Edward Sloman Minor (December 13, 1840July 26, 1924) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

businessman, Republican politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

pioneer. He served six terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, representing northeastern

(1895–1907). He was also the 7th and 16th mayor of

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Sturgeon Bay is a city in Door County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 9,646 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the bay of Sturgeon Bay for which it is named, it is the most populous city o ...

, represented

Door County Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,066. Its seat of government is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. T ...

for seven years in the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

, and served as a Union Army cavalry officer during 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 ...

Early life

Edward S. Minor was born on December 13, 1840, in

Jefferson County, New York Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United S ...

. As a child, he moved to the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

with his parents, settling in the town of

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Places Canada * Greenfield, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Greenfield, Colchester County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Hants County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Kings County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Q ...

, in

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

. They soon moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, where his father worked as a ship calker and Edward attended the public schools. The family moved to a homestead in

Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Sheboygan County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan, Wisconsi ...

, in 1852, where they worked as farm laborers. In the Spring of 1858, Edward Minor went north to

Door County, Wisconsin Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,066. Its seat of government is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. ...

, walking from

Baileys Harbor Baileys Harbor is a town in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,003 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Peninsula Center is located in the town. The census-designated place of Baileys Harbor is also lo ...

to Fish Creek to claim a plot of land for the family from the

United States General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government responsible for Public domain (land), public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 ...

. The rest of the family joined him there in July.

Civil War service

At the outbreak of the

, Minor volunteered for service in the Union Army and was enrolled as a private in Company G of the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment. The 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry served in the western theater of the war and west of the Mississippi. He was promoted to

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

, and

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

, 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 a second lieutenant, and was then promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on July 29, 1865. He mustered out with the regiment in November 1865.

Political career

After the war, Minor worked as a merchant in Fish Creek, dealing in timber products. He was elected to the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

in 1877, representing Door County in the 31st Wisconsin Legislature. He did not run for re-election in 1878, but ran again in 1879 and 1880, and won both elections. In 1882, Minor won a four-year term in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

. He represented the 1st State Senate district, which then comprised most of the northeast quadrant of the state, and was elected president pro tempore of the Senate for the 1885 session. During his earlier Assembly term, he supported the construction of the

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal is a ship canal connecting Sturgeon Bay with Lake Michigan across the Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin, Door County, Wisconsin. A dredged channel continues through Sturgeon Bay to Green Bay (Lake Michigan), G ...

, and during his Senate term he was appointed superintendent of the canal and moved to

. 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.

Congress

Later that year, he was nominated as the Republican candidate for the

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northeastern Wisconsin. It has been represented by Republican Tony Wied since November 12, 2024. It was previously vacant from ...

. He went on to defeat incumbent Democrat Lyman E. Barnes in the 1894 general election. He was subsequently re-elected three times in this district, in 1896, 1898, and 1900. After the

1900 United States census The 1900 United States census, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census. It w ...

, another congressional district was added to Wisconsin's delegation, and in the

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

, Minor's county was moved from the 8th congressional district to the 9th. Minor was elected to two more terms in Congress representing the 9th congressional district. In 1906, however, Minor was defeated in the

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

Gustav Küstermann Gustav Küstermann (May 24, 1850 – December 25, 1919) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. Biography Born in Detmold, Lippe-Detmold, Küstermann graduated from high school and worked at a store in Hamburg, Germany before immigrating to t ...

, who went on to succeed him in 1907. During his time in Congress, he was active in the work of the House 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 the 58th and

59th The 59th Quartermaster Company is a bulk petroleum company designed to provide semi-portable storage for of fuel and to provide distribution of fuel to military units within a specified geographic area while deployed overseas. Its secondary missi ...

congresses. He was well known among the political class in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and was described as a trusted friend of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Later years

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. He was interred at Sturgeon Bay's Bayside Cemetery.

Personal life and family

Edward S. Minor was one of five children born to Martin Minor and his wife Abigail (' St. Ores). The Minors were descendants of early British colonists to the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

. 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. He was a member of the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...

, 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 ...

, and the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1877, 1879, 1880)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 1877 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1879 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1880

Wisconsin Senate (1882)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1882

U.S. House of Representatives, 8th district (1894, 1896, 1898, 1900)

U.S. House of Representatives, 9th district (1902, 1904)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minor, Edward Sloman 1840 births 1924 deaths Politicians from Jefferson County, New York People from Greenfield, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee People from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union army officers Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Mayors of places in Wisconsin Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives