Famous Genealogies

Biography

Charles Alfred Pillsbury was born in Warner, New Hampshire, first of three children born to George Alfred Pillsbury (1816–1898) and Margaret Sprague Carleton (1817–1901). His sister Mary A. died in infancy. His brother was Frederick Carleton Pillsbury (1852–1892). Charles was a prominent flour miller of Minneapolis, Minnesota. From 1877 to 1897, he was Minnesota State Senator and held the chairmanship of the Finance Committee of the Senate. He was responsible for introduction and implementation of legislation, recommended by his uncle, Governor John S. Pillsbury, for the adjustment of the state debt.

Charles Pillsbury had a modest upbringing. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1863, paying for his college education by teaching part-time.

Pillsbury worked for six years as clerk and partner in Montreal, Canada, at a mercantile enterprise. During this time, he met his future wife, Mary Ann Stinson (1842–1902), daughter of Capt. Charles Stinson of Goffstown, New Hampshire and his wife Mary Ann Poore. On 12 September 1866 he married Mary Stinson and they had four children. The two first-born children, George Alfred (1871–1872) and Margaret Carleton (1876–1881), both died in childhood. On 8 December 1878 twin sons were born, Charles Stinson and John Sargent II, both of whom lived into adulthood. Charles married Helen Pendleton Winston in 1901, while John married Eleanor Jerusha Lawler in 1911.

Pillsbury was drawn to business in Minneapolis after experiencing and observing the commercial interests in Montreal, which processed grain from the west. Pillsbury's uncle, John S. Pillsbury, had settled at the Falls of St. Anthony at Minneapolis in 1855; in 1869, Charles Pillsbury moved to the growing city of Minneapolis and established his flour business.

Source :  http://www.wikipedia.org/