NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG6277.AM: George W. Hansen, 1848-1936
Papers: 1864-1936
Fairbury, Jefferson County, Nebraska: Teacher; bank president
Size: 0.5 cu.ft.; 1 box
BACKGROUND NOTE
Born on June 10, 1848, at Kongsberg, Norway, George W. Hansen was the son of Rasmus and Ellen Hansen. The Hansen family came to the United States in 1850. The family stayed in New York City until 1854, then they moved to Wisconsin. In 1864, George left Wisconsin for Oberlin, Ohio. He received his teaching certificate in 1865. He left Ohio in 1866 and spent the next two years teaching in Michigan. In 1868, Hansen traveled to Iowa and Missouri before arriving in Nebraska in June of 1868. He moved around for the next several years, teaching at Brownville, Nebraska, operating a bakery in Nebraska City, and homesteading in Kansas briefly before returning to Brownville to teach.
Hansen moved to Fairbury, Nebraska, in 1871, where to taught school, built a hotel, and served as city treasurer. By 1873, he was running the hotel and serving as a deputy sheriff of Jefferson County. He married Mary Kelley in 1875, and the couple had three children. In 1876, George was serving as the clerk of the Jefferson County District Court. Hansen later served as president of the Bank of Harbine (Harbine, Neb.) from 1889-1923. Mary (Kelley) Hansen died in 1918.
George Hansen moved to San Jose, California in 1930. He died on December 8, 1936. George W. Hansen is buried in the Fairbury Cemetery at Fairbury, Nebraska.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection consists of one box of papers relating to George W. Hansen. Included in the collection are a diary, a typed transcription of the diary, a single issue of the publication, Field Notes, a scrapbook, and some loose ephemera removed from the scrapbook. Materials in the collection date from ca. 1864-1932. The issue of Field Notes was published in Beatrice, Nebraska, for the purposes of promoting land speculation and documenting business opportunities in the region. This first issue contains early histories of Jefferson County and Fairbury, Nebraska.
INVENTORY
Box 1
Folder
- Diary, 1864-1912
- Transcription of diary
- Field Notes, vol. 1, no. 1, June 1872
- Scrapbook, ca. 1874-1932
- Ephemera removed from scrapbook, 1872-1936
Subject headings:
Banks and banking
Fairbury (Neb.)
Hansen, George W., 1848-1936
Harbine (Neb.)
Jefferson County (Neb.)
Pioneers
Teachers
Acc. 2024.0284
TMM 04-17-2026
