President Ulysses S. Grant Nominates the Chief Justice of the Dakota Territory This nomination was first advanced by Andrew Johnson, who left office a month before the date of this document

06/04/1869. The Dakota Territory was created by an Act of Congress on March 2, 1861. Boundaries of the Dakota Territory changed on a number of occasions. Originally, the territory comprised an area that included the present states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and much of Montana and Wyoming. From 1863 to 1864, the area of the territory was limited to the present day Dakotas. The territory included most of the present state of Wyoming and the Dakotas from 1864 to 1868. And from 1868 to 1889 the territory comprised the present states of North Dakota and South Dakota. The territorial capital was established in Yankton in 1861 and later removed to Bismarck (truncated) in 1883.When the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota, the Supreme Court of the Dakotas was abolished by operation of law, and its function was taken over by the North Dakota Supreme Court and the South Dakota Supreme Court.Document signed, Washington, April 6, 1869, appointing George W. French, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Dakota. (Inventory #: 32514)