# Seymour, Sabin & Co. *Minnesota manufacturer that used prison labor at Stillwater (c. 1866–1913)* Seymour, Sabin & Co. was a [[Minnesota]] manufacturer of machines and engines. According to a trade-press history, it first contracted for prison labor at [[Stillwater]] in 1866.[^2] After an 1884 collapse it was reorganized as the Minnesota Thresher Mfg. Co. It became the Northwest Thresher Co. in July 1901.[^2] The at-issue record states that [[M. Rumely Co.]] bought the business in October 1912 and shut it down by 1913.[^1] The trade-press account reports the same purchase and closure without giving a month.[^2] The record sets a stated principle beside the firm's documented output. The Wikipedia biography of Dwight M. Sabin records an 1868 warden's protest that inmates should "work for the benefit of the state rather than for private concerns."[^3] The trade-press history reports two things on the other side of the ledger. The firm had already contracted for Stillwater prison labor in 1866. By August 1888 the works were producing 900 machines and 450 engines with convict labor, and a new contract followed in November 1889.[^2] Sabin joined the firm in 1868.[^3] He served as a United States Senator from 1883 to 1889 and as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1883 to 1884.[^3] The firm's 1883 sales are recorded as "one engine, zero separators and one horse power."[^1] The collapse and reorganization followed in 1884.[^2] ## Who Seymour, Sabin & Co. was a manufacturing firm. Its principal named partner in the record is Dwight M. Sabin, who joined the company in 1868.[^3] The same Wikipedia biography reports Sabin's Senate service from 1883 to 1889 and his Republican National Committee chairmanship from 1883 to 1884.[^3] That source also reports that the company employed about 1,200 civilian workers alongside prison laborers. It gives no date for that count.[^3] The trade-press history attributes the firm's first prison-labor contract at Stillwater, in 1866, to Sabin's influence.[^2] The firm's successor names were Minnesota Thresher (Minnesota Thresher Mfg. Co.) and Northwest Thresher (Northwest Thresher Co.).[^2] ## What The firm produced machines and engines with convict labor at Stillwater, according to the trade-press account.[^2] The at-issue pair records the firm's 1883 sales as "one engine, zero separators and one horse power."[^1] The trade-press account reports that by August 1888 the works were producing 900 machines and 450 engines with convict labor. By that date the enterprise had already been reorganized as the Minnesota Thresher Mfg. Co.[^2] ## When - 1866: The firm first contracted for prison labor at Stillwater, through Sabin's influence, according to the trade-press history.[^2] - 1868: Sabin joined the company. A warden's protest of the same year held that inmates should work for the state rather than for private concerns.[^3] - 1883: The at-issue pair records the firm's sales for the year as one engine, zero separators and one horse power.[^1] Sabin began his Senate term and his RNC chairmanship.[^3] - 1884: The trade-press history reports a collapse and a reorganization into Minnesota Thresher Mfg. Co.[^2] - August 1888: The works were producing 900 machines and 450 engines with convict labor.[^2] - November 1889: A new prison-labor contract was concluded.[^2] - July 1901: The business became Northwest Thresher Co.[^2] - October 1912: M. Rumely Co. bought the business, according to the at-issue pair.[^1] - By 1913: M. Rumely Co. shut the business down, according to both the at-issue pair and the trade-press history.[^1][^2] The at-issue pair dates this closure to one year before the prison moved out of Stillwater proper.[^1] ## Where The firm's operations were tied to prison labor at Stillwater.[^2] The at-issue record sets the business's closure by 1913 beside the prison's relocation out of Stillwater proper, which it dates one year later.[^1] Its primary anchor is a Minnesota Historical Society research guide on the Stillwater prison.[^1] ## How The firm obtained convict labor through contracts for prison labor at Stillwater. According to the trade-press history, the first contract dates from 1866 and a new contract from November 1889.[^2] ## How many - About 1,200 civilian employees alongside prison laborers, per the Wikipedia biography of Sabin, undated.[^3] - 900 machines and 450 engines produced with convict labor by August 1888, per the trade-press history.[^2] - One engine, zero separators and one horse power in 1883 sales, per the at-issue pair.[^1] ## In the at-issue record - **AI-Washington-057 (Washington package, rank 57).** This pair is filed in the section *The Referral Architecture & the County That Got the Prison Edition*. It sets the firm's 1883 sales figure beside the October 1912 purchase by M. Rumely Co. and the shutdown by 1913. It dates that closure to one year before the prison moved out of Stillwater proper.[^1] The pair lists two sources, of history and trade kinds (mnhs.org and farmcollector.com).[^1][^2] ## Notes [^1]: At-issue pair AI-Washington-057 (Washington package), primary anchor: Minnesota Historical Society, *Stillwater prison research guide* (n.d.). The pair records the 1883 sales figure, the reorganizations, the October 1912 purchase by M. Rumely Co., and the shutdown by 1913, one year before the prison moved out of Stillwater proper. The anchor documents the prison's relocation. https://libguides.mnhs.org/prison/stillwater [^2]: Farm Collector, *Northwest Thresher Company Began with Minnesota Prison Labor* (n.d.). This trade-press history establishes the 1866 prison-labor contract, the August 1888 production with convict labor, the November 1889 contract, the 1884 collapse and reorganization into Minnesota Thresher Mfg. Co., the July 1901 Northwest Thresher Co., and the purchase and shutdown by M. Rumely Co. by 1913. https://www.farmcollector.com/company-history/northwest-thresher-company-began-with-minnesota-prison-labor/ [^3]: Wikipedia, *Dwight M. Sabin* (n.d.). This tertiary source records the 1868 warden's protest, Sabin's joining of the firm in 1868, his Senate service from 1883 to 1889, his RNC chairmanship from 1883 to 1884, and the approximately 1,200 civilian employees alongside prison laborers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_M._Sabin