11th Minnesota Legislature

The eleventh Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 5, 1869. The 11 members of the Minnesota Senate who represented odd-numbered districts were chosen in the General Election of November 5, 1867, while the 11 members of the Minnesota Senate who represented even-numbered districts, and the 47 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives, were chosen in the General Election of November 3, 1868.

Eleventh Minnesota Legislature
← 10th Minnesota Legislature 12th Minnesota Legislature →
Overview
Legislative body	Minnesota Legislature
Jurisdiction	Minnesota, United States
Term	January 5, 1869 (1869-01-05) – January 3, 1870 (1870-01-03)
Website	www.leg.state.mn.us
Minnesota State Senate
Members	22 Senators
Lieutenant Governor	Thomas Henry Armstrong
Party control	Republican Party
Minnesota House of Representatives
Members	47 Representatives
Speaker	Chester D. Davidson
Party control	Republican Party

Sessions

The legislature met in a regular session from January 5, 1869 to March 5, 1869. There were no special sessions of the 11th Minnesota Legislature.^[1]

Party summary

Senate

	Party[2] (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Republican
End of previous Legislature	5	16	21	1
Begin	6	16	22	0
Latest voting share	27%	73%
Beginning of the next Legislature	8	14	22	0

House of Representatives

	Party[2] (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Republican
End of previous Legislature	13	34	47	0
Begin	9	38	47	0
Latest voting share	19%	81%
Beginning of the next Legislature	18	29	47	0

Leadership

Senate

Lieutenant Governor

Thomas Henry Armstrong (R-High Forest)^[3]

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House

Chester D. Davidson (R-Minneapolis)^[4]

Members

Senate

Name	District	City	Party
Batchelder, George Washington	08	Faribault	Republican
Becker, George Loomis	01	Saint Paul	Democratic
Bergen, A.	14	Preston	Republican
Bristol, Warren Henry	09	Red Wing	Republican
Brown, Charles T.	19	Saint Peter	Republican
Castle, James Nathan	02	Stillwater	Democratic
Crooker, Josiah B.	16	Owatonna	Republican
Freeman, Everett P.	17	Mankato	Republican
Gilman, Charles Andrew	03	Saint Cloud	Republican
Griggs, Chauncey Wright	21	Chaska	Democratic
Harris, William E.	15	Hamilton	Republican
Henry, William	18	Belle Plaine	Democratic
King, Dana E.	06	Greenleaf	Republican
Leonard, Joseph A.	12	Rochester	Republican
Lochren, William	04	Saint Anthony	Democratic
Pettit, Curtis Hussey	05	Minneapolis	Republican
Potter, George F.	13	La Crescent	Republican
Prindle, W. W.	10	Wabasha	Republican
Sheardown, Samuel B.[nb 1]	11	Stockton	Republican
Smith, Edson R.	22	Le Sueur	Republican
Smith, Seagrave	07	Hastings	Democratic
Wakefield, James Beach	20	Blue Earth City	Republican

House of Representatives

Name	District	City	Party
Aaker, Lars K.	09	Alexandria	Republican
Armstrong, Augustus L.	16	Albert Lea	Republican
Baxter, Luther Loren	21	Chaska	Democratic
Bohn, Conrad	11	Winona	Republican
Bryant, George W.	10	Elgin	Republican
Chewning, Reuben J.	07	Farmington	Democratic
Clark, Charles H.	05	Minneapolis	Republican
Davison, Chester D.	05	Minneapolis	Republican
Easton, Elijah	16	Owatonna	Republican
Egan, James J.	01	Saint Paul	Democratic
Everett, Ritten H.	22	Cleveland	Republican
Faber, Paul	01	Saint Paul	Democratic
Folsom, William Henry Carman	02	Taylors Falls	Republican
Fridley, Abram McCormick	04	Manomin	Democratic
Gilman, John M.	01	Saint Paul	Democratic
Grover, A. J.	09	Minneola	Republican
Hall, Albert R.	05	Dayton	Republican
Hammer, Evin D.	14	Pilot Mound	Republican
Haskell, Joseph	02	Afton	Republican
Hathaway, Roderic D.	12	Pleasant Grove	Republican
Hicks, William E.	03	Alexandria	Republican
Hobart, John	14	Rushford	Republican
Hollister, Edward	08	Warsaw	Republican
Hunt, Thomas J.	15	Ellington	Republican
Hunter, James W.	20	Jackson	Republican
Hyde, Sam Y.[nb 2]	11	Saint Charles	Republican
Johnson, Tosten	13	Spring Grove	Republican
Larson, B. S.	12	Byron	Republican
Lathrop, John	12	Rochester	Republican
MacDonald, John Louis	18	Shakopee	Democratic
McGrew, James G.	14	Chatfield	Republican
Meighen, William	14	Forestville	Republican
Patterson, W. W.	06	Winsted	Republican
Pile, D.	06	Glencoe	Republican
Pitcher, Orin O.	17	Mankato	Republican
Proper, Erastus K.	15	Mantorville	Republican
Rhodes, W. C.	17	Madelia	Republican
Robbers, Ludwig	03	Saint Cloud	Democratic
Rudolph, John C.	19	New Ulm	Republican
Sibbison, W. J.	08	Northfield	Republican
Smith, L.[nb 3]	07	Hastings	Democratic
Smith, Warren	16	Wilton	Republican
Stoever, John C.	19	Henderson	Republican
Thompson, Isaac	13	Houston	Republican
Tibbitts, Abner	10	Lake City	Republican
Vale, J. Q. A.	11	Homer	Republican
Webster, Charles C.	09	Red Wing	Republican

Notes

1. Sheardown was chosen, in a special election held prior to the beginning of the session, to complete the unexpired term of Senator Benjamin Franklin, who died in office on a date uncertain, sometime after the session for the 10th Legislature adjourned. Sheardown was sworn in and took his seat at the beginning of the 11th Legislature.^[5]
2. Legislators Past & Present notes that Hyde's middle initial is listed as V. in Toensing, but Y. in The Minnesota Legislative Manuals, 1869 and 1871.^[6] The Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eleventh Session of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota and the Journal of the House of Representatives of the Thirteenth Session of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota both list Hyde as "S. Y. Hyde", creating a presumption that Hyde's middle initial was Y.
3. Legislators Past & Present notes that Smith's first initial is listed as "L. (R.?)" in Toensing, and both L. and R. in The Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1869.^[7] However, the Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eleventh Session of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota lists Smith as "L. Smith", creating a presumption that his first initial was L.