[ N ] - Pig's Eye's Notepad - [ N ]

NEILL, EDWARD DUFFIELD - The first Protestant Clergyman to settle in St. Paul. Neill was born in Philadelphia in 1823, and graduated from Amherst College in 1842. He was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church in 1848, but the year before, he had traveled to Galena, IL, as a missionary in that tough mining town. From there, he transferred to St. Paul in the Spring of 1849. He erected his first protestant church in Minnesota on Washington near 4th Street, the First Presbyterian Church. It burned the next year, and Neill rebuilt at the corner of St. Peter and 3rd. In 1855, he also organized the "House of Hope" where he served as pastor for several years.

He was appointed Territorial Superintendent of Instruction in 1851. In 1853, he organized and secured the erection of Baldwin School. In 1855, he secured the building of the College of St. Paul, a classical academy for young men. He was Secretary of the Board of Education, and ex-officio Superintendent of Schools for several years, Chancellor of the State University 1858-60, and Secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society from 1851-61.

In 1861, Neill was appointed Chaplain of the First Minnesota Volunteers, and went on to become the United States Hospital Chaplain until 1864, when he became a private secretary to President Lincoln, and continued in that role for President Johnson. In 1869, he was appointed as Consul to Dublin, in which position he served for two years. After that, he returned to Minnesota and became the President of Baldwin College and St. Paul College, which were consolidated by the Legislature under the name of Macalester College.

In 1874, Neill withdrew from the Presbyterian Church and entered the Reformed Episcopal Church. He wrote extensively, and built for himself the first brick dwelling house in Minnesota. His real estate holdings were valued at $2,500 in 1850. He and his wife Nancy (1822 MD) had at least one child: Minnesota (Mar 1850 MN).[WM212-3, MN50]

NELSON, CAROLINE E. - Born in 1811 in Virginia. A resident of St. Paul in 1850. She had at least four children who were living with her in 1850. William Irvine (1831 VA), Mary E. (1833 VA), Eliza C. (1836 VA), and James T. (1838 VA). [MN50]
NELSON, FANNY - Born in 1824/30 in New York. A St. Paul resident in 1850. [MN50]
NELSON, RENSSLAER R. - Born in 1826 in New York. A lawyer in St. Paul in 1850. His real estate holdings were valued at $1,000 in 1850. [MN50]
NEVANS, CATHERINE - Born in 1824 in Ireland. A St. Paul resident in 1850. [MN50]
NEW ENGLAND HOUSE - A white frame building built in 1847 by David Faribault on 3rd Street in St. Paul. In 1849, it was used as the Governor's Office. It burned down in the Spring of 1860. [WM159, 224-5]
NEWELL, F. [P.] S. - Born in 1814 in Illinois. A laborer in St. Paul in 1850. [MN50]
NICOLLET, JOSEPH N. - A well-known scientist and explorer who conducted a number of expeditions, and who spent time at Fort Snelling and Mendota in 1837, while planning an expedition to the Upper Mississippi. [WM62]
NICHOLS, GEORGE C. - Born in 1827 in New York. A surveyor in St. Paul in 1850. [MN50]
NOAH, JACOB J. - Born in 1827 in New York. A lawyer in St. Paul in 1850. [MN50]
NOBLES, WILLIAM H. - Born in New York in 1816, and was a machinist by trade. He came to St. Croix Falls in 1841 and assisted in putting up the first mill there. He subsequently moved to Willow River (now Hudson) where he built the first frame house in the place. He also lived in Stillwater (1843-48), and came to St. Paul in 1848, where he opened the first wagonmaker's shop in the city, and where he made the first wagon ever built in Minnesota.

In 1856, he was elected a representative to the Legislature from Ramsey County. The next year, under appointment from the government, laid out a wagon road to the Pacific through the southwestern part of Minnesota, and in recognition of his efforts, Nobles County was named for him. He also discovered one of the best passes through the Rockies, which was also named for him. In 1862, he was elected a Lieutenant Colonel of the 79th NY Volunteers, "the Highlanders", and served with them in South Carolina, later resigning his commission in a disagreement with his fellow officers. He later served as cotton collector, U.S. Revenue Officer, master of transportation of troops at Mobile, AL, and several other positions. By the end of the war, his health became seriously impaired, and he moved to Waukesha Springs, WI, and later to Hot Springs, CO, where he died about 1876. [WM194-5, MN49]

NOOT, WILLIAM - Born in 1811 in Prussia. A farmer in St. Paul in 1850. His real estate holdings were valued at $850 in 1850. He and his wife Nancy (1825 MO) had at least 2 children: Lewis (1847 MO), and William (1849 MN). [MN50]
NORTH, ABNER - Born in 1818 in New York. A carpenter in St. Paul in 1850. [MN50]
NORTHRUP, ANSON - A resident in St. Paul in 1849. Living in his household are listed 36 males and 5 females. [MN49]
NORWELL, MARY J.. - A resident of St. Paul in 1850. She was married on 13 Feb 1850, by Rev. E.D. Neill, to Isaac Burrill of St. Paul. [MPv1#44]
NOYER, NARCISSE - Born in 1823 in Canada. A carpenter in St. Paul in 1850. [MN50]

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