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Socrates Nelson

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Socrates Nelson
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 1st district
In office
December 7, 1859 – January 7, 1861[1]
Personal details
BornJanuary 11, 1814 (1814-01-11)
Conway, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedMay 6, 1867(1867-05-06) (aged 53)
Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
OccupationMerchant, politician, lumberman, real estate investor
CommitteesRailroad and Railroad Bonds Special Committee
State Prison Committee

Socrates Nelson (January 11, 1814 – May 6, 1867) was an American businessman, politician, and pioneer who served one term as a Minnesota State Senator from 1859 to 1861. He was a general store owner, lumberman, and real estate speculator and was associated with numerous companies in the insurance and rail industries. He was involved in the establishment of the community of Stillwater, Minnesota and was an early member of the first Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge in Minnesota. He served on the University of Minnesota's first board of regents before being elected to the Minnesota Senate.

Nelson was a member of an 1848 committee that met in Stillwater to petition the U.S. Congress to create the Minnesota Territory, and he took part in the early organization of the Minnesota Democratic Party. He was a county treasurer, territorial auditor, and county commissioner. As a senator, he voted in favor of a failed bill to legalize bringing slaves into Minnesota temporarily and helped to repeal the Loan Amendment – intended to expedite the creation of railroad infrastructure – from the Minnesota Constitution. He was elected as a delegate for the 1864 Democratic National Convention.

After Nelson died in 1867 from tuberculosis, his achievements in Stillwater were memorialized. The Nelson School was named after him. A plaque at the Washington County Historic Courthouse commemorates his sale of the land on which the courthouse was built.

Early life and family

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A panoramic, aerial sketch of Stillwater. Steamboats enter and leave the city on the St. Croix River. The town, surrounded by timberland and hills, has a Main Street which runs along the of the St. Croix, and a locomotive runs parallel to it. A courthouse, built on land donated by Nelson, is located to the left (south) in a more sparsely populated part of the town.
Panoramic sketch of Stillwater drawn in 1870

Socrates Nelson was born in Conway, Massachusetts, on January 11, 1814,[2] to Socrates Nelson and Dorothy Boyden.[3] He lived in nearby Greenfield and took a partial course at Deerfield Academy before returning to his hometown to become a merchant.[4][5][6]

When he was 25, Nelson moved to Illinois on a prospecting tour; he moved again in 1840 to St. Louis, Missouri, to sell goods and collect furs.[7][8] There, he met his future business partner Levi Churchill.[4]

In early 1844, he traveled up the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Chippewa River in the Wisconsin Territory and opened a trading post at a site known as Nelson's Landing or Nelson's Point, about three miles south of Wabasha, Minnesota.[2][9][10] The post was maintained for several years but later washed away.[2] On October 23, he married Betsey D. Bartlett[a] in Hennepin, Illinois.[12][15]

Later in 1844, Nelson took a steamboat farther north to the recently settled town of Stillwater and opened its first general store, known as Nelson's Warehouse.[4][16][17][b] Betsey joined him soon after.[22] The Churchills remained temporarily in St. Louis, and the two parties traded goods via the Mississippi River – Nelson's furs for Churchill's merchandise.[4]

The Nelsons had twin daughters, Emma A. and Ella, on September 22, 1848.[23][24] Ella died in infancy on October 23, 1849.[2]

Nelson was one of the earliest members of the Minnesota Historical Society, joining in 1849 when the organization was formed.[25] He was among the first members initiated into the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1849,[26] which became Minnesota Lodge No. 1 in Stillwater in 1852, when he was a trustee.[27]

Business ventures

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Nelson was an important settler of the St. Croix River valley. When arriving in Stillwater, he initially built a store and established a mercantile business, which he ran for eleven years.[7] Realizing that land development, rather than fur and trading, would be more prosperous, Nelson and Churchill laid claim to large tracts of land near the St. Croix River in 1845 and purchased the land from the United States General Land Office in 1849.[7][28] By the summer of 1847, Nelson was shipping rafts of lumber hundreds of miles downriver to St. Louis,[29] and in the summer of 1848, he and Churchill together purchased an area of timberland.[30] Nelson entered the lumber business in earnest on February 7, 1851, as one of the corporators of the St. Croix Boom Company organized by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature.[31] In 1852, Nelson and associates David B. Loomis and Daniel Mears (Nelson, Loomis and Company[32]) platted what is now Bayport.[5][33] There, they erected a boarding house and a lumber mill, called the S. Nelson Lumber Company.[5][34] The steam-powered sawmill operated from 1853, the year Nelson left the mercantile business,[35] to November 1858, when the company dissolved, leaving Nelson as the owner.[32][36] He operated the mill infrequently over the next ten years and sold the property in 1868.[32]

The Washington County Courthouse is a red brick building. Atop the building is a dome with multiple windows. There is a staircase leading up to the courthouse entrance. The entrance sits under an archway and consists of two wooden doors.
Washington County Historic Courthouse in Stillwater, Minnesota, built on land donated by Nelson and his business partner

Riding a boom in real estate speculation and soaring land prices, Nelson and Churchill deeded 40 acres (16 ha) of land in January 1857 to St. Paul real estate salesman Robert F. Slaughter, half of which Slaughter deeded in turn to Hilary B. Hancock.[37][c] Along with their wives, the four platted the area of nearly 500 lots on June 15, just months before the onset of a worldwide financial crisis known as the Panic of 1857.[39] Amid a collapsing real estate market and with speculation screeching to a halt, the value of the now-platted and mostly unsold land plummeted to practical worthlessness.[39][40] Months after the Panic began, Levi Churchill died and ceded his estate to his wife Elizabeth.[41] Demoralized by deflated land prices, Slaughter and Hancock forfeited their claim to the lots.[23] In early April 1867, hoping to spur development and drive demand for nearby lots they owned, Nelson and Elizabeth Churchill offered to sell the city of Stillwater an entire block of land for a token amount of $5 (equivalent to $109 in 2023) with no strings attached for the construction of a courthouse.[42][43] The city accepted,[43] and the courthouse building prompted development of the area, which Nelson would not live to see.[23]

In other business ventures, Nelson was a corporator of the Minnesota Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 1848.[44] In 1853, he became one of the corporators of the Louisiana and Minnesota Railroad Company,[45][d] the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company,[48] and the Minnesota Western Railroad Company.[49] In 1854, a stock company consisting of Nelson and others published Stillwater's first newspaper, the St. Croix Union – a Democratic-leaning, weekly periodical which was printed until 1857.[50][51] On January 27, 1867, Nelson became a corporator of the Stillwater & St. Paul Railroad.[52]

Political career

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Further information: History of Minnesota § Minnesota Territory
A tablet commemorating the 1848 Stillwater convention. To the top left and top right are the years 1848 and 1948. The text reads: "Birth of Minnesota – On this site, in the frontier river settlement of Stillwater, sixty-one delegates from the vast unorganized wilderness west of the St. Croix assembled on August 26, 1848 to hold the Minnesota Territorial Convention. In this convention the name Minnesota was selected and the spelling agreed upon, a petition was drawn, memorializing Congress to set up a territorial government, and H. H. Sibley was dispatched to Washington as the delegate of the convention bearing the petition." Below this is smaller print, reading: "This tablet erected by the Stillwater Territorial Centennial Committee – August 26, 1948".
Tablet commemorating the sixty-one delegates who attended the 1848 Stillwater convention, one of whom was Nelson

In 1846, Nelson was elected treasurer for St. Croix County, Wisconsin Territory, and in 1847, he was elected treasurer and county commissioner.[53] That year, he was appointed master in chancery for the county by Territorial Governor Henry Dodge.[54][55]

When the state of Wisconsin was carved out of the Wisconsin Territory in 1848, some portions of eastern Minnesota (including Stillwater) were not accounted for, and left without representation in Washington, D.C.[56][57] Nelson was one of a seven-person committee that met at the Stillwater convention on August 26, 1848, and gathered sixty-one signatures for a petition to Congress that led to the 1849 establishment of the Minnesota Territory.[58][59] A group of citizens organized elections for a congressional representative from the Minnesota Territory,[57] held on October 30, 1848.[60] Henry Hastings Sibley became Minnesota's first representative, with 236 votes; Henry Mower Rice was second, with 122 votes; and Nelson finished third as a write-in candidate, where he received 19 unanimous votes from the precinct in which his lumber camp was located, but no votes from any other precinct.[61]

On October 20, 1849, Nelson was involved with the organization of the Minnesota Democratic Party at a convention held in Saint Paul.[62] That same year, he was elected treasurer for the newly formed Washington County, Minnesota Territory.[63]

From February 1851 to February 1859, Nelson served on the University of Minnesota's first board of regents; he was part of the 1856 building committee that solicited plans for necessary buildings.[64] He was Minnesota Territorial Auditor under Governor Willis A. Gorman from May 15, 1853, to January 17, 1854.[65]

Nelson was a commissioner for Washington County in 1852, 1855, and 1856.[66] In 1858, he organized Baytown Township on the south side of Stillwater.[5] That May, he named the township of Greenfield (later renamed to Grant Township) just east of Stillwater after his former Massachusetts home.[5][67]

In 1858, Nelson was nominated by the Minnesota Democratic Party as a candidate for state senator.[68] He was elected as a Democrat from the 1st district on October 12, 1858, and served in the Minnesota Senate from 1859 to 1861.[1][69] During his term in the 2nd Minnesota Legislature, he was on the Railroad and Railroad Bonds Special Committee and the State Prison Committee.[1] As part of the committee on railroads, Nelson co-authored a report with Lucius K. Stannard on February 4, 1860, recommending the expungement of Article IX Section 10 of the Minnesota Constitution – known as the Loan Amendment. The amendment was introduced in 1858 to expedite the development of railway infrastructure and authorized a total of up to $5 million (equivalent to $169,600,000 in 2023) in loans for railroad companies.[70][71] Section 10 was expunged soon thereafter during the 1860 presidential election.[72][73] On March 5, 1860, he was one of five Democrats in the Minnesota Senate to vote in favor of a failed bill to legalize bringing slaves into Minnesota temporarily.[74][75]

On October 12, 1860, the Democratic District Convention met and nominated Nelson for state senator from the 2nd district; Republicans nominated Joel K. Reiner,[76][77] a physician who had previously served the 1st district in the 1st Minnesota Legislature.[78] Reiner won the election held on November 6, 1860, defeating Nelson as part of a string of legislative gains for Minnesota's Republican Party.[79][80]

Nelson served on the Stillwater City Council from 1863 to 1865.[81] In 1864, he was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention,[82] where he voted for George B. McClellan.[83]

Later life and legacy

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A light-red-brick building. A bay window sits above the entrance, while two stone signs to the left and the right, respectively, read "Nelson" and "A.D. 1837". The building has two chimneys and a window at the top middle.
The building that housed the Nelson School, named in Socrates Nelson's honor

Nelson served as president of the Old Settlers Association in 1859 and 1866.[84] (The association accepted as members only persons who were residents of the territory before 1850; Nelson was a charter member when it was founded in 1857.[85]) In 1866, he was a trustee for the local society of Christian universalists.[86]

In 1867, after being ill for several months and bedridden for several weeks,[87][88] Nelson died of tuberculosis in Stillwater on the morning of May 6 at the age of 53.[2][35] Most of the city's businesses closed that afternoon in observance of his death.[89]

Nelson's estate was valued at around $100,000 (equivalent to $2,180,000 in 2023) when he died.[90][91] His daughter Emma died in 1880[92] and Betsey died in 1885;[12][13] the estate was valued at under $1,000 (equivalent to $36,600 in 2023) by September 1901 due to extravagant spending by Emma's alcoholic husband.[93]

A plaque on the north portico of the Washington County Historic Courthouse commemorates the date when Nelson and Churchill sold the block of land for its construction.[94] As of 2020, the building was the longest-standing courthouse in Minnesota.[43][94] Nelson Street, perpendicular to the St. Croix riverfront in Stillwater,[95] is named for him.[6] Nelson's shop was converted into a furniture store but torn down for lumber in March 1911.[6] On September 28, 1885, the Nelson School, named after him, opened in Stillwater.[96][e]

Notes

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  1. ^ Betsey D. Bartlett is sometimes referred to as 'Betsy' and 'Bertha', and in one contemporary news source as 'Martha E.',[11][12][13] but US census data from 1850 records her given name as 'Betsey D.'[14]
  2. ^ Having originally opened his business in a shack in 1844, Nelson built the general store under the same roof as his Main Street home in summer 1845,[18][19] located near the St. Croix by the intersection of modern-day Nelson Street and South Main Street.[4] One source leaves room for error, calling his store "the first, or among the first, in Stillwater",[20] and another calls both Nelson's and Walter R. Vail's the first.[21]
  3. ^ Hancock was the identical twin brother of 1880 Democratic presidential nominee Winfield Scott Hancock.[38]
  4. ^ No railroad was ever laid by the Louisiana and Minnesota Railroad Company.[46] On March 5, 1869, the Minnesota Legislature transferred the benefits and powers the company had been given by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature to the Brownsville, Caledonia and State Line Railroad Company.[47]
  5. ^ The building where the original Nelson School stood has been converted to residential use.[97]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Legislators Past & Present | Nelson, Socrates". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Minnesota Legislature. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made Men. Vol. Minnesota Volume. New York, NY and Chicago, IL: American Biographical Publishing Company. 1879. pp. 235–236. LCCN 17014354. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Boyden, Boyden & Boyden 1901, p. 108.
  4. ^ a b c d e Empson 2002, p. 10.
  5. ^ a b c d e Upham, Warren (2001). "Washington County". Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia (Third ed.). Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 615–616. ISBN 0-87351-396-7. LCCN 00048207. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Peterson, Brent (August 1, 2021). "Stillwater's first shopkeeper: Socrates Nelson". Stillwater Gazette. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Easton 1909, p. 323.
  8. ^ Folsom 1888, pp. 58–59.
  9. ^ "With Keen Knives: A Bloody Fight That Occurred Between Sioux and Chippewa Indians". The Sunday Tribune. Vol. XXVI, no. 137. Minneapolis, MN. September 25, 1892. p. 14. Retrieved April 7, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  10. ^ Neill 1881, p. 590.
  11. ^ "An Old Settler Dead". St. Paul Daily Globe (obituary). Vol. VII, no. 282. October 9, 1885. p. 5. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
  12. ^ a b c Folsom 1888, p. 59.
  13. ^ a b Empson 2002, p. 26.
  14. ^ 1850; Stillwater Precinct, Washington County, Minnesota Territory; roll M432-367, page 67A,.
  15. ^ Neill 1881, pp. 590–591.
  16. ^ Peterson, Brent (April 25, 2014). "Back in Time: Janda's, a department store legacy". Stillwater Gazette. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  17. ^ Easton 1909, p. 216.
  18. ^ Holcombe 1908, p. 109.
  19. ^ Neill 1881, p. 503.
  20. ^ Easton 1909, p. 20.
  21. ^ Grönberger, Robert (1879). Svenskarne i St. Croix-dalen, Minnesota [The Swedes in St. Croix Valley, Minnesota] (in Swedish). Minneapolis, MN: Stats Tidningens Tryckeri. p. 51. LCCN 22007161. Retrieved November 7, 2021. Socrates Nelson och Walter R. Vail voro de första köpmän och hade den första handelsbod i Stillwater. [Socrates Nelson and Walter R. Vail were the first merchants and had the first shop in Stillwater.]
  22. ^ Folsom 1888, p. 38.
  23. ^ a b c Empson 2002, p. 18.
  24. ^ Easton 1909, pp. 115, 323.
  25. ^ Annual Report of the Minnesota Historical Society, Read at the Annual Meeting, Jan. 20, 1868. Saint Paul, MN: Press Printing Company. 1868. p. 13. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  26. ^ Peterson, Brent (September 3, 2020). "A bunch of Odd Fellows". Stillwater Gazette. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  27. ^ Minnesota Territorial Legislature & Minnesota Supreme Court 1853, pp. 80–81.
  28. ^ Empson 2002, pp. 10–11.
  29. ^ Easton 1909, p. 303.
  30. ^ Larson, Agnes Mathilda (2007) [1949]. "The Pinelands of the St. Croix Delta Become the Property of Lumbermen". The White Pine Industry in Minnesota: A History. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-8166-5149-8. JSTOR 10.5749/j.ctttt0r5. LCCN 2007017411. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  31. ^ Easton 1909, p. 323; Folsom 1888, p. 696.
    * Peterson, Brent (May 14, 2018). "The drive to the boom: log floated along the St. Croix". Forest Lake Times. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  32. ^ a b c Neill 1881, p. 428.
  33. ^ Holmes 1908, p. 403.
  34. ^ Seward; Taylor, eds. (May 8, 1880). "Boarding house fire". Stillwater Messenger. Vol. XXV, no. 34. Retrieved April 8, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  35. ^ a b Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society: Minnesota Biographies 1655–1912. Vol. XIV. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society. June 1912. pp. 543–544. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  36. ^ Van Vorhes, Andrew J.; Easton, Augustus B., eds. (January 12, 1858). "Saw Mill for Sale". The Stillwater Messenger (advertisement). Vol. 2, no. 17. Retrieved April 9, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  37. ^ Empson 2002, pp. 13–15.
  38. ^ Empson 2002, p. 14.
  39. ^ a b Empson 2002, pp. 15–17.
  40. ^ Ross, Michael A. (2003). "The Panic of 1857". Justice of Shattered Dreams: Samuel Freeman Miller perand the Supreme Court During the Civil War Era. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-8071-2868-8. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  41. ^ Empson 2002, pp. 10, 18.
  42. ^ Empson 2002, p. 17.
  43. ^ a b c Dunn, James Taylor (December 1962). "Minnesota's Oldest Courthouse" (PDF). Minnesota History. 38 (4): 186–189. JSTOR 20176468. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  44. ^ Minnesota Territorial Legislature & Minnesota Supreme Court 1853, p. 66.
  45. ^ Minnesota (1853). "An Act to incorporate the Louisiana and Minnesota Rail Road Company". Session Laws of the Territory of Minnesota, Passed by the Legislative Assembly at the Session Commencing Wednesday, January 5, 1853. Saint Paul, MN. pp. 15–16. Retrieved November 7, 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  46. ^ Holmes 1908, p. 339.
  47. ^ Minnesota (1869). Special Laws of the State of Minnesota, Passed During the Eleventh Session of the State Legislature. Saint Paul, MN. p. 234. Retrieved November 7, 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  48. ^ Minnesota Territorial Legislature & Minnesota Supreme Court 1853, p. 138.
  49. ^ Minnesota Territorial Legislature & Minnesota Supreme Court 1853, p. 143.
  50. ^ Neill 1881, p. 541.
  51. ^ Peterson, Brent (May 21, 2009). "Read it: Stillwater newspaper history". Press Publications. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  52. ^ Minnesota (1872). Executive Documents of the State of Minnesota, for the Year 1871. Vol. II. Saint Paul, MN. p. 97. Retrieved November 7, 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  53. ^ Neill 1881, p. 322.
  54. ^ Journal of the Council, First Annual Session of the Fifth Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin Territory: H. A. Tenney. 1847. p. 48. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  55. ^ "Appointments by the Governor". Wisconsin Democrat. Vol. II, no. 43. Madison, Wisconsin Territory. November 6, 1847. Retrieved August 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  56. ^ Lass 1997, pp. 269–270.
  57. ^ a b "Washington County Timeline". Washington County Historical Society. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  58. ^ Holcombe 1908, p. 363.
  59. ^ Blegen, Theodore C. (December 1936). "Some Sources for St. Croix Valley History" (PDF). Minnesota History. 17 (4): 385–395. JSTOR 20162131. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  60. ^ Lass 1997, pp. 267–268.
  61. ^ Lass 1997, p. 277.
  62. ^ Goodhue, James M.; Goodhue, Isaac N., eds. (October 25, 1849). "Democratic Mass Convention". The Minnesota Pioneer. Vol. I, no. XXVII. St. Paul, Minnesota Territory. Retrieved April 6, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  63. ^ Goodhue, James M.; Goodhue, Isaac N., eds. (December 26, 1849). "Official Canvass of the election in Washington County, as returned from several precincts, held November 26th, 1849". The Minnesota Pioneer. Vol. I, no. XXXVI. St. Paul, Minnesota Territory. Retrieved April 6, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  64. ^ Burnquist 1924, p. 23.
    * "Nelson, Socrates". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
    * Stevens, John Harrington (1890). Personal recollections of Minnesota and its people, and early history of Minneapolis. Minneapolis, MN. pp. 284–285. Retrieved November 7, 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  65. ^ Holm, Mike (1937). The Legislative Manual of the State of Minnesota (PDF). Minneapolis, MN: McGill Lithograph Co. p. 72. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
    * Burnquist 1924, pp. 23, 593.
    * "Facts and Fancies". The Weekly Minnesotian. Vol. 2, no. 39. June 11, 1853. p. 2. ISSN 2694-4472. LCCN sn83016750. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
    * "Territorial and State Officers". Album of History and Biography of Meeker County, Minnesota. Chicago: Alden Ogle & Co. 1888. p. 140. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  66. ^ Neill 1881, p. 323.
  67. ^ Neill 1881, pp. 450–451.
  68. ^ "Washington County Nominations". Saint Paul Weekly Minnesotian. Vol. 8, no. 2. October 9, 1958. p. 2. ISSN 2694-4308. LCCN sn90059500. Retrieved December 25, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
  69. ^ Easton 1909, p. 88.
  70. ^ Minnesota Senate 1860, pp. 370–371.
  71. ^ "General Laws of Minnesota – Chapter I." Minnesota Legislature. March 9, 1858. Archived from the original on April 9, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2021 – via the Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
  72. ^ "Concurrent Resolutions – Number I." (PDF). March 10, 1860. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2021 – via the Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
  73. ^ "State Constitutional Amendments Considered". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  74. ^ Minnesota Senate 1860, pp. 599–601.
  75. ^ Pratt, F. H., ed. (November 1, 1860). "Republican Nominations". Taylor Falls Reporter. Vol. 1, no. 37. Taylors Falls, MN. Retrieved April 6, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  76. ^ "Democratic Nominations for the Second District". The Weekly Pioneer and Democrat. Vol. XII, no. 29. October 26, 1860. p. 3. ISSN 2694-4251. LCCN sn83016751. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
  77. ^ "Our Own State". The Weekly Pioneer and Democrat. Vol. XII, no. 29. Saint Paul, MN. October 26, 1860. p. 2. ISSN 2694-4251. LCCN sn83016751. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
  78. ^ "Reiner, Joel K. "J.K."". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Minnesota Legislature. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  79. ^ "The State Election". The Weekly Pioneer and Democrat. Vol. XII, no. 31. November 9, 1860. p. 4. ISSN 2694-4251. LCCN sn83016751. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
  80. ^ Dubin, Michael J. (2007). Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures: A Year by Year Summary, 1796–2006. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4766-0776-4. LCCN 2007018479. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  81. ^ Easton 1909, p. 214.
  82. ^ "Election of Delegates to the National Nominating Convention". The Weekly Pioneer and Democrat. Vol. XV, no. 48. June 3, 1864. p. 4. ISSN 2694-4251. LCCN sn83016751. Retrieved December 26, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
  83. ^ Goodsell, James H. (1864). Official Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention Held in 1864 at Chicago. Chicago, IL: The Times Steam Book and Job Printing House. p. 43. ISBN 9781425500900.
  84. ^ Folsom 1888, p. 740.
  85. ^ Folsom 1888, pp. 731–732.
  86. ^ Van Vorhes, Andrew J., ed. (August 8, 1866). "Items in Brief". The Stillwater Messenger. Vol. 10, no. 48. Retrieved April 6, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  87. ^ Perkins, T. H.; M'Master, William J., eds. (May 11, 1867). "Socrates Nelson". The Lake City Leader (obituary). Vol. II, no. 41. Retrieved April 6, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  88. ^ "Death of Hon. Socrates Nelson". Taylors Falls Reporter (obituary). Vol. 8, no. 26. Taylors Falls, MN. May 11, 1867. Retrieved April 6, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  89. ^ Van Vorhes, Andrew J., ed. (May 8, 1867). "Death of Hon. Socrates Nelson". The Stillwater Messenger (obituary). Vol. 11, no. 35. Retrieved April 18, 2021 – via the Minnesota Historical Society.
  90. ^ Empson 2002, pp. 18, 25.
  91. ^ "Minnesota State News". New Ulm Weekly Review. Vol. VIII, no. 46. November 11, 1885. p. 2. ISSN 2166-8124. LCCN sn89064939. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
  92. ^ Empson 2002, p. 25.
  93. ^ Empson 2002, pp. 25–26, 54–55.
  94. ^ a b "Washington County Historic Courthouse". Washington County Parks. June 21, 2020. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via ArcGIS.
  95. ^ "Secrest in the Landscape: Uncovering Stillwater's Hidden History" (walking tour). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via the City of Stillwater.
  96. ^ "Notes About Town". St. Paul Daily Globe. Vol. VII, no. 272. September 29, 1885. p. 5. Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via the Library of Congress.
  97. ^ "Nelson School". City of Stillwater. Retrieved February 23, 2022.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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