House 1865 (District 1); House 1876 (District 24); Senate 1878-82 (District 24); Senate 1883-86 (District 26)
Party when first elected: Union
Counties Served:
Ramsey
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
| Date of Birth: 07/04/1831
|
Date of Death: 12/08/1902 (uncertain)
|
| Birth Place: New Hartford, New York
|
Birth County: Oneida |
Birth Country: United States |
| Other Names: C.D. |
|
| Gender:
Male
|
Religion: Not Reported
|
|
City of Residence (when first elected):
Saint Paul
Occupation (when first elected):
Lawyer
|
EDUCATION
Homer Academy, New York; Secondary;
Hamilton College, New York; Attended College; 1849-1850
Hamilton College, New York; Honorary Masters degree; 1895
Read Law; Under Michael E. Ames; Admitted to the Minnesota Bar, 1853
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
| Municipal Government | Stillwater, Minnesota (1st Town Recorder) | Elected | ??/??/1854 to ??/??/1855 |
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Emma G. Waage (married in 1859, she died 4 years later); Widower (when first elected); Fanny S. Waage (Emma's sister)
Children:
Four children (with Fanny): Emma K. and Fanny W. (daughters), Charles "Charlie" Oswin "C.O." and Fredrick J. (sons)
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
John Bachop Gilfillan
- Other - See Notes
GENERAL NOTES
Toensing indicates that the Gilfillan's were related. We haven't found a source that provides how they were related to each other.
He was of Scottish ancestry.
He moved to Missouri in 1850. He came to St. Paul, Minnesota in April 1851. He then moved to Stillwater, Minnesota for three years. He returned to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1854. He moved to Redwood Falls, Minnesota in 1882.
He was listed as a member of the Union party in the 1864 election results. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 415.)
He was listed as a Republican on the list of members posted after the 1877 election. ("The Next Legislature." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 10, 1877)
"In July, 1855, at a convention in St. Anthony, he had been one of the founders of the Republican party in the state..." (Jarchow, Merrill E. Like Father, Like Son: the Gilfillan Story. St. Paul, Minnesota: Ramsey County Historical Society, 1986, p. 2)
He was elected the first chairman of the Minnesota Republican central committee in 1856. He held the position for four years.
"Mr. Gilfillan was not only a very earnest Republican, but a man of great intellect, superior judgment, fine tact, and many other substantial accomplishments." (Sanborn, Gen. John B. "The Work of the Second Legislature, 1859-60." Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul: the Society, 1905, Vol. 10, Part 2, p. 620)
He was a Republican candidate for mayor of St. Paul in 1860. (MHS)
He was involved in planning and constructing the St. Paul waterworks system. (MHS)
He was orphaned at 11 years old.
He was a teacher.
Gilfillan Lake in White Bear Township, Minnesota was named after him. Gilfillan Village in Redwood County, Minnesota was also named after him.
He served as President of the Minnesota Valley Historical Society.
His brother, James, served as the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
The Minnesota Historical Society's Minnesota Place Names states that he died on December 18. The Minnesota Historical Society's Minnesota Author Biographies Project lists December 8.
He died in Redwood Falls, Minnesota.