Portrait of the Reverend Jabez Brooks, Hamline University president, 1854-1857 and 1861-1869. Prior to coming to Hamline, he was principal of a seminary in Watertown, Wisconsin, and a professor of Greek and mathematics at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. After leaving Hamline, he became a member of the faculty at the newly opened University of Minnesota.
Rev. William McKinley, 1834-1918. His obituary dated January 13, 1918 [newspaper not identified], reads: "Early Methodist Divine Dies at Home in Winona. Rev. William McKinley, dean of Minnesota Methodism, active as a lecturer, author and divine in various parts of the state since 1854, died late yesterday at his home in Winona, where he has lived since his retirement from active ministry ten years ago. Dr. McKinley was 84 years old and was known prominently throughout the Northwest as an author and preacher. In the Civil War he gained his early experience as a chaplain among the Union soldiers. His first pastorate was at Hastings, where he lived as boy on a farm. Subsequently he was pastor of Hamline Methodist Episcopal church of this city, Central Park church and of First Methodist Episcopal church of Minneapolis, besides serving as district superintendent of the St. Paul district. He was an intimate friend of Edward Eggleston, the famed minister-author, in whose church in New York city he served for a year. A native of Scotland, Rev. Mr. McKinley came to the United Sates in 1841 at the age of 7 years. The veteran Minnesota divine became well known as the able chronicler of Minnesota Methodism. In 1911 he published 'A Story of Minnesota Methodism.' Dr. Eggleston, in commenting on the work at the time of its publication, said: 'Dr. McKinley has succeeded in giving to the public an exceedingly vivid and interesting description of the early days of Minnesota, the social conditions and the leading personages in the settlements of that state.'
The book was the witnessing of one who knew and who saw the panorama of the days gone by in the Northwest.
This is what Dr. McKinley said about his landing in the state:
'When navigation opened on the Mississippi I took the first steamboat up the river and landed in Minnesota, April 13, 1855. The ice was not out of Lake Pepin so we left the boat at Read’s Landing. There was another boat at Red Wing to take the passengers to St. Paul and there were wagons to carry the women to the head of the lake. But with the 700 passengers, mostly men, there were not enough wagons to carry them and they had to walk. Rather than do this another young man and I decided to start overland to Faribault. We tramped all day across the prairie without anything to eat. Neither of us ever had done a day’s walking and before night we were used up, but stern necessity compelled us to trudge on. We saw no house nor signs of human habitation all day.'
In graphic descriptions Rev. Mr. McKinley wrote one of the most authentic accounts of early Minnesota, a book consulted frequently by historians and chroniclers.
The funeral services for the aged clergyman will be held at Winona on Tuesday."
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Annual Conference United Methodist Church
This photograph shows St. Peter Civil War veteran William B. Stone in his uniform. He served as a sergeant in Company H of the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Sergeant Stone died in St. Louis in 1862.
This is a photograph of Nicollet County Civil War veteran James Magner. He served as a captain in Company I of the 28th Massachusetts Regiment. On May 18, 1864 Magner was killed during the battle of Spotsylvania.
This is a photograph of Nicollet County Civil War veteran James Magner. He served as a captain in Company I of the 28th Massachusetts Regiment. On May 18, 1864 Magner was killed during the battle of Spotsylvania.
This photograph shows Civil War Capt. Asgrim K. Skaro, who was killed in the battle of Nashville in 1864. Skaro served in the Second and the Ninth Minnesota Infantry Regiments. He was one of the founders of St. Peter in Nicollet County in 1853.
This is a photograph of Nicollet County Civil War veteran Andrew Anderson, who lived in Granby Township, near Swan Lake. Anderson rose to the rank of corporal in Company H of the Fourth Minnesota Regiment, serving for nearly four years.
This is a photograph of Col. William Crooks in his army uniform. Crooks was the commander of Minnesota's Sixth Regiment of Volunteer Infantry until October 28, 1864.
This photograph shows St. Peter Civil War veteran Benjamin Rogers in his uniform. He served in Company D of the Ninth Regiment of Minnesota Volunteer Infantry.
This is a photograph of Po-Go-Nay-Ke-Shick, also known as Hole in the Day, an Ojibway Native American. The photograph was taken in the studio of St. Paul photographer Joel E. Whitney. The photograph was purchased in 1862 by a woman from Indiana.
This photograph shows Civil War veteran William C. Durkee in his uniform. The photograph was taken in Mankato, Minnesota. A note on the reverse states that he fought in the last battle of the Civil War at Palmetto Ranch, Texas. Durkee was a captain in the 62nd U. S. Colored Infantry Regiment, but had prior service as an enlisted man in other units.
This photograph shows St. Peter Civil War veteran Frank Y. Hoffstatt in his uniform. He rose to the rank of first lieutenant in Company E of the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Civil War musician Maximilian Hoefer, who was a member of the 19th United States Infantry Band, served as a Musician Second Class from October 13, 1864 until October 13, 1867. He was born in Luxembourg in 1847, and became a prominent businessman in St. Peter, MN.
This photograph, taken in St. Paul, Minnesota, shows Nicollet County Civil War veteran B. F. Sylvester in his uniform. He served as a first lieutenant in Company E of the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. A note on the reverse indicates that he was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga.
This is a photograph of the Church of the Holy Communion in St. Peter. The church is located on the west side of Minnesota Avenue between Broadway and Chestnut street.
This is a photograph of Rev. Aaron H. Kerr, 1819-1890. He was a Presbyterian minister in St. Peter from 1856 until 1878, except for service as chaplain of Minnesota's Ninth Infantry Regiment from 1862 until 1865. In 1878 he moved to Rochester to serve as steward of the State Hospital until 1890.
This photograph shows the first high school in St. Peter, which was located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Fifth and Grace streets. The front of the school faced Fifth street. It was constructed in the early 1870s.
This is a photograph of Rev. and Mrs. Michael Sandell. Rev. Sandell was the minister at the First Lutheran Church in St. Peter from 1871 to 1874 and from 1892 until 1902.
This is a photo of William Carey Brown, who was born at Traverse des Sioux in 1854. Brown was graduated from West Point, becoming a Brigadier General by the time he retired.