- James C. Mitchell (settler)
James C. Mitchell (1810-1860) was the founder of the town of Florence in the
Nebraska Territory in 1854.Biography
Born in
Pangborn, Pennsylvania , Mitchell ran away from home at the age of fifteen to become aseaman . By age eighteen, he was captain of a ship which sailed betweenNew York City andLiverpool, England . In 1836, Mitchell the widow of aRoyal Navy chaplain who was lost at sea.Mitchell worked as an Indian Commission in
Bellevue, Iowa in 1840. Leaving forCalifornia in 1850, the Mitchells decided to stay in Council Bluffs where they opened a mercantile. Following the advice ofPeter A. Sarpy , Michell bought the land where the abandonedMormon settlement ofCutler's Park stood, platting the village of Florence in January 1854, including the old buildings and improvements. [ [http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/douglas/douglas-p1.html Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska - Douglas County] ]Mitchell thought the town would be the Nebraska Territory's Capitol and in 1854 co-founded the Nebraska Winter Quarters Company, which became the Florence Land Company in 1855. [ [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/public/municipal_finding_aids/florence_ne.pdf "Florence, Douglas County, Nebraska"] ,
Nebraska State Historical Society . Retrieved 4/17/08.] He named the town "Florence" after his wife's granddaughter. Mitchell himself owned 277 lots in Florence and was very active inreal estate in both Florence andColumbus, Nebraska . Mitchell joined the first board of theBank of Florence in 1856. [(1856) "Laws, Joint Resolutions, and Memorials Passed at the Regular Session of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature." p 177.]Mitchell served in the First Territorial Council and cast the vote that gave the early capitol to Omaha. As a commissioner involved in choosing the location for the second capitol building, he selected the site where Central High School now stands.
Mitchell died in Florence in 1860. [ [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/manuscripts/family/mitchellj.htm "James C. Mitchell"] , Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 4/17/08.]
Claims
Michell owned several claims and ran numerous enterprises throughout the Territory. They included Elk Horn and Loup Fork Ferry and Bridge Company, the Winter Quarter Ferry, land once owned by the
Council Buffs and Nebraska Ferry Company along theMissouri River , the Columbus Company, the steam ferry boat "Nebraska No. 2", and the Florence Bridge Company. [ [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/manuscripts/family/mitchellj.htm "James C. Mitchell"] , Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 4/17/08.]ee also
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History of Omaha References
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