Charles Alfred Pillsbury

Charles Alfred Pillsbury
Born	December 3, 1842 Warner, New Hampshire, USA
Died	1899
Spouse(s)	Mary Ann Stinson

Charles Alfred Pillsbury (December 3, 1842 – September 17, 1899), was a U.S. flour industrialist and the founder & namesake of the Pillsbury Company.

Charles Alfred Pillsbury was born December 3, 1842 in Warner, New Hampshire, first of three children born to George Alfred Pillsbury (1816 – 1898) and Margaret Sprague Carleton (1817 – 1901). His sister Mary A. died in infancy. His brother was Frederick Carleton Pillsbury (1852 – 1892). Charles was a prominent flour miller of Minneapolis, Minnesota. From 1877 to 1897, he was Minnesota State Senator and held the chairmanship of the Finance Committee of the Senate. He was responsible for introduction and implementation of legislation, recommended by his uncle, Governor John S. Pillsbury, for the adjustment of the state debt.

Education and early business career

Charles Pillsbury had a modest upbringing. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1863, paying for his college education by teaching part-time.

Pillsbury worked for six years as clerk and partner in Montreal, Canada, at a mercantile enterprise. During this time, he met his future wife, Mary Ann Stinson (1842 – 1902), daughter of Capt. Charles Stinson of Goffstown, New Hampshire and his wife Mary Ann Poore. On 12 September 1866 he married Mary Stinson and they had four children. The two first-born children, George Alfred (1871 – 1872) and Margaret Carleton (1876 – 1881), both died in childhood. On 8 December 1878 twin sons were born, Charles Stinson and John Sargent II, both of whom lived into adulthood. Charles married Helen Pendleton Winston in 1901, while John married Eleanor Jerusha Lawler in 1911.

Pillsbury was drawn to business in Minneapolis after experiencing and observing the commercial interests in Montreal, which processed grain from the western. Pillsbury's uncle, John S. Pillsbury, had settled at the Falls of St. Anthony at Minneapolis in 1855; in 1869, Charles Pillsbury moved to the growing city of Minneapolis and established his flour business.

Minnesota flour industry and Pillsbury's innovation

At that time of Pillsbury's arrival, four or five flour mills, deriving their power from the Falls, were small in size and ground their grain with large buhr stones. Pillsbury was employed by his uncle and soon gained part-ownership in his own mill. Mr. Pillsbury made a close and thorough study of the methods of flour milling and contemplated better results through the industry's innovative practices in flour processing. At his own mill, Pillsbury discarded the buhr stones, and introduced and improved on the newer practices. He competed with Cadwallader C. Washburn and the Washburn family, Mr. Christian, and other millers in the production of what was called "new process" flour.

Pillsbury created his own brand called "Pillsbury's Best." It was claimed that "Pillsbury's Best" was the finest flour in the world, and its production techniques allowed Pillsbury to capture a niche in the marketplace demanding high-quality flour. The use of a series of carefully gauged steel rolls in the crushing of grain into flour effected an entire revolution in all the large flour mills of the United States, as it was efficient and produced excellent quality. It led to important changes in wheat growing, because it created a demand for hard "spring wheat", which had, up to that point, a less-esteemed reputation than that of the softer winter wheat of the South.

Flour mill development and expansion

In 1872, Mr. Pillsbury persuaded his father and his uncle to join him in an expansion of the business and the firm of Charles A. Pillsbury & Co. entered upon a career of remarkable enterprise. A brother, Frederick C. Pillsbury, came into the firm at a later date.

The company's history in flour milling became synonymous with the history of the industry. Minneapolis became one of the best and largest markets for grain in the world. The care, thoroughness and soundness of Pillsbury's business practices gave the Pillsbury mill a foremost position in the flour manufacturing industry of the United States. Later, four new mills were added to the original plant, either by purchase or lease, including the Pillsbury "B", Empire, Excelsior and Anchor mills, and each of the new properties was rebuilt and equipped with the most modern equipment.

To ensure an ample supply of the finest wheat, the firm brought into being the Millers' Association, whose agents inspected and purchased only the finest grain in the Northwest. A system of grain elevators for storage and shipment purposes was also created, under the ownership of the Minneapolis & Northern Elevator Co., of which Mr. Pillsbury was president; and the warehouses and elevators of this concern may now still be seen near the Mississippi riverfront in Minneapolis.

The final step in the extension of the business of the firm was the construction of the huge Pillsbury "A" Mill. In preparation for this expansion, Pillsbury had observed flour mills in Europe, including those of Budapest, Hungary, which had the reputation of production of the finest flour in the "old world". The Pillsbury "A" Mill, built in 1882, was the pride of the firm and the despair of every rival in the business, with a capacity of 5,000 barrels of flour a day, later increased to 10,000 barrels. Among the nearly thirty great flour mills in Minneapolis, no mills were more impressive than that created by the Pillsbury firm. Production later increased to 24,500 barrels of flour a day, and the brands became known everywhere throughout the world.

Pillsbury introduced a system of company profit sharing in addition to regular wages, as reward for their interest in the success of the business. As a consequence, no strikes ever interrupted the Pillsbury business.

Further expansion

In 1889, an English syndicate bought a controlling interest in the largest flouring industries of Minneapolis and the water power at the Falls, and combined them under the name of The Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Co. Mr. Pillsbury remained the manager and one of the three American directors of the entire property. The name of Charles A. Pillsbury & Co. was retained by the former partners, but their operations were confined to the management of The Union and Empire Elevators and to looking after the assets of the firm, which were largely invested in pine forest.