PETER WOLFORD:

Peter Wolford, a Minneapolis banker and businessman, was born on his family's farm in York County, Pennsylvania on February 3, 1812. He came to Minneapolis with J. K. Sidle (1857) and organized, with Sidle and James Blair, the private banking firm of Sidle, Wolford and Company, one of the first banking houses in the city. He remained with the bank until 1861 when he embarked on his own mortgage and loan proprietorship. Wolford married Mary Ann Carl (died 1890) and died in Minneapolis on January 17, 1894.

See the first folder in the box for more biographical information.

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All but three of the letters were written by Peter Wolford, in Minneapolis, to his brother John of York Springs, Pennsylvania. Considerable information is given throughout the letters on the Wolford family business in York Springs, relating primarily to its sawmill and loan businesses. The lack of incoming correspondence makes it difficult to ascertain the exact nature of the transactions. The letters also document Peter Wolford's life and business activities in Minneapolis. There is information in most of the letters on his private banking partnership and its dissolution in 1861; references to the weather; prices for corn, oats, potatoes, and other produce; schools; family concerns; and comments on the favorable economy.

In addition to these business-related topics the 1859-1864 letters contain information on James Cook's whiskey distillery in Kentucky (one of Wolford's daughters may have married Cook); the U.S.-Dakota War (Sept. 2, 1862); the gathering of Dakota Indian bands at Fort Snelling prior to their expulsion from the state (April 20, 1863); and the construction of a sawmill at St. Anthony Falls (Aug. 21, 1864). One letter (July 7, 1864) describes Wolford's having witnessed a suicide jump into the Mississippi River, and two letters (Feb. 28 and April 2, 1860) detail Wolford's brief business venture in St. Paul with his son Jacob operating a clothing store preparatory to selling it. The letters for this period reveal a distinct lack of interest in the Civil War, only occasionally mentioning it in a few letters. One letter (July 14, 1864) describes its effect on business in Minnesota.

Letters from the 1865-1879 period include information on the family business in Pennsylvania, population growth in Minneapolis, flour and lumber mills, economic conditions, weather, taxes, and family matters including the death of James A. Cook (1873). Peter describes (Nov. 13, 1871) his visit to Chicago three days after the fire, with a brief description of the devastation. The last letter (1883) was written to John's widow upon the death of her husband.

Three letters are from other members of the family. Peter's daughter Ettie (Aug. 22, 1859) discusses the family's trip to Excelsior and Lake Minnetonka, with descriptions of the lake, sailing, and fishing; a second letter from J. K. Sidle (May 28, 1860) on the letterhead of "Sidle, Wolford and Company Exchange and Banking House"; and a final letter from Peter's son J. A. Wolford (April 30, 1862) with information on the family's business and description of heavy boat traffic on the Mississippi River.

The first folder in the collection contains biographical information on the Wolford and Sidle families.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Peter Wolford Letters. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession Number: 5005

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, July 1997

Catalog ID number: 990017349030104294

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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:

Banks and banking -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Business enterprises -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Business enterprises -- Pennsylvania -- Adams County.

Capitalists and financiers -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865.

Distilleries -- Kentucky.

Farm produce -- Minnesota.

Fires -- Illinois -- Chicago.

Flour mills -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Logging -- Minnesota.

Prices -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Sawmills -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Sawmills -- Pennsylvania -- Adams County.

Weather.

Whiskey -- Kentucky.

Places:

Adams County (Pa.).

Minneapolis (Minn.) -- Economic conditions.

Minnesota -- Description and travel.

Minnesota -- Economic conditions.

Pennsylvania -- Description and travel.

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

Minnetonka, Lake (Minn.).

Persons:

Sidle, J. K. (Jacob Koontz), 1821-1888.

Wolford family.

Wolford, John, 1800-1883.

Occupations:

Bankers -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Businessmen -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Businessmen -- Pennsylvania -- Adams County.

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