Phineas Hitchcock
[1] He was born in New Lebanon, Columbia County, New York, the son of Gad Hitchcock and Nancy Prime.After he graduated, and after several years of combined law study and journalistic work in New York State, he moved to the Territory of Nebraska in the spring of 1857, locating at Omaha, then a small settlement.Once in Nebraska, Hitchcock opened a law office, combining with the practice of his profession an agency for several insurance companies and a general real estate business.At the end of eight years from the date of entry, the settler could make final proof if the necessary conditions had been fulfilled.An affidavit or "timber culture proof" had to be completed by the claimant and two witnesses before the final certificate and patents were issued.