St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-07-07
by T. NJ. NEwsoN.
Article XXX.

the GLOBE, in December, 1888 among the
first of the old settlers we wrote about,was b.
Presley. We found him in his store busy
with his fruit, and yet he complained OF his
throat, as he had once before said to the
writer that it was so bad he could not spend
his winters north; in other respects he was
in apparent good health. We saw him again
for the last time on Wednesday, the second
of July, 1884, when he laid cold and silent
and dead in his beautiful home-the first
broken link in our Pen Pictures of the old
settlers of st. Paul The venerable firemen.
his gray headed contemporaries the Masonic
order, the gathering of the people, the para
phanalia of the fire department, with the
mournful strains of music, all clearly indi-
Gated the esteem in which he was held by the
community. But then this is only another
link broken! only another warning! only
another vacant chair!
Tread lightly, tread lightly, in silence all keep;
His pains are all over, let Presley now sleep;
No sound can awake him, though bosoms may
swell;
Friend, Mason and Fireman, we bid thee
farewell.
THE SWEDISH AUTHORIZES AND THE SWEDISH
In October 1850, Miss Fredrlka Bremen,
the Swedish authoress, visited st. Paul, and
also what is now known as Lake Mime
tonka, just then discovered by white men for
the first time. She spent several days in
this section of country, carved her name on
tree near Manitou-or Spirit Point-in the
above lake-roamed over our hills, and on
her return home wrote q very interesting
account of her travels in the then great I'M
peopled northwest. In those early days the
French were mostly the occupants OF the
soil. Now the French have disappeared and
in their places have come the hardy sons and
daughters of Sweden. Miss Bremen, in her
'Homes of the Northwest" thus alludes to
her visit to Saint Paul:
Scarcely had we touched the shore when
the governor of Minnesota and his pretty
young wife came on board and invited me
to take up my quarters at their house. And
these l am now, happy with
these kind people The town
is one of the youngest infants of the great
west scarcely eighteen months old, and yet
it has in a short time increased in popula-
ton to = 900 persons, and in a very few
WV
for its situation is as remarkable for its
beauty and heathfulness as it is adyanta-
geous for trade. As yet, however, the town
is in its infancy and people manage with
such dwellings as they can get. The draw
ing room of Governor Ramsey'e home is his
office, and Indians and work-people, and
ladies and gentlemen are alike admitted.
In the mean time Mr. Ramsey is building
handsome house upon hill, little out OF
the city the old house stood where the new
one now stands, with beautiful trees around
it and commanding a grand view of the
river. If l were to live on the Mississippi l
would live here. 1t is hilly region and or
all sides extend beautiful and
varying landscapes. The city is
.hronged with Indians. The mem for the
most part, 90 about grandly ornamented
with naked hatchets, the shafts Of which
serve them as pipes. They paint themselves
so utterly without any taste, that tits incred-
ible.'
MADAM NILLsON.
In 1884 the great Swedish singer visited
Minnesota and sang in the State coliseum,
to an audience of 5000, just "a years after
the first visit of Miss Bremen, the Swedish
historian. Then st. Paul had grown from
1900 in 1850 to 125, 900 in 1884, and among
those who heard the great singer not less
than 800 were Swedes and more are COM
ing. No Indians are now seen upon our
streets; the new residence of the Governor
is not only within the city limits, but worth
$40, 900; the hopeful trade of that day has
grown from mere nothing to $780, 900, 900 per
year, and the city is still spreading out and
still growing into magnificent proportions
What strides What changes in u few brief
years!
JOHN B. SPENCER.
Mr. Spencer was born in Kentucky in
1921, was raised upon farm;
attended a common school; learned the car
oenter trade; came to St. Paul in 1919;
worked at his trade here; engaged in steam
boating from 1855 to 1856; in 1862 went to
Montana, and was among the first to make
mineral discoveries there; accumulated
$4,000, mostly from building houses and
selling them and running saw mill; re-
turned to st. Paul in 1865, and worked at
his trade; invested money made in real
estate; went to Duluth in 1869, where he re-
manned until 1872; built the great breakwater
and dock at that place; cost $500, 900; is at
present engaged at his old trade of building
houses in this city.
REAL ESTATE DEALS.
Mr.. Spencer at one time owned 200 feet
square on the corner of Wacouta and Third
streets, for which he paid 81, 5OO worth now
5000, 600; 50x15O feet on Robert street, be-
tween Third and Fourth, cost $780, worth
S25, 900; 80 feet on Robert street, between
Fifth and Sixth streets, upon which DR..
Potts old house stands, cost $50; worth $780,
0O0 75 feet on Wabashaw street for $500;
sold for 81 900; worth $50, Geo; lot on Min
nesota street for 5000; sold for 81, 500; worth
10000; one acre between Broadway and
Canada streets, for $500; worth SO, 600; 1903
acres in West st. Paul, cost $1,000; worth
81 1000. 600; owned property on Fourth, Pine,
Rosabel, Fifth, Sixth and other streets; 100
acres near Como; 100 acres beyond the
property of Edmund Rice; and indeed for
5000 he could have bought property in St.
Paul in 1919, which is now worth 5,000,
000 Mr.. Spencer lost most of his real es-
tate by endorsing for others, and yet he has
some left. He owns some eight houses in
the city. and the amount of property he has
saved is sufficient to enable him to live COM
fortably, and yet he had the groundwork laid
for a large fortune.
PERSONALLY.
Mr.. Spencer has sandy whiskers and
sandy hair; is tall, slender; moderate in his
speech and in his movements, and quite
philosopher in his way. He is good me-
chanie; keeps right along at his work; never
allows anything to disturb his equilibrium,
and never frets over what might have
beenn' He is quiet, cool, conservative,
pleasant man, and good citizen.
R. NJ. SPENCER.