Dudley Chase Haskell (March 23, 1842 – December 16, 1883) was an American merchant, Civil War veteran, and Republican Party politician from the

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

area. He first served several terms in the Kansas House of Representatives, where he was elected as Speaker in 1876. That year he was elected to Congress, and served several terms until his death in office in 1883. As a congressman, Haskell served as chairman of the

Committee on Indian Affairs The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1 ...

from 1881 to 1883. In that capacity, he helped gain congressional authorization for construction of three off-reservation Indian boarding schools, and the location of one in Lawrence, Kansas. It opened in 1884, and was named for him in 1887. It has since developed as

Haskell Indian Nations University Haskell Indian Nations University is a public tribal land-grant university in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1884 as a residential boarding school for American Indian children, the school has developed into a university operated by t ...

Biography

Haskell was born in

Springfield, Vermont Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,062. History The land currently recognized as Springfield is the traditional land of the Pennacook and Abenaki people. One of the ...

in 1842, a son of Franklin and Almira (Chase) Haskell. His siblings included

John G. Haskell John Gideon Haskell (February 5, 1832 – November 25, 1907) was an architect who designed portions of the Kansas State Capitol and other public buildings in the state. Haskell was born in Milton, Vermont. His father moved to Lawrence, Kansas i ...

. Haskell moved with his parents in 1855 to

. He returned to Vermont to attend schools in Springfield in 1857 and 1858. After beginning work as a shoe merchant, he moved west in 1859 to follow the

Pike's Peak Gold Rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 a ...

. He lived in

Pikes Peak, Colorado Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, ...

until 1861, when he returned to Missouri to enter Union ranks after war broke out. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Haskell served as an assistant to the

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, and the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

in 1861 and 1862.

Post-Civil War years

He left the army and entered Williston’s Seminary in

Easthampton, Massachusetts Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The city is on the southeastern edge of the Pioneer Valley near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 c ...

in 1863 for further education. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1865, when he was 23. Afterward, he returned to

, where he engaged in the shoe business from 1865 to 1867. He entered politics with the Republican Party and was a member of the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

in 1872, 1875 and 1876, serving as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

in 1876. In 1876 Haskell was elected a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from

Kansas's 2nd congressional district Kansas' 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas that covers most of the eastern part of the state, except for the core of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The district encompasses less than a quarter ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, serving from 1877 until his death in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on December 16, 1883. There, he served as chairman of the

from 1881 to 1883. He believed in education for Native American children and supported legislation to authorize construction of three off-reservation Indian boarding schools, to be located in Nebraska, Kansas, and Indian Territory. He gained location of the Kansas school in his hometown of Lawrence. It opened with 22 elementary school students but soon grew. It was named Haskell Institute in his honor four years after his death. His body was returned to Lawrence, where he was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery. Haskell had married and had a family. Among his descendants was grandson Otis Halbert Holmes, who also became a politician. Holmes grew up in Eastern Washington, and served eight terms from there as a US Representative (R-WA).

Legacy and honors

* The off-reservation

Indian boarding school American Indian boarding schools, also known more recently as American Indian residential schools, were established in the United States from the mid 17th to the early 20th centuries with a primary objective of "civilizing" or assimilating Na ...

that he secured in Lawrence was named the Haskell Institute in 1887 in his honor. Since the mid-20th century, it has developed as the

. * He is the namesake of Haskell County in southwestern Kansas

References

External links

* Retrieved on 2008-02-14 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haskell, Dudley C. 1842 births 1883 deaths Speakers of the Kansas House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Union Army officers Gold prospectors American gold prospectors Yale College alumni Politicians from Lawrence, Kansas People of Kansas in the American Civil War People from Springfield, Vermont Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas 19th-century American politicians

Biography

Post-Civil War years

Legacy and honors

See also

References

External links