A. A. Ames - Early Life

Early Life

Ames was born in Garden Prairie, a city residing in Boone County, Illinois on January 18, 1842. Ames was the fourth child to a family, soon to be, of seven. At the young age of ten, Ames relocated with his father, Dr. Alfred Elisha Ames, and mother, Martha A. Ames, to Fort Snelling located in the Minnesota Territory. At this time during the spring of 1852, Minnesota was still young—the locality was nameless and resided in a portion of the Fort Snelling reservation. Ames attended local public schools, which were partially run by the federal government. His particular public school was at the time a department of the Washington school, located on the block now occupied by the city hall and court house.

Starting in 1857, while still in high school, Ames became employed as a "printer's devil" and a newspaper carrier for the Northwestern Democrat. The Northwestern Democrat, published by W.A. Hotchkiss, was the first paper issued in Minneapolis that served the west side of the river; the original publishing building still stands on the southeast corner of Third Street and Fifth Avenue South. It was through his efforts as a "printer's devil" that Ames attained his first dollar. After graduating from high school at the age of sixteen, Ames jumped on the opportunity to become immersed in the medical field along side his father. Though he received much of his experience and training by observing and working with his father, Ames attended Rush Medical College in Chicago and received his M.D. on February 5, 1862 at the age of 20. Soon after, April 21, 1962 to be exact, the established Dr. Ames married Sarah Strout, the daughter of Captain Richard Strout of Minneapolis.