John S. Pillsbury

Pillsbury at a Board of Regents meeting at the University of Minnesota.

John Sargent Pillsbury (July 29, 1827 – October 18, 1901) was an American politician, businessman, and philanthropist. A Republican, he served as the eighth Governor of Minnesota from 1876 to 1882. He was a co-founder of the Pillsbury Company.

Early life

Pillsbury was born in Sutton, New Hampshire, the son of John and Susan (Wadleigh) Pillsbury. He was a descendant of William Pillsbury, who emigrated from England to Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1640.<ref>The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Volume 10 – Page 65</ref> In 1851, he opened a store in Warner, New Hampshire, partnering with Walter Harriman, a future Governor of New Hampshire and Civil War general.

Career

Pillsbury Company

Pillsbury underwent a tour of the West in 1855, and decided to make St. Anthony, Minnesota, now part of Minneapolis his home. Shortly after settling in Minnesota, he would marry Mahala Fisk.<ref name=mnopedia>Template:Citeweb</ref> Pillsbury began a diverse entrepreneurial career including ventures in hardware, real estate and lumber before he would found his most successful business, C. A. Pillsbury and Company,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> along with his nephew Charles Alfred Pillsbury, for whom the company was named.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Political career

After the American Civil War, Pillsbury was elected as a third class companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Pillsbury served in the Minnesota Senate for several years before becoming the eighth Governor of Minnesota.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He served as governor from January 7, 1876, until January 10, 1882.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the Grasshopper Plague of 1877, Governor Pillsbury called for a day of prayer on April 26, 1877.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A subsequent sleet storm killed all the grasshoppers. In Cold Spring, Minnesota, a chapel was built to honor the miracle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Philanthropist

Pillsbury was a noted philanthropist and often anonymously donated funds to causes he favored. In particular, he helped the University of Minnesota recover from debt in its early years, and later served as a regent. Since then, he has become known as "The Father of the University."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Pillsbury Hall at the University of Minnesota is named in his honor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Personal life

Pillsbury married Mahala Fisk on November 3, 1856.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He and Mahala had four children, daughters Addie, Susan May, and Sarah Belle, and then son Alfred.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Addie married Charles M. Webster, but died at the age of 25; Susan married Frederic Beal Snyder and died at the age of 28; Sarah Belle married Edward C. Gale, an area lawyer and son of the area's first real estate developer, Samuel Chester Gale. Edward Gale was also an art collector and contributed to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) as well.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Alfred did not go into business, but instead became an art collector. When he died in 1950, the works were donated to MIA.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His daughter's Susan's only son, John Pillsbury Snyder (1888 –1959), was a survivor of the RMS Titanic in 1912. John and his wife, Nelle, returning from their European honeymoon, are said to have been the first people to have entered the very first lifeboat, No. 7.

Pillsbury died on October 18, 1901, and is interred in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is featured on a New Hampshire historical marker (number 44) along New Hampshire Route 114 in Sutton.<ref name=ByNumber>Template:Cite web</ref>

Quote

Early John S. Pillsbury signature, January 1855

A 1901 magazine article described him as follows: Template:Blockquote

Further reading

Sturdevant, Lori (2011). The Pillsburys of Minnesota. Minneapolis: Nodine Press. Template:ISBN.

External links

• Biographical information and his gubernatorial records are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society.
• John Sargent Pillsbury in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia
• The Washburn-Fair Oaks Historic District: History and Walking Tour. Hennepin History Museum.
• Pillsbury Hall (University of Minnesota Geology Department).
• Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
• John Sargeant Pillsbury bio at the National Governors Association
• Template:Find a Grave