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1877 Stephen Bennett Packard is an unrecognized Governor of Louisiana resulting from a highly contested 1876 election versus Francis T. Nicholls. Packard was a Captain in the Maine Volunteers during the civil war in a regiment reporting to General Butler. A native of Maine, he arrived in New Orleans after the Civil War. With his Gen. Butler relationship, he became New Orleans Judge-Advocate in 1864. In 1867 he became a delegate to the state constitutional convention and then chairman of the Board of Registration, the administrator of civil affairs of the state until July 1868. In 1871, President Grant appointed him U. S. Marshall. By the end of the Gov. Warmoth administration in 1872, Packard had become a leader of the "Customhouse Ring", a Radical Republican faction opposed to Warmoth. Packard supported the impeachment of Warmoth at the very end of Warmoth's term and then succeeded in having P. B. S. Pinchback recognized as governor for the thirty-five days left in Warmoth's term. Packard then directed the gubernatorial campaign of William Pitt Kellogg against John McEnery in late 1872. The result of that election was similar to what Packard would experience in his own campaign for governor, except with the opposite result. Packard was a delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1876 where he eventually supported Blaine instead of Grant for president. Elected and inaugurated as Governor of Louisiana in January 1877, Packard formed a legislature. Nicholls also claimed to have won, was inaugurated and also formed a legislature. This was a repeat of the 1873 election when both Kellogg and McEnery claimed the office of governor. This time President Grant refused to intervene in this hotly contested election versus Nicholls. There were estimates that it would take 100,000 federal troops to impose Packard into office. The Hayes-Tilden election for President was also undetermined with questionable results in several states including Louisiana. Rutherford Hayes endorsed Nicholls in the "Compromise of 1877" and then withdrew remaining federal troops from Louisiana on April 29, 1877. |
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Even Pinchback backed Nicholls in the dispute. Packard abdicated in April after his legislature elected Kellogg to the U. S. Senate, which was his one success. The Hayes administration offered the governorship of new territories of Washington, or Idaho or Wyoming as reward for Packard's abdication. He turned that offer down and instead chose to become the consul to England at Liverpool in 1878. Packard and his wife, Emma Frances Steele Packard, returned to a large farm, of 1,240 acres called Strathmore, in Marshalltown, Iowa. By 1893 he was involved in the State exhibit at the World's Exposition. His daughter Ada Packard married Edson G. "Dad" Abbott in Marshalltown on August 7, 1889. He remained involved in several Expositions for the state and was elected a member of the State Board of Agriculture. Packard's wife, Emma Steele, died in 1907. She is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown, Iowa. Their son, Sydney Steele is buried beside his mother. Packard died fifteen years later at age 82 in 1927. He was while living with his son, Stephen B. Packard, Jr. in Seattle, Washington. Stephen Bennett Packard, Sr. is with his children Stephen, Jr., Blanch and Walter S. in beautiful Washelli Columbarium as seen below.> Stephen, Jr., was born September 19, 1871 in New Orleans and died April 4, 1941 in Sedro Wooley, Skagit, Washington. He was a corporal in the 49th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Co. H.
Washelli Columbarium
Pictures by Brenda Spicer of
Washelli Columbarium
PACKARD
Stephen B.
1839 -
1922
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