Nehemiah G. Ordway

Nehemiah G. Ordway

Nehemiah George Ordway (born November 10, 1828 in Warner , New Hampshire , † July 3, 1907 in Boston , Massachusetts ) was an American politician and from 1880 to 1884 the seventh Territorial Governor of the Dakota Territory .

Nehemiah G. Ordway about 1865

Early years and political advancement

Nehemiah Ordway attended local schools in his homeland. Then he got into the trading and banking business. He became a member of the Republican Party and became its state chairman in New Hampshire. In this capacity he supported Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign in 1860 . In 1862 he was named chief of the United States Postal Service in the New England States. Between 1863 and 1875 he was Chief of Protocol of the US House of Representatives ( Sergeant at Arms ). For the next five years to 1880 he was a member of the New Hampshire Senate . In May 1880 he was appointed new governor of the Dakota Territory by President Rutherford B. Hayes .

Territorial Governor

Ordway was reassigned to this office by Congress on June 1 and arrived in the capital, Yankton , on June 23, 1880 . In the four years of his tenure, the territory experienced enormous growth with new settlers. The population almost doubled between 1879 and 1884 and agriculture and industry flourished despite some natural disasters. This development was favored by the further expansion of the railway network. As a result of the population growth, many new cities and districts emerged. Governor Ordway had to grapple with extreme weather conditions in February 1881 when a nine-day intense snow storm led to supply shortages in the country. In 1883, Ordway relocated the territory's capital from Yankton to Bismarck against strong opposition . The Ordway government was suspected of corruption from the start. He was accused of corruption and nepotism. Since 1881, the opposition made several advances in Washington to replace the governor. Irregularities were also discovered in 1883 in connection with the establishment of new districts and cities. After the reports of Ordway became increasingly negative and a court convicted him of corruption, he was removed from office by President Chester A. Arthur in 1884 and replaced by Gilbert A. Pierce .

Another résumé

After his dismissal, Ordway remained in Dakota for a few years, where he represented the interests of the Northern Pacific Railway . He was also an opponent of the division of the territory into the states of North and South Dakota . He returned to New Hampshire in the 1890s, where he ran two farms and spent the rest of his life.

Web links

• Nehemiah G. Ordway in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The territorial governors in the history of North Dakota (English)