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In 1856 an act was passed making St. Paul one school district, and creating "The Board of Education of the city of St. Paul," to consist of nine members, three from each ward. The mayor and president oi the council, by provision of this act, were "declared ex-officio school inspectors." The board organized in June of that year and consisted of the following members: Mayor George L. Becker, and president of the council, William L. Ames; H. E. Baker, Theodore French, P. O. Furber, William R. Marshall, Rev. E. D. Neill, Rev. A. M. Torbit, Parker Paine and E. C. Palmer. When the board organized they found neither funds nor buildings in their possession. Interesting excerpt from Mr. Henry Anson Castle’s Book, History of St. Paul and Vacinity: a chronicle of progress - Volume 2 William L. Ames. The death of William Leonard Ames, on September 29, 1910, removed from the citizenship of St. Paul a resident who had spent sixty years in the city and whose life activities possessed the valuable quality of public service mingled with private prosperity. He was a citizen of high success and integrity, and his sudden death shocked the affections and regard in circles of acquaintance much wider than his own family and personal friends. The Ames family contributed invaluable pioneer service to Minnesota. It was William L. Ames, Sr., who established the family here at the early year of 1850, and during the following twenty years, while his son William was growing to manhood, he performed an important part in the improvement and progress of this region through his work as a farmer and stock raiser. He took up land in the vicinity of St. Paul and was operator of several farms, and was also quite extensively engaged in the lumber industry. His large and successful farm, including the present Hazel Park site near St. Paul, was a practical advertisement for Minnesota as an agricultural region and in the early days was of great value in this respect. It is said that the senior Mr. Ames introduced the first Shorthorn cattle into this state. He was a charter member of the Territorial Agricultural Society, and after it became a state organization he served as its president and in other official relations. He was also interested in the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, and was director of an insurance company, and very active in many important affairs. His wife was Amelia Hall, and previous to their settlement at St. Paul their home had been in the state of New Jersey. At their home in Franklin Furnace, New Jersey, January 10, 1846, was born William L. Ames, Jr., who was four years old when the family located in Minnesota. His primary education was obtained in the public schools of St. Paul, and in 1859 he was appointed a cadet to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he remained three years. Among his classmates was Admiral Robley D. Evans. He returned to St. Paul in 1862, in time to participate with a company of St. Paul volunteers in the campaign against the Sioux Indians. He spent some years in association with his father, and then in 1870 engaged in 'the live-stock business in Wyoming, Colorado and Texas. His father died on February 8, 1873, and the son then returned and took the active management of the noted Ames farm. To older residents this splendid improved estate of twelve hundred acres was a familiar feature of the St. Paul suburbs on the east side, and it is now identified as the sites of Hazel Park and Hazel Heights. Mr. Ames continued to conduct the farm for a number of years and maintained its operation on the same high scale as his father. He erected his beautiful home, since identified as 1667 Stillwater avenue, where he lived with his family until his death. In platting the beautiful suburban community of Hazel Park, Mr. Ames did a notable work of improvement for the city by furnishing admirable sites for new homes and business houses and extending the growth of the city. As a real estate enterprise his management of this undertaking might well serve as a model for all such ventures. He disposed of his building lots at very reasonable prices and on the most liberal terms. He assisted many a worthy man in securing a home, and was always generous and obliging to a fault. It was this disposition to make his business of service to his fellow citizens that gave Mr. Ames such a high place in the regard of this community. He was a man of gentle and unassuming character, and won friends in all his personal and business relations. His domestic life was one of rare felicity. He was married on the 2ist of December, 1874, to Miss Helen Fitzgerald, who survives him and continues to maintain the beautiful home at 1667 Stillwater avenue. They had no children of their own, but a niece of Mrs. Ames, Florence Johnson, was reared in their home, and she is now the wife of Otto Wachsmuth, of St. Paul. Mr. Ames was also survived by a sister, Miss Amelia, of Boston, and a brother, Herbert, of Gray Cloud Island, Minnesota. Mrs. Ames was a daughter of Michael and Kathryn (McCartney) Fitzgerald, who came to this state from Canada. Her father was a lumberman and shipbuilder of prominence in Canada. He died while bringing his family to Minnesota, and the family then settled in St. Paul, where the mother spent the rest of her life. Three of the four children in the Fitzgerald family are still living: Mrs. Ames; Thomas, a farmer; and Mary, now Mrs. Sampson. The late Mr. Ames, in addition to his important work rendered through his regular business, also took his share of civic responsibilities. He was a member of the legislature during the session of 1891, served as county commissioner of Ramsey county, and was president of the St. Paul board of public works in 1899 and 1900. His career was one of varied interest and usefulness, and no history of St. Paul's citizenship would be complete without a record of his life. Image Gallery:
William L. Ames, a History of One of Our Founders...
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