York. In 1844 he came to the Wisconsin lead mines, at Platteville, and
in 1848 to Stillwater, where he worked afterward at his trade of house
carpenter until 1862, when he opened a book and stationery store. He
has held several city and county offices. In 1849 he was married to
Sarah L. Judd. Mrs. Eldridge died in Stillwater, Oct. 12, 1886, aged
eighty-four years. Mrs. Eldridge taught the first school in
Stillwater.
[Illustration: E. W. DURANT. A PROMINENT MINNESOTIAN OF RENOWNED
REPUTATION.]
EDWARD WHITE DURANT.--Mr. Durant is of Huguenot descent. During the
eighteenth century his ancestors lived in Massachusetts and were
active participants in the agitation against English oppression.
Edward Durant, Jr., an ancestor five generations from the present, was
a delegate to the Provincial Congress of 1774 and 1775, and chairman
of the committee on commercial correspondence. He died in 1782. Others
of the family filled prominent places, and were noted for their
whole-souled patriotism.
Mr. Durant was born at Roxbury, Massachusetts, April 8, 1829. He
received a common school education, and a year in the academy. He came
to Cincinnati in 1838, and in 1844 we find him with his parents in
Albany, Illinois. In 1848 he left his parents and came to Stillwater,
where he worked three seasons on the river, running logs. He then
became a pilot on the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers and continued
in this business about sixteen years. He acted as salesman for Hersey,
Staples & Co. some years. He has been since then engaged in lumbering
and a portion of the time as a member of the firm of Durant, Wheeler &
Co. The annual sales of this firm amount to over half a million
dollars. In 1874 he was a candidate on the Democratic ticket for
lieutenant governor and in 1876 was president of the state Democratic
convention. He represented his district in the fifteenth, seventeenth
and twenty-fourth state legislatures. He was several years grand
master of the Masons of Minnesota. He has served as mayor of
Stillwater, and often as a member of the council. Mr. Durant, as his
record shows him, is one of the most industrious men of the time, and
possessed of good executive and business abilities. Mr. Durant was
married Dec. 29, 1853, to Henrietta Pease, of Albany, Illinois.
OLIVER PARSONS.--Mr. Parsons was born in South Paris, Maine, and is
also descended from Revolutionary stock. He came to Stillwater in
1848, where he engaged in merchandising and farming. He removed to
Minneapolis in 1876, where he is at present engaged in selling goods.
He was married to C. Jewell, April, 1855. Mr. Parsons has ever been an
exemplary man.
ALBERT STIMSON.--A native of York county, Maine, Mr. Stimson spent
there his early life, and, after a few years in New Brunswick, came to
Stillwater in 1849. He followed lumbering in his native state and on
the St. Croix. He served as surveyor general of the First district,
Minnesota, three years. He was a member of the Minnesota territorial
councils of 1854 and 1855 and a member of the house in 1853. He was
mayor of Stillwater one year, alderman two years, and was also a
supervisor of Washington county. From 1870 to 1872 Mr. Stimson was a
citizen of Kanabec county, which county he helped organize, and of
which he was one of the first commissioners. His present residence is
Anoka.
ABRAHAM VAN VOORHEES.--Mr. Van Voorhees' ancestors were patriots
during the Revolution, and lived in New York and New Jersey. He was
born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, Dec. 2, 1793. He was reared
as a farmer. His school privileges were limited. "The Major," as he
was familiarly styled, once told me that the educational advantages he
had received in youth were very few, and that his desires and
ambitions were far beyond his means to satisfy and fulfill, and he
remarked with justifiable pride: "And what I am now, if I amount to
anything, I owe to strong nerves and will power; God has always
sustained me, and I have always acknowledged allegiance to Him." The
major had an ingenious and inventive mind. Being studious and
industrious, he accomplished much without scholastic training, and
became well versed in the sciences, and an acute reasoner. In 1832 he
removed to Athens county, Ohio, where for five years he devoted
himself to mechanical pursuits and the study of the sciences. In 1837
he removed to Athens, and became editor and proprietor of the _Hocking
Valley Gazette_, and retained the editorship six years. While living
in Ohio, he served as county treasurer, county surveyor, member of the
legislature, and state senator. In the latter position he served four
years. In 1849 he was appointed by President Taylor register of the
United States land office at Stillwater, which place he held until