William Henry Hoover [RG3489.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3489.AM:  William Henry Hoover, 1833-1898

Papers:  1869-1888

Nemaha County, Nebraska:  Public official

Size:  0.5 cu.ft.; 1 box

BACKGROUND NOTE

William H. Hoover was one of the first permanent settlers in Nemaha County.  Born in Miami County, Ohio in 1833, he moved with his parents when still a boy to northern Indiana and then later by team to Nebraska.  He first assisted in surveying a considerable area in the eastern part of the state and in January 1855, he took his first claim at Nemaha City.  Later he secured large additional tracts and was at one time the largest individual land owner in Nemaha County. 

Mr. Hoover made a remarkable record as a public officer.  In 1855, upon the organization of the county, he was elected county clerk and register of deeds.  This office he held without break until 1867.  Before the expiration of this term as county clerk he was appointed, in 1864 clerk of the second judicial district.  This office he held until the 1880’s when he found it inconvenient to go on with the work an account of the removal of the county seat from Brownville to Auburn and declined re-election.  He served as voting registrar for Brownville precinct.  Besides giving exacting attention to his official duties, Mr. Hoover also ran a real estate and abstract business.  In 1867 he married Miss Hallie Favorite at Brownville and he had three daughters whose names were Marie, Helen and Alice.  He also had two brothers, J.P. and J.B. Hoover who also lived in Nemaha County.  In the fall of 1891 he became a member of the already large Brownville Colony in Lincoln, where he lived for seven years until his death at the age of 65, on June 10, 1898.  Mr. Hoover was a citizen of Nebraska for nearly forty-five years.  He was buried in the Brownville cemetery.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of one box of papers relating to the life and career of William H. Hoover.  The collection includes correspondence, voter registers and miscellany.  The bulk of this material is business letters written by or to William H. Hoover.  The letters relate to the real estate business operated by William H. Hoover and the voters register relates to the affairs of William H. Hoover as voting register of Brownville Precinct, Nemaha County, Nebraska.  The miscellany includes invitations and tickets to events, as well as original Nemaha County survey plats and descriptions of town sites.  The plats have been microfilmed along with miscellaneous plats from the U.S. General Land Office.  The materials in the collection date from 1865 to 1886.

INVENTORY

Box 1

Folder

1. 1. General correspondence, 1870-1888, n.d.

1. 1. Letter book, 1880-1886

1. 1. Voter registers, 1869, 1872

1. 1. Miscellaneous invitations and tickets to events
      
      Nemaha County Original Survey Plats & Descriptions of Town Sites, 1865-1870 (oversize)

Subject headings:

Brownville (Nebraska) — History

Elections — Nebraska — Nemaha County

Hoover, William H., 1833-1898

Nemaha County (Nebraska) — History

Nemaha County (Nebraska) — Maps

REB/cs                   05-04-1965

Revised Ht             01-09-1974

Revised TMM        11-21-2018