Stephen Benton Elkins (September 26, 1841January 4, 1911) was an American industrialist and politician. He served as the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

between 1891 and 1893. He served in the United States Congress as a Delegate from the

Territory of New Mexico The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomin ...

and a Senator from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

Biography

Early life

Stephen Benton Elkins was born on September 26, 1841 near New Lexington, Ohio and moved with his family to

Westport, Missouri Westport is a historic neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Originally an independent town, it was annexed by Kansas City in 1897. It is one of Kansas City's main entertainment districts. Westport has a lending library, a branch of the ...

(now part of Kansas City) in the mid-1840s. His parents were Philip Duncan Elkins and Sarah Pickett Withers. He attended the

Masonic College Masonic College was a higher education institution in Missouri that was established by Freemasonry, Freemasons in 1844 and operated until 1857. History The Grand Lodge of Missouri opened the first Masonic College in Philadelphia, Missouri, beginni ...

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...

in the 1850s, and graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

in 1860. After graduation, he briefly taught school in

Cass County, Missouri Cass County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,824. Its county seat is Harrisonville, however the county contain ...

. Among his pupils was future James-Younger Gang member Cole Younger.

Civil War

In the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

Elkins' father and brother joined the Confederate Army under

Sterling Price Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...

, but he joined the Union Army. Before he joined the Union Army he was to encounter Quantrill's Raiders twice and was spared from being killed because of his father and brother. He noted: Elkins entered the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

as a captain of militia in the 77th Missouri Infantry. He served under Kersey Coates and only saw action once in the Battle of Lone Jack, which he said filled him with disgust for war. Elkins noted that his good fortune of being protected by Quantrill matched a fear of being butchered by Quantrill for becoming a Union soldier as Quantrill's Raiders were thought to be present at the battle. Elkins and Foster from the Lone Jack Battle were to argue for a pardon for Younger following his conviction in the

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W ...

bank robbery (Younger had rescued Foster from execution by Quantrill's Raiders in the battle).

New Mexico

Elkins entered the practice of law at

Mesilla, New Mexico Mesilla (also known as La Mesilla and Old Mesilla) is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,196 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area. During the Civil War, Mesill ...

, and was elected to the territorial legislature in 1864 and 1865. He was appointed territorial district attorney for a term from 1866 to 1867. It was at this time, on June 10, 1866, that he married his first wife Sarah Simms Jacobs. In 1867, Elkins served as attorney general of the territory and later as U.S. district attorney from 1867 to 1870. He was elected territorial delegate to the U.S. Congress in 1872, and reelected in 1874, serving from March 4, 1873 to March 4, 1877. In 1875, he met and married his second wife, Hallie Davis, and continued to practice law. He founded and was president of the Santa Fe National Bank, and pursued broad business interests in land, rail, mining, and finance including president of the massive Maxwell Land Grant Company. In attempting to evict "squattors" (legitimate land grant heirs) from the Land Grant he would be accused of being part of the

Santa Fe Ring The Santa Fe Ring was a group of powerful attorneys and land speculators in the United States during the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. It amassed a fortune through political corruption and fraudulent land deals. Many prominen ...

. Along with his brother in law, Thomas B. Catron, Elkins participated in what would become the largest

land speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many ...

conspiracy in U.S. history. Using his influence on politicians such as congressmen, territorial judges, and U.S. Surveyors General, Elkins was able to patent Spanish and Mexican land grants in his name, thereby illegally including himself as a legitimate heir to the grants. By collectively representing opposing parties in land disputes, Elkins and Catron effectively manipulated territorial government policy to illegally partition Spanish and Mexican land grants, a direct violation of the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

West Virginia

Elkins married Hallie Davis, daughter of Senator

Henry G. Davis Henry Gassaway Davis (November 16, 1823 – March 11, 1916) was a millionaire and Senator from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. Born on a farm in Howard County, Maryland, he be ...

of West Virginia, in 1875. He became a citizen of West Virginia in 1878 and began developing oil, coal, and timber industries with his father-in-law. They partnered to form the Davis Coal and Coke Company. Stephen and Hallie built their home, Halliehurst, in Randolph County, and the town of Elkins was established nearby. New York architect Charles T. Mott designed the house. It was given by his widow along with surrounding property to Davis and Elkins College and is now part of the college's campus. It is individually listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

and also is a contributing property in the Davis and Elkins Historic District.

Secretary of War

Elkins served as Secretary of War in the

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

administration from December 17, 1891 to March 5, 1893. Amongst his goals were that the rank of lieutenant general be revived, and also that noncommissioned officers receive higher pay to improve the quality of the service. He also broadened the intelligence functions of the Division of Military Information.

U.S. Senator

After his service as Secretary, Elkins was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1895, serving the state of West Virginia, and was re-elected twice. In the Senate, he held the positions of chairman of the Committee on the Geological Survey (Fifty-sixth and Fifty-ninth Congresses), and of member of the Committee on Interstate Commerce (Fifty-seventh through Sixty-first Congresses). Elkins served as Senator until his death in Washington, D.C. in 1911, and is interred in Maplewood Cemetery of Elkins, West Virginia.

Legacy

Stephen Benton Elkins is the namesake of

Elkins, West Virginia Elkins is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. The community was incorporated in 1890 and named in honor of Stephen Benton Elkins, a U.S. Senator from West Virginia. The population was 6,950 at the 20 ...

References

External links

*

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Elkins, Stephen Benton 1841 births 1911 deaths American bank presidents American city founders American energy industry executives Benjamin Harrison administration cabinet members Businesspeople from West Virginia Davis and Elkins family Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from New Mexico Territory District attorneys in New Mexico Members of the New Mexico Territorial Legislature New Mexico Attorneys General Union Army officers United States Secretaries of War United States Attorneys for the District of New Mexico People from Elkins, West Virginia People from Perry County, Ohio People of Missouri in the American Civil War Republican Party United States senators from West Virginia University of Missouri alumni New Mexico Republicans Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 19th-century American politicians Davis & Elkins College