View source for John Holbrook Powers

{{about|the Nebraska politician|the former mayor of Spokane, Washington|John Powers (mayor)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{More citations|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
 | name               = John Holbrook Powers
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 | birth_date         = {{birth date|1831|9|10}}
 | birth_place        = [[Madison County, Illinois]], U.S.
 | death_date         = {{death date and age|1918|5|15|1831|9|10}}
 | death_place        = [[Trenton, Nebraska]], U.S.
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 | spouse             = {{marriage|Helen Rhoda Greenlees|1856|1868|reason=died}}<br />{{marriage|Elizabeth Ellen Deffenbaugh|reason=died}}
 | relations          = 
 | children           = 12
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 | occupation         = {{hlist|Politician|educator}}
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'''John Holbrook Powers''' (September 10, 1831 – May 15, 1918), who was known as "Honest John," was a [[Nebraska]] pioneer who ran for [[Governor of Nebraska|governor]] as a [[Populist Party (United States)|populist]] in 1892.

==Early life==
John Holbrook Powers was born on September 10, 1831, in [[Madison County, Illinois]].<ref name="obit">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hitchcock-county-news-obituary-24-m/171926197/ |title=Obituary |date=1918-05-24 |newspaper=The Trenton Register |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2025-05-07}}{{Open access}}</ref>

==Career==
As a young man, Powers took up teaching the youth to shoot during the winters and instructed in chorus and choir.<ref name="obit"/> He fought in the [[Union Army]] in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. In Kentucky, he developed pneumonia and was honorably discharged.<ref name="obit"/>{{citation needed |date=May 2025 |reason=affiliation with Union Army}} In 1884, he joined the [[Farmers' Alliance]] and published its ''Alliance Manual''. This affiliation led to his nomination as the People's Party candidate for the [[Governor of Nebraska]] in 1892.<ref name="obit"/>{{citation needed |date=May 2025 |reason=year of race and party affiliation}} Of the three candidates, Powers received the most votes, but after a long and bitter fight, [[James E. Boyd (politician)|James E. Boyd]], the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], was declared elected.{{citation needed |date=May 2025}} In his ''History of Nebraska'', James Olson described Powers as "a modest man who lived in a sod house on his homestead in Hitchcock County."<ref>James C. Olson, ''History of Nebraska'', Second Edition; p. 222. (Lincoln, NE:  University of Nebraska Press, 1966)</ref> In 1895, he was appointed by Governor [[Silas A. Holcomb]] as labor commissioner. He was an adjutant at Grand Island Soldiers home for two terms.<ref name="obit"/>

Powers was a Presbyterian and was licensed in 1892 by the church in [[Hastings, Nebraska]], to preach as a lay evangelist. He was later licensed by the church in [[Kearney, Nebraska|Kearney]]. He later joined a church in [[Trenton, Nebraska|Trenton]]. He was a deacon of the church up until his death.<ref name="obit"/>

==Personal life==
Powers married Helen Rhoda Greenlees in 1856 in [[LaSalle County, Illinois]]. They had five children, including Nancy R., Lucy A., Amy J. His wife died in 1868. Powers married Mrs. Elizabeth Ellen Deffenbaugh. They had seven children, including John A., George H., Charles F., Aaron L. and Edward S. His second wife died around 1909.<ref name="obit"/> [[Robert B. Crosby]], the Republican governor of Nebraska from 1954 to 1955, was John Powers' great grandson.{{citation needed |date=May 2025}}

Powers died on May 15, 1918, in Trenton.<ref name="obit"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[People's Party (United States)|Populist]] nominee for [[Governor of Nebraska]]|years=1890}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles Van Wyck]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, John Holbrook}}
[[Category:1831 births]]
[[Category:1918 deaths]]
[[Category:Nebraska Populists]]
[[Category:People from Madison County, Illinois]]
[[Category:People from Hitchcock County, Nebraska]]
[[Category:People of Illinois in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:19th-century Nebraska politicians]]

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