Fifty Years In The Northwest - Part 79
Library

Part 79

Thirty-fifth Session, 1882--Senate: James Hill. a.s.sembly: Geo. D.

McDill, Franklin L. Gibson, speaker; Olof A. Sangestad.

Thirty-sixth Session, 1883--Senate: James Hill. a.s.sembly: Canute Anderson, John D. Putnam, Geo. D. McDill, James Johnston.

Thirty-seventh Session, 1884--Senate: Joel F. Nason. a.s.sembly: Hans B.

Warner, Frank M. Nye, Thomas Porter; Charles S. Taylor, J. B. Thayer.

(For thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth Sessions see Addenda.)

TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA.

Governors: Alexander Ramsey, from June 1, 1849, to May 15, 1853; Willis A. Gorman, from May 15, 1853, to April 23, 1857; Samuel Medary, from April 23, 1857, to May 24, 1858.

Delegates to Congress: Henry H. Sibley, Jan. 15, 1849, to March 4, 1853; Henry M. Rice, Dec. 5, 1853, to March 4, 1857; W. W. Kingsbury, Dec. 7, 1857, to May 11, 1858.

Chief Justices: Aaron Goodrich, June 1, 1849, to Nov. 13, 1851; Jerome Fuller, Nov. 13, 1851, to Dec. 16, 1852; Henry Z. Hayner, Dec. 16, 1852, to April 7, 1853 (Judge Hayner never presided at a single term and gave but one decision, which was to p.r.o.nounce the prohibition law unconst.i.tutional); William H. Welch, April 7, 1853, to May 24, 1858.

a.s.sociate Justices: David Cooper, June 1, 1849, to April 7, 1853; Bradly B. Meeker, June 1, 1849, to April 7, 1853; Andrew G. Chatfield, April 7, 1853, to April 23, 1857; Moses G. Sherburne, April 7, 1853, to April 13, 1857; R. R. Nelson, April 23, 1857, to May 24, 1858; Charles E. Flandrau, April 23, 1857, to May 24, 1858.

CENSUS OF THE TERRITORY--AUGUST, 1849.

PRECINCTS. MALES. FEMALES. TOTAL.

Stillwater 455 154 609 Lake St. Croix 129 32 161 Marine Mills 142 31 173 Falls of St. Croix 15 1 16 Snake River 58 24 82 St. Paul 540 300 840 Little Canada and St. Anthony Falls 352 219 571 Crow Wing and Long Prairie 235 115 350 Osakis Rapids 92 41 133 ----- --- ----- Total 2,018 977 2,935

Upon the basis of this population the governor established the following legislative districts:

First district: St. Croix precinct, extending on the west side of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers to the Iowa line; Second district: Stillwater; Third district: St. Paul; Fourth district: Marine Mills and the country north to the British possessions; Fifth district: St.

Anthony Falls; Sixth district: The country east of the Mississippi not embraced in the Fourth district, and extending north to the British possessions; Seventh district: All the territory on the west of the Mississippi river not embraced in the sixth and first districts.

FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE.--HELD SEPT. 3 TO NOV. 1, 1849.

Council: David Olmsted, president; district No. 1, James S. Norris; No. 2, Samuel Burkelo; No. 3, William H. Forbes, James McC. Boal; No.

4, David B. Loomis; No. 5, John Rollins; No. 6, David Olmsted, William Sturgis; No. 7, Martin McLeod.

House: Joseph W. Furber, of Cottage Grove, speaker; district No. 1, Joseph W. Furber, James Wells; No. 2, M. S. Wilkinson, Sylva.n.u.s Trask, Mahlon Black; No. 3, Benj. W. Brunson, Henry Jackson, John J. Dewey, Parsons K. Johnson; No. 4, Henry N. Setzer; No. 5, William R.

Marshall, William Dugas; No. 6, Jeremiah Russell, Allan Morrison, Lorenzo A. Babc.o.c.k, Thomas A. Holmes; No. 7, Alexis Bailly, Gideon H.

Pond.

The limits of this work preclude the insertion of a complete list of the entire State, and we give, therefore, the representation of the St. Croix valley.

SECOND TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE, 1851.

Council: James Norris, Samuel Burkelo, D. B. Loomis, president. House: John A. Ford, Michael E. Ames, speaker; Jesse Taylor, John D. Ludden.

THIRD TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE, 1852.

Council: Elam Greely, David B. Loomis. House: Jesse Taylor, Mahlon Black, Martin Leavitt, John D. Ludden.

FOURTH TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE, 1853.

Council: Elam Greely, David B. Loomis. House: N. Green Wilc.o.x, Albert Stimson, Caleb Truax, John D. Ludden.

FIFTH TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE, 1854.

Council: Albert Stimson, John E. Mower. House: John Fisher, Wm.

McKusick, Robert Watson, N. C. D. Taylor, speaker.

SIXTH TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE, 1855.

Council: Albert Stimson, John E. Mower. House: James B. Dixon, William Willim, James Norris, Samuel Register.

SEVENTH TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE, 1856.

Council: John D. Ludden, Henry N. Setzer. House: James S. Norris, Abraham Van Voorhes, N. C. Taylor, Henry A. Jackman.

EIGHTH TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE, 1857.

Council: John D. Ludden, Henry N. Setzer. House: Elam Greely, Mahlon Black, Joseph W. Furber, speaker; L. K. Stannard.

The legislature of 1852 pa.s.sed a prohibition law and submitted it to the people of the Territory, who adopted it by a vote of 853 for to 622 against. This law was declared unconst.i.tutional by Judge Hayner on the ground that it was unconst.i.tutional to submit a law to the vote of the people. After rendering this decision he resigned his office.

At a second appointment in 1855 the counties of Washington, Chisago, Superior, Itasca, and Doty were included in the St. Croix district. A special session was held in May, 1857, to accept and make provision to use the magnificent railway land grant donated by Congress.

THE CONSt.i.tUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1857.

In accordance with the enabling act of Congress, pa.s.sed March 3, 1857, delegates were elected and met in convention at the capital on the second Monday of July, 1857.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM ST. CROIX VALLEY.

Washington county: Wm. Holcombe, James S. Norris, Henry N. Setzer, Gould T. Curtis, Charles E. Leonard, Charles J. Butler, Newinton Gilbert, R. H. Sanderson.

Chisago county: P. A. Cedarstam, Charles F. Lowe, Lucas K. Stannard, W. H. C. Folsom.

The convention continued in session from July 13 to Aug. 29, 1857, and although divided into two wings, accomplished considerable work, such as preparing duplicate state const.i.tutions and redistricting the State. The St. Croix valley was redistricted as follows:

First district, Washington county: Twenty-fifth district, Chisago, Pine and Isanti counties.