Robert Wilkinson Furnas, Governor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wilkinson_Furnas

Robert Wilkinson Furnas (May 5, 1824 – June 1, 1905) was the second Governor of Nebraska .

Furnas was born near Troy, Ohio, and attended public school. He worked as a farmer, printer, tinsmith, insurance salesman and postmaster. He married Mary Elizabeth McComas on October 29, 1845, who died in 1897; and his second was Susannah Emswiler Jameson. He had eight children.

Career

Furnas came to Nebraska in 1856 at the age of thirty-two. Two months later he published the Nebraska Advertiser, a publication advertising the agricultural opportunities found in Nebraska. He also published the Nebraska Farmer, the first agricultural publication out of Nebraska.

In 1856 and 1858, Furnas was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nebraska Territory. He served as the public printer for the Nebraska Territory in 1857. In 1861, he was the chief clerk of the Territorial Council.

Civil War

During the Civil War, Furnas became a colonel in the territorial militia, which was loyal to the Union (American Civil War). In 1862 he commanded three Indian regiments aligned with the Union Army and captured the Cherokee Indian chief John Ross.

Postbellum Career

After the war, Furnas served as Indian agent for the Omaha, Winnebago, and Ponca tribes. He was a member of the University of Nebraska board of regents from 1869 to 1875, first president of the Nebraska State Historical Society from 1878 to 1890, United States commissioner to the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, United States Commissioner to the New Orleans Cotton Centennial and United States commissioner to the Chicago Columbian Exposition.

Furnas served as President of the American Fair Association, President of the State Board of Agriculture, President of the State Horticultural Society, Fourth Grand Master of Masons of Nebraska AF&AM from 1865 to 1866, and First President of the Nebraska Teachers Association.

Furnas secured the Republican nomination, and was elected governor by popular vote. He served as Governor of Nebraska from 1873 to 1875.

Death

Furnas died in 1905 and is interred in Walnut Grove Cemetery in Brownville, Nebraska.

Legacy

Furnas helped to create Arbor Day when he was governor.

Furnas County, Nebraska, is named in his honor.