Bishop, J. W. (Judson Wade), 1831-1917

Judson Wade Bishop was born June 24, 1831, in Evansville, New York, the son of the Reverend John F. and Elena Brown Bishop. He had a brother, John F., and two sisters, Anna and Lena. Bishop was educated at Fredonia and Belleville academies and later took civil engineering training at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. From 1853 to 1857 he was a draftsman for the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. In 1857 he came to Chatfield, Minnesota, where he did surveying for the Winona and St. Peter Railroad. Following the Panic of 1857, from 1859 to 1861, he published the Chatfield Democrat.

During the Civil War Bishop served in the Second Regiment, Minnesota Veteran Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered into service at Fort Snelling on June 26, 1861, as captain of Company A. The regiment was sent to Kentucky, where it was organized as part of the Army of the Ohio, under the command of General Don Carlos Buell. Later the regiment became part of the Army of the Cumberland, which was commanded by General George H. Thomas. The Second Minnesota was led by Horatio Phillips Van Cleve, James George, and Bishop. Bishop was mustered out of military service on July 20, 1865, with the rank of colonel, having previously been promoted to major and lieutenant colonel. His history of the activities of the Second Regiment during the war, The Story of a Regiment, was published in 1890. He also contributed "Narrative of the Second Regiment" to Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars (St. Paul, 1891).

After the Civil War Bishop returned to railroad work and lived in LeSueur, Mankato, and St. Paul, to which he moved in 1873. In 1881 he formed the Langdon, Bishop and Company railroad contracting firm and in 1883 the St. Paul Trust Company, which he operated until 1903. Bishop died in St. Paul in 1917.

Bishop married Nellie S. Hustad of Galena, Illinois, on June 11, 1866. They had three sons: Charles Hustad, Edwin Judson, and Robert Haven. Nellie Bishop died September 19, 1878. In 1884 Bishop married Mary Axtell, daughter of the Reverend Charles Axtell, of Xenia, Ohio. She was born January 19, 1859 [?] and died February 9, 1953, in St. Paul.

This sketch was written by Frank Hennessy.

From the guide to the Judson Wade Bishop and family papers., 1819-1973 (bulk 1855-1917)., (Minnesota Historical Society)