Samuel Gordon Dailey was a Congressional Delegate from the Territory of Nebraska

Nebraska Territory

The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska Territory was created by the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854...

.

He was born in Trimble County, Kentucky

Trimble County, Kentucky

Trimble County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 8,125. Its county seat is Bedford. The county is named for Robert Trimble. Trimble is a prohibition or dry county. It is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical...

. Dailey moved with his parents to Jefferson County, Indiana

Jefferson County, Indiana

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 32,428. The county seat is Madison.-History:Jefferson County was formed in 1811...

 in 1824, where he attended the common schools and Hanover College

Hanover College

Hanover College is a private liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The college was founded in 1827 by the Rev. John Finley Crowe, making it the oldest private college in Indiana. The Hanover...

 in Hanover, Indiana

Hanover, Indiana

Hanover is a town in Hanover Township, Jefferson County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college. Hanover is also the home of Southwestern High School...

. Dailey then studied law and was admitted to the bar in Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 and commenced practice in Madison, Indiana

Madison, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,004 people, 5,092 households, and 3,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,402.9 people per square mile . There were 5,597 housing units at an average density of 654.1 per square mile...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate of the Free Soil Party

Free Soil Party

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...

 for election to the Indiana General Assembly

Indiana General Assembly

The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...

; he then moved to Indianapolis and was engaged in the cooperage

Cooper (profession)

Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...

 business.

In 1857, he moved to Nebraska Territory, and settled in Peru, Nebraska

Peru, Nebraska

Peru is a city in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 569 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Peru is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

, in Nemaha County, Nebraska

Nemaha County, Nebraska

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,576 people, 3,047 households, and 1,980 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile . There were 3,439 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...

. Dailey built a sawmill on the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 and in 1858 became a member of the Nebraska Territorial House of Representatives. In this position, he was one of the first in Nebraska to declare himself a Repulican. He also introduced the first bill to abolish slavery in the Territory. The bill failed.

Samuel Dailey successfully contested as a Republican the election of Experience Estabrook

Experience Estabrook

Experience Estabrook was an American attorney and legal administrator active in territorial Wisconsin and Nebraska....

 to the Thirty-sixth United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

,. The next election for the Thiry-seventh Congress was also conteted. This time the opponent was J. Sterling Morton; the founder of Arbor Day

Arbor Day

Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. It originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States during 1872 by J. Sterling Morton. The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872, and an estimated 1 million trees were planted that day.Many...

. Again, Daily won the contest. He was reelected to the Thirty-eighth Congress without a contest. He served in Congress from May 18, 1860, to March 3, 1865.

In March 1865, he was appointed deputy collector of customs in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 at the special request of President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. He died of yellow fever in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 15, 1866. He was buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery in Peru, Nebraska.

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