Charles Eugene Flandrau (July 15, 1828 – September 9, 1903) was an American lawyer who became influential in theMinnesota Territory, and later state, after moving there in 1853 fromNew York City. He served on the Minnesota Territorial Council, in the Minnesota Constitutional Convention, and on the Minnesota territorial and state supreme courts. He was also an associate justice on theMinnesota Supreme Court.
During the Dakota War, Flandrau enlisted in theUnion Army and was commissioned as a captain in 1862 to raise a force to defend settlers atNew Ulm. Given his success, the governor appointed him to lead the defense of southwest Minnesota, at the rank of colonel. After unsuccessfully campaigning for a couple of positions, Flandrau moved in 1870 to St. Paul, where he had a law partnership with two men until his death in 1903.
Flandrau was born in 1828 inNew York City. His father was Thomas Hunt Flandrau ofNew Rochelle, New York, an attorney and law partner ofAaron Burr. His mother was Elizabeth Maria Macomb, a daughter ofAlexander Macomb, the wealthy New York merchant, and his wife; and half-sister ofAlexander Macomb (1782–1841). Her brother became a career officer, general and hero of theWar of 1812; afterward he was appointed as head of theUnited States Army. The Flandraus were descendants of Jacques Flandreau, a FrenchHuguenot who came to New Rochelle in the 1690s. The spelling of their name was influenced by successive Dutch and English settlement in the region.[1][2][3]
Flandrau was educated inGeorgetown, then a separate community in the District of Columbia, until the age of 13, when he tried to enlist in the Navy. Too young to obtain an appointment, he spent three years as a common sailor under other services. In 1844, tiring of the sea, he worked for three years in the mahogany trade in New York City. He rejoined his family, then living inWhitesboro, New York, and apprenticed to "read the law" in his father's law practice. Flandrau passed the bar in 1851 and joined his father's firm as partner.[1][2][3]
In 1853, Flandrau relocated toTraverse des Sioux, Minnesota, to practice law. During the 1850s, he served on the Minnesota Territorial Council, in the Minnesota Constitutional Convention, and on the Minnesota territorial and state supreme courts. He was also appointed as U.S. Agent for theSioux in 1856; in this region they wereDakota people.[1][2][3][4]
In August 1862, learning of a violentDakotauprising in the southwestern corner of the state (caused largely by the federal government's failure to deliver annuities in goods and payments on time, and resulting in the Dakota starving), Flandrau enlisted in the Union Army as a captain. He assembled an armed force and quickly went to the defense of settlers atNew Ulm. BothFlandrau State Park and the community ofFlandreau, South Dakota, are named in his honor, as he was successful in defending the community.Governor Alexander Ramsey appointed Flandrau in charge of the defense of the southwestern frontier of the state, and he served in this capacity at the rank of colonel for two years, simultaneous to his position on the Minnesota Supreme Court.[1][2][3]
In 1864, Flandrau resigned from both positions and moved to Nevada to practice law. He returned to Minneapolis within a year to practice law withIsaac Atwater. In 1867, he ran as the Democratic candidate for governor but was defeated byWilliam Rainey Marshall. In 1869 he ran for chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, but was again defeated.
In 1870, he moved toSt. Paul, Minnesota, where he began a legal partnership with Horace R. Bigelow andGreenleaf Clark. He worked with them until his death in 1903.[1][2][5]
Judge Flandrau was married twice. His first marriage was on August 10, 1859, to his first cousin, Isabella Dinsmore of Kentucky, the daughter of Martha Macomb and James Dinsmore. The couple had two daughters, Martha Macomb and Sarah Gibson Flandrau, before Isabella died in 1867. Martha married Tilden Russell Selmes; their daughter,Isabella Selmes, became the first woman elected toArizona congress, known by her married name of Isabella Greenway.[1][2]
Flandrau married again to Rebecca B. Riddle, a widow and daughter of Judge William McClure and his wife ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They had two sons.Charles Macomb Flandrau became a noted author, writing stories and a novel about college life, as well as short stories published in leading magazines of the day, such asThe Saturday Evening Post.
Their second son William Blair McClure Flandrau in the early 1900s had a coffee plantation in Mexico. William marriedGrace Hodgson. She was nineteen when she first met his brother and author Charles, then 38, who served as a mentor when she first started writing. She became a popular author who was financially successful. Grace Flandrau left money in her will to a variety of institutions, including theUniversity of Arizona, which named Flandrau Science Center for her.[1][2]
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Minnesota 1867 | Succeeded by |
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