Representative Stephen Friel Nuckolls

Stephen Friel Nuckolls (August 16, 1825 – February 14, 1879) was a Delegate from the Territory of Wyoming, a co‑founder of Nebraska City, Nebraska, and a prominent, if controversial, figure in the political and economic development of several western territories. Nuckolls County, Nebraska, is named in his honor, reflecting his early role in the settlement and organization of that region.

Nuckolls was born on August 16, 1825, in Grayson County, Virginia, where he completed his preparatory studies. In 1846 he moved west to Linden, Missouri, as part of the broader mid‑nineteenth‑century migration into the trans-Mississippi West. From 1847 to 1853 he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Missouri, gaining experience in trade and business that would shape his later activities as a banker, town founder, and territorial politician.

In 1854 Nuckolls moved to the newly organized Territory of Nebraska and became one of the founders of Nebraska City, Nebraska. There he quickly emerged as a leading local figure, holding several municipal and local offices as the community developed into an important Missouri River town. In 1855 he established the Platte Valley Bank, one of the early financial institutions in the territory, and he continued to expand his business interests. Nuckolls served in the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in 1859, participating in the formative legislative work of the territory. During this period he was also known for bringing the first four enslaved people into Nebraska, a fact that placed him at the center of the region’s conflicts over slavery. In 1858 two of these enslaved women, known as Eliza Grayson and “Celia,” age 14, escaped from Nebraska City. Nuckolls offered a $200 reward for their capture and organized a posse that pursued them as far as Chicago, Illinois, a journey of roughly 500 miles that was later recreated by a group of high school students in 2016. Eliza, initially reported to be 16 but later shown by records to have been 20, was located in Chicago two years after her escape by Nuckolls and a professional kidnapper. Both Nuckolls and Grayson were arrested by Chicago authorities and jailed, but an abolitionist mob freed Eliza from custody and arranged her safe passage to Canada, where she disappeared from the historical record. Nuckolls himself escaped the mob, was aided in disguise by Chicago city councilman Hiram Joy, and returned to Nebraska.

In 1860 Nuckolls moved again, this time to the Territory of Colorado, where he engaged in banking and mining amid the economic opportunities created by western mineral discoveries. He remained involved in finance and business until 1864, when he relocated to New York City. Three years later, in 1867, he moved to the Territory of Dakota and settled in Cheyenne, a rapidly growing community linked to the expansion of the transcontinental railroad. In Cheyenne he resumed mercantile pursuits, continuing the pattern of commercial activity that had characterized much of his adult life.

Upon the organization of the Territory of Wyoming, Nuckolls entered territorial politics as a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected as a Democratic Delegate to the Forty‑first Congress and served from December 6, 1869, to March 3, 1871. As a nonvoting Delegate representing the Territory of Wyoming, he contributed to the legislative process during one term in office, participating in the democratic process at a significant period in American history and representing the interests of his territorial constituents in debates over western development, infrastructure, and governance. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1870 to the Forty‑second Congress and, after leaving Congress, resumed his mercantile pursuits.

Nuckolls remained active in territorial politics after his congressional service. In 1871 he served as a member of the second legislative council of Wyoming, the upper chamber of the territorial legislature, and was chosen as its presiding officer, underscoring his continued influence in Wyoming’s early political life. He also participated in national party affairs, serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1872 and 1876, where he took part in the selection of the party’s presidential nominees and the shaping of its platforms during the Reconstruction era.

In July 1872 Nuckolls moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he entered the milling business, adding another enterprise to his long record of commercial activity in the American West. He lived in Salt Lake City for the remainder of his life. Stephen Friel Nuckolls died there on February 14, 1879, and was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Salt Lake City.