A. R. MCGILL AND FAMILY:

Andrew Ryan McGill, the son of Angeline (née 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 (née 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 (née 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 le Boeuf (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 St. Peter's public school in August 1862. That same year McGill enlisted in Company D, 9th 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 Minnesota's insurance commissioner, a position he held for thirteen years. In 1886 the Minnesota Republican state convention nominated McGill as their candidate for governor. 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 re-elected, 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 St. Paul's postmaster (1900) while concurrently serving as senator.

McGill married Eliza E. Bryant (1844-1877), daughter of Charles S. Bryant, a lawyer and author from St. Peter, Minnesota. Together they had three children: Charles Herbert (1866-1941), Robert C. (1869-1930), and Lida B. (1874-1917). In 1879, two years after Eliza's death, Andrew married Mary E. Wilson, daughter of Margaret Maleena (née Stone) and Joseph Carlton Wilson, a prominent physician of Edinboro, Pennsylvania. Mary and Andrew had three children: Wilson (1884-1922), Thomas (1889-1952), and Andrew (1893-1895).

Return to top

McGill's personal and family papers begin in 1794 with a few documents of the Charles Martin family and end in 1931 with letters written to Mrs. Mary McGill, the governor's widow. 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. Castle, Carl Gutherz, and other political figures in Minnesota.

In the 1880s, the political 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. Nelson's letter is of a similar nature. He 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. Because 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. 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 notable 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 Auditor 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 discuss 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 St. Paul's Merchants Hotel. 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, it's difficult to discern McGill's part in some of the transactions. Correspondents and topics include William Eliot Furness of Chicago, on loans made to improve Mankato's streets (1872); letters from other states' real estate and insurance companies, 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 to 1889, on insurance matters in other states (1890).

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.

Reserve items (1794-1846) were removed from the chronological correspondence and are chiefly early papers of the Martin family. Three items from Charles Martin, dated 1794-1797, give information on the pay and clothing of soldiers stationed at Fort le Boeuf (Pennsylvania). Documents from 1797 through 1846 concern Martin's two sons, Charles, Jr. and Armand and include an Alleghany County land patent (1797); commissions in the Pennsylvania Militia (1811-1812); family matters; descriptions of the country around Lexington, Kentucky (1818); and pioneer settlements in Missouri (1846).

Return to top

The correspondence and other materials are arranged in chronological order. The volumes are housed in boxes 7-9. Fragile items have been placed in reserve. Biographical and genealogical information and photographs are filed in box 6.

Return to top

Access Restrictions:

Access to and use of reserve materials requires the curator's permission.

Preferred Citation:

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

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 1892A; 7256; 7597; 9293; 9739; 10976; 17297

Appraisal Information:

Volume 7, a letterpress book kept by Charles Shandrew, State Insurance Commission, 1889, was transferred to the Minnesota State Archives by Lynn Leitte in 2001.

Processing Information:

Processed by: [Kathryn A. Johnson?, circa 1964]; Lynn Leitte, November 2001.

Digitized by: Christopher Welter, January 2012.

Digitization of reserve material was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.

Catalog ID number: 001731829

Return to top

McGill's files as governor (5.0 cubic feet) and files as commissioner of insurance (0.25 cubic feet) are available in the Minnesota State Archives collections at the Minnesota Historical Society, cataloged separately.

Additional family photographs are also available in the Minnesota Historical Society sound and visual collections

Return to top

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:

African Americans.

Art, Modern -- 19th century -- United States.

Education -- Minnesota.

Insurance -- Minnesota.

Insurance law -- United States.

Postal service -- Minnesota -- St. Paul.

Real property -- Minnesota

Real property -- United States.

Spanish-American War, 1898.

World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition (1884-1885 : New Orleans, La.).

Places:

Fort le Bouef (Pa.).

Minnesota -- Politics and government.

Nicollet County (Minn.).

Pennsylvania -- Social life and customs.

Saint Paul (Minn.).

Saint Peter (Minn.).

Persons:

Adams, Elmer E. (Elmer Ellsworth), 1861-1950.

Austin, Horace, 1831-1905.

Castle, Henry A. (Henry Anson), 1841-1916.

Collins, Loren Warren, 1838-1912.

Davis, Cushman Kellogg, 1838-1900.

Donnelly, Ignatius, 1831-1901.

Douglas, John.

Fairbanks, Charles W. (Charles Warren), 1852-1918.

Flower, M. D. (Mark Deloss), 1842-1907.

Furness, William Eliot, 1839-1913.

Gutherz, Carl, 1844-1907.

Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901.

Hays, W. M. (Willet Martin), 1859-1916.

Hubbard, Lucius F. (Lucius Frederick), 1836-1913.

Ireland, John, 1838-1918.

Johnson, John Albert, 1861-1909.

Loeb, William, 1866-1937.

Loring, Charles M. (Charles Morgridge), 1832-1922.

Marshall, Willain Rainey, 1825-1896.

Martin family.

Martin, Armand, 1785-1861.

Martin, Charles, 1753-1818.

Martin, Charles, 1786-1854.

Martin, Mary Ryan, 1789-1866.

McGill family.

McGill, Angeline Martin, 1811-1849.

McGill, Anna Baird.

McGill, Charles Dillon, 1802-1875.

McGill, Eliza E., -1877.

McGill, Mary E.

McGill, Patrick, 1762-1832.

McKinley, William, 1843-1901.

Merriam, William Rush, 1849-1931.

Miller, Stephen, 1816-1881.

Pattee, William Sullivan, 1846-1911.

Phillips, James M.

Polk, Sarah Childress, 1803-1891.

Pusey, Pennock, 1825-1903.

Ramsey, Alexander, 1815-1903.

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919.

Scheffer, Albert, 1844-1905.

Shandrew, Charles.

Sibley, Henry Hastings, 1811-1891.

Smith, Samuel George, 1852-1915.

Swift, Henry A., 1823-1869.

Van Sant, Samuel Rinnah, 1844-1936.

Von Rosenlind, Eric.

Wilson, James C., 1827-1905.

Windom, Ellen Towne Hatch, 1831-1914.

Windom, William, 1827-1891.

Organizations:

Minnesota and Pacific Railroad Company.

Republican Party (Minn.).

Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ).

St. Paul and Minneapolis Mortgage Loan and Trust Company.

United States Naval Academy.

University of Minnesota.

St. Peter Tribune.

Document Types:

Photographs.

Occupations:

Governors -- Minnesota.

Postmasters -- Minnesota -- St. Paul.

Return to top