Edward Creighton

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Edward A. Creighton (born August 31, 1820 , † November 5, 1874 ) was an American businessman in Omaha , Nebraska , who was involved in the expansion of the telegraph and rail network . The Creighton University (founded in 1878, initially Creighton College ) in Omaha was named after him. In 1862 he was the richest citizen of Nebraska. At the time of his death, he owned $ 1,157,193.05 , which is roughly $ 20 million today.

Beginnings and family

Creighton was from Ohio . Creighton's grandmother Bridget Creighton immigrated to the United States in 1805 when the landowner evicted her from her county of Monaghan , Ireland. He was born the fifth child of James Creighton. Before he came to Omaha in 1857, he had already worked as a farmer, handling freight and building telegraph lines.

In Omaha he began his business by importing timber from Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . In 1858 he supported the construction of a telegraph line from Saint Joseph (Missouri) to Omaha, which now had a telegraph connection to the east coast of the USA.

From October 7, 1856 he was married to Mary Lucretia Creighton. His son Charles David was born in 1859 but died at the age of five.

Telegraph construction

From 1860 to 1861 he was in charge of telegraph construction to close the first transcontinental telegraph connection to the west. James Gamble directed the oncoming expansion from the west coast to the east as head of the newly founded Pacific Telegraph Company . Both fought a kind of competition to see who would be the first to reach the junction of the two lines, Salt Lake City . The two lines met in October 1861; Creighton had been a week faster, however.

After 1867 he also built a telegraph line from Salt Lake City to Montana and other lines for the Union Pacific Railroad .

Other activities

In 1864, Creighton raised cattle near Laramie, Wyoming, and sold its beef to the Union Pacific Railroad.

He was also President of the First National Bank of Omaha from its founding in 1863 and until his death .

After his death

Creighton was buried in the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery , Omaha. He wanted to set up an educational institution in Omaha; after his death, his widow helped found Creighton University.

In Fritz Lang's western Raid of the Ogalalla , Creighton was played by Dean Jagger in 1941 . In 1958 Creighton was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and in 1983 into the Nebraska Hall of Fame .

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Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c life data and short biography at findagrave.com (English)
  2. ↑ Creighton University in the Encyclopædia Britannica (English)
  3. ↑ a b Biography of the family ( memento of the original dated November 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at NET Television  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.netnebraska.org
  4. ↑ a b very detailed information on the Creighton family ( memento of the original from December 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / reinert.creighton.edu
  5. ↑ Arthur G. Umscheid, Ph.D .: Report on Edward Creighton (English)
  6. ↑ James Gamble's report on the Telegrafenbau (English)
personal data
SURNAME Creighton, Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Creighton, Edward A.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur and pioneer in telegraph construction, namesake of Creighton University
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1820
DATE OF DEATH November 5, 1874