Memoir of Hon. David Olmsted

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MEMOIR OF HON. DAVID OLMSTED.

BY J. F. W.

Some considerable time has elapsed since the death of the
subject of this sketch, and it might appear that the Historical
Society is culpably tardy in doing this justice to his memory.
But the delay has arisen solely from inability to procure the
material requisite to prepare a memoir complete enough to be
worthy of the subject. His career subsequent to his arrival
in Minnesota was, of course, quite well known to the old
settlers, and could have been easily written up ; but the por-
tion particularly needed was the events of his early life, before
settling in this State. The writer has been in quest of these
for several years, but until very recently has been unable to
secure sufficiently full and accurate particulars of Mr. OLMSTED'S
younger days, to warrant the publication of a memoir. From
his brother, PAGE OLMSTED, Esq., of Monona, Iowa, and from
other sources, the writer has at length secured data and facts
that enables him' to place on record in these Collections, a brief,
but it is thought, correct memoir of one of the best and purest
public men connected with the history of Minnesota — regret-
ting only that the task had not fallen to one more competent.

DAVID OLMSTED was born in Fairfax, Franklin county, Ver-
mont, May 5th, 1822. His father, TIMOTHY OLMSTED, was
descended from some of the earliest Puritan colonists of Con-
necticut. In May, 1824, the residence of the family was com-
pletely destroyed by fire, with most of its contents. This was
a serious misfortune for Mr. OLMSTED'S family, as their means
were limited, and it was only by some years of hard labor and
strict economy that the loss was made good. It was an event

232 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS.

that closely affected the subject of this memoir, as it deprived
him in a considerable degree of the education which he
would otherwise have had, and he was able to obtain but a
limited amount of school tuition. He had a mind active and
quick, however, and made good use of such opportunities as
he had, while the loss of schooling was in a great measure
compensated by other advantages. His mother was a woman
of unusual intelligence and discretion, and to her home training
he was doubtless indebted more than to any other source, for
the knowledge he acquired during his boyhood.

In the spring of 1838, at the age of 16, he left home with the
approbation of his parents, his sole means consisting of $20
in money, to seek his fortune in the great West. By stopping
occasionally to work when his means were exhausted, he reached
Chicago in about a month. From Chicago he went to Mineral
Point, Wisconsin, where he entered the employ of a Mr.
LATHROP who was keeping a hotel. During the fall of that
year the hotel was burned in the night, and OLMSTED with
several other inmates, narrowly escaped by jumping from the
window of an upper story, losing all their effects.

Late in the fall of that year, young OLMSTED went to Grant
county, Wisconsin, where he entered 40 acres of Government
land, lying on Grant river, about six miles north of Potosi.
Here he lived for some months in the rude style of the mining
region, keeping "bachelors hall" with a friend named WILLIS
ST. JOHN. In the fall of 1839 his brother PAGE visited him,
and chanced to find him very ill with bilious fever, the region
at that time being very sickly. After his recovery, the OLM-
STED brothers went to Prairie du Chien, and remained there for
several months.

In July, 1840, they started on foot on an exploring tour
through the then unsettled portion of northern Iowa, on the
waters of Turkej7 and Yellow Rivers, looking for a desirable
place to settle. Their outfit consisted of a blanket and gun
for each, and as much provisions as they felt able to carry.
They spent about two weeks in examining the country, travel-
ing over a considerable distance. They finally selected a spot
about thirteen miles west of the Mississippi River, now named
Monona, where, without a team or other help, they erected a

MEMOIR OF HON. DAVID OLMSTED. 233

comfortable log cabin. At this time there were but very few
white settlers nearer than Prairie du Chien, on the east, and
none whatever on the west of their location. The Winnebago
Indians then possessed the country in the immediate vicinity
north and west of the claim selected by the young pioneers,
and the OLMSTEDS found it to their advantage to occasional^
traffic with them, and consequently learned considerable of
their character, customs and language — a fact which was prob-
ably the cause of DAVID OLMSTED becoming subsequently con-
nected with the Indian trade on a large scale.

Less than one year after making their settlement, the OLM-
STED brothers disposed of their joint claim, and each took a
new one in the same neighborhood. Up to this time the Win-
nebagoes had been their only neighbors west and north, and
but one white settler east or south nearer than seven miles ;
yet by treating the Indians with perfect fairness they had won
their confidence, and only on one occasion did the Indians
show any signs of enmity. This was about November,
1840, when seven young Indians came to the cabin occupied
by the brothers, about sunset, and made threats to burn the
cabin. The OLMSTEDS at once bolted the door of their cabin,
when the Indians commenced trying to break it down. For-
tunately at this juncture Mr. HARMAN SNYDER, who had been
for several years employed as government blacksmith among
the Winnebagoes, came along, and being influential with the
tribe, and speaking their language perfectly, he persuaded
them to desist from their attack. Had he not done so, prob-
ably the OLMSTEDS would have been murdered. This is but
an instance of the dangers and risks to which all who lived in
the Indian country in those days were subjected. When in
liquor the savages would, perhaps, attack their best friend.
The same trait was exhibited frequently by the Sioux. Dr.
WILLIAMSON, an influential missionary to the Sioux at Kapo-
sia, respected and beloved by them, was frequently compelled
to barricade his house, to save his life from the drunken at-
tacks of those who, when sober, were his waim friends and
supporters.

DAVID OLMSTED continued improving his farm during the
next three years, when, in the fall of 1844, being now twenty-

234 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS.

.two years of age, he sold his claim to good advantage, and em-
barked in the Indian trade, near Fort Atkinson, Iowa, as clerk
for W. G. and G. W. EWTNG, licensed traders to the Winne-
bagoes. In the fall of 1845, Mr. OLMSTED was elected from
the District in which he lived (Clayton county), as a member
of the Convention to frame a Constitution for a State Govern-
ment in Iowa. The Convention assembled in May, 1846, at
Iowa City. It consisted of thirty-three members. On May
18th the instrument was completed and signed by the mem-
bers, and being adopted by the people, gave birth to the great
and flourishing State of Iowa. We might mention as a fact,
showing the primitive modes of traveling in Iowa, at that day.
that a prominent citizen of Minnesota, [Hon.. L. B. HODGES,]
saw OLMSTED on his way to the Convention, riding a bare-
backed mule, with a rope halter. Mr. H. further states that so
youthful was the appearance of young OLMSTED when he was
elected, that many of his constituents thought he was not of
age, but said they u would send him anyhow," as he was so
much esteemed.

In the fall of 1847, Mr. OLMSTED, in company with H. C.
RHODES, purchased the interest of the EWINGS in the Winne-
bago trade, and in the summer of 1848, when the Indians were
removed to Long Prairie, Minn., he accompanied them.

The Winnebagoes had, in October, 1846, made, at Washing-
ton City, a Treaty, by the terms of which they agreed to
abandon their old possessions in the soon-to-be State of Iowa,
and remove to a new reservation procured for them in the
Chippewa country, in the year 1848. But when the time for
their removal arrived, they seemed very reluctant to go, and
it required all the diplomacy and influence of Gen. J. E.
FLETCHER,1 their agent, accompanied by the presence of U. S.
troops from Fort Atkinson, with the threat of coercion, to

1 JONATHAN EMERSON FLETCHER was born at Thetford, Vt., 1806. He removed to
Ohio when a young man, but afterwards settled at Muscatine, Iowa, in 1838, and
went to farming. In 1846 he was appointed by Prest. Polk agent for the Winneba-
goes, and remained in that position for 11 years. During this period he resided at
Fort Atkinson, Iowa, Long Prairie, and Blue Earth, Minn. He returned to his farm
at Muscatine in 1858, and died April 6, 1872. He left a wife and eight children, several
of whom were born in Minnesota. A memoir of him in the Muscatine Journal says :
' He was a man of marked and noted character —a man of talent, energy and industry,
actuated at all times by truth, right and justice."

MEMOIR OF HON. DAVID OLMSTED. 235

induce the savages to start. At Wabasha Prairie (now Wi-
nona) they made another stand, and having purchased that
spot from WABASHA, the Dakota chief, seemed determined to
resist to bloodshed any attempt to move them a step farther.
The situation was now critical. The first drop of blood hastily
spilled would have led to a bitter war.1 An express was dis-
patched to Fort Snelling for more troops, which soon arrived
under command of Capt. SETH EASTMAN. This, with the dra-
goons from Fort Atkinson, a company of volunteers from
Crawford county, Wis., and two pieces of artillery, made quite
a formidable force. The Winnebagoes began to reconsider
their first hasty resolves, and the defection of a part of their
number under an influential chief, added to the arguments and
persuasion of Mr. OLMSTED, Hon. HENRY M. RICE, GEORGE
CULVER, and others who were present, finally convinced them
that resistance would be unwise and ruinous, and they pro-
ceeded on their journey. The value of the services that Mr.
OLMSTED rendered in quieting the revolt can hardly be over-
estimated. Perhaps no man living had more influence with the
tribe than he. They trusted him implicitly. Had he given any
encouragement to their rebellious conduct, or said one word to
urge them on, a long and bloody war with the tribe would have
desolated the frontier.

On arriving at Long Prairie, Mr. OLMSTED, with his partner,
established a trading post which was continued for several
years.

Soon after settling here, Mr. O. met with an adventure which
well illustrates the dangers and casualties to which the pioneers
of a new country are exposed. Believing that the road, or
trail, from Long Prairie to Sauk Rapids (which was very cir-
cuitous) could be shortened by a new route, he started on
horseback in company with an old Frenchman named DECHO-
QUETTE to survey and mark out a new route. At that time the
region was a perfect wilderness ; no surveys had been made,
and NICOLLET'S map was the only one they had. This was
really of no use to them, and after proceeding some distance
they became involved in a labyrinth of tatnarac swamps,

1 Gen. SIBLET says in his Reminiscences that "the Winnebagoes were regarded as
among the most turbulent and dangerous of the North Western savages."
31

236 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS.

marshes, sloughs and jungles, until, at the end of the second
day, they were utterly lost, and had not the faintest idea of
where they were, or how to retrace their way. They now
turned their horses loose, and endeavored to pick their way
out, but without success. They floundered about in the swamps
for seven days longer, wet, torn by briers until they were
almost naked, and suffering the pangs of hunger. During this
time all the food they had was a morsel of meat, and two sun-
fish caught in a stream. They finally reached Sauk river,
where a friend who had gone in search of them providentially
found them, more dead than alive. During the last two days
of their wanderings, DECHOQUETTE'S sufferings had driven him
partially insane, and when they were found, neither could
walk. Mr. OLMSTED'S naturally strong constitution was very
seriously impaired by the sufferings and hardship of this
adventure. It was some time before his strength was measur-
ably restored, and there is no doubt that it was the main cause
of his early death at the age of 39, when he should have been
in the prime of life.

The Territory of Minnesota was created March 3d, 1849.
On July 7th, Gov. RAMSEY issued a Proclamation dividing the
Territory into Council Districts, and ordering an election for
members of the Legislature, on August 7th. Mr. OLMSTED was
elected a member [for two years] of the Council from the Sixth
District, which was constituted as follows : "The Sauk Rapids
and Crow Wing Precincts of the county of St. Croix, and all
the settlements west of the Mississippi, and on and north of a
due west line from the head waters of said river to the north-
ern line of the Territory." In the absence of any surveys or
well known natural lines, this was the only way in which such
a district could be described. The Legislature assembled on
September 3d, and Mr. OLMSTKD was chosen President of the
Council, The next session of the Legislature was not held
untilJanuary, 1851. It is unnecessary to add that Mr. OLM-
STED took a prominent part in both sessions. His fellow-
members and the public soon came to respect and esteem him
as an honorable and reliable man, and a faithful public officer.
His good sense, well-balanced judgment and practical views on
all subjects that came up gained him much influence, and though

MEMOIR OP HON. DAVID OLMSTED. 237

modest and even taciturn, not thrusting himself forward in-
cautiously, many selected him as one worth}7 of a higher
position — indeed, one for which he was soon named.

In 1851, Mr. OLMSTED married a Miss STEVENS, daughter of
Judge STEVENS, of St. Albans, Vt., by whom he had a son
and daughter, both now residents of Minnesota.

Soon after this, finding that the profits of the Indian trade
were becoming so small as not to justify remaining in it any
longer, he disposed of his interest in it, and removed to St.
Paul, where he not long afterwards purchased of Col. D. A.
ROBERTSON, proprietor of the Minnesota Democrat, the news-
paper establishment known by that name. Mr. OLMSTED be-
came proprietor on June 29, 1853, and remained publisher of
the same until September 2, 1854. Without having much, if
any, experience as a writer for the press, prior to his assum-
ing the editorial chair, he nevertheless had good success in
that capacity. His clear, logical mode of thought, mature
judgment and practical common-sense views of every subject,
gave his plain, terse writing a force and influence that many
more polished writers could not have commanded. The pa-
per largely extended its influence and circulation under his
control, and was changed to a daily in May, 1854. In Sep-
tember, 1854, he sold out to the late CHARLES L. EMERSON,
on account of his failing health. His connection with the
Democrat had made him widely known and popular with the
people of the Territory.

In the spring of 1854, Saint Paul having been incorporated,
as a city, Mr. OLMSTED was elected its first Mayor, a position
which he held for one year.

In 1855 Mr OLMSTED removed to Winona, then a village of
a few houses, and devoted his energies to building up that
now flourishing city.

During the summer of 1855, Mr. OLMSTED was brought
prominently before the people of this Territory as a candidate
for Delegate to Congress. On July 25, the first regular Re-
publican convention was held in Minnesota, and Hon. WM.
R. MARSHALL nominated for Delegate. The same day, the
Democratic convention met, and nominated Hon. HENRY M.
RICE. During the proceedings, a portion of the delegates

238 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS.

objecting to the tenor of certain resolutions passed, withdrew,
and forming a new organization, placed Mr. OLMSTED in the
field. Thus there was a sort of " triangular " contest, three
candidates, each with a leading journal advocating his claims,
and a party of earnest friends supporting him. Many of the
readers of this paper will remember the warmth of the contest.
But they will fail, I think, to remember that during the entire
campaign DAVID OLMSTED either said or did anything unfair
or dishonest, or allowed his friends to do so, to aid his cause.
The wing of the party which placed him in the field, however,
was too feeble in strength ta give him any chance of success,
and Mr. OLMSTED really received the smallest vote of the three
candidates, though he came out of the contest with popularity
unimpaired and honor untarnished.

In the fall of 1856, Mr. OLMSTED'S health began to decline
quite rapidly, and he was advised to spend the winter in Cuba,
which he did, but it failed to check the progress of the disease
which was consuming him. His strong constitution and
tenacity of will resisted the rapid inroad of the destroyer
somewhat, but he felt that the end could not be far off. He
therefore returned to Minnesota, and after visiting his relatives
at Monona, Iowa, and Winona, came to St. Paul to see his
friends here. It was his last visit, and was taken advantage
of by them to secure the portrait which now hangs in the City
Hall. In October he returned to his old home in Franklin
Co., Vermont, to remain at his mother's house until the final
summons should come. He was soon after reduced so low as
to be unable to leave the house, and indeed much of the time
confined to his bed. Even in this stage, though suffering great
physical pain and debility, he wrote frequently to his friends
here. His letters dated during this period breathe an air of
resignation and even cheerfulness, but evidently conceal a
sadness when speaking of his wish to see his old friends in
Minnesota once more.

Death came to his relief after months of suffering, on Feb.
2, 1861. The news was received with sincere regret by his
friends in Minnesota, and the press paid generous and warm
tributes to his worth and integrity. Saint Paul Lodge No. 2,
I. O. O. F., and Ancient Landmark Lodge No. 5, F. A. M., of

MEMOIR OF HON. DAVID OLMSTED. 239

which he was a valued member, passed heartfelt resolutions
of regret, and the " Old Settlers Association" of Minnesota at
their next annual reunion, placed on their records an appro-
priate eulogy. On the map of our State his name is well
bestowed on one of our most flourishing and populous counties.
Perhaps I can do no better, to show the estimation in which
he was held, than to quote some of the tributes paid to his
memory by those who knew him most intimately. One of his
friends thus truthfully sketched his character in a communica-
tion to the St. Paul Pioneer:

"DAVID OLMSTED had a mind of peculiar order. His leading char-
acteristics were firm integrity, honesty of purpose, adhesion to
friends, charity for opponents, a retentive memory, good common
sense, and sound judgment. He was brave, but never rash ; and was
as modest as brave. No man ever saw him excited. Grateful for fa-
vors, he would rather grant than receive them. Originally a Demo-
crat, then a conservative Republican, firm in his own principles, al-
ways respecting the views of others, he was never a partisan, but
always a patriot. Often absorbed in deep thought, even to absent-
mindedness, and without a polished address, he nevertheless won the
hearts of all by his kind, straightforward and manly conduct.".

A clergyman who attended him in his last illness, writes :
" He died in the faith of CHRIST, and in communion with his
church. He died in peace." Another clergyman, who knew
him intimately, writes : " A loftier disdain, as stern and
calm as it was lofty, of the base in character, I have seldom
seen in any man, nor a warmer appreciation of simple honesty
and singleness of heart in others.''

Capt. SAM. WHITING, (then of Winona) paid the following
touching elegiac tribute to his friend :

Vermont ! thy green hills shroud in gloom,
Thy noblest son has met his doom ;
Pass'd, in his manhood's pride and bloom,

Away from earth ;
Let us, 'round OLMSTED'S early tomb,

Recall his worth.

In Minnesota's earliest year
He sought her hills, a pioneer,
Full of ambition — void of fear

And wily plan :
One such as high and low revere—

An honest man.

240 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS.

Well may thy stroke, O Death, appal,
When thus earth's best and worthiest fall,
Unterrified he heard thy call,

And sank to rest.
His spirit soars above the pall,

Among the blest.

Revered and loved while here on earth,
Thou man of pure and sterling worth, —
Though lone and cold thy homestead hearth,

Though from us torn,
Our loss is but thy blissful birth

To endless morn.

OLMSTED ! thou'rt sleeping with the dead,
Yet o'er thy low and grassy bed,
The sweetest rose shall rear its head,

To deck thy tomb ;
And on each sighing zephyr shed

Its rich perfume.

Thy burial spot is hallowed ground,
And oft thy friends shall gather round,
Their joy subdued — their grief profound,

As each shall tell,
His virtues, who, beneath the mound,

Is sleeping well.

Yes, DAVID OLMSTED ! though the sighs
Of friends bereaved for thee may rise,
Thy soul, beyond yon radiant skies,

Has reached that shore,
Where all of human sorrow dies

For evermore.

Such is an imperfect sketch of one whose name must always
be honorably associated with the history of Minnesota. Mr.
OLMSTED was a self-made man. Starting in life a poor boy,
unaided by friends, with but little of the education bestowed
by schools, he was literally " the architect of his own fortune."
Settling on the frontier, among a rude population, in a region
almost a wilderness, with nothing but energy and industry,
guided by unswerving principle and honor, he pushed his way
to reputation and friends, to position, and — in some degree —
to wealth. He had some peculiar traits of character which

MEMOIR OF HON. DAVID OLMSTED 241

tended to gain for him that popularity which he enjoyed to such
an enviable degree. He was emphatically a man of the people.
Without seeming to court the good will of others, he had a
quiet, natural suavity of manner that insensibly attracted men
to him, and made even the humblest citizen in his presence
feel himself a friend. There was something winning in the
kindly tones of his voice, and the cordial clasp of his hand,
and one felt impressed with its sincerity. And it was sincere.
No man had more strongly the feeling of Fraternity than
DAVID OLMSTED.

These traits, added to his exemplary character, his ability,
and untarnished honor, made him beloved by his friends and
respected and esteemed by all brought into contact with him,
as perhaps no public man in our State has been, before or
since. Even in times of the warmest political excitement,
(and the rancor of territorial politics can scarcely be appre-
ciated by our recent settlers,) he escaped detraction and
slander. Or if not entirely, twenty years have now almost
obliterated the animosities and differences that separated men
into hostile parties in those days, so that all will now forget
the resentments of the past and unite with me in laying a
wreath upon the grave of one, on whose monument History,
with impartial hand, must carve the tribute — " a good and
true man."

St. Paul, March, 1874.

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