N. M. Donaldson
Minnesota District Court Judge for the 5th district
In office
December 2, 1857  December 31, 1871
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded bySamuel Lord
10th Mayor of Owatonna, Minnesota
In office
April 1876  April 1877
Preceded byT. J. Howe
Succeeded byM. A. Fredenburg
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 2, 1854  January 1, 1855
Preceded byQuerin Loehr
Succeeded byJohn Boyd
ConstituencyFond du Lac 4th district
In office
January 3, 1853  January 2, 1854
Preceded byBenjamin F. Moore
Succeeded byEdward Boener
ConstituencyFond du Lac 1st district
In office
January 5, 1852  January 3, 1853
Preceded byMorris S. Barnett
Succeeded byCharles D. Gage
ConstituencyFond du Lac 2nd district
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin
In office
April 1856  April 1857
Preceded byHenry Conklin
Succeeded byJohn Boyd
In office
April 1853  April 1854
Preceded byIsaac Brown
Succeeded byPeter V. Sang
Prosecuting Attorney for Ashland County, Ohio
In office
May 1846  December 31, 1846
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJohn S. Fulton
Personal details
Born(1809-11-12)November 12, 1809
Cambridge, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 7, 1879(1879-02-07) (aged 69)
Owatonna, Minnesota, U.S.
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery, Owatonna, Minnesota
Political party
Spouses
  • Jane Stewart
    (died 1863)
  • Emily Strong
    (m. 18651879)
Children
  • Mary R. Donaldson
  • (died 1927)
Professionlawyer

Nicholas Mills Donaldson (November 12, 1809  February 7, 1879) was an American lawyer, judge, and pioneer of Wisconsin and Minnesota. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for three terms, representing Fond du Lac County, and served fourteen years as a Minnesota district court judge. He was also the 10th mayor of Owatonna, Minnesota, and the first prosecuting attorney of Ashland County, Ohio.

Biography

Nicholas Donaldson was born in Cambridge, New York, in Washington County, in November 1809. He was raised and educated on his father's farm until he went to work as a clerk in the town of Argyle, New York, at age 18.[1] He then completed his education at the Salem Academy. After graduating, he worked summers as a farmhand and taught school in the winters.[1]

In 1840, he moved west to the Hayesville, Ohio. He continued to teach school in Ohio while studying law under attorney Thomas W. Bartleylater a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and the 17th governor of Ohio.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1843 and opened a law office in Mansfield, Ohio.[1] When Ashland County, Ohio, was created, he moved to Loudonville, Ohio, and was elected the first prosecuting attorney for the county.[1][2]

He moved to Wisconsin in 1849, and settled at Waupun, in Fond du Lac County.[1] He was elected to the Fond du Lac County Board of Supervisors for four terms in the 1850s, and was chairman for 1853 and 1856.[3] In addition, he was a founder and first president of the Fond du Lac Fire Insurance Company,[4] and worked as deputy warden at the Waupun State Prison.[5]

He was a member of the Whig Party, and was elected to three consecutive terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing three different Fond du Lac County Assembly districts from 1852 through 1854.[6][7] He became a member of the Republican Party after that party was organized in 1854.[1]

In the Fall of 1856, Donaldson left Wisconsin and relocated to Owatonna in the Minnesota Territory. Concurrent with the referendum to adopt the Minnesota Constitution in October 1857, he was elected Minnesota district court judge for the 5th judicial district. He was re-elected in 1864, serving through the end of 1871.[1] After retiring from the judiciary, he served as a city justice, city alderman, and was elected mayor of Owatonna in 1876.[1]

He died at his home in Owatonna on February 7, 1879, after an illness of several days.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 History of Steele and Waseca counties, Minnesota. Chicago: Union Publishing Co. 1887. pp. 69, 71, 93, 202–205. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  2. Baughman, A. J. (1909). History of Ashland County, Ohio. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. p. 30. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  3. The History of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. Western Historical Company. 1880. pp. 387–393. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  4. Glaze, A. T. (1905). "Thinking, Talking, Acting". Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond du Lac from Early Times to the Present. P. B. Haber Print Co. p. 215. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Death of Judge Donaldson". The St. Paul Globe. February 9, 1879. p. 3. Retrieved February 13, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Members and Officers of the Assembly" (PDF). Manual for the Use of the Assembly of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1853. p. 99. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  7. Heg, J. E., ed. (1882). "Annals of the Legislature" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 184, 185, 187. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.