The Old Settlers' Association was founded in 1866 by a group of men in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. Membership in the organization was exclusive to settlers who were in the city before 1858. Omaha was founded in 1854. Omaha's Old Settlers' Association was responsible for recording much of the early history of the city.

Background

The Old Settler's Association was a social and educational group, with the purpose of facilitating social activities, as well as collecting and preserving important statistics and interesting facts from the

history of Omaha The history of Omaha, Nebraska, began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. When it was legal to claim land in Indian C ...

. Initially, the officers of the association were Dr. Enos Lowe, President; Dr. George L. Miller, vice president, and; Alfred D. Jones, secretary and treasurer.

Events

In the summer of 1866 Miller held a reunion for the organization. William D. Brown, the founder of the Lone Tree Ferry and the man who first claimed the town site that Omaha was built on attended. Others included Alfred D. Jones, the first postmaster and surveyor; William P. Snowden, the first actual settler and the first auctioneer;

Andrew J. Poppleton Andrew Jackson Poppleton (July 24, 1830 – September 9, 1896) was a lawyer and politician in pioneer Omaha, Nebraska. Serving in a variety of roles over his lifetime, his name is present throughout many of the important events of early Omaha hi ...

, the first lawyer; John Logan, the first man married in Omaha; Dr. Lowe, one of the original founders of the town) Dr. Miller, the first physician; John Withnell, who assisted in laying the first brick in Omaha in the old State House; O.B. Selden, who fired the first forge; Colonel A.R. Gilmore, the first U.S. land officer in Nebraska; James Megeath, one of the first merchants in Omaha; H.D. Johnson, who was one of the first men from Omaha to run for Congress; Capt. McPherson, who ran the first steam ferry; Captain Downs, who assisted A. D. Jones to survey the town; General Estabrook, the first

United States District Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for Nebraska; Joseph W. Paddock, the first clerk of the first House of Representatives; Col. Miller, father of Dr. Miller; R.N. Withnell, and many others. On January 1, 1867, a grand "Old Settlers' Reunion" was held at the

Herndon House The Herndon House, later known as the International Hotel and then the Union Pacific Headquarters, was an early hotel located at Ninth and Farnam Streets in present-day Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1858 by Omaha pioneer Dr. George L. Mill ...

in Omaha. The honorary managers were: Dr. Enos Lowe, A.S. Paddock, A. J. Poppleton, Colonel Lewis Merrill, J.H. Lacey, Francis Smith, Hadley D. Johnson,

John I. Redick John Irvin Redick (July 29, 1828 – April 2, 1906) was a prominent pioneer professional, public, and business figure in Omaha, Nebraska. He was appointed an associate judge of New Mexico (then part of the territory of Arizona) by President Ulys ...

, Major General Philip St. George Cook, Brigadier General Myers, James M. Woolworth, James Megeath, Thomas Davis, Dr. G.C. Monell, Major J.W. Paddock and

Augustus Kountze Augustus Kountze (November 19, 1826–April 30, 1892) was an American businessman based in Omaha, Nebraska, Kountze, Texas and New York City. He founded a late 19th-century national banking dynasty along with his brothers Charles, Herman and ...

. The floor managers were J.F. Coffman, George Wallace, Reuben Wood, A.S. Patrick and George M. Lloyd. According to George L. Miller, an early editor of the '' Omaha Herald'', the organization ceased to be active after 1868. In 1879 the association reorganized.Douglas County
''Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska''. Retrieved 9/17/07.

References

Pioneer history of Omaha, Nebraska 1866 establishments in Nebraska Territory 1868 disestablishments Organizations based in Omaha, Nebraska {{Pioneer Omaha

Background

Events

See also

References