Joseph W. Furber

Joseph Warren Furber (August 29, 1814 – July 10, 1884) was a Whig politician in Minnesota. He was born in Farmington, New Hampshire. He helped with his family's farm and attended school (including Foxcroft Academy) before moving west in 1838. He lived in Alton, Illinois for two years, then worked in the lumber industry near St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin for another two years before settling in Cottage Grove, Minnesota.^[1][2][3]

Joseph Warren Furber
1st Speaker of the Minnesota Territory House of Representatives
In office September 3, 1849 – December 31, 1850
Preceded by	Territory Created
Succeeded by	Michael E. Ames
8th Speaker of the Minnesota Territory House of Representatives
In office January 7, 1857 – December 1, 1857
Preceded by	Charles Gardner
Succeeded by	John S. Waltrous (State)
Personal details
Born	August 29, 1814 Farmington, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died	July 10, 1884 Cottage Grove, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Whig
Relations	Pierce P. Furber (nephew)
Children	Aurilla Furber

In 1846, Furber was elected to the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature as the representative, in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives, for Crawford County, Wisconsin.^[4] In 1849, he was elected to the first Minnesota Territorial Legislature and served as the first Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He was elected to the legislature again in 1856 and once again served as speaker. He was appointed United States Marshal for Minnesota by President Millard Fillmore during the 1850s and also held positions with the state militia and as a member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. Later in his life, he was elected to two more terms in the Minnesota State House of Representatives in 1868 and 1875.^[1][2]

He died at his home in Cottage Grove in 1884.^[2]

References

1. Folsom, William Henry Carman (1888). Fifty Years in the Northwest. Minnesota: Pioneer Press Company. p. 362.
2. "Furber, Joseph W. — Legislator Record". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
3. 'Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society.' Volume XVI, Warren Upham-editor, Minnesota Historical Society, Saint Paul, Minnesota: 1912, Biographical Sketch of Joseph W. Furber, pg. 244
4. 'Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin 1877.' pg. 148

External links

• Joseph W. Furber at Find a Grave

Political offices
Preceded by Territory Created	Speaker of the Minnesota Territory House of Representatives September 3, 1849 – December 31, 1850	Succeeded by Michael E. Ames
Preceded by Charles Gardner	Speaker of the Minnesota Territory House of Representatives January 7, 1857 – December 1, 1857	Succeeded by John S. Waltrous State