HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG3722.AM: George Sherman Alexander, 1832-1894
Papers: 1869-1870
Syracuse, Otoe County, Nebraska: Minister; Immigration Commissioner
Size: 1 folder
BACKGROUND NOTE
George S. Alexander, son of Ira and Frances (Sherman) Alexander, was born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, on July 10, 1832. He became a minister of the Methodist church in 1854. He married Abby G. Smith in 1856. After preaching in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut for over a decade, Alexander was transferred to Nebraska City, Otoe County, Nebraska, in 1868.
After settling in Nebraska, Rev. Alexander announced a series of six lectures, likely on the subjects of temperance and women’s rights. He also wrote to eastern newspapers promoting emigration to Nebraska. In 1869 Alexander was appointed State Commissioner of Immigration. In this position he promoted Nebraska energetically, giving lectures and writing a pamphlet titled “Nebraska: Its Resources and Prospects.”
By September 1873 Alexander was chaplain of the State Insane Asylum and in May 1874 he was chaplain of the State Penitentiary. He also served as chaplain of the Nebraska House of Representatives, 1875, and the Nebraska State Senate, 1877.
After his wife died in 1876, Alexander moved to Illinois, where he preached for five years. He married Susan M. Godding in Philo, Illinois, on September 20, 1877. The Alexanders returned to Nebraska in 1881, settling in Syracuse. Rev. Alexander organized the Methodist church in Turlington. He was admitted to the bar on January 24, 1890. He died in Syracuse on May 2, 1894.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of one folder containing papers of George S. Alexander. All of these papers relate to Alexander’s efforts to promote emigration to Nebraska. Of primary interest is both a handwritten and typescript of Alexander’s “Nebraska: Its Resources and Prospects.” In this manuscript that was eventually distributed as a pamphlet, Alexander describes Nebraska’s geography and soil, history, climate, agricultural production, railroads, manufacturing, and educational and religious institutions. Correspondence, 1869-1870, about the publication of the pamphlet is included.
INVENTORY
Manuscript (handwritten and typescript) by George S. Alexander: Nebraska: Its Resources and Prospects
Correspondence, 1869-1870
Subject headings:
Alexander, George S., 1832-1894
Emigration — Nebraska
Immigration — Nebraska
Nebraska — Description and travel
Revised AIF 03-22-2019
