Henry Clay Hansbrough | |
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| United States Senator fromNorth Dakota | |
| In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1909 | |
| Preceded by | Gilbert A. Pierce |
| Succeeded by | Martin N. Johnson |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota'sat-large district | |
| In office November 2, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Martin N. Johnson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1848-01-30)January 30, 1848 |
| Died | November 16, 1933(1933-11-16) (aged 85) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mary Berri Chapman Hansbrough |
| Profession | Printing |
| Signature |  |
Henry Clay Hansbrough (January 30, 1848 – November 16, 1933) was aUnited States politician who served as the firstUnited States Representative from North Dakota, as well as aSenator fromNorth Dakota.
Henry Clay Hansbrough was born in the historicCreole House in the village ofPrairie du Rocher,Illinois.[1]Henry Clay, who attended the wedding for his parents Elisha Hansbrough and Sarah Hagan, suggested to them that they name their first son after him, and they did.[2] Henry attended the common schools, but his school was interrupted by theCivil War and was forced to close.[3]
In 1867, the family moved toSan Jose, California. He learned the art of printing and worked at the trade in San Jose and later atBaraboo, Wisconsin. He was employed at one time at theSan Jose Daily Independent and theSan Francisco Chronicle.[3]
Hansbrough later moved toDakota Territory and established theGrand Forks News in 1881 and theInter-Ocean at Devils Lake in 1883.
Hansbrough was a strong advocate for dividing Dakota Territory and admitted the two halves as separate states into the Union, which eventually happened on November 2, 1889.
He arrived in Creel City, North Dakota (later renamed to Devils Lake), and was soon named postmaster, replacingHeber M. Creel, who was the settler and founder of Devils Lake. This created a rivalry between Creel and Hansbrough.[4] The two owned rival newspapers. Hansbrough owned theDevils Lake Inter-Ocean and Creel owned theDevils Lake Pioneer Press.[4] Both men ran for mayor of the city. Hansbrough was elected mayor ofDevils Lake in 1885 and served until 1888.[4] He was also a member of theRepublican National Committee from 1888 to 1896.
Upon the admission ofNorth Dakota as a state, Hansbrough was elected as aRepublican to theFifty-first Congress. He was the first person to represent the new state of North Dakota in theHouse of Representatives. He served from November 2, 1889, until March 3, 1891. He did not seek renomination in 1891, having become a candidate for Senator.
Hansbrough was elected to theU.S. Senate in 1891 and reelected in 1897 and again in 1903 and served from March 4, 1891, to March 3, 1909. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1909. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on the Library (Fifty-fourth Congress) and a member of the Committee on Public Lands (Fifty-fifth through Sixtieth Congresses) and the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry (Sixtieth Congress).[5]
As a Republican in D.C., Hansbrough became friends withTheodore Roosevelt, another prominent member of the party.[2] Even though Hansbrough was a Republican, he was still a "maverick," and later he would announce his support of DemocraticWoodrow Wilson.[4][6] In 1928, he supported the Democratic candidate,Alfred E. Smith, over the Republican candidate,Herbert Hoover. Before his death in 1933, Hansbrough was also a supporter of PresidentFranklin Roosevelt's farm programs during theGreat Depression.[6]
Hansbrough resumed his former business pursuits in Devils Lake following his unsuccessful reelection and moved toFlorida,New York, and finally toWashington, D.C., in 1927, where he died in 1933.
In 1933, Hansbrough visited his friend U.S. SenatorGerald Nye. Hansbrough requested Nye, upon his death, to scatter his ashes under an elm tree on theUnited States Capitol Grounds in Washington, D.C. Although it was not allowed, Nye fulfilled his friend’s request after he died, making Hansbrough the only person to have a final resting place on Capitol Hill.[2]
Media related toHenry Clay Hansbrough at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| New constituency | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota's at-large congressional district 1889–1891 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from North Dakota 1891–1909 Served alongside:Lyman R. Casey,William N. Roach,Porter J. McCumber | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Most senior living U.S. senator (Sitting or former) April 12, 1933 – November 16, 1933 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| Agriculture (1829–1857; 1863–1881) | | |
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| Agriculture and Forestry (1884–1977) | ||
| Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (1977–) | ||
| Public Lands (1816–1921) | | |
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| Public Lands and Surveys (1921–1947) | ||
| Interior and Insular Affairs (1947–1977) | ||
| Energy and Natural Resources (1977–) | ||
| One seat at-large (1889–1903) |   | ||||||
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| Two seats at-large (1903–1913) |
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| Three districts (1913–1933) |
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| Two seats at-large (1933–1963) |
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| Two districts (1963–1973) |
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| One seat at-large (1973–present) | |||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
