66:, where he worked as an Indian Commissioner. He and his wife adopted J. Ann Floyd to be their daughter. While in Bellevue, Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell ran a store that sold dry, wet, and grocery goods. Mitchell saw some hard times in Bellevue, including being indicted for running an illegal gambling house and being sued several times on account of debt. Toward the end of their time in Iowa, J. C. Mitchell signed the temperance pledge, a copy of which was published in the
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other men raided
Mitchell's house. While there, Thompson attempted to assault a young woman who had stayed back from the celebrations. When news reached Mitchell of this outrage, he armed himself and went looking for Thompson. Thompson knew that he was now the marked man, and he went looking for Mitchell. When they found one another, both men fired, but Thompson's gun failed. Mitchell's shot struck home and killed Thompson almost instantly.
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For better or worse, Mitchell remained under house confinement for some time after that. On April 1, 1840, Sheriff Warren helped to lead a citizens' charge on W. W. Brown's hotel, the culmination of
Mitchell's law-and-order work. Mitchell asked to participate and Warren did not permit it, but he did
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Mitchell holed up in the hotel where the ball was being held and his wife, his family, and his friends fought off would-be attacks from vengeful friends of
Thompson. W. W. Brown took charge of the groups and negotiated a tense peace with Sheriff W. A. Warren. Mitchell was locked up in his own house
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in 1840. For many, a man named James
Thompson was the visible leader of a band of criminals and the rough citizens who supported them, while Mitchell was the local leader of the law-and-order faction. The two had more than one angry altercation, filled with threats. At on occasion, Thompson went so
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James C. Mitchell served on a credentialing committee in the early territorial legislature of
Nebraska. Mitchell served in the First Territorial Council and cast the vote that gave the early capital to Omaha, despite his own town of Florence being under consideration. In order to secure his vote,
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The rivalry between
Thompson's faction and Mitchell's came to a head on January 8, 1840, the evening of a Jackson Day ball in Bellevue. Accounts are conflicting as to the details, but the essential facts are this: While Mitchell and most of his group were busy at the ball, Thompson and one or two
77:, where they owned and operated two very successful stores. Mitchell was enchanted with the idea of the transcontinental railroad as a way to help his fellow midwesterners receive some of the bounty he had observed during a brief sojourn to the gold country in California. Following the advice of
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stood, platting and settling in the new village of
Florence, work that he, his team, and his family accomplished between 1853 and 1855. As he sighted the town, he had in mind its being a perfect location for a bridge crossing the river. The name of the town is said to been in honor of Florence
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Mitchell thought the town would be the
Nebraska Territory's capital, and in 1854 he co-founded the Nebraska Winter Quarters Company, which became the Florence Land Company in 1855. Mitchell himself owned 277 lots in Florence and was very active in real estate in both Florence and
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under guard on Warren's guarantee. Thompson's friends did not trust the justice system to avenge the killing and so they made an attempt to blow up
Mitchell's house and kill him and his family, but the plot was foiled by a turncoat member of their gang.
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Mitchell was appointed the sole commissioner for the new capitol building and granted an enlargement for his
Douglas County land interests. He ultimately selected a site on High School Hill, where Central High School now stands.
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Mitchell was finally indicted for manslaughter on April 17, 1840, and released on bail with the security assurances of several of his companions. He was tried and found not guilty on June 19, 1840.
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Mitchell owned several claims and ran numerous enterprises throughout the Territory. They included Elk Horn and Loup Fork Ferry and Bridge Company, the Winter Quarter Ferry, land once owned by the
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give the prisoner arms in case he was attacked during the violence, since he had yet to face trial for the killing of Thompson, and Brown's men were none too happy about that.
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chaplain who was lost at sea. Until 1838, Mitchell lived in England with his wife and his step-daughter Hannah Vandenberg.
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far as to call Mitchell a "Marked Man" and to threaten his safety, should they ever encounter one another alone.
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As the '49 Gold Rush hit and folks started moving west, James C. Mitchell and his family moved west, as well, to
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Buckhorn, Farmer (1910). "Faults of History and Idols of Clay, or The Unpopular History of the Bellevue War".
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Laws, Joint Resolutions, and Memorials Passed at the Regular Session of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature.
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55:. In 1836, Mitchell married Eliza Krosnick-Vandenberg (b. 1809), the South African widow of a
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19:(1810-1860) was an early settler of Bellevue, Iowa, and went on to the found the town of
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History of the State of Nebraska. Chicago, IL: Andreas, 1882. Digital transcription.
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by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
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231:. James Whitcomb Ellis, editor. S. J. Clarke, 1910: pp. 339 - 341.
217:. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. Kindle Edition.
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Settlers of the American West: The Lives of 231 Notable Pioneers
39:, in 1810, Mitchell left home at the age of fifteen to become a
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James C. Mitchell was a prominent citizen in the early days of
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Wilson, Anna. "Reminiscences of Mrs. Anna E. Wilson." In
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History of Omaha from the Pioneer Days to the Present Time
374:, Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 4/17/08.
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History of Jackson County, Iowa (Ellis, J. W., Editor)
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History of Jackson County, Iowa (Ellis, J. W., Editor)
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History of Jackson County Iowa (Ellis, J. W., Editor)
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282:Reid, Harvey (1906). "The Bellevue War: A Review".
62:In 1840 James C. Mitchell moved with his family to
324:. New York: W. W. Norton. pp. Kindle Edition.
443:. Gibson, Miller, and Richardson. pp. 78–79.
271:. Jackson County, Iowa: SJ Clarke. p. 348.
81:, Mitchell bought the land where the abandoned
51:, ships which sailed between New York City and
153:, the Columbus Company, the steam ferry boat
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188:"A History of the James C. Mitchell House,"
398:Warren, W. A. (1910). "The Bellevue War".
309:https://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/
98:. Mitchell joined the first board of the
43:. By age eighteen, he was captain of the
147:Council Buffs and Nebraska Ferry Company
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90:Kilbourn, a niece of Mrs. Mitchell's.
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335:"Florence, Douglas County, Nebraska"
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105:Mitchell died in Florence in 1860.
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339:Nebraska State Historical Society
439:Sorenson, Alfred Rasmus (1889).
269:History of Jackson County, Iowa
229:History of Jackson County, Iowa
70:on Friday, September 21, 1849.
481:People from Nebraska Territory
320:Creigh, Dorothy Weyer (1977).
284:Annals of Jackson County, Iowa
267:Ellis, James Whitcomb (1910).
213:Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2015).
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466:People from Omaha, Nebraska
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461:People from Pennsylvania
109:Role in the Bellevue War
68:Jackson County Democrat
341:. Retrieved 4/17/08.
37:Pangborn, Pennsylvania
420:Ellis, J. W. "1910".
377:No longer accessible.
344:No longer accessible.
372:"James C. Mitchell"
322:Nebraska: A History
96:Columbus, Nebraska
53:Liverpool, England
25:Nebraska Territory
486:American pioneers
17:James C. Mitchell
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476:1860 deaths
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455:Categories
428:: 459–462.
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256:: 427–459.
195:References
149:along the
57:Royal Navy
102:in 1856.
31:Biography
27:in 1854.
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170:See also
161:Politics
47:and the
35:Born in
21:Florence
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359:p 177.
141:Claims
83:Mormon
41:seaman
45:Lyden
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