Pillsbury

The founders of the Pillsbury Flour Company are linked into our family through marriage - they are not "direct" relatives but certainly "relatives of note" !!

1 William Pillsbury 1605 -

.. +Dorothy Crosby 1623 -

...... 2 Moses Pillsbury 1645 - 1701

.......... +Susanna Worth 1649 - 1686

............... 3 Joseph Pillsbury 1670 - 1749

................... +Sarah 1673 - 1701

....................... 4 Joseph Pillsbury 1693 - 1749

........................... +Mehitable Weed

................................ 5 Nathan Pillsbury 1717 -

................................ 5 Stephen Pillsbury 1721 -

................................ 5 Abigail Pillsbury 1724 -

............... *2nd Wife of Joseph Pillsbury:

................... +Rebecca Fogg

....................... 4 Joseph Pillsbury 1726 -

........................... +Mehitable Dennett

................................ 5 Joseph Pillsbury 1753 -

.................................... +Sarah Emery or Every 1755 -

........................................ 6 Betsey Pillsbury

........................................ 6 Hannah Pillsbury

........................................ 6 Joseph Pillsbury

........................................ 6 Samuel Pillsbury

........................................ 6 Sarah Pillsbury

........................................ 6 John Pillsbury 1787 - 1832 (3rd cousin once-removed of founders)

............................................ +Mary Kelloch 1790 - 1882 (please visit The Kalloch Family Home Page for more on Mary's family) - See photo below.

................................................ 7 Hannah Pillsbury 1812 - 1905 - my line descends from here

..................................................... +Ephraim Snow 1808 - 1892 (see my SNOW pages)

.......................................................... 8 Arthur L. Snow 1835 -

.......................................................... 8 Adelaide F. Snow 1837 - 1872

.............................................................. +Z. Pope Vose 1835 - 1916

.......................................................... 8 Mary Frances Snow 1839 - 1912

.............................................................. +Francis Frank Tighe 1830 - 1927

.......................................................... 8 Laura Ann Snow 1841 - 1842

.......................................................... 8 Albert Sidney Snow 1845 - 1932

.............................................................. +Frances Maria Keating 1848 - 1941

................................................. 7 Mehitable Pillsbury 1816 - 1880

..................................................... +Andrew Whitcher 1813 - 1842

.......................................................... 8 Andrew T. Whitcher 1842 - 1864

................................................. 7 Dennis Pillsbury 1814 - 1853

..................................................... +Matilda Sweetland 1820 - 1852

.......................................................... 8 Oliver S. Pillsbury 1843 -

.............................................................. +Ella D. Kinney

.......................................................... 8 Augustus Pillsbury 1846 -

.......................................................... 8 Sidney Pillsbury 1849 -

.......................................................... 8 Matilda Pillsbury 1852 -

................................................. 7 Mary Pillsbury 1809 - 1857

..................................................... +Hezekiah Stover

................................................. 7 George Pillsbury 1826 - 1830

................................................. 7 Jane Pillsbury 1811 - 1839

........................................ 6 Nathan Pillsbury

........................................ 6 Margaret Pillsbury

........................................ 6 Johnson Pillsbury

................................ 5 Tobias Pillsbury

................................ 5 Nathan Pillsbury

....................... 4 Benjamin Pillsbury 1729 -

............... 3 Moses Pillsbury 1672 -

............... 3 Dorothy Pillsbury 1675 -

............... 3 Susannah Pillsbury 1676 -

............... 3 Judith Pillsbury 1678 -

............... 3 Caleb Pillsbury 1681 - 1759

................... +Sarah Morse 1679 - 1758

....................... 4 Judith Pillsbury

....................... 4 Benjamin Pillsbury

....................... 4 Susannah Pillsbury

....................... 4 Sarah Pillsbury

....................... 4 Esther Pillsbury

....................... 4 Hannah Pillsbury

....................... 4 Caleb Pillsbury 1716 -

........................... +Sarah Kimball 1722 - 1761

................................ 5 Joshua Pillsbury

................................ 5 Susanna Pillsbury

................................ 5 Sarah Pillsbury

................................ 5 Moses Pillsbury

................................ 5 Caleb Pillsbury

................................ 5 Elizabeth Pillsbury

................................ 5 Micajah Pillsbury

.................................... +Sarah Sargent

........................................ 6 Stephen Pillsbury

........................................ 6 John Pillsbury 1789 - 1856

............................................ +Susan Wadleigh 1793 - 1877

................................................. 7 Simon Wadleigh Pillsbury 1812 -

................................................. 7 George Alfred Pillsbury 1816 - 1898

..................................................... +Margaret Sprague

.......................................................... 8 Charles Alfred Pillsbury 1842 - 1899

.......................................................... 8 Mary A. Pillsbury

.......................................................... 8 Fred C. Pillsbury

................................................. 7 Dorothy Wadleigh Pillsbury 1818 -

................................................. 7 John Sargent Pillsbury 1828 - 1901

..................................................... +Mahala Fisk 1832 -

................................................. 7 Benjamin F. Pillsbury 1831 -

................................ 5 Isaac Pillsbury

................................ 5 Stephen Pillsbury

...... 2 Deborah Pillsbury 1642 -

...... 2 Job Pillsbury 1643 - 1716

.......... +Katherine Gauett

...... 2 Caleb Pillsbury 1652 -

And now for a bit of history on the flour company (gleaned from a variety of online sources):

John Sargent Pillsbury and his brother George Alfred Pillsbury, along with George's son Charles Alfred Pillsbury, founded the Pillsbury flour milling business in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1872 under the name of C. A. Pillsbury & Company. The company was incorporated under the laws of Minnesota on June 23, 1909 and quickly acquired the assets of Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills, Co., Ltd. which had been organized in 1889. In 1923, the company obtained the title to the property, brands, trademarks and goodwill of Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Co., Ltd. (for more on Minneapolis and the milling industry, click here)

John was born in Sutton, New Hampshire. He migrated to Minnesota in 1855 where he was a businessman and industrialist. Originally in the hardware business, an 1853 fire destroyed his building and all of his inventory. His quick recovery so impressed his peers that he was offered the presidency of Farmers & Mechanics Bank. He went on to become a prosperous banker with diverse business interests, including land, railroads, timber, and a sawmill. By 1869, he was ready to expand again, this time into milling flour In addition to founding the milling company, he was a state senator from 1863 to 1875 and also served three terms as governor of the state of Minnesota (1876-1892). He was a noted benefactor of the State University.

George was born in Sutton, New Hampshire. In the 1840's, he and his family lived in Warner, NH. He owned a dry goods store where his son Charles was born. George and Charles ventured west to Minnesota in 1869 to "seek their fortunes." Charles and his father purchased a one-third interest in a failing Minnesota flour mill. Charles installed a new purifier in the broken-down mill and amazingly made a $6,000 profit in the first year. He used the profits to start his own business, C. A. Pillsbury and Company, in 1872. George and Charles eventually joined forces with John in the combined Pillsbury company we know today (additional research needed to verify this progression). When George returned to Warner in the 1890's, he was a wealthy and successful businessman. He wanted to return something to the community that had given him his start so he donated the land and construction costs for a series of public buildings in the region including several town halls and libraries. One of these was the Warner Pillsbury Free library.

This recent photo shows his former home which is now the Main Street BookEnds and The Gallery of Warner located at 16 East Main Street, Warner, NH 03278

double click to enlarge thumbnail

Pillsbury's corporate website

"Poppin' Fresh®," the Pillsbury Doughboy™, popped out of his first can of Pillsbury refrigerated dough on November 7, 1965. He made his debut in a commercial for Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Rolls. Within three years of his first appearance, more than 87% of the population had come to know this little guy who personified the qualities of Pillsbury Refrigerated Dough.

Doughboy.com

In 1967 Pillsbury became the first major U.S. food company to enter the restaurant business, acquiring Burger King®. Pillsbury entered the pizza business in 1975 when it acquired Totino's Finer Foods. A regional pizza company in Minneapolis, Totino's was founded by Rose and Jim Totino. Three years later, through Pillsbury technology and Totino experience, the company's new crisp crust pizza became the best-selling frozen pizza in the United States. By the mid-1980s, Pillsbury had acquired another leading brand of pizza and hot snacks, Jeno's®, and was producing almost 300 million pizzas a year — more than one million pizzas for every working day. In 1979, Pillsbury acquired Green Giant and became one of the largest "processors" of branded vegetables in the world — a leader in canned, frozen, and fresh vegetables and in agricultural research, worldwide sourcing, and distribution.

Pillsbury was acquired by London-based Grand Metropolitan PLC in 1989, becoming Diageo PLC in 1997. On October 31, 2001; General Mills completed their acquisition from Diageo PLC of its worldwide Pillsbury operations in a transaction valued at $10.4 billion.

Complete press release

Our Pillsbury Family Photos

double click to enlarge thumbnails

Mary Kelloch Pillsbury - Mrs. John Pillsbury

Mehitable Pillsbury Whitcher - Mrs. Andrew Whitcher

Oliver Pillsbury