A. M. Winn

A. M. Winn
Winn c. 1870
2nd President of the Sacramento City Council
In office
August 25, 1849 – April 1, 1850
Preceded byWilliam Stout
Succeeded byHardin Bigelow (as Mayor of Sacramento)
Personal details
Born
Albert Maver Winn

(1810-04-27)April 27, 1810
Loudoun County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedAugust 26, 1883(1883-08-26) (aged 73)
Sonoma, California, U.S.
Resting placeSacramento Historic City Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations
Know Nothing
Spouse(s)
Catherine Gaffney
(m. 1829; died 1862)

Charlotte Libbey
(m. 1865)
Children
  • Adolphus
  • Frances
  • Ada
  • Emily
OccupationCarpenter, military officer, politician, labor leader
Known forFounder of the Native Sons of the Golden West
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
California State Militia
Rank Major General
Unit1st Mississippi Rifles
Battles/warsMexican–American War

Major General Albert Maver Winn (April 27, 1810 – August 26, 1883) was an American carpenter, military officer, politician, labor leader, Odd Fellow, Freemason and founder of the Native Sons of the Golden West.[1]

Winn was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, came to California on May 28, 1849, and settled in Sacramento on June 25 of that year. He immediately became active in civic affairs and in the fall of 1849 was elected to Sacramento's first City Council in and selected as its President, he was ex-officio the first mayor of Sacramento. But unlike his successor, Hardin Bigelow, he was not elected directly to the office.[2] He went on to be appointed the State Adjutant General and an early proponent of the small business community and labor reform movement. He remained in the state until his death and is remembered as one of the State's Founding Fathers.

General Winn not only made his contributions to the civil and military beginnings of Sacramento, he was a prime mover in the fraternal and religious life of his community as well. He founded the Sons of the Revolutionary Sires, later the Sons of the American Revolution, and was its first President. In 1851 he organized the Sacramento Odd Fellows General Relief Committee and he was elected its first president. He also was instrumental in the establishment of Grace Church (later St. Paul's), the first Episcopal church in Sacramento, of which he was both an officer and communicant. Winn was also a Mason. Indeed, his granddaughter wrote, "We are told that the general belonged to every fraternal society in Sacramento in the early days and it is quite probable that this is true."[3] He founded the Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW). General Winn died at Sonoma on August 26, 1883, and was buried in Sacramento.

  1. ^ "A. M. Winn". JoinCalifornia. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Cemetery Map with Points of Interest". Archived from the original on 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
  3. ^ Founder of the Native Sons of the Golden West Archived May 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine