EDWARD CREIGHTON, 1820-1874

After moving to Omaha in 1857, Edward, with his brother John and a cousin, built a telegraph line from St. Joseph, Missouri, giving Omaha its first telegraph connection to the East Coast. He surveyed a transcontinental telegraph route, then built a portion from Julesburg to Salt Lake City. Creighton was also a pioneer in western cattle ranching and a great influence on the development of Omaha. He died before he could fulfill his wish to establish Creighton College, later Creighton University, leaving his wife to complete this goal.