Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties, Part 6

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 820

USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 6
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 6
USA > Nebraska > Hall County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 6
USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 6

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

"For many long years the struggle between France and Spain for this fairest portion of the new world continned. Neither was destined to succeed. The pompous expeditions of both nations, their bias- phemous proclamations, their costly settlements-all gave way in time to the simple beginnings on the banks of the James and the coast of New England. Still, for a long time after the Spaniards were con- fined to Mexico, and the French to Canada and the Mississippi Valley, the same suspicions, jealousies, rivalries and antagonisms continued. If the French made a move in one quarter the Spaniards endeav- ored to meet it by a counter stroke in another. If one nation established a trading post in the wilder- ness, the other sought to seduce its servants and to render the enterprise abortive. Spies and other emissaries abounded everywhere. With an austen- tatious display of peace on both sides there were con- stant suspicion and constant watchfulness. In a letter from Bienville, governor of Louisiana, dated

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

April 25, 1752, he says that he learns from the sav- ages of the Missouri that the Spaniards meditated an establishment on the Kansas River, and that he had ordered Sienr de Boisbriant to prevent this by send- ing a detachment of twenty soldiers to build a little fort and to remain in garrison on that river.

"Such was the situation in the years 1739-40, when the expedition, to which I invite a few minutes' attention, started from what is now Nebraska to Santa Fe. What we know of this journey is meagre and fragmentary in a most provoking degree, con- sisting solely of an abridgment or synopsis of a journal kept by one of the travelers for the perusal of Gov. de Bienville at New Orleans. The sum- mary or table of its contents is as follows : 'The brothers Mallet, with six other Frenchmen, leaving the river of the Panimahas discover the river Platte, visit the villages of the Salitane nation, and reach Santa Fe.' The names of those who composed this venturous band were Peter and Paul Mallet, Philip Robitaille, Louis Moriu (or as the name is some- times written, Moreau), Michael Beslot, Joseph Belle- court, Manuel Gallien and Jean David. All except the last, who was from the mother-country, were Canadians of French parentage. The ostensible ob- ject of their trip was to establish trade with the mer- chants of New Mexico. What secret instructions, if any, they had, or what their real purpose was, is no where involved in their memorial, and will probably never be more than conjectured, but that the Span- iards were at least doubtful as to their character seems clear. About 100 years later, and long after Louisiana had become the property of the United States, an expedition starting from Texas with the same pretense of amity and social intercourse re- ceived but scant courtesy from the Mexicans, and it is not probable that the latter were less on their guard against their hereditary enemies, the French.

"The little band, at the time when the journal was introduced to them, had reached the nation of the Panimahas, with whom the French were on friendly terms, living on a river of the same name. It may be considered as a fact, established by papers already published in the collections of this society, that the Panimahas were the tribe since known as

the Pawnees, and the Panimaha River was the stream now called the Loup Fork.

" From a point on the Loup. not far from where Genoa is now situated, the Mallet brothers took their departure on the 29th of May. 1739. Those who, prior to that time, had essayed to make the same hazardous journey, had supposed that New Mexico was situated on the headwaters of the Mis- souri, and had therefore attempted to reach that country by following up the course of the last men- tioned stream. But the Mallet brothers, upon the advice of some of their savage allies, determined to seek New Mexico by taking a southwesterly direc- tion across the country. Accordingly, pursuing this course, they came on the third day to a wide and shallow river which (and here I follow the exact lan- guage of the original) they named the Platte. So far as I know, or can ascertain, this was the first time our wandering stream had received an appella- tion in a Christian tongue. Other adventurous bush- rangers thereafter translated other titles, and L'Eau- qui-court, L'Eau-qui-pleure, the Papillion, the Chadron, the Loup and others will long retain, it is to be hoped, the soft and musical nomenclature of the Gallic race. But who named them, and when, are as yet as difficult to answer as the question Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women. This one fact alone has survived this century and a half that has elapsed since the daring enterprise of these Canadian French.

"They struck the Platte probably in the vicinity of Kearney-at any rate at some point where the general course of the stream was toward the north- east or east, for we read that the explorers, finding that it did not deviate materially from the route they had chosen, followed it up for the distance of twenty- eight leagues, where they found that the river of the Padoncas emptied into it. This river of the Padon- cas was unquestionably the South Fork of the Platte, and it is noteworthy that on one of Colton's maps of the United States, published in 1862, the stream is still called the Padonca. For three days afterward the brothers Mallet ascended the North Fork of the Platte, until on the 13th of June, finding that its course was leading them to the northwest instead of the direction they had determined upon, they turned

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

to the left, crossed the North Fork, traversed the tongue of land made by the two branches, and en- camped on the shores of a river which must have been the South Fork.

" It is not easy to identify with absolute cer- tainty the water courses which in the next few days they seem to have crossed. From their journal has been eliminated all matter except such as would enable an engineer officer to direct the march of an army over the same course. It is mamfest, how- ever, that they crossed several affluents and the maiu current of the Republican, marching over a treeless country, which supplied barely wood enough for cooking purposes, and recording that these bare plains extended as far as the mountains in the vicinity of Santa Fe. On the 20th they reached and crossed a deep and rapid river, losing in the operation seven horses laden with merchandise. This stream they say was the Kansas. Again they entered upon the prairies bare of trees, dependent upon buffalo chips for their fuel, encamping nearly every night by a water-course, until on the 30th of June, they pitched their tents upon the banks of the Arkansas River, where for the first time they came upon traces of Spanish occupation."

Although the act creating the Territory of Ne- oraska became a law on May 30, 1854, it was not until October of that year that the officers appointed by President Pierce reached Bellevue, then the only pretentious village in the Territory. These officers were: Secretary, Thomas B. Cuming, of Iowa; chief justice, Fenner Ferguson, of Michigan ; asso- ciate justices, James Bradley, of Indiana, and Edward R. Hardin, of Georgia; marshall, Mark W. Izard, of Arkansas; attorney, Experience Esta- brook, of Wisconsin. Gov. Burt was a Southern gentleman of birth and education, and was a man of sterling integrity and unblemished reputation. Before receiving his appointment as governor of the Territory of Nebraska he had held important pub- lic positions, both in his own State and in Wash- ington. He was a man who would undoubtedly have left his impress upon the history of Nebraska had his life been spared; but his visit was destined to be of brief duration, for he died within a few days after his arrival. The governor and his party

arrived at Bellevue on October 7, 1854. The jour- ney from the east had been a severe one for Gov. Burt, and he was taken siek at St. Louis. In spite of his illuess, however, he pursued his journey, arriving at Bellevue in bad condition. He was made as comfortable as possible at the Presbyterian Mis- sion, then in charge of Rev. William Hamilton, and medical aid summoned from Omaha and Council Bluffs ; but all the efforts in his behalf were unavail- ing, and he died on October 18, just eleven days after his arrival at Bellevue, and twenty-one days after being takeu ill at St. Louis. By virtue of his office, Secretary Thomas B. Cuming became acting governor. Mr. Cuming assumed the duties of the office at once, and on October 18, issued the first proclamation promulgated in the new Territory. It contained the official announcement of the death of Gov. Burt. In the proclamation Acting Governor Cuming referred to the efforts made to save the life of Gov. Burt, and directed that the National colors within the Territory be draped in mourning.

The news of the death of Gov. Burt cast a gloom over the Territory. Resolutions of regret and con- dolence were adopted and published in the only two papers published in the Territory, and the President of the United States notified. The funeral services were held at Bellevue on October 19, after which the remains were taken to South Carolina by Barton Green, Ward B. Howard, James Doyle and W. R. Jones. Thus closed the first tragedy in the official life of the new Territory.

No sooner had the proper respects been paid to the memory of the Territory's distinguished dead, than the affairs of the living pushed themselves into prominence. A capital for the new Territory was to be selected, and the wheels of government put in motion. The ambitious citizens of Bellevue, Flor- ence, Omaha, Nebraska City and Plattsmouth entered into a fierce competition for the seat of government. After due consideration of the claims of the rival towns, Acting Governor Cuming decided to locate the capital at Omaha, although Bellevue was retained as the official place of residence until January, 1855, in which month the first session of the Territorial Legislature met at Omaha. In a proclamation issued December 20, 1854, the aeting

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

governor designated Omaha as the capital, and called the first session of the Legislature to meet at that city on the 16th day of January, 1855. Pre- viously to this, however, a census of the Territory had been taken by order of the acting governor, and an election called for. The census revealed a population of 2,732. The Territory was divided into eight counties, which were designated as Burt, Washington, Douglas, Dodge, Cass, Pierce, Forney and Richardson. The membership of the first Legislature was divided as follows:

Burt County-One Councilman, two Representa- tives.

Washington County-One Councilman, two Rep- resentatives.

Douglas County-Four Councilmen, eight Rep- ¿ resentatives.

Dodge County-One Councilman, two Repre- sentatives.

Cass County-One Councilman, two Representa- tives.

Pierce County-Three Councilman, five Repre- sentatives.

Forney County-One Councilman, two Repre- sentatives.

Richardson County-One Councilman, two Rep- resentatives.

On December 12, 1854, the first general election in the new Territory was held. It resulted in the selection of Napoleon B. Giddings as the Territorial tlelegate to Congress.

The first session of the Territorial Legislature convened in a two-story brick building erected at Omaha for its reception, at 10 o'clock A. M., Jan- uary 16, 1855. A temporary organization of the Council was effected by the election of Hiram P. Bennett, of Pierce County, president, pro tem. A committee on credentials, consisting of Joseph L. Sharp, James C. Mitchell and Lafayette Nuekolls, was appointed and an adjournment taken until two o'clock P. M. The Representatives also effected a similar organization by electing John M. Latham, of Cass County, speaker, and J. W. Paddock, chief clerk, pro tem. At 2 o'clock P. M., of the same day, both Houses of the Legislature convened in joint session to listen to the first gubernatorial mes-

sage. Acting Governor Cuming alluded feelingly to the untimely death of Gov. Burt. The principal part of the message was devoted to a discussion of the Pacific Railway. Its importance to the welfare of the new Territory was debated upon and a strong argument made in favor of the Platte Valley route --- an argument which has been fully vindicated by the completion of the great railway system along the route indicated.

The first Nebraska Legislature was not, in all respeets, a model one. But, considering the some- what chaotic condition of affairs in the Territory, it made a fair beginning, and there was much accom- plished in the way of legislation that was worthy of commendation.

The local machinery of government was pro- vided for and county officers created. The criminal code of Iowa, with some slight, necessary altera- tions, was adopted for the regulation of the new Territory. The capital was formally and officially located at Omaha. Nor were the educational inter- ests of the young commonwealth lost sight of. Three institutions of learning, viz .: The Simpson University, at Omaha; the Nebraska University, at Fontanelle, and the Collegiate and Preparatory In- stitute, at Nebraska City, were incorporated. Among the notable transactions of this, the first session of Nebraska's Legislature, was the favor- able report, by M. Il. Clark, chairman of the Coun- cil committee on corporation, on the bill chartering the Platte Valley and Pacific Railroad Company, a proposed line which has since become one of the greatest commercial highways of the world.

In the meantime, President Pierce had appointed Mark M. Izard, of Arkansas, to succeed Gov. Burt. Gov. Izard arrived at Omaha on February 20, 1855. and took the oath of office three days later.

There was much to be done, even after the ad- journment of the Legislature. Gov. Izard at once took steps looking to the establisment of the affairs of the Territory on a firmer and more substantial basis. In the year 1855 a formal census of all the white persons in the Territory was taken, which dis- closed the fact that 4, 491 people had taken up their permanent residence in Nebraska. In that year the several towns in the Territory began to assume bet-

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

ter proportions. Society became settled, and mat- ters assumed a less transient aspect. The second session of the Legislature assembled on December 18, 1855. In his annual message, Gov. Izard alluded to the progress of the work on the capitol, which was rapidly approaching completion. The progress of the Territorial surveys, under the direc- tion of Surveyor General Calhoun, was spoken of, and many other matters pertaining to the needs of the Territory referred to. The Territory made consider- able progress during the year 1856. The boundary lines of the counties were established by the Legis- lature. A road from Omaha to Fort Kearney was surveyed and its construction commenced. The second session of the Legislature also provided for the common school system of the State. The real and personal property of the Territory was assessed, and another census taken, which revealed the pres- ence of 10,716 inhabitants.

The third session of the Legislature assembled on January 5, 1857. The Territorial machinery had now been in operation two entire years, and matters seemed to be passing along smoothly. In his an- nual message, Gov. Izard congratulated the citizens of the Territory upon their prosperity. The follow- ing excerpt from his message is quoted as being a fair idea of the condition of the Territory at that time. Gov. Izard says: "We can boast of a pop- ulation of more than 15,000 intelligent, orderly and energetic citizens, who can challenge comparison with those of any State or Territory of the Union; of flourishing towns and prosperous cities, with their handsome church edifices, well-regulated schools and busy streets ; of our broad and beautiful prai- rics, being thickly dotted with comfortable farm houses and well-cultivated fields, yielding their rich treasures to the hand of peaceful industry. The appreciation of property far exceeds the expectation of the most sanguine. Business lots upon the streets where the wild grass still flourishes are readily com- manding from $500 to $3,000 each; lands adjacent to our most prosperous towns sell readily at from $50 to $400 per acre; credit is almost unknown in our business circles; no citizen oppressed by debt or crippled in his energies by the hand of penury and want; but all, encouraged by the success of the

past, look forward to the future with eager hope and bright anticipations."

It was during this, the third session of the Leg- islature, that the first attempt to remove the capital from Omaha occurred. A bill was passed locating the capital at " Douglas," a proposed town in a pro- posed county. Gov. Izard promptly vetoed the bill and thus killed the first attempt at removal.

The most striking piece of legislation accom- plished by the third session was the passage of the bill repealing the criminal code, leaving the Terri- tory without a law against crime or misdemeanor of any character. As a piece of ill-advised legislation it stands unparalleled in the history of Nebraska Territory. It may be said, to the personal credit of Gov. Izard, that he vetoed the bill; but that the Legislature passed it over his veto.

The fourth session of the Legislature, which convened on December 8, 1857, was destined to be a memorable one in the history of the young Terri- tory, for it was during this session that a majority of the members withdrew and attempted to set up a new government at Florence. The division in the Legislature resulted from the renewal of the attempts to remove the capital from Omaha. The following brief extract from the official report of the "Flor- ence secession " will give the reader a clear view of the facts concerning that somewhat extraordinary affair: "On the morning of January 7, 1858, the House went into committee of the whole to ostensi- bly consider a joint resolution, making it obligatory on the Legislature to award the printing of the Ter- ritory to some one established in the business within the limits of Nebraska, but really, as claimed by the friends of the removal scheme, to fillibuster to pre- vent the consideration of the capital bill. The speaker, James H. Decker, withdrew from the House, with his friends. Thirteen members re- mained in session, and when the committee rose, J. S. Morton was chosen speaker, pro tem, Asking leave to sit again, the committee reported their work unfinished, and the session was declared adjourned. The following morning, the 8th, the House met, and, on motion of Mr. Donelan, to adjourn to meet at Florence, the session was declared adjourned by Speaker Decker. Thereupon all but thirteen mem-

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

bers quitted the chamber. Mr. Morton then nom- inated Mr. Poppleton as speaker pro tem. The minority then adjourned to meet at the regular place of holding session, on the next day at 9 o'clock A. M. The infection spread to the Council, where, on the 8th, Mr. Reeves moved that the Council adjourn to meet at Florence on the succeeding morning. President George L. Miller declined to entertain the motion upon the ground that, under the organic act, no such adjournment could take place without the concurrent action of both Houses and the official sanction of the governor. Mr. Reeves appealed from this ruling, and, by a vote of 8 to 4, the ruling was not sustained. The president still refused to enter- tain the motion, and Mr. Reeves, standing in his place, put the motion, and it was carried by a vote of 8 to 4. The eight members thereupon left the chamber."

The Florence secession, as a matter of course, effectually blocked all further legislation in that session. The seceding branch went through the formality of holding daily sessions at Florence; but they accomplished nothing in the way of legis- lation. The minority branch met at Omaha from day to day until the session expired, on January 16, by limitation.

Thomas B. Cuming, who for a second time was serving the people of the Territory as acting gov- ernor-Gov. Izard having resigned-declined to issue an order requested by the seceding branch, compelling the "minority Legislature," to deliver to the majority the books and documents necessary for the proper transaction of business. Thus mat- ters stood until January 12, when Gov. Richardson, Izard's successor, arrived at Omaha and assumed the duties of the office. Although waited upon by a delegation from the seceding branch of the Leg- islature, Gov. Richardson declined to give that body any satisfaction. He advised the seceding members to return to Omaha, and assured them that their interests as well as themselves would be fully pro- tected. The Legislature adjourned on January 16, before Gov. Richardson's invitation was accepted. A few months later, on August 14, Gov. Richard- son issued a proclamation calling the Legislature to meet in special session on September 21. In his

proclamation, the Governor alluded to the fact that the disagreement between the waring factions, in the preceding session, had left the Territory without a criminal code, and to other matters of importance to the inhabitants of the Territory.

The special session, which is known as the fifth session of the Territorial Legislature, assembled at Omaha on September 21, 1858, and was organized by the clection of the following officers : House : H. P. Bennett, speaker; E. G. MeNeely, chief clerk. Council : H. L. Bowen, president; S. M. Curran, chief clerk. One of the first acts of the session was the adoption of resolutions upon the death of Thomas B. Cuming, secretary of the Ter- ritory, which occurred on March 12, 1858. His life, character and distinguished services to the Territory were fittingly referred to in the following words : "Thomas B. Cuming was appointed secretary of the Territory of Nebraska, by Franklin Pierce, President of the United States, and entered at once upon the discharge of the duties of the office, arriv- ing here in the month of September, 1854. By the untimely decease of Gov. Burt, he succceded to the supreme executive, and became acting governor of the Territory. How ably he filled that office those living can testify. In the organization of the first Legislature, surrounded as he was by conflict- ing elements, threatened by fierce and contending factions, standing in imminent danger of even per- sonal violence, he wavered not once in his fealty to the general government, nor in his fidelity to the trust imposed in him. Throughout the duration of those troublesome times he pursued a policy, the sagacity of which was proved by its success, and the wisdom of which is evidenced by the present prosperous condition of the Territory which he governed."

Upon the death of Secretary Cuming, John B. Motley performed the duties of the office until July 12, when J. Sterling Morton, who had been ap- pointed, assumed the office.

The most interesting feature of the fifth session of the Legislature was the first contest over the abolition of slavery in the Territory. On Novem- ber 1, Representative S. G. Daily introduced a bill " to abolish slavery in the Territory of Nebraska."

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

It was referred to a special committee, consisting of S. G. Daily, James Stewart, John Taffe, D. P. Ran- kin and William C. Fleming. Two reports were submitted by the committee, the majority report being favorable and the minority unfavorable. Af- ter a very brief discussion the bill was laid upon the table and not taken up again during the session. But the friends of abolition were not to be deterred from their purpose of making Nebraska a free State in name as well as in fact.

The sixth session of the Territorial Legislature convened on December 5, 1859. In the interim be- tween the fifth and sixth sessions, Gov. Richardson had resigned his office. Secretary J. Sterling Mor- ton assumed the executive functions until May 2, 1859, when Gov. Samuel W. Black arrived to take the office. Gov. Black delivered his first message to the sixth session on the day following its opening. The following facts gleaned from his first message will be of interest as showing the growth and progress of the Territory : "This Territory was organized on May 30, 1854, and the first Legislature met at Omaha on January 16, 1855. In that body eight counties were represented. Now, at the expira- tion of less than five years, twenty-three counties have their Representatives in the Legislature, and thirty-five counties have been fully organized or their boundaries defined by law. The lands in Ne- braska actually surveyed amount to 8,851, 758 acres. The surveys have been extended from the dividing line between Kansas and Nebraska, on the fortieth parallel, to the latitude of 42 degrees, 51 minutes, while the average depth of the Missonri River is about 140 miles."

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Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co. Number of Pages: 820

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 820