obituaries

It was no coincidence that his middle name was Pierre. In detailed file after file, in clearly marked brown envelopes, George Gosslin traced the history of Pierre Bottineau, one of the founders of what is now the city of Minneapolis.

There are ancestral charts and photocopies of chapters in old books, handwritten citizenship papers and detailed census accounts of households and the people inside at the time.

It was more than a hobby for Gosslin; it was a passion. In his work, he confirmed what his family had always contended: that they were descendants of Bottineau, the legendary pioneer of French Canadian/Ojibwe ancestry who became known as a guide, real estate entrepreneur and the legendary figure who could skip a silver coin across the Mississippi River. He was the great-great-great-grandson of Bottineau.

Gosslin, 93, died Aug. 23 after a long illness associated with dementia.

"He thought a lot about Pierre Bottineau," said Rita Gosslin, his wife of 55 years. "He was very proud of his ancestry. Pierre Bottineau meant so much to him. He was proud to say to everybody that 'I'm a descendant.'"

There were many family ties, even if coincidental, with Bottineau. Gosslin was born in 1917 in Osseo, a town Bottineau is credited with founding. As a boy, he moved to northeast Minneapolis, where Bottineau once owned 700 acres of land.

A draftsman for 41 years, Gosslin took pride in the precision of his genealogy research. He graduated from Edison High School and what is now the Dunwoody College of Technology. He also was a Navy veteran, serving as a gunner's mate during World War II.

Penny Petersen, whose book "Hiding in Plain Sight" is a history of the first Minneapolis neighborhood that grew up around St. Anthony Falls, said Bottineau is an often-forgotten figure in the city's history.

"There was a presumption that white men founded the city of Minneapolis but he was right there with them," she said. "He's a real fascinating character. He was there when the buffalo were still around. He saw things that simply don't exist anymore."

Bottineau had 20 children with two wives, so it's no surprise there may be a number of descendants, Petersen said. Although he could not read or write, the Pierre Bottineau Library in northeast Minneapolis is named after him and Rita Gosslin said she hopes to donate her husband's research to the library.

Besides his wife, Gosslin is survived by daughters Linda Gosslin and Barb Szczech.

Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434