Albinus
Nance was born in Stark County, Illinois on March 30, 1848. His parents were
Dr. Hiram Nance and Sarah Smith. His father was an eminent physician and
surgeon, a descendant of French Huegenots who settled in North Carolina. His
mother was of English heritage. He was educated in Kewanee, Illinois until age
16. At age of 16 he enlisted in the 9th Illinois Cavalry to fight in
the Civil War. He fought in several battles and was wounded in the Battle of
Nashville. After the Civil War he entered Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
In 1870 he was admitted to the bar in the supreme court in Illinois.
He moved to
Nebraska in 1871 to homestead and practice law. He settled in Polk county being
granted a homestead in 1875. Most of his time he spent practicing law in
Osceola and working his real estate business. In 1873 his friends submitted his
name to the Republican convention of the thirteenth district of the state
legislature. He won at the election by about 2000. While in Polk county, he met
notable residents who became his friends: Charles H. Morrill and John H.
Mickey. They were members of an Osceola banking firm and started the Stromsburg
Bank in 1881.
In 1875
Albinus Nance married Sarah White, daughter of Egbert and Mary White of
Farragut, Iowa. To this union, one daughter was born, Helen. Helen later
married Walter L. Anderson. Walter and Helen did not have any children, so
Albinus Nance doesn’t have any living descendants at this time.
He served in
the Nebraska House of Representatives from 1875 to 1878, serving as the speaker
in 1877-1878. He also served as a delegate to the Republican National
Convention in 1876. In 1878 while he was serving as speaker, he was elected as
governor of Nebraska. He was only 30 years old at the time, so he was nicknamed
the “boy governor”. He and his administration were popular with the people. He
won re-election in 1880 with “wild enthusiasm”. He is known for calling in the
Nebraska state militia to subdue the strikers in the Camp Dump Strike; one
striker was killed by the militia.
After
serving as governor, he left Lincoln shortly after serving and made his home in
Chicago. There he was engaged in handling railroad stocks and bonds.
Albinus
Nance passed away at the Augustana hospital in Chicago on December 7, 1911
after having pneumonia. Funeral services were held at the home of his daughter,
Mrs. Walter Anderson, in Chicago. The body was laid to rest in the family plot
in Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska. Offices at the state house were closed
for an hour for the funeral time as many of the state officers and prominent
citizens attended his service. Governor Nance was a member of the Knights
Templar and the Masons. Pallbearers included his friends Charles H. Morrill, A.
S. Tibbets, C. O. Whedon, A. S. Raymond, A. W. Field, J. H. McClay, R. E.
Moore, and Oliver E. Mickey (son of former governor John H. Mickey). Many other
notable men served as honorary pallbearers including doctors, governors, a
judge and a captain.
Nance
County, Nebraska is named for former governor Albinus Nance and is located just
northwest of Polk county where the governor resided for years.
For more about him and photos, go to his Findagrave page: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12839/albinus-nance
