Creighton University - Bluejay Yearbook (Omaha, NE)

Page 12 text:

EVEN IN THE FACE of impossible hardships Edward Creighton ' s de- votion to the cause of the Union moved him to prove the feasibility of his proposed telegraph line that would link the East and West. Creighton University is the only Jesuit insti- tution of higher learning named for a layman. But Edward Creighton was no ordinary layman. He can claim his share of fame in winning the West, preserving the union, taming the frontier and performing all of the other deeds attributed to heroes with more popular reputations. Ed Creighton was born near Barnesville, Ohio, on August 31, 1820. He was the fifth of nine chil- dren born to James and Bridget Creighton, Irish immigrants who met and married in America. The father provided his brood with lessons in hard work, self-reliance and strict justice while Bridget, a gentle mother, supplied them with a Catholic fervor to last a lifetime. A daring scrappy youth, Ed Creighton went into business for himself as a freighter at the age of 18. One of his jobs was hauling telegraph poles and this experience ' provided his early interest in the singing wire. In 1856 he arrived in the little frontier town of Omaha and decided to stay. After returning to Ohio to make Mary Lucretia Wareham his bride, he came back to Omaha to inaugurate a telegraph business. His first venture was a line between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Omaha. Following that he commenced the greatest achievement of his life. With Civil War Imminent, Edward Creighton IN OMAHA at 1710 Chicago Street, Edward Creighton and his wife, Mary Lucretia, lived until his death on November 3, 1874.

Page 11 text:

FOREWORD On the left wall of the hallway on the Adminis- tration Building ' s main floor hangs a picture of Edward Creighton. Students race past this picture on their way to classes or to the library. They amble past it on their way to a leisurely cup of coffee at the Student Center. Undoubtedly all Creighton students know that it was through the benefaction of Edward Creigh- ton that the university we now attend was founded. But all are not aware that it was through his efforts that lines of communication now span the United States. The necessity of communication of knowledge was recognized by this man who left funds for the establishment of our university. But Ed Creighton also realized the necessity of national telegraph wires at the time of the Civil War. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Wires West. To celebrate the anniversary of this man ' s contribution to the progress of our country, this year ' s Blue Jay also wishes to acknowledge the progress of the university which he founded.

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The year was 1860 and Civil War was immi- nent. Creighton reasoned that a telegraph line to Calilornia would bring the West— with its men, gold and supplies— into the Northern camp but the Federal Government was skeptical about the possibility of building the line through hostile territory and over difficult terrain. To prove the feasibility of the line, Ed Creigh- ton took off alone from Omaha to Denver, then to Salt Lake and— aboard a mtde for most of the distance— he struggled across the snow-swept Sierra Nevada mountains in midwinter. When he arrived in Carson City, Nevada, he was snow blind and more dead than alive. Recovering quickly he pushed on to California. His safe ar- rival in Sacramento convinced reluctant Wash- ington and the telegraph project was given funds and approval. On July 4, 1861— just after the Civil War had started— Creighton set the first pole and started for Salt Lake where he was to meet a crew btiild- ing east from California. Despite storms, floods, prairie fires, Indians, buffaloes, bandits and a host of other obstacles sufficient to defeat an ordinary man, Creighton arrived in Salt Lake a week ahead of the rival team on October 17, 1861. The Con- tinent was spanned and this act did much to preserve the Union. Creighton wasn ' t through. During the war he patrolled the line with a cavalry unit then sold out to Western Union at the cessation of hostili- ties. He is credited with discovering the cattle ranching possibilities of Nebraska and he helped persuade Union Pacific to make Omaha its eastern terminus. He built business blocks, a mercantile hotise, a hotel and served as president of the Omaha and Northwestern Railroad and the First National Bank of Omaha. He died on November 3, 1874, and his wife died little more than a year later. In her will she had the provision which fulfilled her husband ' s oft-expressed dream, a free school for boys. The Jesuits were called in to administer the new insti- tution which opened on September 7, 1878. Today Creighton is no longer free and che co- ed enrollment is happily rising but the Univer- sity stands as a wonderful monument to the memory of Ed Creighton, the pioneer builder, and to his brother, John, who shared his adven- tures and became the infant University ' s most generous benefactor. Proposed Wires West Hoping to Save the Union WITH THE COUNTRY split ' by civil war, Creighton helped unite the remaining parts of the union by laying telegraph lines west.