William B. Ebbert facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Baltzell Ebbert
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| Born | February 28, 1846 |
| Died | February 27, 1927 (aged 80) |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Union Army | |
| Unit | 1st Regiment West Virginia Infantry Volunteers |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
William Baltzell Ebbert (born February 28, 1846 – died February 27, 1927) was an important person in American history. He was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he became a politician in Colorado. He also worked as a newspaper publisher, writer, farmer, and businessman.
Ebbert was known for many things. In 1890, he started the Pueblo Review and Standard newspaper. He also helped create a law in Colorado in 1889 that required meat to be inspected. This helped keep people safe from bad food. He also worked to improve farming and irrigation in Colorado.
People respected William B. Ebbert a lot. One newspaper in 1911 even suggested he should run for the U.S. Senate. It said he had done more good for Colorado than almost anyone else alive.
Ebbert's family were farmers in Colorado. He was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. After serving in the army, he moved to Colorado. He had six children who died young. He is buried in the Lewis Cemetery in Cortez, Colorado.
Contents
Military Service in the Civil War
Joining the Union Army
William B. Ebbert was very young when he joined the army. He was only 15 years old in 1861. He even lied about his age to be able to enlist! He started as a Private. By 1864, he became a Sergeant Major.
When he was 18, the Governor of West Virginia made him a First Lieutenant. He was then appointed as an Acting Adjutant. This means he helped the commanding officer with daily tasks.
Battles and Commanders
Ebbert fought in many famous battles of the American Civil War. These included battles in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. He fought at Winchester, Port Republic, and Second Bull Run.
He often faced troops led by the famous Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. Ebbert served under generals like General Shield and General Sheridan. His first battle was near Winchester on March 25, 1862.
His father, John Van Kirk Ebbert, also served in the Union Army. He was a Sergeant.
People Ebbert Served With
- General Shield and General Sheridan.
- Colonel Thoburn: Ebbert said he was "ambitious and reckless."
- Colonel Weddle: Ebbert noted that Weddle was "steady and brave."
- Sergeant John Van Kirk Ebbert: His own father.
Serving in the Colorado Legislature
William B. Ebbert was a politician in Colorado. He served in the Colorado General Assembly. This is like the state's law-making body. He was a member from 1889 to 1890 as a Republican. Later, he served from 1907 to 1908 and from 1911 to 1912 as a Democrat.
He represented different areas of Colorado, including Pueblo, Dolores, Otero, and Montezuma counties. He was the chairman of important committees. He even ran for Speaker of the Assembly in 1911.
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Important Roles in the Legislature
- Chairman of the Rules Committee (1889)
- Chairman of the Education, Finance Ways and Means Committee (1889)
- Chairman of the Federal Relations Committee (1911, 1912)
- Member of committees for Indian and Military Affairs, Insurance, and Public Lands.
A Leader in Agriculture
When Ebbert moved to Colorado in 1881, he quickly became a successful farmer. He held many important positions in farming and business groups.
- President of the Valley Beet Growers Association.
- President of the Capital Hill Melon Grower's Association.
- President of the Rocky Ford Creamery Company.
- Director of the Montezuma Valley Irrigation District.
In 1889, he helped pass a law that required meat to be inspected before it was sold. This law helped protect people from bad meat. It also supported Colorado's cattle farmers. As a sugar beet farmer, Ebbert also fought for the rights of farmers against big sugar companies.
Ebbert's Fight Against "Dirty Politics"
William B. Ebbert was also known for speaking out against unfair politics. He had a big disagreement with people who supported Prohibition. Prohibition was a movement to make alcohol illegal.
Ebbert believed that local communities should decide if alcohol was legal or not. This idea was called "Local Option." Some groups, like the Anti-Saloon League, tried to stop him from being re-elected.
In 1910, after he narrowly won re-election, Ebbert gave a powerful speech. He had been attacked by a preacher named Rev. E.E. McLaughlin right before the election. Ebbert said:
The election is over, but I am not quite through with life... it is important to me, that I shall not be overwhelmed by the false evidence of any man...
Titles are trash. A league is good if its good. An untruth is an untruth whether spoken by a pauper or a prince.
He commanded me... to report to him within twenty-four hours how I stood on the Local Option question on pain of being blacklisted... I resented his astounding impertinence and defied him.
I now solemnly avow that every statement... bearing against me... is false; and McLaughlin was and is in a position to know that it is false.
He meant that what people say about you is more important than their fancy titles. He believed that lies are still lies, no matter who tells them.
Ebbert as a Poet
Ebbert was a great speaker and writer. He loved the English language. In 1897, he published a book of his writings and poems called On Colorado's Fair Mesas. Here is one of his poems about Colorado:
COLORADO
What hand shall sweep the trembling strings
That hold a symphony divine,
The meed that lavish nature brings—
Where sits enthroned the columbine?
There is no art, aspiring, high,
Can move the soul as these do mine—
These glories of the earth and sky
Where blows the chosen columbine.
Yon monarch peak! What touch but mars
Its breast on which clouds recline?
Whose head is pillowed with the stars—
Where sleeps below the columbine.
Here fan the plain the west winds mild,
The dreamy vale, the wanton vine;
There canons crash with thunders wild,
Where hides the timid columbine.
The pioneers, with hearts unmoved,
Who came t' unlock the treasured mine,
Beholding, paused and pausing, loved,
Where sweetly blooms the columbine.
Now on the trail gleam hearthstones bright,
And fanes proclaim the sacred shrine,
And cities rise in grace and might,
Where proudly waves the columbine.
Fair State, commanding, hopeful, strong—
Thy sons' the virtues that are thine—
May God thy days in peace prolong,
Where fondly glows the columbine.
Family Life
William B. Ebbert had nine children. Sadly, six of them died when they were young.
- In Cincinnati, three babies died as infants.
- In Colorado, three more children died young: Wilson (at age 36), Irving (at age 19), and Wolcott (at age 19).
Only three of his children lived to be adults: William Dickinson Ebbert, Blanche, and Edith.
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Ebbert's first wife, Cornelia, died in 1881. This happened a few weeks after their sixth child was born. That baby also died shortly after. After Cornelia's death, Ebbert moved to Colorado with his three surviving children.
In Colorado, he married Catherine Scheutle in 1884. They lived on the Ebbert Ranch near Cortez, Colorado. The ranch house was built in 1908 and is still there today.
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Memorable Sayings
- "Titles are trash. A league is good if its good. An untruth is an untruth whether spoken by a pauper or a prince." (November 21, 1910)
- "He is one of the fussy, spluttering Denver stripplings who buss around the statehouse and think they are running something." (About Anti-Saloon League activist E.E. McLaughlin)
See also
- Congressman George Ebbert Seney (D-Ohio)
- Link to George Ebbert Seney in the Political Graveyard
