Biography of John Palmer Usher Excerpted from "Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society, 1911-1912", Edited by Geo. W. Martin, Secretary. Vol XII., State Printing Office, Topeka, Kansas 1912. submitted by Teresa Lindquist (merope@radix.net); (copyright) 2001 by Teresa Lindquist ----------------------------------------------------------------------- KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the KSGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- JOHN PALMER USHER was born in the town of Brookfield, Madison county, New York, January 19, 1816, and died in a hospital in Philadelphia April 13, 1889. He was admitted to the bar of New York in 1839, and soon after removed to Terre Haute, Ind., where he at once began to be known both as an able lawyer and as a political speaker. He took a prominent part in the politics of the state, and in 1861 was appointed attorney-general of Indiana, which office he held until he was made Assistant Secretary of the Interior, in 1862. The next year President Lincoln appointed him Secretary of the Interior. He had met Mr. Lincoln in courts of law in his own state and in Illinois, and it is said that in his own country he was reputed as great a lawyer as Lincoln himself. Lincoln trusted him and honored him with a closer intimacy than he showed toward any other member of his cabinet. After the assassination of the President Judge Usher became general solicitor for the Kansas Pacific Railroad, removing to Kansas some time in 1866 and settling in Lawrence, where he resided until his death. At the time of his death he was general attorney and general counsel for the Union Pacific Railroad. [included with the article "The Conception and Growth of a Kansas Railroad", page 383]