Alexander Ramsey was born in 1815 and died at home in 1903. The Ramsey House was donated to MNHS after the death of his last surviving grandchild.
- September 8, 1815
- Alexander Ramsey is born in Pennsylvania, the eldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth Kelker Ramsey. His brothers and sisters are Elizabeth, Margaret, Henry, Justus, and Catherine.
- June 17, 1826
- Anna Earl Jenks, daughter of Michael Hutchinson Jenks and Mary Ridgeway Jenks, is born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
- 1834-1835
- Alexander Ramsey attends Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
- 1837
- Ramsey studies law at the John Reed School that later becomes Dickinson Law School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He graduates in 1839.
- 1840
- Ramsey is admitted to the Pennsylvania bar and practices law in Harrisburg. He serves as delegate to the Whig party national convention.
- 1841
- Ramsey is appointed chief clerk of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
- 1843
- Ramsey is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving in the 28th & 29th Congress until 1847.
- 1845
- Anna Jenks visits her father, Rep. Michael Jenks, at the U.S. Capitol, and meets Alexander Ramsey. The couple marries on Sept. 10.
- May 30, 1846
- Son Alexander Jenks Ramsey is born.
- 1849
- Ramsey is appointed governor of the Minnesota Territory. On May 27, he arrives in St. Paul with his family. The Ramseys stay with Henry and Sarah Sibley in Mendota for one month.
- Ramsey founds and becomes the first president of the Minnesota Historical Society in 1849.
- 1849-1853
- Ramsey serves as governor of the new Minnesota Territory.
- 1850
- The first Alexander Ramsey House is built on the same location as the current mansion.
- March 30, 1850
- The Ramseys' second son, William Henry, is born.
- July 28, 1850
- The Ramseys' first son, "Sonny," dies.
- 1851
- Alexander Ramsey serves as U.S. Commissioner for three Native American treaties: Traverse des Sioux, Mendota, and Pembina.
- November 1, 1851
- The Ramseys' second son, William Henry, dies.
- 1853
- The U.S. Senate investigates Ramsey's negotiation of the treaties.
- March 29, 1853
- The Ramseys' daughter, Marion, is born.
- 1855
- Ramsey is elected mayor of St. Paul.
- 1857
- Ramsey loses election for Minnesota's first state governor to Democrat Henry H. Sibley.
- 1858
- Minnesota becomes a state.
- 1859
- Ramsey is elected Governor of Minnesota on the Republican ticket; he serves from 1860 to 1863.
- 1861
- Ramsey pledges 1,000 Minnesota men to defend the Union two days after Fort Sumter is attacked by the South.
- 1862
- After years of tension between settlers and Native Americans, the U.S.-Dakota War breaks out. Several factors had led to the war, including unkept promises by the government, nefarious practices by nearby fur traders, and a crop failure in 1861. On Dec. 26, 38 Dakota are executed.
- 1863-1875
- Alexander Ramsey is elected to the U.S. Senate on the Republican ticket. He serves in the 38th-43rd Congresses until 1875. He is also the U.S. Commissioner for treaties with the Chippewa, Red Lake, and Pembina bands.
- 1868
- Anna Ramsey inherits from her father. The first Alexander Ramsey House is moved across the street and added to Horace and Cornelia Bigelow's home. Construction of the current Ramsey House then begins.
- 1869-1870
- Anna and Marion tour Europe.
- 1872
- During the summer, Anna Ramsey visits a New York department store and purchases enough furnishings to fill two boxcars. A train carries them back to her St. Paul home. The family and their servants move into the "mansion House" at 265 Exchange Street.
- 1875
- Marion marries Charles Eliot Furness in the Ramsey House parlor. Marion and Charles move to Philadelphia.
- 1876
- The first granddaughter, Anna Earl Ramsey Furness, known as Anita, is born.
- 1877
- The first grandson, Alexander Ramsey Furness, known as Ramsey, is born.
- 1878
- President Rutherford B. Hayes and Mrs. Hayes visit the Ramseys and the state fair. Plans change at the last minute, and President and Mrs. Hayes dine at the Ramsey House.
- 1879
- President Hayes appoints Ramsey as Secretary of War. He serves from December 1879 to March 1881.
- A second grandson, Charles Eliot Furness Jr., is born.
- 1880
- Charles Eliot Furness Jr., dies of whooping cough.
- Alexander Ramsey is an unsuccessful Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.
- 1881
- Justus Ramsey, Alexander's brother, died of suicide.
- 1882
- Alexander Ramsey is appointed Chairman of the Utah Commission by President James A. Garfield. He serves until 1886.
- Charles Furness is hospitalized due to mental illness. Marion Ramsey Furness returns to St. Paul with her children, and daughter Laura is born in the Ramsey House.
- 1884
- Anna Ramsey dies on Nov. 29. Sophie Carlson, a Ramsey servant for 12 years, inherits $1,000. Marion Furness takes over as mistress of the house.
- 1889
- Annie Robertson is hired as cook for the Ramsey - Furness family.
- 1891
- Alexander Ramsey is elected president of the Minnesota Historical Society and serves until his death in 1903.
- April 22, 1903
- Alexander Ramsey dies.
- January 22, 1907
- Charles Eliot Furness dies in Rochester, Minnesota.
- 1926
- Dedicated cook Annie Robertson dies. Her funeral services are held in the Ramsey house.
- November 1, 1935
- Marion Ramsey Furness dies.
- 1959
- Laura Furness dies of cancer.
- 1964
- Anita Furness, the last surviving Ramsey family member, dies, willing the Ramsey house to the Minnesota Historical Society.