When doing genealogy, one sometimes learns that their families were in vicinity very

early. Many of them were prominent in the building of towns and states.

Then they moved on before a generation had passed. The researcher must

work very hard to find their ancestors. As a rule historians only cite people who

came and stayed. Ezra Nuckolls, son of John and Mary Garland Nuckolls,

was born March 28,  1798 in Louisa County, Virginia. He married Lucinda

Hale April 10, 1823 in Grayson County, Virginia. She was born March

17, 1807 in Grayson County, the daughter of Stephen and Frances

Bourne Hale. In 1853, Ezra Nuckolls and his wife and eleven children

moved from Grayson County, Virginia to  Rock Port, Missouri.

They brought with them a number of slaves.

The children of Ezra and Lucinda were all born in Grayson County.

Polly Dickerson Nuckolls was born in 1824.

Stephen Friel Nuckolls was born in 1825.

Frances H. Nuckolls was born in 1827.

Rosamond Bourne Nuckolls was born in 1829.

Heath Nuckolls was born in 1830.

Columbus Nuckolls was born in 1832.

Lafayette Nuckolls was born in 1835.

Houston Nuckolls was born in 1838.

Sean Nuckolls was born in 1842.

Emmett Nuckolls was born in 1844.

Elizabeth Nuckolis was born in 1846.

Ezra died in Rock Port, Missouri May 4, 1857 and his wife,

Lucinda Hale died May 25, 1857.  At the time the estate

papers were filed four of the children were listed as minors.

Missouri Territory became a part of the United States through

the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.  In 1812 the Missouri

Territory was formed which included Nebraska, the Dakotas,

part of  Wyoming, Montana and part of Colorado. All being

a part of the Louisiana Purchase.  Nebraska Territory was

formed in 1854. It was reduced to its present limits-in 1863 and

became a state in 1867. In a letter read before the Old Settlers in

Otoe County, Nebraska, June 17, 1874,  written by Stephen Friel

Nuckolls states, "It was October 1, 1846, when, being just

twenty-one years of age, I left my native Virginia and traveled two

hundred miles on  foot to Wyandotte, on the Ohio River. I then

took passage on a steamboat to St. Louis as a deck passenger.

"From St. Louis I made my way by land to what is now called

Civil Bend, but which was then called Hog Thief Bend, about

five miles from Nebraska City. On the steamer I had

made the acquaintance of William Lambert, who lived there."

"The next day after helping judge a horse race with Judge A. A.

Bradford of Atchinson County, Missouri, we returned

home with Judge Bradford to-Linden, Mo." In April 1854

Stephen Friel Nuckolls came over from Missouri and made an

agreement  with Hiram P. Downs, owner of a claim. In May,

Allen A. Bradford also made an  agreement with Downs,

which made them joint owners of the claim.Many of the

prominent men of the Territory of Nebraska were talked into coming,

to help form the Territory, by members of the Nuckolls family.

On May 30, 1854 President Franklin Pierce signed a bill creating

the Territories of  Nebraska and Kansas. In Nebraska it

established the territorial government which  made possible

legal white settlements in Nebraska. Stephen Friel and Allen A.

radford on the claim of Hiram P. Downs founded Nebraska

City. They hired Charles W. Pierce to survey and stake off

the city. On July 10, 1854  the first stake was driven.

Stephen Friel Nuckolls is called the "Father of Nebraska

City, Nebraska." He built the first brick building in the city.

In 1854 Stephen Friel was the only Nebraska City resident

who owned a wagon.  It was used to carry the first Governor

of the Nebraska Territory Francis Burt to  Belevue to preside

over the First Territorial Session. Stephen Friel Nuckolls

was a member of the Territorial Nebraska Legislature in 1859.

He founded the Platte Valley Bank and was an owner of the

NEWS, a newspaper  owned with H. F. Downs and

Allen A. Bradford. Thomas Morton later combined

the Palladium; a newspaper published in Bellevue, with 

the News and the paper became the Nebraska City News.

As so often happens, the people who are instrumental in

establishing an area many  times do not remain there very long.

Stephen Friel married Lucinda Bourne. In 1857  they moved

to the Territory of Dakota and settled at Cheyenne. In 1860,

they moved to  Colorado Territory. In 1869, he was

elected a Colorado Delegate to the 41st Congress  of the

United States. He was defeated for a second term.

Afterwards he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where he died.

The Nebraska Territory census of 1854 lists Houston Nuckolls

and Stephen (Friel) Nuckolls.  Houston Nuckolls was a member

of the First Nebraska State Session in 1859. Houston 

married Miss Hawke They lived the rest of their lives in Nebraska

and Missouri.  In 1854, Heath Nuckolls was in the mercantile

business dealing in groceries and general  merchandise in

Nebraska City, Nebraska. He married Susan Rutledge.

In the 1860's he ran a store in Central City, Colorado

Territory but spent the remainder of his life in Nebraska.

Lafayette Nuckolls was a member of the First Territorial

Session of Nebraska, when but  nineteen years of age.

When someone asked his age, shortly before the swearing in, his reply

was "Ask my constituents, as Henry Clay once said." The average

age of this group of men  was thirty-two years of age. He served but

one term. Later he made one trip to Colorado  Territory with

his brother Columbus. On the trip the wagon train was attacked

by Indians.

He never made another trip to Colorado. He married Lizzie Moody. They moved to

Texas to make their home.

During 1858, in Nebraska, there was much unrest about which town would be named

the capitol. The Editor of the newspaper was about to be lynched by a mob. When all

preparations had been made and the noose was around the neck of the Editor,

Columbus Nuckolls came riding into town with a poke of gold from the Colorado

Territory. Everyone left the hanging unfinished to see the gold and hear the story.

Thus the life of the Editor was saved.

Polly Dickerson Nuckolls married Rise Schooler and spent the remainder of her

life in Missouri. Frances H. Nuckolls married H. Bourne and they lived in

Missouri. Rosamond Bourne  Nuckolls married Henry A. Borchers. They

made their home at Hamburg, Iowa. Sena  Nuckolls married J. D.

Martin and lived the remainder of her life in Colorado. Emmett Nuckolls

married and lived early in Colorado Territory. He started a packinghouse

at Leadville, Colorado. Later he moved the packing business to Pueblo,

Colorado where it  was known as the Nuckolls Packing House for many years.

Elizabeth Nuckolls married  Thomas Metcalf. They moved to

California to make their home. Columbus Nuckolls, who lived

for some time in Glenwood, Iowa first, married Lela Crouch.

They moved to the Colorado Territory  about 1859. He became

Treasurer of Gilpin County. He spent much of his time as a wagon train

pilot between Nebraska City, Nebraska Territory and Central City, Colorado Territory.

It is said that his oldest daughter had made eight trips between Central City and Glenwood,

Iowa before she was two years old. Columbus married second Annie Vischer Palmer who

are the ancestors of the author of this sketch,

Rosamond Rugg Northrop.

This database is the first of three volumes covering the
history of Nebraska. In addition to the events of the state, these
wolumes also contain the biographies of many of the state s most
prominent men and women. This first volume covers the important
events from the physical creation of the land through the end of 1930.
Following this narrative begins the biographies of the leading men and
women who helped create and then lead this prarie state. Of particular
use to the researcher are the brief histories and genealogies contained
within each biography. Names of ancestors and descendants are
included in many entries, making this an invaluable tool for the
researcher whose ancestors lived in Nebraska.

Bibliography: Sheldon, Addison Erwin. Nebraska: The Land and the
People, Vol. 1. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1931
____________________________________.

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.238] XII NEBRASKA TERRITORY—1854-1867

In the Council the question of locating the capital came up on January 24,
on a motion of O. D.
Richardson, of Douglas County. A motion of Mr. Nuckolls, of Cass, to insert
the name
“Plattsmouth” was carried by a vote of seven ayes to six noes, all the
South Platte members
supporting the motion, and also Mr. Mitchell of Washington County. Mr.
Bradford moved a
suspension of the rules and that the bill be read the third time, which was
lost. On the next day a
motion of Mr. Clark, of Dodge County, to insert the name “Bellevue” failed
on a vote of four to
nine. Then through the efforts of Mr. Richardson, the bill was referred to
the committee on public
buildings. On the 29th, on motion of Mr. Richardson, the bill that had
passed the House was
taken up, and, after considerable parliamentary jockeying, was passed by a
vote of seven to six
on January 30, and thus Omaha became the seat of government.

________________________________________________-
Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.25] III CLIMATE AND WEATHER RECORDS

“Semi-arid Nebraska may be considered to begin at the 98 degree west
longitude. This is where
the line of 28 inches average annual rainfall enters the state on the
south. The rainfall lines run in a
northeasterly direction through the state. On the northern boundary at 98
degrees west, there are
only 24 inches rainfall. If we were to bound the region of semi-aridity,
east, by the 28 inches line
the boundary would enter the state, south, in Nuckolls County and emerge
north in Dakota
County.
_________________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.209] X THE OVERLAND TRAILS

The Oregon Trail was the first and most famous of these in Nebraska. It
started from the Missouri
River at Independence, Missouri, ran across the northeast corner of Kansas
and entered
Nebraska near the point where Gage and Jefferson counties meet on the
Nebraska-Kansas line.
It followed the course of the Little Blue River northwest across Jefferson,
Thayer, Nuckolls, Clay
and Adams counties, then across the divide to the Platte near the head of
Grand Island in Hall
County, then along the south side of the Platte through Kearney, Phelps,
Gosper, and Dawson, to
a point in Keith County about seven miles east of Big Springs, where it
crossed the South Platte
and continued up the south side of the North Platte through Keith, Garden,
Morrill, and Scotts
Bluff counties, where it passed out of Nebraska into Wyoming.
_____________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.238] XII NEBRASKA TERRITORY—1854-1867

Cass County—Luke Nuckolls.
________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.238] XII NEBRASKA TERRITORY—1854-1867

Quite a number of these men were from Iowa. Some were only drifters, or
transcients, who soon
moved farther west, and three at least—Sharp, Nuckolls and Latham—never
became actual
residents of Nebraska, Sharp's home being in Coonville (now Glenwood),
Iowa. Sharp made a
very capable president of the Council, though, in the fight for the
capital, he was accused by the
South Platte people with having listened to temptations from, or made a
bargain with, the Omaha
party, and in his rulings shown an undue partiality for that side. It was
said, however, that he
repented before he earned his reward, and, having failed to favor Omaha to
the end, did not
receive any.
_____________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.238] XII NEBRASKA TERRITORY—1854-1867

It is recorded that before Governor Cuming delivered his first message to
the Joint Assembly, he
undertook to administer personally the oath of office to the members, but
that Messrs. Bennet,
Bradford and Nuckolls, of the Council, and Messrs. Doyle, Decker and
Maddox, of the House,
refused to take it as administered by him; and that, after the reading of
the message, all the
members of the Council took the oath before Judge Ferguson, and all the
members of the House
before Judge Harden. It is also recorded that the acting governor was
defeated in an attempt to
get control of the Council through the opposition of Mr. Bennet, who told
him that he was not set
in authority over that body, and that he was not wanted there.
_________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.238] XII NEBRASKA TERRITORY—1854-1867

Still Bellevue did not give up the fight, but brought charges against the
seated members of
non-residence, and in one case—that of Nuckolls—of minority in age. But
they were up against a
stone wall. Though one or two of the contesting members were allowed to
argue their own cases
in the House—as Mr. Decatur in contesting the seat of Mr. Poppleton—it was
of no avail. The
Council and House were as hand and glove in the matter. In each there was a
majority of Omaha
members, and they had their own way by one means or another. In the Council
a resolution
offered by Mr. Mitchell of Washington, to investigate the claims of A. W.
Hollister (Bellevue
claimant) was tabled. Mr. Mitchell's seat was contested on the ground of
non-residence, as were
also those of Folsom, Richardson, Sharp and Goodwill. All these cases,
together with that of
Nuckolls, were referred to the committee on elections, from which they were
never reported.
Another resolution, to the effect that the governor should furnish the
Council with a copy of the
original census returns, met the same fate. Mr. Richardson, in the Council,
and Messrs.
Poppleton, Latham and Thompson, in the House, argued that the acting
governor's certificate was
satisfactory and conclusive evidence of election, entitling its possessor
to membership in the
Legislature, and that no appeal from it could be made save to him. On the
other side, Messrs.
Decker, Wood and Doyle contended for the principle that legislative bodies
have the right to pass
upon the qualifications of their members. On February 6 the Council
committee reported that it
was “inexpedient to further investigate the subject.” B. Y. Shelley, of
Burt County, was allowed
the pay of a member up to February 6, on the ground, apparently, that he
had polled twenty-five
votes, though the official count had assigned Mr. Folsom thirty-two, a
majority of seven. He was
the only contestant who won even a partial victory, the acting governor's
certificate being held
decisive in both houses, and all charges against the seated members being
ignored.
___________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.238] XII NEBRASKA TERRITORY—1854-1867

In the Council the question of locating the capital came up on January 24,
on a motion of O. D.
Richardson, of Douglas County. A motion of Mr. Nuckolls, of Cass, to insert
the name
“Plattsmouth” was carried by a vote of seven ayes to six noes, all the
South Platte members
supporting the motion, and also Mr. Mitchell of Washington County. Mr.
Bradford moved a
suspension of the rules and that the bill be read the third time, which was
lost. On the next day a
motion of Mr. Clark, of Dodge County, to insert the name “Bellevue” failed
on a vote of four to
nine. Then through the efforts of Mr. Richardson, the bill was referred to
the committee on public
buildings. On the 29th, on motion of Mr. Richardson, the bill that had
passed the House was
taken up, and, after considerable parliamentary jockeying, was passed by a
vote of seven to six
on January 30, and thus Omaha became the seat of government.
_________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.238] XII NEBRASKA TERRITORY—1854-1867
page 261
The South Platte faction did not remain quiet under defeat. Charges of
bribery and corruption
were freely made against the victors, and the three Cass County members of
the House, Messrs.
Latham, Kempton and Thompson, who had deserted their group by switching
their vote from no
to aye, came in for severe verbal castigation, both from their fellow
members from the South
Platte region and from the Nebraska Palladium. Mr. Latham, who had made a
speech in favor
of Plattsmouth before he changed his vote to Omaha, was charged by Mr.
Decker, of Nebraska
City with having sold himself. Mr. Sharp, president of the Council, was
verbally assailed by
Messrs. Nuckolls, Bennet and Mitchell for having aided the Omaha forces,
with whom it was
charged he had made a bargain, though gained nothing from it, through not
having carried out his
part of the agreement. Such expressions as “scoundrelism” and “superlative
rascals” were applied
to him and his abettors. Thus the legislative settlement of the question
had by no means cleared
the political atmosphere. There were discontented members of the Council
who introduced
resolutions censuring the acting governor, while the other side presented
resolutions expressing
confidence in his uprightness and efficiency. It was even proposed that the
members should all
resign in order that a new body might be chosen after a formal census had
been [p.261] taken,
but this proposition was not seriously considered by the majority.
_____________________________________________
Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.238] XII NEBRASKA TERRITORY—1854-1867

The second session of the Assembly convened at Omaha December 18, 1855.
There were some
changes both in the Council and in the House. M. H. Clark, a member of the
first Council, having
died, was succeeded by John Evans, of Dodge County. Other new members were
A. A.
Bradford, from the newly created County of Otoe, and S. M. Kirkpatrick, of
Cass County, vice
Luke Nuckolls. B. R. Folsom was president of the Council. The other
officers were: E. G.
McNeely, chief clerk; M. B. Case, assistant clerk; C. W. Pierce,
sergeant-at-arms.
______________________________________
Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
HOUSE

S. F. Nuckolls
_______________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
HOUSE

After the installation of temporary officers, a committee of five was
appointed by the chair to
report officers for the permanent organization of the meeting, and a
committee of eight to prepare
and report resolutions. The permanent officers elected were: President,
Gen. William Larimer, of
Douglas County; vice-presidents, Stephen S. Nuckolls, of Otoe County; Rev.
Wingate King,
Richardson County; P. M. Rogers, Pawnee County; John McGorigan, Nemaha
County; Miles
Chilcott, Washington County; Thomas Gibson, Dodge County; Thomas Sarvis,
Platte County;
George F. Kennedy, Monroe County; Alfred Matthias, Sarpy County; James M.
Parker,
Douglas County; Samuel M. Kirkpatrick, Cass County; Augustus Kountze,
Dakota County.
James W. Logan, L'Eau Qui Court County. Secretaries: James W. Van Nostrand,
Lawson
Sheldon, Levi Harsh.
___________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
HOUSE

Otoe—John C. Campbell, Alex Bain, Truman H. Adams, Stephen F. Nuckolls,
Milton W.
Reynolds, William H. Broadhead.
__________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
HOUSE

Richardson—Houston Nuckolls, J. E. Burbank, Nathan Myers.
___________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.307] XIII SLAVERY AND THE CIVIL WAR

All his arguments and pleadings, however, were of no avail, as the bill was
passed over his veto
by a vote of ten to three in the Council and of thirty-five to two in the
House. In the discussion
over this bill it appeared that Alexander Majors and S. F. Nuckolls, of
Nebraska City, and a few
others, had slaves. Two of Nuckolls' slaves ran away by the Tabor-Iowa
route to freedom. One
of the fugitives, Eliza, was arrested in Chicago, under the Fugitive Slave
Act, by the United States
marshal, but was rescued by a “mob of Black Republicans.” Six of Mr.
Majors' slaves ran away
about the same time. Slavery was little more than a name in Nebraska, and
it was soon to
become nothing but a memory.

___________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.386] XIV THE STATE OF NEBRASKA, 1867-1871

The removal of the capital was not the only work performed by the third
session of the State
Legislature. Certain other changes were necessary to effect a practical
state organization. The
state was divided into three judicial districts. The First District, to
which the chief justice, Oliver P.
Mason, was assigned, comprised the counties of Richardson, Nemaha, Otoe,
Johnson, Pawnee,
Gage, Jefferson, Saline, Filmore, Nuckolls, and the territory west of them.
The Second District,
presided over by Justice George B. Lake, comprised the counties of
Lancaster, Cass, Sarpy,
Douglas, Saunders, Butler, and the territory west of them. The Third
District, to which Justice
Lorenzo Crounse was assigned, comprised the counties of Washington, Dodge,
Platte, Cuming,
Burt, Dakota, Dixon, Cedar, L'Eau Qui Court, Kearney, Lincoln, Merrick,
Hall, Buffalo, and the
counties west and north of the Platte River.

________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 1
[p.525] XVII POLITICS FROM 1876 UNTIL THE NOVEMBER ELECTION OF 1880

ic Ticket: Nuckolls
City and town population: 1871
Rural population: 579
__________________________________________________

Nebraska: the Land and the People: Volume 2

On December 26, 1894, Mr. Cramb was united in marriage with Miss Cora H. Garnsey, who
was born at Hastings, Nebraska, a daughter of Francis D. Garnsey, a soldier of the Union army
during the Civil war. His ancestors were from New York, his grandfather having been a United
States Congressman from that state, and a cousin was George O. Garnsey, architect of the Illinois
state capitol building at Springfield. Mrs. Cramb's mother was Helen Dominy, of Illinois, whose
ancestors were from New England. Mr. and Mrs. Cramb are the parents of one daughter,
Pauline, a graduate of Fairbury High School and of the Nebraska State University. She was
married on June 22, 1926, to Mr. Harold L. Nuckolls, of Fairbury, and they have one child,
Marjorie Leigh.