Stephen Friel Nuckolls (August 16, 1825 – February 14, 1879) was a Delegate from the

Territory of Wyoming The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The boun ...

and co-founder of Nebraska City, Nebraska.

Nuckolls County, Nebraska Nuckolls County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 4,095. Its county seat is Nelson. In the Nebraska license plate system, Nuckolls County is represented by the prefix 42 ...

is named after him.

Biography

Nuckolls was born in Grayson County, Virginia, where he completed preparatory studies. He moved to Linden, Missouri in 1846. He engaged in mercantile pursuits from 1847 to 1853. After that he moved to the

Territory of Nebraska The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska ...

in 1854 and founded

Nebraska City Nebraska City is a city in Nebraska, and the county seat of, Otoe County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,289. The Nebraska State Legislature has credited Nebraska City as being the oldest incorporated ...

. He held several local offices in Nebraska City. In 1855 he established the Platte Valley Bank. Nuckolls served in the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in 1859. Nuckolls was known for bringing the first four slaves into Nebraska, two of whom escaped in 1858. Nuckolls offered a $200 reward for the return of the two women, known as Eliza Grayson and "Celia," 14, and organized a posse that pursued the two all the way to Chicago. Eliza was initially reported to be 16, but records show she was actually 20. Nuckolls and a professional kidnapper found Eliza in Chicago two years after her escape. However, Nuckolls and Grayson were arrested by Chicago law enforcement and put into a local jail. There, an abolitionist mob broke Eliza from the jail and secured her safe travel to Canada, where she disappeared. Nuckolls also escaped, only to be hunted down by a mob of

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

. City councilman Hiram Joy gave him a disguise and helped him leave the city, when he went back to Nebraska. The 500-mile journey of the two young women from Nebraska City to Chicago was recreated by a group of high school students in 2016. Nuckolls moved to the

Territory of Colorado The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the w ...

in 1860 and engaged in banking and mining. In 1864 he moved to New York City. He moved to the Territory of Dakota in 1867 and settled in Cheyenne. In Cheyenne, he engaged in mercantile pursuits. Upon the organization of the

he was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Forty-first Congress and served from December 6, 1869, to March 3, 1871. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1870 to the Forty-second Congress. He resumed his mercantile pursuits. Nuckolls served as a member of the second legislative council of Wyoming in 1871 and served as presiding officer. He served as a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1872 and 1876. He moved to

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, in July 1872 and engaged in milling. In Salt Lake City he died on February 14, 1879. He is interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Salt Lake City.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuckolls, Stephen Friel 1825 births 1879 deaths People from Grayson County, Virginia Members of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature Members of the Wyoming Territorial Legislature Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Wyoming Territory Wyoming Democrats 19th-century American politicians People from Nebraska City, Nebraska People from Atchison County, Missouri