Philander P. Humphrey Explained

Philander P. Humphrey (February 26, 1823  - August 18, 1862) was an American physician and politician.

Born in Torrington, Connecticut, Humphrey was trained as a physician at Oberlin College. In 1852, Humphrey moved to Red Wing, Minnesota Territory. In 1857, Humphrey served in the Minnesota Territorial Council. On August 18, 1862, Humphrey, his wife, and two of their children were killed in the Battle of Lower Sioux Agency, where he was the physician for the Sioux Tribe.^{[1] [2]}

As the attack began, Humphrey, his wife and their three children were among the civilians who had escaped towards Fort Ridgely 14 miles away.^{[3] [4]} They were overtaken and killed while in flight. Only his twelve-year-old son, who had been sent to get water for his mother, survived and eventually reached the fort.^[5]

Notes and References

1. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.aspx?ID=13466 Philander P. Humphrey, Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
2. 'Minnesota State Historical Society Collections,' Minnesota Historical Society: 1915, Boyhood Remembrances of Life Among The Dakotas and The Massacre of 1862, John Ames Humphreys, pg. 337-348
3. Book: Anderson, Gary Clayton . Massacre in Minnesota: The Dakota War of 1862, the Most Violent Ethnic Conflict in American History . University of Oklahoma Press . 2019 . 978-0-8061-6434-2 . Norman . 81–85.
4. Book: Folwell, William Watts . A History of Minnesota . Minnesota Historical Society . 1921 . 109–114 . V. The Sioux Outbreak, 1862 . https://archive.org/details/historyofminneso02folw/page/108/mode/2up.
5. Book: Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn . The History of Redwood County, Minnesota . H. C. Cooper Jr. & Co. . 1916 . I . Chicago . 135–139.