John Wesley North (January 4, 1815 – February 22, 1890) was an American abolitionist, lawyer, and politician. A founder of the Republican Party of Minnesota, North also served in Minnesota's constitutional convention. As a legislator in the Minnesota Territorial Legislature, North was influential in founding the University of Minnesota. He was appointed as Nevada's first surveyor general and as an associate justice on Nevada's territorial Supreme Court. He was the founder of the cities of Northfield, Minnesota and Riverside, California. Early life and career North was born near Sand Lake, New York on January 4, 1815. North's family was associated with the Methodist Church, as the Second Great Awakening swept New England and New York State in the early 19th-century. North's father travelled as a preacher. Through a professional connection with the Reverend Arnold Scholefield, North met Gerrit Smith. Smith, a wealthy leader of the abolitionist movement, was an important influence in North's embrace of anti-slavery. In 1838, North enrolled at Wesleyan University. After achieving local recognition in an impromptu debate with the pro-slavery minister Francis Hodgson, North was invited by the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society to work as a lecturer. As he gained attention, North's lay license to practice ministry on behalf of the Methodist Episcopal Church was challenged by Augustus William Smith. Though North survived the challenge, he resigned his license. North founded Wesleyan's Anti-Slavery Society and, after graduation, continued to lecture for two years across Connecticut. North also practiced law, forming connections with the anti-slavery lawyers and educators Joshua Leavitt, Beriah Green, and William Burleigh, among others. North's relationship with John Greenleaf Whittier from this era would remain a profound influence on his later life. Marriage and family North's first wife was Emma Bacon, whom he married in 1845. She died of tuberculosis in 1847. In 1848, North married Ann Hendrix Loomis. Career in Minnesota North struggled as a lawyer. Seeking new financial opportunities, John and Ann North travelled to Minnesota Territory in 1849, settling in St. Anthony, near the growing cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. North settled in St. Anthony at the request of Franklin Steele, agreeing to serve as his legal counsel. The political leadership of the Territory, men like Henry Hastings Sibley and Henry Mower Rice, were associated with the national Democratic Party, a consequence of the connection between the fur trade and the regional Democrats. Territorial governor Alexander Ramsey, appointed by Whig President