The first of the brothers to go west, Cadwallader, settled in Wisconsin where he made a fortune in Wisconsin timber speculations and increased it manifold in Minnesota flour milling. At age eighteen he had been self-supporting as a clerk in a Hallowell store; later he was principal of the chief school in Wiscasset. In 1839 he yielded to the lure of the West, after first seeking the advice of Uncle Reuel and the financial assistance of brother Sid. Arriving in Iowa with but five dollars in his pocket he turned to teaching school to support himself. Still “bound by the iron hand of poverty,” as he wrote in one of his frequent letters to Sid, he clerked in a store until being appointed county surveyor. In his free time, determined to better his lot, he studied law, and in 1842 moved to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where he opened a law office. Soon he formed a business partnership with Cyrus Woodman which combined the New England Land Company, the law practice, and the Mineral Point Bank.
In 1854 Cadwallader was elected a representative to Congress from Wisconsin. Israel, Jr. was representing Maine, and Elihu of Illinois was serving his second term. For five years the three served together, each representing a different state – a record still unequaled in the annals of Congress.
Cadwallader left Washington in 1861 to recruit a cavalry regiment. He rose to the rank of major general, a brave officer whom Grant credited with his success in getting into the Yazoo Pass. On November 29, 1863, with 2800 troops Cadwallader compelled the Confederates to evacuate Fort Esperanza, Texas, in an engagement that “gave the Union forces control of the entire coast of Texas from Matagorda Bay to the Rio Grande.”
Returning to Congress for another two terms after the war, Cadwallader, with Elihu, led the opposition to the purchase of Alaska and championed state ownership of the postal telegraph system. His final political service was two years, 1872 to 1874, as Governor of Wisconsin.
Caldwallader’s major contribution to the country was taking the hard spring wheat, easily raised in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and turning it into good flour, flour which won the first gold medal ever given to a non-European country, thus inspiring the brand name, Gold Medal Flour. When he died in 1882, he was the largest single owner of mill property in the world. His estate was valued at nearly three million dollars, much of which he left to charity.
The closeness and mutual support of the brothers drew Israel and Elihu to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to be with Cadwallader in his last days. At their beloved home in Maine, Samuel wrote in the family journal, “Our good brother Cad died yesterday… He was a man take him all in all the like of which we ne’er shall look upon again. He was an inveterate foe to sham and hypocrisy. Honest, faithful and true and in all his intercourse with the world he never forgot to be a gentleman. I can hardly realize that I shall never look upon his genial face again. He was one of the best brothers the world ever saw. And now thou kindest and best of brothers, hail and farewell.”
Excerpts from Cadwallader's Correspondence
Cad’s letters to his daughters show his efforts to instruct them, often from far away. He wrote them frequently while he was serving in the Civil War. In one of his more sentimental letters, he tells his daughter Nettie that “I have before me on my table a very beautiful flower that I wish I could send you, a magnolia which was sent to me last night. It is very large and beautiful and perfumes the whole tent, but like the fate of beauty too often it very soon fades. I send you and Fanny love.” – Cadwallader to Nettie, June 3, 1863.
Paris Sept. 5. 1867
Dear Brother [Elihu],
I have rec’d your letters from Washington and N. Y. I had no doubt but Grant [Ulysses S. Grant] would be wise enough to put himself right at the proper time and that the hounds who desired to place him in a false position would be foiled. Old mealy potatoes is malicious but will have to toe the mark. The public want to know that Grant has opinions of his own and that those opinions are all right. He should speak for himself, there are men who will be glad to see him make mistakes, that the course may be clear for them, and will try to convey the idea that he is in the hands of favorites. My opinion is that you occupy a delicate position. Grant now has the heels of all and is the only man that the Republican party can elect and if we split on him the party is gone to the d–l. I have now been here two weeks, and have been pretty busy seeing sights. I shall be glad to get home. Shall go to Switzerland this week and, hope to be in N. Y. by Oct 15 or 20. I may start home Oct 7, on the Fallon. Shall go west immediately, first to Lyons, and then to Galena if you are at home, and then to La Crosse. I have bought a nice dinner set and some glassware, which I shall have sent to Washington. I hope you will secure a good house. My remittances have not come in as I expected and I cannot make the purchase I should like and my business reports are not very favorable. Shall be glad to get home as I would not live in this country if you would give it to me. I am glad I came, for when it is over a disagreeable job will be off my hands. I have spent two days with Gibbs in the Champagne district and had a Royal time –
I am sorry to hear of Adele’s illness, nothing serious, I hope.
Truly Yours
C. C. Washburn