HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG1399.AM: Augustus Ford Harvey, 1830-1900
Surveying notes (transcript): 1858
Nebraska City, Otoe County, Nebraska: Surveyor, Newspaper Editor
Size: One item
BACKGROUND NOTE
Augustus F. Harvey, son of Henry L. and Nancy Wilbur (Ford) Harvey was born at Waterville, New York, on January 19, 1830. His family moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, and later to Washington, DC. In 1850 he became a teacher of mathematics and from 1850 to 1855 he was engaged in railroad surveying and construction work. Harvey settled in Nebraska City in 1856 and became involved in real estate. He was active in local civic groups, and in 1857 he and his brother opened a night school that taught mathematics, physics, chemistry, drawing and civil engineering. He edited the Nebraska City News from 1861 to 1865. A Democrat during the Civil War, Harvey was accused of Southern sympathies.
In April 1866 Harvey became editor of the Nebraska Statesman, a newspaper that promoted statehood for Nebraska Territory. Although the paper failed later that fall, it was revived in Lincoln in 1868. Harvey served as a member of the both the twelfth territorial Legislature and the second session of the state legislature in 1867. Relocating to Lincoln, he served as city marshal. He lost a bid for the legislature in Lancaster County in 1868, after which he had an insurance agency. In 1870 he published a pamphlet, “Nebraska As It Is,” (017.82 H341n), to promote Nebraska to prospective settlers. Also in 1870 Harvey sold his interest in the Nebraska Statesman and relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, where he entered the insurance business. He died in suburban St. Louis on August 28, 1900.
Note: A more detailed biographical sketch of Augustus F. Harvey can be found in Otoe County Pioneers (978.276 D15).
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of one item, a typed transcript of Augustus F. Harvey’s field notes from a government survey made from September-November, 1858. Harvey served as compass man on a survey led by Col. W. D. Latshaw. Covering part of northern Kansas along and near the Republican River, Harvey’s notes record his observations of flora and fauna, geography, geology, and Pawnee Indians he encountered. Impressed by the quality of the soil along the Republican, Harvey predicts that Kansas will one day be among the wealthiest states of the union.
INVENTORY
Survey notes (typescript), September – November, 1858
Subject headings:
Harvey, Augustus Ford, 1830-1900
Surveys — Kansas
AIF 06-22-2018
