NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG0725.AM: U.S.S. Nebraska (Battleship)
Papers: 1902-1979; mostly 1902-1957
Size: Size: 0.25 cu.ft.; 1 box
BACKGROUND NOTE
The battleship U.S.S. Nebraska, authorized by act of Congress in 1899, was constructed by the Moran Bros. Company of Seattle, Washington. Delays prevented the keel from being laid until July 4, 1902, a ceremony in which Nebraska Governor Ezra Savage participated. The U.S.S. Nebraska was launched on October 7, 1904, and christened by Mary N. Mickey, daughter of Governor John H. Mickey, although the ship was not commissioned until July 1, 1907.
Early in 1905, an appropriation bill was passed in the Nebraska Legislature authorizing the purchase of a silver service for the U.S.S. Nebraska. Governor George C. Sheldon presented the completed service to Captain Nicholson of the U.S.S. Nebraska during a tour to San Francisco in April of 1908.
Note: See the Louis Bostwick collection [RG3147.PH] for a photo album documenting Gov. Sheldon’s tour in 1908.
The U.S.S. Nebraska was a member of the fleet that made the famous world cruise of 1908, and the ship saw convoy duty in the Atlantic during World War I. Following the armistice, the U.S.S. Nebraska served as a troopship, bringing soldiers home from France. On July 2, 1920, the U.S.S. Nebraska was decommissioned, and in accordance with the treaty of 1923 limiting naval armaments, was sold for scrap.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of one box of papers relating to the battleship U.S.S. Nebraska. Included in the collection are correspondence, research notes, newspaper articles, programs and other printed materials. The bulk of this material consists of correspondence and historical data relating to the silver service presented to the U.S.S. Nebraska by the State of Nebraska. Additional materials relate to the history of the ship itself. Also included is a set of military papers relating to Ernest A. Bokien, who served as Quartermaster aboard the U.S.S. Nebraska, 1907-1908.
INVENTORY
Box 1
Folder
- Correspondence, 1909-1938
- Printed materials, including:
The Seattle Sunday Times, July 4, 1902 [see microfilm]
’Westward Ho’ to Assist in Laying the Keel of the Battleship Nebraska at Seattle, Washington on July 4, 1902, by Mrs. Ezra Savage, Lincoln, 1902
Program of the launching ceremony, Oct. 7, 1904
A Cruise of a Man-o-Warsman, 1918
The Sea Chest: Journal of the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, June 1979 - Research notes and newspaper clippings
- Miscellaneous, including:
Bills of lading and invoices for shipment of Nebraska’s figurehead
Blueprint of Nebraska’s figurehead and copy of announcement for launch of the U.S.S. Nebraska, October 1904 [see oversize]
One vellum and one blue line drawing of USS Virginia Class warship (includes U.S.S Nebraska) [see oversize] - Ernest A.J. Bokien military records, 1906-1957
- Ernest A.J. Bokien correspondence, 1918-1939
- Ernest A.J. Bokien veterans’ materials
Subject headings:
Bokien, Ernest Anthony Joseph, 1887-1964
Cochran, Robert LeRoy, 1886-1963
Mickey, John Hopwood, 1845-1910
Nebraska (Battleship)
Savage, Ezra Perin, 1842-1920
Sheldon, George Lawson, 1870-1960
United States. Navy
Warships
World War, 1914-1918
JEP/ab 10-14-1968
Revised AIP 10-30-1989
Revised KFK/tmm 04-15-1997
Revised TMM 05-09-2025
Acc. 1980.0136
Acc. 1986.0047
Acc. 1989.0279
Acc. 1990.0603
Acc. 1991.0016
Acc. 1996.0775
