Herbert Franklin Sheldon (c. 1831–1917) was an American politician and real estate businessman in Ottawa, Kansas. He served as Ottawa's mayor and was a state senator.[1]
Sheldon arrived in Ottawa in 1864. He was elected mayor of Ottawa in 1872.[2] He also served as county clerk and register of deeds.[3]
Sheldon rescued the hotel project that became Henry Hutchins Ludington's Ludington House Hotel in Ottawa[4] and funded the building's completion. He built his residence next to it.[5] It is now known as Gillette House and is part of Ottawa University.[6] Built as a residence for Sheldon,[6] it was used as a dormitory by the university and called Sheldon Hall.[7] It is at 718 South Cedar Street.[6]
Ludington House housed the First National Bank and a post office.[8]
Sheldon was president of the Temperance League and was an advocate for prohibition, helping lead the effort that made the county "dry" in his lifetime.[2]
The H. F. Sheldon building in Ottawa is 2-story Italianate brick building at 324 South Main Street was built in 1887. It is a contributing property to a historic district.[9]
Sheldon wrote Reminiscences of My Dealings with Criminals in the Early History of Franklin County, Kansas in 1916.[10]
He was a member of the Kansas State Senate in 1899.[11] He was a Republican.
His first two wives and several children died. He was a trustee of Ottawa University.[12] His brother Dwin M. Sheldon was a prominent businessman in Ottawa.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Portrait and Biographical Record of Leavenworth, Douglas and Franklin Counties, Kansas: Containing Portraits, Biographies and Genealogies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present. Chapman publishing Company. July 8, 1899. p. 309 – via Internet Archive.
herbert franklin sheldon.
- ^ a b "Senator H.F. Sheldon came to Ottawa, Kansas in 1864. He was elected Mayor of Ottawa in 1872". The Ottawa Guardian. 28 December 1917. p. 1.
- ^ "Franklin County, Part 5". www.kancoll.org. Archived from the original on 2003-01-16.
- ^ "The United States Biographical Dictionary: Kansas Volume : Containing Accurately Compiled Biographical Sketches, Into which is Woven the History of the State and Its Leading Interests". S. Lewis & Company. July 7, 1879 – via Google Books.
- ^ A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, written and compiled by William E. Connelley, Chicago : Lewis, 1918. 5 v. (lvi, 2731 page 228)
- ^ a b c "New Life Given to Former Sheldon Hall at OUKS – Ottawa University".
- ^ Barker, Deborah (July 8, 2014). Ottawa. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467112697 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Ludington House, Ottawa, Kansas – Kansas Memory – Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org.
- ^ "H. F. Sheldon Building - Ottawa, Kansas - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
- ^ "Franklin County History Bibliography – Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org.
- ^ Senate, Kansas Legislature (July 8, 1899). Senate Journal. State printer – via Internet Archive.
kansas state senate h.f. sheldon.
- ^ "The United States Biographical Dictionary: Kansas Volume : Containing Accurately Compiled Biographical Sketches, into which is Woven the History of the State and Its Leading Interests". 1879.