A. R. McGILL AND FAMILY:

An Inventory of Their Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

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BIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW RYAN McGILL

Andrew Ryan McGill, the son of Angeline (neé Martin) and Charles McGill, was born in Saegertown, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1840. Andrew's father, Charles Dillon McGill (1802-1875), was the youngest son of Patrick (1762-1832) and Anna (neé Baird) McGill. Patrick had emigrated from County Antrim, Ireland, about 1774, settling in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. In 1795 Patrick and Anna moved their family to the western part of Pennsylvania, homesteading several hundered acres in Crawford County. Andrew's mother, Angeline Martin (1811-1849), was the eldest of Armand (1785-1861) and Mary (neé Ryan) (1789-1866) Martin 's nine children. The Martin family also owned land in western Pennsylvania. Armand's brother, Lieutenant General Charles Martin, who commanded troops stationed at Fort de Boueff (Watertown, Pennsylvania) in the late 1790s, settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

In 1859, at the age of nineteen, Andrew Ryan McGill moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky to become a school teacher. When the Civil War began and teaching work was no longer feasible in Kentucky, McGill left for Minnesota, arriving June 10, 1861. He became principal of the public school in St. Peter, Minnesota, in August 1862. In that same year, at the age of 22, McGill enlisted in Company D, Ninth Regiment, Minnesota Volunteers. In 1863 he was discharged for disability. Soon after his discharge he was elected county superintendent of public schools (Nicollet County, Minnesota), a position he filled for two terms. From 1865 through 1866 McGill was editor and proprietor of the St. Peter Tribune. In 1865 he was also elected clerk of the district court of Nicollet County for a term of four years. McGill took the opportunity to study law under Judge Horace Austin and was admitted to the bar in 1869.

In 1870 Austin was elected Governor of Minnesota and McGill was selected as his private secretary. In 1873 McGill was appointed insurance commissioner of the state, a position he held for thirteen years. In 1886, the Republican state convention nominated McGill as their candidate for governor of Minnesota. He won the nomination and the election, serving a single, two-year term as governor (1887-1889). During his term he recommended a revision of the railroad laws pertaining to transportation, storage, and grading of wheat; the watering of railroad stocks; a simplification of the tax laws; regulation of liquor; abolition of contract prison labor; establishment of a soldiers' home; and creation of a Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even though he was not reelected, McGill remained active in political circles, supporting the presidential candidacy of Cushman K. Davis (1896) and serving as State Senator from the 37th District, St. Paul (1899-1905). McGill was appointed Postmaster of St. Paul (1900) while concurrently serving as senator.

Andrew Ryan McGill married Eliza E. Bryant (d. 1877), daughter of Charles S. Bryant, a lawyer and author from St. Peter, Minnesota. Together they had three children: Charles Herbert (1866-), Robert C. (1869-), and Lida B. (1874-). In 1879, two years after Eliza's death, Andrew married Mary E. Wilson, daughter of Margaret Maleena (neé Stone) and Joseph Carlton Wilson, a prominent physician of Edinboro, Pennsylvania. Mary and Andrew had two children: Wilson (1884-) and Thomas (1889-).

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SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION

The personal and family papers of Governor Andrew Ryan McGill cover a wide span of time, beginning in 1794 with a few documents of the Charles Martin family and ending in 1931 with letters written to Mrs. Mary McGill, widow of the governor. The collection, which consists primarily of incoming correspondence, deals largely with McGill's public service and political careers (1863-1905). McGill corresponded with individuals such as Mr. and Mrs. William Windom, Horace Austin, Pennock Pusey, Ignatius Donnelly, Henry A. Castel, Carl Gutherz, and other political figures in Minnesota.

In the 1880s, the poltical correspondence is at its most voluminous, beginning with a few letters from minor party officials promising their support to McGill. By that time McGill had been private secretary to Governor Horace Austin and state insurance commissioner since 1873. In 1881 McGill was one of six candidates nominated at the Republican State Convention. Two especially interesting letters are from William Windom and Knute Nelson. Windom stated that he would be happy to support McGill, but did not want the fact publicized. Although Windom did not elaborate on this statement, he claimed that the opposition to him in Minnesota was due, in some part, to his friendship with McGill. The letter from Nelson is of a similar nature. Nelson was interested in McGill's candidacy, but stated that he would not take any part in the campaign. He mentioned no names, but warned McGill that he [Nelson] felt that some of McGill's supporters were using McGill as a front for a dark horse candidate of their own. Nelson then relates a similar experience from early in his own political career. Although Lucius F. Hubbard won the nomination, McGill was among the top three nominees on the ballot. In 1883, McGill was reappointed as state insurance commissioner.

In 1886 McGill was again a candidate at the Republican State Convention. Correspondence from around the state pertains to the amount of delegate support McGill could expect from various counties. Becuase of the agrarian discontent and the rise of the Granger and Farmers' Alliance movements, there was a concerted effort in the Minnesota Republican Party to win over the farmer and labor groups to the Republicans. A letter from C. B. Tyler explains the strong Alliance sentiment in his area. There are a number of letters from Elmer E. Adams, a prominent Fergus Falls Republican leader and newspaper editor, who enthusiastically supported McGill and promised the support of the Ottertail County delegation. McGill won the nomination and received congratulatory letters from noteable individuals such as Ignatius Donnelly, Archbishop John Ireland, and T. C. Hodgson.

From 1887 to 1905 the political correspondence has a much more general character, including a spate of correspondence pertaining to the unsuccessful 1887-1888 campaign for re-election. Some letters discuss the Stillwater prison investigation and Washburn's candidacy for the United States Senate. Of note are two letters from William McKinley (1894), while he was still governor of Ohio, concerning his proposed visit to the Twin Cities and his vigorous campaign. McGill supported the presidential candidacy of Cushman K. Davis (1896) and corresponds with both Davis and Henry A. Castle about economics, politics, and foreign affairs. A letter from Henry A. Castle, then auditor in the United States Post Office Department, tells of the general preparations for the Spanish-American War. He states, among other things, that regular army officers were being used to drill and discipline the troops in an effort to avoid the disorganization that had been so common during the Civil War.

McGill kept some correspondence written by Horace Austin, for whom he had served as private secretary (1870-1874). In 1876 Austin describes his position as Third Audior in the Treasury Department, politics in general, the scandals of the Grant Administration, and the election of 1876. In 1903 and 1904, Austin is living in California and enthusiastically writes to McGill about a West Indian citrus fruit growing enterprise in which he was interested. He compared in detail the economic and climatic disadvantages of citrus fruit growing in California against more favorable circumstances in the West Indies. Austin asked McGill to contact individuals in the Twin Cities to form and operate a West Indian fruit growing company. Fred B. Snyder writes to McGill with an unfavorable opinion on the scheme.

William Windom corresponded with McGill sporadically throughout a ten-year period. They correspond about the Minneapolis Mortgage Loan and Trust Company, and real estate and financial interests in Minnesota. In 1882 Windom writes about his campaign and asks McGill to make arrangements for a campaign headquarters in the Merchants Hotel in St. Paul. After her husband's death, Mrs. Ellen Windom sought McGill's advice on settling financial affairs.

Interspersed throughout the chronological files are various business and legal papers. Because of a lack of outgoing correspondence is it difficult to discern McGill's part in some of the transactions. Some correspondents and topics were: William Eliot Furness of Chicago, on loans made to improve the streets of Mankato (1872); letters from real estate and insurance companies of other states explaining their methods of operation (1883); real estate ventures in Dakota Territory (1883); sale of lots in the South St. Paul stockyards (1887); Charles Shandrew, state insurance commissioner from 1886 to1889, on insurance matters in other states (1890).

Included in the chronological files are family papers and correspondence dating 1794 to1846. The early papers are chiefly of the Martin family. Three items from Charles Martin, dated 1794-1797, give information on the pay and clothing of soldiers stationed at Fort de Beouf (Pennsylvania). Documents from 1797 through 1846 concern Martin's two sons, Charles, Jr. and Armand. These include: commissions in the Pennsylvania Militia (1811-1812); family matters; and descriptions of the country around Lexington, Kentucky (1818) and pioneer settlements in Missouri (1846).

Other family and personal correspondence includes letters from: James C. Wilson (1893-1905); Mrs. N. C. Wheeler (1895-1905); and James Phillips (1877-1895). The letters from James Wilson, father of Mary E. McGill, provide excellent descriptions of family matters and social and political activities. Correspondence from James M. Phillips of West Grove, Pennsylvania (1877-1894) encompasses land values and transactions. McGill was named administrator of the estate and guardian of the children of John B. Phillips of St. Paul, who died intestate. McGill was given power of attorney to handle Phillips' family legal matters in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. A letter from James Phillips (1879) provides information on the founding of the town of Faxon, Sibley County, Minnesota Territory in 1857 by John Phillips, Charles Gilfillan, and Alexander Ramsey. The town was wiped out in the panic of 1857.

From 1888 through 1905 many bills, receipts, and other household accounts are found. Expenditures relating to the construction of the McGill home in St. Anthony Park include lists of wages paid to workmen (1902) and the installation of electric and gas fixtures (1904). Other items of interest are letters written to Andrew McGill while he was recuperating from an undisclosed illness in Meadville, Pennsylvania (1896-1897); letters from Charles McGill, at the time state representative from the 28th district; and from Wilson McGill, at the time 12 years old, who writes about his life in St. Paul.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the location and box numbers shown below.

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