Edgar Howard was born in Osceola, Iowa, on September 16, 1858. He attended the Western Collegiate Institute and Iowa College of Law. He worked as a reporter and editor for various newspapers until 1884, when he got a job as an editor for the Papillion Times in Papillion, Nebraska. After serving a term in the state house, he passed the state bar and set up a law practice in 1896 in Papillion.
In 1900 Howard ended his term as judge and purchased the weekly Telegram in Columbus, Nebraska. He published it for decades, expanding it in 1922 as a daily paper.
Howard lost his bid for re-election in 1934 to Karl Stefan. He ran again for his former seat in 1938 and lost to Stefan. Howard returned each time to running the Columbus Daily Telegram. He died in Columbus on July 19, 1951, and is buried in the Columbus Cemetery.
Personal Life
Howard married Elizabeth Burtch in 1884. They had four children, Findley, Mary, Martha and Helen. Martha died in the early 1900s and Howard wrote a poem, “A Christmas Vision”, in memory of her. Edgar Howard
