CHAPTER XII.

Lancaster County - Its Growth and Programs Since the Location of the State Capital Within its Bounds in 1867 - State Institutions - Educational Instituations - Railroads - Business Enterprise - Organization and Political History

BY HON. C. H. GERE.

The author of this work, who pictures with so much vividness the primitive struggles of the early settlers of Lancaster county, says that it is a very difficult matter for him to realize, when he traverses the scenes of these personal experiences, that all the changes wrought by the enterprise of the people and the rapid settlement of this section of the state have been witnessed in less than a generation, and that the young men who commenced the improvement of the valley of the Salt are still in the vigor of manhood. Certainly the progress of Nebraska, as exemplified in the brief history of Lancaster county, is upon the whole the most marvelous that has been seen in this country since its original settlement. From that August day in 1867, when its central point and county seat was selected by the commissioners for the site of the state capital, the growth of Lancaster has been phenomenal.

That there was something in her geographical position that tended to the metropolitan, is proven by the fact that Lincoln has made far more than the customary progress of a country town selected from its central location and convenience of access as the seat of a state government. In twenty years she has outstripped the large majority of the capitals of the older states, stands today with a population of 45,000, one of the important commercial centers of the Northwest, and is beginning to lay the foundations of important and extensive manufacturing enterprises.

The act that made Lincoln a "fiat city," located the state house within her limits, and provided that it should be built from the proceeds of the sale of the lots in the odd numbered blocks, provided also that reservations should be made in and around the "permanent capital" from the state lands or lots of sites for a state university, an insane hospital, and a penitentiary.

The state house and the university reservations consisted of four blocks each, containing about twelve acres situated on two of the most prominent elevations within the old city limits, and about n mile apart as the streets run. The university was placed near the northeast corner of the original plot, and the state house toward the southwest corner. The two other prominent elevations were marked with the sites of the "market square" now the Federal reservation for a court-house and post-office building, and by the court-house reservation, also one block, on which the county is about to erect a fine county building. In this way the commissioners desired to scatter the concentrating points for the future city and prevent the tendency to huddle all the business in one small neighborhood. This distribution of centers was an assistance in the lot sales, for no one could definitely say just where the business of Lincoln would concentrate, and there was a larger latitude for private judgment and good guess work in the selection of lots on which to make their speculative ventures.

As was the case in the infancy of Washington City, the distribution of these points gave the town a very straggling and ragged appearance for several years, but at present the wisdom of the commissioners is apparent. There is really no convenience in the huddling together of all the public buildings in a large city.

The wing of the State House, provided for by the act of location, to be built out of the moneys received from the first lot sales, was finished and ready for occupancy by the time the legislature of January, 1869, gathered for its session. That legislature proceeded to organize the University of Nebraska, and passed a bill providing for the erection of the first university building, which now stands in the center of the campus. It also provided for the building of the first insane hospital, which stood on the site of the present immense building, but was destroyed by an incendiary fire, soon after its occupation.

The same legislature, in an extra session, passed an act for the commencing work on a penitentiary building. The commissioners had selected eighty acres of land on a prominent elevation for the site of the hospital, about two miles from the center of the city southwest, and the penitentiary was given a forty-acre tract south of the city three miles away. Over a million dollars have been expended in enlarging the first erections on these sites; and the city has extended its additions until they reach to the very edge of these two state reservations.

A few years later an association of ladies, with their headquarters at Lincoln, but with auxiliary branches in nearly every county in the state, organized a charity known as "The Home of the Friendless," the object being to care for helpless women and children stranded by the misfortunes or the vices of those who should be their guardians. A building was erected by private subscription, and for a time the institution, did much in a quiet way to relieve distress among these classes. The legislature then came to the assistance of the ladies, appropriated liberal sums for the enlargement and the extension of the buildings, which are situated in the southern part of the city, and paid regular salaries to the matrons and assistants. The Home now shelters an average of a hundred women and children, keeping the latter under its wing until suitable provision can be made for them by adoption or they can go out to learn some trade or useful occupation.

The first university building was constructed of brick, at a cost of $189,000, was completed in 1871, and in September of that year the board of regents inducted a chancellor and faculty into possession of the premises, and the university commenced its great work. It has made steady progress in the number of its faculty, instructors, and students, keeping time to the march of the great commonwealth, and at present about three hundred students are enrolled, of whom over two hundred are members of the regular college classes, the number of the preparatory students, in comparison with the university students, constantly diminishing as the high schools in the state are attaining sufficient numbers and effectiveness to prepare students for the freshman class in the university.

At the time of its organization the State Agricultural or Industrial College was attached to it as one of the group of colleges. In course of time a farm of three hundred and twenty acres was acquired by the regents as an experiment station and a working place for such students of agriculture as desired to obtain practical knowledge and at the same time earn sufficient in odd hours to pay their expenses in whole or in part. The original improvements of the farm have been added to for the accommodation of the station, and the instructor in agriculture resides there. The station is about two miles ea8t of the original site, but is now surrounded by "additions" and the city actually extends to its gates.

A recent act of congress appropriated $15,000 per annum to each state experiment station connected with the state agricultural or industrial college, and the regents, by immediately complying with the conditions of the act, were able to avail themselves of the appropriation and add much to the usefulness of the corps that are investigating the diseases of domestic animals, the injurious insects and fungi, the geological formations and chemical components of soils, and the possibilities of profitable irrigation from our natural streams, or from artesian wells and artificial reservoirs. A building for the investigation of animal diseases is being erected on the farm the present season, costing about $8,000.

A chemical laboratory was erected on the university campus in 1886, at a cost of $85,000, and a large sum spent in its equipment. It is a model in its arrangement and equipment, and has attracted the attention of educators all over the country to the perfection of its design and the carefulness of its detail. The legislature of 1887 provided the sum of fifteen thousand dollars out of the general funds of the state, to be added to $5,000 appropriated by the regents, to erect an armory and gymnasium on the university grounds for the use, primarily, of the cadets in military tactics, on condition that the building should be a memorial to Gen. U. S. Grant. It is rapidly approaching completion, as is also another large university building designated as "Industrial Hall," which will be occupied in part by the departments of agriculture, horticulture, botany, and geology, the high basement rooms being intended for the accommodation of a manual training department, where the use of tools will be taught, and rudimentary mechanical instruction will be given to students in the industrial department. This building will cost about $50,000.

One educational institution draws another, and the Nebraska conferences of the Methodist Episcopal church accepted a donation of a large body of land lying just beyond the university experimental farm, as a site for their chief institution of learning, the Wesleyan University, and have erected a building thereon of great architectural beauty, costing $75,000. It. will soon be opened and it is expected that it will start out with an attendance of two hundred students. A street railway is being built to it past the college farm, and a large "addition" to Lincoln has been laid out in lots and sold in its immediate vicinity, and is being dotted with residences.

The Christian church has already accepted a site in the same neighborhood for its denominational university, and expects to put up its buildings in a short time. The Baptists are also negotiating for a university site, and it is probable that they will also establish their college or university near Lincoln. The Episcopal Diocese contemplates the establishment of an academically school for boys in or near this city. In short, the prospect is good that in a few years Lancaster county will be one of the principal educational centers of the West, and will have within its boundaries more classical institutions. than any other county in the country.

The common school buildings of the county are none the less the peculiar pride of her citizens. They were the first costly buildings erected, and in Lincoln and the other towns and villages scattered over her broad expanse, the fine brick and stone structures that accommodate the schools are the wonder and admiration of eastern visitors.

Much as the political and educational importance of the capital city has contributed to the prosperity of Lancaster county, the value of the farming land that could a few years ago be bought from the first settlers for a trifle per acre, has been still more enhanced by the commercial importance of the city and by the numerous stations on the several railroads that traverse it, which gives every farmer in the twenty-four townships access to a market not far removed from his door. The Burlington and Missouri River Railway, the Union Pacific R. R., the Atchison and Nebraska R. R., and the Midland Pacific R. R.. traverse the county from side to side, while the Missouri Pacific and the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley railroads are extended as far as Lincoln from St. Louis and Chicago. These, with a north-western branch of the Burlington,. form nine concentrating lines to the capital and connect it with almost every county seat in the state. The two lines last mentioned will soon extend to the west and south, the Lincoln, Red Oak, and Des Moines company will shortly construct an eastern air line route toward Chicago, and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific has made a survey from Omaha, via Lincoln, to Fairbury, increasing, when these are finished, the number of spokes to her commercial wheel to fourteen.

On these roads outside of Lincoln there are twenty-five stations or distributing points within the boundaries of Lancaster county, an average of a little more than one station for every six miles square, or township, each of which is growing into a village, and several of which are already towns of considerable commercial importance for local trade, having regular town governments. In the near future, when the lines now in contemplation shall be completed, there will be from thirty-five to forty of these traffic centers in Lancaster. With such wonderful facilities for marketing their produce, the farmers of the county may rest assured that their possessions will always command the highest value and be of ready sale.

At West Lincoln, two miles from the city, a manufacturing suburb is rapidly growing that is destined to add much to the wealth of the county and to the value of its farming lands. Extensive stock yards, two packing houses, a brick and tile factory of great capacity, a canning and provision establishment, a vinegar factory, and other establishments have drawn in two years a population of several hundred, and many other similar enterprises are on foot to make it one of the busiest spots in the West.

Seven Lincoln houses are engaged in the grain business, owning among them seventy-five elevators at various convenient points on the railroads for collecting and shipping the staples of Nebraska, while ten eastern firms, located in Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, Toledo, and Burlington, have branches here, competing in the great grain market of Nebraska.

Eighty-four wholesale and jobbing houses in Lincoln were doing business in 1887, and they sold goods to the amount of fifteen million dollars. The grocery and agricultural implement branches of the jobbing trade did business to the amount of five millions.

The majority of these houses are still in their infancy, and there is no doubt that they will double the aggregate amount of their sales for the year 1888, while many new firms will commence operations, as the field for business is an immense one, covering, by close estimates, in Nebraska, north-western Kansas, eastern Colorado, and Wyoming, an area of more than 80,000 square miles and a population of one million.

In manufacturing, Lincoln has made so far only a start, but is doing something. The record of 1887 shows sixty-nine establishments whose aggregate product was nearly eight and a half million dollars. About three million dollars were expended during the same year in public and private buildings in the capital city. The aggregate value of churches and church lots belonging to the various religious denominations in Lincoln is half a million.

There are about twelve miles of street railway in Lincoln already down, and the mileage is largely to be increased during the present season. Twenty miles of street paving has been ordered and is being laid down as rapidly as the season permits. On an average a train of passenger or freight cars leaves the city every fifteen minutes during the twenty-four hours, an aggregate of 100 trains daily.

The old capitol building, the erection of which from the sales of city lots was mentioned in the beginning of this article, has been taken away and a new structure is being finished on its site during the present season, at a cost of $440,000, and a sale of the remnants of the state lots last year, ordered by the legislature, realized about $75,000, which will be spent in 1888 for embellishing the capitol grounds.

Lancaster county, after waiting all these years in the multiplicity of her public improvements, has voted a court-house, which will be erected the present season on the reservation granted by the state in the center of Lincoln, at a cost of $200,000 for building and furniture.

This is the year of the real majority of the county, that had a name it is true before the location of the seat of government for Nebraska in her midst, but hardly an existence, and this slight sketch of her progress indicates that she has put in these twenty-one years to good advantage, and though she has not ceased growing, has made a record of which her sons and daughters may well be proud.

ORGANIZATION AND POLITICAL HISTORY.

In the fall of 1859 the first movement toward county organization was made. A public meeting was held under the "Great Elm" that stood on the east bank of Salt creek near the north-west corner of the B. & M. B.. B.. depot grounds in Lincoln. Festus Reed was elected chairman, and after a strong speech predicting the future greatness of the little commonwealth they were preparing to organize on the frontier, the business in hand was proceeded with. A. J. Wallingford, Joseph J. Forrest, and W. T. Donavan were appointed a commission to select a location for the county seat, and they chose the present site of Lincoln, which was laid off in 1864 and named " Lancaster." An election was ordered by the commissioners of Cass county, to which the unorganized county west was attached for election and judicial purposes, to be held at the house of William Shirley, on Stevens creek, and judges and clerks of election duly commissioned. At this election, held on the 10th day of October, 1859, A. J. Wallingford, J. J. Forrest, and W. T. Donavan were elected a board of county commissioners, and Richard Wallingford was elected county treasurer, L. J. Loder, county clerk, and John P. Loder, recorder. No record of this election or of the official proceedings of the county officers are on file, except the certificates of the election and the qualification of L. J. and J. P. Loder, in the archives of the county. It is probable that little or no business was done under this temporary organization. On the 9th day of October, 1860, a general election took place, and was held at the house of W. T. Donavan for Lancaster county. Twenty-three votes were cast and the following names are found on the official poll list:
Jeremiah Showalter, Richard Wallingford, J. D. Main, C. F. Ratliff, Jonathan Ball, Hiram Allen, Benj. Eaves, Festus Reed, Daniel Harrington, James Coultard, Benj. Hemple, Wm. Shirley, James Moran, J. J. Forest, E. L. Reed, Michael Shea, L. J. Loder, John Dee, A. J. Wallingford, Aaron Wood, Lucius West, J. P. Loder, and W. T. Donavan.

For delegates to congress, J. Sterling Morton received eleven votes, and Samuel G. Dailey twelve, showing a close contest. For councilman, equivalent to senator in a state, T. M. Marquett received 13 votes, and W. R. Davis 2. For "joint," or float councilman, Samuel II. Elbert received 15 votes, and Cozad 1. For representative, Wm. Gilmore bad 16 votes, Louden Mullen 15, W. R. Davis 16, Wm. Reed 16, E. W. Barnum 12, and J. N. Wise 6.

For county officers the following were selected without opposition:
commissioners, one year, J. J. Forest; two years, A. J. Wallingford; three years, W. T. Donavan; treasurer, R. Wallingford; clerk, J. P. Loder. No candidate for sheriff, prosecuting attorney, or coroner appears to have been running, and probably there was not business enough expected in the legal line to pay for the trouble of getting up a ticket. Festus Reed and R. Wallingford were elected justices of the peace, and C. F. Retzlaff and James Coultard, constables. Had all the offices the county was entitled to been filled, they would have gone more than half way round the entire voting population. There are no records of any official acts of these officers elect.

On the 8th of October, 1861, the county election was held at the house of James Moran, and only fourteen votes were cast. The new names appearing on the poll list preserved in the office of the county clerk are E. Galvin, E. L. Barrett, T. G. Maxwell, and Michael McDonald. Donavan, Wallingford, the Loders, Ball, Reed, Moran, Barrington, Dee, and Shea, again exercised the right of suffrage.

J. J. Forest was elected county commissioner; Festus Reed, probate judge; L. J. Loder, sheriff; J. P. Loder, clerk; C. L. Barrett, assessor; T. G. Maxwell and J. Moran, justices of the peace, and Jonathan Ball and C. F: Retzlaff, constables.

A record of an adjourned meeting of the county commissioners, after this election, held May 1, 1862, is the first sign of official life in Lancaster county to be found in the county clerk’s office. This record occupies fifteen lines on a page of small commercial note paper, and informs us that the county was then and there divided into two election precincts, by a line running east and west through the centre of "town 10," and that a petition for a road from the south-east corner of section 81, town 9, range 7, and another from the south-east corner of section 38, town 9, range 6, and one from the south-east corner of section 16, town 12, range 6, were received. In what direction, and whither these roads were to run, the record saith not, and County Clerk J. P. Loder forgot to append his signature to the document. The board adjourned till July first, but probably did not meet again until after the October election.

At the election of 1862, held on the 14th of October, the division of the county into two precincts was disregarded. Fourteen votes were cast by Messrs. Cox, Mason, Foster, Calkin, Chatterton, Blunt, Wallingford, Ball, Chambers, Loder, Maxwell, VanBenthusen, Donavan, and Coultard. J. F. Kinney, independent democrat, received 10 votes, and Sam. G. Dailey 4, for delegates to congress. T. M. Marquett received 12 votes for councilman for the district. Geo. L. Seybolt received 10 and J. E. Doom 3 votes for joint or float councilman. Five other Cass county statesmen received from one to seven votes for representative, and T. G. Maxwell received 13, all it is presumed but his own suffrage, for the same office, but the other counties in the district not doing so well for him, he was not elected. Joel Mason was elected commissioner.

The next record is of a meeting of the board of county commissioners, held November 3, which ordered a special election to be held on the 17th of January, 1868, to fill vacancies in the offices of coroner, surveyor, and justices of the peace, and constables, as those previously elected bad not qualified.

The next meeting was held February 5, 1863, and the officers elected at the special election, of which there is no record, are said to have been sworn in. The clerk was directed, at this meeting, to notify Judge Festus Reed to stop his depredations on the timber in school section, in town 9, range 6.

Another meeting was held September 12th, of the same year, and the county divided into four precincts, named Lancaster, Salt Basin, Stevens Creek, and Salt Creek, and the various places for holding elections were designated.

In 1863 the county election was held October 18, and an entire new set of officers were selected, fifty-five votes having been cast in the county.

J. S. Gregory was elected county commissioner for three years, William Shirley for two, and P. S. Schamp for one year. Clerk, Milton Langdon; treasurer, B.. Wallingford; sheriff, Josiah Chambers; surveyor, J. J. Forest; coroner, Dr. Jno. Grim; probate judge, J. D. Main.

J. S. Gregory was elected to the state legislature for the representative district to which Lancaster belonged, and John Cadman, who lived in that part of the county then belonging to Clay, was elected for Clay, Johnson, and Gage counties, and took with him a petition from the residents of the northern and southern parts of Clay county for the wiping out of that county, and dividing it between Lancaster and Gage. This measure was consummated and the addition, to Lancaster made her a county of no mean proportions, extending thirty-six miles from north to south, and twenty-four east to west.

The assessed valuation of Clay county at the time of its transfer was $86,129.82, of which $22,637.82 fell to the share of Lancaster. Her debt was $295.11, of which Lancaster assumed $185.70. The commissioners of Lancaster and Gage county held a meeting at the house of H. W. Parker, clerk of Clay county, near Olathe, July 19, 1864, and made a final settlement of the affairs of the county. The document setting forth the terms of this settlement was signed by Fordyce Roper, F. H. Dobbs and William Tyler, commissioners of Clay county, and John W. Prey, of Lancaster, and attested by Oliver Townsend, clerk of Gage county, and duly filed. Copies of the official records of Clay county were made for Gage and Lancaster counties, but the latter were lost in Salt creek while en route, and have never been filed among the archives of this county.

At the time of the division of Clay county, the principal settlements were in the extreme north and south of its territory, and a large majority of its tax-payers were undoubtedly favorable to its division. But after the lapse of a few years, when the central part filled up with inhabitants, much discussion ensued as to the propriety of restoring the county, and several attempts have been made in that direction, but it is probable that the majority of the people in the territory involved are well satisfied with their present status. The clause on county division in the constitution adopted in 1875, will probably preclude any future agitation, and will establish our present boundaries for all time to come.

In 1864, at the territorial election held October 11th, eighty votes were polled, of which P. W. Hitchcock received 58, and Geo. L. Miller 27, for delegate to congress.

John Cadman was elected to the house of representatives for Lancaster county, and Wm. Imlay for the representative district composed of Lancaster, Seward and Saline counties. Richard Wallingford was elected county commissioner, P. S. Schamp, surveyor, and Milton Langdon, prosecuting attorney.

At the general election, October 10, 1865, one hundred and twenty-five votes were polled. Augustus Kountze, for territorial treasurer, John Gillespie, for auditor, received each 100 votes, and S. G. Goodrich and John Seaton, their opponents, 8 votes each.

John Cadman was re-elected representative for Lancaster county, and Joel Mason for the district of Lancaster, Seward, and Saunders counties.

The county officers elected were—Milton Langdon, clerk; Luke Lavender, probate judge; S. S. Snyder, county commissioner; Wm. Guy, treasurer; W. Ingram, coroner: J. S. Gregory, prosecuting attorney; and P. S. Schump, surveyor.

June 2, 1866, an election was held under the state constitution, prepared by the territorial legislature of ‘65-’66, at which 166 votes were polled in the county, of which David Butler received 112 and J. Sterling Morton 53, for governor; for the constitution 95, against 53. John Cadman was elected senator to the first state legislature, which met July 4th. James Queen, of Lancaster, was returned elected as representative from Lancaster, Seward, and Saunders, and his seat was contested by his opponent, J. L. Davison, of Seward, and the contest was pending when the legislature adjourned, after an eight days’ session. Ezra Tullis was elected representative from the county.

At the October election of the same year, pending the admission of Nebraska as a state, 199 votes were cast, of which T. M. Marquett, republican, received 129, and J. Sterling Morton, democrat, 69.

J. E. Doom, of Cass, was elected territorial councilman and state senator from Cass and Lancaster; E. L. Clark, of Seward, representative from Lancaster, Seward, and Saunders; and E. H. Hardenbergh, representative from Lancaster county to both United and state legislatures. Hardenbergh resigned at the close of the session of the territorial legislature, in March, 1867, and John Cadman was elected to fill the vacancy in the state legislature, which was called immediately after.

John W. Prey was elected county commissioner in third district.

At the county election of 1867, held October 8th, 285 votes were cast.

The officers elected were—Silas Pratt, commissioner; John Cadman, probate judge; S. B. Galey, county clerk; J. H. Hawke, sheriff; M. Langdon, treasurer; Ezra Tullis, surveyor; F. A. Bidwell, school commissioner; and Emil Lange, coroner.

At the state election of 1868, held October 11th, 460 votes were cast. David Butler (Rep.) received 320, and J. R. Porter (Dem.) 123. C. H. Gere, of Lancaster, was elected senator for the district composed of Lancaster, Saline, Gage, Pawnee, and Jefferson counties; Ezra Tullis, representative from the county; W. R. Fields, county corn-missioner.

Seth Robinson, of Lancaster, was appointed attorney general by Governor Butler.

At the county election, October 10, 1869, 562 votes were cast, S. Pound (Rep.), for probate judge, receiving 392; J. M. Bradford (Dem.), 170. Capt. R. A. Bain was elected clerk; John Cadman, treasurer; Sam. McClay, sheriff; M. Langdon, surveyor; Robert Faulkner and D. H. Sudduth, county commissioners; Allen M. Ghost, superintendent public instruction; Dr. D. W. Tingley, coroner.

At the state election, October 11, 1870, 1,116 votes were polled, David Butler (Rep.) receiving 798, Jno. H. Croxton, (Dem.) 318. Col. A. J. Cropsey, of Lancaster, was elected senator for the district, and S. B. Galey representative for the county.

An election was held May 2, 1871, for delegates to the constitutional convention, which met in June, and Seth Robinson and J. N. Cassell were elected to represent the county; Col. J. E. Philpot, of Lancaster, from the 11th senatorial district of Lancaster and Seward; and W. H. Curtis, of Pawnee, for the fourteenth representative district, composed of Lancaster, Saunders, Johnson, Pawnee, and Gage.

At the election on the new constitution, held September 19 of same year, 1,415 votes were cast—1,237 for the new constitution, and 178 against. The constitution was not adopted.

At the county election of October 10 of same year, 1,259 votes were cast. The officers elected were—J. D. Lottridge, county commissioner; A. L Palmer, probate judge; R. O. Phillips, clerk; B.. A. Bain, treasurer; A. M. Ghost, superintendent public instruction; J. T. Murphy, surveyor; and Dr. J. O. Fuller, coroner.

At, the state election, October 8, 1872, 1,736 votes were polled, L. Crounse (Rep.) receiving 1,189, and J. L. Warner (Dem.) 535, for member of congress. S. B. Pound, of Lancaster, was elected senator for the eleventh district; S. O. Owen and A. K. White, representatives for the county; and M. H. Sessions, of Lancaster, representative for the fourteenth district. Henry Spellman was elected county commissioner; J. J. Gosper, of Lancaster, was elected secretary of state.

At the county election, October 14, 1873, 1,927 votes were polled. The officers elected were—J. Z. Briscoe, commissioner; A. L. Palmer, probate judge; R. O. Phillips, clerk; Chas. C. White, treasurer; Sam. McClay, sheriff; Dr. J. O. Carter, coroner; Tom I. Atwood, surveyor; J. W. Cassell, superintendent public instruction.

At the state election, October 13, 1874, 2,038 votes were polled, Silas Garber (Rep.) receiving 1,882; Albert Tuxbury (Dem.), 287; J. H. Gardner (Ind.) 170; and Jarvis S. Church (Prohib.), 189.

C. C. Burr, of Lancaster, was elected senator for the 11th district; Alfred O. Hastings and Louis Helmer, representatives for the county; and Thomas P. Chapman, of Saunders, for the 14th representative district.

Dr. H. D. Gilbert was elected county commissioner, and A. O. Scott, superintendent of public instruction to fill vacancy. On the question of a constitutional convention there were 1,069 ayes to 558 noes.

At the election for members of constitutional convention, held on the 6th of April, 1875, S. B. Pound and C. H. Gere, of Lincoln, C. W. Pierce, of Waverly, and J. B. Hawley, of Firth, were elected to represent the county.

At the state election under the proposed new constitution, and the county election, both occurring October 12, 1875, 2,360 votes were polled, S. B. Pound (Rep.), of Lancaster, receiving 1,538, and G. B. Scofield, of Otoe, 727, for judge of the second judicial district; Judge Pound was elected. The county officers elected were—W. E. Keys, county commissioner; A. G. Scott, county judge; Wm. A. Sharrar, clerk; Charles C. White, treasurer; Sam. McClay, sheriff; Dr. A. C. Gibson, coroner; S. G. Lamb, superintendent public instruction; J. P. Walton, surveyor. For the new constitution, 2,119; against, 109. S. J. Tuttle, of Lancaster, was elected a regent of the university.

At the state election, November, 1876, 2,911 votes were polled, of which Silas Garber (Rep.), candidate for governor, received 1,947, Paren England (Dem.), of Lancaster, 712, and J. F. Gardner (greenback), 252. The senators elected from the county, which was now entitled to two, were Thos. P. Kennard, of Lincoln, and Cyrus N. Baird, of Oak Creek. The representatives elected were R. O. Phillips and W. C. Griffith, of Lincoln, and John Cadman, of Yankee Hill, and Henry Speilman, of Saltillo. J. N. Wilcox was elected commissioner.

At the county election of 1877 A. D. Burr was elected clerk; Louis Helmer, treasurer; J. S. Hoagland, sheriff; J. R. Webster, county judge; O. S. Lamb, superintendent public instruction; J. P. Walton, surveyor; E. T. Piper, coroner; H. D. Gilbert, commissioner; and C. W. Pierce, state senator to fill vacancy.

At the state election of 1878 Albinus Nance (Rep.), candidate for governor, received 1,971 votes, W. H. Webster (Dem.), 483, and L. O. Todd (greenback), 409. Whole number of votes cast, 2,818. Amasa Cobb, of Lancaster, was elected a justice of the supreme court. M. B. Cheney and E. E. Brown were elected to the senate, and S. G. Owen, W. W. Carder, M. H. Sessions, and T. R. Burling, to the house. John McClay was elected commissioner.

At the county election, November, 1879, W. J. Weller was elected county commissioner; J. E. Philpot, judge; L. E. Cropsey, clerk Louis Helmer, treasurer; Grunville Ensign, sheriff; A. D. Burr, clerk district court; E. T. Piper, coroner; H. S. Bowers, superintendent public instruction; and J. P. Walton, surveyor. Amasa Cobb, of Lancaster, was re-elected justice of the supreme court for the full term. S. B. Pound, of Lancaster, was elected judge of the second judicial district for a second term.

At the state election of 1880, 4,778 votes were cast, of which Albinus Nance (Rep.) received 8,897, and T. W. Tipton (Dem.), 1,381. The senators elected were C. H. Gere and C. W. Pierce. Representatives, N. C. Abbott, C. O. Whedon, N. T. McClunn, and R. B. Graham. Commissioner, W. E. G. Caldwell.

At the county election of 1881 the following officers were chosen Treasurer, R. B. Graham; clerk, John H. McClay; judge, C. M. Parker; commissioner, H. C. Reller; superintendent public instruction, H. S. Bowers; sheriff, Gran. Ensign; surveyor, J. P. Walton; coroner, A. J. Shaw.

At the state election of 1882, 4,818 votes were cast, of which James W. Dawes (Rep.) received 8,328, J. Sterling Morton (Dem.), 1,099, and E. P. Ingersoll (Anti-monop.), 391. Senators were E. E. Brown and P. H. Walker. Representatives, C. O. Whedon, A. W. Field, H. Wissenberg, J. W. Won, M. H. Sessions, and M. H. Walcott. Commissioner, W. J. Miller. W. W. W. Jones, of Lancaster, was elected state superintendent of public instruction, and C. H. Gene, of Lancaster, a regent of the University.

At the county election of 1883, the officers elected were: R. B. Graham, treasurer; J. H. McClay, clerk; E. R. Sizer, clerk of district court; Sam. M. Melick, sheriff; C. M. Parker, judge; W. E. G. Caldwell, commissioner; H. S. Bowers, superintendent public instruction; J. J. Walton, surveyor; N. J. Beachley, coroner; Levi Snell, senate, to fill vacancy. S. B. Pound was elected to a third term from this county as judge of the second judicial district.

At the state and legislative election of 1884, the whole number of votes cast in the county was 6,401. Dawes (Rep.), for governor, received 4,012, Morton (Dem.), 2,180, and J. G. Miller, of Lancaster (Prohib.), 209. C. C. Burr and Alva Smith were elected senators, and S. W. Burnbam, Wm. B. Brandt, H. J. Liesveldt, A. W. Field, and J. B. Wright to the house. Commissioner, H. C. Reller. Allen W. Field, of the Lancaster delegation, was, on taking his seat, elected speaker of the house.

At the county election of 1885, the following officers were chosen:
Treasurer, Jacob Rocke; clerk, O. C. Bell; sheriff, S. M. Melick; judge, C. M. Parker; register of deeds, J. H. McClay; surveyor, J. P. Walton; coroner, E. T. Roberts; superintendent public instruction, Frank McCluskey; commissioner, Alva Brown. C. H. Gere, of Lancaster, was re-elected a regent of the University. Amasa Cobb, of Lancaster, was re-elected to the supreme bench.

At the state election of 1886, the whole number of votes cast was 6,884, of which John M. Thayer (Rep.) received, for governor, 8,985, James E. North (Dem.), 1,424, and H. W. Hardy, of Lancaster (Prohib.), 925. R. E. Moore and S. W. Burnham were elected to the senate, and J. L. Caldwell, J. Shamp, I. M. Raymond, J. Dickinson, H. J. Liesveldt, and O. W. Eggleston to the house. Commissioner, H. J. Shaberg.

At the county election of 1887, the following officers were chosen:
Treasurer, Jacob Rocke; clerk, O. C. Bell; sheriff, S. M. Melick; judge, W. E. Stewart; register of deeds, John D. Knight; commissioner, Thos. Dickson; superintendent of public instruction, Frank McCluskey; surveyor, J. P. Walton; clerk of district court, E. R. 8izer. Allen W. Field, of Lancaster, was elected a judge of the second judicial district.