Briggs, Ansel

BRIGGS

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 2/5/2008 at 11:42:38

Jackson Sentinel
May 12, 1881

Death of Ex-Governor Briggs.

Ex-Governor Briggs, the first Governor of this State, died at Omaha on Thursday last, aged 76 years. The Davenport Democrat, of Sunday last, says:

“One of the prominent, thriving, pushing citizens of Davenport, forty years ago, was Ansel Briggs, who came to the village from Ohio, for the purpose of establishing stage and mail lines in the territory of Iowa, which had been organized in July of that year. He succeeded in his object, too - organized a line of stages to Dubuque and to Lyons – and after Iowa City became the capital from Dubuque to that place. He lived in Davenport five or six years, had Antoine Le Claire, Col. George Davenport, Major Smith, Alex McGregor, D. C. Eldridge, Levi S. Colton and others as his contemporaries in trying to build a city here. In 1842 or ‘43 he removed to Andrew, Jackson county, in the vicinity of which he had made land investments two or three years before. He helped lay out the town in 1841, and it was done with intention of making it the county seat. It was about midway between Davenport and Dubuque, and was made the head quarters of the stage line. It became the shiretown in 1848, after a bitter canvass which was led by Mr. Briggs for the Jacksonites. But Mr. Briggs’ disappointment was great in 1857 when the county seat was relocated at Bellevue. He never rested, however, until he had it moved back to Andrew, which he did in 1861 and kept it there until 1873, when Maquoketa captured it, because she had secured railroad facilities which gave her the right to it. After that Mr. Briggs seemed to lose his interest, in Andrew as a place of interest, and so six years ago he emigrated to Omaha, to be near his son John.

But we have anticipated the most important portion of Mr. Briggs life. He was the first Governor of the State of Iowa – elected at the time the constitutes was adopted in 1846, and served four years. He was one of the most prominent Democrats in the State – the peer of A. C. Dodge, General Jones, Charles Mason, or any other of the State leaders of the party. He visited Nebraska in 1854, and so became a member of the Florence land company, in which prominent citizens of Davenport were interested, but which failed in its great object of making Florence the capital and metropolis of Nebraska, though it was the best site for a city, and was the best place for a Missouri river bridge, between St. Joe and Yankton. For the past twelve years the Governor has led a quiet life; for five years his home has been in Omaha and in that city he died on Thursday last, aged 76 years. The governor was a native of the State of New York.

The pioneer settlers of Davenport and Scott county, and, in fact, of all eastern Iowa, will hear of his death with mournful feelings – they are rapidly passing away.”