Henry Hastings Sibley

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Henry Hastings Sibley
Henry Hastings Sibley
1^st Governor of Minnesota
In office May 24, 1858 – January 2, 1860
Lieutenant(s)	William Holcombe
Preceded by	Samuel Medary (Territorial)
Succeeded by	Alexander Ramsey

Born	February 20, 1811 Detroit, Michigan
Died	February 18, 1891 Saint Paul, Minnesota
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Sarah Jane (Hume) Steele
Profession	supply-purchasing agent

Henry Hastings Sibley, first governor of the U.S. state of Minnesota, was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 20, 1811. He was the son of Judge Solomon (1769 – 1846) and Sarah Whipple (Sproat) Sibley, and the grandson of Reuben and Ruth (Sibley) Sibley, and of Col. Ebenezer and Catherine (Whipple) Sproat. He was a descendant of John Sibley, who sailed from England in Winthrop's fleet in 1629, and settled in Salem, Massachusetts.

1 Early life
2 Political career
- 2.1 Railroad bond issue
3 Military career
4 Post-military career
5 References

[edit] Early life

Sibley's House at St. Peter, now Mendota

Sibley's father, a native of Sutton, Massachusetts, moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1797, where he became prominent in the early history of the city and state. Henry studied law in his father's office, and, in 1828, was employed in a mercantile house in Sault Ste. Marie. From 1829 – 1834 he was a supply-purchasing agent of the American Fur Company at Mackinac. In 1834, Sibley became a partner in the company and relocated to their headquarters in St. Peter's (now called Mendota), Minnesota, where he lived from 1834 – 1862. On May 2, 1843, Sibley married Sarah Jane Steele, daughter of General James and Mary (Hume) Steele, who lived at Fort Snelling. In 1862, he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota.

[edit] Political career

Sarah Jane Steele Sibley

Sibley started his political career in 1838 when he was appointed the first Justice of the Peace west of the Mississippi River by the governor of Iowa Territory, John Chambers. He was elected a delegate from Wisconsin Territory to the 30th congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John H. Tweedy. He served in the 30th, 31st, and 32nd congresses from January 15, 1849 to March 4, 1853. His influence in the 30th Congress included causing a part of Wisconsin and a tract west of the Mississippi River to be separated as the Territory of Minnesota. He was a member of the territorial legislature, convened from January to March of 1855, as the representative of Dakota County. He was a member of the Democratic wing of the first Minnesota constitutional convention assembled July 13, 1857, which resulted in adoption of the constitution as framed on October 13, 1857. He was elected as the first governor of the state and served from May 24, 1858, until January 2, 1860. After narrowly defeating Republican Alexander Ramsey in the first state gubernatorial contest, Sibley declared in his inaugural address, "I have no object and no interests which are not inseparably bound up with the welfare of the state." He did not seek reelection.

[edit] Railroad bond issue

When directed by the legislature to issue bonds to the railroads, he refused as the railroads did not give priority of lien on their property to the state. He was then ordered by the supreme court to issue state bonds to railroads, and was also requested to market the bonds in New York. Although he made an effort to do, as the capitalists refused to buy them, they were subsequently repudiated by the state.

[edit] Military career

In uniform

The U.S. Dakota War of 1862 In 1862, he was appointed colonel of the state militia, and was sent up the Minnesota River to protect the exposed points from the Sioux Indians. After the massacre at Acton, August 18, 1862, he was involved in the following engagements:

The repulsion of the Indians at New Ulm, August 19 and 25
The attack on Fort Ridgely, August 20
The bloody affair at Birch Coolie, September 1
The battle of Wood Lake, Minnesota, September 22, 1862

This last engagement was a decisive battle and resulted in the release of about 250 white settlers and the capture of 2,000 Indians of both sexes. Of these captives, 321 were tried for capital crimes and 303 were condemned to die; thirty-eight of which were hanged at Mankato, December 26, 1862. He was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, September 29, 1862, for "gallantry in the field." He established his headquarters at St. Paul and created a new military department which included Minnesota, Dakota Territory, Iowa, and Wisconsin, all of which he fortified with posts and garrisons. He led a second successful expedition against the Sioux in Dakota Territory in 1863, including the battles of Big Mound (July 24), Dead Buffalo Lake (July 26), and Stony Lake (July 28).

He was employed in conducting measures for the defense of the western frontier, 1864 – 1865, and, on November 29, 1865, was brevetted as major-general of the volunteers for "efficient and meritorious services." He was relieved from the command of the district of Minnesota in August, 1866.

[edit] Post-military career

After being relieved of command, he was active in settling several Indian treaties. Upon reentering business life in St. Paul, he served as president of the chamber of commerce, as well as the president of several railroads, banks, and other large corporations. He became a member of the Minnesota Historical Society in 1849—eventually serving as president. He also became a member of the Old Settlers' association of that state in 1858, and of the board of visitors to the U.S. Military academy in 1867. He was also president of the board of regents of the University of Minnesota, president of the board of Indian commissioners from 1875 – 1876, and received an honorary LL.D. from the College of New Jersey, in 1888. He also contributed to the collections of the Minnesota Historical society, to Spirit of the Times, and to Turf, Field and Farm.

He died in St. Paul, Minnesota, on February 18, 1891.

Sibley is memorialized in numerous places including: Sibley County, Minnesota, Sibley, Iowa, Hastings, Minnesota, Sibley State Park, and Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.

Preceded by Samuel Medary (territorial)	1st Governor of Minnesota 1858 – 1860	Succeeded by Alexander Ramsey

[edit] References

(1904) in Johnson, Rossiter, ed.: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume IX. Boston, MA: The Biographical Society, 364. [A corrected edition of The Cyclopedia of American Biography (1897 – 1903) and Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States (1900 – 1903).] (Republished by Gale Research Company, Book Tower, Detroit, 1968) Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-19657: Accessed from http://genweb.whipple.org/d0279/I49390.html on January 18, 2006.

Editors note: Currently at http://genweb.whipple.org/d0293/I49390.html. This tends to move around, so to find this entry, search for 49390 on this page: http://genweb.whipple.org/searchrin.html.