Henry Clay Hansbrough (January 30, 1848 – November 16, 1933) was a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

politician who served as the first

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

from North Dakota, as well as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

Biography

Henry Clay Hansbrough was born in the historic

Creole House The Creole House is a historic residence in the village of Prairie du Rocher, an old French settlement in present-day Randolph County, Illinois, United States. Built at the end of the eighteenth century and later expanded, the Creole House ...

in the village of Prairie du Rocher,

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 ...

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

, who attended the wedding for his parents Elisha Hansbrough and Sarah Hagan, suggested to them that they name their first son after him, and they did. Henry attended the common schools, but his school was interrupted by the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and was forced to close. In 1867, the family moved to

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. He learned the art of printing and worked at the trade in San Jose and later at

Baraboo, Wisconsin Baraboo ( ) is the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Baraboo River. The population was 12,556 at the 2020 census. The most populous city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo micropo ...

. He was employed at one time at the ''San Jose Daily Independent'' and the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

''. Hansbrough later moved to

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

and established the ''Grand Forks News'' in 1881 and the ''Inter-Ocean'' at Devils Lake in 1883.

Politics

Hansbrough was a strong advocate for dividing Dakota Territory and admitted the two halves as separate states into the Union, which eventually happened on November 2, 1889. He arrived in Creel City, North Dakota (later renamed to Devils Lake), and was soon named postmaster, replacing

Heber M. Creel Heber Mansfield Creel was an American soldier, surveyor, politician, and newspaper publisher. He served as Adjutant General of North Dakota from 1905 to 1907. Creel was born in Missouri in the 1850s. Some sources indicate he was born in 1851 and o ...

, who was the settler and founder of Devils Lake. This created a rivalry between Creel and Hansbrough. The two owned rival newspapers. Hansbrough owned the ''Devils Lake Inter-Ocean'' and Creel owned the ''Devils Lake Pioneer Press''. Both men ran for mayor of the city. Hansbrough was elected mayor of Devils Lake in 1885 and served until 1888. He was also a member of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

from 1888 to 1896. Upon the admission of

as a state, Hansbrough was elected as a Republican to the

Fifty-first Congress The 51st United States Congress, referred to by some critics as the Billion Dollar Congress, was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Rep ...

. He was the first person to represent the new state of North Dakota in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. He served from November 2, 1889, until March 3, 1891. He did not seek renomination in 1891, having become a candidate for Senator. Hansbrough was elected to the

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

in 1891 and reelected in 1897 and again in 1903 and served from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1909. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1909. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on the Library (

Fifty-fourth Congress The 54th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1895 ...

) and a member of the Committee on Public Lands (Fifty-fifth through Sixtieth Congresses) and the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry ( Sixtieth Congress). As a Republican in D.C., Hansbrough became friends with

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, another prominent member of the party. Even though Hansbrough was a Republican, he was still a "maverick," and later he would announce his support of Democratic

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

. In 1928, he supported the Democratic candidate, Alfred E. Smith, over the Republican candidate,

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

. Before his death in 1933, Hansbrough was also a supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt's farm programs during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Hansbrough resumed his former business pursuits in Devils Lake following his unsuccessful reelection and moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and finally to

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, in 1927, where he died in 1933.

Death

In 1933, Hansbrough visited his friend U.S. Senator

Gerald Nye Gerald Prentice Nye (December 19, 1892 – July 17, 1971) was an American politician who represented North Dakota in the United States Senate from 1925 to 1945. Nye rose to national fame in the 1930s as chair of the Special Committee on Investig ...

. Hansbrough requested Nye, upon his death, to scatter his ashes under an elm tree on the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

Grounds in Washington, D.C. Although it was not allowed, Nye fulfilled his friend’s request after he died, making Hansbrough the only person to have a final resting place on Capitol Hill.

References

Notes

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansbrough, Henry Clay 1848 births 1933 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in North Dakota People from Randolph County, Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Dakota Republican Party United States senators from North Dakota People from Ramsey County, North Dakota 20th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators