Nehemiah G. Ordway
Encyclopedia
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
state senator and the seventh Governor
Governors of Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory existed as an entity from 1861 until 1889, when it was divided into the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. The Territorial Governor was appointed by the President of the United States....
of Dakota Territory
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 North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
. Ordway was regarded as one of Dakota Territory's most controversial governors.
Nehemiah Ordway was born in Warner
Warner, New Hampshire
Warner is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,833 at the 2010 census. The town is home to The College of Saint Mary Magdalen, Rollins State Park and Mount Kearsarge State Forest....
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. After receiving his education, Ordway entered the mercantile and banking businesses. During Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's bid for the Presidency in 1860, Ordway served as chairman in New Hampshire for the new Republican party. In 1862, he was appointed General Agent
General Agent
A General Agent is an agent, i.e., representative of another, who has a mandate of general nature.-Colonial use:In the Niger Rivers District the only Senior Agent, who administered the region for the National African Company Limited , was promoted in 1882 to become the first...
of the Post Office Department for the New England states. From 1863 until 1875, Ordway served as Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives
Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms is an officer of the House with law enforcement, protocol, and administrative responsibilities. The Sergeant at Arms is elected at the beginning of each Congress by the membership of the chamber...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He organized the Washington Market and controlled it for the remainder of his life. From 1875 until 1880, Ordway served as state senator in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire congressional delegation nominated Nehemiah Ordway for the office of Governor of Dakota Territory. In May 1880, he was appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
. Ordway was confirmed on June 1, 1880; he arrived in Yankton
Yankton, South Dakota
Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota Native Americans...
with his wife and son on June 23, 1880.
Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city's population was 61,272 at the 2010 census, while its metropolitan population was 108,779...
. This action angered political leaders in Yankton and Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
. Citizens of Yankton viewed Ordway as corrupt.
On February 2, 1881, nine consecutive days of snowfall started in Dakota Territory, resulting in food and fuel shortages. Governor Ordway sought Army and Indian supplies until private donations could be obtained. Eventually, he obtained $7000 in cash contributions as well as six tons of relief supplies.
According to records, Governor Ordway engaged in a number of questionable dealings. In May 1881, Richard F. Pettigrew
Richard F. Pettigrew
Richard Franklin Pettigrew was an American lawyer, surveyor, and land developer. He represented the Dakota Territory in the U.S. Congress and, after the Dakotas were admitted as States, he was the first U.S. Senator from South Dakota.-Biography:Pettigrew was born in Ludlow, Windsor County,...
filed charges against Governor Ordway, insisting on his removal from office. On June 2, 1883, Ordway successfully moved the capital of Dakota Territory from Yankton to Bismarck with the assistance of Alexander McKenzie
Alexander McKenzie (American politician)
Alexander John McKenzie was a politician in early North Dakota. He preferred not to serve in public office, but was highly influential in North Dakota and in neighboring Montana and Minnesota...
, an agent for the Northern Pacific Railway
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
. In the fall of 1883, representatives of southern counties made further efforts to remove Ordway from office. He was indicted for corruption and President Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
replaced him with Gilbert A. Pierce
Gilbert A. Pierce
Gilbert Ashville Pierce was an author, journalist, playwright, and a member of the Indiana state legislature, the eighth Governor of Dakota Territory, and representative for North Dakota in the United States Senate....
in 1884.
After leaving office, Ordway remained in Bismarck for a number of years because of investments. He lobbied for the Northern Pacific Railway and fought against separate statehood for the southern counties. During the 1890s, Ordway returned to New Hampshire, where he managed two large farms and spent the rest of his life.