B4 • STAR TRIBUNE
MINNESOTA
'
SUNDAY, JUNE 12, 2016
Hospital, which Lewis purchased.
He'd driven up earlier and been
refused a chance to buy or rent
One was a Republican lawyer and
another property.
skilled orator, originally from Mary­
When he moved into his St. Louis
land. The other: a Kansas veterinar­
Park neighborhood, unloading a
ian and ardent Democrat.
with a friend, neighbors mis­
U-Haul
John Francis Wheaton arrived in
read the situation.
Minnesota in 1893 - nearly 70 years
before Bert Robert Lewis. Their
"My friend and I arrived and
began unloading the furniture, and
deaths, 57 years apart, came early
the neighbors, I assume, thought we
and surprised those who knew them.
Wheatonkilledhimselfat 55, inhaling
were just workmen unloading the fur­
niture," he said in a 1967 interview.
lethalgasinNewYorkCity.Lewissuf­
"They had no idea that a Negro was
fered a fatal heart attack at 47 in his
moving in next door."
Golden Valley home.
He said a neighbor circulated
Between their moves to Minne­
sota and those sudden deaths, the
a petition protesting his arrival,
but only one person signed it. He
two men carved their names into
promptly landed a spot on the St.
state political history. Wheaton, a
descendant of slaves, was the first
Louis Par.I\: school board in 1966 and
then won a seat in the state senate in
black man elected to the Minnesota
1972 when only about 26 black resi­
House in1898. Lewis became the first
dents lived in the suburb.
African-American elected to the state
He sponsored legislation to
senate 74 years later.
help victims of family violence and
Even before joining the Legislature,
expanded catastrophic health insur­
Frank Wheaton, as he was commonly
ance. Twice married with two chil­
lmown, had earnedrespect as the first
Minnesota Legislative Reference Llbrary ~eft}; Minnesota Historical Society (right}
dren, Lewis' stature in the Senate
black graduate from the University of
climbed in the 1970s - along with
Minnesota Law School in 1894.
"Confronted with all the obsta­
PIONEERING PAIR the stress.
cles ofrace prejudice, John.Francis
During the 1979 session, he served
Nearly 75 years separated the first black members ofthe M:initesota House and Senate. as finance chairman of a health and
Wheaton has climbed a rugged path
First in House: John Francis "Franlc" Wheaton, at left. Republican attorney and orator elected for one term in welfare subcommittee - becoming
such as few men have successfully
1898 from Minneapolis. Born May 8, 1866, in Hagerstown, Md.; died Jan.15, 1922, in New York City. an abortion-rights advocate in the
surmounted and won for himself
First in Senate: Bert Robert "Bob" Lewis, at right. DFLer, veterinarian, elected in 1972. Born Nov. 2, 1931, in process.
a record and a name that would be
Hutchinson, Kansas. Died April 25, 1979, in Golden Valley. When he died April 25 in the final
envied by any man," the Ivlinneapo­
month of the session, his widow
lis Journal proclaimed in an 1897 col­
blamed the fatigue of round-the­
lection ofprofiles called "Progressive
school at the U while working as a was able to "hypnotize the conven­ bail, leaving Wheaton on the hookfor clock hearings for the heart attack.
Men ofMinnesota."
tion with oratory." And before "del­
the $10,000 bond. Distraught over the Margaret Sandberg later filed a work­
Born in Hagerstown, Md., in 1866, hotel waiter and railroad porter.
He and his wife, Ella, had two sons egates had time to pull up the lower debt and impending financial ruin, he ers' compensation claim, saying the
Wheaton shined shoes and millced
pressures of his job killed him. She
cows to earn money while attending and Wheaton was soon earning $5 a jaws," another newspaper said ofhis killed himselfJan.15, 1922.
Lewis, his Minnesota Senate bar­ testified that he loved his early days
college in West Virginia to become day as a clerk at the Capitol. He kept oratorial prowess, he successfully
confronting
racism,
though,
being
nominated
himself
for
a
symbolic
del­
was
born
in
the Senate but grew disillusioned
rier-brealcing
counterpart,
a teacher. At only 22, he served as
an alternative delegate at the 1888 denied service in one restaurant in egate spot at the national convention. about a decade later in Hutchinson, as his responsibilities grew, lobbying
Just as Wheaton was ascending in Kansas. A Korean War veteran, he intensified and more conservatives
Republican National Convention in 1895 and then getting falsely accused
ofstealing a white man's wallet at St. Minnesota politics, he left- moving studied animal husbandry and vet­ were elected.
Chicago.
Since 1980, the Minnesota Pub­
to Chicago to help found an insurance erinary medicine at Kansas State.
A popular stump spealcer, he Paul's Metropolitan Hotel in 1897.
He sued and ran for the Minne­ firm. He said he loved Minneapolis
landed a clerkship in Congress while
In 1962, Lewis moved to St. Louis lic Health Association has given out
the B. Robert Lewis Award to leading
studying law at Howard University. sota House from the Kenwood area "better than any place on earth" and Park. An attendant at the Texaco sta­
of Minneapolis. Despite fewer than hoped to return someday.
tion remembered his white '62 Chevy politicians, including Paul Wells tone,
When Republicans came to Minne­
"I got my start here," he said pulling in.
George Latimer and Walter Mondale.
apolis for their national convention 50 black adults among the district's
in1892, renominating PresidentBen­
before he left. "I owe a great deal to
9,000 voters, he won.
"It being St. Louis Park, he may
jamin Harrison, Wheaton must have
He introduced 15 bills during his the people of the city, where every­ have been the first black man I had
Curt Brown's tales about
one term, including an expansion of one is accorded 'equal rights' without ever tallced to," Paul Linnee said on
Minnesota's history appear
liked what he saw.
each Sunday. Readers can send
the town's historical society web­
"Tiring of his continual struggle the kinds of businesses forbidden regard to race."
Instead of returning, Wheaton site (slphistory.org). "He was new him ideas and suggestions at mnhistory@
against the disadvantages imposed from discriminating based on race.
upon men of his color," the Min­ In 1890, he wowed fellow attendees headed to NewYork City and became in town, needed gas and wondered startribune.com. A collection of his columns is
a leading figure in the Harlem scene. if there was a pet hospital in town."
neapolis Journal said, he moved to at the state Republican convention.
available as thee-book "Frozen in History" at
The Minneapolis Times said he Inl921, one ofhis legal clients skipped
Linnee pointed him to Fitch's Pet startribune.com/ebooks.
Minnesota in 1893 and attended law
CURT BROWN
Reprinted by permission of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN).