Silas Garber (September 21, 1833 – January 12, 1905) was the founder of

Red Cloud, Nebraska Red Cloud is a city in and the county seat of Webster County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 962 at the 2020 census. History The region of present-day Red Cloud was intermittently occupied and used as hunting grounds by the Pawnee ...

and was also the third

governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

. Garber was born in

Logan County, Ohio Logan County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,150. The county seat is Bellefontaine. The county is named for Benjamin Logan, who fought Native Americans ...

. He moved to

Clayton County, Iowa Clayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,043. Its county seat is Elkader. The county was established in 1837 and was named in honor of John M. Clayton, United States Senator f ...

when he was seventeen and started farming. He was married to Rosella Dana, and then to Lyra C. Wheeler. His wife was the inspiration for Willa Cather's ''

A Lost Lady ''A Lost Lady'' is a 1923 novel by American writer Willa Cather. It tells the story of Marian Forrester and her husband, Captain Daniel Forrester, who live in the Western town of Sweet Water along the Transcontinental Railroad. Throughout the st ...

''; deemed "smutty for its time," this caused tension between the Garber and Cather families.

Career

At the start of 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 ...

, Garber joined the 3rd Missouri Regiment on October 3, 1862. He later transferred to Co. D, 27th Iowa Infantry, with a promotion to captain on April 13, 1863. He was mustered out of the Army on August 8, 1865. He left the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

and moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

where he engaged in livestock trading. Garber returned to the Midwest in 1870. He settled in

Webster County, Nebraska Webster County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3,411. Its county seat is Red Cloud. The county was formed in 1871, and was named for Daniel Webster. In the Nebraska license pla ...

, and in 1872, he laid out the town site of Red Cloud. Garber served as probate judge of Webster County, and in 1872 he was elected to the Nebraska House of Representatives. In 1873 he became Register of the U.S. Land Office in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

. He received the

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 ...

nomination, and in 1874, Garber became the fourth (third elected)

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

. He served on the University of Nebraska board of regents from 1875 to 1876. After re-election and serving out his second term, Garber returned to Red Cloud.

Death

Silas Garber died in Red Cloud, Nebraska, after a long illness. He is interred at Red Cloud Cemetery, Red Cloud, Nebraska.

References

External links

* * at the

Nebraska State Historical Society History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...

The Political GraveyardThe Encyclopedia of Nebraska
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garber, Silas 1833 births 1905 deaths Republican Party governors of Nebraska Union Army soldiers People from Logan County, Ohio People of Missouri in the American Civil War People of Iowa in the American Civil War People from Red Cloud, Nebraska Republican Party members of the Nebraska House of Representatives American city founders 19th-century American politicians People from Clayton County, Iowa