# Andrew Ryan McGill *Governor of Minnesota (1887–1889)* Andrew Ryan McGill (February 19, 1840 – October 31, 1905) was a [[Republican Party (United States)]] politician and the tenth [[Governor of Minnesota]]. His term ran from January 5, 1887, to January 9, 1889.[^1] Born in Pennsylvania, McGill came to [[Minnesota]] in 1861. He worked as a schoolteacher, a Civil War soldier, a newspaper editor and a county official in [[Nicollet County, Minnesota]], and he served thirteen years as state insurance commissioner.[^1] After a single gubernatorial term he sat in the Minnesota State Senate from 1899 to 1905 and was named postmaster of St. Paul in 1900.[^1] ## Family McGill was born on February 19, 1840, in Saegertown, Pennsylvania. His parents were Charles Dillon McGill (1802–1875) and Angeline (née Martin) McGill (1811–1849).[^1] His paternal grandfather, Patrick McGill, came from County Antrim, Ireland, about 1774. In 1795 Patrick's family took up a homestead of several hundred acres in Crawford County, Pennsylvania.[^1] His first wife was Eliza E. Bryant, the daughter of Charles S. Bryant, a lawyer and author from St. Peter, Minnesota. She died in 1877.[^1] The couple had three children: Charles Herbert (b. 1866), Robert C. (b. 1869) and Lida B. (b. 1874). In 1879 McGill married Mary E. Wilson, the daughter of Joseph Carlton Wilson, a physician of Edinboro, Pennsylvania. They had two sons, Wilson (b. 1884) and Thomas (b. 1889).[^1] ## Early career At nineteen, in 1859, McGill left Pennsylvania to teach school in Kentucky. The outbreak of the Civil War ended that work, and he reached Minnesota on June 10, 1861.[^1] In August 1862 he took charge of the public school in St. Peter as principal. That same year, aged 22, he joined Company D of the 9th Minnesota Infantry Regiment and served as its First Sergeant.[^1] The source gives his discharge for disability as August 18, 1863, following the Battle of Tupelo.[^1] Nicollet County voters then chose him as county superintendent of public schools, a post he held for two terms. In 1865 they also elected him clerk of the county's district court for four years.[^1] He owned and edited the *St. Peter Tribune* in 1865 and 1866. He read law with Judge [[Horace Austin]] and was admitted to the bar in 1869.[^1] ## Political career After Austin won the governorship in 1870, he chose McGill as his private secretary.[^1] McGill was named state insurance commissioner in 1873 and kept that post for thirteen years. He sought the Republican nomination for governor in 1881 and lost.[^1] In 1886 he won the nomination of the Republican state convention and then the general election. He served one two-year term, 1887–1889.[^1] As governor he recommended the following measures:[^1] - revising railroad laws on the transportation, storage and grading of wheat and on the watering of railroad stocks; - simplifying the tax laws; - regulating liquor; - abolishing contract prison labor; - founding a soldiers' home; - creating a Bureau of Labor Statistics. He did not win re-election but stayed active in politics. In 1896 he backed [[Cushman K. Davis]] for president.[^1] From 1899 to 1905 he represented the 37th District, St. Paul, in the Minnesota State Senate. In 1900, while still a senator, he also received an appointment as postmaster of St. Paul.[^1] McGill died on October 31, 1905, in his St. Paul home.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Andrew Ryan McGill* (revision 1364566295, retrieved 2026-10-25), CC BY-SA 4.0 — establishes his dates, family, early career, offices held, the 1886 nomination and election, his gubernatorial recommendations, and his later Senate and postmaster service. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Ryan_McGill