David Day (September 19, 1825 – 1896) was a politician from Minnesota Territory and a former member of the Minnesota Territory House of Representatives, representing Long Prairie, Minnesota. He was born in Burke's Garden, Virginia. In 1846 he moved to Wisconsin to work as a lead miner. In his spare time and during winters he studied medicine, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1849. After graduating he relocated to St. Paul, Minnesota where he worked in the drug business.[1]
David Day | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 4th Speaker of the Minnesota Territory House of Representatives | |
| In office 1853–1854 | |
| Preceded by | John D. Ludden |
| Succeeded by | Nathan C. D. Taylor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 19, 1825 Burke's Garden, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | 1896 (aged 70–71) St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Residence(s) | Long Prairie, Minnesota, U.S. |
Upon arriving in St. Paul on April 25, 1849, he secured lodgings and roomed with John H. Stevens who had arrived just the day before. They were both suffering from "lung difficulties." Mr. Stevens wrote, "he could scarcely walk up the bluff from the old landing," but the climate in Minnesota made them both "strong, healthy men."[2]
Day was elected to the Minnesota Territory House of Representatives in 1851. When the fourth legislature met in Jan. 1853, the house failed to secure a speaker. Two to three weeks were spent in deadlock. It was decided to all meet at the home of John H. Stevens to see if they could come to a decision. Those in attendance included Dr. Day, Hon. Justus C. Ramsey, Hon. John D. Ludden, and other members of the house and territorial senate, as well as prominent St. Paul citizens. The next day, upon opening the session, they elected Dr. David Day as speaker. At the time, he was the resident physician of the Indian department in Long Prairie.[2]
He served as speaker from 1853 to 1854. While he did not serve in the state legislature again, he was appointed to several different state commissions and committees and retired from his medicine business in 1866. He died in St. Paul in 1896.[3]
References
edit- ^ Williams, J. Fletcher (1876). A history of the city of Saint Paul, and of the county of Ramsey, Minnesota. Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society. p. 242.
- ^ a b Stevens, John H. (1890). Personal Recollections of Minnesota and its people, and Early History of Minneapolis. Minneapolis, MN: Alpha Editions (published 2019). pp. 10, 23, 30, 191. ISBN 9789353701574.
- ^ "Day, David — Legislator Record". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
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