Briggs, Ansel, 1806-1881

First governor of Iowa (1846-1850).

First governor of Iowa (1846-1850). Briggs was born in Vermont, moved to Ohio in 1830 and to Iowa in 1836. He settled first in Davenport, Iowa later moving north to Andrew (Jackson County). He operated stagecoach lines and was under contract with the federal government to deliver mail. He held the office of deputy treasurer of Jackson County and represented the county in the Iowa Territorial House of Representatives (1842). At the 1846 state convention he was nominated for governor on the Democratic ticket, becoming the first governor of the territory to be elected by the people. Under his administration the state government was organized, the boundary between Missouri and Iowa was established, and a free school system was established. In 1854 he became one of the founders of Florence, Nebraska (near Omaha), and held property interests in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Columbus, Nebraska and Bellevue, Nebraska. From 1860 until 1865 he and his son operated an overland freight operation to Colorado and Montana. From 1876 until 1879 he resided in Council Bluffs, before moving to Omaha for the remainder of his life. He was married twice. Only 2 of his 8 children from his marriage to Nancy M. Dunlap reached adulthood, John Shannon and Ansel, Jr.