Edward Raymond Backus

Notes:

Name: E. Raymond Backus
Gender: Male
Burial Date:
Burial Place:
Death Date: 26 Aug 1912
Death Place: International Falls, Koochiching, Minnesota
Age: 21
Birth Date: 1891
Birthplace:
Occupation:
Race:
Marital Status:
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name: Edward W. Backus
Father's Birthplace:
Mother's Name: Elizabeth Hoar
Mother's Birthplace:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: B02098-0
System Origin: Minnesota-EASy
Source Film Number: 2138519
Reference Number: 1058
Collection: Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990

Notes:

Courtesy of the Fort Frances Museum
Obituary:
Edward Wellington Backus
Born 1861
Married Elizabeth Horr Backus Died October 29th, 1934
Mr. Edward Wellington Backus, of Minneapolis was noted as a modern Napolean of finance, diplomacy and astuteness. Backus was among the leaders in the newsprint and timber industry. An empire builder he envisioned the possibilities of power, timber and natural resources. He was the first capitalist to show his faith in the industrial future of Fort Frances by putting up his money and every dollar he could get from outside resources to develop water power.
In 1882 Backus began his lumbering career at the age of 21 with the Lee and McCullock company, buying out the interest of the junior partner the following year. The firm of Lee and Backus was succeeded in 1885 and in 1899 changed to the Backus-Brooks Company.
In 1892, with a timber cruiser, Backus walked 200 miles through deep snow to arrive shortly after midnight at a Huddon's Bay company Post, now Fort Frances. In the crisp clear moonlight he viewed the majestic Falls and envisioned the future of power developments, paper mills and sawmills, staff support in the existence of two large towns, with footpaths being supplanted with railroads.
Mr. Backus was noted as "a man of splendid physique... he had the head of statesman and shoulders of a gladiator. His beaming eyes denoted his keen intellect and his retentitive memory... Or commanding appearance, he was a man of note whether in village circles or in the financial centers of the east... He devoted his time and energies to the development of his industrial enterprise."
Mr. Backus, like many other financiers over-extended his activities during the prosperous period following World War I. Suffering severe losses, his endeavors to recoup his losses and advanced aged were factors in his death in 1934 when he succumbed to a heart attack in New York.

See also:
http://www.angelfire.com/mn/thursdaynighthikes/lakeisles_arch1.html

Edward married Elizabeth Horr in . Elizabeth (daughter of Augustus Horr and Emily Leavitt) was born about 1862 in Maine, USA; died on 24 Nov 1956 in ; was buried in Minneapolis, Hennepin Co, Minnesota, USA (Lakewood Cemetery). [Group Sheet]

Abel married Anna Anderson. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Census: 1850 [1860] 1870 1880 [1900]

Notes:

Civil War Record
Name: Augustus E Horr ,
Residence: Waterford, Maine
Enlistment Date: 03 May 1861
Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
Side Served: Union
State Served: Maine
Unit Numbers: 1035 1035
Service Record: Enlisted as a Private on 03 May 1861 at the age of 23Enlisted in Company G, 1st Infantry Regiment Maine on 03 May 1861.Mustered out Company G, 1st Infantry Regiment Maine on 05 August 1861 in Portland, ME

Name: Augustus E Horr ,
Residence: Waterford, Maine
Enlistment Date: 04 April 1864
Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
Side Served: Union
State Served: Maine
Unit Numbers:1028 1028
Service Record: Enlisted as a Private on 04 April 1864 at the age of 25Enlisted in Company A, 14th Infantry Regiment Maine on 04 April 1864.Discharged Company A, 14th Infantry Regiment Maine on 17 July 1865

Name: Augustus E Horr ,
Residence: Waterford, Maine
Enlistment Date: 26 March 1864
Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
Side Served: Union
State Served: Maine
Unit Numbers: 1028 1028
Service Record: Sick at Washington, DC Hospl (1864) Enlisted as a Private on 26 March 1864 at the age of 25 Enlisted in Company H, 14th Infantry Regiment Maine on 26 March 1864. Discharged Company H, 14th Infantry Regiment Maine on 17 July 1865

From: History of Minnesota
Augustus E. Horr
The late Augustus E. Horr was one of the pioneer leaders in the lumber and logging industry in Minnesota, coming to St. Anthony in 1865, immediately after the close of the Civil war. He was a member of the old lumbering firm of Leavitt, Horr & Company until 1878, when an association with J. S. Pillsbury and others was formed under the name of the Gulf River Lumber Company, Mr. Horr serving as its treasurer. He also became interested, with his son-in-law, Mr. E. W. Backus, in what is now the Backus-Brooks Company, lumber manufacturers and merchants of Minneapolis. Mr. Horr was vice president of the latter organization at the time of his death. He died at his home in Minneapolis September 15, 1908, after an illness of more than two years. His high ideals, simplicity and straightforwardness of character in his everyday life made his name synonymous with business integrity for nearly fifty years in Minneapolis commercial circles. Augustus E. Horr was born at Waterford, Maine, in 1838. A native of the Pine Tree State, he possessed the rugged qualities of its hills and forests and came almost naturally into lumbering as a business, and it is a noteworthy fact that many of the ablest characters in not only the lumbering but other industrial lines of the Northwest have been from Maine and adjacent states of New England. In 1861 Augustus E. Horr enlisted in Company G, First Maine Volunteer Infantry, and saw active service with that regiment, contracting while in the service a malignant form of measles, which left his eyes in a very weak condition. However, immediately upon being released from the hospital he rejoined his regiment, and as a result, entirely lost the sight of one eye. He was an ardent patriot and for many years was identified with the Rawlins Post No. 126 of the Grand Army of the Republic at Minneapolis. For many years he was also a trustee of the First Congregational Church of Minneapolis. Mr. Horr's associates knew him to be a man with whom hard work was a native characteristic, straightforward in all his dealings, a keen and efficient business man of scrupulous honesty whose word was as good as his bond and the mere mention of his name in connection with any business or enterprise was sufficient guaranty of its worthiness. Mr. Horr is survived by his widow, Emily Leavitt Horr, a daughter of Josiah Leavitt, and by two children - a daughter, Mrs. E. W. Backus, and a son, Mr. Renselaer Leavitt Horr. Mrs. Horr still resides at the old homestead, No. 421 Fourth Street, S.E., Minneapolis, and her son, Mr. Renselaer L. Horr, resides at No. 419 Fourth Street, S. E., next door to the place where he was born. He has followed in his father's footsteps in the lumber business and is one of Minneapolis' progressive business men

Groom's Name: Augustus E. Horr
Groom's Birth Date:
Groom's Birthplace: Of Hennepin, Mn
Groom's Age:
Bride's Name: Emily E. Levitt
Bride's Birth Date:
Bride's Birthplace: Of Hennepin, Mn
Bride's Age:
Marriage Date: 19 Jun 1869
Marriage Place: St. Anthony, Hennepin, Minnesota
Groom's Father's Name:
Groom's Mother's Name:
Bride's Father's Name:
Bride's Mother's Name:
Groom's Race:
Groom's Marital Status:
Groom's Previous Wife's Name:
Bride's Race:
Bride's Marital Status:
Bride's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M73667-8
System Origin: Minnesota-EASy
Source Film Number: 1380420
Reference Number: bkE5 p239 cn239
Collection: Minnesota Marriages, 1849-1950

Name: Augustus E. Horr
Gender: Male
Burial Date: 17 Sep 1908
Burial Place:
Death Date: 15 Sep 1908
Death Place: Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota
Age: 70
Birth Date: 06 Mar 1838
Birthplace: Maine
Occupation: Lumberman
Race: White
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name: Phillip Horr
Father's Birthplace: Maine
Mother's Name: Catherine Estes
Mother's Birthplace: Maine
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: B07011-8
System Origin: Minnesota-EASy
Source Film Number: 1499042
Reference Number: cn 116
Collection: Minnesota Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990

Augustus married Emily Leavitt on 19 Jun 1869 in St. Anthony, Hennepin Co, Minnesota, USA. Emily (daughter of Josiah Leavitt and Sallie Hill) was born on 16 Aug 1841 in Naples, Cumberland Co, Maine, USA; died on 15 Jul 1932 in , Hennepin Co, Minnesota, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Census: 1870 1880 [1900] 1910 [1920] 1930

Notes:

Groom's Name: Augustus E. Horr
Groom's Birth Date:
Groom's Birthplace: Of Hennepin, Mn
Groom's Age:
Bride's Name: Emily E. Levitt
Bride's Birth Date:
Bride's Birthplace: Of Hennepin, Mn
Bride's Age:
Marriage Date: 19 Jun 1869
Marriage Place: St. Anthony, Hennepin, Minnesota
Groom's Father's Name:
Groom's Mother's Name:
Bride's Father's Name:
Bride's Mother's Name:
Groom's Race:
Groom's Marital Status:
Groom's Previous Wife's Name:
Bride's Race:
Bride's Marital Status:
Bride's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M73667-8
System Origin: Minnesota-EASy
Source Film Number: 1380420
Reference Number: bkE5 p239 cn239
Collection: Minnesota Marriages, 1849-1950

Notes:

From: History of Minnesota

Josiah Leavitt.
For a little more than thirty years, until his death a Minneapolis, January 4, 1895, Josiah Leavitt was one of the principal figures in the lumber and logging industry, associated with his son, Rensselaer C., and with his son-in-law, Augustus E. Horr, and with other notable pioneer lumbermen, including the Pillburys, Chases, the Havens and others. Josiah Leavitt was born in the State of Maine in 1808 and at the time of his death was eighty-seven years of age. He grew up in the Pine Tree State, and when he came to the Northwest as a pioneer brought with him long and successful experience as a Maine lumberman. He was married in 1831 to Miss Sallie Hill of Waterboro, Maine, and soon afterwards began his active operations as a logger and lumberman. His business operations in that field were continued for over thirty years. In 1864 Josiah Leavitt came to St. Anthony, Minnesota, to visit his son, R. C. Leavitt, and his daughter, Mrs. Augustus E. Horr, who had located here about a year before. So impressed was the veteran lumberman with St. Anthony that he soon returned East, wound up his business affairs there, and in 1865 began a residence and business activity in Minneapolis which were only terminated by his death. In connection with his son and Mr. Augustus E. Horr he engaged in the lumber business and bought the sawmill of Todd & Haven. Jonathan Chase was soon admitted to the firm, which went under the name of Leavitt, Chase & Company. In 1876 this partnership was dissolved and a new firm known as Chase, Pillsbury & Company was formed, with Mr. Leavitt, his son and son-in-law, as partners. Three years later was organized the still larger corporation, the Gulf River Lumber Company was formed, with Mr. Leavitt had a holding interest until his death. Mrs. Leavitt died in 1877 and his remaining years were spent with his children and grandchildren. At the time of his death there was a great-grandchild, a son of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Backus, four years of age. Josiah Leavitt, though more than ordinarily successful as a business man, was devoted to his home, and was proud of his children and particularly of his little great-grandson. Almost until the last he retained the vigor of mind and body which had been his chief asset in the successful accomplishments of his business career. His is one of the name that will always deserve recognition among the pioneer business men of Minnesota.

Josiah married Sallie Hill in 1831. Sallie died in 1877. [Group Sheet]