Alvin Saunders (July 12, 1817November 1, 1899) was a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, as well as the final and longest-serving governor of the

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

, a tenure he served during most of the

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

Education

Saunders was born in Fleming County, Kentucky. He attended the common schools and pursued an academic course; he moved with his father to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1829 and then to Mount Pleasant, Iowa (then a part of

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

) in 1836.

Political career

He was the postmaster of Mount Pleasant for seven years. Saunders studied law but never entered into practice; instead, he engaged in mercantile pursuits and banking. He was a delegate to the Iowa State constitutional convention in 1846 and was a member of the Iowa State Senate from December 4, 1854, to May 14, 1861. Saunders served the first two years of his legislative tenure as a Whig for District 5, then changed his party affiliation to Republican, holding the District 7 seat until 1860, when he assumed the District 9 seat. Saunders was one of the commissioners appointed by Congress to organize the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

Company. He served as the last Governor of Nebraska Territory from 1861 to 1867. He was a delegate to the 1868 Republican National Convention. Saunders was elected as a Republican to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and served a single term from March 4, 1877, to March 3, 1883; chairman of the Committee on Territories (Forty-seventh Congress). He died in Omaha on November 1, 1899; interment in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Family

Saunders' father, Gunnel, was said to be of " old stock" in

Culpeper County, Virginia Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is ...

. His mother was Mary Mauzy of the same county. They moved to Kentucky and later to Illinois, where Alvin attended school and did farm work until 1836, when the young man removed to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, which was then part of Wisconsin."Alvin Saunders Is Taken," ''The Leader,'' Fremont, Nebraska, November 10, 1899, page 1
/ref> At his death he left a wife and two children, Charles B., and a daughter, Mary (later Mrs. Russell Harrison of Washington, D.C.) Saunders was the grandfather of William Henry Harrison III, who served several terms as

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

's member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1950s and 60s. His son-in-law was Russell Benjamin Harrison.

Legacy

Saunders County, Nebraska and Saunders School in Omaha were both named after him. Alvin Saunders Johnson, the founding editor of ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'', was named in honor of Saunders.McKee, J. (June 1, 2014
"McKee: Alvin Saunders Johnson, a Nebraskan with a vision"
''Lincoln Journal-Star''.

References

# # {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Alvin 1817 births 1899 deaths People from Fleming County, Kentucky Republican Party Iowa state senators Governors of Nebraska Territory People of Nebraska in the American Civil War Union (American Civil War) political leaders People from Mount Pleasant, Iowa Iowa postmasters Union Pacific Railroad people People of Iowa in the American Civil War Republican Party United States senators from Nebraska Nebraska Republicans Iowa Whigs 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly