John S. Pillsbury
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John Sargent Pillsbury (July 29, 1827 – October 18, 1901) was an American politician, businessman, and philanthropist. A Republican, he served as the eighth Governor of Minnesota from 1876 to 1882. He was a co-founder of the
Pillsbury Company Pillsbury is an American brand of baking and dough products, marketed by General Mills and Brynwood Partners. Pillsbury products include refrigerated and frozen dough products, including the Toaster Strudel, marketed by General Mills; and shel ...
.


Early life

Pillsbury was born in
Sutton, New Hampshire Sutton is a New England town, town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,978 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Sutton includes the villages of Sutton Mills (shown as "Sutton" on topographic maps), Nor ...
, the son of John and Susan (Wadleigh) Pillsbury. He was a descendant of William Pillsbury, who emigrated from England to
Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...
, in 1640. In 1851, he opened a store in
Warner, New Hampshire Warner is a New England town, town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,937 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Rollins State Park and Mount Kearsarge (Merrimack County, New Hampshire), Mount Kearsarge Stat ...
, partnering with Walter Harriman, a future
Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...
and
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
general.


Career


Pillsbury Company

Pillsbury underwent a tour of the West in 1855, and decided to make St. Anthony, Minnesota, now part of
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
his home. Shortly after settling in Minnesota, he would marry Mahala Fisk. Pillsbury began a diverse entrepreneurial career including ventures in hardware, real estate and lumber before he would found his most successful business, C. A. Pillsbury and Company, along with his nephew Charles Alfred Pillsbury, for whom the company was named.


Political career

After the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, Pillsbury was elected as a third class companion of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...
. Pillsbury served in the
Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...
for several years before becoming the eighth Governor of Minnesota. He served as governor from January 7, 1876, until January 10, 1882. During the Grasshopper Plague of 1877, Governor Pillsbury called for a day of prayer on April 26, 1877. A subsequent sleet storm killed all the grasshoppers. In Cold Spring, Minnesota, a chapel was built to honor the miracle.


Philanthropist

Pillsbury was a noted philanthropist and often anonymously donated funds to causes he favored. In particular, he helped the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
recover from debt in its early years, and later served as a
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
. Since then, he has become known as "The Father of the University." Pillsbury Hall at the University of Minnesota is named in his honor.


Personal life

Pillsbury married Mahala Fisk on November 3, 1856. He and Mahala had four children, daughters Addie, Susan May, and Sarah Belle, and then son Alfred. Addie married Charles M. Webster, but died at the age of 25; Susan married Frederic Beal Snyder and died at the age of 28; Sarah Belle married Edward C. Gale, an area lawyer and son of the area's first real estate developer, Samuel Chester Gale. Edward Gale was also an art collector and contributed to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) as well. Alfred did not go into business, but instead became an art collector. When he died in 1950, the works were donated to MIA. His daughter's Susan's only son, John Pillsbury Snyder (1888 –1959), was a survivor of the RMS ''Titanic'' in 1912. John and his wife, Nelle, returning from their European honeymoon, are said to have been the first people to have entered the very first lifeboat, No. 7. Pillsbury died on October 18, 1901, and is interred in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is featured on a New Hampshire historical marker ( number 44) along New Hampshire Route 114 in Sutton.


Quote

A 1901 magazine article described him as follows:


References


Further reading

Sturdevant, Lori (2011). ''The Pillsburys of Minnesota''. Minneapolis: Nodine Press. .


External links


Biographical information
and hi
gubernatorial records
are available for research use at th
Minnesota Historical Society.John Sargent Pillsbury in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia
Hennepin History Museum.
Pillsbury Hall (University of Minnesota Geology Department)

Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
at the
National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pillsbury, John Sargent 1827 births 1901 deaths People from Sutton, New Hampshire Republican Party governors of Minnesota University of Minnesota people Republican Party Minnesota state senators American Congregationalists American people of English descent Burials at Lakewood Cemetery Pillsbury family 19th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature