# John S. Pillsbury *American politician and businessman who served as the eighth governor of Minnesota from 1876 to 1882* John Sargent Pillsbury (July 29, 1827 – October 18, 1901) was an American businessman, philanthropist and Republican politician. He was the eighth [[Governor of Minnesota]], in office from January 7, 1876, to January 10, 1882.[^1][^2] He was a co-founder of the Pillsbury Company.[^2] Before he became governor, Pillsbury sat for several years in the [[Minnesota Senate]]. He was the first governor of [[Minnesota]] to hold the office for three terms. His bid for a fourth term ended in 1881, when [[Lucius Frederick Hubbard]] defeated him in the primary.[^2] The project's catalogue of claim:link rows names Pillsbury in two places. One row lists him, with Washburn and others, in the St. Anthony and Minneapolis title chain.[^3] Another row lists him with Dayton, General Mills, Honeywell, 3M and Cargill executives and foundations as part of the Twin Cities corporate-philanthropic founding generation.[^4] These rows place him in those groups. They do not, by themselves, establish his role in any particular transaction. ## Early life Pillsbury's birthplace was Sutton, New Hampshire, and his parents were John and Susan (Wadleigh) Pillsbury.[^2] His family descended from William Pillsbury, an emigrant from England who settled at Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1640.[^2] In 1851 he opened a store in Warner, New Hampshire, with Walter Harriman. Harriman later became a Civil War general and governor of New Hampshire.[^2] ## Career ### Pillsbury Company After touring the West in 1855, Pillsbury chose St. Anthony, Minnesota, as his home. That town is now part of [[Minneapolis]].[^2] His early businesses there were in hardware, real estate and lumber. He later founded C. A. Pillsbury and Company with his nephew Charles Alfred Pillsbury, and the firm took the nephew's name. It became the most successful of his businesses.[^2] ### Political career Pillsbury never served in the Union Army. He is nonetheless credited with helping to organize the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Minnesota Infantry Regiments and the 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War and the Dakota War of 1862.[^2] In 1888 the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States elected him a 3rd Class (honorary) Companion for his contributions to the Union cause.[^2] Following his years in the state Senate, Pillsbury served as governor from January 7, 1876, to January 10, 1882.[^1][^2] During the Grasshopper Plague of 1877, he proclaimed April 26, 1877, a day of prayer. The Wikipedia account states that a sleet storm afterward killed the grasshoppers and that a chapel was built in [[Cold Spring]], Minnesota, to commemorate the event.[^2] He was the first Minnesota governor to serve three terms, and he lost the 1881 primary for a fourth term to Hubbard.[^2] ### Philanthropist The Wikipedia account states that Pillsbury often gave anonymously to causes he supported. It also states that he helped the [[University of Minnesota]] recover from debt in its early years. The cached text is cut off after that point.[^2] Laws of Minnesota 1889, chapter 266, is an amendment relating to the University.[^5] The project's catalogue row describes its subject as "the pre-Pillsbury board composition". The record cited here does not establish what part, if any, Pillsbury had in that enactment.[^5] ## Personal life On November 3, 1856, Pillsbury married Mahala Fisk.[^2] They had four children: three daughters, Addie, Susan May and Sarah Belle, and then a son, Alfred. Addie died at 25 and Susan at 28. Sarah Belle married Edward C. Gale, a lawyer who also contributed to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.[^2] Alfred did not enter business and became an art collector. His collection went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts after his death in 1950.[^2] Susan's only son, John Pillsbury Snyder, survived the sinking of RMS *Titanic* in 1912.[^2] Pillsbury died on October 18, 1901, and was buried in [[Lakewood Cemetery]] in Minneapolis. New Hampshire historical marker number 44, on New Hampshire Route 114 in Sutton, features him.[^2] ## Quote In 1901, Horace B. Hudson wrote about Pillsbury in *The American Monthly Review of Reviews*. Hudson said that Pillsbury's impulse was "Act; act now; act effectively; act for the greatest good."[^2] ## In the Minnesota record The current federal action concerning the State was announced by the [[United States Department of Justice]] on January 14, 2026. Office of Public Affairs release No. 26-21 is titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. According to the release, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^6] The sources cited in this article do not connect Pillsbury or his governorship to that case. ### Who - John Sargent Pillsbury, Republican, eighth governor of Minnesota.[^1][^2] - Named in claim:link rows on the St. Anthony and Minneapolis title chain and on the Twin Cities corporate-philanthropic founding generation.[^3][^4] ### What - Governor of Minnesota, 1876–1882.[^1][^2] - Member of the Minnesota Senate before his governorship.[^2] - Co-founder, with his nephew Charles Alfred Pillsbury, of C. A. Pillsbury and Company.[^2] ### When - Born July 29, 1827; died October 18, 1901.[^2] - Governor from January 7, 1876, to January 10, 1882.[^1][^2] - Proclaimed a day of prayer for April 26, 1877, during the Grasshopper Plague.[^2] - Defeated by Hubbard in the 1881 primary for a fourth term.[^2] ### Where - Born in Sutton, New Hampshire; settled in St. Anthony, Minnesota, after an 1855 tour of the West.[^2] - Buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.[^2] ### How - Helped organize Minnesota regiments during the Civil War and the Dakota War of 1862, without serving in the Union Army.[^2] ### How many - Three terms as governor, the first Minnesota governor to serve that many.[^2] - Four Minnesota regiments credited to his organizing work, 1861–1865.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Governor John Pillsbury* (official governor biography, n.d.) — official State record of Pillsbury as a governor of Minnesota. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=31 [^2]: Wikipedia, *John S. Pillsbury* (revision 1380155920, retrieved Oct. 25, 2026) — biographical details on birth, career, term dates, family, death and the 1901 Hudson quotation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_S._Pillsbury [^3]: Minnesota Historical Society, *mnhs.org* (n.d.) — source for claim:link row CL-Theory13InstitutionalCap-29, which lists Pillsbury, Washburn et al. in the St. Anthony / Minneapolis title chain. https://www.mnhs.org/ [^4]: Citizens League, *citizensleague.org* (n.d.) — source for claim:link row CL-T14FederalTriangulationM-16, which lists Pillsbury among the Twin Cities corporate-philanthropic founding generation. https://citizensleague.org/ [^5]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Laws of Minnesota 1889, chapter 266* (1889) — amendment relating to the University; catalogue row CL-MNGOP96newURLs-S-3754 describes its subject as the pre-Pillsbury board composition. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/1889/0/General+Laws/Chapter/266/pdf/ [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime* (Jan. 14, 2026), release No. 26-21 — announces the lawsuit and Attorney General Bondi's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime