Andrew Jackson Poppleton
(1830 - 1896)
Andrew was born on July 25, 1830, in Oakland County, Michigan, one of seven children, and was reared on a farm. His father, William, had served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Andrew attended the University of Michigan, and in 1851 graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1852 and practiced law in Detroit until he came to Omaha in October of 1854. He was married in 1855 to Caroline Sears; they had 3 children.
Before 1857, no land office had yet been established in this newly settled community, and consequently there were multiple claims on land parcels. To combat this problem, Poppleton founded the Omaha Claim Club, a group of landowners who protected the claims of original owners, preventing “claim jumping.” The club was a tribunal to deal with boundary and claim disputes.
In 1857, Poppleton was elected to the Territorial Legislature and became Speaker. Elected mayor of Omaha in 1858, he was reelected in 1867 and 1868. He practiced law for many years. He was the attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad from 1866 to 1888, and was instrumental in their headquarters being located in Omaha. He served as the City Attorney of Omaha from 1890 to 1892. He organized the Omaha Board of Trade (the present-day Chamber of Commerce), the Omaha Bar Association, and the Omaha Public Library, and was a director of the First National Bank of Omaha.
Poppleton argued many cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1879, he spoke on behalf of the Ponca Indian Chief, Standing Bear, and his tribe for their release after they had been unlawfully dispossessed of their homes in Nebraska and forced to relocate to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Poppleton’s successful defense led to the landmark decision by Judge Elmer Dundy that native Americans are “persons within the meaning of the law” and have the rights of citizenship.
Poppleton had a farm near Elkhorn, Nebraska, where he raised trotting horses. His health began to fail in the early 1890s, and he died in 1896.
Historic marker dedicated on May 29, 2006
Courtesy hmdb.org
