Charlotte Ouisconsin Clark Van Cleve

Charlotte Ouisconsin Clark Van Cleve (July 1, 1819 – April 1, 1907) was an American women's suffrage advocate and social reformer during the early history of Minnesota, and the first woman elected to the Minneapolis School Board. She was married to Major-General Horatio P. Van Cleve. Born during her parents' journey to help build the future Fort Snelling, she lived to see a fledgling community grow into an urban center.

Early life

In 1819 the U.S. government looked to protect its fur trading interests in the northwest. To do this it ordered the 5th Infantry Regiment from its headquarters in Detroit to the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers to build a fort. On July 1 the infantry stopped to rest at Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien (present-day Wisconsin).

A short time later a daughter was born to Lieutenant Nathan Clark and his wife, Charlotte Ann Seymour. Also named Charlotte, she came to be affectionately known as a "daughter of the fifth regiment" and was given the middle name Ouisconsin (a French spelling of Wisconsin) by its members in recognition of her birth site. The regiment continued north and arrived at the site of Fort St. Anthony (later renamed Fort Snelling) on August 23.

Having a father in the army meant that Clark moved many times throughout her childhood. She spent the first sixteen years of her life traveling from fort to fort. During that time she developed an abiding love for the military. The patriotism and altruism she learned within its confines guided her decisions throughout her life.