Representative Eugene McLanahan Wilson

Eugene McLanahan Wilson (December 25, 1833 – April 10, 1890) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served in various legal and political offices in Minnesota, including as a member of Congress and as the fifth and seventh mayor of Minneapolis. Born in Morgantown, Monongalia County, Virginia (now West Virginia), he came from a family with a strong political and legal tradition. His father, Edgar C. Wilson, had been a lawyer and a United States Representative from Virginia, as had his grandfather, Thomas Wilson. On his mother’s side, he was the great-grandson of Isaac Griffin, a longtime United States Representative from Pennsylvania. He attended local schools in Morgantown before pursuing higher education.

Wilson graduated from Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1852. After completing his collegiate studies, he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1855. Shortly thereafter, he relocated to the Minnesota Territory, which was then undergoing rapid settlement and development. Establishing himself in the legal profession, he quickly became part of the emerging professional class in the new state.

Upon his arrival in Minnesota, Wilson practiced law in Winona, where he formed a partnership with his former Jefferson College classmate William B. Mitchell, who would later become a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. His abilities as a lawyer and his Democratic Party affiliation led to his appointment in 1857 as United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota, a position that required him to move to Minneapolis. In this federal role, he represented the United States in legal matters during the formative years of Minnesota’s statehood.

During the Civil War, Wilson served in the Union Army, reflecting Minnesota’s commitment to the Union cause. He held the rank of captain of Company A in the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. The regiment was primarily engaged in operations related to the Dakota War of 1862, a conflict on the Minnesota frontier rather than in the main eastern or western theaters of the Civil War. After his military service, he returned to legal practice and continued to build his reputation in Minneapolis.

As a member of the Democratic Party representing Minnesota, Eugene McLanahan Wilson contributed to the legislative process during one term in office. He was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-first Congress and served from 1869 to 1871, a significant period in American history during Reconstruction. In Congress, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Minnesota constituents. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1870 and, after leaving Congress, resumed the practice of law. He later sought to return to national office and was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress.

Wilson also played a prominent role in municipal and state politics. He was elected mayor of Minneapolis in 1872, becoming the city’s fifth mayor, and was elected again in 1874 as its seventh mayor. In the Minneapolis mayoral election of 1872, he received 2,208 votes to Dorilus Morrison’s 1,534. In the 1874 mayoral election, he secured 2,533 votes, defeating George A. Brackett, who received 2,147 votes, and John H. Thompson, who received 415 votes. In 1873 he became embroiled in the international incident surrounding the abduction of the swindler Lord Gordon Gordon from Canada at the behest of financier Jay Gould. Wilson was arrested in connection with the affair, along with Gould, Loren Fletcher, and John Gilfillan, but they were released on bail following diplomatic pressure exerted by Minnesota Governor Horace Austin. Wilson continued to be active in party affairs, serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1876 and as a member of the Minnesota Senate in 1878 and 1879. He later ran as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Minnesota in 1888 but was unsuccessful.

In addition to his public offices, Wilson remained active in the social life of Minneapolis. He was twice president of the Minneapolis Club, serving in that capacity in 1886 and again in 1890, reflecting his standing in the city’s professional and civic circles. His legal practice, political leadership, and social engagements made him a central figure in the development of Minneapolis during the late nineteenth century.

Wilson married Elizabeth Kimball, the daughter of Colonel William M. Kimball of Minneapolis, on October 6, 1865. The couple had four children. In his later years, Wilson’s health declined, and he traveled in search of a more favorable climate. He died from malaria while on a visit to regain his health in Nassau, British West Indies (now The Bahamas), on April 10, 1890. His body was returned to Minnesota, and he was buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, closing the life of a prominent lawyer, Civil War officer, and Democratic leader in Minnesota’s early statehood era.