Daniel A. Robertson (May 13, 1812 – March 16, 1895) was a Democratic politician, newspaper proprietor, and lawyer who served in local and state politics in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Robertson served in the

Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851 Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

for 3 months before resigning to move to

. Robertson was a Mayor of Saint Paul from 1859 to 1860, resigning as he was elected to the 2nd Minnesota Legislature from December 7, 1859, to January 7, 1861. Outside of politics, Robertson was a newspaper editor and proprietor. In Ohio, Robertson owned the ''Mount Vernon Banner'', ''Ohio Eagle of Lancaster'', and the ''Guernsey County News'' and was an editor of the ''

Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...

''. When Robertson moved to Minnesota, he founded the ''Minnesota Democrat'', which he sold in June 1853 and which merged into the ''

Minnesota Pioneer The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, a ...

''..

Early life and start of newspaper career

Daniel A. Robertson was born on May 13, 1812, in

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at age 18 where he studied law. He was admitted to practice in New York in 1839. After a short while, Robertson abandoned his law practice and pursued a career in journalism. Moving to Ohio, Robertson became the editor and proprietor of three Democratic Ohio papers. Robertson owned the ''Mount Vernon Banner'', the ''Ohio Eagle of Lancaster'', and the ''Guernsey County News''. Robertson also served as an editor of the ''

''. Robertson was appointed as a US Marshall for the

District of Ohio The District of Ohio was a federal judicial district of the United States created by the Federal Judiciary Act of 1801 which consisted of the Northwest and Indiana territories. It marks an early use of the term "Ohio" for an area of land as oppose ...

in 1844 where he served one four-year term. Also in that year, Robertson was married to Julia Annie Bell. In 1850, Ohio began the process of replacing the

Ohio Constitution The Constitution of the State of Ohio is the basic governing document of the State of Ohio, which in 1803 became the 17th state to join the United States of America. Ohio has had three constitutions since statehood was granted. Ohio was create ...

. The

consisted of a majority of

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

representatives split into

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

factions. Robertson was elected as Fairfield County's representative to the convention, but served only three months before moving to Minnesota.

Move to Minnesota

Robertson moved to Minnesota in late fall 1850 and established a newspaper, the ''

Minnesota Democrat Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

'', in December. In June 1853, Robertson sold the paper to

David Olmsted David Olmsted (May 5, 1822 – February 2, 1861) was the fourth mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota and first president of the Minnesota Territorial Council. He was a Democrat. Career He was born in Fairfax, Vermont, and spent many years as a trad ...

and it was merged with the Pioneer - eventually the

St. Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey County, Minn ...

. During this time, Robertson also began to build an extensive private library and became involved with efforts to promote cultural institutions. In 1855, Robertson served as the chair of the committee seeking to raise funds to construct a building to house the

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

. Robertson raised $1,500 to purchase two lots in St. Paul on which to build and on, June 24, 1856, organized a gala to celebrate the laying of the society's cornerstone. The building committee was out of funds two weeks later and while plans were made for a potential $15,000 building, no more work was performed following the

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...

. The actuary of the Minnesota Historical Society, William H. Kelley, resigned in late 1859 due to the inability to pay his salary and the Society's collections were closed to the public. Meeting in the

Saint Paul Public Library The Saint Paul Public Library is a library system serving the residents of Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. The library system includes a Central Library, twelve branch locations, and a bookmobile. It is a member of the Metropolitan ...

, as the

Minnesota State Capitol The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office o ...

had no suitable meeting rooms, Robertson, Kelley, and other members began to resuscitate the Society in 1853 and succeeded in getting the

Minnesota State Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

to renew the Society's annual appropriation of $500 in 1864. The Society had no building of its own during Robertson's lifetime, remaining in the

until the Minnesota Historical Society Building completed construction in 1917. Robertson was elected as Mayor of St. Paul in Spring 1859 and served in that role until he was elected as

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

to the 2nd Minnesota Legislature. Prior to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Robertson served as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of a regiment of the

Minnesota National Guard The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard. The Cons ...

. Robertson also served on the St. Paul

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

from 1862 to 1859. Robertson was elected as Ramsey County

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

in 1862 and served four terms. In 1867, while Robertson was a professor of agriculture at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, he was elected as the first President of the

Minnesota State Horticultural Society The Minnesota State Horticultural Society (MSHS)'', ''with headquarters in Roseville, Minnesota, is a nonprofit membership organization that provides education and resources to northern gardeners in the United States. It publishes ''Northern Gar ...

Robertson was also a member of the National Scientific Association and the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

. He was also a member of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry and organized the first "grange" of the order. Robertson died in St. Paul on March 16, 1895.

References

{{Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Mayors of Saint Paul, Minnesota Journalists from Nova Scotia Editors of Ohio newspapers Editors of Minnesota newspapers Ohio politicians People from Pictou County 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American historians 19th-century American politicians 1812 births 1895 deaths