Robert Wilkinson Furnas
| Robert Wilkinson Furnas | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 2nd Governor of Nebraska | |
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In office January 13, 1873 – January 11, 1875 |
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| Preceded by |
William H. James Acting Governor |
| Succeeded by | Silas Garber |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 5, 1824 near Troy, Ohio |
| Died | June 1, 1905 (aged 81) Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Political party | Republican |
Robert Wilkinson Furnas (May 5, 1824 – June 1, 1905) was the second Governor of Nebraska. Born near Troy, Ohio, and orphaned at the age of eight Furnas was a self-made man. He worked as a farmer, printer, tinsmith, insurance salesman, and postmaster all before getting into politics. He married Mary Elizabeth McComas on October 29, 1845, who died in 1897; and his second was Susannah Emswiler Jameson. He had eight children.
Furnas came to Nebraska in 1856 at the age of thirty-two and settled in Brownville, Nebraska. Two months later he published the Nebraska Advertiser, a publication advertising the agricultural opportunities found in Nebraska. He also published the Nebraska Farmer, the first agricultural publication out of Nebraska that is still published to this day.
In 1856 and 1858, Furnas was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nebraska Territory. He served as the public printer for the Nebraska Territory in 1857. In 1861, he was the chief clerk of the Territorial Council.
During the Civil War, Furnas became a colonel in the territorial militia, which was loyal to the Union. In 1862 he commanded three Indian regiments aligned with the Union Army and captured the Cherokee Indian chief John Ross.
After the war, Furnas served as Indian agent for the Omaha, Winnebago, and Ponca tribes. He was a member of the University of Nebraska board of regents from 1869 to 1875, first president of the Nebraska State Historical Society from 1878 to 1890, United States commissioner to the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, United States Commissioner to the New Orleans Cotton Centennial and United States commissioner to the Chicago Columbian Exposition.
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