James
E. Boyd, governor of Nebraska, was born in county Tyrone,
Ireland, Sept. 9, 1834; son
of Joseph and Margaret Boyd. He emigrated
to
the United States with his
parents in 1844 and settled in Belmont, Ohio,
removing to Zanesville, Ohio,
in 1847. In 1856 he accompanied his
brother to Omaha, Nebraska,
and became extensively engaged in stock raising
and in the packing business,
near Gibbon, Neb., 1872-'87. He was a member
of the first state legislature
in 1866; a member of the constitutional
conventions of 1871 and 1875;
mayor of Omaha, 1881-'83 and 1885-'87; a
delegate to the Democratic
national convention in 1884, 1888 and 1892,
and was elected governor of
Nebraska by the Democratic party in 1890,
but was removed from office,
May 5, 1891, on the alleged ground that his
father had never properly
completed his naturalization and therefore the
son was an alien.
He was declared a citizen by the U.S. supreme court
and was reinstated as governor,
Feb. 8, 1892, serving till Jan. 1, 1893.
He became a member of the
Chicago board of trade and of the New York
stock exchange in 1886.