Riley Lucas Bartholomew (May 30, 1807 – September 23, 1894) was a

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

pioneer and politician who served as

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 ...

from 1859 to 1860. Riley Bartholomew married Fanny A. Watkins in 1829. He became a merchant in

Geneva, Ohio Geneva is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The area which would become Geneva was originally settled in 1805, and was incorporated as a city in 1958. It is named after Geneva, New York. The population was 6,215 at the 2010 censu ...

, selling clocks and later operating a hotel before the family moved to Jefferson, Ohio, the

Ashtabula County Ashtabula County ( ) is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,574. The county seat is Jefferson. The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1811. The name Ashtabula deriv ...

seat. In 1848 he was elected

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. During his Ohio years Riley joined the state

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, rising through the ranks to the status of general. The Bartholomew family were among the first

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

s in 1852 to establish a

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, ...

Richfield, Minnesota Richfield is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling. An inner ring suburb of Minneapolis, it is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, ...

. The Bartholomews, in their mid-forties, determined to move their family and begin a new life in the Northwest. Bartholomew came from stock that did not fear a challenge. His grandfather fought Native Americans and Tories on the New York frontier during the Revolutionary War, and his father was a veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

. Bartholomew's parents, Benjamin and Susannah, settled in Ohio's northeast corner in 1807, the year of Riley's birth. Upon arrival in Minnesota Territory, Bartholomew claimed a piece of land on the east side of

Wood Lake Wood Lake may refer to: Places in the United States * Wood Lake, Louisiana * Wood Lake, Minnesota * Wood Lake, Nebraska Lakes Canada * Wood Lake (British Columbia) United States * Wood Lake (Lyon County, Minnesota) * Wood Lake, a lake in Watonwan ...

straddling the western boundary line of the original Fort Snelling reservation. He constructed a two-story wooden house which was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

on November 28, 1978 and is now run as the Riley Lucas Bartholomew House Museum by the

Richfield Historical Society Richfield may refer to: Places Canada *Richfield, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Richfield, Nova Scotia *Richfield, British Columbia, a ghost town from the Cariboo Gold Rush United States *Richfield, California * Richfield, Idaho *Richfield ...

. After establishing their claim, Bartholomew quickly became involved in the work of building a new community. He helped construct the first school and church in 1854. He became a justice of the peace for

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneap ...

, a position he held from 1854 to 1863. His neighbors chose him as a territorial delegate to the state's 1857

constitutional convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

, and Bartholomew later became a District Four representative in the state senate from 1859 to 1860. During the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...

Bartholomew joined a volunteer company that came to the relief of soldiers at

Fort Ridgely Fort Ridgely was a frontier United States Army outpost from 1851 to 1867, built 1853–1854 in Minnesota Territory. The Sioux called it Esa Tonka. It was located overlooking the Minnesota river southwest of Fairfax, Minnesota. Half of the ...

. The four Bartholomew children ranged from eleven to twenty years of age when the family reached Richfield. The two eldest daughters, America and Virginia, married in 1855 and moved out to establish their own households. Youngest son, Rollin, married and left home in 1863. Oldest son, Winfield, farmed in Richfield and later took over the homestead from his parents. Virginia's husband

Edgar Nash Edgar Nash (July 8, 1832 – June 6, 1915) was an American businessman and politician. Nash was born in Penn Yan, New York, Penn Yan, Yates County, New York. He lived in Duluth, Minnesota with his wife and family and was involved with the hardw ...

also served in the Minnesota Legislature.Minnesota Legislators: Past & Present-Edgar Nash
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholomew, Riley 1807 births 1894 deaths Minnesota state senators People from Geneva, Ohio People from Richfield, Minnesota Dakota War of 1862 Military personnel from Ohio Ohio sheriffs 19th-century American politicians People from Jefferson, Ohio