USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > History of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska : with brief historical sketches of the state and of Lancaster County > Part 4
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
Mr. Laws has enjoyed enough newspaper experience to fully entitle him to wear the badge of the craft. In November, 1863, in company with Samuel C. Hyatt and William J. Waggoner, he bought the Richland County Observer. Although this was the first experience of these gentlemen in newspaper work, they made a live and success- ful paper of it. All were soldiers and fast friends. On May 12, 1864, he sold his interest in the paper to a brother of William J. Waggoner - James H. Waggoner. On August 8, 1867, the Observer and The Lire Republican were consolidated under the name of the Richland County Republican, of which Mr. G. L. Laws owned a one-fourth in- terest, in company with James H. Waggoner, who owned one-half and managed the paper, and C. H. Smith. In a few months Messrs. Laws and Smith sold their interest in the Republican to George D. Stevens. On September 1, 1874, Mr. Laws again bought a half in- terest in the Republican from Mr. Waggoner, and he continued a joint proprietor of the paper with W. M. Fogo for two years, and finally sold his interest to O. G. Munson, and so ended his newspaper work until he became a citizen of Nebraska.
Incidentally it may be said that Mr. Laws was ever a very busy man. If he ever had any months of idleness from the age of six years to the present time, the records do not reveal when it was. Besides the evi-
-10
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
dences of his industry already related, we find him president of the board of town trustees of Richland Center in 1869. About the same time he had a business connection with a real estate firm. During this busy period of his life, if one period could be much more busy than an- other, he was one of a board of five trustees who gave personal atten- tion to the ercetion of the First Baptist Church of Richland Center. This structure was of brick, on a high stone basement, and cost $6,000, a very large sum for the pioneers of that locality to raise at that date. The work was delayed from time to time because of a lack of funds, but the trustees held on tenaciously and finally completed the building, which was the finest church structure in the county as late as 1884. The name of G. L. Laws also appears on the roll of Masters of Richland Lodge No. 66, A. F. and A. M., of Richland Cen- ter, which was organized in 1856.
In April, 1876, Mr. Laws resigned the office of postmaster of Rich- land Center, and removed to Nebraska. He located at Orleans, in Harlan county, at which point he purchased the Republican Valley Sentinel, and took up the editorial pen for a fourth time. He soon became secretary of the Republican Valley Land Association, which position he held until about 1880, when he was succeeded by J. D. Macfarland, of Lincoln. In 1881 he sold the Sentinel to Wenn & Knight. From 1881 he was engaged as a clerk in the land office at Bloomington, and also assisted in a bank at Orleans during a part of this period.
He was appointed and confirmed registrar of the Federal land office at MYCook on March 3, 1883, and took possession of that office on June 15th following. He administered the affairs of this responsible post with unquestioned efficiency until he was removed by Grover Cleveland, on November 2, 1886. He had already been nominated by the Republican party of the State for the office of Secretary of State, and on the next day after he left the land office he was elected Secretary of State over Richard Thompson, Democrat, (who ran ahead of his ticket,) by 21,450 votes, the total vote cast being less than 139,- 000. Mr. Laws administered the affairs of this very important office with fidelity and success, combining, as it does, responsible relations to nearly all the State institutions, the State Board of Transportation, and other State executive boards, these complex relations calling for large executive ability and sound judgment. He performed the work
41
NEBRASKA FROM TERRITORIAL TIMES.
of his first term so well, however, that he was renominated for a see- ond term by acclamation by the Republican State Convention of 1888, and was re-elected by nearly 28,000 majority. The present adminis- tration of Secretary Laws has been able in an eminent degree, and he ranks as one of the very safest and best officials that Nebraska possesses to-day.
Though somewhat out of chronological order, yet, on the principle of reserving the best things for the conclusion, we will here refer to the marriage of Mr. Laws. This took place at the former residence of the bride's father, Mr. Isaac Lawrence, in Bear creek valley, in Rich- land county, Wisconsin, October 25, 1868. The bride was Miss Josephine Lawrence, and, as Mrs. G. L. Laws, is too well known to Lincoln society to require an introduction. Mr. Laws was one of eleven children. His own children are three in number, all daughters. Their names are Gertrude H., Theodosia C., and Helen Lucile Laws.
The Territorial Auditors were six in number, as follows:
Charles B. Smith, March 16, 1855. Robert C. Jordan, August 2, 1858. Wm. E. Harvey, October 8, 1861. Jolın Gillespie, October 10, 1865.
Samuel L. Campbell, August 3, 1857. William E. Moore, June 1, 1858.
The State Auditors have been six, Mr. Gillespie continuing from Territorial times into the State administration about six years. The list of State Auditors is as shown below :
John Gillespie, February, 1867. Jefferson B. Weston, January 13, 1873. F. W. Liedtke, January 9, 1879.
John Wallichs,1 November 12, 1880. H. A. Babcock, January 8, 1885. Thomas H. Benton, January 3, 1889.
Hon. Thomas H. Benton, the present State Auditor of Nebraska, was installed in the very responsible position he now occupies on the third day of January, 1889. He was then but a little over thirty years of age, the youngest man who ever held such an important office in this State, and one of the few who have been elevated to so high a place of trust in the United States at so early an age. And in making him their choice for Auditor his fellow citizens exhibited a confidence in his ability to discharge the difficult duties of the place that was remarkable, as he received the highest vote of any state officer, notwithstanding the fact that a number of able men and tried officials were associated with him as candidates.
1 Appointed to fill vacancy.
4
12 ·
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
Mr. Benton was born in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, Oc- tober 17, 1858. His father, William 1. Benton, was engaged in the practice of law when a young man, but later in life followed agricul- tural pursuits. He was a plain, sturdy citizen, and with his wife, Mrs. Emaline Benton, believed in the good old customs and princi- ples for which the descendants of the New England Puritans are dis- tinguished. Both his parents were Americans, possessing the staunch virtues of the people who founded the civilization of the Western world, along the shore of the Atlantic.
The State Auditor spent his boyhood on a farm until he reached the age of ten years, attending to the usual duties of farm life, and at the same time cultivating the advantages afforded by the common schools of the locality where he lived. At the age of ten, and in 1868, his father removed to Nebraska, and located in Fremont, becoming one of the pioneers of the State, and thus initiating his son, the future State Anditor, into the severe school of practical western farm life in the early days of Nebraska. He worked on a farm in summer time, and attended school during winters, at Fremont, until he reached his thirteenth year, when he spent a year, that of 1872-3, at Doane Col- lege, at Crete, Nebraska.
In the summer of 1873 young Benton entered a telegraph office at Fremont, where he spent nearly a year, and became a practical oper- ator. The following spring he became recorder in the county clerk's office at Fremont, then in his sixteenth year, and, perhaps, the young- est recorder of important public instruments who ever performed such work in Nebraska. But young Benton always made it a point to do his work well, and filled the position with credit to himself un- til Jannary 1, 1877, when he secured the position of clerk in the office of State Auditor J. B. Weston. This he filled acceptably until the summer of 1877, when he accepted a place as salesman in the book store of Arthur Gibson, of Fremont. Here he remained until the spring of 1878, when he was given the post of book-keeper for a foundry at Fremont, and discharged the duties of that position until December of that year.
On the first day of Jannary, 1879, at the age of twenty-one years, he was elected second assistant clerk of the House, and discharged the duties of that office with marked ability until the close of February, when he was given the position of book-keeper by State Auditor F. W. Liedtke.
HON. T. H. BENTON, AUDITOR OF STATE.
HON. J. E. HILL, STATE TREASURER.
43
NEBRASKA FROM TERRITORIAL TIMES.
In this situation Mr. Benton was at home, his ability and skill as an accountant being even at this time beyond question. He continued to occupy this responsible post during the entire term of Auditor Liedtke, and that of his successor, John Wallichs.
On January 7, 1885, H. A. Babcock, then State Auditor, selected Mr. Benton for the position of Deputy State Auditor. In this im- portant trust Mr. Benton acquitted himself with all that thorough- ness, prudence and tact which the duties of an efficient administration of the duties of the place required, and to such a degree of success that when he became a candidate for the office of State Auditor, in the summer of 1888, the most searching criticisms of his opponents could not reveal a blemish in his integrity, nor a shortcoming in the execution of the work that had been assigned him. He was nom- inated against such strong competitors as John Peters, of Albion, and Henry Groshans, of Sutton. His election was accomplished by the highest aggregate vote received by any State officer on the ticket, a circumstance which affords Mr. Benton occasion for a large degree of just pride.
On the third day of January, 1889, Mr. Benton was duly installed in the office of State Auditor of Nebraska, and he has discharged the complex responsibilities of this important position, since that date, with conspicuous fidelity to duty and the high manifestation of esteem expressed for him by the people of the State at the polls.
Hon. Thos. H. Benton is a relative of the famous Senator Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri, who so ably and honorably represented the people of his State in eminent positions of trust for a third of a cen- tury.
Mr. Benton was married to Miss Fanny McManigal, of Lincoln, on the 8th of August, 1881, and is a brother-in-law of Hon. G. W. E. Dorsey, Member of Congress from the Third District. He esteems his honors highly; but his little daughter, Hazel M. Benton, born Au- gust 24, 1886, is regarded by Mr. Benton, next to Mrs. Benton, as the best of all his treasures.
The three Territorial Treasurers are noted in the annexed list :
B. P. Rankin, March 16, 1855.
Wm. W. Wyman, November 6, 1855.
Augustus Kountze, October 8, 1861.
Mr. Konntze was continued in office by the State. The list of State Treasurers is here shown :
-1-4
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
Augustus Kountze, February, 1867. James Sweet, January 11, 1269. Henry A. Koenig, January 10, 1571. J. C. McBride. January 11. 1875.
George M. Bartlett, January 9, 1879. Phelps D. Sturdevant, January 4, 1883. Charles H. Willard, January 8. 1885. John E. Hill. January 3, 1889.
llon. John E. Hill, the Treasurer for the State of Nebraska, is by virtue of his office a member of the State Board of Transportation, the State Board of Educational Lands and Funds, the State Board of Public Lands and Buildings, the State Board of Purchases and Supplies, the State Board of Equalization, the State Board of Phar- mary, the State Board of Printing, the State Board of Banking, and the State Normal Board. In other words, he is a member of the main executive boards of the State.
As biography is the foundation of history, a brief sketch of Mr. Hill's life is very appropriate to a history of Lincoln, in which he is now a prominent figure.
His father's name was Samuel Hill, who was born in Washing- ton county, Pennsylvania. He was descended on his father's side probably from the Scotch. His mother, a grandmother of the State Treasurer, was named Van Ordestrand. She was probably a native of Holland. Samuel Hill was apprenticed, when young, to learn the hatter's trade, and spent four years "bound out" at this occupation. Then he followed the life of a farmer, in Ohio, and later in life be- came a merchant. He was a prudent, cautious, business man. He spent his closing years at Heyworth, Illinois, where he died, in 1882. During his life he held several important publie positions.
The mother of the Treasurer was, before marriage, Miss Pamela Edgar. She was a woman of high spirit and energy, courageous, persistent, devoted to duty and success. She was born at Berlin, Holmes county, Ohio. On her mother's side she was descended from the Scotch. Her father was of Irish nativity. His ancestors made a name in the military history of Ireland, Col. Edgar and others of the name being brave defenders of the cause of Ireland's independ- ence. Her father was a prominent Whig politician of Ohio, and was a member of the carly Legislature of that State. Her death oc- eurred at Heyworth, Illinois, in 1871.
The Treasurer, John E. Hill, was born in Berlin, Ohio. He spent his boyhood on a farm, working in summer, and going to school in winter, like most farmer boys had to do, from 1840 to 1865. When
45
NEBRASKA FROM TERRITORIAL TIMES.
seventeen years of age he removed, with his father's family, to De- fiance county, Ohio, near Farmer's Center, where he continued to follow agricultural pursuits in summer, but taught district school in the winter. This was the routine of his life until 1861, with the ex- ception of one year, which he spent at West Unity Academy, near his home.
In 1861 he enlisted in the 14th Ohio Infantry, but was soon after- ward prostrated with typhoid fever, and did not recover his health for nearly a year. The perilous condition of the Union in 1862 stirred the blood of the men of his home region, and early in August they assembled and formed a company by general agreement. The work of its organization required only four days, and at the close of the fourth the company chose John E. Hill its captain, unanimously. On the fifth day the company reported for duty at Toledo, Ohio, and was assigned to Company F, of the 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col. J. R. Bond. The regiment soon began duty un- der Gen. Buel, at Louisville, Kentucky. After moving to Frankfort and thenee to Bowling Green, Company F and one other company, under the command of Capt. J. E. Hill, were assigned to Fort Baker, Kentucky, of which Capt. Hill had charge during the winter of 1862 and 1863. Here he was attacked by typhoid-pneumonia, and his life was despaired of for several days; but he was able to take command of his company in the spring. The company next was engaged in the campaign in East Tennessee, and was with the first troops that entered Knoxville. This was the active contest to oppose the ad- vance of Longstreet, after Chickamauga. During the campaign in Tennessee, Capt. Hill was designated as Provost-Marshal by General Schofield, and had command of the captured towns of that State.
The winter of 1863-64 was spent in East Tennessee, and then Captain Hill's command joined Sherman in his grand campaign of battles from Chattanooga to Atlanta, one of the longest periods of continued fighting in the history of the world. The guns of the two armies were not silent a day from the 9th of May until some time in September. On the first date named Captain Hill's company engaged the enemy at Buzzard's Roost, and he led his command into every important action from that point to Atlanta. It seemed to be the for- tune of his company to be in the hottest of nearly all the great battles of this memorable campaign, such as Ressaca, Peach Tree, Kenesaw,
46
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
and Atlanta. When Atlanta fell Captain Hill's company was sent back with General George H. Thomas to meet Hood's desperate at- tempt to ent Sherman's communications, and here again Company F was frequently in the hottest of the fight, and suffered severely, es- pecially at Nashville and Franklin. In fact it was reduced to a more skeleton of its former self.
When Hood was overthrown the 111th Ohio was ordered to North Carolina to help Sherman crush Joseph E. Johnston, but the many months of constant exposure, nervous strain, privation, loss of rest, and long, hurried marches, had utterly broken the health of Captain Hill, and he was compelled to remain at Louisville and enter the hos- pital. It seemed that he was a physical wreck. After remaining in the hospital for some time, the board of physicians, without his knowledge, recommended his honorable discharge on account of phys- ical disability. This recommendation was complied with near the close of hostilities.
When able to do so, he returned to Ohio, and soon afterward re- moved to Heyworth, Illinois, with his father's family. There he and his father entered into the mercantile business, under the firm name of Hill & Son.
In 1866 he was married to Miss Laura Stewart, an estimable lady of Fairmont, West Virginia. He continued in business, with reason- able success, until 1871, when he felt that he could do better in a new and expanding country, and removed to Beatrice, Nebraska.
He there engaged in the nursery and stock-raising business for four years. When Beatrice was organized under the law as a city of the first class, in 1872, Captain Hill became a member of the first city council. In 1875 he was elected County Clerk of Gage county, and was twice afterward reelected. After concluding his third term, he engaged in the grocery business for three years, and then devoted his time to growing fine stock. During this period he was a member of the Board of Supervisors of the county for two years, and of the Board of Education of Beatrice for six years, his last term closing in the spring of 1889.
On February 1, 1887, Governor Thayer selected Captain Hill for his private secretary without giving the Captain any previous intima- tion of his intention. This position Captain Hill filled with efficiency until Angust 1, 1888, when he resigned to become a candidate for
47
NEBRASKA FROM TERRITORIAL TIMES.
State Treasurer. He was nominated over twelve strong competitors, and was elected by nearly 28,000 majority, receiving the highest net majority of any candidate. He is now discharging the duties of this very responsible office with the same fidelity and ability which he has manifested in guarding the many duties that have been confided to his hands during the past twenty-seven years.
He recently removed his family to Lincoln. It consists of his wife and six children, three of whom are now young ladies. Their names are Gertrude, Carolina, Anna, Herbert Stewart, Hannah, Winifred, and John E. He has one brother younger than himself, Mr. Fred H. Hill, who resides at the old homestead at Hayworth, Illinois. He also has a sister, likewise younger than himself, who resides at Stutt- gart, Arkansas. Her name is Mrs. Anna M. Lowe, and her son, Mr. Sam Lowe, is now an efficient clerk in the Governor's office.
The Justices of the Supreme Court of the Territory, Federal Judges, were as follows :
Fenner Ferguson, October 12, 1854.
Augustus Hall, March 15, 1858.
William Kellogg, May 8, 1865. William A. Little,1 1866.
William Pitt Kellogg, May 27, 1861.
Oliver P. Mason,2 1866.
The Justices of the Supreme Court of the State have been as fol- lows :
Oliver P. Mason, February, 1867.
George B. Lake, January 16, 1873.
Daniel Gantt,1 January 3, 1878.
Samuel Maxwell, May 29, 1878.
George B. Lake, January 5, 1882. Amasa Cobb, January 3, 1884. Samuel Maxwell, January 4, 1836. M. B. Reese, January 3, 1888.
Following are the names of the Associate Justices and Judges of the Territorial Supreme Court :
Edward R. Harden, December 4, 1854.
James Bradley, October 25, 1854. Samuel W. Black.
Joseph E. Streeter.1
Elmer S. Dundy,2 June 22, 1863.
The Associate Justices and Judges of the State Supreme Court have been :
George B. Lake, February 21, 1867. Lorenzo Crounse, February 21, 1867. Daniel Gantt, January 16, 1873.
Samuel Maxwell, January 16, 1873. Amasa Cobb, May 29, 1878. M. B. Reese, January 3, 1884.
1 Died in office.
2 Appointed to fill vacancy.
Eleazer Wakeley, April 22, 1857.
Joseph Miller, April 9, 1859. William F. Lockwood, May 16, 1861.
48
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
The Clerks of the Supreme Court have been seven in number, as subjoined :
H. C. Anderson, 1-56. William Kellogg jr .. 1865. Charles L. Salisbury. 1-52. George Armstrong, 1867. E. B. Chandler, 1859. Guy A. Brown, August 8, 1865.
John H. Kellom, 1-61.
SUPREME COURT REPORTERS.
James M. Woolworth. 1870.
Guy A. Brown. 1875.
Lorenzo Crounse, 1-73.
The eight Attorney Generals of the State are named below :
Champion S. Chase, 1567.
Geo. H. Roberts, January 11, 1875.
Seth Robinson, 186 1. C. J. Dilworth, January 9, 1879.
Geo. H. Roberts, January 10, 1871. Isaac Powers jr., January 4. 18-3.
J. R. Webster, January 13, 1873. William Leese, January 8, 1885.
The five State Superintendents of Publie Instruction have been as follows:
Seth W. Beals, 1869. J. M. Mckenzie, January 10, 1871.
S. R. Thompson, January 4, 1877.
W. W. W. Jones, January 6, 1881. George B. Lane, Jannary 6, 1887.
There have been but four Commissioners of Public Lands and Buildings, namely :
F. M. Davis, January 4, 1877. A. G. Kendall, January 6, 1891.
Joseph Scott, January 8, 1935. John Steen. January 3, 1889.
Hon. John Steen, State Commissioner of Public Lands and Build- ings for Nebraska, was installed in that office on January 3, 1889. By virtue of his office he is a member of the State Board of Trans- portation, which possesses, to some extent, judicial authority, as well as administrative and executive powers, in the adjustment of the rela- tions of the railroad interests of the State, amicably and equitably, with those of the people. He is also a member of the State Board of Educational Lands and Funds. He is Chairman of the State Board of Public Lands and Buildings. He is, in addition, one of the State Board of Purchases and Supplies, and he is also a member of the State Board of Pharmacy. These boards are all composed of the principal State officers, and Mr. Steen's work as a State official is of a difficult and highly responsible character. He is regarded as a most efficient and prudent officer, well worthy the high trust confided to his charge by the people.
49
NEBRASKA FROM TERRITORIAL TIMES.
Mr. Steen has earned his present distinguished position by a life of hard work, patriotism, courage, and fidelity to duty and principle. A brief sketch of his personal history cannot fail to be of interest in a story of the history of Nebraska's capital, in which he is now a con- spicuous figure.
He is a native of Norway. His father was Tron A. Steen, who was born near Christiana, Norway, January 17, 1804. His occupation was farming and manufacturing. Large importations of leaf tobacco were shipped into Christiana, and the father of Nebraska's Commis- sioner was engaged, in part, in making caddies in which to pack the manufactured tobacco. His father was always an anti-monarchist in political sentiment, and his sons inherited republican opinions from him.
Mr. Steen's mother was Miss Ingeborg H. Torsdag before her mar- riage, and was born near Lillehammed, Norway, on January 31, 1804. Her marriage with Tron A. Steen took place near Christiana, on De- cember 25, 1827. She was a woman of great energy and industry, and never tired in making home pleasant for her children and in aid- ing to develop in them the spirit of manly character. She was a woman of strong and noble characteristics, one of the women who are naturally the mothers of heroes.
John Steen was born on his father's farm, near Christiana, Norway, on October 21, 1841, and was the sixth of a family of eight sons. He spent his boyhood, while in Norway, in going to school, though he was taught industrious habits between terms.
In 1853 his father's family emigrated to the United States, and settled on a farm near Decorah, in Winneshiek county, Iowa. Here Master Steen continued to go to school in winter, but applied him- self to hard farm work in summer until 1861, taking the main con- trol of affairs, as his father was getting old. The heavier part of the work fell to his lot, and thus it happened that he cut most of the grain on the farm with the old-fashioned cradle, which, in the hands of a powerful man, had a good deal of the "poetry of motion" about it, if some other man had to swing it. Mr. Steen's museles became compact, and his body well knit by the years of hard work he put in on the old home farm.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.