{{Short description|Fur trader and legislator in Minnesota}}{{Infobox officeholder | image = Martin McLeod.png | name = Martin McLeod | caption = Portrait of McLeod | birth_date = April 13, 1813 | birth_place = Montréal, Québec, Lower Canada | death_date = November 20, 1860 | death_place = Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S. | resting_place = Bloomington Cemetery,<br/>Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S. | office = Member of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature | term_start = September 3, 1849 | term_end = January 3, 1854 | governor = Alexander Ramsey<br/>Willis A. Gorman }} '''Martin McLeod''' (April 13, 1813 – November 20, 1860) was an American fur trader, pioneer, and territorial legislator in Minnesota. McLeod County, Minnesota was named in his honor.
== Early life == McLeod was born in Montreal, Quebec in Canada (then part of Lower Canada) to Scottish Canadian parents.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hubbard |first=Lucius F. (Lucius Frederick) |url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotainthree02hubbuoft/page/100/mode/2up? |title=Minnesota in three centuries, 1655-1908 |last2=Murray |first2=William Pitt |last3=Baker |first3=James H. |last4=Upham |first4=Warren |last5=Holcombe |first5=Return I. |last6=Holmes |first6=Frank R. |date=1908 |publisher=The Publishing Society of Minnesota |location=New York |pages=100-101 |language=en}}</ref> Initially McLeod worked as a clerk in Montreal during the North American fur trade before moving to the Red River Colony (also called the Selkirk Settlement). In early March of 1837 McLeod, along with two British Army officers consisting of Captain Pays and Jack Hays, and a Métis guide Pierre Bottineau eventually traveled from Fort Garry to Fort Snelling in Wisconsin Territory during the winter of 1837.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Atwater |first=Isaac |url=https://archive.org/details/vol2historyofmin00unse/page/1206/mode/2up? |title=Vol. 2: History of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota |last2=Stevens |first2=John H. |date=1895 |publisher=Munsell Pub. Co. |others=State Library of Pennsylvania |pages=1207-1208 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Neill |first=Edward D. (Edward Duffield) |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofminnes00neil/page/452/mode/2up? |title=The history of Minnesota: from the earliest French explorations to the present times |date=1882 |publisher=Minnesota historical company |location=Minneapolis |pages=452, 478, 546 |language=en}}</ref> McLeod and Bottineau were the only two survivors of the party on the trek to Fort Snelling, both Captain Pays and Hays had died from the elements near the Cheyenne River, likely from a combination of frostbite and hypothermia.<ref name=":1" /> McLeod and Bottineau eventually arrived at the trading post of Joseph R. Brown at Lake Traverse on March 21, 1837.
== Minnesota Territory == McLeod eventually worked as a trader for the American Fur Company, overseeing trade with the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands in Wisconsin Territory.<ref name=":0" /> McLeod served in the Minnesota Territorial Legislature from 1849 to 1851 and from 1852 to 1853 during the 1st Minnesota Territorial Legislature, the 2nd Minnesota Territorial Legislature, the 3rd Minnesota Territorial Legislature, and the 4th Minnesota Territorial Legislature where he was president of the Territorial Council.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=McLeod, Martin - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present |url=https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=13834 |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=www.lrl.mn.gov}}</ref> McLeod served as president of the territorial council.<ref name=":2" /> He also served as chairman of the town of Bloomington, Minnesota Territory and as a commissioner for Hennepin County, Minnesota.<ref>[http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail?ID=13834 Minnesota Legislators Past and Present-Martin McLeod]</ref><ref>[http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01224.xml Minnesota Historical Society-Martin McLeod]</ref><ref>'All Sorts of Paragraphs,' Death of Martin McLeod,' '''Janesville Daily Gazette,''' December 3, 1860, pg. 1</ref><ref>[http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/10/v10i04p387-402.pdf Minnesota Historical Society-Martin McLeod and the Minnesota Valley]</ref> McLeod was later a significant figure behind the signing of both the Treaty of Mendota and later the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux.
==Personal life== McLeod married Mary Elizabeth Ortley in 1837 or 1838. The couple had five children, Walter Scott (b. 1841), John (b. 1843), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1844), Janet (b. 1848), and Isabella (b. 1851).<ref>The McLeods, an Anglo-Dakota Family in Early Minnesota, Minnesota History, Summer 2007</ref> McLeod died on November 20, 1860 and was initially buried on his family plot in Glencoe. His body was later interred in Bloomington Cemetery.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Upham |first=Warren |url=http://archive.org/details/collections17minnuoft |title=Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society Volume XVII: Minnesota Geographical Names, Their Origins and Historic Significance |date=1920 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society |location=Saint Paul |pages=316-317 |language=en}}</ref>
== Legacy == McLeod County, Minnesota which was first established on March 1, 1856 was named in honor of McLeod.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-09-03 |title=McLeod County namesake born 196 years ago |url=https://herald-journal.com/articles/herald-journal/mcleod-county-namesake-born-196-years-ago/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=herald-journal.com}}</ref> In 1855 McLeod, along with John H. Stevens were two of the founding citizens of the city of Glencoe, Minnesota, the county seat of McLeod county.<ref name=":3" /> Glencoe township received its name on July 11, 1855, the city was named by McLeod in honor of the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692 in Scotland.<ref name=":3" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Find a Grave|50191324}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLeod, Martin}} Category:1813 births Category:1860 deaths Category:Emigrants from pre-Confederation Quebec to the United States Category:People from Bloomington, Minnesota Category:Politicians from Montreal Category:Members of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature Category:American fur traders Category:American Fur Company people Category:People from Wisconsin Territory