Sibley, Henry Hastings, 1811-1891

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1811-02-20
Death 1891-02-18

Biographical notes:

American pioneer; first Governor of Minnesota.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Washington, to William L. Marcy, 1853 Mar. 21. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270664016

Fur trader; soldier; politician; Governor of Minnesota, 1850-1860.

From the description of Papers, 1815-1830. (State Historical Society of North Dakota State Archives). WorldCat record id: 17998041

Henry Sibley was a general in the Confederate Army.

From the description of Broadside, 1861 December 20. (Filson Historical Society, The). WorldCat record id: 49342714

Minnesota fur trader, pioneer, and first governor.

From 1829-1834, Sibley worked at Mackinac and in Ohio as an American Fur Co. clerk and purchase agent; in 1834 he joined the Western Outfit of Ramsay Crooks' reorganized American Fur Co. in partnership with Hercules Dousman and Joseph Rolette of Prairie du Chien, Wis. Stationed at Mendota, Minn., Sibley assumed management of the Sioux trade. Beginning in 1842, Sibley and his partners transferred their business to Pierre Chouteau Jr. & Co., becoming that firm's Upper Mississippi Outfit.

From the description of Letters : Mendota, Minn., to P. Chouteau Jun. & Co., Saint Louis, [Mo.], 1845-1846. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 40342022

SIBLEY, Henry Hastings, (son of Solomon Sibley), a Delegate from the Territories of Wisconsin and Minnesota; born in Detroit, Mich., February 20, 1811; attended the Detroit Academy and also studied under private tutors; studied law; moved to Sault Ste. Marie in 1828 and engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1829, when he moved to Mackinac and entered the service of the American Fur Co.; justice of the peace in 1831; moved to the mouth of the Minnesota River in 1834 and engaged in fur trading; elected as a Delegate from the Territory of Wisconsin to the Thirtieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the disqualification of John H. Tweedy and served from October 30, 1848, to March 3, 1849; upon the formation of the Territory of Minnesota was elected as a Delegate to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses and served from July 7, 1849, to March 3, 1853; declined to be a candidate for renomination; member of the Territorial Legislature of Minnesota in 1855; member of the constitutional convention of Minnesota in 1857, and served as president; Governor of Minnesota 1858-1860; regent of the State university 1860-1869 and president of the board of regents 1876-1891; served in the Union Army as brigadier general of Volunteers from 1862 until he was honorably mustered out April 30, 1866; moved to St. Paul, Minn.; interested in banking, railroads, and other public corporations; president of the St. Paul Gas Co. in 1866; president of the Minnesota Historical Society 1879-1891; unsuccessful candidate for election to the Forty-seventh Congress; appointed by President Arthur in 1883 as president of the commission to settle damage claims of the Ojibway Indians resulting from the construction of national reservoirs; died in St. Paul, Minn., February 18, 1891; interment in Oakland Cemetery. (from Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.)

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000396

From the description of Henry H. Sibley papers, 1865 (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 298438474

1811 February 20, Henry Hastings Sibley born in Detroit, Michigan Territory. Son of Solomon Sibley and Sarah Whipple Sproat Sibley. Educated in the Detroit Academy; studied Greek and Latin under an Episcopal minister; studied law for two years. 1828 Went to Sault Ste. Marie. Became a clerk in John Hulbert's sutler store and then agent for Mrs. John Johnston. 1829 Moved to Michilimackinac. Became clerk for American Fur Company. 1831 Appointed Deputy Collector of the Customs and Inspector for the Port of Michilimackinac, Michigan Territory. 1832 Appointed Justice of the Peace, Michilimackinac County, Michigan Territory. Became purchasing agent in Ohio for the American Fur Company. 1834 Signed agreement with the American Fur Company, Hercules L. Dousman, and Joseph Rolette, Sr., to form Western Outfit. Sibley to manage the fur trade with the Dakota Indians, under the name of Sioux Outfit. Arrived on October 28 at the junction of the Mississippi and St. Peter's (Minnesota) Rivers. 1835 Built stone warehouse at St. Peter's (Mendota). Received certificate of membership in the Presbyterian Church, St. Peter's. 1836 Built stone residence at St. Peter's. Was co-sutler at Fort Snelling with Samuel C. Stambaugh, 1836-1839. 1838 Appointed Justice of the Peace, Clayton County, Iowa Territory. 1839 Daughter, Helen Hastings (Muzzah-wakonwwin) born to Sibley and Dakota woman of Wahpekute band. 1840 Offered partnership by Kenneth Mackenzie, St. Louis, but Joseph Rolette refused to release him from the 1834 agreement. 1841 Appointed Captain of Company No.1, Mounted Riflemen, Second Regiment, Third Division of the Iowa Territorial Militia. 1842 Signed agreement with Pierre, Chouteau, Jr. and Company, St. Louis, to continue Western Outfit's trade as Upper Mississippi Outfit. Under the pseudonym of "Hal a Dacotah," contributed articles on hunting and Indians to Spirit of the Times, 1842-1851. Appointed Notary Public for Clayton County, Iowa Territory. 1843 Married Sarah Jane Steele, of Steelesville, Pennsylvania. 1844 Daughter Augusta Ann Sibley born. 1845 Signed agreement with Pierre Chouteau, Jr. and Company to carry on fur trade under the name of St. Peter's Outfit. 1846 Son Henry Hastings Sibley born and died. 1847 Second son Henry Hastings Sibley born. 1848 Elected delegate to U.S. Congress from that part of Wisconsin Territory not included in the state of Wisconsin. 1849 Elected delegate to U.S. Congress from Minnesota Territory, serving until March 1853. Pierre Chouteau, Jr. and Company outfits in Minnesota reorganized. Sibley signed Half-Breed Treaty as authorized agent of Dakota Half-Breeds. A founding member of the Minnesota Historical Society. 1851 Represented fur traders at Dakota treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota. Member, Board of Regents, University of Minnesota, 1851-1860. Daughter Sarah Jane Sibley born; son Henry Hastings Sibley and mother, Mrs. Solomon Sibley, died. Invested in Traverse des Sioux land for Pierre Chouteau Jr. and Company. 1853 Testified at U.S. Senate Investigation into Dakota treaties. Sibley liquidated fur trade and turned to land investments at Traverse des Sioux, Mendota, Hastings, and St. Anthony Falls. Son Franklin Steele Sibley born. 1854 Elected to Minnesota legislature from Dakota County. Purchased St. Paul Pioneer. 1855 Daughter Mary Steele Sibley born. 1856 Commissioned Major General, U.S. Militia, Second Division. 1857 Chosen President, Democratic branch, Minnesota constitutional convention. Invested in Minneapolis-Cedar Valley Railroad. Published articles on hunting and Indians in Porter's Spirit of the Times. Wrote "Life and Adventures of Joseph Jack Frazer, A Mixed Blood of the Dakota Sioux," 1857-1858. 1858 Served as first Governor of Minnesota, 1858-1860. Involved in controversy over Minnesota state railroad bonds. 1860 Appointed Democratic national committeeman for Minnesota. Son Charles Frederic Sibley born. 1862 Appointed Colonel in command of the expedition against the Indians after the onset of the U.S.-Dakota War. Appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers and Commander, Military District of Minnesota. Moved with family from Mendota to St. Paul. 1863 Commanded expedition to Dakota Territory against the Dakota. Franklin Steele Sibley and Mary Steele Sibley died. 1864 U.S. Senate confirmed Sibley as Brigadier General of Volunteers. Son Alexander Hastings Sibley born and died. 1865 Promoted to Brevet Major General. Appointed U.S. Commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Dakota Indians. 1866 Mustered out at the U.S. Army. Son Alfred Brush Sibley born. 1867 Elected officer of St. Paul Gas Light Company, Minnesota Historical Society, and St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. 1869 May 21, Sibley's wife, Sarah Steele Sibley, died. Served temporarily as U.S. Disbursing Agent of funds and supplies for the Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota. Appointed Director of the Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company and member of the Board of Regents, University of Minnesota, 1869-1891. 1871 Elected to Minnesota legislature. Served as President, St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, 1871-1873. 1873 Appointed Chairman, St. Paul Chamber of Commerce Relief Committee to aid victims of the grasshopper plague. 1874 Appointed to U.S. Board of Indian Commissioners and State Normal School Board. 1875 Appointed Fellow, American Geographical Society. 1876 Elected President, Board of Regents, University of Minnesota, serving until 1891. 1879 Elected President, Minnesota Historical Society, serving until 1891. 1880 Unsuccessful candidate, Democratic ticket, for U.S. House of Representatives. 1883 Chairman, Commission to investigate damages done by government dams on Chippewa White Earth reservation. 1886 Chairman, St. Paul Chamber of Commerce Relief Fund for Charleston earthquake victims. 1888 Awarded honorary degree of doctor of laws by Princeton University. Became Commander, Military Order, Loyal Legion. 1891 Henry Hastings Sibley died on February 18 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

From the guide to the Henry H. Sibley Papers., 1815-1932., (Minnesota Historical Society)

Links to collections

Comparison

This is only a preview comparison of Constellations. It will only exist until this window is closed.

  • Added or updated
  • Deleted or outdated

Information

Permalink:
SNAC ID:

Subjects:

  • Religion
  • African Americans
  • African Americans
  • Broadsides
  • Business enterprises
  • Business enterprises
  • Dakota Indians
  • Dakota Indians
  • Dakota Indians
  • Dakota Indians
  • Dakota Indians
  • Dakota Indians
  • Dakota language
  • Elections
  • Elections
  • Ethnology Archaeology Anthropology
  • Explorers
  • Explorers
  • French
  • French
  • Frontier and pioneer life
  • Frontier and pioneer life
  • Fur trade
  • Fur trade
  • Fur trade
  • Fur traders
  • Indian scouts
  • Indian scouts
  • Indians of North America
  • Justices of the peace
  • Land speculation
  • Land speculation
  • Lumber trade
  • Lumber trade
  • Manuscripts, American
  • Military exchanges
  • Military exchanges
  • Missionaries
  • Missionaries
  • Ojibwa Indians
  • Postal service
  • Postal service
  • Prisons
  • Prisons
  • Public lands
  • Public lands
  • Railroads
  • Railroads
  • Roads
  • Roads
  • Seneca language
  • Sibley Expedition, 1863
  • Smithsonian Publications
  • Winnebago Indians

Occupations:

  • Fur traders
  • Legislators
  • Sutlers

Places:

  • Pembina (N.D.) (as recorded)
  • Mendota (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Fort Ridgely (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Mississippi River Valley (as recorded)
  • Minnesota--Mendota (as recorded)
  • Traverse (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Devils Lake (Lenawee County, Mich.) (as recorded)
  • Fort Snelling (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Great Plains (as recorded)
  • Dakota Territory (as recorded)
  • Fort Snelling (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Pike Island (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Minnesota (as recorded)
  • Minnesota (as recorded)
  • Minnesota (as recorded)
  • Minnesota (as recorded)
  • Mackinac Island (Mich.) (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • New Mexico (as recorded)
  • Minnesota (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Minnesota--Fort Snelling (as recorded)
  • Dakota Territory. (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Mendota (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Pike Island (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Cottage Grove (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Hastings (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Hastings (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Fort Ridgely (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Mackinac Island (Mich.) (as recorded)
  • Pembina (N.D.) (as recorded)
  • Cottage Grove (Minn.) (as recorded)
  • Traverse (Minn.) (as recorded)

SNAC Cooperative Logo

Social Networks and Archival Context

SNAC is a discovery service for persons, families, and organizations found within archival collections at cultural heritage institutions.

Sponsors

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Endowment for the Humanities

Hosts

University of Virginia Library
National Archives and Records Administration