Henry Rust Mighels (November 5, 1830 – May 27, 1879) was a US

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and politician. A writer of the

Sagebrush School The Sagebrush School was the literary movement written primarily by men of Nevada. The sagebrush shrub is prevalent in the state. It was a broad-based movement as it included various literary genres such as drama, essays, fiction, history, humor, ...

, he was the editor and publisher of

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

's ''

Nevada Appeal The ''Nevada Appeal'' is a twice-weekly newspaper published in Carson City, Nevada, by Pacific Publishing Company. The paper has sister publications across northern Nevada: *''Lahontan Valley News'' & Fallon Eagle Standard (Fallon, Nevada) *''N ...

''. He was born in

Norway, Maine Norway is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,077 at the 2020 census. It is home to Lake Pennesseewassee, a recreation area. History Fertile soil and abundant fauna surrounding the Pennessewasse Lake supported ...

. He served in 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 ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

as assistant adjutant general, with the rank of captain, and was wounded in action. In 1868, he was elected State Printer and served a two-year term. In 1876, he was elected to the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year ...

, serving as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in 1877. The following year, he ran unsuccessfully for

Lieutenant Governor of Nevada The lieutenant governor of Nevada is a constitutional officer in the executive branch, executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. The lieutenant governor maintains an office in Carson City, Nevada at the Nevada State Capitol and i ...

. He was also an artist, painting still life and landscapes. His one book, ''Sage Brush Leaves'' (1879), consists of literary essays. He died of cancer in 1879 in Carson City and is buried at Lone Mountain Cemetery next to his wife Nellie Verrill Mighels Davis (who subsequently married Samuel Post Davis). The Mighels had three sons, including Henry R. Mighels Jr. and Philip Verrill Mighels; and two daughters. Henry J. Mighels Jr. took over as editor of the ''Appeal'' in 1898. Philip's ex-wife,

Ella Sterling Mighels Ella Sterling Mighels (May 5, 1853 – December 10, 1934) (née: Ella Sterling Clark; during first marriage: Ella Sterling Cummins; pen name: Aurora Esmeralda) was a California pioneer, author and literary historian. She was born in Mormon Isla ...

, was the "First Literary Historian of California".

Partial works

* ''Sage Brush Leaves'' (1879)

References

External links

*
A Guide to the Henry R. Mighels Correspondence, 93-05
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
A Guide to the Mighels family papers, NC470
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
A Guide to the Henry Mighels papers, 89-22
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno. 1879 deaths People from Norway, Maine American newspaper publishers (people) Journalists from Nevada Politicians from Carson City, Nevada 1830 births Union Army officers Speakers of the Nevada Assembly Sagebrush School 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople {{Nevada-politician-stub