On March 1, 1867, President Andrew Johnson signed a proclamation admitting Nebraska as the 37th state of the union, thirteen years after being organized as a Territory and just two years after the civil war. Two months later, on Friday, May 31st, Cass County resident and State Senator Issac Wiles (1830-1921) introduced House Roll No. 41, an act to provide for the seal of the State of Nebraska.
“Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Nebraska: Sec. 1. That the Secretary of State shall be, and he is hereby authorized and required to procure, at the cost and expense of the state, and as soon after the passage of this act as practicable, a seal for the state, to be designed and known as the great seal of the state of Nebraska, and of the design and device following, that is to say: The eastern part of the circle to be represented by a steamboat ascending the Missouri river; the mechanic arts to be represented by a smith with hammer and anvil; in the foreground, agriculture to be represented by a settler’s cabin, sheaves of wheat, and stalks of growing corn; in the background a train of cars heading toward the Rocky Mountains, and on the extreme west, the Rocky Mountains to be plainly in view; around the top of this circle, to be in capital letters, the motto: ‘Equality Before the Law,’ and the circle to be surrounded with the words, “Great Seal of the State of Nebraska, March 1, 1867”.
Despite several efforts to update or change the seal, it has remained unchanged since 1867.
Issac Wiles was born in Henry County, Indiana, on October 5, 1830; moved with his parents to Andrew County, Missouri in 1841; farmed in California from 1852 to 1855; moved to Mills County, Iowa briefly before settling on a farm near Plattsmouth in 1856. He married Nancy Elizabeth in Mills County, Iowa on October 30, 1856.
On October 18, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Second Nebraska Cavalry Volunteers where he served as 1st lieutenant, and mustered out on December 8, 1863, upon the disbandment of the regiment. On August 29, 1864, he enlisted as Captain of Company B, First Regiment Nebraska Militia, Second Brigade until mustered out on February 13, 1865. He was a member of the eighth and twelfth Nebraska Territorial legislative assemblies, and a member of the House of Representatives of the Second State Legislature 1867-1868. He passed away in Plattsmouth on January 20, 1921 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. J H Hall.
