Friends of the Sibley House

Henry Hastings Sibley

One of the most prominent figures in Minnesota in the nineteenth century was the fur trader, frontier politician, military leader, and public spirited citizen, Henry Hastings Sibley. He was born February 20, 1811, in Detroit, Michigan, from a long line of distinguished Puritan and New England ancestors, the son of Chief Justice Solomon Sibley and his wife, Sarah Whipple Sproat, who was the only daughter of Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, an accomplished officer in the Continental Army.

Before he was eighteen, Sibley had received a good education, including two years in the study of law. He loved outdoor adventure, hunting, shooting and fishing; the study of law became irksome and the adventuresome life of the West appealed to him.

For five years he was with the American Fur Company at Mackinac. In 1834, he was made a partner in the Fur Company, was placed in charge of its affairs in them Northwest and assumed control of the trade with the Dakota Indians from the Falls of St. Anthony to the Dubuque River and west to the headwaters of the Missouri River, with headquarters at St. Peter's (Mendota).

In 1835 and 1836, Mr. Sibley erected two stone buildings, one a warehouse and the other a large, comfortable house, a center of bachelor hospitality. He lived for nine busy years, managing and developing the interest of the Fur Company, reading, studying and forming lasting friendships with early missionaries, settlers and traders.

Henry Hastings Sibley was a staunch friend and advisor of the Indians, one whom they could trust, making many eloquent appeals to the government at Washingotn in their behalf. He learned the language of the Dakota and was called by them, "Wah-pe-ton Han-ska"- the "tall trader".

Henry Sibley's Home office during his term 1858-1860 as the
First State Governor of Minnesota.

During this time he contributed many articles to the "Spirit of the Times", a New York magazine of sport, on "Hunting" and "Indian Customs and Warfare". For these he used the pseudonym, "Hal A. Dacotah".

Always on good terms with the Indians, he was a great aid to the government in making the treaties of the 1837 and 1851.

He was the first attorney to practice law in this part of the country, and in 1835 he was commissioned Justice of the Peace by Governor Chambers of Iowa.

In 1843 he married Sarah Steele, a sister of Franklin Steele, the sutler at Fort Snelling, and his home became more than ever one of the centers of the pioneer life in early Minnesota.

In August, 1848, Sibley was sent as a delegate to Congress from the residuary Territory of Wisconsin, and procured, against much opposition, the passage of an act, on March 3, 1849, organizing the Territory of Minneosta.

In organizing the Minnesota Territory young Sibley insisted that the name "Minnesota" be kept, instead of "Itasca" which was the name preferred by Stephen A. Douglas, who was introducing the bill for the organization. And so the name "Minnesota" or "Sky-tinted-water" in the Dakota language, will endure long after the language is forgotten.

Ever watchful of the interests of his constituents, Henry Hastings Sibley, serving as a delegate until 1853, obtained large grants for roads and public buildings for Minnesota territory as well as help for the Indians whom he regarded as wronged and driven to desperation by the inhuman conduct of the agents of the federal government.

It was through the efforts of Mr. Sibley that a double grant of land, two sections instead of the usual one, was set aside for schools in every townships of the new territory, a lasting and important benefit to the people of Minnesota.

The State Seal was suggested by Sibley: a white man plowing eastward and an Indian riding on horseback toward the west. L'Etoile du Nord which means "The Star of the North" is above, and in the background the setting sun and the Falls of St. Anthony.

When Minnesota was admitted as a state, May 11, 1858, Henry Hastings Sibley was elected the first governor.

Sibley and his family moved to St. Paul in 1862 when he was commissioned as commanding officer in the military district of Minnesota.

The honors bestowed upon General Sibley were many and worthy. He died at his Woodward Avenue home in St. Paul, February 18, 1891, a beloved and respected citizen.

Excerpts from "The Sibley Historic Site" Published 1995 by Sibley House Association / MNDAR