Alvin Saunders

"Senator Saunders" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Saunders (disambiguation).

"Governor Saunders" redirects here. Not to be confused with Governor Sanders (disambiguation).

Alvin Saunders
United States Senator from Nebraska
In office March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	Phineas Hitchcock
Succeeded by	Charles F. Manderson
5th Governor of Nebraska Territory
In office May 15, 1861 – February 21, 1867
President	Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson
Preceded by	Algernon S. Paddock
Succeeded by	David Butler (as Governor of the State of Nebraska)
Member of the Iowa Senate
In office December 4, 1854 – May 14, 1861
Personal details
Born	(1817-07-12)July 12, 1817 Fleming County, Kentucky
Died	November 1, 1899(1899-11-01) (aged 82) Omaha, Nebraska
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Political party	Republican
Relatives	William Henry Harrison III (grandson)
Signature

Alvin Saunders (July 12, 1817 – November 1, 1899) was a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, as well as the final and longest-serving governor of the Nebraska Territory, a tenure he served during most of the American Civil War.

Education

Saunders was born in Fleming County, Kentucky. He attended the common schools and pursued an academic course; he moved with his father to Illinois in 1829 and then to Mount Pleasant, Iowa (then a part of Wisconsin Territory) in 1836.

Political career

He was the postmaster of Mount Pleasant for seven years. Saunders studied law but never entered into practice; instead, he engaged in mercantile pursuits and banking. He was a delegate to the Iowa State constitutional convention in 1846 and was a member of the Iowa State Senate from December 4, 1854, to May 14, 1861. Saunders served the first two years of his legislative tenure as a Whig for District 5, then changed his party affiliation to Republican, holding the District 7 seat until 1860, when he assumed the District 9 seat. Saunders was one of the commissioners appointed by Congress to organize the Union Pacific Railroad Company.

He served as the last Governor of Nebraska Territory from 1861 to 1867. He was a delegate to the 1868 Republican National Convention. Saunders was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served a single term from March 4, 1877, to March 3, 1883; chairman of the Committee on Territories (Forty-seventh Congress). He died in Omaha on November 1, 1899; interment in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Family

Saunders' father, Gunnel, was said to be of "old stock" in Culpeper County, Virginia. His mother was Mary Mauzy of the same county. They moved to Kentucky and later to Illinois, where Alvin attended school and did farm work until 1836, when the young man removed to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, which was then part of Wisconsin.

At his death he left a wife and two children, Charles B., and a daughter, Mary (later Mrs. Russell Harrison of Washington, D.C.)

Saunders was the grandfather of William Henry Harrison III, who served several terms as Wyoming's member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1950s and 60s. His son-in-law was Russell Benjamin Harrison.

Legacy

Saunders County, Nebraska and Saunders School in Omaha were both named after him. Alvin Saunders Johnson, the founding editor of The New Republic, was named in honor of Saunders.

References

1. "The Political Graveyard". Saunders, Alvin. Archived from the original on December 24, 2005. Retrieved January 8, 2006.
2. "Congressional Bioguide". Saunders, Alvin. Archived from the original on November 29, 2005. Retrieved January 8, 2006.

• United States Congress. "Alvin Saunders (id: S000076)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.