Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-22
HONORS ANSEL BRIGGS.
Removes Remains Of First Governor
from Omaha to Old Home.
WILL ERECT MONUMENT THERE
Martin Durham, Only Surviving Pail
Bearer who Laid Away Body
Twenty-Eisht Years Ago,
Present at DisInterment.

What was left after it's twenty-eight
years of interment of the body Of Ansel
Briggs, the first governor of Iowa, was
disinterred at Prospect Hid cemetery Fri
day noon, placed in another casket for re-
interment at Andrew, Ia.
The disinterment was made under the
direction of a special committee of the
Thirty-third general assembly of Iowa,
consisting of State Senator James w.
Ellis of M~anauoketa, State Senator c. G,
Saunders of Council Bluffs and State Rep
resentative Henry Brandes of Hancock,
Pottawattamie county.
Others present at the disinterment were
Mrs. John S. Briggs OF Omaha, daughter
in-law Of the late Governor Briggs; Mar
tin. Durham of Omaha, the only surviving
pallbearer of the funeral of Governor
Briggs, which took place in May, 1881; q.
G.. Baird of the undertaking firm of Baird,
Longnecker & Boland of Council Bluffs.
which had charge of the d~isinterment, a
reporter for The Bee and superintendent
d. c. Callahan of Prospect Hill cemetery.
Little Left of Body.
Little was left of the body but the skull
and a few of the limb bones, the whole
having fallen into general decay and
merged with the original casket. These
were gently removed from the grave,
wrapped in cloth and placed in the new
casket.
The remains will be reburied in the fam
lily lot at Andrew. Ia, Sunday, with i'm
pressive ceremonies. in which a delegation
Of the Iowa legislature and the Iowa His
torical society will take part.
The Iowa legislative committee, with
Mr.. Durham, we're the guests of Mrs.
Briggs at luncheon at the Paxton after
their return from the cemetery.
The cemetery in which the late Governor
Briggs will be buried at Andrew, Ia, was
donated to that town by Governor Briggs
many years ago.
His Active Career.
Ansel Briggs was born in the state of
Vermont, February 3, 1906, and his wife,
Nancy Dunlap, was born on the same date.
He came TO Iowa in 1898 and settled on
lands where me town of Andrew now
stands. He was engaged for several years
in establishing stage lines, some times
personally driving his own stages. In 1872
he was elected to represent Jackson county
in the Iowa territorial legislature, and in
1886 became the first governor of the new
state, and served as such until 1850, after
which he returned to his old home in An
drew and engaged in general mercantile
business, later establishing a newspaper
there. During his tenure of office as gov
ernor he lost his wife by death, December
30. 1S47.
Governor Briggs continued to make An
drew his home, but while visiting his son.,
the late John S. Briggs and family in
Omaha in 1881, he was stricken and died
in Omaha, May 5. He was buried in Pros
pect Hill cemetery May 8. His death was
mourned all over the country and par
ticularly In his home state of Iowa. The
day following his death Governor Gear
issued a proclamation reciting his services
to the state and ordered half-hour guns
to be fired and the national flag to be
placed at half-mast on the state capitol
on the day of his funeral.
State to Honor Him.
The Pioneer Lawmakers Association of
Iowa passed resolutions urging that the
state honor the memory of Governor
Briggs by bringing his body back to the
state. These were supplemented by similar
resolutions Of all the pioneer associations
of the state of Iowa.
Senator James w. Ellis, of Jackson
county, was the introducer OF the Dill IN
the Thirty-third general assembly of the
state of Iowa, which provided for a suffi-
Client sum to bring back the body
of the late governor to the state he had
served so we'll. This was supplemental to
a similar bill by Senator Lambert In the
previous session OF the general assembly.
The historical society of Jackson county
took an active part in the matter, and in
addition N the expense necessary to re-
turn the body to Iowa. an additional appro-
priation of 81 500 was made for the erection
of a monument to the emo of Governor
Briggs.
This monument will be dedicated and
unveiled in September of the present year
1t will be a plain granite shaft twenty.
eight feet and eight inches above the
ground and will have a weight of $1,000
pounds. The base will be of concrete anc
the pedestal from which the shaft will
ascend will be carved with a map Of tn,
state, and lettering describing the services
of Governor Briggs TO the state, with tn,
dates of his birth and death. A portrai
OF the governor will also be carved on on,
of the facades of the pedestal.