Nicholas M. Donaldson

N. M. Donaldson
N. M. Donaldson
Minnesota District Court Judge for the 5th district
	In office; December 2, 1857 – December 31, 1871
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Samuel Lord
10th Mayor of Owatonna, Minnesota
	In office; April 1876 – April 1877
Preceded by	T. J. Howe
Succeeded by	M. A. Fredenburg
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
	In office; January 2, 1854 – January 1, 1855
Preceded by	Querin Loehr
Succeeded by	John Boyd
Constituency	Fond du Lac 4th district
	In office; January 3, 1853 – January 2, 1854
Preceded by	Benjamin F. Moore
Succeeded by	Edward Boener
Constituency	Fond du Lac 1st district
	In office; January 5, 1852 – January 3, 1853
Preceded by	Morris S. Barnett
Succeeded by	Charles D. Gage
Constituency	Fond du Lac 2nd district
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin
	In office; April 1856 – April 1857
Preceded by	Henry Conklin
Succeeded by	John Boyd
	In office; April 1853 – April 1854
Preceded by	Isaac Brown
Succeeded by	Peter V. Sang
Prosecuting Attorney for Ashland County, Ohio
	In office; May 1846 – December 31, 1846
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	John S. Fulton
Personal details
Born	November 12, 1809; Cambridge, New York, U.S.
Died	February 7, 1879 (aged 69); Owatonna, Minnesota, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery, Owatonna, Minnesota
Political party	Republican; Whig (before 1855);
Spouses	Jane Stewart (died 1863); Emily Strong (m. 1865⁠–⁠1879);
Children	Mary R. Donaldson; (died 1927);
Profession	lawyer

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. Bartley—later 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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ History of Steele and Waseca counties, Minnesota. Chicago: Union Publishing Co. 1887. pp. 69, 71, 93, 202–205. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ Baughman, A. J. (1909). History of Ashland County, Ohio. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. p. 30. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ The History of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. Western Historical Company. 1880. pp. 387–393. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b "Death of Judge Donaldson". The St. Paul Globe. February 9, 1879. p. 3. Retrieved February 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "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.
^ 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.

External links

Nicholas Mills Donaldson at Find a Grave

Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Morris S. Barnett	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Fond du Lac 2nd district January 5, 1852 – January 3, 1853	Succeeded by Charles D. Gage
Preceded by Benjamin F. Moore	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Fond du Lac 1st district January 3, 1853 – January 2, 1854	Succeeded by Edward Boener
Preceded by Querin Loehr	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Fond du Lac 4th district January 2, 1854 – January 1, 1855	Succeeded by John Boyd
Political offices
Preceded by Isaac Brown	Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin April 1853 – April 1854	Succeeded by Peter V. Sang
Preceded by Henry Conklin	Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin April 1856 – April 1857	Succeeded by John Boyd
Preceded by T. J. Howe	Mayor of Owatonna, Minnesota April 1876 – April 1877	Succeeded by M. A. Fredenburg
Legal offices
New county government	Prosecuting Attorney for Ashland County, Ohio May 1846 – December 31, 1846	Succeeded by John S. Fulton
New state government	Minnesota District Court Judge for the 5th district December 2, 1857 – December 31, 1871	Succeeded by Samuel Lord

[steele-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ 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.

[fond-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.

[obit-globe-5] "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.

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