DANIEL A. ROBERTSON:

Daniel A. Robertson was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1813. Some sources give his birth year as 1812. He studied law and in 1839 was admitted to the Bar in New York. After practicing law for a few years he lived for a time in Ohio, where he owned and edited three Democratic newspapers. He came to Saint Paul in 1850, where he established the Minnesota Democrat newspaper. Robertson was mayor of Saint Paul (1857-1859), a representative in the Minnesota Legislature (1859-1860), and served as Ramsey County Sheriff for several terms beginning in 1862. He was much interested in agricultural and scientific issues, and was an early member of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry (The Grange).

Robertson married Julia Anna Bell (1826-1910) in 1844 and together they had several children, including son Victor (1859-1936). Robertson, his wife, and several of their children are buried in Oakland Cemetery, Saint Paul.

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The papers include correspondence with James Shields, Cyrus Aldrich, Henry H. Sibley, Alexander Ramsey, Edward D. Neill, and others in regard to politics in Minnesota, to plans for inducing Belgians to settle in Chengwatana, Pine County, Minnesota, and to Robertson's interests in fruit culture. Included as well are notes and lectures on various scientific subjects; genealogical data on the Robertson family collected by Victor Robertson; and an agreement for the completion of a road from Superior, Wisconsin to Saint Paul (1859).

Correspondence and other papers include a note from Alexander Humboldt (undated); a document signed by Secretary of State James Buchanan (February 28, 1846); a letter from John W. North (March 11, 1853); a letter from J. Ross Browne (April 28, 1855); a letter from Elisha K Kane (1855); a letter from Alexander Wilkin (July 22, 1856); and a letter from Roman Catholic bishop Thomas L. Grace (December 10 and 12, 1866). Included as well is a letterhead depicting the suspension bridge between Saint Anthony, Minnesota (June 20, 1857) and Minneapolis. There are a number of letters from and newspaper clippings about archaeologist and paleontologist George Langford.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Daniel A. Robertson and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 1768F4; 1768F5; 1787A3; 2133; 3661; 3690; 3747; 4064; 9445

Processing Information:

The image of Robertson (above) was taken from Minnesota History Magazine, Volume 46 (Winter 1978), page 132.

Catalog ID number: 990017336900104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Belgian Americans--Minnesota.

Fruit-culture--Minnesota.

Roads--Minnesota--Saint Paul.

Roads--Wisconsin--Superior.

Persons:

Aldrich, Cyrus, 1808-1871, author.

Brown, John Ross, 1817-1875, author.

Buchanan, James, 1791-1868, author.

Grace, Thomas L. (Thomas Langdon), 1814-1897, author.

Humboldt, Alexander von, 1769-1859, author.

Kane, Elisha Kent, 1820-1857, author.

Langford, George, 1876-1964, author.

Neill, Edward D. (Edward Duffield), 1823-1893, author.

North, J. W. (John W.), author.

Polk, James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849, author.

Ramsey, Alexander, 1815-1903, author.

Robertson, Victor, author.

Shields, James, 1806-1879, author.

Sibley, Henry Hastings, 1811-1891, author.

Wilkin, Alexander, 1819-1864, author.

Robertson family.

Organizations:

Democratic Party (Minn.).

Places:

Chengwatana (Minn. : Township)

Minnesota--Politics and government.

Saint Anthony Suspension Bridge--Letterhead--20 June 1857.

Document Types:

Letterheads.

Genealogies.

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