Champion S. Chase
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Champion Spalding Chase (March 20, 1820 – November 3, 1898) was an American lawyer, politician, and pioneer of
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and
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. He was the first
Attorney General of Nebraska The Nebraska attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. state of Nebraska. List of attorneys general ;Parties Notes References AG Office documentcached) External links Nebraska Attorney Generaloffici ...
and served seven years as
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of
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. He also served two years in the
Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...
, representing
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, and served as a Union Army officer during 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 ...
. His name was sometimes abbreviated as He was a first cousin of
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chief justice
Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States from 1864 to his death in 1873. Chase served as the 23rd governor of Ohio from 1856 to 1860, r ...
.


Early life and career

Champion Chase was born in
Cornish, New Hampshire Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair. History The town was granted in 1763 and containe ...
, and raised there on his father's farm and obtained his primary education in the a common school. He was then sent to the Kimball Union Academy in
Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the location of Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes throu ...
, and returned to teach school in Cornish for three winters. In 1841 he was employed as a teacher at the Academy in
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. After two years, he moved to
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, where he was hired as a vice principal at the West Hartwich Seminary. In the mid-1840s, he went to
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, where he studied law at the office of Barker & Sill for three years. While studying there, he was appointed by the governor of New York,
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, to serve as a delegate to the National River and Harbor Convention in
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. That same year, he was admitted to the
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at
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. The next year, he went west to the new state of
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, opening a law office in
Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...
, on May 1, 1848, in partnership with Moses Butterfield.


Wisconsin politics

In Wisconsin, Chase became involved in politics as a member of the Whig Party. He was the Whig candidate for
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
in the fall after he opened his law office, in 1848, but lost the general election. In 1850, he ran for
Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...
, but lost a close election to
Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. The party was focused o ...
candidate Stephen O. Bennett. He sought the Whig Party nomination for Congress in
Wisconsin's 1st congressional district Wisconsin's 1st congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southeastern Wisconsin, covering Kenosha County, Wisconsin, Kenosha County, Racine County, Wisconsin, Racine County, and most of ...
in 1852, but received only one vote at the convention, the nomination going to Henry S. Durand. During this time, Chase was also involved in other nascent civic organizations. In 1853, the
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was founded and Chase was one of the original society members. Also in 1853, he was a member of Racine's first school board. He was then a delegate to the convention which formed the state Teacher's Association (now
Wisconsin Education Association Council The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) is an education public-sector trade union representing the public policy, labor and professional interests of its members. It is affiliated with the National Education Association. Its headquar ...
) in the summer of 1853. In December 1853, Chase was appointed brigadier general of the second brigade, first division of the Wisconsin Militia. In March 1854, Chase played an important role in the
Joshua Glover Joshua Glover was a fugitive slave who escaped from the United States to Canada in the 1850s. His escape from recapture was part of the chain of events that led to the Civil War and the end of slavery in the U.S. Originally from the state of M ...
affair. Glover had escaped slavery in
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and came to Racine via the underground railroad. He was recaptured in Racine by federal officials, pursuant to the
Fugitive Slave Act A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
, creating an uproar among the population. The night of Glover's capture, a meeting was held in Racine in which the city expressed its outrage. Chase was a leader of the meeting, and assigned to the committee to draft resolutions. On the issue of Glover, the resolutions declared: "we look upon the arrest of said Glover as an outrage upon the peaceful rights of this assembly" and "we, as citizens of Racine, demand for said Glover a fair and impartial jury trial, in this, the state where he has been arrested, and that we will attend in person to aid him, by all honorable means, to secure his unconditional release, adopting as our motto the Golden Rule." They further opined on the Fugitive Slave acts: "That, inasmuch as the Senate of the United States has repealed all compromises heretofore adopted by the Congress of the United States, we, as citizens of Wisconsin, are justified in declaring, and do hereby declare, the slave-catching law of 1850 disgraceful and also repealed." Later that evening, the Racine convention ultimately erupted into a mob, which stormed the jail in Milwaukee and liberated Glover. Days later, the convention at the Little White Schoolhouse was held in
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, where the Republican Party was founded. That summer, Chase was a delegate to a Racine County convention which again declared that they would actively disobey and thwart any attempt to enforce the fugitive slave acts, and organizing a
vigilance committee A vigilance committee is a group of private citizens who take it upon themselves to administer law and order or exercise power in places where they consider the governmental structures or actions inadequate. Prominent historical examples of vigi ...
to effect that policy. That fall, Chase was a candidate for
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on the new Republican Party ticket, but he lost the general election to Democrat Thomas Falvey. He was elected president of the Racine
Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...
in 1855, and then again in 1857. In 1856, Chase was a Wisconsin delegate to the first
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
. The convention nominated
John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...
as the Republican candidate for the presidency in the 1856 election. The same year, Chase was the Republican nominee for
Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...
in
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—the district then comprised just Racine County. He defeated Democratic nominee Nicholas D. Fratt in the general election and went on to serve in the
1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, '' Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Ja ...
and
1858 Events January–March * January 9 ** Revolt of Rajab Ali: British forces finally defeat Rajab Ali Khan of Chittagong. ** Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide. * January 14 – Orsini affair: Pi ...
legislative terms. During his second year in the Senate, he served as chairman of the judiciary committee and supervised the revision of the statutes of the state. In 1858, rather than running for re-election to the Senate, Chase ran for
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
of Racine County; he defeated Nehemiah H. Joy and won a two year term. He took office in January 1859. Later that year, he was again appointed brigadier general of the Wisconsin Militia, by Governor Alexander Randall.


Civil War service

In 1862, with the assistance of his cousin,
Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States from 1864 to his death in 1873. Chase served as the 23rd governor of Ohio from 1856 to 1860, r ...
(1808–1873), who was then the
United States Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
, he was appointed paymaster in the Union Army with the rank of
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
. He served four years in the Union Army and during this time he was on special duty in the West and Southwest. He was at the sieges of
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, Mobile, and Vicksburg, and in the later part of the war he was headquartered at New Orleans for nearly two years and would receive a brevet to Lieutenant Colonel from President Andrew Johnson late in 1865, for his meritorious services in the Gulf Campaign. In January 1866 he was honorably discharged.


Nebraska

After mustering out of the Army in 1866, Chase moved to
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
, in 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 ...
, and resumed his law practice. He also became an investor in the incorporation of the Omaha Street Railway Co. In 1867, Nebraska would be admitted to the Union as the 37th state, and in the state's first general election, Chase was elected to a two-year term as the first
Attorney General of Nebraska The Nebraska attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. state of Nebraska. List of attorneys general ;Parties Notes References AG Office documentcached) External links Nebraska Attorney Generaloffici ...
. In 1869, he was appointed to a six-year term as regent of the State University of Nebraska, by Governor David Butler. Chase was elected Mayor of Omaha in 1874, after losing an earlier attempt. He was re-elected in 1875 to a two-year term—this was the first term after Omaha's mayoralty was changed by statute from a one-year term to a two-year term. He was elected to two additional two-year terms in 1879 and 1883, but was
impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...
and removed from office in June 1884, due to
drunkenness Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...
impairing his abilities. His wife Mary died to cancer in 1882 and many think this may have contributed to his ill health. Chase later launched ''
quo warranto In the English-American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ issued by a court which orders someone to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they clai ...
'' proceedings in 1887 stating that he had been illegally removed from office, and was unlawfully deprived of the salary of the mayor. The jury rendered a verdict in his favor which gave him some measure of closure. During his terms as Mayor it was recorded of him as having "favoured extensive public improvements" such as parks and boulevards, and direct and gravitational powered waterworks. As mayor, Colonel Chase received and officially entertained a large number of distinguished people—
Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
, King of Hawai'i; Peter II,
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; the
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; U.S. President and Mrs.
Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...
; President and Mrs.
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
; Generals
William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...
,
Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with General-i ...
,
George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...
, and others. In 1871, he was elected Grand Senior Warden in the Nebraska Commandery of
Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
. In 1886, he was unanimously chosen president of the Nebraska State Humane Society. Champion Chase was identified as being past commander of the U.S. Grant Post of the
Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...
and the
Sons of the American Revolution The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), formally the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR), is a federally chartered patriotic organization. The National Society, a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Louisvi ...
. In 1891 he was an organiser of the Omaha Real Estate Owner's Association. He was selected as the chairman of the International Pan-Republic Congress on Plan and Scope in the mid 1890s. He was appointed a Collector of Customs for the
Port of Omaha The Port of Omaha was a port in the United States with facilities on the west side of the Missouri River in Omaha, Nebraska. The Port was formally sanctioned by the U.S. Congress in 1888. History 1856–1949 Founded immediately on the settl ...
and held that office until his death in 1898.


Family and personal life

Champion Chase was a son of Clement Chase (1776–1867) and his second wife, Olive Spalding (1790–1823), of Plainfield, New Hampshire. He was named for his maternal grandfather, Champion Spalding. Chase married Mary Sophronia Butterfield on the same day he opened his law office in Racine, May 1, 1848. Their only son, Champion Clement Chase, was born in 1860, and would eventually become a well-known newspaper publisher in Omaha. Mary Chase died of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
in 1882, in Omaha, leaving Chase a
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...
er. Chase died as the result of a fall on November 3, 1898, at the age of 78. He was devoted to the memories of his native town, often expressed his loyalty and love for it. He was buried alongside his wife at the Prospect Hills Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.


Legacy

Chase County, Nebraska Chase County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 3,893. Its county seat is Imperial. In the Nebraska license plate system, Chase County is represented by the prefix 72 (it had t ...
, and the unincorporated community of
Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...
in Chase County, are named after him as a complimentary act on the part of the Legislature of Nebraska.


References


Sources

The Strangest Names In American Political History : Champion Spalding Chase (1820-1898), Champion Bramwell Mann (1844-1929), Champion Israel Hutchinson (1815-1884), Champion Moore Edmunds (1907-1978)


External links

* Champion Spalding Chase papers (MS 133). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Champion S. 1820 births 1898 deaths People from Cornish, New Hampshire Nebraska Republicans Lawyers from Omaha, Nebraska Mayors of Omaha, Nebraska Nebraska attorneys general Wisconsin Whigs Republican Party Wisconsin state senators People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union army colonels District attorneys in Wisconsin School board members in Wisconsin 19th-century American lawyers Grand Army of the Republic officials 19th-century mayors of places in Nebraska 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature