Alvin Saunders

Alvin Saunders
Alvin Saunders
United States Senator ; from Nebraska
	In office; March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	Phineas Hitchcock
Succeeded by	Charles F. Manderson
5th Governor of Nebraska Territory
	In office; May 15, 1861 – February 21, 1867
President	Abraham Lincoln ; Andrew Johnson
Preceded by	Algernon S. Paddock
Succeeded by	David Butler (as Governor of the State of Nebraska)
Member of the Iowa Senate
	In office; 1854–1856, 1858–1860
Personal details
Born	July 12, 1817; Fleming County, Kentucky
Died	November 1, 1899 (aged 82); Omaha, Nebraska
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Political party	Republican
Relatives	William Henry Harrison III (grandson)
Signature

Alvin Saunders (July 12, 1817 – November 1, 1899) was a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, as well as the final and longest-serving governor of the Nebraska Territory, a tenure he served during most of the American Civil War.

Education[edit]

Saunders was born in Fleming County, Kentucky. He attended the common schools and pursued an academic course; he moved with his father to Illinois in 1829 and then to Mount Pleasant, Iowa (then a part of Wisconsin Territory) in 1836.

Political career[edit]

He was the postmaster of Mount Pleasant for seven years. Saunders studied law but never entered into practice; instead, he engaged in mercantile pursuits and banking. He was a delegate to the Iowa State constitutional convention in 1846 and was a member of the Iowa State Senate from 1854 to 1856 and 1858 to 1860. Saunders was one of the commissioners appointed by Congress to organize the Union Pacific Railroad Company.

He served as the last Governor of Nebraska Territory from 1861 to 1867. He was a delegate to the 1868 Republican National Convention. Saunders was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served a single term from March 4, 1877, to March 3, 1883; chairman of the Committee on Territories (Forty-seventh Congress). He died in Omaha on November 1, 1899; interment in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Family[edit]

Saunders' father, Gunnel, was said to be of "old stock" in Culpepper County, Virginia. His mother was Mary Mauzy of the same county. They moved to Kentucky and later to Illinois, where Alvin attended school and did farm work until 1836, when the young man removed to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, which was then part of Wisconsin.^[2]

At his death he left a wife and two children, Charles B., and a daughter, Mary (later Mrs. Russell Harrison of Washington, D.C.)^[2]^[3]^[4]

Saunders was the grandfather of William Henry Harrison III, who served several terms as Wyoming's member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1950s and 60s. His son-in-law was Russell Benjamin Harrison.

Legacy[edit]

Saunders County, Nebraska and Saunders School in Omaha were both named after him. Alvin Saunders Johnson, the founding editor of The New Republic, was named in honor of Saunders.^[5]

References[edit]

^ "Former U.S. Rep. William Henry Harrison, Descendant of Presidents". Associated Press. October 10, 1990. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Alvin Saunders Is Taken," The Leader, Fremont, Nebraska, November 10, 1899, page 1
^ "Harrison-Saunders," The Daily Bee, Omaha, January 10, 1884, image 8
^ "White House Visitors Keep Mrs. Wilson Busy," The Washington Post, March 7, 1913, image 7, column 4
^ McKee, J. (June 1, 2014) "McKee: Alvin Saunders Johnson, a Nebraskan with a vision", Lincoln Journal-Star.

"The Political Graveyard". Saunders, Alvin. Archived from the original on December 24, 2005. Retrieved January 8, 2006.
"Congressional Bioguide". Saunders, Alvin. Archived from the original on November 29, 2005. Retrieved January 8, 2006.

United States Congress. "Alvin Saunders (id: S000076)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Political offices
Preceded by Algernon S. Paddock Acting Territorial Governor	Governor of Nebraska Territory 1861–1867	Succeeded by position abolished
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Phineas W. Hitchcock	U.S. senator (Class 2) from Nebraska 1877–1883 Served alongside: Algernon S. Paddock, Charles H. Van Wyck	Succeeded by Charles F. Manderson

[1] "Former U.S. Rep. William Henry Harrison, Descendant of Presidents". Associated Press. October 10, 1990. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021.

[LeaderObit-2] "Alvin Saunders Is Taken," The Leader, Fremont, Nebraska, November 10, 1899, page 1

[3] "Harrison-Saunders," The Daily Bee, Omaha, January 10, 1884, image 8

[4] "White House Visitors Keep Mrs. Wilson Busy," The Washington Post, March 7, 1913, image 7, column 4

[5] McKee, J. (June 1, 2014) "McKee: Alvin Saunders Johnson, a Nebraskan with a vision", Lincoln Journal-Star.

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v t e United States senators from Nebraska
Class 1	Tipton Paddock Van Wyck Paddock Allen Hayward Allen Dietrich Burkett G. Hitchcock Howell Thompson Hunter Burke Butler Reynolds Hruska Zorinsky Karnes Kerrey Nelson Fischer
Class 2	Thayer P. Hitchcock Saunders Manderson Thurston Millard Brown Norris Wherry Seaton Griswold Bowring Abel Curtis Exon Hagel Johanns Sasse Ricketts

v t e Governors of Nebraska
Territorial (1854–1867)	Walker (provisional; disputed) Butler (declined) Burt Cuming Izard Cuming Richardson Morton Black Morton Paddock Saunders
State (since 1867)	Butler James Hascall (disputed) Furnas Garber Nance Dawes Thayer Boyd Crounse Holcomb Poynter Dietrich Savage Mickey Sheldon Shallenberger Aldrich Morehead Neville McKelvie Bryan McMullen Weaver Bryan Cochran Griswold Peterson Crosby Anderson Brooks Burney Morrison Tiemann Exon Thone Kerrey Orr Nelson Johanns Heineman Ricketts Pillen
Italics indicate acting governors

Authority control databases
International	FAST VIAF
National	Germany United States
People	US Congress
Other	SNAC