Thomas B. Cuming

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Thomas B. Cuming

Thomas Barney Cuming (born December 25, 1827 in Genesee County , New York , † March 23, 1858 in Omaha , Nebraska ) was an American politician . He was governor of the Nebraska Territory several times between 1854 and 1858 .

Career

Cuming came to Michigan from New York State , where he attended local schools. During the Mexican-American War he was a soldier in the US Army . After the war he worked as a journalist in Iowa . With the help of his influential fellow party member Lewis Cass , Cuming was appointed Secretary of State in the new Nebraska Territory by President Franklin Pierce in 1854 . This was formed as a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act on May 30 of this year at the same time as the Kansas Territory and comprised the northern parts of the original Louisiana Territory or the Missouri Territory .

After the death of his predecessor Francis Burt , who had only served two days, Cuming was the new governor of this area until 1855 and decided that Omaha should be given preference over Bellevue as the capital. This led to long quarrels between the two cities that would continue beyond Cumming's death. With the arrival of the new governor, Mark Whitaker Izard , Cuming became State Secretary again, but after Izard's resignation in 1857 he had to reign as territorial governor. In this office he died in March 1858 at the age of only 30.

The Cuming County in today's state of Nebraska is named after Thomas Cuming.

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