This collection (9 items) contains 7 letters that Charles Eugene Flandrau wrote to Frances M. Henderson, a friend in Whitesboro, New York, after moving to Minnesota in 1853, as well as 2 newspaper clippings regarding Flandrau's work as an agent for the Sioux tribe and as a Minnesota Supreme Court justice.
Flandrau wrote 6 letters between November 18, 1853, and November 16, 1857, providing numerous details about his life in the Minnesota Territory. He wrote from Saint Paul on November 18, 1853 (16 pages), and February 4, 1854 (8 pages), discussing his journey west, the scenery, and his impressions of Minnesota residents. He also described lead and coal mines in northwestern Illinois. Flandrau encountered Native Americans during his travels and after his arrival in Minnesota, and he commented on the region's social customs, such as the influence of French settlers and the "aristocracy" of European and Native American mixed-race families (February 4, 1854).
Flandrau wrote 3 letters from Traverse des Sioux, Minnesota (near Saint Peter), between April 1854 and April 1855, focusing on his life and travels in the wilderness and on population growth throughout the state and within the town. He also described Native American customs and discussed the local court system. In one of these letters, he enclosed "the first flower of Spring" (April 18, 1855). Flandrau wrote again from Stillwater, Minnesota, about his judicial career (November 16, 1857, 4 pages). In his final letter, he reflected on his life and on his relationship with Frances (July 5, 1888, 7 pages). Two newspaper clippings relate to Flandrau's experiences as an agent to the Sioux Indians ([April 22, 1857]) and to his appointment as an associate judge for the Minnesota Supreme Court ([1867]).
Charles Eugene Flandrau was born in New York City on July 15, 1828, the son of Thomas H. Flandrau, who had practiced law with Aaron Burr, and Elizabeth Macomb. Flandrau grew up in New York City and Washington, D. C., and spent three years at sea between the ages of 13 and 16. He joined his father's law firm in Whitesboro, New York, around 1849, and became a full partner after being admitted to the bar in January 1851. In 1853, Flandrau moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he practiced law with Horace R. Bigelow and served as an agent for the company that established the town of Traverse des Sioux (near present-day St. Peter), where he lived in 1854. Flandrau held several political offices, serving as the United States agent for the Sioux in Minnesota (1856-1857) and as a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (1857-1864). He also served as the captain of a volunteer militia unit sent to suppress the Sioux Uprising in 1862. Flandrau later moved to Nevada, where he resumed his legal career; he returned to the Twin Cities area in 1867. He married Isabella Ramsay Dinsmore (1800-1867) in 1859; they had two daughters, Martha Macomb and Sarah Gibson. He and his second wife, Rebecca Blair Riddle (b.1839), had 2 sons: Charles Macomb (b. 1872) and William Blair McClure (b. 1876). Charles Eugene Flandrau died in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 9, 1903.
