Background
Wales was born in Iredell County, North Carolina in 1818.
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William Winford Wales
Edit Profilemayor Missionary Minnesota politician
Career
In 1845, he relocated to Indiana to teach school. The two moved to Minnesota in 1851, settling in Saint Anthony. Wales was the first Quaker to settle in Minnesota Territory.
Wales held a number of odd jobs as a wallpaper hanger, bookseller and gardner.
In 1856, he was elected mayor of Saint Anthony. Wales also served on the board of education.
The next year he was elected to the Minnesota Territory Legislature in a special election. After a brief period in Mississippi, he returned to Saint Anthony where he served as city clerk and postmaster.
In 1865 he was re-elected mayor of the city for a second time.
Later in his life he did missionary work in North Carolina. He died in Asheville, North Carolina in 1902.
