built in due season, but the prosper¬ ity of the milling business began to wane in that locality. He and his brothers worked unremittingly' for years, pi'acticed the closest economy, but all they could do with their best efforts was to make a bare living. At last not even this could be done. They' lost money on every barrel of flour turned out. Mr. Harrison's brothers and the rest of the family advised him to quit and turn his hand to something else. But he would not listen to this counsel.

"What else can we do?" he asked. "This is the only' business we under¬ stand. Our flour is good. The time must come when it will be appreciated." And his prediction was verified. The Harrison brand became famous in all that region and in the East. Then the Crimean war broke out. Prices went up. The flourfrom the " Harrison Mills " was in great demand. The foundation to Harrison's fortune was laid.

The milling industry continued to be a paying one for a number of years, and Air. Harrison become what is known as " well off." After a time he foresaw, with his usual business sagacity, that the bus¬ iness had reached its highest paying point, and he sold out all his milling in¬ terests. The seciuel showed how correct was his judgment. After he left the mill no money has been made by it in the manufacture of flour. Had he not dis¬ posed of it when he did, the property could not have been sold later.

Business with him in those days wns no child's play. He was always up early in the morning, and often did not get home until 2 o'clock in the night. He kept the books of the firm alone, while

Mr. T. A. Harrison in 1839 was mar¬ ried to Miss Rebecca M. Green, at Belle¬ ville, Ill., and as in most things, he was very fortunate in his choice of a helpmeet. She died in Minneapolis on February 13, 1884, in her 64th year. They' were blessed with five children, three girls and two boys. Three of the children are alive - W. W. Harrison, Mrs. S. H. Knight, and Mrs. Dr. E. B. Zier.

In 1859 Mr. Harrison's brother Hugh and his sister, Mrs. A. H. Goheen, came up into the Northwest on a prospecting tour. They' at once fell in love with the country, and especially with the locality' on which Minneapolis now stands, and concluded to settle here. After having made this decision their first thought was to get their brother Thomas to come also. They' bought the place at the corner of Fourth Avenue South and Seventh Street for him, and fitted up a residence there which in those days was looked upon as a palace. This home was prepared by Southern people, used to a Southern climate. T. A. Harrison came with his family in the spring of 1860. The following winter was one of the severest known in the history of Minnesota. His daughter, Mrs. S. A. Knight, in describing the experiences of the family during that terrible winter say's: " Day after day it was 10, 20 and sometimes 40 degrees below zero, with the wind blowing a gale all the time, and our house built accoi'ding to South¬ ern ideas of architecture. The cold would be inconceivable to any'one who had not experienced such weather. Alany' a time I woke iq) in tlie morning with the bed covering frozen stift' from our breath." sick. When the wind howled, and the snow piled up in huge drifts, with the mereury freezing in the thermometers, they sighed for the more genial climate of southern Illinois, and resolved to go back there at the earliest opportunity. But when the wonderously beautiful Minnesota spring came, they forgot the rigors of the winter and stayed on. These experiences were repeated for sev¬ eral years. Every winter they deter¬ mined to return to their native state when the snow was off, and every spring and summer they lingered on till winter was upon them again. It was impossi¬ ble to go at that season of the year. There were no railroads, the Mississippi was frozen, and the nearest point beyond St. Paul was La Crosse, which could only be reached by stage. So the family were prisoners in winter, and unable to tear themselves away during the other seasons of the year.

At this time one of those fortunate in¬ cidents occurred which seem to come so readily to a successful man. A resident by the name of Mattison owned a tract of land next to Mr. Harrison on Fourth avenue south, where Eighth and Ninth streets intersect that thoroughfare. He built a fence in such away as to interfere with Mr. Harrison's access to the high¬ way. This the latter could not endure. He was alwar^s intolerant of contracted surroundings, and used to say that if he had to live in a tenement he was ready to die. One day he eame into the house and told his wife that he had bought Mattison out for $800. She was dis¬ mayed and exclaimed, "If you spend all your money here we will never be able to get back home." A purchase involv¬ ing $800 in those days was a more con¬ spicuous deal than one of$100,000now.

When the war of the Rebellion broke out Mr. Harrison was a generous supj)orter of the Union cause, giving both financial aid and sympathy to the gov¬ ernment in its darkest hours.

He was a conservative in business, abhoring ficticious values and a financial "plunger" was his peculiar aversion. So he was cautious in all his financial trans¬ actions, deliberating carefully on every move before it was made, but when his conclusions had been reached, he seldom if ever changed his mind.

His first investment of importance in Minnesota was in the First National Bank of St. Paul. Then he became a heavy stockholder and a director in both the Milwaukee and St. Paul and in the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha roads. In 1862 "Harrison Hall" was erected, the beginning of the era of substantial build¬ ings in Minneapolis. The firm of J. Dean and company was formed in 1863, for the purpose of engaging in the manufac¬ ture of lumber, and buying and selling pine lands. Under the management of this company the "Atlantic" and the "Pacific" mills were built. In all these enterprises T. A. Harrison was the prin¬ cipal owner and the controlling spirit.

By the merest aceident of lending a friend money and taking bank stock as security, he came to be a stock holder in and afterwards made president of the State National Bank. In a short time thereafter, to his great surprise, he found the bank in a very weak condition, Mr. Harrison, though not in the least responsible for that condition of afifairs, put his own private fortune behind the enterprise and enabled it to pay in full every creditor. After spending several sleepless nights over the sad condition of things, the first night after making up his mind to pay ever3' creditor in fall if it took all he had to do it, he slept as sweetl}' as a child. This episode cost him several years of anxious toil.

The experience he had thus gained in the banking business, the confidence he had acquired among his fellowmen, de¬ termined him to start a bank of his own. The Security bank was organized with Mr. Harrison as president in 1878, and he remained its president until his death. This financial institution soon developed into an important adjnnet in the develop¬ ment of the cit3q and is to-da3'one of the largest bankinginstitutions in the State.

Mr. Harrison was a devoted member of the Methodist church, and toward the Centenary and Hennepin avenue churches of Minneapolis, he contributed more, perhaps, than ain^ other individual. Rut besides these benefaetions, he was also generous to man v churches of other denominations. His affection for Ham¬ line Universit3^ was deep and abiding, and many an indigent student there has had cause to bless his name. His sympath3' for the poor and struggling was alwa3's easily aroused. He remembered his own struggles in early life and was ever ready with aid to the deserving. He especiall3" loved to help 3"oung men who were earnest and who had found their life work.

As a private citizen, Mr. Harrison alwa3'S took an active stand in all polit¬ ical and moral questions of the da3'. In shaping the policy of the cit3'' and the state he was a power behind the throne.

It was one of his characteristic traits to be almost unconscious of the com¬ manding place he occupied in the devel¬ opment of the cit3' and the exalted esti¬ mation in which he was held 1)3' his neighbors. Whenever he received anv especial token of rcs])ect and ai)prcciation from his fellow citizens he was alwa3'S sur])rised, though none the less gratified. When C. Wright Davison had finished his director3' of Minneapolis for 1887-8, he prepared an eleganth' bound voliime for Mr. Harrison's private use, with the following dedication ;

" This volume is respectfully dedicated to Thomas A. Harrison and Hugh G. Harrison, president and vice-president of the Seeurit3' Bank of Minneapolis, one of the solid financial institutions of the United States, as an expression of appre¬ ciation of their enterprize in locating in Minneapolis when it had less than 5,000 inhabitants, and as a slight recognition of their personal worth, sterling integritv, and their lovalt3', public spirit and generosit3' in furthering ever3' worth3' institution and project tending to build up the city of their choice."

He was sitting on the porch of his home at the time the volume was pre¬ sented to him, and was so much taken by surprise that he could hardh' articu¬ late his thanks. As Mrs. Knight says, ''he never looked for anything of this kind, and was alwa3's surprised to be the recipient of such honors."

In 1885, while on a trij) through the South, he contracted a t3'pho-malarial fever from which he never full v recovered. Not long before his death he went to New York to consult leading phvsicians, who advised him to go to California. He decided to follow their counsel, but failing rapidh' was unable to carry out his design.

The end came peacefulh'. At 9:30 o'clock on the morning of October 27, 1887, he sank quieth' to his eternal rest, surrounded 1)3' his sorrowing famih', at the old homestead.

The character of such a man is best understood in the light of his life, which gives us a better idea of his ])ersonalitv than mere words can give. His most cons])icuous traits were untliiiching in¬ tegrity in all relations of life, a sound judgment and an indomitable will. Add¬ ed to these was kindness of heart and a cheerful spirit, characteristics that often go with real power. He had the I'epose of strength. While not an educated manin the bookish sense of the term, he had a wide and accurate knowledge of books. His judgment of these was almost as infallible as his judgment of men. He was hardly ever compelled to revise his original opinion of the latter. In his. family he was ever loving and patient. His children look upon him as a saint, never cross, never irritable, whose mem¬ ory will always be encircled by a conse¬ crated halo.

Hugh Gilbraith Harrison. In 1803 Thomas Harrison emigrated from North Carolina and settled in the wilderness four miles southwest of the village of Belleville, Illinois. He was a sturdy man of Scotch-Irish descent, and a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Here he opened a farm, and and raised a family of nine children. He was not only a pioneer in the wilderness but he was a pioneer in the milling busi¬ ness of the Mississippi Valley. As early as 1826 he purchased for $300 an ox mill at Belleville, and his two older sons left the farm and assumed the management of the old mill. Five years later the father removed to Belleville with his family and introduced into the mill the first steam engine that was set up in the State of Illinois. A new and larger mill was built in 1836, which was burned in 1843 with 5,000 bushels of wheat and 500 barrels of flour, and no insurance. It was rebuilt the next year, and the bus¬ iness so enlarged that as a local chroni¬ cle testifies, "for many years the product of the Harrison mills at Belleville was the standard of excellence throughout the commercial world. Their sales of flour and purchases of wheat reached millions of dollars." Until the introduc¬ tion of the new process in milling, by which the superior qualities of spring wheat were developed, Belleville flour was the best in the country.

Hugh G. Harrison was a younger son of this pioneer family, born April 23d, 1822. He was educated at McKendree College at Lebanon, Ill., and in his early manhood was associated with his father and brothers in the milling business at Belleville. In 1860 Thomas A., William and Hugh G. Harrison removed to Min¬ neapolis. Each built a fine residence; that of Hugh being on a double block at the corner of Nicollet and Eleventh, then far out of the built up part of the town, and covered with a hazel brush thicket. This remained thefamily homestead, and is to-day one of the most admired homes of the city. For many years the broth¬ ers made their investments and carried on business in common. In course of time the abundant opportunities for bus¬ iness and perhaps diverse tastes led them to separate and pursue different lines. They were original stockholders in the First National Bank of St. Paul, and largely interested in the St. Paul and Sioux City railroad.

In 1862 they built on the corner of Washington and Nicollet avenues the stone block, still standing, at that time the most imposing building in the town, and having a hall which furnished for years the audience room for public meet¬ ings and concerts.

In 1863 they associated themselves with Joseph Dean in the lumber business. The firm of Joseph Dean & Co., for the next fifteen years became the leader in the lumber trade of the city. They bought fine timbered lands, purchased and rebuilt a large saw mill at the mouth of Bassett's Creek, and opened lumber jmrds. Subsequently the}^ built the Pa¬ cific mill on the river bank just above the suspension bridge, whicluvas for _vears the largest and best equipped saw mill in the city. On retiring from the lumber busi¬ ness in 1877, the Security Bank was or¬ ganized, with the largest capital of any baidc in the city. T. A. Harrison being president; Hugh G. Harrison, vice-presi¬ dent, and Joseph Dean, cashier. The bank from the first was prosperous, and took the lead in that line of business. The capital was enlarged as the needs of business required, until it reached $1,- 000,000, with deposits of nearly $6,000, - 000. At the death of the elder brother, Hugh G. Harrison was elected its presi¬ dent, and gave personal attention to its management - the bank attaining unin¬ terrupted prosperity", and engaging in a high degree the public confidence - to the close of his life.

The business career and character of Mr. Harrison were sketched in an obitu¬ ary written at the time of his death by one who had known him intimately, and been associated with him in church fel¬ lowship, from which we condense the concluding part of this notice.

"H. G. Harrison was always fore¬ most in every enterprise x'elating to the growth and well being of the city". He was a carefid student of political ques¬ tions, though not in the ordinary" sense a politician. For many" years during the the formative and constructive period of the school system of the city" he was a member of the School Board, and one of its most faithfid and effective workers. Lai'gely" to his excellent judgment is due the fact that the City" of Minneap¬ olis is ]iossessed of so much valuable school property". He was administrator ot the Spencer estate, which became the foundation for the ])ublic library. He was mayor of Minneaixolis in 1868, and made a splendid administration for the young and growing city-. He founded the grocery house of B. S. Bull & Co., in the seventies, and later on that of Geo.R. Newell & Co. He was one of the largest subscribers and first director and treas¬ urer of the Minneapolis Exposition. At the time of his death he was vice-presi¬ dent of the Minneapolis Trust Company". He al\vay"s took a deep interest in Ham¬ line University", to which he contributed large sums of money. Indeed Mr. H. G. Harrison's benefactions in this cityamong the churches and benevolent en¬ terprises are a multitude. He seemed alway"s to be giving, and he alway-s gave with discrimination, with a liberal hand and cheerfully. Particularly was this the case in the realm of Methodism, of which denomination he had been a life long member, and active promoter.

Mr. Harrison was a cultivated Christ¬ ian gentleman. He was a member and trustee of Hennepin Avenue M. E. Church of this city". Always a student, an ex¬ tensive traveler both in this country- and abroad, anomniverous reader of the best literature, his mind was broad and his views well settled. There was nothing narrow in his disposition or attain¬ ments. He was helpful, always helpful, to y-oung men, to worthy public enter¬ prises, and to the necessities of men and women about him, his purse was ever open. He was an intense lover of good music.

Mr. Harrison was twice married. His first wife, Irene, died August 13th, 1876. By this marriage he had five sons, all now living and grown to manhood, and successfully" engaged in various lines of business. They" are Edwin, George, Lewis, Hugh and Perry". October 25th, 1877, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Wood Hunt, of Allentown, Pa., who, with her daughter, Helen Loui.se, and the sons above named survive him. He also has three sisters. Airs. Dovy- AlcBride, ot

Mr. Hari'ison had made in the latter part of Jul^', 1891, a business trip to the East, and returning seemed in perfect health. A slight indisposition kept him at home for a few days. He was at his desk at the bank on Monday Aug. 10th, but returning home took to his bed, and on Wednesda3' night went to his final rest, heart failure followinga severecold, being assigned as the fatal cause.

Joseph De.\n. The subject of this post mortem sketch was for nearly forty years an active, upright, and honored citizen of Hennepin county, and for the greater part of the time of the town and city of Minneapolis.

He was born on the 10th of Januaiw, 1826, near the city of Enniskillen, County of Fermanagh, in the west of Ireland, whence his father, John Dean, emigrated while he was a child, to the vicinity of Sherbrook, Canada West. Thence the family removed, when he was ten years old, to Belvidere, Ill. Here he grew to manhood, working upon a farm and learning the carpenter's trade, en¬ joying only fragmentary opportunities to attend the common schools. For a time he worked at his trade in Chicago.

In 1850 he was marified to Nancy H. Stanley, of Belvidere, Ill., whose family were from Western New York, and in the spring of that year came to Minnesota. This was the year when Isaac Atwater, Edward Murphy, Allen Harmon, Joel B. Bassett and W. W. Wales settled here. Mr. Dean, however, did not settle in the town, but went to Oak Grove, (now Bloomington) on the Minnesota river, where he engaged in running a ferry, and two 3'ears later took a claim there. His attention was not, however, wholly engaged with occupations at Oak Grove, for in the summer of 1851 he superin¬ tended the erection of a store in St. Anthon3" for John H. Stevens and Frank¬ lin Steele, and was employed at Fort Snelling b3' Mr. Steele in the line of his trade.

At the organization of Hennepin County in October, 1852, he was elected, with John Jackins and Alexander Moore as colleagues, on the Board of County Commissioners, ofwhich John H. Stevens was Clerk. This first election was unan¬ imous, each candidate receiving sevent3'- one votes. The board located the count3" seat and entered upon the records the location with the name of Albion. The named proved unsatisfactory, and after much discussion, when Charles Hoag evolved the name Minneapolis, it was substituted upon the official record. Air. Dean served on the board for three years. Meanwhile he served upon the first Grand Jury empaneled in the county in 1853, and was appointed upon the Whig Committee for the precinct of St. Peter, now Bloomington.

On the first of January, 1854, he re¬ ceived the appointment of postmaster of Bloomington, it being the first postoffice established in the county outside of Fort Snelling, preceding by a few da3^s the establishment of the office in Minneapo¬ lis. In the spring o f 1856 Mr. Dean re¬ moved to Minneapolis where he contin¬ ued to reside until his death in 1890. Here he engaged as a contractor and builder, and soon purchased the planing mill and sash and door factoi'3^ at the Falls, which he operated in connection with his business as builder.

In 1856 his name appeared as a leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he continued an active and devout member, often holding official positions in Centenary, Hennepin Avenue and Franklin Avenue Clmrches.

About the r^ear 1863 he associated the Harrison Brothers with himself in the lumber business, under the firm name of Joseph Dean & Co. The business be¬ came verv extensive and profitable. The company purchased cpiantities of timber land and cut their own logs. The\' first purchased the Stanchfieldsawmillat the mouth of Bassett's creek, and enlarged and rebuilt it. This the3" operated until it was burned, when the3" bought the large mill known as "Pacific Mill'' on the west bank of the river, just above the suspension bridge. This was a veiy complete saw mill and was operated until the firm retired from business about 1877.

In the summer of 1877 Mr. Dean was appointed cashier of the State National Bank, and tipon the merging of the busi¬ ness of that institution in the newly or¬ ganized Security Bank, became its cash¬ ier, and was upon its board of direction. The late Thomas A. Harrison was presi¬ dent of the bank, and Hugh G. Harrison was vice-president. These gentlemen, so long associated with Mr. Dean in business, had come to know his integrit3', efficienc3' accurac3', and, al¬ though not trained to the banking busi¬ ness, selected him for the responsible po¬ sition. The wisdom of their choice was demonstrated by the popularity and success of the bank which soon became the leading bank of the cit3' in capital and busine.ss.

from its organization until the summer of 1882, when forced to resign on ac¬ count of ill health. He afterwards occu¬ pied for a time the office of general man¬ ager of the bank, and later that of vicepresident. On account of continued ill health he was forced to retire from ac¬ tive management of the bank and seek relaxation in travel.

His private business had become ver3' large and engaged all the time and strength he had to devote to business, although he remained a director of the bank. For man3' 3"ears Mr. Dean was a trustee of Hamline Universit3", in whose success he took a deep interest, and to which he made large gifts.

His family consisted of seven children of whom four survive him. Mrs. Dean died in 1874 and Mr. Dean re-married in 1876 to Elizabeth Stevens, of Baile3'- ville. Ill., who survives him.

The First National Bank of St. An¬ thony was organized about 1870, with a capital of $50,000. H. M. Carpenter was its first president, and was succeeded by Elais Moses. T. A. Merph3' was cashier. Afterwards the bank was con¬ solidated with the Merchants National Bank of Hastings, which had a capital of $100,000, and was removed to Min¬ neapolis and called the Merchants Nat¬ ional Bank. Elias Moses was president of the consolidated bank at first; after¬ ward Stephen Gardner and Daniel Bas¬ sett. W. J. Vandyke was cashier at first and was succeeded b3' J. M. Wil¬ liams. The bank went into voluntar3- licpiidation and was closed.

The Northwestern National Bank was organized in 1872, with a capital of $200,000, D. Morrison being ])resident, and afterward H. T. Welles, and S. E. Neilcr cashier. In 1879, during the ab-

HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLISsence of the cashier in Europe, the as¬ sistant cashier abstracted about $127,- 000 of the funds of the bank, which he squandered in speculation. The deficit, having been discovered by the Bank Ex¬ aminer, was promptly made up by the stockholders, and the capital increased to $1,000,000, Mr.Neiler giving place to S. A. Harris as cashier. Mr. Wells, owing to failing health, resigned the presidency, and was succeeded by Winthrop Young. The bank continued to do a large and profitable business, and has always been among the most useful of the city banks. At present George A. Pillsbury is president, and D. B. Forgan cashier.

Mr. Neiler, soon after his retii'ement from the Northwestern National, ob¬ tained a charter for a new bank, which assumed the name of Union National, and commenced business in 1883, with a capital of $500,000, at the corner ol First Avenue South and Third Street, Mr. Neiler being president, and H. J. Neiler cashier.

The National Bank of Commei'ce was the next national bank to organize, and commenced business in 1884 in the Chamber of Commerce building, with a capital of $400,000. E. F. Gould was president, and William Powell cashier. Afterwards E. A. Harmon became its president. At the present time S. A. Harris is president, and H. H. Thayer cashier. The bank has lately erected a handsome five story stone block on the corner of Fourth Street and First Avenue South, to which it removed its banking office, and now occupies the most eligible ciuarters of any of the city banks, hav¬ ing increased its capital to $ 1 ,000,000.

Samuel Arthur Harris. A man not yet passed his forty -fifth year, who with¬ out influential eonnections has already directed the affairs of two of our largest national banks as president, must pos¬ sess both innate qualities and acquired skill for financial affairs. Such are found in the subject of this sketch.

S. A. Harris was born at Goshen, Elk¬ hart County, Indiana, Oct. 25, 1847. His father, Thomas G. Harris, one of the best known lawyers of his state, and in the latter years of his life one of the founders and president of Salem Bank, at Goshen - an institution which has weathered the financial storms of forty years, and is still doing a prosperous business. He had settled there about 1830, coming from northern New York. His American ancestor in the eighth generation was Thomas Harris, who settled in Boston about 1635, coming probably from Wales. The family generally followed ag¬ ricultural pursuits in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and removed to Washing¬ ton County, New York, previously to the American Revolution. The maternal line of S. A. Harris runs back for nine genera¬ tions to Nicholas Danforth, who came from England in 1636, and settled in Cambridge, Mass. Both his paternal and maternal ancestors at the period of the Revolution served their country in the Continental army. Thomas G. Harris died when his son Arthur was eleven years old, his widow and daughter con¬ stituting, with the young son, the sur¬ viving famil3L The son passed the ^^ears of early life in attendance on the public schools, completing his education in let¬ ters with graduation at the High School. After leaving school he passed two or three years in the East and in Europe, and at his majority, m 1868, came to Minneapolis. His first employment was for a year as clerk in the hardware store of Hedderly and Vroman . Next he spent a 3'ear as clei'k for Harris and Putnam, who were extensively engaged in the lumber business. When this firm went out of business he engaged for a few

At the organization of the Hen¬ nepin County Savings Bank, in 1870, he became a stockholder and trustee, and was appointed assistant cashier. In this connection he remained until 1879, asso¬ ciated with E. S. Jones, the president, and J. E. Bell, the cashier of this conser¬ vative and successful bank.

The Northwestern National Bank had been in operation a few 3'ears when a large defalcation by its assistant cashier necessitated a re-organization of its bus¬ iness.

S. E. Neiler was its cashier, and Mr. Harris was appointed in the fall of 1879 assistant cashier. In the following spring Mr. Neiler dissolved his connection with the bank, and Mr. Harris was promoted to be its cashier. Sev^en or eight 3'ears later he was promoted to the presidency of the bank. Under his administration the bank greatly enlarged its capital and business, and became one of the most prosperous and influential financial institutions in the Northwest. The capital was increased in 1882 from $500,000 to $1,000,000, placing it in the rank of the large banks of the cit^'. At the time of his entering this institution its assets embraced a large amount of real estate which was soon converted into cash, bv a series of skillful negotiations, thus plac¬ ing its large capital in condition for greatest availability in the legitimate operation of its business. Mr. Harris resigned the presidency of the North¬ western in 1890 to secure a needed rest, expecting later to engage in another line ol business. He spent several months at the seashore with hisfamilv. Hebecamc, in 1891, treasurer of the Duluth Elevator Compaiu', with his office in Minneapolis, and still holds the ]K)sition. But the recognized ability of Mr. Harris as a banker, and perhaps his own inclina¬ tions, did not ])crmit him to remain long in retii-ement from the profes¬ sion with which he had been connect¬ ed for moi'e than twenty \'ears. In De¬ cember, 1891, he was chosen as president of the National Bank of Commerce. Here the effect of his skill as a financial manager was soon apparent. This bank had, like the Northwestern in its earhhistory, a burden of real estate and other unprofitable assets, t^dng up more than half its capital, and which had been for several \"earsa source of greeit embarrasment to its business. The new president began the task of unloading, and in less than six months restored the entire as¬ sets of the institution to a cash basis, thus placing the bank in condition to avail iUself of its fine advantages of loca¬ tion and prestige. It now stands with its cash capital of $1,000,000 among the four leading banks of the cit\'.

A man so prominent in financial man¬ agement has naturally shared in the honors of the profession. He has been president of the Clearing House Associa¬ tion, as well as president of the Dual Cit\' Bankers' Club. He has been for some jxars a member of the Executive Council of the American Bankers' Asso¬ ciation. He has also been a director of the Alinnesota Loan and Trust Com¬ pany from its organization, and treas¬ urer of the Globe Gas Light Compaiu'.

While assiduous in his devotion to business, which has not been without effect in building up a ver\' considerable private fortune, Mr. Hands has not been unmindful of social and civic duties. Eor many \'ears he has been an elder in the Westminster Presb\Terian church, and prominent in its evangelistic and mission work, having been for some \'ears treas¬ urer of the Presbyterian Alliance. He has a quiet, unostentatious and somewhat reticent habit ; is method- ical in his work and achieves results by elose attention to detail and industry in his daily work. But no perfeetion of de¬ tail nor regularity of method would suf¬ fice to place him in the front rank of suc¬ cessful finaneiers, without sound judg¬ ment, integrity and a eomprehensive grasp of the principles which control, and an adequate foiecast of the results of business events.

Soundness of judgment, firmness in adherence to a ehosen poliey, with tact and industry, are the chief qualities which lead to sueeess in banking. The banker who listens with a eredulous mind to the delusive dream of his too hopeful customer, or lends himself to the speeulative sehemes whieh are always rife about him, soon finds his capital slipping beyond his eontrol and his bank drifting upon the roeks of insolvency. While striet honesty should charaeterize every transaetion, he must ever remem¬ ber that his institution is not a charita¬ ble foundation.

Mr. Harris married September 16, 1872, Anna C., daughter of Rev. Daniel Stewart, D. D., of Minneapolis. He has a family of three children, two boys and one daughter.

The Flour City National Bank orga¬ nized and eommenced business in the Lumber Exehange building in 1887. Its capital stock is $1,000,000. T. B. Wal¬ ker is president, and George E. Maxwell cashier.

During the present year (1892) the Columbia National Bank has been es¬ tablished, with a paid-vqD capital of $105,000. Charles Kittelson is president, and H. M. Knapp, eashier.

Of banks having eharters under the genei'al banking laws of the state, but no eirculation, besides the Security Bank ah'eady mentioned, the City Bank has been in business sinee 1869, and under its eharter since 1872. Its eapital is $500,- 000. J. W. Penee was its first president, and T. J. Buxton eashier. Mr. Buxton is now president, and F. A. Smith eashier.

Thomas Jefferson Buxton. The profession of banking is an exacting one. It rec[uires in its managing offieers unre¬ mitting attention; close aequaintance with the finaneial eonditions of the com¬ munity and of the greater influenees whieh effeet monetary stability in the country; good judgement; firmness of administration and alertness in all the daily occurring details of business. It is quite ineompatible with political life ; and seldom affords its votary either time or opportunity to eultivate litera¬ ture, seienee or art, except as reereation.

Mr. Buxton has been for nearly thirty years an executive bank offieer, and for twenty-three years either eashier or president of the City Bank of Minne¬ apolis. Under his management it has grown from a private banking partner¬ ship to an ineorporated bank, with a eapital of $300,000, and a line of de¬ posits of nearly a million and a quarter of dollars ; enjoying the fullest eonfidence of the eommunit3q and shaidng in the best business of the eity. During its eareer it has eneountered finaneial vicis¬ situdes, whieh have earried down many of its eonteraporaries, and which have tested and proved the skill and judg¬ ment of its manager. To the exigeneies of a rapidly growing community, with more enterprise than eapital, with eustomers fertile in expedients, and hopeful of desperate ventures, there has been encountered the eontraction following the war, and attending the return to

Mr. Buxton is one of those who have risen without the aid of fortune or in¬ herited position, by the force of his own energetic character to an eminent posi¬ tion in the financial world - another of the many illustrations of the beneficence of our free institutions.

He was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, Nov. 18, 1836. His father, James Buxton, and his ancestors for sev¬ eral generations had resided in that county, having a tradition of an English extraction. The family removed to Ohio while Thomas J. was an infant, and took up a wild farm in Union County. He was the fifth of a faraih^ of eight children, and passed the years of minority in labor upon the farm, with an occa¬ sional winter at the adjacent district school. Arriving of age he took employ¬ ment as a laborer on a railroad, and then obtained a clerkship iti a grocery store at Mar3'sville, the count}" seat of Union County. In 1859 he madea pros¬ pecting trip to Colorado, spending a year, with no permanent result, and I'eturning, obtained a position as freight and ticket agent at Delaware, Ohio, in which position the call to arms in 1861 found him. Inspired by the prevailing and contagious patriotic ardor he raised a company of volunteers, and was chosen its captain, and entered the mili¬ tary service in Company E, 66th Regi ment of Ohio Volunteers. His regiment joined the Army of the Potomac, and shared its labors and fatigues, until June 8th, 1862, at the battle of Port Republic, he was taken prisoner with most of the regiment and sent to Salisbury, N. C., and in October following was consigned to Libb\' prison. P'rom this bitter con¬ finement he was released by exchange, and rejoined his regiment at Harper's

Ferry in 1862. He' participated in the sharp action of Dumfries, Va., and the next spring was in the battle of Chancellorsville, where his regiment and com¬ pany suffered a heav3'loss. He was then engaged upon detached duty until after Gettysburg, when, upon surgeon's certi¬ ficate of disability, his resignation from the service was accepted.

Having in the meantime, February, 1863, married Miss Delia Griffin, of Delaware, Ohio, he returned to Union County and became cashier of a bank of which Judge W. W. Woods was presi¬ dent. He remained in this employment for six years, until October, 1869, when he came to Minneapolis, and associating with Judge Woods, J. W. Pence and V. G Hush as partners, founded as a pri¬ vate banking house the City Bank. In 1872 the bank was incorporated as a State bank, J. W. Pence being president, and Mr. Buxton, cashier. After ten years of service as cashier, Mr. Pence retiring, Mr. Buxton was elected presi¬ dent of the bank, a position which he still holds.

In 1877, Mr. Buxton was compli¬ mented b}" the nomination of the Demo¬ cratic party as Cit\' Treasurer, and was elected, holding this most responsible position under the city government for eight years, and through a change of political control of the city. He held other fiduciary appointments, such as president and trustee of the Monitor Plow Works, and trustee of the Alinneaijolis Gas Light Compan}-.

The Bank of Minneapolis succeeded to the business of Byers & Wilson, priv¬ ate bankers, who were established in 1867, in 1883, wdth a capital of $100,- 000, since increased to $250,000. T. W. Wilson was president until his death. At the present time M. J. Bofferding is presi¬ dent, and W. M. Wright, cashier. The bank owns and occupies the magnificent banking house at the corner of Nicollet Avenue and Third Street.

The Citizens Bank was organized in 1876, with a present capital of $250,- 000. N. F. Griswold was first president, and succeeded by C. A. Bovey, and Geo. B. Shepherd, cashier. The bank occupies its own building on Nicollet Avenue.

The Commercial Bank is on the east side of the river and is a great conven¬ ience for that side of the river. It was started in 1883; capital, $200,000; Winthrop Young, president, and O. C. Merriman, cashier.

The Scandia Bank has been doing business since 1883. Capital, $60,000. R. Sunde was president, A. C. Haugan, cashier, at its organization. The pres¬ ent officers are R. Sunde, president, and John H. Field, cashier. Its location is on Cedar Avenue, in the southeastern part of the city, and as its name implies is a favorite of the Scandinavian people.

The State Bank, located at the coimer of Second Avenue South and Third Street, has a capital of $75,000. Krisian Kortgaard is president, and O. E. Naegel cashier.

Kristian Kortgaard. Minneapolis has ever been indulgent of her citizens of foreign birth. Whether of Scandinavian, Teutonic, Gallic or Celtic blood, they have shared with the native born in civic honors and social recognition. So large a share of her iiopulation have come from the Scandinavian Peninsula that they constitute not only a promi¬ nent element in the industries of the city, but are largely represented in finance, in trade, in art, and in professional life.

Among those of this nationality who occupy a prominent place in finance, and in office, is Kristian Kortgaard, presi¬ dent of the State Bank and treasurer of the city.

He was born at Soloer, Norway, January 17, 1855. His father, Lars Kortgaard, was a wealthy land owner, and gave his son the best and most var¬ ied education that his ample means could provide. The son developed industrious habits and an inquisitive mind, and made the best use of his opportunities. At sixteen 3"ears of age he was appren¬ ticed in a lumber merchant's office in Fredrickstad, after which he was sent to England to stud^qand in London, the great metropolis of the civilized world, he was inducted into the language and customs of the English-speaking world. So apt was he in observation that it was said of him that Kortgaard knew more about London, its streets, parks, muse¬ ums, sights and people than any born Londoner. His father desired him to go to Paris to pursue his mercantile and linguistic studies, but an accident deter¬ mined him to go to Hamburg, Germany, instead. After perfecting himself in the German language, he went to Sweden and engaged in the management of the branch office of an English lumber busi¬ ness, but did not continue it long. He then returned to his native place in Nor¬ way. But he was not content to remain long there. The years which he had spent in freer England and Germanv'- made that of his home seem narrow and intolerant. Priestcraft and bigotry seemed to him to dominate the commu¬ nity, bound by the rigid forms of a state church. His free spirit revolted against the mental tyranyof the chureh officials, and he resolved to onee more seek free¬ dom of thought and action, in broader fields. In 1877 he sought and obtained employment in Bremen, Germany, where he passed the next three years. He was then seleeted, out of a thousand a])plicants, by an Amsterdam colonial house, and sent on a mercantile mission to the tropieal island of Sumatra, East Indies. Here he superintended tobacco planta¬ tions, employing Chinese, Malays, Battacks, Siamese, Bengalese, and other un¬ civilized workmen. He was more than once lost in the almost impenetrable jun¬ gle, where a white man had never before set his foot. He had main'- thrilling ad¬ ventures among wild elephants, tigers and boa eonstrietors, that swarmed the tropieal forest. The constant tempera¬ ture of 120 degrees was too much for even his strong eonstitution, and he was foreed to forsake the deadly climate. He went northward, traveling through other parts of the East Indies, and after dwelling some time in China and Japan, investigating these strange eountries, he took passage for Ameriea and landed m San Francisco. His first errand on arri¬ val was to the court house to take out his first papers as an Ameriean citizen. His money was expended exeept a single trade dollar, and he borrowed a dollar of the mate of the steamer to pa\' the naturalization fee. He found business dull in California and eame east. He first found employment in Mobile, Ala¬ bama, and then in Chicago, in the bank¬ ing business.

In 1882 Mr. Kortgaard had gained sufficient means, by industry and close attention to his employment, to enable him to make a trip to Europe, bent not alone on pleasure, for at Geestemuende, Germany, he married the daughter of the Burgomaster, with whom he returned to

America, and came at onee to Minne¬ apolis. Here he entered one of the banks as an employe, and served for three years, gaining a knowledge of the people and the ways of business.

In 1885 Air. Kortgaard joined with others in organizing the State Bank, of which he was appointed cashier. After serving for six years in this capacity he was elected ])resident of the bank, which position he still holds. He holds the important position of president of the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western rail¬ road company, which in connection with a Canadian company, is now engaged in constructing a line of railroad from Lake Superior, at Port Arthur, in the Dominion of Canada, to reach the iron range of Northeastern Alinnesota. He is actively engaged in several other branches of business, and so absorbed as to have little time to take an active part in politics. Notwithstanding, he was nominated for cit}' treasurer on the Demo¬ cratic ticket in 1890, and elected over one of the most popular Republicans in the cit3^ by a plurality of 3,121. No higher testimonial to his standing and popularity in the community could be desired.

Air. Kortgaai'd is a fine specimen of manhood, physically. He is tall and robust, and enjo\'S the best of health, though his emplo3'ment is confining and its duties absorbing. In Alinneapolis he has found a congenial home and society. Here is opportunitA' and abundant ap¬ preciation and reward of industry and fidelity'. While yet a young man, he has made his own wa}', b\' his own exert¬ ions, to an honorable position, and does honor alike to the qualities dei'ived from his native land, and to the opportunities of that of his ado])tion.

The Swedish American Bank opened its doors in the summer of 1888 on Washington avenue. Capital, $250,000. 0. N. Ostrom, president, and N. O. War¬ ner, cashier.

The German American Bank, incor¬ porated in 1887, is located in North Minneapolis. Capital, $50,000. George Huhn, president ; Egbert Cowles, cashier.

The Irish American Bank is located in the Kasota Block, corner Washington and Hennepin avenues. Capital, $100,- 000. J. S. Coughlin, president, and J. E. Scallen, cashier.

The Bank of New England, was or¬ ganized in 1891, and opened its doojs for business on the ground floor of the Guaranty Loan building. Its p)aid in capital is $100,000. Alden J. Blethen is president, and Frank M. Morgan, cashier.

During the present year (1892) the Washington Bank has been incorporated with a capital of $100,000. A. C. Haugan is president and John W. Field, cashier.

In 1878 V. G. Hush opened a private bank in the rooms formerly occupied by the National Exchange Bank, and for a long time conducted a conservative and prospefous business. Engaging in the practice of negotiating commercial pa¬ per in the Eastern cities, he was so in¬ cautious as to endorse a large amount of paper, and one of his speculative cus¬ tomers whose paper he had endorsed,

The private banking house of Hill, Sons & Co. was established in 1891, Mr. Henry Hill, a wealthy and experienced man in the business, being chief capital¬ ist and president. Their place of busi¬ ness is in the Lumber Exchange.

Henry Hill. The career which it is the purpose of this brief sketch to com¬ memorate, would, if adequately set in its connections, be an epitome of the history of the Mississippi Valley. At the period when Mr. Hill's residence began in the West, St. Louis had only 7,000 inhabi¬ tants. Galena was a prosperous village of ten to twelve hundred ; the first set¬ tler in Chicago had arrived only three years before, while the whole countr3' south and west of Illinois was terra in¬ cognita, except as its wildeimess was penetrated by the hardy trapper, or ex¬ plored b^^ the pioneer missionary. Stage coaches toiling through the marshy roads were the most expeditious mode of travel, while the flat-boat, leisurely floating down the river, carried the slight commerce of the West. Adven¬ turous settlers were beginning to found homes where now is the seat of a mighty inland empire, populous and rich in all the elements of a high civilization. In the development of this stupendous civi¬ lization Mr. Hill was a powerful factor. In manufactui'es, in trade, in finance, and more than all in perfecting facilities of transportation by river and rail, through the Mississippi Valley, he was a pioneer and a most conspicuous actor.

Henry Hill was born May 19, 1828, in Stokeclemson, Devonshire, England. His ancestors for man}" generations were yeoman of that country, his grandfather owning the farm which he cultivated in fee. John Hill, a carpenter by trade.

emigrated to Ameriea in 1832 with his family, consisting of wife, six sons and one daughter. One of these sons was Henry Hill, then of the age of four years. After remaining in Philadelphia about a year, John Hill pushed on toward the West, and joined a company of Phila¬ delphia and Pittsburgh gentlemen, formed for the purpose of founding a city on the banks of the Mississippi, as archi¬ tect and master mechanic, and in that emplo^'ment commenced operations in building at Marion City. The enterprise was eventually abandoned, and the waters of the great river now flow over its site. Afterwards engaging in his emlflo3^ment on the public works of the State of Illinois, he settled his family on a farm ten miles east of Warsaw. Here his son Henr\", when onl^' twelve v^ears of age, was placed in charge of the farm, while his father was engaged elsewhere in building and operating a mill. At this earl\' age, having observed that good habits as well as industr\^ were es¬ sential to success in life, he resolved never to use tobacco or intoxicating drinks, and with characteristic tenacitj^ of purpose he has kept the resolution to the present time. At fifteen \'ears of age he joined his father, working in the "Big Stone Mill," and the next \'ear was placed in charge of the machiner\" of the "Spencer Mill."

In 1846 3'oung Hill entered the em¬ ploy' of J. H. Wood, a blacksmith of great renown in his trade, but better known as a man of the utmost rectitude, of broad and liberal views, and indeed a deep thinker. There amid the flying sparks under the tuition of this admira¬ ble man, the bo}^ learned much, not onlv of his trade, but of his dut\" to himself and his fellow men. From the shop of this famous blacksmith, with the aid of his sturdv' appi'entice, was turned out the first diamond plough that would scovir and clean itself in the rich prairie soil - the ])recursor of the modern plough. While Mr. Wood was absent on a visit to his old Eastern home, the \'Oung a])prentice, then but eighteen \'ears of age, made all of the wrought iron work for a mill which his father was building. Soon he joined two of his brothers who were emplov^ed as engineers of the "Prairie Bird," a Mississippi river steamboat engaged in cariwing passengers between St. Louis and Chi¬ cago by way of the Illinois river. At that time the popidation of Chicago was no more than 14,000, while St. Louis numbered 60,000.

In the winter of 1848-9, being at home and unemplo3'ed, Henr3" attended school for two months. This, with the exception of a little schooling when five 3'ears of age, constituted his onl3' educa¬ tion other than that acquired in the school of active life.

At the age of twent3"-one Henr3' took charge of the mill which his father was obliged to give up through failing health. He acquired the interest of his father's partner in the propert3', and thencefor¬ ward conducted the business under tlie firm name of John Hill & Sons. In the same year he married the daughter of Dr. William Smith, a prominent ph3^sician in that part of the county. Mrs. Hill, like her husband, had experienced the privations of frontier life, and living with him for fort3'-threc years with like experiences and S3'mpathies, she has made an admirable helpmate.

The following 3^ear the business was enlarged by the addition of a grist mill. An incident occurred about this tijue which shows the qiuckness of perception and tenacit3' of will which characterize the man. He used a fine team of horses about his business, one of which fell sick. He was advised to administer a decoc¬ tion of a quart of green cofiee. The horse died, and a farmer eustomer, learn¬ ing the remedy whieh had been used, in¬ formed him that the dose was enough to kill half a dozen horses. Mr. Hill rea¬ soned that if a dose of eoffee would kill a horse, iteouldnot be a healthful bever¬ age for man, and he then and there re¬ solved never again to use coffee, and he never has. Another incident a little later was quite as characteristic. Having in¬ vested quite lagely in logs to be cut on the Des Moines river, when several rafts had been made up he learned that heavy rains had fallen along the river. Mr. Hill started in the afternoon to follow the shore of the river from Alexandria to Bonaparte, a distance of twenty-six miles, on foot and alone, in the hope that he might meet his men and rafts. His path was a rugged one, forcing him not onlv to wade the little streams emptying into the river, but often to swim the larger ones not yet clear of ice. He reached his destination at eleven o'clock that night tii'ed out, but much elated to find his men with the logs lying safe at the bank.

From 1850 to 1856 the flouring and saw mills were managed successfully. For the purpose of procrrring logs for the saw mill Mr. Hill, in company with the pi'esent Judge Orendorf, of Baltimore, visited the Falls of St. Anthony in 1852. After the lapse of fort\'- years he now lives in the metropolis of the Northwest, one of its active citizens, where then he found but a hamlet with a single saw mill.

Quick to observe the need and to pro¬ vide the facilities for commerciad inter¬ course, Mr. Hill, in 1854, with his brothers and several associates, organ¬ ized the Northern Line Packet Company whose steamboats plied beeween St. Louis and St. Paul, forming the sole line of communication throughout the valley of the ujDper river. Two of his brothers were in the management of the com¬ pany, and one of them was for many years captain of some of the boats. J. J. Hill, the well known railway mag¬ nate, was one of the company's clerks in St. Paul, whose career illustrates what a man of brains and push can accomplish in the great Northwest.

One of Mr. Hill's friends who was engaged in distilling, became embarassed and appealed to him for assistance. He undertook to purchase about 40,000 bushels of corn, then in store in Alissouri. Crossing the Mississippi river on the ice on the 4th day of April, he had nego¬ tiated the purchase of the corn and was ready to return on the 8th, when he found the ice had become thin and gave every indication of breaking up. Anxious to return and relieve the anxiety of his family against the remonstrances of his friends who had accompanied him to the river, he decided to undertake the cross¬ ing. With a long pole in his hand he started, but found that the ice would not support his weight. Throwing him¬ self prostrate he worked himself by slow degrees over the dangerous places, and was received by a crowd on the Illinois side, that had watched his progress with cheei's. This incident gave him a wide reputation for business sagacity and personal daring. About a year later the friend whom he had aided in an emergency proposed to take Mr. Hill into partnership, and all the arrange¬ ments to that end were perfected, when it was broken up by the objection of his friend's sons. Mr. Hill, therefore, de¬ termined to withdraw the aid which he had extended, and to embark in the busi¬ ness on his own account.

Accordingly with his three brothers and J. W. and Geo. A. Knox, a partner¬ ship was formed, under the name of Hill, Knox & Co., to build and operate a distiller3^ on a large scale. In the winter of

1855-6, the necessary buildings were erected and the l)usiness successfulh' commenced. When the disastrous panic of 1857 spread through the countr}', all the competitors of the firm in that part of the country went into bankruptcy. In Sei)tcmber, 1858, an incident occurred which tested Mr. Hill's integrity, and in its outcome illustrates the adage that "honest\'is the best policy." Credit had become contracted ; specie was hoarded ; there was little sale for their product, and their indebtedness, some two hun¬ dred thousand dollars, was large for those times. Their creditors became urgent and threatened legal proceedings. Their counsel advised making a sale to one of Mr. Hill's brothers, who was not connected with the business, and taking a lease, continue the business, to the defeat of the creditors. No sooner was this advice given than Henry Hill re¬ sented it in the most indignant and forcible language. Soon a committee of the creditors came on from St. Louis to institute proceedings against the firm. They applied to the same counsel who had before advised the firm, and learning what had occurred, they were so imju'essed with Mr. Hill's honesty and pluck, that the\' returned without taking proceedings, and when they made their report it was determined not only not to press for payment, but to make the firm a large j;idvance without security. This was done, and the result justified the unusual proceeding, for Hill, Knox& Co. soon paid all their indebtedness, and thereafter transacted a veiw large and profitable business.

During a ])art of the time of the civil war, this firm paid the U. S. govern¬ ment a tax of $96,000 per month, fitted out and sent a large number of men into the union army, and bought of the first issue of government bonds as much as they could raise money to pay for. The distillery plant was destroyed by fire in 1864, without insurance, entailing a heavy loss upon the owners. It was never re-l)uilt, but the same firm con¬ structed in its place a large woolen mill at Warsaw, Ill., at a cost of $180,000 - the most eomplete mill of its kind in the west. About this time the firm became interested in the great dry goods house of John V. Far well & Co., of Chicago, and assisted Douglas Farwell to become a partner in the firm.

In 1886, Mr. Hill entered upon a new era in his various experiences, engaging extensiveh" in railroad building. With several associates he undertook the con¬ struction of the Toledo, I'eoria & West¬ ern Railroad. He was made president of the eonstruetion company, and jjressed the work to eompletion with his wonted energy. After its completion he was made president of the railroad.

Mr. Hill was present in 1869 at Ogden, at the cotnpletion of the Union and Central Pacific railroads. On his return east his opinion was sought Iw J. E. Thompson, president of the Pennsyl¬ vania Central, as to the probabilit3' the Pacific railroads being able to earn operating expenses and fixed charges. His adverse report then made was justi¬ fied by the residt.

About this time Mr. Hill, in connec¬ tion with J. E. Thompson, Thomas Scott, Andrew Carnegie, Charles and James Secor, Benjamin Smith, Ex-Gov. Dennison and Gen. Drake, organized a eonstruetion company- for the purpose of constructing the M., I. & N. K. R., from Alexandria, Mo., to Nebraska Cit\', Neb., and was made superintendent of the compaiu', and subse(iuently was elected to the vice-presidenc\' of the road.

which Mr. Hill was an active member, to build the Midland Pacific railroad from Nebraska City to a connection with the Union Pacific, at Fort Kearne3". About one hundred miles of each had been com¬ pleted when the panic of 1873 forced a suspension of work. Air. Hill's asso¬ ciates called him to New York to consrdt as to the best course to be pursued. Their opinion differed from that enter¬ tained b}^ him. They thought the panie would not continue over ninety^ days; he believed it would last through several 3'ears. He husbanded his resources, and laid his plans aecordingly. In eonnection with Gen. Drake and A. L. Griffin, and upon their individual resources and credits Mr. Hill eompleted and operated the first named road and kept it out of the hands of a receiver. SubsequentU^ he sold the Midland Paeific to the C., B. & 0. railwa3" company.

In 1878, Air. Hill was one of a com¬ mittee of three selected Iw the bondhold¬ ers, to purchase, sell and re-organize the T., P. & W. railwa3\ This was successfulty carried through, and the sum of six million dollars realized upon the sale, to the satisfaction of all concerned. While engaged in these operations, Rob¬ ert G. Ingersoll was emplo3'ed b3'' Air. Hill's company as attorney and counsel, and between him and Air. Hill there spi'ang up a warm andlastingfriendship. In 1879, in compan3^ with Andrew Car¬ negie, Air. Hill went to New York to arrange for the completion of the railwa3' constructions which had been inter¬ rupted b3^ the financial panic. The M., I. & N. R. R. was extended by Mr. Hill and Gen. Drake through two more cotmties in Iowa, and the3^ at the same time organized a company and built a road twenty'-six miles in length, from Albia to Centreville, whieh was built and sold in one hundred days from the time groimd was first broken. Up to that time this

In 1881, Air. Hill and his associates disposed of both the M., 1. & N. and T., P. & W.railwa3"s to the Wabash S3'stem, of wdiich Jay Gould was at that time the head and controlling j)ower. This large and successful transaction closed Air. Hill's railroad enterprises, and after nearl3'- a3''ear spent in California he came with his famil3' to Minneapolis and took up his residence here, with the intention of retiring from aetive business. But he was greatly attracted by the enterprise of the community', and stimulated b3'the indication of a great future before it, made some large real estate investments. For over thirty years he has been and still is a partner in the Bank of Hill, Dodge & Co., of Warsaw, Ill. He en¬ gaged with activity in the organization of the Flour City National Bank of Alinneapolis, and has been on its board of directors since its organization. In 1891, in connection with his sons and Wallace Campbell, he established the Bank of Hill, Sons & Co., of which he is the president.

The life of Air. Hill has been a remark¬ able one. From small beginnings, b3' industr3'', good habits, perseverance and integrity, he has achieved rare success. His business associates, among whom are some of the foremost men of the country, and his social friends, all unite in their admiration and high regard for him. His charities and benefactions, although quiet and unobtrusive, are none the less large. He has materiall3' aided many worthy men and contributed liberally to deserving charities. Gener¬ ous, honorable, genial and large hearted. Air. Hill still continues his active life, in the full enjoyment of its well earned fruits, high in the esteem of his friends and associates, loved b3^ man3' and I'espected by all.

Win. E. Steele & Co. is another lead¬ ing private lianking house. Mr. Steele is a son of Franklin Steele, one of the first of the pioneers, and does a very ereditable business. His place of busi¬ ness is No. 12 North Third Street.

Savings Banks

The State Savings Association was orgar.lzed as a corporation in 1866 b3' R. J: IMendenhall, R. J. Baldwin and T. A. Merph\', and conducted stricth' as a Savings Bank until 1873, when Messrs. Baldwin and AIerph\' withdrew, and subsequenth' its business was merged into the private banking house of R. J. Mendenhall, and was conducted b_v him until 1877 when its assets were assigned for the protection of depositors. Air. Mendenhall, having obtained a dis¬ charge in bankruptc3', has settled the greater part of the liabilities.

The Hennepin Count3' Savings Bank was organized under the State banking law. Sept. 1, 1870, bv E. S. Jones and J. E. Bell, who became respective^ presi¬ dent and cashier, and have ever since held the positions, until the recent death of Air. Jones, and have conducted a con¬ servative and prosperous business. The bank, besides its savings lousiness, has conducted a general banking business. With a capital of $100,000 the bank has done a large business, and has cilways held a high position among the cit3' banks. At the jn-esent time J. E. Bell is president and W. H. Lee, cashier.

Edwin Smith Jones. Among the arrivals at the Falls of St. Anthon3' in 1854- was Edwin S. Jones. With his wife, married the previous 3'car in his native town, at the age of twentv-si.x years, he cast his lot with the founders

He was born in the town of Chaplin, Windham Count3', Connecticut, June 3d, 1828, his father being David Jones, the owner and cultivator of a farm among the hills of Eastern Connecticut. The name suggests a Welsh ancestiw, as was no doubt the fact, though on the moth¬ er's side he was English. When he was seven 3'ears of age his mother died, and three years later his father, leaving an older brother and himself to manage the farm and provide for their own maintainance and education. The common school of the town and several terms at Alunson Academ3' furnished his onlv instruction, but this must have been well improved in the intervals of farm labor, for at sixteen he was himself a school teacher in the vicinit3' of his home.

At twenty he made a trip to Indiana in the interest of a publishing house, having a number of 3'oung men under his charge. Before coming to Alinnesota he had decided to enter the legal jirofession, and had commenced the stiah' of law, which he continued after his arrival in Alinneapolis, in the office of Judge Isaac Atwater, and was admitted to the bar of Hennepin Count3' at the April term of the District Court in 1855. He was the first la W3'er admitted to the bar in Hennepin Count3'. The next fifteen 3'ears were spent in the industrious but unostentatious practice of the law, ex¬ cept the intervals of official andmilitarv life.

He was elected to the office of Judge of the Probate Court of Henneiiin County in 1857, and again in 1 858, serv¬ ing three 3'ears and earning the title bv which he was ever after addressed. In the latter year he was a trustee of the

At the organization of the Minne¬ apolis Athenaeum in 1860, Judge Jones was chosen its president. This modest institution then begun, after many yeai'S of usefulness in providing books, lectui'es and reading room, has been incorporated in the city library, which is justl}' the pride of modern citizens.

We find his name amongst those of a committee of citizens of both sides of the river, who, in 1861, were appointed to raise funds for the relief of the people of Kansas, and who from the limited means of our own people, raised and remitted to the sufferers more than one thousand dollars.

During the latter part of the War of the Rebellion, Judge Jones was commis¬ sioned as Commissary of Subsistence with the rank of Captain, and was assigned to duty in the Department of the Gulf. This service was so efficient that he was breveted Major. His resi¬ dence in the south brought him into intercourse with the people of that re¬ gion, and accpiainted him with their poverty, suffei'ing and need, and in later years led to large provisions from his bounty for their moral and intellectual welfare.

Returning to Minneapolis, he was in 1866 elected one of the supervisors of the town of Minneapolis, and was chosen chairman of the board. In 1873 he was elected alderman of the Eighth ward, and served in the city council for two 3' ears.

In 1870, Judge Jones, in connection with other gentlemen, organized the Hennepin County Savings Bank, and was chosen its president, with J. E. Bell as cashier. He occupied the position until his death, and devoted the re¬ mainder of his life to its administration.

with other financial business. The bank was incorporated under the State bank¬ ing law, and transacted both a savings and general banking business. This double function, which was prohibited to new banks, when a saving's bank law was enacted, however unsound in princi¬ ple, was administered with so much fidelit3', skill and prudence, that thebank not only attracted a liberal share of the savings of the poorer classes, but also transacted a large general banking busi¬ ness. Its capital, at first $50,000, was increased to $100,000, and upon this as a basis, with the well known integrity of its management, a deposit of about $1,000,000 was carried at the death of its president.

Judge Jones acquired in the early years of his residence a number of tracts of land, in and in the vicinity of Minne¬ apolis, the increase in the value of which gave him large profits. He also engaged in the business of loaning money, both on his own account and as agent for easteim investors . T ogether these sources of income raised him to the rank of cap¬ italist, and were sufficient in the usual course of investment and accumulation to make him a millionaire.

But the glory and excellence of his character was his benevolence. This raised him from the sordid level of an accumulator of wealth to the higher rank of its almoner. He had learned and practiced the difficult art of stewardship. To his limited scholastic acquirements he had added, a diligent reading of the best books, and had acquired a knowl¬ edge of the world by frequent and exten¬ sive journeys, both in his own countr}" and in Europe. He was indefatigable in labor, keen of insight, sympathetic in his feelings, tender in his domestic relations, cheerful, and even humorous in disposi¬ tion. Withal he was sincerely Christian in profession and life. He had united

The objects of his benevolence were man\f and varied. Of these, in the more intimate and private relations, no record survives, except in the grateful memory' of the recipients. But it is well known that his bount}' flowed out in a perennial stream. It was confined to no class or sect or order, but was distributed wher¬ ever his s\'n)pathies were touched, or a need was brought to his attention. Some of the more public benefactions are mat¬ ters of public knowledge. When Plymovith church was built, he made, though then supposed to possess but moderate means, a subscription of $1,500, to which was added for the completion of the building, $1,000 more.

In 1865 there had come to Minne¬ apolis from Philadelphia, Ebenezer I). Scott, who had accumulated some propcrt\^ in mercantile pursuits, while being at the same time a local preacher of the M. E. Church. He bought eight\' acres of timbered land on the shore of Cedar lake, and erected upon it an octagon concrete house of fort\'-eight feet diame¬ ter, and four stories in height, intending at a suitable time to devote it to some charitable purpose - an orphan asylum l)eing uppermost in his mind. He ex- ])endedin the purchase and improvement of the property' over $40,000. He had made a mortgage upon the projjerty to secure a loan of $8,000 at twelve per cent, interest. His expectation as to in¬ come not being realized, the mortgage was foreclosed, and the time of redemp¬ tion expired. The owner of the mort¬ gage, however, approving of his charit¬ able intentions, allowed him to retain possession for several ^-ears, and ac¬ corded to him the jjrivilege of redeeming it on pa^'tnent of the debt and interest at a reasonable rate. Anxious to secure the property' he had drawn up a scheme for subscribers to bu\'the propertA'and turn it over to trus,tees. With this paper in his pocket he met Judge Jones on the street, and stating in answer to his in¬ quiries his purpose, the Judge assured him that if he should take hold of it he would do it alone.

After a short conversation Mr. Scott, satisfied with the assurances which he received, gave the property' into Judge Jones' hands, who paid off the incum¬ brance, then amounting to $16,000. Mr. Scott affirmed the foreclosure title In^ a voluntary' quit claim deed. Judge Jones held the property' for several j^ears until, b\' the bequest of Airs. William Harrison of $10,000 to the Women's Christian Association, to support a Home for Aged Women, Judge Jones, in 1886, conveyed the property' to the As¬ sociation. The scope of the institution has been enlarged to comprehend the re¬ lief of aged and infirm ministers of the gospel, and as the A'ears go b\', no more useful charitA^ aamII open its doors to the deserA'ing poor of the classes for Avhich it is designed, than the '' Jones-Harrison Horae " at Cedar Lake.

Among other quasi-public endoA\'- ments AA^ere the Western Minnesota Academy at AIonteA'ideo (iioaa' Windom Institute,) Carleton College, Chicago Theological Seminarx' and the American Board - the Missionary Agencw of the Congregational Churches. He Avas a cor¬ porate (A^oting) member of the board, and a trustee of the Academ3', College and Seminar3'.

A free Kindergarten for colored chil¬ dren at Atlanta, Georgia, Avas named the "Jones Kindergarten'' in recogni¬ tion and gratitude for his liberal gifts to it.

maintained a school ior young ladies, with a coi'ps of several teachers - the "Jones Seminary" - the special object being to give an education to the white girls of the mountain regions of that sec¬ tion of the South. It consists of four large buildings and has a beautiful loca¬ tion in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is lioth a litei'ary and industrial school, and is crowded to its full capacity with pupils.

The aggregate amount of Judge Jones' benevolent and charitable gifts was never known to anyone but himself, and it is doubtful if he himself could have given more than a guess at them, as he kept no accounts or vouchers for such expenditures. He left only a moderate estate at his decease, with no testamen¬ tary disposition.

Judge Jones was three times married. Of nine children born to him, onl3^ three survive, a daughter married to Frank H. Carleton and two adult sons, David Percy and William O. He died after a lingering and painful illness. Mrs. Susan C. Jones, who survives him, was married in May, 1877. She was the daughter of Capt. Charles C. Stinson, of Goffstown, N. H.

To this simple narrative of the lead¬ ing facts of Judge Jones' life, we append an extract from one of many tributes which the occasion of his decease bi'ought forth, from the pen of Rev. Henrr' A. Stimson, for many years his pastor and friend :

" His was an unselfish, simple-minded, lai-ge hearted, modest, lovable, and, within its possibilities, altogether noble life; but he was quite unconscious of this and would have been only pained to be so praised. * * *

"His heart was always large, but he seemed to grow tenderer and tenderer under the influences with wdiich he had surrounded himself. Personal sorrow.

frec|uent and severe, fell U]3on him. It only sweetened and ripened his charac¬ ter. God blessed him in temporal things be\'ond measure. He anxiousl}" discussed the best course for the future welfare of his children, and expressed his desire to start them in life with a chief endow¬ ment of character. He feared to leave them much mone\'. Wealth gave him no desire for prominence or luxur3^ He de¬ lighted to make all about him happ3q while his own personal habits and tastes remained the simplest. Man3" knew his name, for it was sought for its influence in all our societies, but few were aware that the quiet man, always in the back¬ ground of the corporate members at the annual meetings of the board, was he.

"Here was a rich man whom the struggle of making his own fortune had not hardened, and the possession of wealth had not injured. Here was a man of the people who had lived the common life and knew it all, wdth its anxieties, sorrow^s, pains, toils and tears, and remained a plain man with his heart close to the common heart to the end Here was a successful man, to whom no one grudged his success. Here was a fortune for which no one clutched. Here was a Christian who found his reward in. doing his Master's will by trying to make the world better and happier as he went along. He strove to be his own executor, and if he left behind him a larger propert3' than he intended, it was only because God pressed wealth upon His faithful servant. So long asw^e have rich men like the late Edwin S. Jones, class will not be widel3^ separated from class, and anarchism is not much to be feared."

The Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank is the leading institution of the kind in the city. It was incorporated in 1874 under the management of E. H. Moulton, who has always been its treasurer and manager, with the aid of a board of active trustees. Clinton Morrison is at present president. Con¬ fining its operations to a stricth' savings bank business, the deposits have steadily increased until they amounted, Januaryl, 1892, to $5,368,510.24, with a surplus of $210,000. The bank has paid divi¬ dends from its organization at the rate of six per cent, per annum until 1888, when the dividend was reduced to five per cent. While the other banks of the city have always issued interest bearing certificates of deposit, and have thus shared in the savings business, the career of this bank illustrates the rapid increase in accumulations of the industrial class of the community. Limiting the amount of a single account to $5,000, the bank has at present 22,000 different individ¬ ual accounts.

Clinton Morrison. Mr. Morrison is the eldest and only surviving son of Dorilus Mondson. Though a native of New England, his training and residence from 3'outh have been in Minneapolis. He was born at Livermore, Maine, Janu¬ ary 21, 1842, and accompanied his par¬ ents when they removed to Minneapolis in 1855. He was one of the scholars at the Ibiion School, which was opened on the block where the new court house stands, in 1856, and which was con¬ ducted by Prof. G. B. Stone, one of the best instructors whose services Minne¬ apolis has ever enjoA-cd. He was intro¬ duced into business in early life, as assis¬ tant to his father, and has always been closely associated with him in his exten¬ sive undertakings. As early as 1863, with his brother, George H. Morrison, he engaged in merchandising. The busi¬ ness was largely one of outfitting lum¬ bermen, though a general assortment of goods was kept. He naturally followed his father's line of investment, which was in pine timbered lands, mills and lumber, and soon drifted into lumbering. The Morrison Brothers operated a water power saw mill on the platform at the Falls, now removed, with its busy neigh¬ bors. They opened a lumber yard in the lower part of the town, and carried on a large lumber business until the death of his brother, which occurred January 29, 1882. The surviving brother now gave his attention more exclusively to the assistance of his father, who had be¬ come more extensively involved in busi¬ ness connected with the Northern Pacific Railwa\'. Especially he took hold of the Minneapolis Harvester Works, which had been started in the lower part of the city by a stock compainq but which had not met with great success. Most of the stock was transfei'red to the Morri¬ sons, and the business was systematized and enlarged by them. This business was especially entrusted to Clinton Morrison, who was vice-president of the corporation and gave it close and con¬ stant attention, and brought it to a condition of great prosperit}'. It manu¬ factured especially mowers, harvesters and binders. When the twine binder was perfected by Mr. Appleby, who was in the eniplo}' of the Minneapolis com¬ pany, it adopted the new invention, which was a great success. Their mow¬ ers and harvesters have a wide sale throughout the Northwest. The busi¬ ness is still conducted at South Minne¬ apolis, but has recenth' been sold to the Walter A. Wood Harvester Co., which was organized in St.I'aul,Mr. Alorrison being one of the directors of the new compan3^ Air. Morrison had been for nian3' 3xars a trustee of the Fanners and Mechanics Savings Bank of Minne¬ apolis. His prudence, sagacit3^ and financial skill made him a valuable aid in the management of that growing in¬ stitution. In 1886 he was made its president, and continues in that position at the present time. The bank has be¬ come the largest one of its kind, not only in Minneapolis, but in the entire Northwest. Its line of deposits has reached the enormous amount of $6,- 000,000. The administration of such a trust is a gi'eat responsibility, and re¬ quires financial skill of the ripest char¬ acter. Indeed, its phenomenal growth and success are the best practical testi¬ mony of the ability with which it is managed. The bank has been in rented quarters since its establishment, but is now building a fine banking house on Fourth Street for its exclusive occiq^ation, which will be completed when this volume will be issued.

Air. Alorrison is a widower. He was married in February, 1873, to Julia, daughter of Nehemiah Washburn, then a resident of Minneapolis, but born and bred in Boston. Mrs. Morrison died October 11, 1883, leaving a daughter Ethel, now at school, and a son, Angus Washburn.