Andrew Ryan McGill

Andrew Ryan McGill

Andrew Ryan McGill (born February 19, 1840 in Saegertown , Crawford County , Pennsylvania , †  October 31, 1905 in St. Paul , Minnesota ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Minnesota from 1887 to 1889 .

Early years

McGill attended local schools in his home country. In 1859 he moved to Kentucky where he worked as a teacher. After the beginning of the Civil War , he could not continue to practice this profession due to the chaos of war in Kentucky. He therefore moved to St. Peter , Minnesota, where he initially continued to work as a teacher. Between 1862 and 1863 he took part in the civil war as a soldier in the Union Army. Due to health problems he was discharged from the army in 1863, after which he returned to Minnesota. There he was a school councilor in Nicollet County for four years . He also published the newspaper “St. Peter Tribune ”. Between 1865 and 1869, McGill also served as clerk in the Nicollet County Court. He took the opportunity to study law with Judge Horace Austin . McGill was admitted to the bar in 1869.

Political career

Andrew McGill was a member of the Republican Party . After Judge Austin was elected governor of Minnesota in 1870, he named McGill his private secretary. Between 1874 and 1886, McGill was the Minnesota Government's Insurance Commissioner. On November 2, 1886 he was elected the new governor of his state. He could then exercise this office between January 5, 1887 and January 9, 1889. During this time, the laws regulating the railway system and its tariffs were revised and redrafted. A school tax was introduced to improve the education system. The governor also advocated legal regulations to control the serving of alcohol and the abolition of the system of making prisoners available for forced labor. At that time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics was the first employment office in Minnesota.

After the end of his tenure, McGill remained politically active. Between 1899 and 1905 he was a member of the Minnesota Senate . In 1900 he was the head of the post office in Saint Paul.

Personal environment

Andrew McGill was married twice with a total of five children. He died on October 31, 1905 and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 2, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• Andrew McGill in the National Governors Association (English)
• Andrew Ryan McGill in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Minnesota Historical Society