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 and a Senator from

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

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 and a main entertainment district in Kansas City, Missouri. In the early 1800s, West Port was settled by a group led by American pioneer and tribal missionary Reverend Isaac McCoy, who brought his son John C ...

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

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Lexington is in western Missouri, within the Kansas City metropolitan area, approximately east of Kansas C ...

in the 1850s, and graduated from the

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

in Columbia 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 co ...

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

Civil War

In 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 ...

Elkins' father and brother joined the Confederate Army under

Sterling Price Sterling Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was a senior General officers in the Confederate States Army, officer of the Confederate States Army, fighting in both the Weste ...

, 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 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 County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

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, 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 The Maxwell Land Grant, also known as the Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant, was a Land grants in New Mexico and Colorado, Mexican land grant in Colfax County, New Mexico, and part of adjoining Las Animas County, Colorado. This 1841 land grant wa ...

Company. It is widely believed that the boundaries of the land grant were expanded by Maxwell through fraud. In attempting to evict "squatters" (legitimate land grant heirs) from the Land Grant he would be accused of being part of the Santa Fe Ring. 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 in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline ...

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 officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

West Virginia

Elkins married Hallie Davis, daughter of Senator Henry G. Davis 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 Davis & Elkins College (D&E) is a private college in Elkins, West Virginia, United States. It operates as a nonprofit Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and is affiliated with the Association of Presbyterian 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

administration from December 17, 1891, to March 5, 1893. He was appointed owing to close friendship with Secretary of State James G. Blaine. 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 Randolph County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 6,950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It lies along the Tygart Valley River and was incorporated in 1890, taking its name fr ...

References

External links

* * West Virginia & Regional History Center at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

Stephen B. Elkins
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Elkins, Stephen B. 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 West Virginia politicians Davis & Elkins College 20th-century West Virginia politicians 20th-century United States senators 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Burials at Maplewood Cemetery (Elkins, West Virginia)