Andrew Ryan McGill

Andrew Ryan McGill
Andrew Ryan McGill
10th Governor of Minnesota
In office January 5, 1887 – January 9, 1889
Lieutenant	Albert E. Rice
Preceded by	Lucius Frederick Hubbard
Succeeded by	William Rush Merriam
Personal details
Born	(1840-02-19)February 19, 1840 Saegertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 31, 1905(1905-10-31) (aged 65) St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Eliza Bryant (1st), Mary Elizabeth Wilson (2nd)
Profession	educator
Religion	Methodist

Andrew Ryan McGill (February 19, 1840 – October 31, 1905) was an American politician of the United States Republican Party. He served as the tenth Governor of Minnesota from January 5, 1887 to January 9, 1889.

Andrew Ryan McGill, the son of Angeline (née Martin) and Charles McGill, was born in Saegertown, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1840. Andrew's father, Charles Dillon McGill (1802–1875), was the youngest son of Patrick (1762–1832) and Anna (née Baird) McGill. Patrick had emigrated from County Antrim, Ireland, about 1774, settling in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. In 1795 Patrick and Anna moved their family to the western part of Pennsylvania, homesteading several hundred acres in Crawford County. Andrew's mother, Angeline Martin (1811–1849), was the eldest of Armand (1785–1861) and Mary (née Ryan, 1789–1866) Martin's nine children. The Martin family also owned land in western Pennsylvania. Armand's brother, Lieutenant General Charles Martin, who commanded troops stationed at Fort de Boueff (Watertown, Pennsylvania) in the late 1790s, settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

In 1859, at the age of nineteen, Andrew Ryan McGill moved from Pennsylvania to Kentucky to become a schoolteacher. When the Civil War began and teaching, work was no longer feasible in Kentucky, McGill left for Minnesota, arriving June 10, 1861. He became principal of the public school in St. Peter, Minnesota, in August 1862. In that same year, at the age of 22, McGill enlisted in Company D, 9th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. In 1863 he was discharged for disability. Soon after his discharge he was elected county superintendent of public schools (Nicollet County, Minnesota), a position he filled for two terms. From 1865 through 1866 McGill was the editor and proprietor of the St. Peter Tribune. In 1865 he was also elected clerk of the district court of Nicollet County for a term of four years. McGill took the opportunity to study law under Judge Horace Austin and was admitted to the bar in 1869.