John Winthrop Burnham was born on November 19, 1829, in Derry, New Hampshire, to George and Eliza Burnham. His father was a farmer who owned $3,500 of real estate by 1850. He grew up and attended school in Derry, and by 1850, he was also working as a farmer. He moved to Plainview, Minnesota, around 1856, and by 1860, he owned $1,600 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property. He supported the Republican Party, and he was elected to the state legislature in 1858 and again in 1859. In October 1860, he was elected justice of the peace.
He enlisted in the Union army on August 15, 1862, and he mustered in as a corporal in Company C of the 10th Minnesota Infantry on September 2. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 10 ½ inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. The regiment took part in the Dakota War, and he eventually earned a promotion to sergeant. He was promoted to 2nd lieutenant of Company D of the 121st USCT Infantry in July 1864. The regiment served on garrison duty in Kentucky, and in 1865, army officials assigned him to duty with the 13th USCT Heavy Artillery. In August 1865, he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in the 125th USCT Infantry. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant in December 1865, and he mustered out on October 31, 1867.
He married Ada Lawrence in January 1866, and they had at least four children: Elizabeth, born around 1867; Bennie, born around 1870; Ida, born around 1873; and Ella, born around 1878. He settled in Highland, Minnesota, after leaving the army, and he resumed his work as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $10,000 of real estate and $1,800 of personal property. Around 1878, he moved to Wheatland in the Dakota Territory. He was elected to the territorial legislature in 1887 and again in 1889.
His wife died in the 1890s, and he moved back to Plainview soon afterward. He married Lydia Reed around 1900. They moved to Fargo, North Dakota, around 1911. A local writer described him as a “man of strong convictions [and] great determination” who “left an impress of his sturdy honesty of view and desire for progress on the northwest.” He died in Fargo on January 5, 1912.
Image: John W. Burnham (Companions of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States)