The History of Minnesota and Tales of the FrontierFlandrau, Charles E. (Charles Eugene)
History
The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier
Flandrau, Charles E. (Charles Eugene)
Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota; Minnesota -- History
Nearly all of the old lawyers of Minnesota were admitted to practice at
the first term held at Stillwater, among whom were Morton S. Wilkinson,
Henry L. Moss, Edmund Rice, Lorenzo A. Babcock, Alexander Wilkin,
Bushrod W. Lott, and many others. Of the whole list, Mr. Moss is the
sole survivor.
FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE.
The first legislature convened at St. Paul on Monday, the 3d of
September, 1849, in the Central House, which for the occasion served for
both capitol and hotel. The quarters were limited, but the legislature
was small. The council had nine members and the house of representatives
eighteen. The usual officers were elected, and on Tuesday afternoon both
houses assembled in the dining-room of the hotel. Prayer was offered by
the Rev. E. D. Neill, and Governor Ramsey delivered his message, which
was well received both at home and abroad.
It may be interesting to give the names of the men constituting this
body, and the places of their nativity. The councillors were:
James S. Norris, Maine.
Samuel Burkleo, Delaware.
William H. Forbes, Montreal.
James McBoal, Pennsylvania.
David B. Loomis, Connecticut.
John Rollins, Maine.
David Olmsted, Vermont.
William Sturgis, Upper Canada.
Martin McLeod, Montreal.
The members of the House were:
Joseph W. Furber, New Hampshire.
James Wells, New Jersey.
M. S. Wilkinson, New York.
Sylvanus Trask, New York.
Mahlon Black, Ohio.
Benjamin W. Bronson, Michigan.
Henry Jackson, Virginia.
John J. Duvey, New York.
Parsons K. Johnson, Vermont.
Henry F. Stetzer, Missouri.
William R. Marshall, Missouri.
William Dugas, Lower Canada.
Jeremiah Russell, Lower Canada.
L. A. Babcock, Vermont.
Thomas A. Holmes, Pennsylvania.
Allen Morrison, Pennsylvania.
Alexis Bailly, Michigan.
Gideon H. Pond, Connecticut.
David Olmsted was elected president of the council, with Joseph R. Brown
as secretary. In the House, Joseph W. Furber was elected speaker, and
W. D. Phillips clerk.
Many of these men became very prominent in the subsequent history of the
state, and it is both curious and interesting to note the varied
sources of their nativity, which shows that they were all of that
peculiar and picturesque class known as the American pioneer.
The work of the first legislature was not extensive, yet it performed
some acts of historical interest. It created eight counties, named as
follows: Itasca, Wabashaw, Dakota, Wahnahtah, Mankato, Pembina,
Washington, Ramsey and Benton. The spelling of some of these names has
since been changed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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