until of age. He learned the trade of millwright with his father. In
1832 he went to Bangor, Maine, and worked at his trade until 1835,
when he removed to Alton, Illinois. He came to St. Croix in 1838, and
superintended the building of a mill. In 1841 he returned to Alton,
where he was married to Charlotte Winkler. He lived in Davenport,
Iowa, four years and one year at Chippewa Falls. In 1846 he removed to
St. Anthony Falls, where he helped build the first saw mill. Here he
worked eight years almost continuously at his trade. He purchased two
hundred acres of land here, including university lands, which he sold
for $3,500. He removed to West St. Anthony in 1852, to Robert Smith's
government permit, and then ran the old government flouring mill,
grinding only for the government. The grain, about 5,000 bushels
annually, was brought from St. Louis. For holding Smith's permit, and
grinding, he received one-eighth of the property. The government
grinding was done for the privilege of making a claim on the
government reservation. This claim, eighty acres in extent, located in
what was then called West St. Anthony, now in the heart of
Minneapolis, is worth millions of dollars. Mr. Tuttle sold his
interest for $5,000. The old mill was built of stone, 30 x 30 feet,
ground dimensions, two stories in height, with one run of stone. The
mill was built in 1822. There was a farm near the mill, cultivated by
soldiers. Mr. Tuttle returned to East St. Anthony in 1857, and removed
to Minnetonka in 1858, where he lived five years. Thence he removed to
Twin Rivers, Morrison county. He has a saw mill, farm and good home at
Twin Rivers. In 1887 he returned to Minneapolis to spend the remainder
of his days.
CYRUS ALDRICH.--The subject of this memoir was born June 18, 1808, in
Smithfield, Rhode Island. His father was Dexter Aldrich, and was
engaged in shipping and merchandising. His mother's maiden name was
Hannah White. She was a descendant of Peregrine White, the first male
child born after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. He received such
an education as could be obtained at the common schools until he was
eighteen years of age, when he left home to engage for a few years in
a seafaring life. This life not proving to his taste, he abandoned it
and engaged in other pursuits. At the age of twenty-nine he emigrated
to Illinois and located at Alton, where he took a contract on the
Michigan and Erie canal. In 1841, or about four years later, he
removed to Galena, Illinois, where he secured employment with the firm
of Galbraith & Porter, and engaged in staging and mail contracts. In
1845 he was elected to the Illinois legislature. The same year he was
married to Clara Heaton, of Indiana, who, with one son and one
daughter, survives him. In 1847 he was elected register of deeds of
Joe Daviess county; in 1849 was appointed receiver of the land office
at Dixon, Illinois; and in 1852 ran for Congress on the Whig ticket
against Long John Wentworth, but was defeated by a small majority. He
removed to Minnesota in 1855, locating at Minneapolis, then but a
small village. In 1857 he was elected a member of the Republican wing
of the constitutional convention, where his ability for leadership
soon brought him to the front. In 1858 he was nominated and elected
representative to Congress, Minnesota having meanwhile become a state.
In 1860 he was re-elected. This was a trying time, but Mr. Aldrich
acquitted himself well, and was especially commended for his devotion
to the interests of the soldiers. In 1862 he declined a re-election,
but allowed his name to be used (though unsuccessfully) as a candidate
for the senate. He did not, however, entirely withdraw from public
affairs, but accepted an appointment from President Lincoln as a
member of the indemnity committee to adjust claims of settlers who had
suffered during the Indian outbreak of 1862. He also devoted much of
his time and energy to the establishment of the Northern Pacific
railway.
In 1865 he was elected to the Minnesota legislature. In 1867 he was
appointed postmaster of Minneapolis, which position he held for four
years. His long and busy life has been spent chiefly in public
service. He had not quite reached the scriptural limit of human life,
but it was evident that his iron constitution had been overtasked and
that he needed rest. The retirement and rest came too late. His
health gradually failed until Oct. 5, 1871, when he closed his eyes
upon the scenes of earth. His funeral, conducted from the Universalist
church, of which he was a member, was one of the largest ever held in
the State. Citizens of all parties and classes, the masonic and other
social and civil bodies combined in paying the last tribute of respect
to one who for fifteen years had been the most active, best known and
most respected of their number.
ALFRED ELISHA AMES, M.D., was born at Colchester, Vermont, Dec. 13,