Edward S. Minor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of RepresentativesfromWisconsin | |
| In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1907 | |
| Preceded by | Webster E. Brown |
| Succeeded by | Gustav Küstermann |
| Constituency | 9th district |
| In office March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1903 | |
| Preceded by | Lyman E. Barnes |
| Succeeded by | James H. Davidson |
| Constituency | 8th district |
| 7th & 16th Mayor ofSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin | |
| In office April 1918 – April 1920 | |
| Preceded by | Nathaniel C. Garland |
| Succeeded by | John Boler |
| In office April 1894 – April 1895 | |
| Preceded by | Louis Reichel |
| Succeeded by | George Nelson |
| Member of theWisconsin Senate from the1st district | |
| In office January 1, 1883 – January 3, 1887 | |
| Preceded by | William A. Ellis |
| Succeeded by | Edward Scofield |
| Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from theDoor district | |
| In office January 5, 1880 – January 2, 1882 | |
| Preceded by | Charles August Masse |
| Succeeded by | Adelbert Delos Thorp |
| In office January 7, 1878 – January 6, 1879 | |
| Preceded by | Jarvis T. Wright |
| Succeeded by | Charles August Masse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 13, 1840 |
| Died | July 26, 1924(1924-07-26) (aged 83) Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Resting place | Bayside Cemetery,Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Volunteers Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank | 1st Lieutenant, USV |
| Unit | 2nd Reg. Wis. Vol. Cavalry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Edward Sloman Minor (December 13, 1840 – July 26, 1924) was anAmerican businessman,Republican politician, andWisconsin pioneer. He served six terms in theUnited States House of Representatives, representing northeasternWisconsin (1895–1907). He was also the 7th and 16th mayor ofSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, representedDoor County for seven years in theWisconsin Legislature, and served as aUnion Army cavalry officer during theAmerican Civil War.
Edward S. Minor was born on December 13, 1840, inJefferson County, New York. As a child, he moved to theWisconsin Territory with his parents, settling in the town ofGreenfield, inMilwaukee County. They soon moved toMilwaukee, where his father worked as a shipcalker and Edward attended the public schools. The family moved to a homestead inSheboygan County, Wisconsin, in 1852, where they worked as farm laborers.[1]
In the Spring of 1858, Edward Minor went north toDoor County, Wisconsin, walking fromBaileys Harbor toFish Creek to claim a plot of land for the family from theUnited States General Land Office. The rest of the family joined him there in July.[2][3]
At the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War, Minorvolunteered for service in theUnion Army and was enrolled as a private in Company G of the2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment.[4] The 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry served in thewestern theater of the war andwest of the Mississippi.[5]
He was promoted tocorporal, andsergeant, and re-enlisted as a veteran with the regiment after the expiration of his three-year enlistment. At the end of the war, he was commissioned as asecond lieutenant, and was then promoted tofirst lieutenant on July 29, 1865. He mustered out with the regiment in November 1865.[4]
After the war, Minor worked as a merchant in Fish Creek, dealing in timber products.[2]
He was elected to theWisconsin State Assembly in 1877, representing Door County in the31st Wisconsin Legislature.[6] He did not run for re-election in 1878, but ran again in 1879 and 1880, and won both elections.[7][8]
In 1882, Minor won a four-year term in theWisconsin State Senate.[9] He represented the1st State Senate district, which then comprised most of the northeast quadrant of the state, and was elected president pro tempore of the Senate for the1885 session.[10]
During his earlier Assembly term, he supported the construction of theSturgeon Bay Ship Canal, and during his Senate term he was appointed superintendent of the canal and moved toSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.[2] He remained in this office until 1891, and served as a member of the Wisconsin Fish Commission for four years. He was then elected mayor of Sturgeon Bay in 1894.[10]
Later that year, he was nominated as the Republican candidate for theUnited States House of Representatives inWisconsin's 8th congressional district. He went on to defeat incumbent DemocratLyman E. Barnes in the1894 general election.[10] He was subsequently re-elected three times in this district, in 1896, 1898, and 1900.[11][12][13] After the1900 United States census, another congressional district was added to Wisconsin's delegation, and in theredistricting, Minor's county was moved from the 8th congressional district to the9th. Minor was elected to two more terms in Congress representing the 9th congressional district.[14][15] In 1906, however, Minor was defeated in theprimary election byGustav Küstermann, who went on to succeed him in 1907.[16]
During his time in Congress, he was active in the work of theHouse Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, especially concerning funding for improvements of rivers and harbors. He was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures for the Department of the Interior during the58th and59th congresses. He was well known among the political class inWashington, D.C., and was described as a trusted friend ofTheodore Roosevelt.[2]
After leaving office, he was appointed postmaster at Sturgeon Bay from 1911 through 1915, and was elected to another term as mayor in 1918. He died at his home in Sturgeon Bay on July 26, 1924, after a month-long decline in his health.[1] He was interred at Sturgeon Bay's Bayside Cemetery.[17]
Edward S. Minor was one of five children born to Martin Minor and his wife Abigail (née St. Ores). The Minors were descendants of early British colonists to theMassachusetts Bay Colony.[2]
Edward Minor married Mathilda Eloiza "Tillie" Graham in 1867. Tillie was the daughter of Oliver Perry Graham, another Door County pioneer who erected the first lumber mill at Sturgeon Bay. Edward and Tillie had at least six children, though only five survived him. His eldest son, Stanton, worked as his private secretary during his years in Congress and was an unsuccessful candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly.[2]
He was a member of theIndependent Order of Odd Fellows, theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and theGrand Army of the Republic.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 6, 1877 | |||||
| Republican | Edward S. Minor | 554 | 56.47% | +32.77% | |
| Democratic | George Basford | 427 | 43.53% | +1.33% | |
| Plurality | 127 | 12.95% | -5.55% | ||
| Total votes | 981 | 100.0% | -35.42% | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 4, 1879 | |||||
| Republican | Edward S. Minor | 527 | 52.02% | −8.47% | |
| Greenback | Moses Kilgore | 391 | 38.60% | −0.91% | |
| Democratic | Grary Pinney | 95 | 9.38% | ||
| Plurality | 136 | 13.43% | -7.56% | ||
| Total votes | 1,013 | 100.0% | -28.41% | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 2, 1880 | |||||
| Republican | Edward S. Minor (incumbent) | 1,191 | 56.45% | +4.42% | |
| Democratic | J. T. Wright | 856 | 40.57% | +31.19% | |
| Greenback | Rufus M. Wright | 63 | 2.99% | −35.61% | |
| Plurality | 335 | 15.88% | +2.45% | ||
| Total votes | 2,110 | 100.0% | +108.29% | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, November 7, 1882 | |||||
| Republican | Edward S. Minor | 5,072 | 55.63% | −2.73% | |
| Democratic | John Fetzer | 4,046 | 44.37% | ||
| Plurality | 1,026 | 11.25% | -5.46% | ||
| Total votes | 9,118 | 100.0% | -9.34% | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Year | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894[10] | Nov. 6 | Edward S. Minor | Republican | 19,902 | 54.22% | Lyman E. Barnes | Dem. | 15,522 | 42.29% | 36,703 | 4,380 |
| John Faville | Proh. | 949 | 2.59% | ||||||||
| A. J. Larrabee | Peo. | 330 | 0.90% | ||||||||
| 1896[11] | Nov. 3 | Edward S. Minor (inc) | Republican | 26,471 | 60.30% | George W. Cate | Dem. | 16,845 | 38.37% | 43,896 | 9,626 |
| John W. Evans | Proh. | 580 | 1.32% | ||||||||
| 1898[12] | Nov. 8 | Edward S. Minor (inc) | Republican | 16,910 | 54.19% | Philip Sheridan | Dem. | 13,668 | 43.80% | 31,207 | 3,242 |
| John W. Evans | Proh. | 629 | 2.02% | ||||||||
| 1900[13] | Nov. 6 | Edward S. Minor (inc) | Republican | 25,263 | 60.15% | Nathan E. Morgan | Dem. | 16,740 | 39.85% | 42,003 | 8,523 |
| Year | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902[14] | Nov. 4 | Edward S. Minor | Republican | 15,958 | 57.08% | Edward Decker | Dem. | 11,479 | 41.06% | 27,955 | 4,479 |
| T. W. Lomas | Proh. | 518 | 1.85% | ||||||||
| 1904[15] | Nov. 8 | Edward S. Minor (inc) | Republican | 19,764 | 58.12% | Robert J. McGeehan | Dem. | 13,124 | 38.59% | 34,005 | 6,640 |
| Joseph W. Harris | Soc.D. | 667 | 1.96% | ||||||||
| Charles W. Loomis | Proh. | 450 | 1.32% | ||||||||
| Wisconsin State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theWisconsin State Assemblyfrom theDoor district January 7, 1878 – January 6, 1879 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Charles August Masse | Member of theWisconsin State Assemblyfrom theDoor district January 5, 1880 – January 2, 1882 | Succeeded by |
| Wisconsin Senate | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theWisconsin Senatefrom the1st district January 1, 1883 – January 3, 1887 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's 8th congressional district March 4, 1895 - March 3, 1903 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's 9th congressional district March 4, 1903 - March 3, 1907 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Louis Reichel | Mayor ofSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin April 1894 – April 1895 | Succeeded by George Nelson |
| Preceded by Nathaniel C. Garland | Mayor ofSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin April 1918 – April 1920 | Succeeded by John Boler |
