A- /\y- A, o rni CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY w< Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924098819638 In compliance with current copyright law, Cornell University Library produced this replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1992 to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. 2004 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT PUND GIVEN IN 1 89 1 BY HENRY WILUAMS SAGE A Biographical and Genealogical History OF Southeastern Nebraska Embellishep with Portraits op Many Well Known People of This Skctios of thk (-{rkat West. Who Have Been and Are Prominent in Its History and De\-et^t.ment VOL. I ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO NEW YORK THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1904 ■ . . /^fii'f^l Preface Out of the depths of his mature wisdom Caiiyle wrote, "History is the essence of innumerable biographies." Believing this to be the fact, there is no necessity of advancing any further reason for the com- pilation of such a work as this, if reliable history is to be the ultimate object. Southeastern Nebraska has sustained within its confines men who have been prominent in public affairs and great industrial enterprises for half a century. The annals teem with the records of strong and noble manhood, and, as Sumner has said, "the true grandeur of nations is in those Cjualities which constitute the greatness of the individual.'' The final causes which shape the fortunes of individuals and the des- tinies of States are often the same. They are usually i-emote and obscure, and their influence scarcely perceived until manifestly declared by results. That nation is the greatest which produces the greatest and most manly men and faithful women; and the intrinsic safetv of a community depends not so much upon methods as upon that normal development from the deep resources of which proceeds all that is precious and per- manent in life. But such a result may not consciously be contemplated by the actors in the great social drama. Pursuing each his personal good by exalted means, they work out national destiny as a logical result. The elements of success in life consist in both innate capacity and iv PREFACE. determination to excel. Where either is wanting, faihirc is ahnost cer- tain in the outcome. The study of a successful life, therefore, serves both as a source of information and as a stimulus and encouragement to those who have the capacity. As an important lesson in this con- nection we may appropriately ciuote Longfellow, who said : "We judge ourselves lay what we feel capable of doing, while we judge others by what they have already done." A faithful personal history is an illus- tration of the truth of his observation. In this biographical history the editorial staff, as well as the pub- lishers, have fully realized the magnitude of the task. In the collection of the material there has been a constant aim to discriminate carefully in regard to the selection of subjects. Those who have been prominent factors in the public, social and industial development of the country have been given due recognition as far as it has been possible to secure the requisite data. Names worthy of perpetuation here, it is true, have in several instances been omitted, either on account of the apathy of those concerned or the inability of the compilers to secure the informa- tion necessary for a symmetrical sketch; but even more pains ha.ye been taken to secure accuracy than were promised in the prospectus. Works of this nature, therefore, are more reliable and complete than are the "standard" histories of a country.' THE PUBLISHERS. Index. Achenbach, Lewis 402 Akin, Alraon M S95 Aldrich, Benton 353 Allpress, Henry A 808 Allvord, William H 52 Ammerman, U. S 629 Andrews, A. D 269 Armstrong, George B 100 Ashenfelter, J. W 239 Aumiller, John 507 Avery, W. H 689 Axtell, Daniel 685 Bacon. Caleb M 681 Bailey, Benjamin H 515 Baker, Luther S 569 Baker, William H. 444 Barclay, Andrew D 904 Barnes, Casner 112 Barnes, C D 539 Barnhart, John W 129 Beeler, J. A 1063 Belding, G. T 66 Bell, Alexander 805 Bell, James T 806 Bennett, Robert D 284 Bill, Edwin J 695 Binger, Henry 769 Black, Toliver P 672 Blandin, John F 784 Blessing, Clayton E 44 Borst, Alanson ]\I 479 Bower, Henry T 693 Boyd, Edward M 854 Boyd, Robert C 42 Brandow, William 499 Brandt, John H 975 Bridges, Henry C 878 Brown, Harvey A 521 Brown, Jefferson D 388 Brown, J. P 666 Brown, M. M 880 Biirress, James M 248 Bush, Walter D 291 Butler, Chatfield H 873 Caldwell, Samuel L 37 Caley, Lewis 861 Callen, Harvey J 208 Callison, Jesse B 977 Camp, Chester R 116 Carey, Peter 97 Carmichael, John 894 Carmony, Frank A 193 Carmony, John W 567 Carpenter, Jonathan 471 Carr, Preston W 1064 Castor, Bernard L 772 Chaffin, Shadrach M 224 Chaney, William R 87 Chase, Lumon 761 Chubbuck, Carlton K 530 Clapp, Robert A 60s Clark, Mrs. Mary E 312 Clark, William A 19S Clark, William L 495 Coatney, John H 185 Cole, Sanford D 425 Collins, Andrew G 650 Colman, Allen 847 Confer, Daniel 153 Conner, Monroe T 187 Copeland, Thomas 49 Cornell, John F 256 Coulter, Robert 803 Cowel, James 108 Cowperthwait, S. J 943 Cramb, E. M 541 Crane, William H 560 Cravens, Joseph M 383 Creuz, Charles 201 Crinklaw, Robert 552 Crook, Jesse 474 Croop, Morton 1052 Crow, George 306 Cussins, Jackson, 424 Cussins, James 421 Dalbey, J. Lee 294 Darnell, George 856 Darr, Francis D 818 Davidson, S. P 536 Davies, John 267 Davis, Daniel D 160 VI INDEX. Davis, Nathaniel E 6oo Day, E. H 663 Day, Harry A 963 Dean, Lewis H 281 Deffer, Augustus 787 DeKalb, Thomas J 668 Deubler, Conrad 513 Diller, Andrew 825 Diller, Jacob K 587 Diller, W. H 631 Doane College 832 Dodge, Seth W 603 Dooley, Samuel B 183 Dort, Edward H 63 Dorrington, William E 418 Downey, W. F 641 Downs, Mrs. Catherine 429 Doyle, James E 80 Druery, Jonas 325 Dundas, John H 82 Dustin, George T 25 Dye, George E 12 Easley, Drury T 367 Easley, Stephen R. 919 Eckhardt, August 21a Edgar, W. H 871 Edgerton, William 816 Ellis, William A 1016 Engel, J. Louis 8g Enlow, O. M 410 Enoch, Absalom M 149 Erisman, Henry B 191 Fairall, Truman E 538 Fall, C. P 903 Fallstead, George H 390 Feather, Peter W 1034 Forney, Joseph 1041 Fowler, Charles L 554 Frankforter, David 763 Frankforter, Noah 766 Frederick, John 76 Freel, Oliver 901 Friday, John H S50 Frieze, John 1 1044 Fritz, L. R 447 Fry, Isaac M 914 Fuller, Mrs. Sarah E 103 Fulton, Wesley M 351 Furnas, Robert W 2 Gaede, William 22 Gage, Edward D. and Family 983 Gallant, William 653 Gardner, L S 697 Gillpspie, P. L 431 Gilliland, Josiah 163 Gilmore, Andrew H 145 Gilmore, Robert G 40 Gilmore, William M S84 Given, H. A 428 Glasgow, Sterling P 955 Goin, James K. 458 Goin, Phillip 1029 Goldner, William 422 Goodman, Daniel 123 Graff, Gus 456 Graves, Albion, 968 Griffin, E. P 836 Grimes, Joseph W 857 Green, Francis 626 Greenwood, H- A 870 Grout, Arnold W 906 Hacker, Charles R 78 Haddan, John C I Hageman, Gaddis P 798 Haggard, George T 638 Hahn, Frederick J 524 Hahn, Mrs. Catherine 526 Hamersham, James 1031 Flarden, Charles 349 Harmon, Henry 10 Harris, G. A 973 Hassler, Fred. S 274 Hastings, George H 728 Hawley, William H 518 Hazard, Ashbel P 648 Heilman, W- L 490 Helvey, Henry W 675 Flelvey, Hiram P 1053 Helvey, Jasper 574 Flensel, Claude P 807 Hepperlen, H. M 266 Heskett, John W 264 Hibbert, Thomas E 1074 Hickman, Isaac N 399 Hildebrand, Arthur E ^ 741 Hileman, Milton 941 Hockman, Noah 72C Holbrook, Stephen F 1057 Holroyd, William 211 Holtgrewe, John F 511 Hoover, Mrs. Harriet 74 Hoover, Harry G 296 Horney, Joseph M 742 Hosford, James W 358 Hossack, John 378 Houck, James 654 Houseman, Harry 814 How-e, Seymour 896 Huffman, Elisha 376 Hughes, Amos T. D 958 INDEX. Vll Hummel, Wesley G. _ 231 Humphreys, Thomas W S02 Hurlburt, M. C 885 Hurst, Charles B 220 Hutchinson, Osvvin S 927 Huyck, Isaac 488 Isaac, Swen A 261 Jacobs, William 746 James, P. H- 54 Jeffrey, J. 862 Jelinek, Joseph, Jr loii Jenkins, Philip 226 Johnson, James 724 Johnson, Porter C 531 Johnston, William J 701 Jones, Benjamin F 320 Jones, Joel T 965 Jones, William W 372 Jump, John D 1035 Karten, Frank 709 KaufTman, William M 141 Kechely, Mechior 1014 Keedy, Thomas J 57 Kennedy, George L 435 Kennedy, Stephen W 436 Kimball, F. E 362 King, John P 302 Kinney, Samuel A 364 Kirk, Mrs. Laura D 1013 Koeppel, Albert 215 Lake, D. B 293 Lambert, John E 126 Langley, Moses 533 Lapp, Henry C 400 La\¥rence, Abraham L- 68 Lawrence, John A 482 Leedom, Conoway 921 Leeper, Albert C 213 Legate, Elward K 448 Lescher, Joseph 405 Lewis, George B 343 Lewis, John B 314 Lightbody, Isaac 677 Lilly, Guilford 13S Lilly, Wilson S 866 Little, George F 945 Littrell, Dan L 565 Loch, 6. H 287 Lohr, William H 194 London, John 547 Loofljourrow. Abner R 131 Lore, George L- 8 Louderback, Mills 610 Lowery, W. B 883 Lum, George 243 Lutgen, Sidney B S4S Lyford, Victor G 737 Lynch, John H 1050 JNIajors, Thomas J 204 Manley, Abram F 473 Marlatt, Jeremiah 158 Marrs, Frank L 1042 Marshall, Thomas C 1047 Martin, Everard 812 Massey, T. E- 491 Masters, Joseph D 618 Mather, Daniel 1023 Maust, Elias A 411 Maxwell, Edward J 311 Maxwell, Mrs. Ann 309 Maxwell, Jackson 464 McAdams, Robert T 1008 McBride, Daniel L 478 McCandlass, A. D 824 McComas, Edward 'M 439 McComas, Mortimer M 443 McDowell, Joseph B 542 McElhose, Robert 392 McGuire, James A 432 Mclninch, William H- 93 jNIcKibben, J. W 346 McKinney, Alfred 1017 McMullen, Adam 869 McNickle, A. B 416 McNown, Frank L 254 Mead, Giles H 792 Meader, Cyrus C 276 Aleliza, Michael 233 Meyers, Henry S 406 Millar, Appollas H 375 Miller, Franklin 907 Miller, John 924 Miller, Theodore li 730 Moffitt, Andrew 888 Moles, James S 581 Moore, Jacob W., 385 Moore, Thomas 797 Morris, Lewis H 369 Moses, Ebenezer 8c2 Muff, Mrs. Catharine 70^ Muir, Robert V ,ir Mutz, Albert B W Mutz, Austin C ■.'.'". 15 Nelson, Ross W 355 Nider, John g^-j Nutzman, Louis J rnft N3'e,c.F •.:.•;:;:.■ '34 vm INDEX. Ogle, Joseph i8o Ord, Clarence E 170 Ottens, Bernard 178 Overman, James H 270 Ozman, William L 781 Pace, James W 409 Page, Alfred, 228 Palmer, John 251 Palmer, Phillip 252 Parker, Fred 175 Parks, Robert B. 799 Parriott, William C 59 Peabody, Valentine P 328 Percival, Judson 929 Perry, David P 828 Perry, James K 937 Pettit, Samuel 9S0 Phillips, W. H 859 Pickrell, William 899 Pittman, Joseph K no Pittenger, Reuben S 930 Place, George M 1059 Poe, Thomas B 1025 Pohlman, John H iiS Porterfield, James N 381 Prouty, Francis L- 1019 Pyle, George W 1027 Randall, Myron G 83 Randall, Orlando T 874 Raynor, James 104 Reed, Enos H 426 Reed, Francis B 527 Reed, Harrison 462 Reid, D. J 492 Retchless, William 467 Richards, W. H 21 Riddle, W. M 633 Riesenberg, Frank W 155 Robinson, Edward 571 Rodebaugh, Daniel F. 1071 Roe, Joseph E 849 Rogers, Edwin J 623 Rogers, George A 621 Rogge, J. H. F 94fi Rohmeyer, Louis H 114 Root, Mrs. Emeretta 961 Rounds, Lorin 61 Rubelman, George J 537 Sanders, William W 4So Schoonover, Fliram 469 Scott, Henry A :65 Scott, Robert T 278 Shade, Daniel A 1060 Shafer, Michael 288 Shannon, Greenville G 459 Shaw, James 1 341 Shepherd, Alexander 841 Shepstall, Daniel S38 Shepstall, George W 839 Shepstall, Nathaniel 1 840 Sherwood, David A. 953 Shook, John H 17 Showalter, Benjamin F 497 Shubert, Henry W 1065 Shubert, John D 297 Shufeldt, H. W 717 Skeen, tJenjamin T 135 Skeen, Thomas B 29 Skinner, John B 643 Sloan, W. T 301 Slocum, Samuel E 395 Smith, Albert F 891 Smith, George Y 577 Smith, Mrs. Eliza C 245 Smith, William 949 Smith, William W 453 Snyder, Anthony W 300 Snyder, Edward W 484 Snyder, James A 651 Spirk, John F 776 Stainbrook, Marcus 658 Stainbrook, W- B 661 Starr, Joseph W 932 Starr, Peter D 748 Stephenson, James A 70 Stewart, Washington 636 Stewart, Charles F 8 Stockman, Thomas J 152 Stowell, William H 91 Sullivan, Michael 715 Sykes, Jasper M 876 Taylor, J. S. 558 Taylor, William M 241 Teale, Joseph 721 Thacker, Levi 336 Thompson, Isaac N 591 Tidball, John L- 909 Tigard, Samuel 720 Tout, John M 863 Towne, Reuben J 1049 Tramblie, Julius 1055 Trimmer, Thaddeus 699 Tucker, Edward J 172 Turner, Robert T 1045 Twedell, Simon 493 Tynon, William igS Upton, David 753 Vance, George C 597 INDEX. IX VanDeventer, Morgan H 332 Van Valkenburg, Dudley 347 Vertrees, Samuel D 1033 Viette, William 1037 Vilda, Wencil 751 VoUbehr, John 936 Waldter, Louis 796 Walker, Benjamin 615 Walker, W. H 238 Ward, George E 972 Ward, H. L 971 Ward, John A 280 Watson, Henrick L 125 Watson, William, 218 Welch, Henry C 756 Wells, Horace M 711 Welton, Charles M 322 Welsh, John B 606 Wendorff, Ferdinand 790 Weston, William ' 864 Wetmore, H. J 446 Wey, Charles A 143 Wheeler, Theodore M 779 Whitaker Brothers 734 White, William 28 Whitfield, Needham B ,. 845 Whitlow, Peter 801 Whitney, William L 646 Wilkie, David 338 Williams, James A. 1040 Willoughby, Winfield S 612 Wilson, Joseph D 759 Wilson, Walter H 923 Wilson, W. P 974 Winter, F. W 1039 Wirick, John 504 Wirth, Lewis P 433 Woodman, John H 820 Wright, W. W 397 Zook, Abraham 216 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY JOHN C. HADDAN. John C. Haddan, of Wymore, Gage county, Nebraska, one of the leading residents of that locality and a prominent veteran of the Civil war, has lived in Nebraska for thirty-two years and in this county for nineteen years. His enlistment took place at Putnam, Putnam county, Indiana, in August, 1861, in Company I, Twenty-seventh Indiana Volunteer In- fantry, Colonel Silas Colgrove in command. After a long and exciting term of service he was honorably discharged in February, 1863, and returned home. During his service at one time it was supposed he was taken prisoner, but he escaped as he was at that time guarding a train of supplies. He was in the battles of Vv'"inchester, Virginia, Straws- burg, Virginia, Banks' retreat in the Shenandoah Valley, Cedar Moun- tain, second battle of Bull Run. John C. Haddan was born in Putnam county, Indiana, not far from Putnaraville, July 15, 1840, the year William H. Harrison was elected president. He was a son of Isaac Haddan and Mary (Wilson) Haddan, the former of whom died in Page county, Iowa, at the age of sixty-five years, while the mother, who was born in 1808, died aged eighty-six years. These worthy people had eight sons ancl three daugh- ters. Mr. Haddan is a grandson of John Haddan, a native of Virginia, 2 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. born and reared a farmer. John moved to Ktentucky with his parents when a young man and they settled in Owen county. John Haddan fought under General Harrison at the battle of Tippecanoe. After that war he moved from Kentucky to Putnam county, Indiana, where he died aged one hundred years. He had two brothers, William and Robert, and they all served in the war under General Harrison. Robert was one of General Harrison's aides. John C. Haddan resided in Iowa for some years after having come to that state with his parents, and in 1872 he removed to Nebraska. While still residing in Iowa, he was married to Mary I. Wymore, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Mc- Mann) Wymore. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wymore were: Abram E., who served in the Fortieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, died at Helena, Arkansas ; Mathew, who died while a member of the Fortieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry; James H., of the same regiment. Working steadily to gain a comfortable home for himself and family Mr. Haddan is now the owner of four houses and lots and his home place is surrounded by four acres of ground. His house is a pleasant five-room cottage, comfortably furnished. In politics he is a Republican, and he is past commander of Coleman Post No. 115, G. A. R. Mrs. Haddan is a member of the Christian Science Club. Both Mr. and Mrs. Haddan are well and favorably known throughout the entire community. EX- GOVERNOR ROBERT W. FURNAS. Robert Wilkinson Furnas was born on a farm near Troy, Miami county, Ohio, May 5, 1824, being a son of William and Martha (Jen- kins) Furnas, both natives of Newberry, South Carolina, where the father was born in 1804 and the latter in 1800. In the paternal line the SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 3 family is traced back to the great-grandfather of our subject, John FurnaSj who was born at Standing Stone, Cumberland, England, March 5, 1736, while his son, Thomas Wilkinson, the grandfather of Robert W., was born at Bush River, South Carolina, March 23, 1768. Both the paternal and m'aternal ancestors were Friends or Quakers. William and Martha Furnas died of cholera within a few days of each other, at Troy, Ohio, in the year 1832. In their family were three children, the twin brother of Robert W. dying in infancy, and the daughter, Mary Elizabeth, died at the age of eighteen years. Robert Wilkinson Furnas was reared in the home of his grand- father Furnas until twelve years of age, receiving but limited educational advantages in his youth, and his school days were limited to about twelve months. For two years, from the age of twelve to fourteen years, he served as "chore boy" in the general store of Singer &. Brown, of Troy, Ohio. At the age of fourteen years he was apprenticed to the tinsmith's trade, in which he served for four years, and then served a four years' apprenticeship to Rich C. Langdon, of the Licking Valley Register, Covington, Kentucky, there learning in detail the art of printing. After the expiration of his term of apprenticeship he, with A. G. Sparhawk, for some years conducted a book and job printing house in Cincinnati, Ohio, during which time he was also the publisher of' several periodicals. Returning to his native county of Troy in 1846, he there purchased and published The Times at the county seat, but after a number of years thus spent he retired from the newspaper business and engaged in the clock, watch, jewelry and notion trade-in the same town, also serving as the village clerk and deputy postmaster. On the completion of the Dayton & Michigan Railroad to Troy, he entered the employ of that company as railroad and express agent and conductor. In March, 1856, Mr. Furnas came to Brownville, Nebraska, bring- 4 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ing with him a printing press and outfit and again ventured into the journalistic field. He established, published and edited the Nebraska Advertiser, which is still published in Nemaha county, and in 1868 published and edited the Nebraska Farmer, that being the first agri- cultural paper edited in Nebraska. In the same fall in which he came to the state he was elected to the council branch of the territorial legisla- ture, serving four consecutive years, and was elected by that body the public printer, printing the laws and journals of the fourth session of the legislature. During his first session he was the author of the first com- mon school law for Nebraska, also the law creating the territorial, now state, board of agriculture. During his term as a legislator he intro- duced and secured the passage of many acts of both local and general im- portance, naver having failed in securing the passage of a bill when introduced. He was conspicuous in the passage of an act declaring against holding slaves in Nebraska. At the breaking out of the war between the states Mr. Furnas was commissioned by the then acting governor J. Sterling Morton, colonel of the territorial militia and was afterward commissioned, by acting governor A. S. Paddock, brigadier general in the same service for the district south of the Platte river. Without solicitation on his part he was appointed and commissioned by President Lincoln, March 22, 1862, colonel in the regular army, being mustered into the service by Lieti- tenant C. S. Bowman, of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, May 22, 1862, and under this commission organized three Indian regiments from the Indian Nation, composed of Creeks, Seminoles, Choctaws, Chickasaws and Cherokee Indians, cdmmanding the brigade. In this campaign Colonel Furnas had with him as members of his staff and Indian advisers the two noted Seminole chiefs, Opotholoholo, then said to be over one hun- dred years old, and Billy Bow Legs. These two Indian leaders, it will SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 5 be remembered, were conspicuous characters in the Florida-Seminole war of 1838. While in this service Colonel Furnas captured the cele- brated Cherokee Indian chief, John Ross, and family, sending them to Washington, D. C, for conference with the president of the United States. This terminated the trouble in the Indian nation. With these Indians he fought several successful battles against white confederate soldiers on the border of the Missouri and in the Indian territory. Colonel Furnas was detailed from this service with a special commission from the noted "Jim Lane" to recruit in Nebraska, recruiting largely the Second Nebraska Cavalry. He entered that service as a private, but was later commissioned captain of Company E, and when the regiment was completed was by Governor Alvin Saunders commissioned colonel of the same and served undei- General Sully in his northern Indian expedi- tion against the Sioux and other hostile Indians north, near British pos- sessions. The Second Nebraska Cavalry successfully fought the battle of White Stone Hill against a treble number of the Sioux Indians. After the expiration of his term of service Colonel Furnas was hon- orably discharged, and soon afterward, without his knowledge, was ap- pointed by President Lincoln agent for the Omaha Indians iii northern Nebraska, serving nearly four years, during which time he also had charge of the Winnebago and Ponca Indian tribes. During his term as Indian agent, from a condition of annual support by the general govern- ment, he elevated the Omaha Indians agriculturally to the production and sale of forthy thousand bushels of surplus corn in one year. Through his efforts the mission school increased from thirty-five to one hundred and forty-five pupils. For political disloyalty to "Andy" Johnson he was removed by him, he having succeeded Lincoln after his assassin- ation. Returning to Brownville. Mr. Furnas engaged again in the newspaper business and later turned his attention to farming in Nemaha 6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. county. Politically he was an old-line Whig and afterward a Republi- can, and in 1872 he was elected the governor of Nebraska. After his term of service expired he returned to Brownville, where he has ever since been engaged in farming and fruit and forest-tree growing. Since coming to this state he has also held numei'ovis other official positions, as follows : president and secretary of the state board of agriculture, president and secretary oi the state horticultural society, president of the state horticultural society, president of the Nebraska soldiers' union, vice president of the American Pomological Society, president of inter- national fairs and expositions, president of the American Fair Associa- tion, president of the first trans-Mississippi irrigation convention at Den- ver, Colorado, in 1879, a delegate to the convention at Topeka, Kansas, in 1857, to form a new territory composed of land between the mouth of the Kaw and Platte rivers, United States commissioner to Phila- delphia centennial, the New Orleans cotton centennial, Chicago Colum- bian exposition and special commissioner of the international exposi- tion at London, England. For two years Mr. Furnas was special agent for the United States pension bureau, and was a member of the first board of regents of the University of Nebraska, a portion of the time being president of the board. He was also special agent of the United States department of agriculture to investigate the agricultural needs of California, Washington, Oregon and New Mexico, also to obtain forestry data for territory between the Mississippi river and the Pacific coast, and special agent to obtain national data for the United States treasury department. He was a delegate to the national convention which first nominated General Grant for president, and was a member of the committee on resolutions. While a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 29th of October, 1845, Mr. Furnas was married to Miss Mary E. McComas, and eight children SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 7 were born to them, six sons and two daughters, as follows: William Edward, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 13, 1846, served as a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, and died in a hos- pital at Omaha, Nebraska, 'December 16, 1862; Filmore Taylor, born in Troy, Ohio, October 29, 1848, died in Brownville, Nebraska, April 21, 1864; Arthur W. was born in Troy, Ohio, June 30, 1850; George Gilbert was born in that city on the 25th of May, 1852, and married Charlotte Judkins, at Brownville, September 25, 1873 ; John Somerville Inskip, who was born in Troy, Ohio, February 6, 1855, married Martha Cook in California, May 14, 1889; Mollie, who was born in Brownville, June 25, 1857, was married in this city June 16, 1880, to William. J. Weber; Celia Hensley was born in this city June 29, i860, was here married, June 5, 1895, to Edward E. Lowman; and Robert, who was born in Brownville August 29, 1862, died in the Omaha Indian reserva- tion on the 1 6th of May, 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Furnas have a unique volume entitled "The Golden Anniversary of Robert W. Furnas and Mary E. Furnas," dated Brownville, Nebraska, 1895, contains one hun- dred and seventeen pages and is filled with reminiscences and congratula- tory letters from their many friends. This volume is dedicated to their children. Mr. Furnas is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the military order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He has filled all the grand chairs in the Masonic bodies of the state, also in the order of Odd Fellows in Nebraska and served as representative to the grand lodge of the United States. Li religion he was born a Quaker, but when nineteen years old identified himself with the Methodist church, and after coming to Nebraska connected himself with the Presbyterian church, of which he is yet a member. 8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. CHARLES F. STEWART, M. p. Dr. Charles F. Stewart, of Auburn, has practiced medicine in the territory and state of Nebraska longer than any other living physician, and from the pioneer days to the present has enjoyed a most honorable and useful career both as a professional man and as a civilian. Dr. Stewart was born in Switzerland county, Indiana, August 28, 1832, so that he has already passed the age of threescore and ten, and is yet active and vigorous in the prosecution of his daily duties. He came to Nemaha county, in the then territoiy of Nebraska, in 1857, and this county has been the principal theatre of his activity in all the many subsequent years. He was acting assistant surgeon during the war of the i-ebellion. He was for a number of years superintendent of the Nebraska Hospital for the Insane at- Lincoln, He was a member of the state board of health for seven years. He has been a United States examining surgeon for the pension department for more than twenty years, and in addition to all these duties and responsibilities has been continually engaged in the practice of his profession in the territory and state, so that now, in point of years of service, he is the dean of the med- ical fraternity of Nebraska. GEORGE L. LORE. George L. Lore, who has been serving as county clerk of Pawnee county, Nebraska, since his election in 1901, is one of the popular county officials and a resident of Pawnee City. He is a native son of the county, and has lived within its boundaries all his life, so that he deserves men- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 9 tion as well for his own honorable career as also for the fact that he is a son of a pioneer homesteader and long-established citizen of the state. His father, John P. Lore, after a long and useful life, has retired from active business affairs and is now enjoying the fruits of his labors, being a retired resident of Dubois, Pawnee county. He wa's born in \\^ayne county, Ohio, where he was reared and educated. He afterward moved to Missouri, where he married Sarah A. Liggett: After their mar- riage they left Missouri, and, with firm belief in the future of the then Territory of Nebraska as destined to become one of the great com- monwealths of the Mississippi valley, settled in South Fork township, Pawnee county, where he took up a homestead and developed a fine farm from the prairie. He has been a Republican most of his life, and served acceptably as county commissioner for three years, and also held various other offices. Four children were born to himself and wife : Charles F., of Emporia, Kansas; Mrs. Alice Potts, of Dubois, Nebraska; George L. ; and Mrs. Nellie Bailey, of Carroll, Nebraska. George L. Lore was born in South Fork township. Pawnee county, Nebraska, October 25, 1869. He was reared in the same locality, and enjoyed the advantages of a common school education, which was sup- plemented by a course at the Iowa Noi'mal College. After he finished his scholastic career he was for ten years located at Dubois, this county, but after election to the office of county clerk in 1901 he moved to Pawnee City. He has always taken an active part in local politics, and during his incumbency of the present office has discharged his duties faithfully, conscientiously and ably, and has made friends among all classes of people. In 1892 Mr. Lore was married to Miss Katherine Atkinson, a daughter of Albert G. and Mary Atkinson, who are now living retired in Dubois. Mr. and Mrs. Lore have two children, Eugene. A. and Mil- lo SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. dred T. Fraternally Mr. Lore is a popular member of the Knights of Pythias, belonging to the local lodge, No. 94, and has served as a dele- gate to the general lodge on several occasions. He is a member of the Methodist church. Upright in principles, pleasant in manner, able and w^ell fitted for the duties of his office, Mr. Lore is justly regarded as a representative of the best interests of Pawnee county. HENRY HARMON. This venerable citizen, now living retired in Auburn, Nebraska, has entered the octogenarian ranks. Henry Harmon was born in East Ten- nessee, February 4, 1823, the son of Virginia parents. Nathan Harmon, his father, was a gunsmith by trade, at which he worked in Tennessee and Illinois, he having removed to the last named state in 1828 and set- tled in Hillsboro, Montgomery county. He married Rebecca Myers, about 1813, when both were young, the bride in her sixteenth year. Their children were : Elizabeth, who died in young womanhood ; Polly, who also died in early life; George, who become the owner of large tracts of land in Missouri and Nebraska, was twice married and the father of four children, died in 1899; Lottie, deceased; Henry, whose name inti^oduces this review; Reuben, deceased; Davidson, a resident of Kansas City, has a wife and five children; and Mrs. Nancy Jane Beebe, who has her third husband and is the mother of five children. The father of this family died in the prime of life, and the mother married again, a Mr. Fraisher, in Missouri, by whom she had one son, Washington Fraisher, now a resident of California. She died in 1873, at the age of seventy-seven years. Henry Harmon in his youth had only limited advantages for obtain- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. u ing an education. He remained at home until he reached his majority, assisting his father in the shop, and then he took to himself a wife. With small means the young couple settled down to married life in Atchison county, Missouri, where they bought eighty acres of land, on which they farmed four years. From 1853 to 1855 they lived on another farm in that county. Then, selling out, they came to Nemaha county, Nebraska, pre-empted . one hundred and sixty acres of land in Doug- las precinct, where they established their home in a lob cabin, sixteen by twenty feet in dimensions. Since then Mr. Harmon has owned two other farms and had as much as four hundred acres at one time. He has carried on general farming and stock-raising, selling, some of his cattle to the Chicago market. He sold his last farm a year ago. His pleasant home, a two-story residence, on the corner of First and High streets, in Auburn, Mr. Harmon built in 1891. Mr. Harmon was married March i, 1849, to Miss Margaret Hand- ley, who was born in Missouri, November 11, 1833, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Hall) Handley, both natives of Kentucky. In the Hand- ley family were eight sons and four daughters, all of whom married and had children, and four of the number are now living. The father died at the age. of eighty-eight years, in Atchison county, Missouri, and the mother followed him in death three days later, her age being seventy- six years. Mr. and Mrs. Harmon reared thirteen of their fourteen children, eight sons and six daugthers, namely: William, of Auburn, Nebraska, has a wife and three sons ; John, also of Auburn, is married and has one daughter ; Mary Ann, who died at the age of nineteen years ; Rebecca, wife of Jacob Snyder, of Nance county, Nebraska, has five children; George, of Auburn, is married and has one son and three daughters; Frank, of Oklahoma territory, has a wife, one son and two daughters; Sophrona, wife of Hugh Lockard, of Nance county, has a 12 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. son and one daughter; Lavina, wife of William McKinney, of Nemaha county; Sarah, wife of William Ball, of Nemaha county, has one daugh- ter and one son; Charles is married- and lives in Auburn; Andrew, of St. Paul, Minnesota, is married and has one son and two daughters; Nettie, wife of John McCarty, of Auburn; Harvey, of Columbus, Indi- ana, is married and has one son and one daughtei^; and Nathan, of David Cit)r, Nebraska, has a wife and one daughter. Three 'of the sons, Andrew, Harvey and Nathan, are ministers in the Christian church, and all are occupying honored and- useful positions in life. Some years ago, as the result of blood poisoning, Mr. Harmon suf- fered the loss of his left leg, and he now goes about with the aid of an artificial limb. He has also been afflicted with partial paralysis. Not- withstanding these afflictions, however, he retains his strength and facul- ties to a remarkable degree in his old age, and the weight of his eighty years rests lightly upon him. Both he and his good wife are devoted members of the Christian church. Politically Mr. Harmon is a Demo- crat and filled various township offices. GEORGE E. DYE. George E. Dye, a retired farmer and merchant of Auburn, Nebras- ka, dates his birth in the Empire state, in Yates county, August 6, 1840. Mr. Dye's father, William Dye, was born in Madison county, New York, about 1803, and died in Madison, Wisconsin, in the spring of 1865. He was a son of John Dye, a native of Rhode Island, whose death occurred in New York state about the year 1843. Both John Dye and his wife were buried in Cazenovia, New York. She, too, was a native of Rhode Island and her maiden name was Rhodes. They were the parents of SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 13 nine children, eight sons and one daughter. The daughter died in eai^ly womanhood. The sons were James, Daniel, John, Walter, Rouse, Wil- liam, Nathan and Enoch. All married and all except Walter had chil- dren. Four of these eight sons were Baptist ministers and the other four were deacons in the Baptist church, and all lived to good old age. Wil- liam Dye was a minister, and New York and Wisconsin were the field of his labors. He married Miss Ann Bailey, who was born in New York state in 1806, and who survived him a short time, her death also occurring in Wisconsin. They were the parents of five sons and two daughters, namely : Julia, who died at the age of twelve years, in Senaca, New York ; William Henry, a harness-maker, located in Ottumwa, Iowa, is married and has a daughter and one son; Nathan P., who died in Nemaha county, Nebraska, in the prime of life; James R., a retired resident of San Diego, California, has two daughters ; Mary E. married a cousin by the name of Dye, both being deceased, and they left one daughter. The next in order of birth was George E. The youngest, Charles L., died at the ag^e of four years. George E. Dye was educated in the common schools of his native state. He removed with his parents from place to place, where his father was engaged in the work of the ministry, and he remained a member of the home circle until 1862. In August of that year, at Whitewater, Wis- consin, he volunteered for service in the Union ranks and entered the army as a musician in Company D, Twenty-eighth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. The fortunes of this command he shared for three years, meantime being promoted to the leadership of the regimental band. He was a non-commissioned officer of the staff. At Helena, Arkansas, he was ill with typhoid fever and he also had a serious illness at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and when he returned to Wisconsin at the close of his service in 1865, it was with health much impaired. A well built man and with a 14 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. fine constitution naturally, he in time recovered his health, and has since led an active, useful life. The exppsures incident to war, however, sel- dom fail to leave their effects. Now, although still active in mind and body, Mr. Dye is a sufferer and is somewhat crippled from rheumatism. In 1869 Mr. Dye removed from Whitewater, Wisconsin, to Nebraska and settled in Nemaha county. His first land purchase here was eighty acres, for which he gave $7.50 per acre, and which he sold in 1881 for the sum of three thousand dollars. He then bought one hundred and thirty-one acres, at a purchase price of twO' thousand six hundred dollars, and later added thirty-four acres, a part of which he has since disposed of. He moved to Auburn in February, 1901, and bought his present home. He also owns other property in town, including the building occupied by the postoffice. Mr. Dye married, in March, 1866, Miss Mary E. Grant, a native of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, born in 1847. She is a distant relative of General Grant. Willard Grant, her father, was a man well known in Jefferson county. He was a mechanic, teacher and farmer, and served at different times in various public olifices, township and county, and he was also elected to and served in the Wisconsin state leigslature. Mrs. Grant was Miss Sarah Dye, she being a daughter of Mr. Dye's uncle, James Dye. In the Grant family were seven children, of whom six are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Dye have had five children, as follows : Charles G., who is married and resides on a farm in Nemaha county; Edith E., who died at the age of twenty-six years; and Jessie V., Anna Blanche and Emery G., at home. The two daughters are graduates of the Auburn high school. All the children have inherited talent for music. The daughters are music teachers and the younger son is cornetist in the Auburn band. Mr. Dye is a musician and for many years was a leader and teacher of bands. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 15 Mr. Dye was formerly a Republican, but recently has been an inde- pendent in his political views, voting for men and measures rather than keeping close to party lines. He has membership in the Ancient Order v^ United Workmen and in the Grand Army of the Republic, being identi- fied with Corley Post, No. 173, of which he is senior vice commander. AUSTIN C. MUTZ. Austin C. Mutz, the well known nurseryman at Auburn, Nebraska, is a native of the Hoosier state, and dates his birth at Edinburg, February 18, 1850. Mr. Mutz, as his name suggests, is of German origin. His grand- father and grandmother Mutz were natives of Germany. Emigrating with their family to America, they settled first in Pennsylvania and subsequently moved farther west, locating near Dayton, Ohio, where they spent the rest of their lives and died, his death occurring at the age of eighty years, and hers seven years later, at thd age of seventy-seven. They left five sons and one daughter, namely: John, the father of Austin C. ; Jacob, a retired farmer living near Edinburg, Indiana ; Adam, a druggist, died in Indiana, in 1899, leaving a family of sons and daughters; Peter, a resident of Aberdeen, South Dakota; Abram, a grocer of Edinburg, Indiana, is married and has a son and daughter ; and Mary, wife of a Mr. Darner, of Dayton, Ohio. John Mutz, the eldest of the above named family, was born in Pennsylvania, and was eight years old at the tinje his parents moved to Ohio, where he was reared. Going to Indiana when a young man, he was there married. May 19, 1847, to Phoebe Williams, a native of that state, born in 1832, daughter t)f Caleb Williams, an Indiana farmer who i6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. was a pioneer to Mills county, Iowa, where he died in old age, leaving widow, six daughters and one son. John and Phoebe Mutz became the parents of eight children, as follows : G. W., a carpenter and contractor, Cass county, Nebraska; -Austin C, whose name heads this review; Walter, a farmer of Maryville, Missouri ; William A., a farmer of Pen- der, Nebraska ; Otto, a large land owner, ex-state senator and publisher of the Western Rancher, Ainsworth, Nebraska; Albert B., of Auburn; Ann Jeanette, widow of John Majors, residing at Lincoln, Nebraska; and Hattie M., wife of A. T. Stewart, of Chicago. In 1856 John Mutz moved with his family to Mills county, Iowa, and the following year, 1857, came to Nebraska, where he and his good wife reared their children and spent the rest of their lives, their wedded life covering more than half a century. He died in Chicago, January 6, 1899, at the age of seventy-seven years; and her death occurred at the home place in Auburn, where they lived for more than twenty years, February 13, 1899. In their religious views they differed somewhat, Mrs. -Mutz being a Methodist and Mr. Mutz a Luthei-an. Pohtically, he was a Democrat, and in territorial days filled the office of county commissioner of Cass county. Austin C. Mutz received his schooling at Eight-Mile Grove, in Cass county, Nebraska. He remained at home until he reached his majority, when he started out to make his own way in the world, and has been variously occupied, his attention having been given chiefly to farming and the ntirsery business. For four years he resided at Beatrice, Nebraska, and traveled for the Phoenix Nursery of Bloomington, Illi- nois. For twenty years he has resided in or near Auburn. In 1893 he bought the ground where his nursery is located, and where in 190 1 he built the pleasant cottage he and his wife occupy. After coming into the ownership of this property he planted an orchard, and a nursery of o o CO X O Pi P SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 17 one hundred thousand trees, and here he has since been doing both a wholesale and retail business. ' July 2, 1884, Austin C. Mutz married Miss Mary Seybolt, a native of Greenville, Orange county. New York,, and, a daughter of Luther R. and Harriet (Moore) Seybolt, both natives of Orange county, New York, and now residents of Cass county, Nebraska. Mrs. Mutz has an only brother, John B. Seybolt. Mr. and Mrs. Mutz lost their only child, a daughter, that died at the age of two months, August 31, 1888; but they have an adopted child, Otto Mutz, fifteen years of age, a native of New York and a son of German parents. Politically Mr. Mutz is a Bryan Democrat. He has always been more or less interested in educational matters. When a young- man he went to Jewell county, Kansas, homesteaded 'a tract, of land and built a house, and in his own house taught a school. He was a membei' of the school board of Auburn three years. Mrs. Mutz is a Methodist.-, JOHN HAMILTON SHOOK. John Hamilton Shook, of Auburn, Nebraska, is a man whose more than threescore years of life cover a varied experience, iticluding a Civil war service, numerous travels and frontier incidents. Mr. Shook came to Nebraska at an early day and has done his part toward bringing about the development which has been wrought here. A detailed review of his army life and his pioneer and later experience would require a large volume, and would be interesting reading, too, but in this connec- tion for want of space we can present only a brief sketch. John Hamilton Shook was born in Carlinville, Illinois, July 31, 1838, and traces his ancestry on the paternal side back to his great-grandfather i8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Shook, who was of Gennan birth and who was for many years engaged in farming in Pennsylvania, where he died at a ripe old age. James Shook, his father, was born in Pennsylvania about the year 1797, and was reared in Tennessee. He died in Macoupin county, Illinois, at the age of foity-five years. Abraham Shook, the father of James, was born in Pennsylvania about 1775 and died in Tennessee in 1845. He was a Presbyterian minister. Of his family of four sons and three daughters, all married and reared families, and two of his sons were ministers of the gospel — Isaac, a Baptist minister in Ohio, and Abraham, a . Presby- terian, preaching in Tennessee and Indiana. Each of these two sons lived to good old age and each was the father of four children. James Shook was twice married. By his first wife he had two sons and two daughters, namely: James, a farmer in Whiteside county, Illinois, died at the age of fifty-two years, leaving seven children, three sons and four daughters; Ellen, wife of Wilson T. Stout, died in 1863, leaving four children; Mary Jane, wife of Eli Daily, died in 1902, leaving seven children ; and Robinson, who went west early in the fifties and was hon- ored with a seat in the Oregon territorial and state legislatures, died some years ago, leaving three sons. In Carlinville, Illinoi.s, in 1836, James Shook married for his second wife a Mrs. Good, widow of Ezekiel Good, and daughter of a British soldier whose iiame was Knickerbocker but was afterward changed to Bird. She was born in New York in 1800. By her first husband she had one son and three daughters,, viz. : Sarah Ann, wife, of a Mr. Bpgess, died leaving two daughters and one son; Elizabeth, wife of Bennett Solomon, died about i860 in Girard, Illinois, leaving two daughters; Minerva, wife of Lewis Johnson, of Carlinville, Illinois, has one son and one daughter; and Thomas Good, a bachelor, is a well-to-do farmer of Arkansas. The children of the second marriage of James Shook were four sons, as follows: John SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 19 Hamilton and William B., twins. The latter is a resident of Lovington, Moultrie county, Illinois, where he is at this writing filling the office of probate judge; (George R., now of Grand Valley, Colorado, was for a number of years a resident of Nemaha county, Nebraska, where he figured prominently in public affairs, serving six years as county surveyor and five terms in the territorial legislature, in both upper and lower houses. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having served in the Seventh and' One Htindred and Forty-eighth regiments of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He has reared a family of three sons and four daughters. The youngest brother of our subject, Albert, died at Hillsdale, Nebraska, in 1882, of disease contracted while he was a soldier in the Civil war. He left three sons. James Shook, the father of this large family, died' in middle life, as already stated, and his widow did not long survive him, her death occurring in 185 1. -Side by side they rest in the little cemetery in Carlinville, Illinois.' Both were church members, she a Presbyterian and he a Baptist. John Hamilton Shook had limited advantages for obtaining an education in his youth. When only seven years old he was put to work driving a yoke of steers. His' mother dying when he was only thirteen years old, he went to live with his half-sister, Mrs. Johnson, and remained a member of her family until he was twenty. Then, in March, 1859, he came to Nebraska, in company with his brother William. They made the journey by boat to Kansas City and were en route for Pike's Peak. Hearing discouraging reports from Pike's Peak, tliey changed their plans and came to southeastern Nebraska. Here they bought six yoke of oxen and plows and spent the summer in breaking prairie. They entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, each giving his note for two hundred dollars for one year, at thirty per cent, interest. When they landed here John H. had one hundred and thirty dollars and his brother 20 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ninety dollars, not enough with which to purchase their teams, but their credit was good and they went in debt and in due time discharged their obligations. That fall they returned to Illinois, and in the spring of the following year John H. came back to Nebraska, alone, and engaged in farming on his brother-in-law's land. In i860 the crop was poor, but it was better the next year and industry and good management brought success to Mr. Shook. He became the owner of two hundred and fifty acres, eleven acres of which were timber land. At this time civil war was inaugurated, and Mr. Shook enlisted in Company F, Fifteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, October 10, 1861, and served until January, 1865. His service included thirty-six different engagements, prominent among them being Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg and the siege of Atlanta. At the close of the war Mr. Shook returned to Nebraska and en- gaged in the sawmilling business on the Missouri river. His brother also became interested in this business and they were associated together under the firm name of Shook & Brother, until 1884, operating exten- sively, owning no less than three thousand acres in Nebraska at one time and employing forty men. They also owned three thousand two hundred acres of land in Texas. In Richardson county, Nebraska, where Mr. Shook made his home for some years, he owned a thousand acres of land and annually fed and sold two hundred head of cattle. He has disposed of all his holdings, however, and at this writing has only the five-acre place in Auburn, on which he built his present residence in 1890. He has a rented farm near Auburn, where he keeps a number of horses, cattle and hogs. Mr. Shook married, in August, 1870, Miss Ella Pike, a native of Iowa, born in 1852; and their union has been blessed in the birth of five children. Their eldest son, William, . is a practicing physician at SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 21 Shubert, Richardson county, Nebraska. He has a wife and one daugh- ter. The next in order of birth is Arthur, a postal clerk on the Union Pacific Railroad. Charles T. is attending college at Bellevue, Nebraska, and John R. is at home. A daughter died in infancy. Mr. Shook is a Master Mason and a member of the Grand -Army of the Republic. Politically he is a Republican. During his long resi- dence in Nebraska he has many times been honored with official position, and in whatever office he has been called he has responded with faithful and efficient service. He was constable in i860. For seven years he was postmaster of Hillsdale, was on the school board twenty-nine years, and twelve years was county commissioner, elected first in 1874. In 1895 he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature, and while a member of that body served on the Soldiers' Relief Committee. W. H. RICHARDS. W. H. Richards, attorney at law of Liberty, Nebraska, is one of the successful representatives of his profession in this portion of the state. He was admitted to the bar in 1894. He handles all kinds of legal mat- ters, and has conducted cases in many parts of the state, as well as in the courts of Kansas and Iowa. He is associated with his brother, L. S. Richards, in the real estate business, and they are largely interested in realty in Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. J. T. Rich- ards, another brother, is one of the successful dealers in pumps and wind- mills at Liberty. Mrs. Clara Dobbs, of Beatrice, is a sister of Mr. Richards. W. H. Richards was born in Atchison county, Missouri, near' Rock- 22 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. port, August 27, 1853, ^'^d comes of an old and honorable family. He ha:s been a resident of Nebraska since 1859, so that he is one of the oldest living residents of a commonwealth which was not admitted to the Union till' nine years later. The Richards brothers are owners of the Central Hotel at Liberty, and for a time operated it. All are active and progres- sive business men, and always identify themselves with movements cal- culated to be for the best interest of Liberty. They are stanch Republi- cans in politics. Charles R. Richards, an elder brother, enlisted in the war O'f.the rebellion, where he: gave up his life in defense of his country. In 1900 Mr. W. H. Richards was married to Miss Minnie F. Thorp, of Beatrice. She is a daughter of Charles F. Thorp, a veteran of the Civil war, now deceased. Mrs. Richards is a graduate of the North- western Business College of Beatrice, and received her diploma from that institution just previous to her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Richards has been born one child, Wilma Ruth. WILLIAM GAEDE. William Gaede, cashier of the Nemaha County Bank at Auburn. Nebraska, is one of the prosperous and able business men of the county and is a member of a well known family in southeastern Nebraska. All the family were natives of Germany, and the name has been known in certain parts of Germany for many generations. William Gaede, the grandfather of the Aubvtrn banker, was a well-to-do man, and wrote his name Gade, with a character over the letter a, as did also the parents of William. Dietrich and Elizabeth (Pagels) Gaede, the parents of William Gaede, were born near Berlin, Germany, where also all their children were SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 23 born, and in 1870 they crossed' the Atlantic on the good ship Harmonia, which was making her third trip, in the then short period of ten days. They brought with them their five children, as follows Lena, the wife of H. M. Mears (and their history is further detailed in this sketch) ; Louise, widow of William Hewekerl ; Fredericka, wife of H. H. Bartling, who is now serving his fourth term as mayor of Nebraska City ; August, who went to the Black Hills in 1876, where he died a few years later; and William. The parents both inherited property and were well-to-do when they came to America. They located in Peru in Nemaha county, Nebraska, and invested in farm and city property in this state and Kan- sas. Dietrich Gaede was a modest, retiring man, and, being unacquainted with business conditions in this country, he was unsuccessful in some of . his ventures. He and his wife were worthy and refined people and gave their children the higher advantages in the fatherland, as \v&{ as in America. August was in the Episcopal Boys' College in Nebraska City, and William was in the State Normal at Peru. The family all have musical talent, both instrumental and vocal, and are charming and de- lightful people, in every relation of life. The parents were Lutherans, and their children are all reared in that faith. Dietrich Gaede was a Republican, as is also his son William. The former died in Nebraska City at the home of his daughter, April, 17, 1899, at the age of seventy- six years, and his wife followed him six months later, on October 18, and they both sleep in the beautiful Mount Vernon cemetery, in Peru Nebraska. An imported Olitic granite monument marks their grave, and, as a family monument, the names of Gaede and Mears are both carved upon it. Mr. William Gaede was born in Germany, November 28,. 1861, and in common with the other children, enjoyed good educational advantages and parental instruction, especially from the mother, who was exception- 24 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ally devoted to "Willie," as she loved'" to call him. As is common in Germany, he had three names, Herman Frederick William. He has been in the banking bttsiness since 1892. Previous to this he was manager of the business of his brother-in-law, H. M. Mears, in Peru. The latter was the leading business man of the place for twenty-five years, a man who had made his own way to prospei'ity and a high position m the business affairs of his county. He had a department store of general merchandise, besides handling lumber, coal and brick. Mr. Gaede was in the responsible position of manager of this concern, and while attending school kept the books of the establishment and the pri- vate banking concern connected with it. He left Peru on August i, 1892, and became one of the stockholders and the first cashier of the bank at Johnson, Nemaha county, where he remained for seven years. He re- turned to Peru on the death of Mr. Mears, and took charge of the latter's estate. Affairs were complicated and required all his business ability to settle satisfactorily, but he gave a most careful administration, and after the entire matter was straightened out, in 1901 he organized the Nemaha County Bank, together with A. M. Engles, William Tynon, and others, with a capital stock of forty thousand dollars. Mr. Engles is president, Fred Lampe, vice president, and Mr. Gaede is cashier. The bank was opened for business in January, 1902, in the fine brick building with stone front, one of the substantial business buildings in Auburn, and since that time the institution has increased its patronage rapidly, and is one of the solid banks of the county. Mr. Gaede and his sister, Mrs. Lena M. Mears, -live together in their pleasant home in Auburn. Mrs. Mears was married to Mr. H. M. Mears on November 5, 1872. The latter was born in Germany, near the borders of Holland, and his parents spoke both the Dutch and German languages. He was brought to this country when a baby, and his father, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 25 an early settler in western Missouri, at a time when the principal market was St. Louis, died in that city, from the plague, leaving his widow and three sons and one daughter with a good estate. Mrs. Mears has a foster daughter, named Louise Wilhelmina Mears; she is a daughter of Mrs. Mears' sister, Mrs. Louise Hewekerl, and has been the joy and comfort of the Mears home since she was three years old. Louise, or "Lulu" as she is familiarly known to her loved ones and friends, is a most worthy young lady, possessing a pleasing personality and a lovely character, having received careful training in early life, followed by a college education, supplemented by delightful travels in America and Europe. At present she has the chair of geography in the State Normal school at Moorhead, Minnesota, and likes the "Northland" very much. Miss Mears is the pride of her "Uncle Will" and "Mamma Mears." GEORGE T. DUSTIN. George T. Dustin, the liveryman of Auburn, Nebraska, is one of the successful and, respected business men of the town. He was bom in Dubois county, Indiana, September 11, 1844, son of Timothy and Louisa T. (Combs) Dustin, the former a native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and a direct descendant of Hannah Dustin, and the latter born in Ten- nessee in 181 6. Timothy Dustin was by trade a ship carpenter. Li August, before the birth of the subject of this sketch in September, Tim- othy was making a trip on the Ohio river, was taken with cramp colic, and died on the boat. Thus George T. is of posthumous birth. There were four children in the family — James C., John M., Amanda and Laura F. All grew up and married and reared families. Amanda, wife of Daniel Macken, died at Denver, Colorado, July 19, 1898, at the age of 26 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. fifty-seven years. James C. died at Cripple Creek, Colorad'o," a year later, leaving eight children, their mother's death having preceded his. John M. died in October, i go i, in Lancaster county, Nebraska, leaving three children. Laura F. is the wife of Thomas J. Metcalf, of Auburn, Nebraska, and is the mother of nine children, five of whom are graduates of the State Normal School and three of the State University; two of the sons, Clyde and Cha,rles D'ustin Metcalf,- are ministers in the. Meth- odist Episcopal church, in western Nebraska. At the death of her husband Mrs. Dustin and her little family were left in limited circumstances, she having only eight hundred dollars. She remained in Indiana two years and then, in 1846, she moved to Bureau county, Illinois, where she bought eighty acres of land and where she reared her family, the children doing their pirt to assist in the sup- port, and when possible attending the district school near their home. When he was only ten years old George T. "worked out" and brought home to his mother his earnings. Hei-e they lived until i860, when the Dustin family, in company with others, emigrated to Nebraska, making the journey by wagon in true emigrant style and being three weeks en route, arriving at Peru, Nebraska, on September ist. They brought with them two horses and three cows, and George T., then a youth of sixteen, walked most of the way. Peru then could boast of about ten houses. The Dustin family took up their abode in the village, and rented land for farming purposes. May 9, 1862, the mother died, and the family then scattered. At that time a profitable business in the west was teaming, and in the spring of 1863 George T. Dustin was employed by Ingraham & Christie, at the rate of twenty dollars per month, to drive six yoke of oxen to Colorado Springs, and was gone from Peru eight months. The next vear he drove four yoke of oxen from St. Joseph, Missouri, to SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 27 Montana, where he remained four years, employed there in driving mule teams, hauling freight. On his return trip to Nebraska, in 1868, he was accompanied by his brother John, as he also was on some other. occasions, and they had many interesting experiences. From 1869 to 1875 Mr. Dustin was occupied in breaking prairie in Nemaha county, at $3.50 to $4.00 per acre. From his youth up he was a hustler and a money- maker, but for some years he did not learn the worth of money and the importance of saving it. In 1874 he turned his attention to the livery business in Peru. He rented a barn, owned one horse and buggy and went in debt for two more horses, and continued in business there until 1 88 1. In this venture he saved two thousand five hundred dollars, with which he then boug'ht a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on the Peru bottoms. He cultivated this land one year. The season was a wet one, however, and the crop was not a success and he was glad to sell out at a loss. Next we find him in Brown county, Nebraska, where he in- vested in another farm. He spent four years in Brown county and during that time owned five farms, all of which he sold at a profit. On Thanks- ■ giving day, 1889, he disposed of his last farm in that county and in Janu- ary of the following year came to Auburn and bought the Minnick trans- fer line, the outfit consisting of six horses, two omnibuses, a buggy and wagon, and a barn forty by forty feet in dimensions, the purchase price being $3,100. As showing the success with which he has met in this business, we state that Mr. Dustin's establishment now consists of frame and brick buildings, the former forty by eighty feet, and the latter thirty- six by one hundred and forty feet, and his bams are stocked with good horses, usually to the number of twenty-five. Each year he buys and sells many horses. Mr. Dustin also owns his home and has a quarter of a block where he exercises his horses. Mr. Dustin married, January 8, 1880, Miss Hulda Capwell, a native 28 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. of Scranton, Pennsylvania, born in 1861, daughter of James Capwell of that place. By this marriage are four sons and three daughters-, viz. : Winnifred, Soame, Plann, Ralph, Laura, Nellie S. and John. Miss .Winnifred is a teacher in the public schools of Auburn. Politically Mr. Dustin is a Republican. He served nine years as constable, and was the Republican nominee for the office of county commissioner, but withdrew his name in favor of C. E. Ord, the present count)'- commissioner. Fraternally Mr. Dustin is an F. and A. M., and his religious creed is that of the Lutheran church, while Mrs. Dustin is a Baptist. ' WILLIAM WHITE. William White is a citizen of Beatrice, Nebraska, of twenty-three years' standing, and with a life record of efficiency, integrity and honora- ble worth in every capacity in which he has been called upon to act. He is esteemed not only for the part he has taken in business affairs since coming to this state, but also as one from a border state who responded to the appeal of his government during the Civil war and followed the flag in many campaigns and took part in much hard service. Mr. White was born in Greene county, Tennessee, May 8, 1845, ^-^d was a member of an old and aristocratic southern' family. His father, Abraham White, was boni and reared in Tennessee, and there married Miss Nancy Jennings, also of a good southern family. They had eight children, four sons and four daughters, and three sons were soldiers in the Civil war, namely : Joseph, now deceased, who was in a Missouri regiment; William; and John. The parents both died in Tennessee, the mother in middle life and the father at the age of seventy-four. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 29 Mr. White" was reared on a Tennessee farm, and early learned the virutes of industry and thrift. He was still a boy in years when the war came on, but was possessed of the fiery ardor of his race, and on November 7, 1862, enlisted in Company G, Fourth East Tennessee Vol- unteer Infantry, under Colonel Patterson and Captain West. The regi- ment saw much active service and some hard fighting, and during all his service Mr. White proved himself a brave and dutiful soldier, seldom missing a rollcall, never negligent of duty, and never flinching from the danger of shot and shell or the exposure and weariness of marching and the camp. After the war he acted as manager of the farm until 1874, and in June of that year moved to Illinois, and later came to Nebraska. He lived about three years in Pawnee City, and since thlt time has been in Beatrice. For a number of years he conducted a hotel, and was one of the most popular men in that line of business in southeastern Nebraska. During the war he contracted several diseases, and has been a severe sufferer from chronic rheumatism ever since, so that his efficiency in many ways has been much impaired. Mr. White was married in Tennessee in 1866 to Miss Mary J. White (not related), who has been his faithful helpmate for nearly forty years. They have been the parents of three children : Lydia, Josie, and Mrs. Ella Hill, of Barber county, Kansas. THOMAS B. SKEEN. Thomas B. Skeen, who was christened Thomas Hart Benton Skeen after the great Senator Benton, for whom grandfather Blevins was a warm admirer, is one of the oldest living residents of Nemaha county, Nebraska. He was a boy of seventeen on his father's farm near Nemaha 30 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. city when the surveyors were running the base line in August and Sep- tember of 1855. He was born in Buchanan county, Missburi, on a part of the Platte purchase, on January 19, 1838. The family originated in England, among the English nobility, and had its seat in Scotland for many generations. Great-grandfather Skeen was the ancestor who came from Scotland and founded this particular branch of the family in America. Jesse Skeen, the grandfather of Thomas B. Skeen, was born in South Carolina, November 24, 1764, but emigrated to Tennessee, where he was a farmer and distiller. He and his wife, Kezia Taylor, who was also Scotch, born in 1777, reared four sons and four daughters, and two of the latter joined the Mormons and went to Salt Lake City. These grandparents died in old age in Tennessee. Alexander D. Skeen, the father of Thomas B. Skeen, was born in Sumner county, Tennessee, near Gallatin, December 18, 181 5, and died in Nemaha city, Nebraska, in the early spring of 1892. His wife was Mary Blevins, who was born in Green county, Kentucky, in 18 17, and was a daughter of Daniel and Mrs. (Roberts) Blevins, who were Ken- tucky farmers, and the former was in the Black Hawk war. Alexander D. Skeen and his wife were married at the respective ages of nineteen and sixteen, and they began farm life near Independence, Missouri. He had left home in his teens, and became a Mississippi river trader, going to St. Louis at an early day, and it was there that he met his wife. After the Platte purchase was opened he went viewing, and an old French trader, Roubidoux, urged him to take a claim on the Missouri near the mouth of the Blacksnake, which was the ultimate location of the city of St. Joseph, but he was not pleased with that locality, and took a claim in the dense timber, seven miles southeast of the present St. Joseph. He built the log cabin in which his son Tliomas B. was born in the following winter, and as he was poor he had to work for wages to keep the wolf SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 3^ from the door, often cutting "and splitting rails for twenty-five cent per hundred. He enjoyed the pioneer experience of going sixty miles to mill, with his blind horse loaded with corn. He found this life too arduous, and shortly afterward pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres in Atch- ison county, Missouri, where he began life anew, but still in humble cir- cumstances. He moved to Nebraska in 1854, and he died on the old homestead which he had settled forty years before, and his wife followed him in 1899. He and his wife were members of the Christian church, in which he was an elder, and he had served in the militia which routed the Mormons from Jackson county, Missouri. He was a quiet, unobtrusive man, living at peace with his neighbors, and attended strictly to his own business. There were eleven- children born to these parents, but a son died in infancj;-. Mrs. Margaret Snow, a widow of Auburn, was born in Buchanan county, Missouri ; Jesse died at the age of twelve ; .the third in order of birth is Thomas B. ; Elizabeth is the wife of David Tourtelott, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and they have six children; Lucy Jane, deceased wife of James Hiatt, left four children; Richard is a retired farmer at Red. Cloud, Nebraska, and has tAvo daughters ; Kenyon died in Arkan- sas in 1896, leaving his wife, a son and two daughters; Mary, wife of Henry Shubert, her second husband, lives in this county and has four children ; John W. is at Broken Bow, Custer county, Nebraska, and has one son and one daughter ; Nancy Ann is the wife of James Linn, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and has one son and one daughter. Thosmas B. Skeen was reared and inured to farm life from an earlj age. Owing to his father's financial circumstances and the primitive surroundings in which they lived, his education was meager, and the old schoolhouse in which it was obtained was of the fashion now passed from history, being roughly made, with puncheon floor, slab seats and 32 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. fireplace, and other equipihents and appliances known to the schoolboy of sixty years ago. In 1854 he and his father came to Nemaha county, Nebraska, where they laid out a claim and built a double log house and cattle shed. They were among the first comers, and "batched" it the first winter, as the family did not come until the following April. The In- dians had not yet removed from their old camping grounds, but they live'! at peace with the Avhites, their only depredations being the stealing of corn once in awhile, nor where they polite in their visits nor ever back- ward in begging for food. The first winter that Mr. Skeen spent there was a hard one, the deep snow making existence for the cattle especially precarious, and some of their sheep perished, the red men eating the dead animals in the spring. Mr. Skeen remained at home until he reached his majority, and in the spring of 1859 was among the stampeders to Pike's Peak. Den- ver then had about twelve houses, and from there his party of eight went to the Clear Creek and Boulder region. They were turned back by the deep snows on the east side of the mountains, and established claims at Twelve Mile Diggings, and they have since been thankful for the outcome of the expedition, for had they reached the other side of the mountains their bones would have later been found there by some subse- quent wanderers. After spending one stmimer in this new experience, Mr. Skeen returned to what seemed God's country, in Nebraska. But he was not satisfied with his western experience, and he soon afterward en- gaged in freighting, taking about ten wagons, drawn by four or six oxen or two or four horses, and loaded with flour, bacon and other pro- visions, to Denver and other parts of the state, where he sold the fiour for sixteen dollars per hundred, his corn for nine cents a pound and other prices in proportion. He began this enterprise on borrowed money, and at the end of four years quit with two thousand dollars to the SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 33 good. He had bought eighty acres of land, trading one hundred and twenty acres of wild prairie toward it and borrowing three hundred dol- lars at five per cent interest per month. He and his family moved on this property in 1861, and in the spring of 1865 he sold out for twelve hun- dred dollars and went to Jackson county, Missouri. He soon returned, however, and invested in a flouring mill two miles east of Auburn. He conducted this with success for nine years, and in 1873 sold his half inter- est in it for ten thousand dollars. During the following summer he was in the Northwest Pacific coast country for th^ purpose of locating land, but in the end came back to Nebraska, and settled on one hundred and seventy-three acres of improved land, where he was engaged in the stock business. In 1879 he bought two hundred acres near Nemaha city, and from then until 1898 engaged in the cattle-feeding business, shipping about five' carloads each year. He moved into Auburn in 1888, farming by proxy for one year and then came back to the two hundred and eighty acres three miles southwest of Nemaha City, but a year later he sold this for fifty dollars an acre, which was then the top-notch price for land. He then bought two farms nearer Auburn, and in 1892 built his good home on a quarter of block of city property. He owns these two farms, for which he paid forty-five dollars an acre, besides one hundred and sixty acres one mile north of Howe, for which he paid fifty-four dollars an acre. He has since refused seventy-five dollars an acre for some of his land, and he is now one of the prosperous landowners of the county, all of which he has made by his own well directed efforts, beginning with nothing at the start in life. Diligence, perseverance and honorable meth- ods of business dealing have brought these rewards to one of the best known pioneers and citizens of Nemaha county. On October 10, i860, Mr. Skeen was married to Miss Eunice Harger, who was born at Muscatine, Iowa, a daughter of Jarias and Elizabeth 34 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. (Wicker sham) Harger, who came to Iowa from Indiana at an early day, and the latter was connected with the family which settled Yellville, Arkansas, in the early history of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Skeen are the parents of the following children Mary Elizabeth, born January 14, 1862, died when two years old; Eunice Eulalie, born April 7, 1864, is the wife of James Armstrong and has one son; Ada Frances, borii March 19, 1867, is the present wife of Riley Turney, residing on one of her father's farms, and she has one son by her first husband, James Whit- comb Fairbanks; George B., bom September 13,' 1869, is in Grant county, Oklahoma, on one hundred and sixty acres which his father bought him, and he has one son and three daughters; Lydia May, born May 25, 1872, is the wife of William Harris, of South Auburn, and has one daughter, and she was a teacher before her marriage; Ford, born July 31, 1877, is on one of his father's farms, and has one daughter; Adelbert died in 1892 at the age of eleven; Cora Ethel died in 1874, one year old. Mr.. Skeen is a Master Mason, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has been an official for many years. In politics he is a Republican. CAPTAIN C. F. NYE. Captain C. F. Nye is one of the well known citizens of Clay township. Pawnee county, and he is also one of the pioneers of this part of Nebraska, having come here in 1867. He was born in Highgate, Frank- lin county, Vermont,. December 17, 1838. He is a son of Nelson Nye, born at Keene, New Hampshire, December 17, 1810, and who lives at St. Albans, Vermont, at the age of ninety-three years. Nelson Nye is a son of Benjamin Nye and a Miss Wright, whose father was a soldier C. F. NYE SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 35 in the Revolutionary war. Nelson Nye was reared in New Hampshire on a farm and married Eliza Fairbanks, who was born in Vermont and was a daughter of Benjamin Fairbanks of New England stock. Nelson and Eliza Nye moved to Highgate after their marriage and located upon a farm. The children born to them were as follows : Laura F. Marsh, of Sheldon, Vermont; Benjamin, of Highgate, Vermont; Chester F. ; and Albert, a prominent citizen of Highgate, who served in the Tenth Vermont Volunteer Infantry and made a fine record during the Civil war. Mr. C. F. Nye was reared upon his father's farm and was early taught that industry, thrift and integrity are essentials to real success. His education was an excellent one ; he had the advantage of a course at the university at Burlington, Vermont, but he left that institution to enlist a few days after Fort Sumter was fired upon and entered the First Vermont Regiment for ninety days. At the expiration of his term of service he returned to the University, but his patriotism would not allow him to remain there, and after a year enlisted, in September, 1862, in the Tenth Vermont Volunteer Infantry, Colonel A. B. Jewett and Captain H. Piatt commanding. Among the battles participated in by our subject may be mentioned Locust Grove, the Wilderness, Spottsyl- vania. Cold Harbor, Cedar Creek and the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. He participated in the battle of Petersburg and was wounded at Monocacy, July 9, 1864; his wound proved a very serious one and he was confined to the hospital for some time. Later he participated in the battle of Cedar Creek under General Sheridan's command with the Sixth Army Corps and was again wounded and forced to go to the hos- pital. He enlisted as a private both times and after his second enlist- ment he was promoted in the Wilderness to captain and continued in command until his final discharge. 36 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. He graduated in law at St. Albans, Vermont, in 1867, after which he came west to Pawnee City and practiced law for some time, associated with Captain George M. Humphrey. In 1893 Mr. Nye was elected treasurer of Pawnee county and served two terms with great credit to himself and the satisfaction of his constituents. Of late/y€ars he has lived upon his beautiful farm on Turkey Creek, Clay township, where he owns six hundred and forty acres of the finest, land in Nebraska, on which he carries on general farming and stock-raising. He makes a specialty of blooded cattle and hogs. Plots of blue grass surround his beautiful home, in the rear of which there is an excellent orchard. In 1 87 1 Mr. Nye was married to Maggie B. Dorrance, who was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of William Dorrance, a native of Pennsylvania of Scotch-Irish descent, whose wife, Mary Jane (Duncan) Dorrance, was born in Cumberland county, Penn- sylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Dorrance went to Tazewell county, Illinois, where the father died at the age of forty-seven years. He was a hatter by trade but followed farming. In politics he was first a Whig and then a Republican. The wife died September 11, 1894, aged seventy-nine years. They had five children, as follows : Ellen North, of Marshall. Kansas; Marian Wagner, of Pawnee City, Nebraska; J. G., of Clay township ; Mrs. Margaret Nye and J. W., of Pawnee City, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Nye have five children, as follows : W. Nelson, a well known citizen of Clay township; Laura M., wife of L. R. Dillon, of Peru, Nebraska; Jane Ellen, wife of Arthur Pelton, of Dubois, Ne- braska; Chester Gilmore, and Florence Elizabeth. Mr. Nye has been a Republican ever since he cast his first vote and he is a prominent blue lodge and chapter Mason. He and his wife are members of the Eastern Star. His wife is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. He is genial, courteous and pleasing in manner and both as a private citizen SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 37 and public official has made himself highly respected throughout the community. SAMUEL L. CALDWELL. 'Saniuel L. Caldwell, a merchant of Auburn, Nebraska, was born in Ross county, Ohio, November 26, 1849, ^ member of one of the pioneer families of that state. His father, Allen Caldwell, was born there March 24, 1816, son of Crawford Caldwell, a native of the north of Ireland, born about 1792. Crawford Caldwell, at the age of seven years, was brought to this country, was reared in New York state, and in early life became one of the pioneer farmers of Ross county, Ohio. He married a Miss McClure, and to them were given three sons and four daughters. One son died in infancy. William died, unmarried, at the old home- stead, at the age of thirty-three years. The daughters all married and had families and all lived to old age. Nancy, wife of John Bruce, of Highland county, Ohio, died in the spring of 1903, at the age of eighty- one years. The youngest, Mrs. Katie Nixon, is now in her seventy-fifth year. Grandmother Caldwell passed away in 1859, at the age of sixty years, and grandfather Caldwell died in 1872. By industry and good management in their frontier home they accumulated a competency and in their later years had all the comforts of life. Both were consistent and worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Allen Caldwell married, in 1838, in Ross county, Miss Ellen J. Winegar, who was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, near the famous Natural Bridge, December 27, 1822, daughter of John Winegar, born at that place about 1776. Mr. Winegar was a farmer. In the year 1830 he moved to Ohio, where his last days were spent. His family of four sons 38 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. and three daughters all married and reared families. Ellen J. was the youngest. The only survivor of the seven at this writing is Walter Winegar, seventy-five years of age, a resident of Highland county, Ohio. By trade Allen Caldwell was a wagon-maker, but early in life he turned his attention to farming and was thus occupied for many years. Politi- cally he was a Whig. For twenty years he was a justice of the peace. He was well posted on general subjects and had rare legal ability, and his opinion was often sought and always valued. By word and act he strongly opposed slavery. Like his parents before him, both he and his wife were active supporters of the Methodist church. Physically he was of fine proportions, six feet and one inch high, weighing two hundred and twenty pounds in his prime. He died December 23, 1896, and was laid to rest on Christmas day. He left to his children a good estate and what was far better than money and lands — a good name. The devoted wife and loving mother survived him until April 17, 1903, when her death occurred at the age of eighty-two years. They were the parents of four- teen children : John C. a farmer and stock dealer of Highland county, Ohio, is one of the most prominent men in that county, where he has served seven consecutive years as county commissioner, elected on the Republican ticket; he has been twice married and is the father of four- teen children. William H. is also a respected farmer of Highland county, Ohio; James E., a farmer and shoe merchant, died December 23, 1872, at the age of thirty years, leaving one daughter ; Noble B., a retired farmer of Des Moines, Iowa, has three sons and four daughters; Sarah Ellen, wife of Washington Arnott, died in Ohio in 1895, leaving four children ; Nancy, wife of J. C. Town, an Ohio farmer, has nine children; Sam- uel L. is the direct subject of this sketch; Walter W., a merchant, died in Ohio, in 1897, at the age of forty-five years, leaving seven children; Maggie J., widow of James M. Hughey, resides in Greenfield, Oliio; SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 39 David A., a farmer in Ohio; Abigail, wife of Cary A. Cowman, an Ohio farmer, has two children; Joseph L., an attorney of Greenfield, Ohio; Frank S.y an Ohio farmer, has two sons; and O. D., chief of police in Greenfield, Ohio. Samuel L. Caldwell spent his boyhood days on his father's farm. During the Civil war he was not old enough to enlist in the service of his country, as did other members of the family, but he made a hand on the farm, and thus it was that being detained at home to work it was not until after he was sixteen years old that he was able to obtain much schooling. Then he went to the town schools and later to the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio. He completed the scientific course in the normal at Lebanon in 1880. Meanwhile he taught school and studied law, and in 1879 was admitted to the bar in Washington Court House, Ohio. .After this he was engaged in teaching high school. Tv\?o years he was principal of the high school at Prairie City, Iowa. In the fall of 1884 he came to Auburn to accept the principalship of the schools at this place, a position which he filled two years. During this time he was elected the first police judge of Auburn, which office he resigned, after two and a half years of service, in order to accept the position of principal in the South Omaha schools. That was in the fall of 1886. ■In Auburn, June 8, 1887, Mr. Caldwell married Miss Mary A. Wood, a native of Greencastle, Indiana, born in i860, daughter of Willis P. and Eliza (Moore) Wood, natives of Putnam county, Indiana. In the Wood family are two sons and two daughters, Mrs. Caldwell being the eldest. Her brothers are Frank and Nelson, the former a resident of Kansas, the latter of Indiana. Her sister Millie J. is the wife of Ed- ward F. Stone, of Greencastle. . In March, 1893, Mrs. Caldwell opened a millinery store in Auburn, and was so successful in the venture that from time to time the establish- 40 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ment was enlarged. In September, 1902, a full line of well selected dry goods was added and another room occupied. The business is conducted under the firm name of Caldwell & Caldwell, and their two adjoining, well stocked rooms form one of the best stores in the town. Mrs. Caldwell attended the DePauw University and previous to her marriage was a teacher in Indiana. In Auburn she is popular in both business and social circles. She is an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which both she and Mr. Caldwell are members, and in the Rebekah degree branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows she has been honored with high ofificial position, being president of the state organization. Her fraternity work takes her to vairious towns and cities in Nebraska, at all of which places her pleasant speech and her gracious manner have won for her the high esteem of her sisters and brothers of the order. Mr. Caldwell is an Odd Fellow. Politically he may be classed at a Populist who has come from the Republican ranks. He served as clerk of the district court of Nemaha, county one year. Recently he has retired from his fourth term in the office of police judge, having served in all nine years in that office. ROBERT G. GILMORE. Robert G. Gilmore, a retired farmer of Beatrice, Nebraska, and a veteran of the Civil war, enlisted at Erie, Pennsylvania, August 17, 1861, in Company D, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel J. W. McLane and Captain O. S. Woodward commanding. Among the battles he participated in were the Seven Days' battle before Rich- mond, Turkey Bend, second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericks- burg, Chancellorsville, and at Gettysburg, and the other battles and SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 41 skirmishes of that campaign. He participated in the three days' battle in the Wilderness, previous to the battle of Spottsylvania. At the battle of Spottsylvania he was wounded^ and carries a ball in his left leg to this day. At Spottsylvania he was taken prisoner, May 8, 1864, and August 22, 1864, he was paroled and sent to Annapolis, Maryland. He enlisted as a private, but was promoted to the rank of sergeant for gallantry on the field. His regiment had more killed and wounded than any other jn the army, except one. He was honorably discharged September 20, 1864, and returned to Pennsylvania. Mr. Gilmore was born July 28, 1839, in Venango county, Pennsyl- vania, being a son of William Gilmore, who in turn was a son of Brice Gilmore. William Gilmore was a native of Pennsylvania and followed the trade of carpenter. The maiden name of his wife was Jane Dickey, and she was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania. The children born to these worthy parents were as follows: Adam C., served in the Ninth Pennsylvania Reserves, and died in 1875 J Robert G. ; Ira B. served in Company I, Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and now resides in Butler county, Pennsylvania; Quinton B.; Sarah J. Adams, of Utica, Pennsyl- vania ; Agnes I. McCracken, of Utica, Pennsylvania ; William W. ; and Ann Eliza Whitman. The father died on the old farm in Pennsylvania at the age of fifty-eight and the mother died at the age of eighty years. In politics the father was a Republican. Both were consistent members of the Presbyterian church, in which he was a deacon. Robert G. Gilmore was reared and educated in Pennsylvania, and there in 1867 he married Lucy M. Clough, a daughter of Horace and Ann (Brown) Clough, natives of New York. Ann Clough died in Illinois in 1867, and the father came to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1875, where he died August 25, 1891. Mr. Gilmore located in Highland township, Gage county, Nebraska 42 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in 1876, but in 1892 retired to Beatrice, where he has since Hved. His children are : WiUiam B., who Hves on a large ranch in Wyoming; Flora Stewart, of Beatrice; Leonard B., lives on the old farm; Horace lives in Gage county and follows teaching as his profession. The first vote our subject cast was for Lin- coln in i860, and he has since continued voting the Republican ticket. Like -the majority of the veterans of the Civil war, he is interested in G. A. R. work, and was one of the charter members of the Cortlandt Post, of which he served as commander. He is now a member of Rawlins Post No. 35, of Beatrice. Genial, hospitable and pleasing m manner, Mr. Gilmore makes and retains many friends, and is one of the repre- sentative men of the county. ROBERT C. BOYD. Robert C. Boyd, assistant cashier of the Carson National Bank, of Auburn, Nebraska, was born in Upton, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1866. His education has been gained chiefly in the practical school of experience. Up to the time he was fifteen years of age he attended the public schools of his native town. The next three years he spent as a clerk in his father's store. In November, 1884, he came west to Nebraska and accepted a position as clerk in the bank of which his brother, Edward M., was manager, and he has since been identified with this bank, having been promoted to his present position of assistant cashier in 1891. During their residence here the Boyd brothers have in many ways been active in promoting the growth and best interests of Auburn. It was largely due to their enterprising efforts that the elec- tric plant of the town was secured in 1901. They have for years been interested in real estate, buying and selling both city and farm property. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 43 Robert C. Boyd was married, April 24, 1890, to Miss Lillie Angle, a native of Welsh Run, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, born August 21, 1868, daughter of Henry B. and Mary (Niswander) Angle, both natives of Franklin county. Mrs. Angle died February i, 1896, at the age of fifty-seven years, leaving ten of her eleven children, viz. : Ella, wife of John E. Shartle, of Independence, Missouri, has two sons; Annie, wife of W. B. Waddell, Oakland, California, has one son and one daughter; Avis, wife of W. B. Duffield, of Welsh Run, Pennsylvania, has one son ; G. C, a railroad official, located at Spokane, Washington; Lillie; Harry F., of Welsh Run, Pennsylvania ; Lyman, a Pennsylvania farmer ; James Garfield, Lucretia and Minor, triplets. The first named died at the age of nine months. Lucretia is the wife of Rev. Rolland E. Christ, a Pres- byterian minister of Atglen, Pennsylvania. Minor is a resident of Chi- cago, is married and has one daughter. The youngest child. Miss Bessie, is at the old home in Pennsylvania, with her father, who is a retired farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd have three children ; Avis Angle, born Feb- ruary 6, 1901 ; Mary Jane, June 28, 1895 ; and William N., July 8, 1899. Robert C. Boyd is a prominent Mason. He has received the thirty- second degree in this ancient and honored organization, and is a past' master, past high priest and past commander. He also has membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and Ancient Order of United Workmen, and, politically, he is a stanch Republican. He filled the office of city treasurer eight years, in which capacity he still serves. Both he and Mrs. Boyd are worthy members of the Presbyterian church. 44 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. CLAYTON E. BLESSING. Clayton E. Blessing, a member of the firm of Blessing & Tankers- ley, and proprietor of "Central Fruit Farm," Auburn, Nebraska, where he resides, has been a resident of this town for twenty years. Mr. Blessing was born in Burketsville, Maryland, June 21, 1855, ^""^ is descended from German ancestry on his father's side, his great-grand- father and great-grandmother Blessing having been born in Saxony, Ger- many. George Blessing, the grandfather of Clayton E., was born in Mary- land, in 1789, and was by occupation a planter. In his young manhood he was a participant in the war of 181 2, and in later life, in the days of Civil war, he showed that he still had fighting blood in him. He was. a strong Union man, and he had long been a disbeliever in slavery and had emancipated his slaves. His farm and timberland was on the border of the Confederacy and he was subject to depredations from both armies. In this connection we quote from an interesting article published some years ago in one of the Washington papers : "Mr. George Blessing, seventy years of age, was a farmer who resided in the mountains near Myersville. When it was learned that the rebels were prowling through the neighborhood, stealing horses and committing depredations generally, he was importuned by his family to remove his stock beyond the reach of the marauders ; but he declined to do so, avowing his purpose to defend his property to the last. He had ten guns in his house which he proceeded to load and put in readiness, in the event of any necessity arising for their use. At noon, July 2, 1863, he gathered his family about him and read aloud the ninety-first Psalm : 'I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust,' then he engaged in devotional worship, imploring the Most High to shield and protect his household from the assaults and SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 45 rapacity of the enemy who were laying waste his native soil, and seeking to overthrow the best government ever devised by the wisdom of man, pleading God to uphold and sustain the old flag of his fathers. Taking ' two guns, he repaired, with his son, a lad yet in his teens, to his barn, from which he descried a squad of rebels approaching on horseback. Handing his son a gun, he ordered him to take a certain position, and, should the squad dismount and attempt to break open the door of the stable, which was fastened by a lock, fire upon them. The rebels ad- vanced within a short distance of the stable, when one of the number threw himself from his horse, and commenced the work of demolishing the stable door. At that moment the old man and his son fired simul- taneously upon the offender, both balls taking effect in his right arm. The balance of the party scampered away, leaving their wounded com- rade behind them, and swearing vengeance upon their opponents. Before they had escaped beyond reach of Mr. Blessing's gun, he fired a second shot at the fleeing, foe, but with what result he could not tell. The rebel at whom he fired fell forward on his horse, evidently wounded, but he managed to get away. "Mr. Blessing's neighbors, learning what he had done, waited upon him and by every argument they could advance endeavored to dissuade him from his purpose to 'stand his ground.' "Tliey tried to prevail upon him to leave the vicinity and seek refuge from the infuriated rebels, who would return with reinforcements and not only destroy his property but would murder hims^and his son. The brave old partiot was immovable in his purpose to defend his property, though in the event his life would be forfeited. He was a man of prayer, and read his Bible and accepted literally its promise, and he had infinite confidence in his- 'shield and buckler,' assured that needed strength would be given him in the unequal contest which might ensue. The guns were 46 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. reloaded, and father and son resumed their former positions, and awaited the return of the foe. They were not kept long in suspense. Twenty mounted rebels, accompanied by four citizens from Myersville, with whom Mr. Blessing was acquainted, were advancing on his premises.- When within a short distance of Mr. Blessing's barn the citizens were ordered in front of the rebel squad, as a protection to them from the bullets which the cowardly land-pirates knew were ready to greet them. Undismayed, Mr. Blessing warned his acquaintances against moving a step forward, assuring them that should they do so they would meet with swift and certain death. Intimidated and bewildered, there the rebels stood, hesitating as to their further action. Every shot discharged in the direction where they supposed the 'Yankee soldiers' were secreted was promptly and vigorously answered. 'What shall we do?' reasoned these baffled, thieving sons of Mars. Evidently they were fighting superior numbers, and would not hazard the chance for success with their present force, but would go back for the artillery. As they were wheeling their horses to retrace their course, Mr. Blessing shot one of the band, through the head and killed him instantly. "A second time Mr. Blessing's neighbors waited upon him and urged him to desist from the course they were pursuing. Their entreaties were unavailing. He was determined to fight to the bitter end, whatever the consequences might be to him. Should God permit him to kill but one more traitor, he was willing to die. Momentarily expecting the maraud- ers to return with artillery, Mr. Blessing shouldered two guns and posted himself in a clump of trees in a lane leading from. a public road to his residence. He had been there but a short time when he observed heavy clouds of dtist rising from the road, some distance off. A large body of horsemen were moving toward him. In the advance he noticed what he conceived to be a rebel scout ; in an instant the old man raised his gun, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 47 and was in the act of firing, when the object of his aim fell back into the main column of soldiers, riding rapidly up the lane. He now recognized the blue coats, who, having heard of the heroic conduct of the dauntless old patriot and his worthy son, were hastening to the rescue, and their timely arrival was welcomed by this old man of prayer whose eyes were turned 'to the hills from whence came the help,' and whose faith in that God whose promises of succor in every time of trouble never weakened." After the fight, Abraham Lincoln presented George Blessing a fine silver- mounted repeating rifle as a token for his bravery. George Blessing and his wife, whose maiden name was Susanna Easterday, reared a family of three sons and six daughters, of whom two sons and five daughters married and had families. One of the sons in the above named family, Parker George Blessing, the father of Clayton E., was bom in Frederick county, Maryland, Decem- ber 3, 1829, and died in Highland, that state, in 1866. He married, September 19, 1854, Miss Wilhelmina Yonson, who was born in Green- castle, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1832, daughter of William Yonson. The children of this marriage were as follows : Clayton E. ; Avalonia, who was the wife of Martin Weller, was born March 31, 1857, died in Auburn, Nebraska, leaving two sons and two daughters; George Henry, born October 28, 1859, died in 1890, leaving a son and three daughters; Royal Madison, born in 1861, died in 1881 ; and the youngest, a daughter, died in infancy. The mother of this family died in 1865, at the age of thirty-three years, and the father died the following year, both in Maryland. At the age of seventeen years Clayton E. Blessing left school and entered upon an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, at Harmony, Maryland. He remained with and worked for the man of whom he learned his trade until he was twenty-three, when he began contracting 48 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. on his own account, and was thus occupied there four years. In the meantime he married, and in March, 1883, he came west to Nebraska, bringing with him his wife and three children. Here, in Auburn and vicinity, he continued contracting and building until about six years ago, when he gave it up on account of failing health, and has since devoted his time and attention to fruit-raising. He has five acres of land in the western part of Auburn, just inside the corporation limits, which he bought in 1898, and where he built his present residence. Here he raises all kinds of berries and a variety of cherries, peaches and plums, and in addition to raising fruit, he is also engaged in buying and selling fruit, doing this business under the firm name of Blessing & Tankei^sley. These gentlemen have been associated together two years, handling fruit in car-load lots, shipping to various points in Nebraska and other states. Mr. Blessing married, December 21, 1876, Miss Emma F. Knox, who was born in Boliver, Maryland, June 28, 1857, daughter of David and Mariah (Brandenberg) Kjiox. The children of this union are: Wil- helmina C. ; George W. ; Ava Lauretta; Floyd Edwin; Emma Jane Marie and Dolly May. All are living except the two last named. Emma Jane Marie was bom March 3, 1893, and died October 14, 1896, and Dollie May, born November 16, 1895, died March 19, 1903. Both the daughters are teachers and musicians. George is a printer by trade. Mr. Blessing and his family are Lutherans in their religious faith, his parents and his grandparents before him having been devout mem- bers of that church. Politically he is a Republican, and has served four years as assessor of Nemaha county. He has fraternal relations with iV,e Masonic order and the Fratenal Union of America. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 49 THOMAS COPELAND. Thomas Copeland, the present mayor of the thriving town of Dil- ler, Jefferson county, Nebraska, is one of the old settlers of this part of Nebraska, having first taken up his residence here in 1880, which is an early date in the annals of Nebraska. He has enjoyed a success- ful career in the various pursuits to which he has devoted his seventy years of life, and is popular and highly esteemed among all classes. He is an ex-soldier of the Civil war, having followed the flag on many haid-f ought battlefields of the south, and this fact alone is ample proof of the loyalty and public spirit which have always pervaded his actions. Mr. Copeland was born in Richland county, Ohio, February 2, 1833, of ^ family known for their integrity and substantiality. His father, William Copeland, was a native of Lincolnshire, England, and his mother. May Wells, was born in Devonshire, and after their mar- riage they came to America and settled in Richland county, Ohio, near Mansfield, General Sherman's old home. The former, who followed farming, and was a Republican voter, died at the age of seventy-five, and his wife, a member of the Methodist church, lived to be eighty- six years old. Their seven children were Charlotte, Henry, Rebecca, Catherine, Thomas, John, and Charles W., who died at the age of eighteen. Thomas Copeland was reared on the Ohio farm, and learned very early the lessons of industry and the honor of labor. He also learned the carpenter's trade, and followed this occupation until the Civil war. At Lincoln's call, in August, 1862, for sixty thousand troops, he en- listed in the Twenty-first Indiana Light Artillery, under Captain W. W. Andrews, of La Porte, Indiana. He took part in many of the cru- cial battles of the war, among them being Chatlet Gap, Hooper's Gap, Columbia, both of the battles at Franklin, Tennessee, at Nashville, Chick- amauga, thence back to Chattanooga, was with Sherman at Ringgold, 50 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, was then sent back to Tennes- see and on detail duty for a time, and at Indianapolis, Indiana, received his honorable discharge in 1865, with a worthy and honorable record as a soldier and defender of the flag. He lived for a time in Indiana, and in 1869 came to Schuyler, Nebraska, where he homesteaded a place for five years, and then went to Iowa and lived in Marion county until 1880, in which year he came to Jefferson county, Nebraska, and settled near Steele City. He conducted a farm and raised stock there, and later came to Diller, where he has been one of the enterprising and popular citizens ever since. Mr. Copeland was first married in Bourbon county, Indiana, to Miss May Lucas, who died in Jefferson county, Nebraska, leaving six children : Rosa Bell, Thomas Ellsworth, Francis W., Emma, Charles Walter, and James Ernest. In 1895 Mr. Copeland married Mrs. Jennie Boilett, the widow of Egen Boilett, who died in Gage county, Nebraska, leaving her and three children, two of them married Leah and Jennie. Mrs. Copeland was born in France, of French parentage, and is a lady of intelligence, conversant with both the French and English languages. Mr. Copeland is a Populist in political principle. He was elected mayor of Diller by a good majority, and gave a most capable and satisfactory administration. He was also on the board of trustees for two years. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has been com- mander of his post. He is also an Odd Fellow, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ' 51 ALBERT B. MUTZ. Among the pretty homes in the pleasant town of Auburn, Nebraska:, is a fine old residence with spacious lawn in front bordered by arbor-vitae hedge, and with a large orchard in the rear. This is the Mutz home- place, where lives the commercial traveler, that hale fellow well met, Albert B. Mutz. Albert B. Mutz was born in Cass county, Nebraska, November 10, 1857, son of John Mutz, who settled in Auburn in 1881, and of whom further mention is made on another page of this work, in connection with the biography of A. C. Mutz, brother of Albert B. Mr. Mutz received his early education in the public schools and then took a course in the Nebraska State Normal School, of which insti- tution he is a graduate. For four years he was a teacher. Leaving the schoolroom, he turned his attention from the educational to the commer- cial field of labor, and for nearly nineteen years he has been selling groceries tp the trade, chiefly in southeastern Nebraska. Two years, however, were spent in the Black Hills, South Dakota, and in Wyoming. And thirteen years of his commercial career have been spent in the employ of one house. He owns a fine team, and with his own turnout drives to many of the points in his territory, on these trips frequently being accom- panied by his wife ; and he makes it a practice to spend his Sundays in Auburn. He owns the home above referred to. This place originally comprised twelve acres, or four blocks, but some of it has been sold and there are now only seven acres in the place. ' Mr. Mutz was married in Auburn, in June, 1894, to Miss Minnie Furnas Teare, a native of Brownville, Nebraska, born June 3, 1868, daughter of Robert and Mary C. (Downey) Teare. Her father was a native of the Isle of Man and her mother was born in Maryland. The former is deceased and the latter is now living in Auburn, with 52 SOUTHEASTERN , NEBRASKA. ' her two sons. Mrs. Mutz was educated in the Brownville high school and previous to her marriage was engaged in teaching school four years. Their union has been blessed in the birth of five children, namely : Robert Teare, who died at the age of eleven months; Alberta Beatrice, born January 25, 1897; Mary Downey, born February 9, 1899; Howard Stewart and Harold Furnas, twins, born December 14, 1900. Fra- ternally Mr. Mutz is a Knight 'of Pythias, and politically he is a Dem- ocrat. WILLIAM LL ALLVORD. The name of William H. Allvord is inscribed high on the roll of the honored veterans of the Civil war and of Gage county's pioneers. He was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, in 1842, being a son of George and Mary (Shumper) Allvord, also natives of the Keystone, state, and the former was of German descent. The mother died when her son William was but a child, leaving six sons and five daughters, and five of the sons served as soldiers in the Civil war, — H. Fred, David, William H., George and Jacob. Three were wounded, David, William H. and Jacob, but all returned home at the close of their services, and the military record of this family is one of which the members have every reason to be proud. William H. Allvord spent the early years of his life on a farm in Perry county, Pennsylvania. At the first call of I^incoln for troops, seven days after Fort Sumter had been fired upon, this patriotic lad ofifered his services to the Union cause, enlisting with the three-months men in the Second Pennsylvania Infantry, but four months elpased before his dis- charge. He was under fire at Williamport, Virginia, and Chambersburg, and after his second enlistment, in 1863, in Company E, Fifty-third SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ' 53 Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Brooks commanding, he took part in the battles of the Wilderness, Poe River, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and on to Petersburg, taking part in the siege of that place. He was wounded near that city, and on the i6th of June, 1864, was taken as a prisoner of war to Andersonville, where he was confined until the following December, a period of six months and four days. While there incarcerated he was threatened by Colonel Wertz that if he did not obey and move more quickly a ball and chain would be put on him. On entering this prison pen he weighed one hundred and seventy-five pounds, but ere his term had expired his weight was reduced to seventy-five pounds, being thus emanciated through starvation and exposure, and he suffered all the horrors of that noted rebel prison. After his release Mr. Allvord returned home on a thirty days' furlough, on the expiration of which period he weht to Petersburg, where he was wounded in the right leg on the 31st of March, 1865. He was then taken to a hospital at Washington, D. C, where he was honorably discharged from the service as a corporal, having been promoted for gallant conduct on the field of battle. After the close of the struggle Mr. Allvord returned home, and for a time thereafter was engaged in the mining of coal in Pennsylvania for eastern parties. During the past twenty-six years he has made his home in Nebraska, and his valuable and well cultivated farm is located in High- land township. Gage county. Ere leaving the state of his birth and while home from the war on a furlough, he was united in marriage to Martha Buchanan, who was called to the home beyond at the age of fifty-four years, passing away in Gage county. She was a loving wife and mother, a kind neighbor, and was loved and honored by all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance. At her death she left one daughter, Sarah Sloan, who makes her home in Saline county, Nebraska. One daughter, Mary, 54 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. is deceased. In political matters Mr. Allvord is a stanch Republican, and on its ticket has been elected to offices of public trust, having served for one year as road overseer and has also been a member of the school board. He maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades throug-h membership with the Grand Army of the Republic, having joined one of the first posts organized in the east. Religiously he is a believer in the Church of Christ, and his wife was identified with the United Brethren. HON. P. H. JAMES. Hon. P. H. James, a prominent agriculturist of Highland township, Gage county, Nebraska, is numbered among the veterans of the Civil war and is a worthy representative of the early pioneers of this region. He was born in Pike county, Ohio, on the 4th of July, 1842, a son of Samuel James, also a native of the Buckeye state, and the latter's father was born in Virginia, where the family were early represented and its mem- bers took part in the early wars of the country. The mother of our sub- ject bore the maiden name of Catherine Taylor, and was a descendant of Wolfenbarger, a Revolutionary soldier. Ten children were born to Samuel and Catherine James, six sons and four daughters, and three of the sons served as soldiers in the Civil war, — Marion, P. H. and Gilbert, all members of Ohio regiments. Mr. Samuel James was called from this earth at the early age of forty-six years, and the mother sur- vived until her seventy-fifth year, both passing away in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which they were worthy and consistent members, and the father was a life-long farmer. P. H. James was reared and educated in the public schools of his native state, and on the 13th of July, 1861, before reaching his twentieth SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 55 year, he offered his services to the Union cause, enlisting in Company I, Twenty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain W. C. Appier and Colonel E. P. Fife, having been the first to enlist from Marion township, and remained in service longer than any other man in that township. For a time he was stationed in West Virginia, under Generals Cox and Rosecrans. Later he was in the forced march under General Buel to Shiloh. Thence to Corinth, then luka and returned to Kentucky and participated in the campaigns of that state; was in battles of Stone River, Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge and shortly afterward returned home on a furlough. Mr. James then took part in the Atlanta cam- paign, under Generals Sherman and Thomas, and later under General Thomas returned to fight General Hood's forces at Franklin and Nash- ville, during which time he had charge of his company. From Nash- ville they were ordered to Texas, via Louisiana and the Gulf, and there he was honorably discharged from the service as a non-commis- sioned officer, O'ctober 14, 1865. Out of the twelve men who left Marion township to fight for their country only two returned, Mr. James and Samuel Umphreys. Though only nineteen years old at the time of his enlistment, Mr. James performed his arduous tasks with the steadiness and discretion of a man twice his age, and his military record is one of which he has every reason to be proud. He draws a meager pension of six dollars per month. In 1 87 1 Mr. James left his Ohio home and with team and wagon set out for the then new country of Nebraska, being accompanied on the journey by his wife and two children, and twenty-eight days were spent on the road. On arriving here they located first in Johnson county, but in 1872 came to Gage county and secured his present homestead in Highland township. His valuable homestead now consists of three hundred and twenty acres of as good land as can be found in the entire S6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. commonwealth, all of which he has placed under a fine state of cultiva- tion and has erected all the commodious buildings which now adorn the place. He is devoting his efforts to general farming and stock-raising, and in both occupations is meeting with a well merited degree of success. He is also well known as a public-spirited citizen and as an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party. For a number of years he held the office of postmaster, and was also the representative of his district in the state legislature in 1892, in which he served with honor and credit. In Pike county, Ohio, in 1866, Mr. James was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Keppler, who was born, reared and educated in Pike county, a daughter of Conrad and Christena (Eherinan) Keppler, both of whom died in Ohio. They were the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters. Mr. and Mrs. James have had six children, namely : David R, a resident of Beatrice, Nebraska ; Alice Clare, of Lancaster, this state; A'ddie Clough, who makes her home in Gage county ; Cora Randall, also of Beatrice ; and Nelly, at home and a talented musician. A sad event in the life of Mr. and Mrs. James was the death of their son Morton who passed away when only sixteen years of age. He was an unusually bright boy, and had served as a page in the state house and as messenger boy to Governor Thomas Majors. Mr. and Mrs. James are numbered among the best known citizens of this community, M'here their friends are legion. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 57 THOMAS J. KEEDY. Among the well known and respected citizens of Nemaha county, Nebraska, is Thomas J. Keedy, who has retired from his farm and is now living quietly in his pleasant home in Aiiburn. Mr. Keedy is of German descent. His grandfather, Henry Keedy, was born in Germany about the year 1778, and when a young man emi- grated to America, settling in Maryland, where he became the owner of a small farm, and where he passed the rest of his life and died, his death occurring in 1848. He reared a family of five sons and two daughters, namely: John J., Henry, Samuel, Jacob, Mattie, Rachael and Alfred. All married, and all had families except Rachael, and all lived to advanced age, Rachael being the last to pass away, her death being in the summer of 1902. John J. Keedy, the first of the above named family, was the father of Thomas J. ; was born in Maryland, in 1803, and died in that state in 1868. He was a miller and a farmer, and owned both a mill and a farm. In Maryland, in 1826, he married Miss Mary Ann Middlecofif, a native of that state and one year his junior. They became the parents of eight children, four sons and four daiighters, namely : Christopher Columbus, who was born in 1827, and who is now living in Keedysville. named in honor of grandfather Keedy, who was the founder of the town ; Sophia, deceased, was twice married, first to E. Hecker, by whom she had one daughter, and, second, to J. Ebersoll, by whom she had one son; the third and fourth died in early life ; George W., a farmer of Reno county, Kansas, has a family of eight children; the sixth born was a son, who died when young; next came Thomas J., whose name introduces this sketch ; and the youngest, Mary Ann, died in early life. The mother of this family died in Maryland, in 1881, and her remains rest beside those 58 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. of her husband and other members of the family in the Keedysville cemetery. , They were members of the Reformed church. Thomas J. Keedy was born in Washington county, Maryland, Janu- ary 27, 1840; spent his boyhood days on his father's farm and obtained only a limited education in the district schools. As a child he was deli- cate, and his ill health fre^quently kept him from school. When he was nine years old he missed a whole winter's schooling on this account. He remained at the parental home until his marriage, with the excep- tion of three years and three months spent in the army, during the Civil war. He volunteered, August 15, 1861, and was in Company A, First Maryland Infantry, which formed a part of the Army of the Potomac. During his army life he had a siege of typhoid fever, was sent home and was there nine weeks. At Harper's Ferry he was taken prisoner, and was paroled, being one of the thirteen thousand paroled at that time, and was in camp at Annapolis six months. Among the engagements in which he participated were those of Gettysburg and Winchester. Mr. Keedy was married, December 27, 1864, to Miss Sarah Snyder, a native of Maryland, born August 17, 1841, daughter of David and Sarah (Hutzel) Snyder. In the Snyder family were five children, all of whom became farmers. David Snyder died in the prime of life and his widow was sixty-seven years of age at the time of her death. The children of Thomas J. and Sarah Keedy are as follows : Mary Ellen, wife of Dr. Long, of Lincoln, Nebraska, has one daughter and two sons ; Ada May, wife of Henry Furrow, of Auburn, has two children living; Albert Lincoln, a farmer near Auburn^ has a wife, two sons and a daughter; S. Elsworth, also engaged in farming near Auburn, is mar- ried and has two daughters; and Lorena, wife of Hugh Naysmith, a farmer of Republican county, Kansas, has one daughter. Mr. Keedy inherited two thousand dollars from his father's estate, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 59 iias worked hard and managed well and prospered, and has been able to give his own children a good start in the world. Previous to his coming to Nebraska Mr. Keedy was for several years engaged in the manufacture of lime at Keedysville. He came' west in 1881, locating near what was then called Sheridan, now Auburn, and here he bought one hundred and sixty acres of improved land, upon which he carried on farming until the fall of 1893, when he sold to his sons, and bought two lots in Auburn. Here he built his present residence. When a young man in Maryland, Mr. Keedy; was initiated into the mysteries of Oddfellowship. Politically, he is what is termed an inde- pendent, and in religion he also holds independent views, and has neiver identified himself with any creed. WILLIAM C. PARRIOTT. William C. Parriott, county superintendent of schools of Nemaha county, Nebraska, is a native of the county in which he has been honored early in life with high official position in educational work. He was born in Peru, June 13, 1872. His father, William C. Parriott, was born in Moundsville, West Virginia, in January, 1829, and died in Peru, Nebraska, October 26, 1895. John Parriott, Professor Parriott's grand- father, also a native of West Virginia, was a lawyer and planter, and was the father of six sons and two daughtesr, most of whom passed their lives as farmers ; and of the number at this writing only one is living — Edgar Parriott, a resident of California. Grandfather Parriott died in Virginia, in the prime of life. He was a man of high intellectual attain- ments and figured prominently in the affairs of his day, several times being honored with a seat in the legislature of his state. He had the 6o SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. family name, which is EngHsh and was originally spelled "Parrott," c.hr;nged to its present spelling. Professor Parriott's mother was before marriage Miss Margaret Moore. She was bom in Burlington, Iowa, in 1839, daughter of Fran- cis Moore, who came to this country from Ireland. She was married to Mr. Parriott, in i860, at Danville, Iowa, and after their marrigae they lived in that state two years, removing thence to Cass county, Nebraska, which was the family home the next three years, two years of which time he was away in California engaged in mining. In 1866 they came to Nemaha county and settled on one htindred and sixty acres of land in Peru township, which he improved and to which he subsequently added until his farm comprised two hundred and thirty-one acres. Here he died October 26, 1895, and on the home farm his widow is still living, with her two sons John and Grover. In their family were seven sons and two daughters, namely : Edward, who is interested in the insurance business at Peru, as a representative of the Ancient Order of United Workmen; Frank, a farmer near Brownville, this county; Joseph D., engaged in farming in Peru township; Alma, wife of W. Rainey, of Union, Nebraska; William C. ; Clara, wife of Charles T. Edwards, of Shubert, Nebraska; Lee R., a farmer of Peru township; and John and Grover, who have charge of the home farm. William C. Parriott is a graduate of the State Normal School at Peru, Nebraska, with the class of 1896. For three years he was employed as a teacher in the public schools and he is now serving his fourth year in the office of county superintendent of schools. As a candidate for this office in 1897 he was defeated by twenty-one votes; made his next run in 1899 and was elected. Being a Democrat in a Republican county, his election was by a small majority, and as showing the rapidity with which he grew in favor with the people when they learned his value as an edu- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 6i cator and the earnestness with which he entered into his work, we state that when he was re-elected in 1901 he had a majority of 152 votes. Mr. Parriott was married, February 12, 1902, to Miss Bessie Tynan, a native of Stella, Nebraska, and a daughter of Andrew and Jenny (Richardson) Tynan of that place. Mrs. Parriott was educated in the State University of Nebraska and previous to her marriage was a teacher. In their own pleasant home on one of the nicest streets of the pretty town of Auburn the Professor and Mrs. Parriott live. LORIN ROUNDS. 'Lorin Rounds, who for many years was a popular landlord of Howe but is now retired, has had a busy and successful career in various parts of the country. He has been a carpenter by trade, and is also one of the survivors of the Civil war. His industry and business ability have given him a comfortable place in life and won him the regard of all his fellow citizens. He has proved his excellent citizenship during the years that he has been a resident of Howe, and has played his part in life with fidelity to self and loyalty to country and society. Mr. Rounds was a son of John W. Rounds, who was born in Penn- sylvania in 1819, and was a painter and decorator, following that pursuit in St. Louis, Missouri, for a number of years. He was fairly prosperous, and had accumulated about four thousand dollars with which he intended to buy lands in Nebraska, but on his way was murdered in St. Louis in 1883. He married Miss Abbey Tracey, a native of New York state, where they were married in 1840. They had five sons and one daughter, and two of the sons died in infancy. The others were married, and there were eight grandchildren. Mrs. Abbey Rounds died in 1850, aged about 62 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. thirty-five, and her husband' was again married, but had no children by the second union. Lorin Rounds was born in New York state December 9,. 1843. In young manhood he came to Wisconsin and Hved on Sun Prairie until 1864, when he enHsted at Madison, Wisconsin, in Company K, Fortieth Wisconsin Vohinteer Infantry. He served less than a year owing to physical disability, and he now draws a small pension. He followed carpentering for a number of years, and was successful. May 18, 1885, Mr. Rounds was married at Brownville, Nebraska, to the widow of Daniel McLean. She is a daughter of John and Sarah Jane (Roberts) Stampp, who came to Nebraska from Michigan in 1892 and are now living in Howe, the former having been born in the territory of Michigan in 1832 and the latter in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, in 1838. Daniel McLean was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, January 15, 185 1, and died in Tecumseh, Nebraska. He married Mrs. Rounds, July 20, 1877, in Monroe county, Michigan, and their one daughter, Sarah Jane, born November 24, 1878, died when nearly three years old. Mr. and Mrs. Rounds lost their first child, Arthur Lorenzo, born in Michigan, February 28, 1889, and died aged about three years. They have a son, Cecil Thomas Rounds, born July 24, 1902. Mr. Rounds came from Monroe county, Michigan, to Nebraska in 1890, and in April, 1891, they built the Cottage Hotel on their four lots, and they conducted this until May i, 1903. Mrs. Rounds had about five thousand dollars which she and her former husband had made by hotel-keeping in Tecumseh, Nebraska, where they had the Depot Hotel for five years, and which Mrs. Rounds conducted for five months after her second marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Rounds have built their present comfortable residence, also two tenant houses, and a barn and other buildings. In 1900 they established their meat market and grocery in SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 63 their brick block, and in all their enterprises have made unusual success. Mr. Rounds is a Republican voter, and he and his wife have been mem- bers of the Methodist church. Another member of their household is Mr. George Hinkle, a widower of seventy-six years and with two chil- dren in Auburn. He has been in the store and market for some time, where he has been the right-hand man of Mr. Rotinds, and he is one of the favorites about the home, being especially so with the baby boy of Mr. and Mrs. Rounds. EDWARD H. DORT. Edward H. Dort, who has the leading drug and book store, in Auburn, Nebraska, is one of the representative and highly respected citi- zens of the town. He was born in Harpursville, Broome county. New York, July 17, i860, and is descended from New England and New York ancestors who were noted for their honesty and industry and some of whom figured prominently in the localities in which they lived. John Luke Dort, his father, also a native of Harpursville, was born March 24, 1823, and died at Rockport, Missouri, August 27, 1872. Grand- father Eli Dort was born and lived and died in Harpursville, the date of his birth being January 14, 1791, and his death August 25, 1857. February 16, 1815, he married Eleanor Farrar, who was born January 24, 1794, and died December 14, 1867. They reared a family of three children, one son and two daughters. The son, John Luke Dort, married Rhoda A. Smith, a native of Coventry, New York, born August 24, 1823, daughter of Clark and Louis (K'elsey) Smith, the former born in Brat- tleboro, Vermont, May 3, 1782, and the latter in Brainbridge, New York, September 20, 1789. Her parents were married at Brainbridge, Novem- 64 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ber 8, 1807; reared a family of twelve children, and passed their lives as farmers in Chenango county, New York. Grandmother Port's father Seth Smith, was born August 21, 1736, and passed his life in Grandy, Massachusetts, where he died October 13, 1820. He was a colonel in the Revolutionary war. When the news of the invasion of the British first reached his town it was on Sunday morning and he was in church. Instantly he left the house, mounted his horse and rode all over the town, raising volunteers. The next morning, with his newly raised recruits, he marched abotjt thirty miles, arriving at the scene of action in time to participate in the memorable battle of 'Bennington. The paternal great- grandfather of our subject was John Dort. He was born February 14, 1767, and died July 11, 1848. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Briggs, were the parents of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters. John Luke Dort learned the trade of wagon-maker of his father in H'arpursville and worked at that trade there until he moved west with his family to Atchison county, Missouri, where they settled on a farm and devoted their time and attention to the improvement and cultivation of the same. Their seven children, all born in New York, were as fol- lows : Mary Elizabeth, wife of Albert F. Bush, was born July 27, 1847, and died in Litchfield, Nebraska, December 24, 1885, leaving foui^ children; Ella, born January 9, 1852, is the wife of Frank D. Chaffee, of California; James A., born January 22, 1855, is a fruit grower of California, and has a wife, one son and one daughter ; Clark Eli, born in 1858, died May 13, 1872; Edward H. ; Louise D., born June 18, 1863, is the wife of Fred Dysart, of Nemaha county, Nebraska, and has one daughter living; and Frank O., born June 9, 1867, is a banker of Med- ford, Oklahoma, and has a wife, one son and four daughters. The widowed mother, now seventy-nine years of age, blind and feeble, resides SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 65 with her daughter, Mrs. Dysart. She has long been a devoted member of the Presbyterian church, as also was her worthy husband. Edward H. Dort, the fifth born in the above named family, received a common school education in Missouri and Nebraska, and at the age of fourteen years entered the employ of the pioneer druggist, W. H. McCreery, of Brownville, with whom he remained six and a half years, becoming familiar with every detail of the business. From Brownville he went, in the summer of 1880, to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he was a salesman four and a half years. This experience qualified him to engage in business on his own account, and in May, 1885, he came to Auburn and purchased the drug store of Dr. A. S. Holliday. Since that date he has conducted a successful business here. In the spring of i8qo he suffered loss by fire, his store burning, but he was soon re-estab- lished and better equipped than before the fire. His present location is in a brick building which he erected, thirty by eighty feet in dimensions, two stories and basement, all of which is occupied by his fine line of drugs, books, etc. His residence he built in 1888. It is one of the most attractive homes on one of the well shaded streets of the pretty town of Auburn. Its large grounds, clotted over with shrubbery, and every detail of the surroundings, both exterior and interior, indicate the taste and refinement of the family. Mr. Dort married, June 7, 1887, in Peru, Nebraska, Miss Florence M. Fisher, a native of Woodford county, Illinois, and a daughter of Lewis and Eliza (Peabody) Fisher, natives of Illinois. They came to Nebraska in 1868, where they lived for a number of years, and whence they went to California, where they are now living retired. Mrs. Dort is one of a family of eight children, two by her father's first marriage and six by the second. She was educated in the State Normal School and previous to her marriage taught school two years. Her union with 66 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Mr. Dort has-been blessed in the birth of three children: Clark L., Edward Nelson and Edith Elizabeth. Mrs. Dort is a member of the Christian church, while Mr. Dort is a Presbyterian. Politically he is a Republican. For seven years he was a school director in Auburn. Fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Dort is president of the Auburn Mutual Lighting and Power Company, established in 1901, he being promoter and organizer. W. A. Gilmore is vice president, R. C. Boyd treasurer, and G. W. Thomas secretary. G. T. BELDING. G. T. Belding, attorne5'-at-law at Pawnee City, Nebraska, and one of the prominent men of Pawnee City, settled in this locality in 1870. He was born at Richmond, Walworth county, Wisconsin, in 1841, and is a son of Elijah Belding, Jr., who settled in Walworth county in 1836. Elijah Belding was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and was a son of Elijah Belding, Sr., of Massachusetts. The Belding family settled in Massachusetts and Connecticut in 1730. Elijah, Sr., died in Marquette count)r, Wisconsin, in 1852. His wife bore the maiden name of Miss Pease. Elijah, Jr., was reared and educated in the east and married Mary James, who was a native of Rhode Island and a daughter of Thomas and Dorcas (Perry) James, of Welsh ancestry. Both died in \A''alworth county, Wisconsin. In politics Elijah Belding, Jr., was first a Whig and later a Republican. Elijah, Jr., died in 1882 and his wife is still living and makes her home in Pawnee City with our subject. She has attained the venerable age of eighty-one years. She is a member G. T. BELDING SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 67 jf the Baptist church. Eleven children were born to herself and hus- band, namely: G. T. ; Mary E., deceased; Emily D., of Delavan, Wis- consin; Eugene M., of Minnesota; Elvira, deceased; Mary E., of St. Paul; Frances H., deceased; Charles F., of St. Charles, Missouri; Lulu Tumey, who lives at Camden, Arkansas ; Bertha, died at the age of six- teen years ; and one who died in infancy. Mr. G. T. Belding was reared in Walworth county on a farm, where he remained until 1862, and was a school teacher from 1858. He enlisted August 12, 1862, in the Twenty-second Regiment, Wiscon- sin Volunteer Infantry, Company D, serving three years, Colonel Utleys and Captain A. D. Kellam in command. Our subject was attached to the Twentieth Army Corps in General Ward's Third Division, participat- ing in the famous march to the sea. He was mustered out of service at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 29, 1865. Mr. Belding was taken prisoner at Spring Hill, Tennessee, and held twenty-five days in Libby prison, suffering many privations. When he returned to his old home at Del- avan, Wisconsin, he married Miss Cetta M. Jones, of the same place in October, 1865, and for several years remained in the county of his birth. In 1870 he located at Pawnee City, Nebraska; was elected county judge in 1879 and for twenty years served as county judge of Pawnee county, since which time he has been engaged in the practice of the law. During his practice he has been the attorney for several estates and served as attorney for various parties outside the state; in all demon- strating his ability and shrewdness as a lawyer. Ever since locating in Pawnee county Mr. Belding has made many friends, and he is justly regarded as one of the leading representatives of the bar of this locality. 68 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ABRAHAM LINCOLN LAWRENCE. Abraham Lincoln Lawrence, sheriff of Nemaha county, Nebraska, was born at Brownville, then the county seat of Nemaha county, Decem- ber 25, 1863. Mr. Lawrence's parents were pioneers of Nemaha county, Nebraska, and his grandparents were pioneers of the locahties in which they hved. >Samuel' Lawrence, his grandfather, was a native of Pennsyl- vania, from whence he moved when a young man to Ohio, settling there when that state was nearly all covered with timber. There he cleared and improved several farms. He was a soldier in the war of 18 12. He mar- ried his own cousin, and they reared three children, namely : John, who died in Marion county, Ohio, leaving two sons and three daughters; Samuel S. ; and Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Jacob Easterly, died leaving two children. Samuel S. Lawrence was born in Adams county, Ohio, October 25, 1826, and in the winter of 1849 o^ '5° ^vas married in Marion county, that state, to Rosena Moyer, a native of the county in which he was born, the date of her birth being September 11, 1827. Her father, Philip Moyer, an Ohio farmer, was thrown from one of his horses and sustained an injury from the effects of which he died, at about the age of forty years. His wife was a Miss Cramer, and they were the parents of five children : Philip, Daniel, Samuel, Sarah and Rosena. They reareid their family in Ohio and afterward moved to Iowa, where they spent the rest of their lives and died, Mrs. Moyer reaching the advanced age of ninety-one years. Samuel S. and Rosena Lawrence had a family of children as follows : the first born, a daughter, died in infancy ; William, a farmer in Nemaha county, has a wife and one daughter and one son; Philip, the next born, was accidentally scalded to death, at the age of two and a half years; Daniel, who died at the age of eighteen years; SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 69 John A., a farmer in Nemaha county, is married and has three children ; Samuel C, also a farmer of Nemaha county, has a wife and three chil- dren ; Abraham Lincoln ; Valentine, who resides at the home farm in Nemaha county, has a wife and three children ; and Rosena, who died at the age of seven years. The parents of this family moved from Ohio to Iowa in 1S52 and settled in Jones county on a farm which they purchased and where they lived for a number of years. This farm they traded for a tract of land in Nemaha county, Nebraska, in 1863, and that year moved to this land from Brownville, this county, where they had located the pervious year. Their first two children were born in Ohio, the next four in Iowa, and the rest in Nebraska. And while they reared a large family and reared them well, they at the same time by careful economy and good management accumulated a competency, and to each child they gave eighty acres of land. Here Samuel S. Lawrence died, December 9, 1901, and his wife died March 27, 1903. They were in early life members of the Lutheran church, but later identified themselves with the Cumberland Presbyterian church, of which they were consistent members at time of death. Abraham Lincoln Lawrence spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, receiving a fair education in the common schools and attending the Brownville school two years. For a short time he taught school for his brother, Samuel C, who was a teacher for a number of years, teaching one school six years. Their father also was at one time a teacher. After his marriage, which event occurred about the time he reached his majority, Mr Lawrence settled on one hundred and sixty acres of his father's land, eighty acres of which he now owns. He owns other land, amounting in all to two hundred and forty-two acres, located three miles west of Brownville. Until he was elected county sheriff in 1901, Mr. Law- rence gave his whole attention to farming, with the exception of one year, 70 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. when he was engaged in merchandising in Brownville. He has made most of the improvements on the farm on which he lives. He built the residence and barn and he planted his fine orchard, which is twelve acres in extent and comprises an excellent variety of fruits. February i, 1885, ^'Ir. Lawrence married Miss Kate Agnes Penny, a native of Missouri, and a daughter of William E. Penny. The children born of this union are as follows, and range in age from sixteen to two years: Mabel Grace, Don A., Abraham L., Jr., William McKinley, Samuel Clinton, a son that died in infancy, and Daniel. Mr. Lawrence's own name and the names of two of his children indicate the political party with which this family have harmonized. As a Republican, Mr. Lawi-ence was elected to the sheriff's office in 1 90 1, for a term of two years and re-elected in 1903, which term expires January i, 1905. For years he has been affiliated with numerous fraternal organizations, among them being the Free and Accepted Masons, both lodge and chapter, he being a p^st master of his lodge; Knights of Pythias, Indqjendent Order of Odd Fellows, Ancient Order United Workmen, Modern Woodmen and the Highlanders. JAMES A. STEPHENSON. James A. Stephenson, one of the premier farmers of Nemaha county, with a fine farm in Nemaha precinct, Nemaha city postoffice, has the hustling qualities which bring success in any vocation, and give him a leading place among the men of his calling in this county. He owns one hundred and twenty acres of land, on which is located his nice home, and on this and one hundred and seventy-five acres of rented land he does general farming. He keeps ten or twelve horses, some high-grade SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 71 cattle and hogs, and each year grows about seven thousand bushels of corn, fourteen hundred bushels of wheat and thirteen hundred bushels of oats, and last year sold two hundred and fifty dollars' worth of fruit. He is thoroughly devoted to his pursuit, and his enterprise is gaining its reward. Mr. Stephenson was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, Jan- uary 16, 1862, and had a fair education in the district schools and was reared on the old farm where his parents settled in 1840, on two hun- dred and five acres, now owned by W. G. Stephenson, his brother. His grandparents were Robert Stephenson and a Miss Hutchison, and the former was a cousin of the great engineer, Robert Stephenson, son of the inventor of the locomotive, all of whom came from the north of Ireland. Granfather Robert was a weaver of Irish linen in the old coun- try, and came to this country, with his wife and children, on money sent back by his son William, who had preceded the rest of the family to America. He had the following children: William, the father of James A. Stephenson; Robert, in North Dakota; Joseph, who was in. the gov- ernment employ in Washington, and died there leaving sons and daugh- ters; Ann, who was the wife of Milo Boutwell and who died in St. Lawrence, New York, at the age of seventy, leaving two daughters and a deaceased son; Miss Mary was a veteran school teacher in New York, and on the completion of her fifty-sixth term, because of the introduction of drawing into the curriculum, lost her place,' and in brooding over this lost her mind and is now in the insane hospital at Ogdensburg, New York. The mother of these children died in 1865, in Russell, St. Law- rence county, Nev/ York, at the age of seventy-live. Her husband died one month later, at the age of seventy-six, and within the same month their son Robert, who was in the army, died of disease, and is buried in the government cemetery at Wilmington, North Carolina. ^2 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. William Stephenson, the father of James A. Stephenson, who is an octogenarian living in Echvards, St. Lawrence county, New York, was born near Belfast, county Antrim, Ireland, in 1816. In 1831, a lad of fifteen, he ventured alone across the Atlantic, and during the voyage of eight weeks thirty-two of the passengers and crew died of the cholera. In 1839 he married Helen Watson, who was born in Ballston Springs, New York, August 21, 1825, a daughter of Robert and Helen (Kerr) Watson, and of this union there were born twelve children. The eldest, a son, died in infancy; Robert, born June i, 1842, died May 16, 1865, as mentioned above; Ammire, born March 25, 1844, is the widow of Les- ter Winslow and the wife of J. C. Curtis, of Embarrass, Wisconsin; Rachael, born September 3, 1846, is the wife of Edgar Reed, in Russell, New York, and has one son; William G., born June 9, 1849, is a farmer in St. Lawrence county, and has a wife and two daughters living, having lost two; Charles W., born July 16, 1851, is a commercial traveler at Pottsdam, New York, and has a daughter living and lost one; Helen, born August 2^, 1853, is the wife of Frank O'Neil, in Herman, New "^^L rk, and has two sons; Theodore P., born December 16, 1855, in Edwards, New York, a miller, lost his only child; a child born July 8, 1857, is deceased; Lucina E. is the widow of William Webb, in Water- town, New York, and lias one daughter; James A is the eleventh child; and Roberta, born June 5, 1866, is the wife of Frank Raymond, owner and proprietor of the largest hotel in Adams, New York. The mother of these children died March 28, 1896. Their father is still living with his children, and has made three visits here to his son in Nebraska, making the last one alone and when he was eighty-four years old. He is a man of self-acquired education, and is still a great reader and bright corre- spondent. He stands erect and is agile for his age, and with powers of body and mind still intact would pass for twenty years younger than he SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 7Z is. He had charge of the recruits at Malone, New York, during the Civil y.'dr, having the rank' of colonel. James A. Stephenson was married February 3, 1884, at Corning, Missouri, to Miss Louise Watson, who was born in Edwards, New York, February, 14, 1859, and was the daughter by adoption of John and Sarah (Flack) Watson, her father being a brother of Mr. Stephenson's mother. Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson first met in New York, while she was on a visit there in 1882. She came at an early day to Nebraska. .She was educated in the Brownville high school and at the Peru normal, and began teaching at the age of eighteen, which she continued for five years in Nemaha and Lancaster counties. Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson have four children. Robert W., born on Christmas day of 1885, also the birthday of his grandfather and great-grandfather, graduated in 1901 from the Nemaha high school at the head of his class, and is still a student; John M., born April 23, 1888, is in the district school; Floyd J., born January 8, 1897, and Warren W., born June 13, 1899. Mr. Stephenson affiliates with the Lidependent Order of Odd Fellov ■ in which he has passed the chairs and is noble grand. Mrs. Stephenson is vice grand and past noble grand in the Rebekahs. He is also a mem- ber of the board of managers and a trustee in the Odd Fellows. He affiliates with the Woodmen of the World, and in politics is a Republican, having served as school director. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has been steward. 74 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. MRS. HARRIET HOOVER. Mrs. Harriet Hoover, of Aspinwall precinct, Nemaha city postoffice, is the widow of the late well known physician and surgeon, Jerome Hoover, who was born in Miami county, Ohio, August 9, 1809, and died in this county. May 27, 1876. Nemaha city owes much to this public-spirited man and citizen, who was one of the founders and first settlers of the town. He is still cherished in affectionate memory for his generosity and beauty of character, and his name and deeds are not likely to be soon forgotten. He had settled, shortly after his marriage in 1849, on a ranch in Indiana, which he soon afterward bought and on which he remained two years, and then came to Nebraska and pre-empted the townsite of this town. The fine park which adorns the town was donated by him. He had inherited property, and made money in his undertakings. He was liberal to a fault, and while this made him an ideal citizen it prevented the accumulation of means which otherwise his ability would have accomplished. As a Republican he was elected to the legislature, but declined to be a candidate after that. He was foremost in everything affecting the welfare of the town and its citizens, and his high ideals and enterprising spirit were responsible for much good that was accom- plished there. Mr. Hoover Avas a son of William Henry Hoover, a miller of Indiana, and his wife Sarah Curtis, a native of Bath, North Carolina. The latter died in Indiana past middle life, and -he died in Nebraska at the age of seventy-five. They had come here from Indiana in 1855 and settled at Nemaha city. They reared four sons and five daughters. Mr. Hoover was first married to Miss Ann Prill, on August 28, 1829, and they had nine children, eight sons and one daughter, and the three who grew up were as follows: William H., who was born in SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 75 Ohio, January 14, 1833; Burl. J., born December 27, 1835, died January 17, 1904; and Johnsoh P., born August 27, 1837, and died in Nemaha county in 1900, leaving one son. Mrs. Hoover, who married Mr. Hoover, July 4,- 1849, soon after her eighteenth birthday, was in maidenhood Harriet Tann, and was born in Monroe county. New York, December 20, 1830, and was reared on the home farm and received but limited education. Her parents were John and Rachael (Doud) Tann, the former of whom was born and married in England, and of his seven children six were born in England and one in New York. His first wife died, and he was married in 1826 to Mrs. Hoover's mother, by whom there were six children. Mary Ann, the wife of Moses Ward, died in Indiana, and her five children died .soon after; Frederick Tann, a farmer at Rockport. Missouri, died leaving three children and had lost five; Mrs. Hoover is the third of these chil- dren; Elizabeth is the widow of Burl. J. Hoover, mentioned above; Lorenzo died of a wound received in the Civil war, leaving two daugh- ters; and Arthur died at the age of eight months. The father of these children died in 1839, leaving his widow without property, and she was afterward married to Alexander Jamieson, a southerner, and she died in 1843, at the age of forty-eight. Mrs. Hoover now resides with her son F. E. Hoover on the farm of one hundred and fifty-six acres in Aspinwall precinct, which was pre- empted by Johnson P. Hoo^-er, and which was rented for several years before Mrs. Hoover took up her residence on it as her favored spot for passing the remaining years of her long and useful life. She has been the mother of nine children, and three of them are still spared to her, and she is alsOj the grandmother of some bright children. Her eldest child, a daughter, born in 1850, died in infancy. Mary Jane, born Feb- ruary 2, 1852, died January 18, 1854. Lawson, born February 7, 76 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 1854, died November 19, 1855. Lucretia, born June 6, 1856, died January. 6, 1865. Arthur, born May 4, 1858, died December 30, 1865. Flora, born January 12, 1861, has her second husband, T. C. Hacker, living in Red Cloud, Nebraska, and she has three children by her former marriage. Frederick E., born August 5, 1863, married Min- nie Chambers, and they have the following children: Forrest E., born April 19, 1886; Francis, born June 8, 1888; Mabel, born February 7, 1S92; Vera, born September 10, 1894; Velma, born July 3, 1899; and Jerome, born February 16, 1902. Edward, born May 12, 1865, died October 27, 1895. Harriet is the wife of L. F. Bradfield, in Oklahoma. JOHN FREDERICK. John Frederick, one of the well-to-do and successful farmers of Hooker town.ship, Gage county, Nebraska, residing on section 16, has been in this part of Southeastern Nebraska for over thirty years. While now accounted a man of means, he began life poor, and his individual efforts have been crowned with a more than ordinary degree of prosperity. He is esteemed as one of the strictly self-made men of the county, as a foreign-born citizen who took loyal part in the Civil war, and as a man who can be relied upon for help and co-operation in all things affecting the public welfare of his county and community. Mr. Frederick was born in Wurtenberg, Germany February 11, 1847, ^ son of Lewis and Catherine (Francis) Ferderick, who brought their family to .America in 1854, settling first in Marylard, then in St. Ckir county, Illinois, and later in Missouri. His father died in Keokuk, Iowa, but his mother is still living at the age of ninety-three, and re- tains the energy and vitality sufficient to walk two miles. The three SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 77 children living are Mary, in Beatrice, John, and 'Lizzie., in Gage county, Nebraska. They were all Lutherans. John Frederick was reared on a farm, and worked out by the month for several years after attaining his majority. He was only fifteen years old when he enlisted from Springfield, Illinois, as a drummer boy in Company F, Eighty-second Illinois Infantry, under Captain Weaver and Colonel Hecker. He was at Chancellorsville, Jackson, Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain, in the Georgia campaign, at Resaca, New Hope Church, Burnt Hickory, at Atlanta, and many other engagements. He was captured and held prisoner in the ill-famed Libby prison for sixty days, but was then liberated, and after a short time went home. It was after a three days' march out of Savannah, Mr. Frederick and a companion went off froml the regiment foraging, and while sitting in a log cabin about a dozen "Johnnies" came upon them. The doors of the cabin were instantly closed and a volley fired from the window, killing one man and a horse. The Johnnies started to run but finally decided to return, and did so, firing many shots through the door in a room occupied by several parties, three children being in the room, but no one was killed. Mr. Frederick and his companion were captured and later landed in prison. On the Viay several times threats were made to kill the prisoners but one level-headed man prevailed upon the rest not to kill them. For the last two years (if his ser\'ice he carried a gun in the ranks. He was honorably discharged at Springfield, Illinois, in January, 1865, having gained an excellent record as a soldier. He had some narrow escapes, and once had a comrade shot down at his side. He was frugal and diligent from early youth, and with what he had saved he came to Ne- braska in 1870 and bought one hundred and sixty acres in Gage county for seven dollars and a quarter per acre. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres in this county, and it is worth sixty dollars an acre, and is 78 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. finely improved with good house, barns and a grove of seven acres. It is a model farmstead, one of the many pretty places of which Gage county can boast. Mr. Frederick was married November 12, 1878, to Elizabeth Gillett, who came here from Rock county, Wisconsin, at the age of seventeen, a daughter of Hamilton and Margaret (Day) Gillett, the former a resi- dent of Adams, Nebraska, and the latter deceased. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Frederick : Margaret, Martha, William, Lydia, Andrew, Harrison, Jesse, Robert and Laura. Mr. Frederick is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Grand Army post at Adams, and attends the Methodist Episcopal church. CHARLES R. HACKER. Charles R. Hacker, county clerk of Nemaha county, Nebraska, was born on his uncle's farm, now the Nemaha county poor farm^ August 29, 1866, and all his life has been identified with this county. Mr. Hacker's ancestors were residents of the Old Dominion. His grandfather, David Hacker, was a native of Virginia, born July 24, 1797. Moving to what was then called the west, he lived in Ohio and Indiana, and when the Civil war was inaugurated, although then well advanced in years, his patriotism was shown by his volunteer service. As a member of Company D, Thirty-seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry, known as the "Graybeard Regiment," he performed faithful duty in the ranks, and died at St. Louis, Missouri June 20, 1863. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Gile, were the parents of seven children, six of whom reached adult' age, namely : James Malcomb ; Agnes Jane, wife of Robert Stogdel, was born in 1827 and died April 22, 1S92 ; Eliza- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 79 beth Ann, born November 30, 1828, died September 12, 1850; Sarah, who died in infancy; WilHam S., born April 13, 1834, died January 20, 1899; John Wesley, born February 26, 1838, died September 23, 1897; and Francis Asbury, the only survivor of the family, was born July 11, 1843, ^"d 's engaged in farming in Nemaha county, Nebraska. James Malcomb Hacker, the father of Charles R., was born at Day- ton, Ohio, September 12, 1825, and died in Auburn, Nebraska, January 25, 1902. He was one of the pioneers of Nemaha county, having come to this county in 1858, from Iowa, to which place he had emigrated from Ohio. Not long after coming to Nebraska he moved to Kansas, but re- turned shortly afterward to this state and county, of which he was an honored citizen for forty years. By occupation he was a civil engineer and for many years filled the office of county surveyor, and he also filled other public offices of trtist and responsibility in Nemaha county. For three terms he was county clerk, and he was deputy in that office under County Clerks Culbertson and Hubbard. Fraternally he was identified with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows, having been a member of the first organization for more than thirty years and having received all the degrees up to and including the Scottish Rite, and was an I. O. O. F. for over fifty years. Politically he affiliated with the Whigs in early life and when the Republican party came into existence he harmonized with it and gave it his enthusiastic support. As a youth he took an active interest in the William Henry Harrison campaign. His last vote he cast in thei fall of 1901, when he helped to elect his own son, Charles R., to the office of county clerk. Religiously he was a life-long Methodist. March 8, 185 1, he married Miss Mary Jane Fairbrother, who was born in Indiana, January 28, 1831, daughter of Arnold L. and Mary (Jane) Fairbrother, the former a native of Virginia and the lat- ter of Indiana. The children of James M. and Mary J. Hacker are: 8o SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. James Olney; George Washington; William Thomas; Charles R. ;i Francis John, who died at the age of eleven years; Marietta, wife of Wesley H. Clark, died March 2, 1898, leaving five children, of whom four are living, two daughters with their grandmother and two sons with their father; and Harvey David. All are married except William Thomas, who is a gold miner in the Black Hills. Charles R. Hacker, with the other children in the family, was reared on the farm, which his mother managed with their assistance while the father was in Brownville and Auburn, attending to his official business. The farm on which they lived was sold in 1888 and the family moved to Auburn, where Charles R. has since lived, and where he has, in a measure, succeeded to the position occupied by his honored father. As already stated in this article, he was elected to the county clerk's office in the fall of 1901 and re-elected in the fall of 1903, and is now filling that position. Mr. Hacker was married, February 8, 1903, to Miss Elsie Hacker, a third cousin, and they reside with his mother in Auburn. Like his parents, Mr. Hacker is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as also is Mrs. Hacker. Politically he is a Republican, and he has fraternal relations with the Modern Woodmen and the Knights of Pythias. JAMES E. DOYLE. James E. Doyle, of Liberty township. Gage county, Nebraska, who is adjutant of W. F. Barry Post, G. A. R., of Libert}^ Nebraska, is one of the honored residents of this locality and a veteran of the Civil war. He enlisted at Bloomfield, Greene county, Indiana, in November, 1861, for three years, in Company E, Fifty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, JAMES E. DOYLE SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 8i and after a long and honorable service returned to more peaceful pur- suits. He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1829, being a son of George and Orpah (Webb) Doyle. He learned the trade of wagon and car- riag-e maker at Newcomerstown, Ohio. After the war he again started his shop as wagon and carriage maker at Bloomfield, Indiana. In this state he pursued his trade until .1867, when he moved to a farm near Bloomfield, and in 1885 he came to Gage county and engaged in farming where he now owns a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres. On this he built a comfortable house, good bam, and carries on general farming. His success is largely due to industry and good management, and he is justly regarded as one of the leading farmers of the township. Mr. Doyle was married in Indiana to Mary Weiser, of Ohio. She died in 1856. She was a daughter of George Weiser. She left one son, Martin Doyle. Mr. Doyle was married a second time in 1861, his wife being Sarah Bender, of Indiana. She is a daughter of George Bender. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Doyle were as follows Orpah Egbert ; Laura Snyder ; Matilda Akins ; James S. ; Frances L., deceased; Thomas; Ida; William; Arvilla; Lillian Spence; Jessie; Mary B. ; George, who died at the age of seventeen years; and Delphin L., deceased. The political faith of Mr. Doyle is Republican and he is an active worker for the party. He served for six years as justice of the peace. His first vote was cast for John C. Fremont, and he has voted for every Republican nominee for president since then. For many years he has been a Mason and is connected with lodge No. 65. He also served as commander of his post, and is now its adjutant, and has always been very active in G. A. R. matters. 82 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. JOHN HENRY DUNDAS. John Henry Dundas, editor, lecturer and Chautauqua manager, Auburn, Nebraska, was born near Aurora, in Kane county, IlHnois, October 14, 1845. Mr. Dundas is of Irish descent, his father, James Dundas, having been born in county Fermanagh, in the north of Ireland, April 22, 1800. In 1822, with his parents and brothers and sisters, James Dundas left the Emerald Isle and sailed for America, landing in Montreal after a long and eyentful voyage on which the vessel's crew mutinied against a brutal captain whom they put in chains. In the old. country James Dundas was a farmer and steward for an English noble- man, but after coming to this country he worked at the carpenter's trade, later in life, however, returning to his former occupation, that of farm- ing. In Canada, in 1828, he married Miss Many Alice Matthews, who was born in Clinton county, New York, May 2, 181 3, daughter of John and Alice (Cheatham) Matthews, who came from England shortly before her birth. Mr. Matthews was a watchmaker. In 1845, after the death of his parents in Canada, James Dundas moved with his family to Kane county, Illinois, where he settled on a three hundred-acre tract of prairie land, which he developed into a fine farm and where he lived for eighteen years. In 1863 he came to Nebraska and took up his abode where Auburn now is, that being before Auburn existed, and here he became the owner of one hundred and eighty acres of prairie land, on which he made his home. He and his wife were the parents of five sons and four daughters, namely: Wesley, who died in Auburn, in 1900, leaving a family of two sons and three daughters ; Alice Lucinda, deceased wife of Amos Hall, died in Prairieville, Michigan, in 1874, and left two sons and one daughter; Mary Ann, wife of Fletcher Palmer, of Phillips county, Kansas, has six daughters and one son; Robert M., a Kansas mechanic, has a family of six sons and three daughters; John Henry, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 83 whose name introduces this sketch; Irene, widow of W. A. Good, of Nuckolls county, Nebraska, has seven sons and four daughters; Charles D., deceased, left a widow, four sons and three daughters; Oscar N., of Riverside, California, has six sons and five daughters; and Lucy A., widow of Silas N. Miller, of Cook, Nebraska, has one son. The father of this family died on his Nebraska farm in 1870, at the age of seventy years, and his wife passed away in 1884, she too having lived out three- score and ten years. John Henry Dundas was reared on his father's farm. At the age of eighteen years he began learning the trade of stonemason in Auburn, and for several years worked at his trade in summer and taught school in winter. He was married March 29, 1871, to Miss Wealthy J. Bishop, a native of Covington, Kentucky, born August i, 1847, daughter of William and Mary (Lusher) Bishop. Their marriage has been blessed by the birth of five children, as follows : Alta, who died at the age of four months; Hollis M., wife of Samuel Curtis, of Auburn; Lucius B., who married Clara Brock, of Eagleville, Missouri ; Ada V. and Wendell, at home. Mr. Dundas has filled many public positions of trust and responsi- bility. He served several years as assessor, three years as a justice of the peace, two years as police judge, twelve years as a member of the Auburn Board' of Education, and two years in the Nebraska state senate. It was in 1884 that Mr. Dundas entered upon his journalistic work, when he purchased the Republican. After conducting this paper two years he bought the Granger, and consolidated the two, under the name of the Granger, a weekly publication devoted to every move in the interest of justice and right, and in no wise fettered by party, sect or creed. It is a six-column, four-page paper, published by J. H. Dundas & Son, 84 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. and now has a circulation of on^ thousand five hundred. In addition to his regular official and editorial work, Mr. Dundas has always found time for much other work, literary and otherwise. He is the author and publisher of a history of Nemaha county, termed by him "The Banner County of Nebraska," a i2mo., 220 page volume, issued in 1902, a credit both to the author and the county. He is also the publisher of a book called "Every Man's Account Book," which he has copyrighted, and which fills a long-felt want among the common business men. Mr. Dundas attended the World's Congress of Religions in Omaha, and gave this sentiment as the true basis of unity : "Man's duty to his fellow being is his only duty to his God ; and whatsoever more is taught is born of priestcraft, nurtured in superstition, and surrounded with per- nicious results." Mr. Dundas is the father of the Auburn Chautauqua, which was organized in 1899, and of which he has since been manager, and for the past two years he has also been manager of the Tecumseh Chautauqua. Both were organized and are being managed on the nonsectarian plan. Mr. Dundas takes a bold stand with the advanced thinkers of the day, is a sound reasoner and a fluent speaker, and never fails to bring con- viction to the minds and hearts of his hearers. He places deeds above creeds and sees sound religion in the doctries of Confucius. Some of his popular lectures are as follows : "The Songs We Sing," "The Better Way to Serve the Lord," "A Zetetic Sermon," "Everybody Has His Hobby," "The Religion of the Twentieth Century," "Men are Parrots; They Do Not Talk, They Only Repeat Sentences," and "Quit Your Meanness." SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 85 MYRON G. RANDALL. Myron G. Randall, a retired farmer, residing on his one hundred and sixty acres in Bedford precinct, with postoffice at Howe, has lived in Nemaha county over forty years, ever since he was a boy of ten years. He has been an enterprising and successful agriculturist, owning ht present one of the best farms in the vicinity, and in affairs of citizenship has gained the reputation of being a reliable and substantial man, who may be depended upon for public-spirited co-operation in what pertains to advancement and progress. When Mr. Randall was three years old and was on a visit with his parents to New York state, he remembers seeing his grandfather Isaac Randall, who was then an old man. Isaac Randall and his wife were natives of either Connecticut or Rhode Island, and the former was a scythe-maker, and they had seven sons and two daughters, as follows : William, Hiram, Nathan G., Anson, Philo, Walter, a son that died aged about fifteen, and the two daughters were married and died at Akron, Ohio. Nathan Gorham Randall, the father of Myron G. Randall, was born in New York state, August 22, 1816, and died in the home of the latter, July 30, 1901, when nearly eighty-five years old. He was first married to Asenath Lyons, in Ohio, and their children were : Hiram Lyons Ran- dall, who is surgeon in the soldiers' home, at Grand Island, Nebraska, and has lost his wife and two small children and has one son and one daughter living; George W., was a soldier, and was killed in action in Missouri, at the age of twenty-three and single; Elias Isaac, a farmer and Methodist preacher for twenty years, died February 2, 1903, at Have- lock, Nebraska, leaving a wife and children; Allen Duane, a farmer at . Chapman, Nebraska, lost one daughter and has four daughters and one 86 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. son living. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Nathan G. Randall was married to Mrs. Polly Mary (Ellis) Brown, who was born in Pompey, Onondaga county. New York, February 24, 1823, a daughter of Clark Ellis. On July 4, 1842, she was married to Judson Brown, who was born in New York, February 10, 1819, and by this marriage there was one son, William Ellis Brown, born September 6, 1843, who was a soldier in the First Wisconsin Cavalry, a prisoner in Anderspnville and Libby, and died in- Nebraska, September 28, 1890, leaving his widow. Nathan G. Randall had by his second marriage three children. Myron G. is the eldest. Horace Lafayette was born September 18, 1838, and died March 6, 1871. Thyrza E., the wife of W. I. Fryer, in Denver, Colorado, has two daughters living and lost twins. The mother of these children died in Nemaha county, December 19, 1901. Nathan G. Randall had come to this part of Nebraska in 1859 from Dodge county, Wisconsin, having stopped here on his way to Pike's Peak, whither he was driving an ox team. He pre-empted eighty acres across the road from the present farm of his son, and his wife and children came here three years later. He was in debt, but gradually acquired prospei'ity, and at his death owned one hundred and sixty acres in two farins. At her death his wife gave this land to Myron G. Randall, and it is the nucleus of his present estate. Myron G. Randall was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, September 21, 1852, and in his youth had few advantages, being in the district school but little. He was married June 14, 1876, to Miss Mary Eliza Quinn, who has become the mother of six children. Sidney M. is farming the home farm ; Mrs. Millie F. Swope is the wife of a farmer in Aspinwall precinct; Merrill H. is farming; Elsie, aged fourteen, is at home, as are also Esther, aged eight, and Alfred, aged five. Mr. Randall is a Repub- lican, and has served on the board of elections, and on the school board SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 87 for nine consecutive years. He has enjoyed a high degree of success in his Hfe work, and he and his family are among the most esteemed of the precinct. WILLIAM R. CHANEY. William R. Chaney ia a well known citizen of Adams, Gage county, Nebraska, where he has resided for a number of years and become identi- fied with the best progress and material, intellectual and religious develop- ment of the town and vicinity. He is a man of recognized integrity and uprightness, capable in the performance of every duty devolving upon him, and in every way worthy of being classed with the foremost men of southeastern Nebraska. He has been satisfactorily successful in his life work, and, having come to his present circumstances through industry and perseverance, knows the value of toil and diligence in this workaday world. He is also honored as a veteran of the Civil war. Mr. Chaney was born in Greene county, Illinois, October 24, 1840, of a family which settled in that county in pioneer times. The ancestry is Irish, and Mr. Chaney's father, James Chaney, was a native of Ken- tucky, whence he came to Greene county. His wife, Sarah Smith, was a native of Tennessee, and came of an old southern family, resident in that state for several generations. Both James and Sarah Chaney are now deceased, having spent most of their lives in Greene county, where they had a home noted for its generous hospitality and wholesome com- panionship. William R. Chaney was reared and educated in Mason county, Illi- nois, and perhaps the most valuable lessons of his youth were the result not of precept line on line, but by actual experience in practical labor in 88 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. the field and the hundred and one details of farm life. In April, 1864, he enlisted from his native county in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty- third Illinois Infantry, under Captain Collins. The regiment was ren- dezvoused at Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois, and was later put on duty at Rock Island and along, the Mississippi, and later at Camp Butler, where Mr. Chaney received his honorable discharge in October, 1864. He then lived in Mason county three years and Morgan county, Illinois, for some years, and in 1880 came to Gage county, Nebraska, where he has been one of the prosperous residents ever since. He awns thirteen acres in the town of Adams, and this land is so finely improved and so prodtictive that it makes an ideal and valuable suburban estate. He has a nice house, good barn, fruit and shade trees in abundance, and all the complements and accessories of a model Nebraska home. Mr. Chaney was married in Greene county, Illinois, in 1864, to Miss Pamelia Finley, who has traveled life's way with him for forty years, and they are co-partners in all its successes and joys. She is a native of Greene county, was reared and educated there. She was a daughter of Zuriah and Matilda (Mace) Finley, the former of whom was born in Greene county and was a son of an early Kentucky settler ; the latter was a nati\e of Kentucky, and was eighty-two years old when she died. Mr. Chaney is a Democrat in politics, but does not desire or aspire to office. He affiliates with the Sergeant Cox Post, G. A. R., at Adams, and both he and his wife are manbers of the Baptist church. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for over twenty-five years and passed through all the chairs,, also the grand lodge degree, and was representative to same an several occasions. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 89 J. LOUIS ENGEL. J. Louis Engel, one of the leading agriculturists of Bedford precinct, Ho^ye postoffice, Nemaha county, settled here over thirty years ago. He has developed a raw and treeless tract of land into a beautiful farmstead, with a grove of fruit and shade trees, comfortable residence and all neces- sary outbuildings, and has been actively engaged in the cultivation of his productive land until the last few years, since which time he has in a measure ceased from hard industry, and is spending the years beyond the seventieth milestone in comfort. When he first located in this country he had lost all the capital with which he came, and has thus worked his way up from the bottom, for which reason he is all the more deserving of honor for what he has accomplished in life. His father, Louis Engel, St., was bom in Germany, January 7, 1800, and died there in 1874, aged seventy- four years and eighteen days. He was a freehold farmer on three parcels of land, containing forty-five acres. His wife was Catherine Fisher, who died at the age of sixty-five, in 185 1 or 1852. They had one son and a daughter, Dora, who was the mother of six children and died in Gerjnany in 1899. J. Louis Engel, the only son, was born in Germany, August 24, 1829. He was reared on the farm, and had a liberal schooling of eight years, with one year in a normal school. At the age of twenty he entered the German army, and spent six weeks in military service. He remained in his native land until 1859, and then took passage from' Havre for New York, being forty-two days en route. Two weeks later he arrived in Sangamon county, Illinois, which he reached in the first week of June. He took three hundred dollars from the bank in New York, but had only twenty-five cents when he reached Springfield, having been swindled out of the rest in some unaccountable manner. He came from Spring- field, Illinois, to Nebraska in 1872, arriving in Brovraville on the 6th of 90 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. October. He bought forty acres of naked prairie for ten dollars an acre, and he and his noble wife have planted every tree which now adorns his farm boundaries. A year later they built their present residence. He afterwards added eighty acres more to his place, and he has been prosper- ous in his work during the subsequent years. February 2, 1856, Mr. Engel was married in Germany to Catherine (Handle) Seachrist, a widow with the following children: Catherine the wife of William Mayer, who came to Nebraska at the same time with Mr. Engel and his wife, and they have three children; Christ Seachrist lives in Humboldt, Nebraska, and has five children; Annie Fredericka, is the wife of Louis Mayer, in Richardson county, Nebraska, with two sons and three daughters; and Fred Seachrist. is owner of stock in a mine in South Dakota, and has four daughters and one son. Mrs. Engel has twenty-three great-grandchildren. Mrs. Engel was born in Marbach, Germany, December 2, 1822, and throughout her long life has been active and strong mentally and physically until the last year or so, when she has been in feeble health and for the past few months still more so. Mr. Engel is a Republican in politics, and served as constable for ten years during the first years of his residence here. He and his wife are Lutherans, and are valued and esteemed citizens of the county in which they have resided so long and been such important factors in the growth and development of this portion of southeastern Nebraska. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 91 WILLIAM H. STOWELL. William H. Stowell, editor and proprietor of the Auburn Post, is a prominent factor in the business and social circles of Auburn, Nebraska. Mr. Stowell is a native of the Empire state and dates his birth in Leroy, May 3, 1855. His father, Luther K. Stowell, was born in Cazenovia, New York, October 18, 1823, son of Calvin B. Stowell. The Stowell family originally came to this country from England, the time of their settlement here being in colonial days. Early history shows them to have been mechanics and farmers, honest and industrious, occupying repre- sentative places among the people of the various localities in which they lived. Calvin B. Stowell was a blacksmith. He was born in 1794, and it is supposed he was a native of New Hampshire. He died in Darien, New York, in 1878. Thrice married, he reared a large family of children, namely: seven sons and one daughter by his first wife, one son by the second, and one daughter by the third. Luther K. was one of the sons by the first marriage, his mother being Olive Sabine, and he is now a resident of Leroy, New York; has been married twice and has outlived both of his companions. He first married, March 19, 1854, Miss Janette McGregor, who was born near Leroy, New York, in 1830, daughter of John McGregor, a Scotchman; and the only child of this marriage was William H., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Janette Stowell died at the age of twenty-eight years. Subsequently Mr. Stowell married Miss Sarah Thomas, who bore him one son, Ernest C. Since her death th,e father has resided with his son. William H. Stowell was reared to farm life, and improved the opportunities he had for obtaining an education in the public schools. At the age of twenty he began a career as school teacher, a career which covered a period of ten years, and it was while he was thus occupied that he entered upon journalistic work as a newspaper correspondent. July i, 92 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 1886, he began the publication of the Vedette, in Verdon, Nebraska, which he edited and pubhshed weekly for nine and a half years. Then, in October, 1895, he came to Auburn and purchased the Auburn Post, which he has since successfully conducted, owning both the building and the plant, and in connection with the publication of the paper also doing a job printing business, employing from three to six compositors. While in Verdon Mr. Stowell and four others organized a pioneer association, known as the Richardson County Pioneer Society, and in connection with that he published "The Pioneer Record," a quarterly pamphlet, some three years, and after he came to Auburn he continued it three months as a monthly publication, at the end of which time he sold out. From 1896 to 1899 he published the Nebraska State Poultry Journal, which was issued each month. The Auburn Post is a weekly paper, published on Friday; is Republican in politics, up-to-date in every respect, and its columns show that it has plenty of the right kind of enterprise and push that are necessary to success in the newspaper line. As the Repub- lican organ, the Post exerts a potent influence that is felt for the good of the party. Mr. Stowell married, January 30, 1883, Carrie D. Robertson, a native of Cambridge, New York, born December 25, i860, daughter of John and Adeline (Parke) Robertson, now residents of Verdon, Nebraska. Previous to her marriage Mrs. Stowell was for several years a teacher in the public schools. They have two children, Frank L. and Helen M., both attending school; Mr. and Mrs. Stowell are regular attendants upon worship at the Presbyterian church, of which they are worthy members. Fraternally, he belongs to the Woodmen of the World. ' SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 93 WILLIAM H. McININCH. William H. Mclninch, a retired farmer in Auburn, with a fine farm in London precinct, Brownville postofifice, is one of the oldest living settlers of Nemaha county and likewise one of its most successful farmers and business men. He began life in youth with no capital, and since earning his first money his record has been one of constant progress. He has been one of the large landowners of the county, but most of it he has either sold or allotted to his children. In addition to his material prosperity, he has been generous with personal work and means in aiding the cause of religion and education, and has never failed to give a good account of himself in whatever relation he has been placed with society and his fellow citizens. Mr. Mclninch was born in Tuscarora county, Ohio, March 20, 1836. His grandfather, James Mclninch, was born in Ireland and had two children, John and Sarah. John Mclninch, the only son of James Mclninch, was born in New York city, July 29, 1808, and died in Nebraska, January 16, 1894. He was reared and educated in New York city, and was a school teacher in Ohio and Missouri. He was married in Tuscarora county, Ohio, April 2, 1829, to Miss Sarah Johnson, who was born on Laurel Hill creek, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1813, and died in Andrew county, Mis- souri, in 1 85 1. They were parents of eight children: Esop Edgar, born in Tuscarora county, Ohio, in 1830, died in Linn county, Oregon, in 1862, having been a pioneer there, in 1852 ; he was unmarried, and left an estate including the one hundred and sixty acres which had been given him by the United States government. Charles Postly Mclninch, born in 1834, was named after his maternal great-uncle a prominent and wealthy New Yorker, who has one of the fine monuments that adorn Greenwood 94 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. cemetery of that city; C. P. Mclninch died in Oklahoma in 1901, leaving a family of sons and daughters who are now scattered throughout the southwest. Benjamin F. Mclninch is in Nemaha county. William H. is the fourth of the children. Levi Johnson, a teacher, died while at his work in Canton, Ohio, in the prime of life, leaving a wife and a daughter. Catherine Ann died at the age of twenty-three while with her aunt and uncle Caldwell in New York city. Amos Anderson is a retired merchant in St. Joseph, Missouri, and has three sons. David G. is a farmer east of St. Joseph, and has three daughters and one son. William H. Mclninch was reared on a farm, having limited edu- cational advantages in the primitive schoolhouses of the time and locality. At the age of seventeen, soon after his mother's death, he left home and went with Hux Bivens to drive stock across the plains to Oregon. He was four and a half months from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Albany, Linn county, Oregon, and from there he went to the northwest corner of California in the spring of 1854. He was engaged in placer gold mining there until the fall of 1857, and then returned home by way of New York city, and in the same fall came to this part of Nebraska and pre-empted the one hundred and sixty acres which still forms part of his farm, paying for it with a Mexican land warrant. There were but few settlers here then, the nearest neighbor being a mile away. The landscape presented a picture of an undulating stretch of prairie, covered with wild flowers and grass, and was a dreary scene to one accustomed to the roll and woodland of more eastern states. He made his first dwelling of one room, built of poles, and with one door and one window, and its dimensions were fourteen by sixteen feet. He later helped a squatter prove up some land, and received a deed for forty acres on Snow Island, on which he built a log and mud cabin. In i860, soon after his marriage, he bought seventy-five acres one mile southwest of his place, for one SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 95 thousand dollars, "and his later purchases were: Five acres of timber on the bluffs near Brownville, for one hundred and twenty-five dollars; forty acres of timber for two hundred and fifty-five dollars ; eighty acres of prairie southeast of this farm for two thousand dollars; eighty acres west for eighteen hundred; eighty acres of improved land foi'' fifteen hun- dred; eighty acres which he purchased near by in 1894 for thirty-six hundred; forty acres one mile south at fourteen hundred; and in 1901 he purchased a half a block in Auburn on which he has erected a beautiful home for his permanent residence. He paid two hundred and seventy-five dollars to the Cumberland Presbyterian institution, Missouri Valley Col- lege, at Marshall, Missouri, and has a lot there on which he has paid taxes for ten years. He has sold and traded a great deal of land, and his present farm consists of three hundred and sixty acres, and in the family there are over fifteen hundred acres, with eight sets of buildings. Mr. Mclninch, with the help and co-operation of his wife, has made all he has. He earned his first money by working on a farm in Missouri for Tom McDonald at ten dollars and a half a month. The second house which he built in Nebraska was of hewn logs, and it is now doing duty as a stable. This was replaced by the present brick, story and a half, house, which was built twenty-three years ago, and is beautifully sur- rounded with flowers and groves which make it a bower of beauty nearly all year. He has an apple orchard of ten acres, besides a large variety of other fruits, especially peaches. He has sold one ten-acre orchard, and has two others, and has planted twenty acres to fruit. His leading crop is corn, of which he plants from one hundred to two hundred and fifty acres, and from one hundred and six acres in 1902 he sold 5750 bushels. He has often raised as much as ten thousand bushels of corn. He and his wife are about to ensconce themselves in the new home in Auburn 96 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. and the maiden daughter and youngest son will remain on the farm and manage it. Mr. Mclninch volunteered on July 6, 1862, at Brownville, Nebraska, and was enrolled in Company G, Second Kansas Cavalry, with which he saw service until the close of the war, for three years. He was under Generals Blunt and Steele in Arkansas. He was captured at Poison Springs, and was held a prisoner for nine months in Tyler and Camp Gross, Texas. After his capture he knew he would be reported among the dead, and he took the first opportvmity to ingratiate himself with the Confederate officers, who permitted him to send a letter to his young wife, informing her of his real circtunstances. This prison experience was the worst of all hisi life, and he suffered every physical torment except death, two himdred and ten of his companions in misery dying of disease, mostly of yellow fever. He was finally paroled and sent north, being mustered out at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, and paid off and dis- charged at Lawrence, Kansas. The government paid him for his horse and equipment and the clothing he had lost, and he also received twenty- five dollars a month while in the service, having furnished his own horse. He also got four dollars a month pension, which was later raised to eight dollars, and is now twelve. Mr. Mclninch was married on January 27, 1859, to Miss Catherine L. Dunkle, who was born on the banks of the Ohio river, in W'est Vir- ginia, April 8, 1842, a daughter of Henry and Nancy (Smith) Dunkle. Henry Dunkle was a carpenter and boatbuilder, and died at the age of twenty-six, leaving his wife and this one daughter, having lost one davighter at the age of four. His widow afterward had eight children by James Emmons, and she died at Tecumseh, Nebraska, in the fall of 1902, when nearly eighty-three years of age. Mrs. Mclninch came with the family in 1856 by water as far as Omaha, thence to Atchison SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 97 county, Missouri, and her ^tep-father took a claim in Nemaha county. The latter died in 1890, when about seventy-eight years old. Mr. and Mrs. Mclninch have had ten children : Ophelia is the wife of Casmer Barnes; James H. is a farmer near here, and has a wife and one son; Willa Kate, born in 1864 while her father was* in the army, was named after her father and mother ; David P. is a farmer on( the Auburn road, and has two sons and one daughter; Clara Belle is the wife of D. E. Zook, a farmer near here, and has six children living; M. S. is an attorney in Auburn, and is married; Charles D. died at the age of sixteen months ; Barnett J., unmarried, is on the home farm and in part- nership with his father; one son died in infancy; and Julia Nellie is a student in the Auburn high school, class of 1904. Mr. Mclninch now votes the Prohibition ticket, having come over from the Democratic ranks . He is one of the surviving members of the Grand Army of the Republic. He has been a school director, but has had little time for active participation in public or political affairs. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian churchy and the children have been baptized in the church. He is an elder, and has been a member of the assembly three times.i PETER CAREY. Peter Carey is one of the oldest and best known residents of the town of Peru, where for thirty-five years he has been a familiar figure in the streets and personally known to every citizen both through official and business connections and social and personal association. He is the pioneer and oldest established drayman of the place, has carried nearly all the mail that the town has ever received or sent, and in his duties as 98 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. chief police officer and representative of the majesty of the law has" on more than one occasion made a reputation for coolness and courage while upholding law and order. In every relation of life, whether as soldier on the hardfought battlefields of the great Civil war, as a' business man, as a public official, or as a public-spirited citizen, he has been efficient, enterprising, industrious, honest and brave, and deserves the regard and respect which are so gratefully accorded him by all who know him. Mr. Carey was born in Pike county, Illinois, January 12, 1838, a son of Peter and Matilda (Constantine) Carey, who were of English descent and both natives of New York city, where the former was born February 28, 181 1, and they were married in 1832. Peter Carey, Sr., was a baker in New York city, but after his marriage went to Illinois and engaged in farming during the remainder of his life. He died in 1898, and his wife in 1883. They were the parents of five children, of whom three are now living : Margaret, who has some ten children ; Peter ; and Cyrena Claus, who is a widow in Pike county, Illinois, and has two children. Mr. Carey was reared on his father's farm in Illinois, and enjoyed common school educational privileges. When the Civil war came on he volunteered, in July, 1861, in Company K, Second Illinois Cavalry, and gave four years and two months of loyal and devoted service to the country which he loves so well. He was commissary sergeant of his company. He was many times exposed to the missiles of death and had many narrow escapes, but his reckless courage and dashing impetuosity seemed invulnerable, although bullets often pierced his clothes and his comrades fell beside him. At Holly Springs, Mississippi, his regiment was captured, and he was the last man to be taken, and ft was almost a miracle that he was not shot down for his brave resistance. He was in SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 99 hospital at New Orleans for some two weeks, being afflicted with a peculiar southern fever, which caused him to sleep soundly from sunrise to sunset, and the only cure was a change of climate. When he was captured he weighed one hundred and sixty pounds and only one hun- dred and twenty-six on his release, but after leaving New Orleans he ■gained a pound a day until he weighed one hundred and seventy-six pounds. He received his honorable discharge at St. Augustine, Texas, September 25, 1865. He then returned to Illinois and engaged in farming for two years. He came to Peru, Nebraska, in 1869. For at least thirty years he has carried the mail to and from the trains, seldom being off duty. He started the first regular dray wagon in the town, and is now probably the oldest drayman in the state. He has carried the express for the Normal College for thirty years. A few years ago he was thrown from his dray while the horse was running away, and for two weeks was unconscious and given up for dead, and was confined to his bed for two months, but his old veteran spirit brought him safely through and he is once more active and engaged on his regular tasks. He is a stanch Reoublkan in politics, and has served his fellow citizens on the town board and also as city marshal. In the latter capacity he has had some narrow escapes from crazy men, but the coolness and courage which he had displayed before on the battlefield here stood him in good stead, and in each case he performed his duty unflinchingly. Mr. Carey was married in September, 1888, to Mrs. Susan Debuque, who was born in England in 1841, and came across the Atlantic at the age of sixteen. years, being a sister of John and Phillip Palmer, who are written of elsewhere in this work. She had been married twice before her union with Mr. Carey, and had five children by her first husbands. Mr. and Mrs. Carey have no children of their own, but have an adopted loo SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. son who is the idol of their affections and the cheer of the home. His name is Ezra Peter Carey, and he was born April i8, 1890, a son of . Albert Debuque and a grandson of Mrs. Carey. He was adopted at the age of eleven months, and he also has a sister and a brother. He is an industrious little fellow, and he and his foster father own and operate some ninety acres on the Missouri bottoms, for which they paid two hundred dollars in 1901 and which is now worth six hundred. This land was once the bed of the river, and on it they raise corn and also have about thirty acres in vegetables and truck. Mr. Carey also owns two lots and two buildings in town, and his wife has one building. Mrs. Carey was reared in the Methodist faith, and is a most estimable woman and popular among her many friends. GEORGE BUCHANAN ARMSTRONG. George Buchanan Armstrong, one of the foremost farmers and stock-raisers of Nemaha county, residing in Bedford precinct, Howe postoffice, has lived here nearly all his life, since childhood, and has made unqualified success of his ventures. He is a man of progressive ideas and public spirit, and both in matters of individual interest and those affecting the general welfare of his course of action and counsel are reliable, and accomplish results. Mr. Armstrong's father, Josiah Armstrong, was born near Wheel- ing, Virginia, April 3, 182 1, and died in Nemaha county, on the old home farm which he settled in in 1870. He was married on Thanksgiving day, 1838, in Pennsylvania, to Miss Catherine Morehead, who was born in Pennsylvania, September 10, 1816, and died in Nebraska, September 19, 1892. They came to Nebraska in 1864, and three years later settled SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. loi on the prairie and began, without capital and in the pioneer fashion, to make themselves a home. They were successful people, and lived irre- proachable lives of industry. They were members of the Methodist church. Their children, all born in Ohio, are as follows : William, who died at the age of three years in Pennsylvania ; Robert, a stock rancher in Rooks county, Kansas, has nine children living, eight daughters; one died in infancy; Mary Ann, the widow of Henry Halterman, lives at Verdon, Richardson county, Nebraska, and has six children; Telitha, the wife of Albert Douglass, at Hiawatha, Kansas, has seven children living; Elizabeth, the wife of George F. Huntington, died in California at the age of fifty, leaving four children; Lauina, the wife of Perry Montgomery, of Stella, Nebraska, has six children : George B. is the eighth in order of birth ; Josiah, who was unmarried, was killed by his seven-horse team at Oxnard, California, where he was hauling beets for the largest beet-sugar factory in the world. George B. Armstrong was born in Jackson county, Ohio, June 25, 1856, and was brought to Nemaha county, Nebraska, on October 12, 1864. He was reared to farm life, and enjoyed a fair amount of school- ing, stopping at the ninth grade, then the highest, in his ninteenth year. He remained at home until his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-six years old, and then began farming on his own account. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres in two farms, and he makes stock-raising and buying his leading enterprises. He has as high as two and three hundred head of cattle at a time. He bought his present farm in 1889, paying six thousand dollars for it, and he has built all the buildings except the house. He planted his own orchard, and he has two of the finest barns in the vicinity. The cattle barn is fifty-two by fifty- six feet, with twenty-foot posts, and will shelter seventy tons of fodder and fifty cattle. His hay and horse barn is thirty-eight by sixty-four feet, 102 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. with twenty-foot posts, and will stall fifty-seven horses and hold eighty tons of hay. He raises about one hundred hogs each year, and about twenty horses. March i8, 1883, Mr. Armstrong was married to Miss Lizzie Hughes, who was born near Brownville, April 7. 1861, a daughter of R. V. Hughes and Elizabeth (Cullen) Hughes, the former born near Dayton, Ohio, and the latter in Pennsylvania. They were married in Indiana, and came west in 1859. Mr. Hughes was a lawyer by profes- sion, and was honored with all the offices of the county during his resi- dence here. He had been a school teacher, and was a man of refinement and education, being a deep reader of all current and standard literature. He gathered the collection of fruit Avhich took the premium among the exhibits from Nebraska at the World's fair in Boston. Mrs. Armstrong is one of ten children, and the others now living are : Jennie, the wife of Tom Ross, her second husband, has seven children; Mrs. Armstrong is next in age ; Catherine is the wife of Charles Wheeler, of this county, and has eight children ; Edward went to California at the age of nineteen and has a farm of one hundred acres there, and is the father of four children ; John is unmarried, and living in Howe; Minnie is the wife of Tom Lighthill, in Oklahoma; Rose is the wife of Lee Nunn, in western Ne- braska, and has seven children. Mrs. Armstrong was educated in the Brownville high school, and taught for three years. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong : Edna, who was educated in the normal and taught for a time, is the wife of Mike Beauchamp, who farms the old homestead ; Rosa has finished school and has a teacher's certificate; Boyd, born January 10, 1889, is at home and in school; Hope Mabel was born September 4, 1892; and Bob was born on Christmas day of i8g8. Mr. Armstrong has been affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for the past twenty years. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 103 and has passed all the chairs; he is also a Woodman of the World, and he and his wife are charter members of the Rebekahs. In politics he is a Democrat, and has been school director for nine years. ! Mr. Armstrong's parents held their golden wedding anniversary on November 29, 1888, and at their death they had the unusual record of leaving thirty-three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. MRS. SARAH ELIZABETH FULLER. Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Fuller, an honored resident of the city of Nemaha, Nebraska, is the widow of Job Fuller, whose death occurred at his home three miles from Nemaha in 1900, when nearly sixty-nine years of age. He was born in the coimty of Kent, England, about eight miles west of London, and was reared as a farmer lad, remaining at home until reaching years of m'aturity. He then sailed from Liverpool to New York city, spending two months on the ocean, and during the time celebrated his birthday. He came to this country with small means, as his parents were in limited circumstances, but was a scholarly man and possessed a retentive memory. For about five years Mr. Fuller made his home in Canada, during which time he was employed as a farm hand, and was there married in about 1857. He then removed with his wife and two children to Illinois, in which state his wife died, leaving two of the four children born to them. During his residence in that state he also served as a soldier in the Civil war. Soon after the close of that struggle, in 1866, Mr. Fuller came to Nebraska, and in that year was married to Mrs. Beckwith, the widow of Asal Beckwith and also of Jesse Ewing. She was twice married. She is a daughter of Huston and Lavina (Livingston) Russell, the former of 104 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. whom was born in Kentucky in 1807 and the latter in Pennsylvania in 1819. Their marriage was celebrated in 1837, and they became the parents of ten children, only three of whom grew to years of maturity, namely: Mrs. Fuller, who was born in Shelby county, Indiana, August 24, 1836; Tirrell, an agriculturist in Nemaha county; and Nathaniel, who died in Auburn, Nebraska, June 17, 1903, leaving a wife and six chil- dren and a small estate. He also served as a soldier in the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Russell removed from Indiana to Iowa, and about five years later, on the loth of February, 1855, came to Nemaha county, Ne- braska, crossing the river on the ice, and at this time the Indians were plentiful but the white settlers few. The city of Nemaha then contained but one small store, poorly stocked, and with the exception of its proprie- tor, who was named Brown, the only other resident was a Mr. Edwards. Their worldly possessions at the time of their arrival consisted of two yoke of oxen, two cows and two yearlings, and they pre-empted a quar- ter section of land three-fourths of a mile from Nemaha. Six children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Fuller, but only three are now living, namely : Dora Mertsheimer, whose husband is engaged in the railroad business in Wyoming, and they have three children; John, a resident of Evanston, Wj'oming, and the father of five children; and Mary, the wife of Theodore Ginn, by whom she has three children, and the family reside in Auburn, Nebraska. JAMES RAYNOR. James Raynor, a retired farmer of Auburn, Nebraska, dates his birth in Nottinghamshire, England, May i, 1834. He is a son of Thomas Raynor, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, December 18, 1796, and who emigrated with his family to x\merica in 1837. Three times SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 105 married, by his first wife he had one daughter, by his second wife one son and one daughter, and by his third wife eight children. His third wife was Jane Wetherell, a native of York, England, born in 1808, daughter of Thomas Wetherell, an innkeeper. Their eight children were as fol- lows : Elizabeth, wife of George W. Mclntyre, of Lowell, Massachusetts, has one son ; Thomas Wetherell, a retired railroad man of Jackson, Mich- igan, has one son and one daughter; George, who died in Waterville, Maine, left a widow and one daughter; James, whose name introduces this sketch ; Jane, wife of B. S. Gillman, of San Francisco, California ; Robert W., a locomotive engineer and foreman of the round-house at Battle Creek, Michigan, has four sons; John W., who died in Kansas City, Missouri, April 26, 1896; and William B., of Muskegon, Michigan, has been twice married and has one son and two daughters. The father of this large family died in Orange, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, March 16, 1864, and the mother died at the home of her son in Mount Vernon, Illinois, in April, 1875, at the age of seventy-four years. James Raynor was three years old when he was brought by his parents to this country, and his boyhood days were spent in Vermont, the removal of the family to Ohio being in 1854, when he was twenty. He attended the public schools up to the time he was seventeen, when he began learning the trade of carriage painter. A.fter serving an appren- ticeship of three years to this trade, he continued work at it until the outbreak of the Civil war. August 15, 1861, Mr. Raynor volunteered his services for the pro- tection of the country into which he had been adopted. At this time he was in Albany, Green county, Wisconsin. As a member of Company E, Thirteenth W'isconsin, he served one year to the day. He was then transferred to the Thirty-first Regiment, Company F, the fortunes of which he shared until July 6, 1865, when he was mustered out at Madison, io6 , SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Wisconsin. He was during the first year of his army life made a second lieutenant, later was promoted to first lieutenant, and was in command of the company twenty-two months, as first lieutenant. He was brevetted captain. Mr. Raynor was in four hard-fought battles — Parksville, Peach Tree Creek, Na-shville and Decatur. After the war Mr. Raynor returned to Albany, Wisconsin, and en- gaged in the manufacture of wagons and carriages, under the firm name of The Tilleys & Raynor. Selling his interest in the establishment in December, i86g, Mr. Raynor came further west the following year, landing in Washington count}^, Kansas, in June, where he engaged in farming. He still owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Barnes township, Washington county, Kansas. April 9, 1854, Mr. Raynor married Miss Harriet Vrooman, a native of Ohio, born in 183 1, davighter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Becker) Vrooman, both of Otsego county. New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Raynor were given two sons. One died in infancy and the other, Willis J., is a practicing physician of Auburn. Mrs. Raynor died Octo- ber,3i, 1902, in Barnes, Washington county, Kansas, at the age of sev- enty-two years, after the term of their married life had lengthened out to nearly fifty years. A true wife, loving mother, noble woman — her death was a sad loss to Mr. Raynor. Fraternally, Mr. Raynor is identified with the Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Oder of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic. In the last named organization he was post commander three terms, two terms in Beadle Post, Nebraska, and one in Barnes Post, Washington county, Kansas. He has been a life-long Republican. He was a justice of the peace and police judge many years, in both Kan- sas and Nebraska. Mr. Raynor may be called a self-educated man. All his life he has been a close observer and a careful and constant reader. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 107 Naturally of a genial disposition and with a retentive memory, both physically and mentally well preserved, and with a rare store of interest- ing reminiscences, he is indeed a cheerful companion for both young and old. Willis James Raynor, son of James and Harriet Raynor, was born in Wisconsin, January 14, 1856. He attended the district and high schools in his native state, spent two years in the Kansas State Normal School, and then took a course in the Medical College of Ohio, at Cin- cinnati, where he graduated in 1880. He has also taken two post-graduate courses in New York. After finishing his studies in Cincinnati, Dr. Ray- nor located in Hardy, Nebraska, where he was engaged in the .practice of his profession twelve years. In 1896 he removed to Denver, Colorado, where he had a nice home and where he spent one year practicing medi- cine. In 1898 he enlisted in the United States service, as assistant sur- geon, and was on duty at Fort Logan, Colorado, until June, 1899, in full charge of the hospital. With the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry he was ordered to the Philippines, where they landed in due time and where he was in the field during the Lawton campaign. Afterward he was transferred to the general hospital of the regular army, and re- mained oil duty until August, 1900. At this time he secured a leave of absence and came home, being away seven months and returning, accompanied by his family, and with the rank of captain. He was mus- tered out in December, 1902, and at once embarked for home. He landed in San Francisco, California, the day his mother died in Kansas, but it was not until a week afterward that he reached the old home place and his bereaved father. Dr. Raynor was married June 5, 1883, at Hardy, Nebraska, to Miss Mary A. Shore, a native of Pennsylvania. She was born May 9, 1858, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Whitehead) Shore, both now de- lo8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ceased, her mother having died at the age of sixty-five years and her father at seventy-three. Mrs. Raymond is one of a family of five children, four of whom reached maturity. To the Doctor and his wife have been given five children : Ivy, May, Iris, Ruth and Willis James, Jr. The son and youngest child was born in the Philippines, April 13, 1902. Like his father before him. Dr. Raynor is a Republican and a member of the Masonic order. JAMES COWEL. James Cowel, who died at his late home in Bedford precinct, Howe postoffice, Nemaha county, July 4, 1903, at the age of fifty years, was one of the honored old settlers of Southeastern Nebraska, having come here before the admission of the state to the Union. Although he finished his life's work early, his career was filled with useful efiforts and was successful from every point of view. His citizenship and manhood were above reproach, and to his family he was generous in fatherly devo- tion, kind in action, and himself a high ideal for their subsequent life. Both he and his wife were taken from their children when their parental affection and counsel and aid were indispensable, but the son and daughters have bravely taken up the duties of home and life and are carving for themselves honorable places in the world. ~ Mr. Cowel was a son of Reuben Cowel, who was a farmer of Ohio, from which state he came to Cass county, Indiana, and in 1868 followed his son to Nebraska, where he farmed during the rest of his life. He was a soldier in the Civil war, and was a man of character and ability in every sphere of life. He was twice married, having ten children by his first wife, who died in Delaware county, Ohio. Of the eight sons SOUTHEASTERN. NEBRASKA. 109 and two daughters, two sons died in infancy, and the four now living are: Lida, wife of Adam Wilson, at Red Oak, Iowa; Jay and Andy, farmers of Oklahoma, and the latter a stock-dealer; and Uriah, in Lawrence, Michigan. James Cowel was born in Delaware county, Ohio, December 13, 1852. He came to Nebraska in 1865, and began as a tenant farmer in Nemaha county. He came to the present homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in 1886, and in 1888 bought it for thirty-five dollars an acre, but it is now worth considerably more. He was a good farmer, and longer life would undoubtedly have made him one of the most prosperous men of the county. August 21, 1880, Mr. Cowel was married in Sheridan (now Au- burn) to Miss Margaret Hughes, a daughter of A. D. T. Hughes, one of the pioneers of this part of the state, and whose brother William home- steaded the Cowel farm. Mr. and Mrs. Cowel had four children : Oliver C, who since his father's death has assumed the conduct of the home farm and is doing well; Clara. E., who is a teacher and living at home; Dollie C, who is just out of school; and Neva N., aged eleven years and in school. They were all educated in Auburn, and Oliver graduated in 1901, and the two sisters were in the classes of 1903 and 1905 when their parents died. Mrs. Cowel died February 13, 1903, of dropsy, while her husband was afflicted with rheumatism and Bright's disease. Mr. Cowel was a Master Mason, and in politics a Democrat, but later a Populist. His wife was a Methodist, and he was reared in the Lutheran church, but throughout life placed deeds above creeds. By his w^ll he left his estate to his children, and notwithstanding their sore bereavement they are reflecting credit on their noble and worthy parents by the manner in which they have taken up the burdens of life. no SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. LIEUTENANT JOSEPH K. PITTMAN. Lieutenant Joseph K. Pittman, of Nemaha township, Gage county, Nebraska, is a resident here of fifteen years' standing. His life of over sixty years has been passed in various locaHties, all of which have been honored by his substantial citizenship, and worthy performance of every duty devolving upon him. When in the flush of young manhood he gave his services to the nation to preserve union and personal liberty, and the meritorious and gallant part which he took on the field of battle is attested by the title which he won. Since that time he has gained suc- cess equally great in civil life, has devoted himself without reserve to individual work and the discharge of tliose responsibilities which come up between man and man, and for all this deserves the honor and esteem which are shown him and his excellent family. Lieutenant Pittman was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1840, and comes of a family well known in that state, some of whose members took part in the early wars of the colonies and republic. His great-grandfather Benjamin, his grandfather Joseph and his father, Ezra, were all born in Pennsylvania. Ezra Pittman was a native of Bedford county, followed farming there all his life, was a Democrat of the Jack- sonian type, and a church member and honored citizen. His wife was Elizabeth Knable, a native of Bedford county and a daughter of John Knable, of an old Pennsylvania Dutch family. She is also deceased. Joseph K. Pittman was reared on the home farm in Pennsylvania, and during limited seasons attended school, but the greater part of the practical training which has helped him through life was acquired by experience which began when he was a boy. He was twenty-one years old when the Civil war came on, and on November 19, 1 861, he enlisted, at Werefordsburg, Pennsylvania, in Company B, and taken into the SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. m Third Maryland Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Cardiff and Colonel Downey, and gave three years and three months of faithful service. He participated in the battle at Harper's Ferry and in many of the engage- ments in Virginia, and assisted in repelling General Mosby's raiders from the northern states. He was in West Virginia for some time, and his regiment was ordered to Gettysburg, but arriving there too late to take part in the crucial conflict of the war. Mr. Pittman entered the service as a private, wias made corporal, orderly sergeant, and then promoted to first lieutenant, with which rank he was honorably discharged, with the commendation of his superiors and the personal regard of the men of his company. In 1865, after he had returned from the war, he came west to Knox county, Illinois, and was engaged in farming near Gales- burg for thirteen years. In 1878 he moved to Lincoln county, Kansas, and in that new country took up a homestead, on which he lived until. 1888, when he came to Gage county, and since then has been successfully engaged in farming and stock-raising. In 1868 Mr. Pittman was married in Knox county, Illinois, to Miss Mary F. Bower, and they have enjoyed a most happy union of over thirty-five years, gladdened with life's pleasures and made sweeter and closer by its sorrows. She is a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob and Susan (Bryan) Bowier, both of whom are deceased, the latter at the age of seventy-eight. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pittman. One son died in childhood, and the others are: Jasper D., Joseph, Ulysses G., Ezra, William, Edwin, Roy, Robert, Susan, Jessie, and Mary. Mr. Pittman is a stanch Republican, and enjoys old army comradeship with- the Sergeant Cox Post No. 100, G. A. R., at Adams. He is also a Mason, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. He is a w'ell informed man, genial and frank with his 112 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. associates, and his home is a place of hospitality and good cheer for all who enter its doors. CASNER BARNES. Casner Barnes, a prominent farmer near South Auburn, on mail route No. 2, has been a resident of Nemaha county for forty-five years, from the pioneer epoch down to the twentieth century present. He has been a successful farmer from youth, and has made a reputation in this line, as also as a citizen and man. Few men could have put their diligent efforts to better use than Mr. Barnes has in making one of the fine farms for Wihich this county is noted, and to whatever he has turned his hand he has done well. Mr. Barnes is a grandson of John Barnes, a Pennsylvania farmer, who in 1840 came west to Lee county, Iowa, wlhere he died in i860, at the age of seventy-five. He had nine children, five sons and four daugh- ters, and the only survivor is Alexander, living in Smith county, Kansas. John Barnes, the father of Casner Barnes, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1821, and died at Nemaha city, Nebraska, Sep- tember 8, 1896. He and his wdfe inherited eighty acres of land in Iowa, and in 1857 they came to Richardson county, Nebraska, and two weeks later to Nemaha city, settling one mile north on one hundred and sixty acres of land, only ten acres of which had been broken, and they paid the claimant seventeen hundred dollars for his "squatter sovereignty" and then pre-empted. He bought and sold several farms and was in good circumstances. He was a Republican in politics, and was county commissioner and register of voters. He and his wife were Presbyterians, and h« was an elder in the church at Brownville. He was married in 1846, at West Point, Iowa, to Miss Elizabeth Harger, who was born in SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 113 Indiana, December 20, 1829, and died at Nemaha city, June 20, 1883. They were the parents of the following children: Casner; Catherine E., wife of James H. Drain, at Red Cloud, Nebraska, has nine children; Amanda is the wife of Charles M. Welton, of Johnson, Nebraska; Isham B. is a farmer of Coolidge, Kansas, and has seven children ; John S. is a farmer of Smith county, Kansas, and has seven children living; Luther H. is a farmer, real estate man and contractor in Bison, Oklahoma, and has six children living ; David, who was county superintendent of schools at Lamar, Colorado, died at the age of thirty-four, leaving a wife and three children; Lydia H. is the wife of H. O. Hermle, in California, and has two children; Mar)'- E. is the wife of B. L. Shellhorn, M. D., of Peru, Nebraska, and has two children living. Casner Barnes w&s born at West Point, Lee county, Iowa, Novem- ber 14, 1847, and was reared on the farm and lived at home until his mar- riage in 1877. He bought his first land, ninety-two acres, in 1873. He now oWns three hundred and twenty acres of choic6 land, upon which he has placed all the improvements, including three acres of orchard and shade trees. He does general farming and stock-raising, and in I903>had in one hundred and thirty-five acres of corn and sixty of wheat. His cattle are of mixed breeds. He has been especially successful in the feeding of hogs, and ships about two carloads each year and always keeps on hand about a hundred. April I, 1877, Mr. Barnes was married to Miss Ophelia Mclninch, who was born February 4, i860, on a part of Nemaha county that has since been washed into the turbulent floods of the Missouri river. Her parents, W. H. and Catherine (Dunkle) Mclninch, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Virginia, came to Nebraska in 1857, and are still living on the old farm near Auburn. They had eight children : Mrs. Barnes is the eldest ; James H. Mclninch is a farmer near Brown- 114 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ville; Miss Wille Kate is at home; David C. is a farmer near Auburn; Belle is the w'ife of D. E. Zook, a farmer near Auburn ; M. S. Mclninch is an attorney in Auburn; Barnett is at Brownville; and Julia, aged eighteen, is in school at Auburn. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Barnes. Katie E. is the wife of W. H. Linn^ a dentist of Auburn, Nebraska ; Miss Mattie M. is a teacher in Auburn, having taken the training course in the normal at Peru ; Miss Lydia B. is a student in Auburn ; Welton C. is also in the Auburn schools; Edna T. attends the district school at home; Mary; Delbert M. is eight years old; Guy died at the age of five; and Ishani Bartlett is a boy of three. Mr. Barnes is a Republican in politics, and was once a candidate for county commissioner, and has been on the school board for twenty-five years. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. LOUIS H. ROHMEYER. ' Louis H. Rohmeyer, editor and publisher of the Westlicher Beo- bachter, the official organ of the German Farmers' Insurance Company in Nebraska and the leading German paper in the southeastern part of the state, is a thoroughly Americanized German. Bringing with him to this country the characteristic energy and enterprise of the German and taking advantage of the opportunities for advancement which he found here, he has pushed his way to the front and is justly deserving of the representative position which he holds among the leading citizens of the 4 locality in which he lives. Mr. Rohmeyer is a native of Hanover, Germany, and was born Feb- ruary 5, i860. His ancestors were tradesmen, noted for honesty and LOUIS H. ROHMEYER SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 115 industry, and longevity as well. Frederick Nolte, his maternal grand- father, lived to the advanced age of ninety-six years and retained his faculties, mental and physical, to the close of his life, his death occurring in Hanover, in 1865. Mr. Rohmeyer's father, William Rohmeyer, a shoe merchant of Hanover, is now past eighty years of age and is still active in business. The fiftieth anniversary of his marriage to Johanna Nolte was celebrated September 6, 1902. Their pictures in the souvenir designed and published by their son, Louis H., in memory of this anni- versary, show them to be still well preserved. Of their four children Louis H. is the only' son now living. His two brothers, William and August, died in Hanover — the former at the age of nine years, and the latter on his fourtieth birthday, leaving a widow and three children. His sister, Louise Frerichs, now resides in Bremerhaven, Germany., Louis H. Rohmeyer received a common and high-school education in his native city. In 1874, at the age of fourteen years, he began work at the printer's trade, and servod an apprenticeship of four years. Afterwards he worked in Switzerland and Germany as a journeyman printer, for several years, until 1890, when he came to America. His first location in this country was at St. Louis, where he was for some time employed as compositor on a German newspaper, and from whence, in 1898, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. Up to this time he had been able to save but very little if any of his earnings, and when he landed in Lincoln he had only thirty-five dollars. The following year he opened a job printing office, which he successfully conducted in Lincoln foi" nearly two years, at the end of which time, December i, 1900, he came to Auburn and purchased the Western Observer, which had beenf established ten months previous to that date. Mr. Rohmeyer has increased the cir- culation of his paper to two thousand three hundred, six times its original subscription list, and not only has the circulation of the paper been ii6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. increased but the standard of the publication also has been raised. He owns the plant, and in connection with running the paper he does a large job printing business in both German and English. Mr. Rohmeyer married, in Hanover, Germany, in 1884, Miss Johanna Tieman, and they have had five children, all of whom are living except Alfred, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, October 29, 1891, and died at the age of four years. Amelia and William were born in Hanover, the former September 5, 1885, and the latter September 2, 1887. Louis was born in St. Louis, January 6, 1894, and Elizabeth in Lincoln, January i, 1892. Fraternally Mr. Rohmeyer is identified with a number of fraternal organizations, including the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Knights of Maccabees, Sons of Herman, and the German Society of Lincoln. Politically he is a Republican. CHESTER REUBEN CAMP. Chester Reuben Camp, a retired farmer in Auburn in his seventy- sixth year, has been one of the enterprising and progressive citizens of Nemaha county for forty years, so that he is one of the old settlers and has witnessed in his time a wonderful transformation of this country from unproductive prairies to a paradise of farms and towns. He has made his handsome property by diligence early and late and shrewd man- agement, so that he has well earned the prosperity and comfort which have come to his later years. He is public-spirited as well, and has always been w*illing to help along any worthy enterprise for the general welfare. Mr. Camp was born in Ontario county. New York, March 4, 1828. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKIA. 117 His father, John Camp, was born in Massachusetts about 1787, and died in Hillsdale county, Michigan, in 1856. He was a shoemaker and a farmer. He was married in New York to Amy Scott, who died in Mich- igan in 1863. They had come to that state in 1837. Tliey were parents of five children, and reared three of them. Sylvester died past middle life in Hillsdale county, Michigan, leaving one son and one daughter; Patience, the wife of Joseph Benfield, died in Lenawee county, Michigan, in 1846. Chester Reuben Camp, the only survivor of the children, was reared on the home farm in Michigan. He received his education in the dis- trict school, and after completing its studies Was asked to become its teacher, but declined. He worked out by the month until he was mar- ried, and for two years he farmed the old homestead. In 1863 he came to Nemaha county and bought a quarter section in Glen Rock precinct, paying two yoke of oxen and one hundred dollars for it. He afterward traded this, with four hundred dollars to boot, for the farm on which he made his home for so many years. He has been an indefatigable worker, and has made his farming operations pay unusually well. He continued his active work on the farm until 1899, and in that year sold his land for fifty dollars an acre, but it is now worth seventy-five. He then located in his nice home on one and a half lots in Auburn, and is hare surrounded with all the comforts desired by one whose life has been passed in such strenuous effort. December 17, 1852, Mr. Camp was married to Miss Sally M. Phil- lips, who was born in St. Lawrence county, New* York, June 9, 1832. Her parents, Allen and Lydia (Baker) Phillips, were born, respectively, in Vermont and Newi York, and were married in the latter state. They reared seven children, five daughters and two sons, all of whom had fami- lies, and all are now deceased except Mrs. Camp, who was the sixth ii8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. child. They were farmers in New York, and came from that state to Michigan in 1838. In the spring of 1857 they drove their team overland to Nebraska, and laid a land warrant on one hundred and sixty jcres in Glen Rock precinct, where they began humbly and experienced the trials and privations of a new country. They returned to Michigan in i860, and spent the winter with Mr. and Mrs. Camp, but on March 25, 1861, they once more landed in Nebraska, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Camp have had twb children. Alvaretta is the wife of John M. Elliott, in South Auburn, and they have twelve of their four- teen children; Calvin, who died in 1876 at the age of seventeen years and seven months, of scarlet fever, was a promising youth, bright and energetic, and his death was a great sorrow to his parents. Mr. Camp has always voted with the Democrats, and officially has served as school director and siipervisor of roads. He and his wife are esteemed members of the Highland Baptist church. HON. JOHN H. POiHLMAN. Hon. John H. Pohlman, w!ho is one of the model agriculturists of Washington precinct, Nemaha county, and whose farming and stock- raising operations in this county have brought him a most gratifying degree of material prosperity, is one of the old settlers of this part of the state. He crossed the Missouri river on the loth day of May, 1867, having driven across the state of Iowa in real emigrant style, with four of the best horses which had been seen in this part of the country for some time, and which excited universal admiration when he passed through the small town of Brownville to the place which he took up from SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 119 the government. He has made his home here for the past thirty-eight or more years, experiencing several of the ups and downs which fortune pays all men, but on the whole "being unusually successful. He has shown himself to be a man of strictest integrity, uprightness in business dealings, thoroughly capable and careful in the management of his affairs, and exhibiting a degree of industry which would bring success in any vocation. His principal occupation since taking up his residence in this state has been the subduing of the soil and its cultivation and the raising of all the products for which this section of the state is so justly famed, but he has likewise been keenly interested in the public welfare and the upbuilding and development of the community of his residence, having been more than once called to responsible offices in the gift -of his fellow citizens. Mr. Pohlman was born in Neumuenster, Schleswig-Holstein, Ger- many, Angust 25, 1839, His father, Hartwig Pohlman, was a railroad man in Germany and died there at the age of forty-eight, leaving his widow and two sons with a small estate. He was born in 1799 and died in 1847. He had married Miss Anna Inselman, and they had two sons, John H. being the elder, and Fred was a printer and died in Chicago at the age of forty years, leaving his wife and three children. Mr. Pohl- man's mother crossed the Atlantic in 1857, and landed in New York on July 4th, having been seven weeks and three days on the ocean. She came ont to Illinois, and was later married in Peoria to Charles Polster, who came from the same part of Germany as she had. She died in Peoria, September 30, 1898, aged eighty-three years, and strong in body and spirit to the last, having been sick only one week before she passed away. Mr. Pohlman had a good education in his native land up to his seventeenth year, and also attended school awhile after he arrived in I20 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Knox county, Illinois. He worked in Illinois at wages from six to fifteen dollars a month, and was thus engaged until the war. August i8, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Forty-seventh Illinois Infantry, ancj served thirteen months, but was discharged at St. Louis on account of physical disability, on September 27, 1863. He was confined in the hospital for two months before his discharge. His pension of eight dol- lars a month has recently been raised to twelve. After his marriage in 1863 he lived in Illinois until he started across the country, in a large covered wagon, and was thirteen days on the road to Nebraska, bringing his wife and two children to the new country across the Missouri. He took up government land, and his first residence cost him ten hundred and eighty dollars, but in 1871 this with its contents was burned to the ground. He could ill afford such a loss at that time, and in order to rebuild he was compelled to sacrifice a team of fine horses which he loved so well, selling them for four hundred dollars and erecting a cheaper res- idence until he could build a better. With the increase of his family and his material prosperity he tore down his house number two, and has now one of the most substantial and comfortable country residences in this part of the county. It has two stories, with ten rooms, a cement- fioored basement under all, and is everywhere known as one of the model homes of the vicinity. It is surrounded by a beautiful lawn, with cement walks leading in all directions, and the embowering groves of shade and fruit trees give the entire place a setting and charm which would entice any beauty-lover to an hour's repose within its boundaries. Mr. Pohlman has always aigaged in general farming and stock-raising, and his fine orchard of five acres, which he tends carefully and does not allow to die out, has also been a source of revenue, in addition to supply- ing the home with all needed fruit. He has shipped as high as three carloads of apples in one season. In the matter of stock Mr. Pohlman SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 121 has always been an enthusiastic lover of fine horses, and he usually raises from twenty to twenty-five head, and each year feeds from forty-five to one hundred head of Poll Angus cattle and about five hundred hogs of the Poland China strain. He raises some of the best mules in the country. His farm consists of three hundred and twenty acres, and all its improve- ments and equipments and methods of cultivation show the up-to-date and progressive agriculturist who owns it. Dtecember 23, 1863, Mr. Pohlman was married in Knoxville, Illi- nois, to Miss Elizabeth Crawford, who was born in Knox county, Illinois, November 4, 1845. Her parents were Thomas and Diana (Metcalf) Crawford, who were born May 15, 1807, and February 20, 1809, respec- tively, and were married December 18, 1830, being the parents of fourteen children, as follows : Three died in infancy or childhood ; James Crawford died in California aged about sixty-five years ; Thomas died in California when about fifty, leaving a wife ; Deborah, the wife of James Buck, died in Illinois, leaving three children; Mrs. Mary Daniels lives in California, having one son; Robert died during the Civil war, leaving two children; Joanna is in California and has three children; Martha, the wife of John Thompson, died in Nemaha county, leaving two children ; Mrs. Pohlman is the next of the family; Vachel is a farmer in Jewell county, Kansas, and has five children; William, a dealer in musical instruments in Lincoln, Nebraska, has three daughters and one son; Walter died at the age of nineteen. Thomas Crawford, the father of this family, died in California about 1894, aged eighty-seven years, and his wife had passed away in 1859. Fifteen children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pohlman, as fol- lows: Frank C, born in Knox county, Illinois, in 1864, is a successful stock rancher in Thomas county, Kansas, and has two sons and three daughters; Minnie L., born in Illinois in February, 1866, is the wife 122 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. of George Leiser in Grand Island, Nebraska, and has four daughters; John H., born in Nebraska, December 7, 1868, died when two years old; Olive B., born October 19, 1870, is the wife of B. L. Brinkley, of John- son, and has two daughters and one son; Etta, born August 28, 1872, is the wife of Byron Phelan, a farmer in Nemaha county, and has five sons ; Anna, born March 8, 1874, is the wife of John Weber, a farmer of Nemaha county, and has one daughter; Homer J., born February 25, 1876, a farmer near his father's place and for the past two years a mail carrier, has two sons; Thomas C., born December 30, 1878, is unmarried and at home; Fred, born January 28, 1880,- died when two years old; Ella and Delia, twins, born August 25, 1882,. died within twenty-four hours of each other when two years old ; John H. and Jennie, born June 10, 1884, are both at home; Charles P., born October 17, 1886, is a student in Grand Island College; and Rose, born January 4, 1887, is at home and attending school in Johnson. The daughters all have musical taste and sing and play. Withal it is a family to be proud of, and Mr. and Mrs. Pohlman thoroughly enjoy and appreciate their model home. Mr. Pohlman has served his fellow citizens two terms in the lower house of the legislature, and made a name while there for conscientious interest in the welfare of his costituents and the state. He has also served nine years in the office of county commissioner. He has always been a stanch Republican, and is logical and intelligent in his beliefs. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, while his wife is a Methodist. He is one of the German Americans who on coming to this country readily adapted themselves to the ways and customs of this land and acquired the language with the readiness of a child learning its own vernacular, so that he has since helped many other Germans who have worked for him to learn the language. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 123 DANIEL GOODMAN. Daniel Goodman, one of the prominent farmers and stock-raisers of Gage county, near Adams, Nebraska, is an old-time citizen of the state, having first settled here twenty-five years ago, and he has lived in Gage county for fifteen years. His life is a record of loyal citizenship, for he is listed among the veterans of the Civil war, where he displayed brave and creditable service as a soldier, and in all his subsequent activity has been as true to duty and the obligations imposed by family and society as when a youth wearing the blue uniform of a Union soldier. Mr. Goodman was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1845, of an old and highly respected family of that county and state. His parents, Daniel and Katie (Wagner) Goodman, were also natives of that county, and his great-grandfather Wagner was a patriot soldier of the Revolutionary war. Daniel Goodman, St., was an honest farmer, a good citizen, a member of the Reformed church, a Republican in politics, a man respected wherever he went. Both he and his wife died in Penn- sylvania. They had fourteen children, ten sons and four daughters, and three sons, Eli, Nathan and Daniel, were soldiers in the Civil war. Daniel Goodman, Jr., was reared on a farm and taught to work and given an honest purpose in life. He was eighteen years old when he decided to become a soldier. In February, 1863, he enlisted from his native county as a member of Company I, Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Infantry. He w^s in the terrible Wilderness campaign, at the battles of Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania Court House, Winchester and other en- gagements of lesser importance. He was around Petersburg during the last days of the war, and took part in the grand review of the troops at the close, after which he received an honorable discharge as an honored veteran of the greatest war in the annals of history, and went home with 124 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. a record of service which will always remain a matter of pride to him- self and his descendants. Shortly after his return from the war Mr. Goodman went west to Stephenson county, Illinois, and settled on a farm near Freeport, where he lived until 1874, in which year he first took up his residence in the state of Nebraska, locating in Otoe county, near Dunbar. Here the noted grasshopper scourge descended upon him, destroying his crops and all his prospects for the time, and gave him such a bad opinion of Nebraska in general that he returned to Illinois and did not make the venture of settling across the Missouri for several 3'ears. But on coming to Ne- braska for the second time he fared better and came to realize the abun- dant resources of the state. He has been in Gage county for fourteen years, and is now a prosperous and contented agriculturist. He owns eighty-five acres of land, with a pretty and comfortable residence, ample barns, a fine lot of horses and cattle, and everything needed by the model Nebraska farmer. In Stephenson county, near Freeport, Illinois, in 1881, Mr. Goodman was married to Miss Emma Reed, who has been a faithful wife and helper to him for over twenty years. She was born in Schuylkill county, Penn- sylvania, one of the eight children of Daniel and Mary (Hay) Reed, who were natives of Pennsylvania, and the former of whom died in Otoe county, and the latter in Gage county, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Good- man have one daughter, Essie, now the wife of Oscar Vanderpool, of Lancaster county, Nebraska, and they have one daughter, Goldie Van- derpool. Mr. Goodman is a stanch Republican in politics, and affiliates with the Sergeant Cox Post No. 100, G. A. R., at Adams. He is a man of excellent business ability and attractive social qualities, and is respected and liked by everyone. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 125 HENRICK L. WATSON. Henrick L. Watson, proprietor of the general blacksmith and repair shops of Adams, Nebraska, is one of the most successful men in his line in Southeastern Nebraska. He has been a respected resident of Adams for twenty-three years, so that he is really an old settler. He has been engaged in his trade continuously for forty years and his present pros- perity has been well earned. Mr. Watson was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, May 2, 1845. His father, William Watson, was born in Scotland, of an old Scotch family, and was a tailor by trade. He voted the Republican ticket, and was a Scotch Presbyterian in religion. He died in Ohio at the age of sixty-nine, honored and respected for his worthy character. His wife was Lucy Barrett, a native of New York state, and she died when sixty- eight years old. They had eight sons and three daughters. Their son Evanett was drum major of the Ninety-eighth Ohio Infantry, and with Sherman in the march to the sea. Some of the sons are deceased, and the two daughters living are Mary and Eda. Henrick L. Watson was reared and educated in Ohio. During the war he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Infantry, under Captain Cables and Colonel Taylor, and served four months. He was at Harper's Ferry, and at various points in Virginia and Maryland. He learned his trade as an iron and steel worker in the railroad shops at Denison, Ohio, where he remained for five years, and became very proficient, as his subsequent success proves. He followed his trade in Illinois and other states for ten years, and came to Johnson county, Nebraska, twenty-five years ago, two years later taking up his residence at Adams, Gage county, where he founded the business which he has carried on so successfully ever since. He has all the patronage 126 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. which he can handle, and the long continuance of some of his customers gives his work the stamp of reliability. Mr. Watson was married in 1887 to Miss Jennie Shaw, a grand- daughter of Benjamin Shaw and a daughter of John Shaw, who is one of the honored old settlers of Adams, having come here in 1857. The Shaw family history is given on other pages of this work. John and Sarah Shaw both reside in Adams. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have six children : Blanche, Eda, Ruth, Lucy, Esther, and John Mc'Kibben. Mr. Watson is a Republican in political creed, and he and his wife are valued members of the Presbyterian church. They are liberal in dispensing their means and their efforts for the general welfare, and have a happy home and many friends throughout the town and county. JOHN EDWARD LAMBERT. John Edward Lambert, one of the leading agriculturists and stock- raisers of Nemaha precinct, Nemaha postoffice, has been a resident of Nemaha county for over thirty-five years. Coming here poor in health and pocket, he has taken advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves, has been an indefatigable worker in everything that he has undertaken, and his efforts have been rewarded by his being now in the front rank of the farmers of the county. Mr. Lambert was born in Franklin county, Virginia, August 19, 1837. His grandfather and grandmother were Virginia farmers, and the latter {ncc Moore) was old enough to spin during the Revolution. Two of their sons volunteered for service in the Mexican war and were made officers, and one was disabled while drilling cavalry troops and the other was killed by his horse. Two other sons came and settled in Mis- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 127 souri in an early day. Grandmother Lambert died in Virginia when nearly a centenarian. Edward Lambert, the father of John Edward Lambert, was born in Virginia about 1796, and died in Montgomery county of that state in 1862: He was a wagon-maker by trade, and had his shop on his farm, which he also tilled. He married Sarah Acres, of Virginia, who was related by marriage to the celebrated Pocahontas. She died in 1865 when nearly sixty-seven years old. Edward Lambert was a man of great strength and vigorous constitution, and his death was caused by falling into ice cold water, from which he contracted lung fever. Neither of them was member of any church, but they reared their children under the best moral influences. They had a large family of children : Clayton, a farmer, died in Virginia about fifty years old, and had four children ; Martha Ann, the wife of John Poff, died in Virginia at about forty-five, the mother of two sons and one daughter; Daniel is employed on public works in various parts of the country, and did not marry till late in life, having one son; William A., came to Nebraska in 1857, and .is a farmer in Nemaha precinct; Amanda is the wife of George W. Broce, in Ten- nessee, and has six sons and six daughters; Adaline is the wife of Lewis Broce, in fronton, Ohio, and has two daughters; Samuel Henry was accidentally killed by his brother at the age of three; John E. is the next of the children; Fleming Joseph, a farmer near Oxford Junc- tion, Nebraska, came to the state with his brother John, arriving on the day the state was admitted into the Union ; Susan Elizabeth is the wife of Benjamin Moore, in Mississippi, and has nine children. John Edward Lambert had very few advantages in the subscription schools of Virginia, and at the age of twenty years left the home in Montgomery county with the intention of coming to Nebraska. He stopped, however, in Lawrence county, Ohio, and worked on a farm by 128 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. the month for a year at twelve dollars a month, the usual wages being even lower than that. He then returned to Virginia, and remained there until the latter part of 1861, when he enlisted in Company K, Eighth Virginia Infantry, of the Union army. He was taken sick in camp and was in the hospital for some time, and when he started to join his regi- ment he was captured by the Confederates. He was kept in durance vile for about two years, in the jails at Stanton, Lynchburg, Belle Isle, and in Libby. He escaped twice and was recaptured, but finally took perma- nent departure from captivity, and was secreted from the rebels during the rest of the war. In 1867 he came with his brother Fleming to Ne- braska, directly from Virginia. He had fifty dollars of borrowed money, and was an invalid from the exposure of prison life. The dry air of the western prairies soon reinvigorated him, and he was able to ply energet- ically his trade of mason, and was also a tenant farmer both before and after his marriage. After his marriage he sold the forty acres which he had managed to acquire, but since then has been continually adding to his real estate interests until he is now owner of five hundred and eighty-six acres of contiguous land, with two dwellings and barns, and he has a tenant farmer on a part of the land. He has successfully carried on mixed farming, raising as high as ten thousand bushels of corn annually. During the thirty-six years that he has spent in this state his average yearly profits have been a thousand dollars, which is a record to be proud of. Mr. Lambert was married December 9, 1873, to Miss Tena Webber, who was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of John and Polly (Morse) Webber, farmers, who came to Missouri in 1859, and in 1866 to this neighborhood, where they bought forty acres; they reared two children, and Mr. Webber had two sons and a daughter by a former marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Lambert have had five children : Dora, the SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 129 wife of R. L. Keister, died at the age of twenty-five; Luella, whom everyone called Lou, was the wife of William Russell, and died a bride of two months, at the age of nineteen ; Miss Sarah Ada, aged nineteen, is at home; Waverly M. died aged eighteen months; Dan is in the dis- trict school. Mr. Lambert has been a Republican in principle, but is now independent in the casting of his vote. He has been successful in the ultimate outcome of his business career. JOHN W. BARNHART. John W. Barnhart, proprietor and publisher of the Nemaha County Herald, Auburn, Nebraska, was born November 8, 1856, in Mount Joy, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Alsace-Lorraine was the home of the Barnharts before they came to this country, and their arrival in America dates back beyond the Revolutionary period. One of Mr. Barnhart's grandsires was a commanding officer under Washington in the war of the Revolution. His father and grandfather, Israel and Jacob Barn- hart, were born in York county, Pennsylvania, the former in 1827 and the latter in 1793. Grandfather Barnhart passed his life and died in his native county, his age at death being seventy-eight years. Israel Barn- hart has for many years been a resident of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, and as a contractor and builder has been prominently identified with that place. He was married in 1853 to Miss Lydia Bear, a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, born in 1826, daughter of a merchant tailor. Of the six children born to them, we record that Mary is the wife of John S. Hamaker; John W. was the second born; William B. is a resident of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ; Henry C. lives in York, Penn- sylvania; Samuel B. is a resident of Pittsburg; and Elizabeth, the I30 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. youngest, resides at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. - The father, Israel Barn- hart, makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Hamaker, in Mount Joy, the mother having died in 1895. John W. Barnhart obtained his education in the public schools of his native town and at Cedar Hill Seminary. He began his newspaper work as' "printer's devil" in the office of the Mount Joy Herald, and remained in that office three years, working his way up and thoroughly familiarizing himself with every detail of the business. He was after- wards employed for a short time in the office of the Daily New Era, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1877, he came west to Nebraska, first locat- ing in Lincoln and soon afterwards removing to Sterling, where he estab- lished the Sterling Nnvs, a weekly paper which he published a year and a half. His next move was to Tecumseh. There he started the Johnson County Journal, a weekly paper Democratic in politics. This paper he sold in the spring of 1881. Returning to Lincoln, he purchased a half interest with General Victor Vifquain, in the Daily State Democrat. One year later General Vifcpain sold his interest in the paper to Hon. Albert Watkins, and the firm became. Watkins & Barnhart. In the sum- mer of 1883 Mr. Barnhart sold out to Hon. W. S. Sawyer, who was afterwards L'nited States district attorney for the district of Nebraska. In the fall of 1883 Mr. Barnhart located at Elk Creek, Nebraska, where, he published the Echo until the latter part of 1887, and at the same time was postmaster of the town, his appointment being made by President Cleveland. Late in 1887 he moved his plant to Auburn, and February i, 1888, issued his first copy of the Nemaha County Herald. He owns the building in which, his plant is located and from time to time has made improvements and enlargements in his equipment until he is now pre- pared to care for the regular work of the paper, which at this writing has a circulation of over two thousand seven hundred, and also to do SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 131 the large amount of job printing which comes to his office. His employes number seven to ten. Mr. Barnhart married, in 1883, in Tecumseh, Nebraska, Miss Clarabel Foster, a native of Greencastle, Indiana, and a daughter of William L. and Adelaid (Chittenden) Foster. Mrs. Barnhart was educated in her native town, famed far and near as an educational center, and had for one of her professors the historian Ridpath. She was for some time previous to her marriage a teacher. They have three sons and two daughters, namely; Edgar Geoffrey, Kathryn Elois, Charles Bryan, Chandler Foster, and Marguerite. Mr. Barnhart is, fraternally, identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient 'Order of United Workmen. Politically he is a Demo- crat, active and enthusiastic in party affairs. He has served his ward in Auburn as a member of the common council. In 1897 he was in the legislature as second assistant clerk of the house of representatives. At this writing he is secretary and treasurer of the Nebraska Democratic Editorial Association, with office at Auburn. Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart in their religious faith are Episcopalians. ABNER R. LOOFBOURROW. Abner R. Loofbourrow, a retired farmer who has resided in or near the city of Peru for the past thirty years, and has lived in Nebraska since 1869, is well known and thoroughly esteemed and respected throughout Nerhaha county and has had a career of unusual interest. While he is now seventy-five years old, he still retains his powers of mind and body and is able to enjoy the comforts which his past labors have given him. As a citizen he has performed all the duties which have fallen 132 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. to his lot, as a toiler in the world for his individual gain he has been successful, and as the father of a family he has placed his children well equipped on the road of life and won their undying love and respect as a father and kind friend. Mr. Loofbourrow was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, Jan- uary 2, 1829. His grandfather, David Loofbourrow, was born in Scot- land in 1755, and after coming to America was a soldier in the ranks of the patriot army, afterward drawing a pension for the part he had ren- dered as a soldier of the country. He was an old-school physician and also a Baptist minister, and though he lived a life of usefulness to -his fellow men he was not a money-getter. He died at the age of ninety- three years, and his last resting place is in Jefiferson county, Ohio. He was twice married. By his first wife. Amy Gaskell, he had three sons and two daughters. His second wife, the gi-andmother of Mr. Loof- bourrow, was Catherine Rjtteiihouse, a native of New York or of New England. David LoofbourroAV, the father of Abner Loofbourrow, was born in Pennsylvania, January 4, 1799, and died in Van Buren county, Iowa, in June, 1877. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church. He was married about 1819 to Miss Jane Shanks, who was born in Fay- ette county, Pennsylvania, in 1800, and died in 1881. They had eleven children, eight of whom came to adult age : Malinda, the wife of Joseph Day, died in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1870 at the age of forty-seven, leaving two sons and three daughters. Louisa died at the age of twenty- two, unmarried. William, who died in Fairfield, Iowa, in 1853, was a teacher, and in the year of his death he and his wife had come from Ohio to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Abner R. is the next of the children. David, a farmer died in Humboldt county, Kansas, at the age of fifty- six, leaving seven sons. John, a farmer and teacher, died in Harrison SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 133 county, Ohio, in 1871, and left two sons. Wade is a farmer in Wayne county, iowa, and has eight children. James now a farmer in Van Buren county, Iowa, was a soldier in the Civil war, and on one battlefield was left for dead and was supposed for six months to be dead ; he lost an eye in the service and has been totally blind for years, but is very active, cheerful and performs his farm duties with wonderful ability; he is a great favorite at the soldiers' reunions, and recently attended one in Ohio; he has five sons and one daughter, all grown. Abner R. Loofbourrow had a limited schooling in the district schools up to the age of sixteen years, and while his elder brother William was away at college he was required for the work at home. He remained at home until he was past his twenty-second year, and after his marriage lived with his wife's family until 1854. In that year he came west to Jasper county, Iowa, and bought a quarter section of new prairie land, where he made his home and engaged in the improvement of his land until 1 869. He then sold his place for five thousand dollars, at a hand- some profit over his original investment. In the fall of 1869 he came to Richardson county, Nebraska, and with four thousand dollars of his cash capital bought a farm of two hundred and forty-four acres, with fair improvements. He came to Peru on the first of January, 1873, ^^'^ bought a farm of eighty acres near by. This he soon sold at a profit, and bought a farm of fifty-five acres adjoining the town of Peru. He also disposed of this place at an advantage, and his present property con- sists of seven acres within the city limits. He has three houses, two of which he had built, and bought the other, the newest one renting for two hundred dollars a year. Before the death of his wife they kept boarders, and he now takes roomers from the normal students. June 19, 1851, Mr. Loofbourrow was married to Miss Mary Jane Carr, who was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in November, 1834. Her 134 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. father, William Carr, married a Miss Bechtell, and they were farmers in good, circumstances in Ohio, where they died past middle life, leaving Mrs. Loofbourrow as their only daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Loofbourrow had six children: William, who is a college-bred man and a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, is located at Atwood, Kansas, and has been married twice, having seven living children, three sons and four daughters; Wade, born in Iowa in 1856, died in Red Willow county, Nebraska, in July, 1891, leaving a wife; Mary, the wife of Mr. N. E. Wagner, a shoemaker and dealer in Eureka, California, has four sons and two daughters; Rose, who graduated from the Peru normal at the age of nineteen and taught school for ten or twelve years, is now the wife of Mr. A. D. Brown, a machinist in the mills of Eureka, Cali- fornia, and they have two children ; Lillian, the wife of Marion Newton, having been a teacher before her marriage, died at the age of thirty years ; Thaddeus Lincoln, who graduated from Rush Medical College in Chi- cago and was one of the thirty out of a class of two hundred to carry off honors, is now practicing medicine in Eureka, California, and has four daughters. The mother of this family died in Peru, June 2, 1889. On Janu- ary 7, 1892, Mr. Loofbourrow was married to Mrs. Millie Carl, the widow of James Carl. Her maiden name was Thompkins, and she was born in Galesburg, Illinois. She was a teacher, and a noble and true Christian woman. She died January 16, 1903, at the age of sixty years. She was an active woi-ker in the Methodist Episcopal church, although reared in the Congregational faith. She was of a most intellectual and high-minded family, and one of her brothers is a Congregational minister in Chicago and another is a physician. Mr. Loofbourrow voted the Republican ticket until about ten years ago, since which time he has sup- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 13S ported the Prohibition cause. He has been connected with both the Baptist and the Methodist churches, and has held official relations in both. BENJAMIN T. SKEEN. Benjamin T. Skeen, who is one of the thoroughly practical farmers and stockmen of Nemaha county, residing in London precinct, Brown- ville postoffice, has lived in this part of southeastern Nebraska practically all his life, since the year 1855, when the country was one unbroken stretch of prairie and woodland, uncultivated, unimproved, the haunt of the Indian and the wild animals which had roamed it for all the pre- ceding centuries. Coming at such a period, he has naturally been a wit- ness to all the development and progress which have transformed the land into waving grain fields, beautiful homesteads and prosperous towns and villages, and he has taken his due share in this work of advance- ment. Mr. Skeen belongs to one of the old families of the country, various members of which have taken part in all the principal wars of the republic. He is of Scotch-Irish origin. Alexander Skeen, great-grandfather of Mr. Skeen, was a patriot of the Revolution, and died in a prison pen with his oldest son. His wife Sarah then left her home in South Caro- lina with her only son, Jesse, and came to Tennessee. Jesse Skeen was born in South Carolina, November 20, 1764, and was a Tennessee planter. He married Keziah, a daughter of Robert Tailor, and born April II, 1777. They reared all their ten children, three sons and seven daughters. Kenyon Skeen, the oldest of the sons, was a farmer of Ken- tucky, where he lived and died, leaving five children; Alexander D. Skeen, born November 18, 1815, was an early settler to Nemaha county. 136 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. his further history being detailed with that of T. B. Skeen in another part of this work. John G. Skeen, the other son, was born in Tennessee, September 3, 1818, and died in Nemaha county, January 28, 1899. He married Miss MeHnda Dinning, who was born in Tennessee, January 16, 181 5, and is now living in Wabaunsee county, Kansas, bright in mind and body for all her eighty-eight years. Her father was a school teacher and a Mis- sissippi flatboatman, born in May, 1794, and died April 28, 1829, and his wife was Lavina Beason, born in 1794 and died in 1875, and they reared four children. Melinda was the only daughter, and she was married to John G. Skeen, December 12, 1843, by whom she had seven children: Andrew J., born October 27, 1844, is ^ farmer and stock rancher in Wabaunsee county, Kansas, where his mother lives, and has eight sons and one daughter; Melvina E., born October 29, 1847, the wife of James Maddox, died in Nebraska, July 8, 1890, leaving two sons and one daughter; Alexander, born April 28, 1850, died when eight months old; Benjamin T- is the next in order of birth; Kenyon P., born June 6, 1853, died May 25, 1857; John W., born June 29, 1855, died May 7, 1857; Melinda J., born August 22, 1858, the only one born in Nebraska, is the wife of C. W. Roberts, in this county, and has two sons and two daughters. John G. Skeen's first wife was Betsey Herald, who died leaving one child, Mary K., born January 22, 1842. She married E. Harwood, by whom she had a son, John W. Harwood, and she then married James Thrush, by whom she had a daughter, who is now a Mrs. Beattie, in Logansport, Indiana; Mrs. Thrush died October 6, 1878. Grandmother Dinning left four Bibles, the oldest of which was printed in 1 61 7, and is now owned by her grandson, H. D. Dinning, in Ten- nessee, who prizes this heirloom both for its own value and for the cher- ished memory of its former owner. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. i37 John G. Skeen brought his family to Nemaha county on November I, 1855, coming in true emigrant fashion, with a two-horse covered wagon and a spring wagon which his wife drove. He had inherited some means, and pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 33, London precinct, his entry being the sixth on the book at the land office in Omaha. He was accompained by Bill Hayes and Bob Herron as far as Gmaha. Hayes is now living in Atchison county, Missouri, in his ninety-ninth year, and attended the last old settlers' picnic in 1903, being still bright for the patriarch of the assemblage. Benjamin T. Skeen was born in middle Tennessee, September 23, 185 1, so that he was a boy of four years when he came to this state. He was reared to farm life and labor from the age of nine, and the schooling which he received in the district was meager. He has worked hard for all he got, and his prosperity has been won by steady progression. He now owns two hundred and forty and one-half acres in his farm, and does not owe any man a cent. He feeds and markets one or two car- loads of cattle each year, besides a hundred and fifty Poland China hogs. He keeps ten or fifteen head of first-class horses and mules. He puts in about a hundred and twenty acres of corn and cuts from thirty to eighty tons of hay annually. His first purchase of land here was ninety- two acres for a thousand dollars, and he afterward bought ninety for two thousand, ten acres of which he sold at forty dollars an acre, and in 1 89 1 bought sixty-seven and a half for eighteen hundred dollars. One hundred acres of this lies on the first bottom along the Nemaha river, forty acres on the second bottom, and eighty acres on the highlands back of his house and barns. He is a diligent worker in every depart- ment of his industry, and his practical farming has brought to him its just reward. Mr. Skeen was married, January 15, 1873, to Miss Hester V. Blount, 138 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. who was born in Nicholas county, Kentucky, May 30, 1855, a daughter of WilHam H. and Sarah (Fuller) Blount, farmers of Kentucky. Wil- liam Blount, who had served in the Mexican war, came to Nebraska in 1868, and died here May 16, 1875, leaving his widow and four chil- dren, as follows : Hester V., now Mrs. Skeen ; William K. Breckin- ridge Blount, born in 1858, who is a farmer in this precinct and has four children ; Anna, wife of O. P. Dovel, in Auburn, and Nancy Marinda Tilton, wife of W. E. Robertson, at Cook, Nebraska. The mother of these children lives in Auburn. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Skeen : Lottie, the wife of E. S. Stiers, a farmer in Nemaha precinct, and has two sons and one daughter ; Lillie K. died at the age of twelve months ; Herman died when ten months old ; Ninon was educated in Peru and is at home with her parents; Carl is at home; and Helen, aged fifteen, is in the district school. Mr. Skeen is a Master Mason of Hope Lodge No. 29, and he and his wife and daughter afifiliate "with the Eastern Star lodge. He is a Populist in politics, having come over from the Democratic ranks, where all his ancestors were. He has served as school director for sev- eral years, and in both public and domestic relations has won the esteem of his many friends and associates. In the early days here his father's house was used as a place of worship, the elder Skeeft taking an active part in church work. GUILFORD LILLY. Among the retired farmers who are living quietly in the pleasant town of Auburn, Nebraska, is found the subject if this sketch, Guilford Lilly. Mr. Lilly is a New Yorker by nativity, but -for nearly half a cen- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. I39 tury has been a resident of Nebraska. He was born in Old Deerfield, Oneida county, New York, October 3, 1829, a son of New England parents. Shubael Lilly, his father, was born near Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1798, and died in Dodge county, Wisconsin, at the age of fifty-six years. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, the family record- being as follows : Harriet, who died in Beaverdam, Wisconsin, in 1901, at the age of seventy-nine years, was twice married, and had one child by her first husband, Mr. Clawson, and one by her second hus- band, Mr. Rising; the next three children, Sarah Ann, Fidelia and Ada- line, died of an epidemic, within three weeks of each other, when they were quite small ; Elizabeth, wife of Maxson Crandall, a farmer of Valley county, Nebraska, has a large family; Guilford was the sixth in order of birth; Parker died at the age of ten years; Julia, wife of S. C. Saunders, of Milton, Wisconsin, has a family of three children; and George H., a farmer and teacher of vocal music, died in Albion, Wis-; consin, in 1902, leaving one son and one daughter. The mother of tbi^ family died in Hartsville, Steuben county. New York. Guilford Lilly was reared to farm life in New York state, spending his first five years in his native county and the next fifteen years in Steuben county. In 1850 he landed in Dodge county, Wisconsin, where ' he farmed rented land until 1859. That year he came to Nemaha county, Nebraska. The trip from Madison, Wisconsin, to his place was made in a "prairie schooner" with two yoke of cattle, Mr. Lilly being one of a party of five, and they were from April ist to May 20th in making the journey. After his arrival here, Mr. Lilly traded his interests in the outfit for a yoke of oxen, and with the six hundred dollars he had saved and brought with him he bought ninety acres of wild prairie land, pay- ing one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre for eighty acres, and one hundred dollars for ten acres of timber land, this purchase being in Bed- 140 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ford precinct. This land he sold in 1865, at a profit, and bought another farm, which he operated for a number of years and which he still owns. During the Civil war period Mr. Lilly donned the blue and fought for the preservation of the Union. He enlisted in the fall of 1862, as a member of Company C, Second Nebraska Cavalry, and shared the fortunes of that command for nearly a year, their duty being in Nebraska, to watch the Indians on the west and the Bushwhackers on the east. Mr. Lilly was married, February 24, 1861, in Dodge county, Wis- consin, to Miss Elizabeth Johnson, a native of Vermont. Mrs. Lilly was born September 29, 1842, daughter of O. B. and Helen Ann (AVood) Johnson, and granddaughter of Captain Nathan Wood. O. B. Johnson and wife were the parents of five sons and two daughters, of whom three are living, viz.: Mrs. Lilly; Julia, wife of George C. Bryant, of River- side California, is the mother of four children; and Henry P. Johnson, of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Lilly have and only child, Encie, wife of E. P. Thomas ; and the grandchildren now number five — Ethel, Elfie, Edna. Erica, and Edith, — an interesting little group. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas also have a son and a daughter deceased. In 1893 Mr. Lilly retired from the active duties of farm life and moved to Auburn. His pleasant home in Maxwell street he has owned and occupied since 1897. For fifteen years Mr. Lilly was a school direc- tor. He is, politically, a Republican and, fraternally, a Mason. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 141 WILLIAM M. KAUFFMAN. Numbered among the leading business men of Brownville is William M. Kauffman, the well known merchant, and since 1868 he has made his home in this county.- He came here from Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania, the place of his nativity, his birth occurring there on the 2d of February, 1848, and the family is of Swiss origin. His father, John M. Kauffman, also claimed Lancaster county as the place of his nativity, where he was born in 18 18, and he was a son of John Kauffman, who was born in either Pamsylvania or Maryland, and his death occurred in the former state in 1866. The latter married a Miss Mets, also of Pennsylvania, and they reared five sons and three daughters. One son, Aaron, was numbered among the goldseekers to California in 1849, when twenty-three years of age, and fills and unknown grave. Another son, Cyrus Kauffman, came from Ohio to Brownville in 1867, and is now engaged in the nursery business. Christian Kauffman died in Pennsyl- vania in 1874, leaving a family, and Andrew, also deceased, made his home in Tippecanoe City, Ohio. John M. Kauffman, the father of our subject, was a merchant tailor in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the state militia. After attaining his majority he married Martha Miller, who was born in that county in 1818, and was a daughter of George Miller. Five sons blessed their marriage, namely : Frankhn, who died in early childhood ; Hiram, who died at the age of nine years ; William M. ; Jere- miah, a merchant of Baltimore ; and Winfield Scott, a merchant of Balti- more, Maryland. The mother still resides at the old homestead, and has reached the age of eight-five years. William M. Kauffman attended the public schools of his neighbor- hood until seventeen years of age, and for three years thereafter was employed as a clerk in a store at Manheim, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 142 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. vania. Coming thence to Brownville, Nemaha county, Nebraska, he entered the store of W. T. Den, where he remained as a salesman for three years, and from that time until 1887 was employed in the store of W. W. Hackney. In that year Mr. Kauffman purchased his em- ployer's interest, and has since been alone in business, enjoying- a large and lucrative patronage. In April, 1903, his store was destroyed by fire and he sustained a heavy loss, but he immediately rebuilt, and he now occupies a leading place in the ranks of the representative business men of the city. The marriage of Mr. Kauffman was celebrated in May, 188 1, when Miss Teresa McLaughlin became his wife. She is a native of Iowa and a daughter of Timothy and Mary (Wogan) McLaughlin, both born in the Emerald Isle. After coming to this country they went first to Con- necticut, thence to Iowa, and about 1856 located in Omaha, Nebraska. The father was a stonemason by trade, and he survived his wife four years, the latter passing away at the age of sixty years. Two sons have been born to brighten and bless the home of Mr, and Mrs. Kaufifman, — William, who is connected with his father's store, and John M., a clerk in the Union National Bank. Both are graduates of the Brownville high school and for two terms were also students in the Peru normal, while the elder, William, received a business course in Omaha. Mr. Kauffman is prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of the Mystic Shrine, and his political affiliations are with the Democracy. For thir- teen consecutive years he served as the treasurer of Brownville, and for thirteen years was treasurer of. the school board. Mrs. Kauffman is a member of the Catholic church. For ten years they have resided in their pleasant residence in Brownville, and there they delight to extend a graciotis hospitality to their many friends and acquaintances. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. i43 CHARLES AUGUST WEY. Charles August Wey, who was engaged in the butchering business in Peru for twenty years and is now retired, is an old settler of this town, where he first took up his residence on July 17, 1869. He is now in prosperous circumstances and happy and contented with what he has gained in the world, but about thirty-six years ago, when he came up the Missouri river from St. Joseph, he had only five cents with which to pay in part his passage across the river by ferry boat. Such con- trasts in material circumstances are not the result of good fortune or chance, and in this particular instance unflagging industry and a pertina- cious grip on the business in hand have steadily wrought increasing suc- cess for Mr. Wey. He is a man of true worth and integrity and relia- bility, and deserves and retains the esteem of all his friends and asso- ciates. Mr. Wey was born in Saxony, Germany, in 1837. His father, Frederick Martin Wey, was born in Saxony, March 9, 1804, and died in Germany in i860, leaving his second wife and seven children, five by his first wife and two by the second. His first wife was Kathrina Doll, who died at the age of thirty-six, leaving five of her nine children, namely : Elias Wey, is a farmer in Germany, aged seventy-six years ; Mary Elizabeth came to America in 1847, being six months on the pas- sage, and died soon afterward in Huntington, Indiana, at the age of eighteen years ; Frederick came at the same time with his sister ; Andrew, who came to America in the early fifties, is now the owner of a confec- tionery store in Peru, Indiana, of which town he was trustee for twenty- five years, and he has five children. Charles August Wey, who was the youngest of the children left by his mother, enjoyed a fine schooling in Germany, and was reared to his father's business of butchering and beer brewing. He served a 144 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. year and a half in the German army. He came to America in 1867 and landed at New York May 20th, having six hundred dollars in gold at the time of his arrival. He came to Peru, Indiana, and butchered there for two months, and then went to St. Louis, Missouri, where his half-brother George, who had graduated from a German school, was engaged in teaching the German language in one of the schools, and he is still living in St. Louis, being a bookkeeper, and has a family. Mr. Wey remained with his half-brother two days, and then embarked on a boat for St. Joseph, Missouri, where his brother Fred was in business. He ramained there from June, 1867, to March 9, 1868, and then came to Brownville, Nebraska. He had lost his six hundred dollars, and had just five cents to pay the ferryman at Brownville. He remained in the latter place about three weeks, being unsuccessful in his efforts to gain steady employment, and from there went to Nebraska City, where he found employment at his trade at a salary of thirty-five dollars a month and board. After leaving there he came to Peru and opened the first meat market in this town. He was in trade for twenty years, during which time several competitors started rival establishments but all failed. Mr. Wey now owns his nice home and two and a half town lots, besides a forty-acre timber and fruit farm in the precinct. He still does some butchering for the old settlers and their children. He has made all that he has by his unaided efforts, and well deserves his prosperity and easy retirement from the hard labor that characterized his early life. August 15, 1884, Mr. Wey was married to Miss Mary Margaret Wis- sig, who was born in Germany, March 16, 1862. She came to America in 1880, with a sister, locating in Ottawa, Illinois, where she worked as serv- ant for wages of a dollar and a half to two dollars a week for three years. In November, 1883, she and her sister came to Peru, and here she and Mr. Wey met and were married. She has been a most excellent ANDREW H. GILMORE SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. I45 wife and mother, and is an estimable woman in every sphere of her influence. Mr. and Mrs. Wey became the parents of nine children, but lost three in infancy, the others being as follows : Anna Catherine is a young lady of eighteen years, at home and through school ; Julius Andrew works on his father's farm; Charles August is also employed; Mary Eliza and Frieda Louise, aged respectively thirteen and twelve, are bright young girls in school ; and Frederick, a boy of ten, completes the family. Mr. and Mrs. Wey are Lutherans, and he has always voted the Republi- can ticket. ANDREW H. GILMORE. Andrew H. Gilmore, a merchant of Auburn, Nebraska, is one of the pioneers of this state. He passed through this section of the country first in 1850, while en route to California, and when he next came it was in February, 1869, as a permanent settler. Mr. Gilmore belongs to a large family whose original ancestors in this country were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who came here and made settlement on the banks of the James river in Virginia in colonial days. For the most part they have been farmers. Thomas Gilmore and William Gilmore, the father and grandfather of Andrew H., were born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, the former November 20, 1792, and the latter in 1760. William Gilmore served in the Revolutionary war. He married Martha Lackey, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1761, and both lived to ripe old age, his death occurring September 16, 1836, and hers February 15, 1843. They reared a large family, whose names are as follows: Agnes, born May 9, 1784, died August 24, 1812; Robert, born April 9, 1786. died February 25, 1839; Martha Davidson, born March 6, 1788, died in June, 1856; James, born January 25, 1790; 146 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Thomas; Eli, born February 5, 1795, died April 4, 1857; William, born April 2, 1797, died February i, 1837; Sabina, born June 13, 1799; Samuel, born September 13, 1801, died September 12, 1836; Nancy Paxton, who died February 28, 1852. Thomas Gilmore served in the war of 1812. He married May 29, 181 5, Miss Margaret I-eech, who was born in Rockbridge county, Vir- ginia, in 1795, daughter of John Leech, a Virginia farmer. Grandfather Gilmore moved to Preble county, Ohio, from Virginia in 1824, some of his sons accompanying him. He took along a few slaves that he emancipated after they reached Ohio. Previous to this, in 1817, Thomas Gilmore and his wife moved to Kentucky and settled on lands that grand- father Leech had traded his Virginia farm for. The Kentucky land, however, proved poor, and about 1824 Thomas Gilmore and his family left it and went up into Ohio, joining the other emigrants there. He emigrated to Putnam county, Lidiana, in 1836. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children,i of whom one died in infancy and another, Martha, at the age of eleven years, in Ohio. Nine sons and one daughter reached adult age, as follows : William D. Gilmore, born in Virginia, May 26, 1816, went south in early life, and died shortly after the close of the Civil war, leaving no children. Thomas L. Gilmore, born in Kentucky, February 16, 1818, died in Putnam county, Indiana, at the age of thirty-six years, leaving sons and daughters; James Mad- ison Gilmore, born in Kentucky, September 29, 1819, died in that state in 1852, having lost wife and children by death; John Gilmore, born in Kentucky, Jantiary 3, 1823, is now living retired at Greencastle, Indiana, which place has been his home for sixty-seven years, and where he once filled the office of county treasurer and served in other official capacities ; Mary, wife of Thomas Leech, was born in Ohio, August 8, 1825, was the mother of six children, five of whom are deceased; Samuel B. Gil- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 147 morCj born January 22, 1827, is now a retired resident of East St. Louis, Illinois, all of his family having died except one son and one daughter; Andrew H. Gilmore, was born in Preble county, Ohio, near Eaton, January 8, 1829; Nathan Gilmore, born December 26, 1830, went to California at an early day, where he became well known and was hon- ored with a seat in the state legislature. He died at Placerville, Cali- fornia, in 1898, leaving his estate to his two daughters; Robert Harvey Gilmore, born in 1833, died of consumption, in 1856, in Indiana, where he was attending college; Sylvester F. Gilmore, born August 17, 1837, has long been a resident of Efifingham, Illinois, where he has filled the office of judge. He has been twice married and has four children. Margaret (Leech) Gilmore, the mother of the above named family, died January 24, 1866, in Indiana, at the age of seventy-two years; and the father, Thomas Gilmore, survived her until January 9, 1880, when his death occurred at Effingham, Illinois. Having thus briefly referred to his ancestry, we turn now to the life of Andrew H. Gilmore, the immediate subject of this review. As already stated, he was born in Preble county, Ohio. He was educated in one of the primitive log schoolhouses of Putnam county, Indiana. At the age of twenty-one years he taught his first of two terms of school ; the other term he taught after his return from California. In 1850 Mr. Gilmore made the "trip of his life." In the spring of that year he was one of seven young men who set out for California, his brother Nathan being of the number. A detailed description of the experiences of these young men as they traveled across the country, with two ox teams drawn by seven yoke of cattle, over rivers, plains and mountains; of the other parties that joined them- in their travel; of their encounter with the Indians, and the many interesting incidents con- nected with the journey, would make a large volume. Suffxe it to say 148 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. that they arrived after Weary months of travel at Placerville, or "Hangtown," as it w^as then called, in California, on September loth. Mr. Gilmore was a gold miner for about three years in the vicinity of the Placerville diggings. Inj December, 1853, he went to San Francisco, took a steamer for home, which passed down the western coast and crossed to the eastern waters by the way of Lake Nicaragua, thence to New York and by cars to his place in Indiana. Some time after his return from the far west, Mr. Gilmore was located at Greencastle, from which place he came to Nebraska in 1869, settling first in Brownville, at that time the county seat of Nemaha county, and from there coming to Auburn, in 1882. He was the founder and proprietor of three additions to the town of Auburn, has built three stores and seven residences, including his own home in the Gilmore Addition. This latter he has recently sold and expects soon to erect a handsomer home. In 1903 he, with two others, built a large brick block, one hundred and ten feet by seventy-five feet, which is now occupied by a department store under the firm name of "Gilmore, Armstrong & Company. Under the firm name of A. H. Gilmore & Sons he was for a number of years engaged in merchandising. Politically, Mr. Gilmore has always given his support to the Repub- lican party and at its hands has been the recipient of official honors. He served eight years as county treasurer of Nemaha county and has been a member of the town council of Brownville and school board of Brownville and of Auburn. June 12, 1862, he married, in Atlanta, Illinois, Miss Josephine Allen. She is a daughter of David Allen, a soldier in the Mexican war, who died at Buena Vista, Mexico, in 1846, in the prime of life, leaving his widow and two daughters. Mrs. Allen was by maiden name Osea Ann Dunham. Some time after the death of Mr. Allen she became the SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. I49 wife of A. W. Morgan, a well known citizen of Indiana, by whom she had two daughter's. Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore have had eight children, three of whom died in infancy, those living being as follows : Albert D., steward af the Insane Hospital at Lincoln, Nebraska, has a wife and one son; Walter, married and in business with his father; Paul A., also in partnership with his father, is married and has two sons; Eugene A., professor of law in the State University of Wisconsin, has a wife and one son; and Grace Allen Gilmore, student at the State University of Wisconsin. Fraternally ]\Ir. Gilmore has long been identified with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, of which he and his family are worthy members and in which for half a century he has been an elder. CAPTAIN ABSALOM M. ENOCH. Absalom M. Enoch is one of the best known characters of Hum- boldt, Richardson county, where he has made his. residence since Thanks- giving day, 1869. He is one of the many old men in whom the health- ful, breezy prairies of Nebraska abounds, and whose energies and vital resources are almost unimpaired till the final summons comes. He is approaching the eightieth year of his life, and his active decades of life have been well spent and useful to himself and his fellow men. He is an especial favorite with everyone in Humbodlt, and there is not a man, woman or child in the town who does not know him and will not sin- cerely miss him when he is gone from their number. Mr. Enoch was born in Miami county, Ohio, September 18, 1825. His father, Jacob Enoch, was born in Pennsylvania, and pioneered it to ISO SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Ohio and settled in the dense timber. He followed the occupation of hunter and trapper, with incidental Indian fighting. He was in the Black Hawk war in Illinois, and after returning to Ohio said that God had cleared the timber from that country and he accordingly moved out to the prairie state. He came out in 1835, and settled eight miles east of Rockford and six miles north of Belvidere, where he pre-empted and paid one dollar and a quarter an acre for one hundred and sixty acres. He continued farming until 1850, when he crossed the plains with ox teams to California, being some six months on the way, and died in that state in the following year, being buried in Hangtown, now Placerville. He married Mary Maddox, a cousin of the late-well known Wilson Mad- dox, of Falls City. She was a native of Ohio, and they were married in 1824, their first child being Absalom; the second was Sarah, who died in youth in Ohio ; Mary Jane became the wife of Dennis Clark, of Overton, Nebraska, who came to this state in an early day, and they have three sons and one daughter living. Captain Enoch was reared in Ohio and Illinois, and for a time farmed the home place in Boone county of the latter state, and then sold it and bought another farm near Belvidere. He sold this in 1859 and went to Rochester, Minnesota, which was his home until he came to Nebraska. He has made a most creditable military record. He en- listed for the Civil war and was made captain in Company F, Ninth Minnesota Infantry, having raised that company, and he commanded it throughout the war. Part of his service was against the Sioux Indians, and he witnessed the hanging of thirty-nine of them convicted of mur- der. He was wounded during the Indian outbreak, and still carries a bullet in his right lung. He also saw hard fighting in the south, being present at the engagements at Guntown and Tupello, Mississippi, at the siege of Nashville, and in various minor skirmishes. He was in the SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. IS^ Sixteenth Army Corps, which remained behind when Sherman made his march toward the sea. Captain Enoch's subsequent career has been mainly concerned with farming and hotel-keeping, and for twenty years he was proprietor of the Enoch House in Humboldt, but is now retired from active pursuits and spending the evening of a long and useful life in comfort and ease. Captain Enoch was married in Boone county, Illinois, January i, 1850, to Miss Elizabeth Caulfield, a native of Ireland. She was born in 1826, and died in the home at Humbodlt, in 1888, being without issue. Captain Enoch's present wife, whom he married in Falls City, was Miss Anna Brickey, who was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, a daughter of Peter and Mary (Brock) Brickey. Her father was a farmer and died in York, Illinois, in 1878, leaving three children : Thomas, whose where- abouts are not known; Mrs. Enoch; and Cora Brickey, of Kansas City. The mother of these children died in 1880. Mrs. Enoch had only a limited education, and has had mainly to make her own way in life, which she has done most heroically and ably, and her youthful years and energy do not allow her to remain inactive now that she is inde- pendent. She is a most competent dressmaker, and is one of the leading ladies in that line of business in Humboldt. She is a member of the Catholic church, and is prominent in social circles. Captain Enoch is a Democrat in politics. He served as police judge of this place for many years, until he refused to serve longer. He has also been a justice of the peace, and for several terms was on the city council and chairman of the board. He was baptized in the Universalist church. He is still erect and sprightly in spite of his years and work in his own behalf and in the service of his country. 152 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. THOMAS J. STOCKMAN. Thomas J. Stockman, who, with his son Samuel, owns and conducts the Adams livery and sales stables and is land agent at Adams, Nebraska, has lived in this part of southeastern Nebraska for over fifteen years. He has displayed executive ability and good management in his business affairs, and as a man and citizen is held in high esteem by friends and associates. He became acquainted, mainly in his capacity as a soldier of- the government during the Civil war, with the territory of Nebraska as it was forty years ago, so that he may be considered among the ranks of the old settlers. Mr. Stockman was born near Goshen, Elkhart county, Indiana, April 28, 1838. His father, Samuel Stockman, was one of the first settlers of Elkhart county, having come from Bedford county, Pennsyl- vania, of a family of German stock. His wife was a Miss Johnson, a native of Ohio, and they were parents of four sons and four daughters. Two daughters and one son live in Wisconsin, and another son is in Adams, Nebraska, besides Thomas. Three sons were in the Civil war: T. J. ; George, who was first lieutenant in the Seventy-fourth Indiana, and died in i8gi ; and John, of the Forty-eighth Indiana Infantry. Thomas J. Stockman was reared and educated in Indiana, and in boyhood moved to a farm near Warsaw, Kosciusko county, Indiana. At the age of twenty-one he came west to the territory of Nebraska, and in 1863 enlisted at Omaha in Company A, First Battalion of Nebraska Cavalry, under Captain George Armstrong. He was stationed on the frontier guarding the government trains and settlers from hostile Indians, and the troops did excellent service in suppressing the depredations. He was at Fort Kearney and Plum Creek much of the time. While arrest- ing parties at Camp Douglas he was struck by a gun, breaking his collar bone and othervvise being injured so that he was crippled for two years. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 153 He was honorably discharged at Omaha, and then returned east. He was in Indiana until 1877, when he went to Wisconsin, and for the fol- lowing ten years was engaged in! farming in Dunn and Barron counties. He came to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1887, and later bought the livery business which he and his son are now carrying on so successfully. They have a good barn, good facilities, and their patronage is large. Mr. Stockman is also agent for Wisconsin lands in Dunn, Barron, Polk and Chippewa counties, and has some fine agricultural lands there, which are destined to reach a high value when developed and improved. He is an excellent authority on real estate in those counties because of his long residence there. Mr. Stockman is in every way a first-class business man, and his reliability and integrity have never been questioned. In 1859 Mr. Stockman was married at Warsaw, Indiana, to Mary Jane McKibben, who was reared and educated in Indiana and was a daughter of Samuel McKibben, of Warsaw. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stockman: Parthena Burton, of Cameron, Wisconsin; Tillie Cook, of Cumberland, Wisconsin; Alice Evans, of Adam.s, Ne- braska; Samuel, the partner of his father in the livery business; E. L., in the barber business at Adams; Frank; and Retta, who died in Wis- consin at the age of sixteen. Mrs. Stockman, who was a member of the Methodist church and a beautiful character and devoted wife and mother, died in July, 1896. DANIEL CONFER. Daniel Confer, a well known farmer and popular citizen of Adams township, Gage county, Nebraska, has resided here since 1884. He is a frank and genial gentleman, successful in business, honored and esteemed at home and abroad. He made a creditable record as a soldier in the 154 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Civil war, and since returning to peaceful pursuits has done equally well in civil life. Mr. Confer was born in Hocking county, Ohio, March 3, 1838, of a family noted for honesty, industry and sobriety. His great-grandfather was a solider in the Revolution. His grandfather, Andrew, was a iiative of Pennsylvania, and his father, John Confer, was born in Ohio, was a farmer and died in Wells county, Indiana. He was a Democrat of the Jackson type. He married Miss Eliza Poling. She was a member of the United Brethren church. They were parents of fourteen children, and four of the sons were soldiers in the Civil war : Daniel, William, of the One Hundred and First Indiana Infantry, killed at Chickamauga, Peter, in the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Indiana Infantry and now living in Wells county, Indiana, and Samuel. Mr. Confer was reared on a farm near Bluffton, Wells county, Indi- ana, was taught the value of independent labor and received his educa- tion in the public schools. In September, 1861, he enlisted at Bluffton in Company A, Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry, under Captain Swaim and Colonel Steele. He veteranized in February, 1863, and served till the end of the war. He was at the siege of Vicksburg for forty-seven days, until the stars and stripes floated over the fort on July 4, 1863; he was at Jackson, Mississippi, and under General Ord for some time. His regiment was then ordered to Texas, and was on duty there until the close of hostilities. After the war he located in Wells county, Indiana, and remained there 'until he came west in 1884. In 1864 Mr. Confer was married in Wells county, Indiana, to Miss Mary L. Robb, who has been a noble wife and mother for forty years. She was born in Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, a daughter of Peter and Nancy Robb. Her brother. Rev. C. O. Robb, was a soldier in the! war, and is now located at Pawnee city, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Con- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. I55 fer have six children: Charles, John, William, Howard, Orman, and Martha Morical, of Firth, Nebraska. . Mr. Confer is a stanch Republican. He is a member of the Sergeant Cox Post No. lOO; G. A. R., at Adams, being popular among his old army comrades as with all his fellow citizens and associates. He is a man of strong physique, endowed with physical and moral courage for all the trials of life, and has a career to be proud of, both in Nebraska and wherever has has had residence. He and his wife are both members of the United Brethren church. FRANK W. RIESENBERG. Frank W. Riesenberg, an enterprising and prosperous agriculturist of Nemaha county, Nebraska, where he owns four hundred and eighty acres of choice land in Glen Rock precinct, with Auburn as his posoffice and on rural delivery No. i, has been more or less identified with Ne- braska agricultural interests since 1879, when he came to this state and bought four hundred and eighty acres in the southwestern part, which twenty years later he sold without profit at ten dollars an acre. He was more fortunate when he decided upon Nemaha county as his location, and on August 27, 1896, he purchased two hundred and forty acres here, paying thirty dollars an acre. He later acquired eighty acres at forty dollars an acre, and his present estate is one of the best in the entire county. He has a two-story frame residence, which he erected in August, 1897, and he keeps two tenants on the place. Each year he grows about one hundred acres of corn and fattens a hundred head of hogs, besides raising other live-stock, and has one hundred acres in pasture and timber. Mr. Riesenberg has made his present prosperous condition largely 156 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. by his own efforts. He was blessed with a mechanical genius, and most of his life has been spent in mechanical pursuits. He has made many inventions, some of which have been profitable from a financial stand- point as well as useful to the world in general, and from these sources be has made the beginning of his prosperity and been enabled to gain the foothold in agricultural interests which he has in Nebraska. He has also been a man of mark in his relations with his fellow citizens and has always displayed sound common sense and a high degree of fairness in his dealings with his fellow men. Mr. Riesenberg was born in Peoria, Illinois, December 21, 1856. His father, Carl Riesenberg, was born in the Riesenberg Mountains, Germany. The family was noble in its connections. He was by profes- sion a musician and teacher, and later in life was a merchant. He and his family left Germany to locate in Brazil, but in the passage they were thrice wrecked, and after thirteen weeks arrived in New York. He came to Peoria, Illinois, and had a prosperous career during the remainder of his life, retrieving in large measure his early losses. He died in Peoria at the age of about fifty-six. His wife was Josephine Ellsner, who died in 1896, aged seventy-three years. They were the parents of eight children, all born in Germany but two, and only three of these are now living: Mrs. Mary Erion, a widow, of Peoria, with six children; Frank W., and William, a merchant. Frank W. Riesenberg was educated in the high school at Peoria, from which he graduated at the age of sixteen. Then he entered the machine shops at Peoria and served three years, and for many years worked in various states at good wages, often carrying on his trade while interested in farming. He has been successful in both departments of activity, and they together with his inventions have brought him a good income for a number of years. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. . i57 In 1885 Mr. Riesenberg was married at""Bainbridge, Nebraska, (now known as Huntley), to Miss Frances Virginia Peck, who was ■born in Xenia, Ohio, and died in 1897, in Auburn, at the age of thirty- three, leaving three children, namely : Walter, at home and in school : Ralph, in the district school; and Frances, aged seven years. April 14, 1898. Mr. Riesenberg married Miss Isabel Tapping Foster, who was born in Peoria, Illinois, January 8, 1872. Her parents, Benjamin F. and Christiana (Clark) Foster, were both born in Deal, county Kent, England, on April 14, 1829, and April 2, 1833, respectively, and were married April 30, 1856, and were the parents of the following children: Benjamin Franklin Foster, born in 1857, died in Peoria, in 1880, unmarried; Mary Amelia, the wife of John Bryner, of Peoria, is a lady of much ability and especially interested in the International Sunday-school work ; Zilla, the wife of Moses T. Stevens, of St. Louis, Missouri, has two chil- dren ; Edgar Charles Foster, is a manufacturer of straw board in Peoria ; x'Mfred Lincoln Foster, born January 2, 1866, died August 2, 1868; Amanda Agnes Foster is a bookkeeper and accountant in Peoria; Mrs Riesenberg is the seventh of the family. Mrs. Riesenberg was educated in the high schools of Peoria, and was a successful stenographer before her marriage. On child has been born to her and her husband, which happy event occurred May 23, 1903, and the name they have selected for this beautiful baby boy is Benjamin Foster Riesenberg. He is a great favorite in the family, and as a present for his first birthday received from his uncle E. C. Foster twenty-five shares in the straw board factory. Mr. and Mrs. Riesenberg are botli members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he lias always advo- cated and voted for Republican principles. 158 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. JEREMIAH MARLATT. Among the citizens of Brownville to whom is vouchsafed an honored retirement from labor, as the reward of a long, active and useful busi- ness career, is Jeremiah Marlatt, who for a number of years was promi- nently connected with the agricultural and mercantile interests of Ne- maha county. He was born in Mendon, Monroe county, New York, on the 1st of Jvme, 1833, in which state his father, Mark Marlatt, also had his nativity. The latter was born in Schenectady, in 1787, and was there married in 181 1 to Dorothy Frank, who was born there in 1789, and they became the parents of ten children, as follows : Michael, de- ceased, was a cooper and farmer in Lenawee county, Michigan, to which place he removed about 1867, and reared two sons; Effie, who was was born about 181 6, was the wife of John Speer, by whom she had three sons, and she died in 1904 in New York; Andrew, who died in Honeoye Falls, New York, was a prominent agriculturist, and was the father of one son and four daughters; Maria, who became the wife of a Mr. Morgan, and died at the age of forty-five years, in Mendon, New York, after becoming the mother of one son, and she was the first of the family to pass away; Daniel, who was engaged in coopering and farming in Lenawee county, to which state he removed in 1836, is also deceased; Alvah, who removed to Los Angeles, California, in 1853, died there in 1878; John, who was engaged in farming in New York, was killed by a train about 1896; Martin, also engaged in agriculttu^al pursuits in that state, vi^as called to his final rest about 1899 ; Jeremiah ; and Fred- erick, who is a farmer near Rockport, Missouri. The last named came to the west in 1859, ^"^^ ^^ the time of the Civil war enlisted from Iowa in the artillery service. After the close of the^war he taught school in Missouri, and was there married. He has served as assessor of his coun- ty, and was defeated for the office of county clerk by only three votes. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 159 Mrs. Dorothy Marlatt departed this Hfe in the fall of 1864; on the old home farm in Monroe county, and there the father passed away in 1872, when eighty-five years of age, leaving an estate valued at twenty thous- and dollars. The parents were members of the Baptist church. During one year Jeremiah Marlatt was a student in Genesee College at Lima, New York, and during the winter of 1854-5 he was employed as a teacher in Missouri. Forty-seven years ago, in 1856, he came to Nemaha county, Nebraska, where he pre-empted a farm but lost his claim. In 1862 he became the owner of eighty acres located two and half miles southwest of Brownville, the purchase price being nine hun- dred dollars, but the place has since increased in value until it is now worth five thousand dollars. For four years, from 1881 to 1885, Mr. Marlatt was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Aspinwall, during three years of which time business was carried on under the firm name of Marlatt & King and for one year he was alone, and on the expiration of that period he sold his interest on account of poor health. In Brownville, on the i ith of Janxiary, 1857, Mr. Marlatt was united in marriage to Mrs. Ellen Gulick, the widow of Lafayette Gulick, a native of Dayton, Ohio, and there their marriage was also celebrated, but three months afterward Mr. Gulick was called from this earth, his death resulting from an accident while serving in the position of a fireman. Mrs. Marlatt is the daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Crouch) Westfall, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. Their marriage occurred at Dayton, Ohio, where they were farming peo- ple, and they became the parents of eight children, two sons and six daughters, Mrs. Marlatt being the youngest in order of birth and the only one now living. The father died in Ohio in 1852, when sixty-four years of age. Two daughters have blessed the union of Mr. Marlatt and wife : Effie, the widow of William Drain, a resident of Chapman, Kan- i6o SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. sas, and the mother of three sons; and Sarah Ellen, the wife of Frank M. King, of Holton, Kansas, and they have one son and two daughters. Both daughters were educated in Brownville and Peru. Mr. and Mrs. Marlatt are justly proud of their two granddaughters, who are proficient in both vocal and instrumental music, and also of their grandson, Clyde F. King, who is now twenty-three years of age and a member of the legal profession. During the past twenty years Mr. and Mrs. Marlatt have spent much of their time in traveling, having visited the Dakotas, the Hot Springs, Deadwood, Lead City, Idaho Springs, Clear Creek, Manitou Springs, and many other places of interest. In this county, where they have so long resided, they are held in the highest regard by their innum- erable friends. DANIEL D. DAVIS. Daniel D. Davis, one of the leading agriculturists and stockraisers of Nemaha county, Nebraska, was born in Carmarthenshire, Wales, on the 2 1 St of July, 1833, and in that country his grandfather, Daniel Davis, was a man of wealth and a large land-owner. He became the father of nine children, five daughters and four sons, all of whom mar- ried, and one daughter, Hannah, married Thomas McLea, a Frenchman, and .she is still living in Paris, France, aged ninety-three years. She is also very wealthy. David Davis, the father of Daniel D., was born in a shire adioining that of Carmarthen, the birthplace of his son, and for twenty-one years served as the county clerk. He was a teacher and business man and wedded Maria Daniels, by whom he had two children, the daughter being Dina, who became the wife of David Jones, to whom she was married in Australia. He was a master mechanic, engaged in erecting heavy mining machinery, and they became the parents of eight SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKJA. i6i children, "all of whom grew to years of maturity, and are now living in Pennsylvania. Both our subject and his sister received excellent educa- tional nd vantages in their youth, as their father was a college-bred man and one of the best scholars in his county. His death occurred in Janu- ary, 1880, at the old home in Wales, when he had reached the age of eighty-two years, and he left to his wife and children a good estate. His widow survived until 1896, when she too passed away at the old family home and also at the age of eighty-two years. On the 30th of June, 1854, Daniel D. Davis married Rachel Davis, who, although of the same name, was not a relative, and she was born in England, June 4, 1828, the daughter of David and Mary Davis, who were farming people and were the parents of eight children. In 1856, two years after his marriage, Mr. Davis, accompanied by his wife,^ her mother, three brothers and four sisters, embarked on the vessel John Bright for America, sailing from Liverpool on the 27th of May, and on the 3d of July following landed at New York. Making his way to Wis- consin, Mr. Davis purchased eighty acres of land in Iowa county, for which he paid five dollars an acre, and for eight years made his home in Dodgeville, engaged in speculating and buying stock. Selling his pos- sessions there at the expiration of that time he came to Nemaha county, Nebraska, making the trip with four yoke of oxen and one large covered wagon, eighteen days being consumed on the journey, including three days spent in Omaha, and they arrived at their destination on the 30th of June, 1863. Mr. Davis had previously visited Nemaha county in search of a location, and after his second arrival here secured one hundred acres of land at Barada, Richardson county, the purchase price being about three hundred dollars, but two years later he sold that land at a good profit and came to the vicinity of Aspinwall, his first purchase here being a tract of eighty acres, for which he paid five hundred dollars. 1 62 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Before two years had passed by, however, he had added one hundred and sixty acres to his original purchase, the latter being in its primitive state and costing sixteen hundred dollars. Tn 1892 he became the owner of one hundred and fifty-six acres, the purchase price being thirty-five hun- dred dollars, and hfe also has eighty acres lying a short distance west of this tract and twenty acres in the vicinity of Glen Rock, while in addition he has a timber tract of thirty-five acres. Throughout the period of his residence here Mr. Davis has been engaged in both agriculture and stock- raising, about two hundred acres of his place being devoted to corn, and he annually raises about one hundred tons of hay. He has a fine grade of shorthorn cattle, with registered males, feeding from fifty to eighty head annually, his markets being at Chicago and Kansas City, and he also raises from one hundred to one hundred and fifty hogs a year, principally of the Poland China breed. Many buildings adorn this valuable estate, and he erected both his barn and house, the former being forty by forty feet and forty feet high, while the latter, which took the place of a box house, is a substantial frame dwelling erected thirty-two years ago. This farm also contains two large orchards, of five acres each, which yield an abundance of fruit in season. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Davis was blessed with nine children, as follows : David, who resides with his father on the home farm ; Thomas, also at home; Mary Davis, who is acting as her father's house- keeper: Benjamin, who died at the age of thirty-six years; George, who was called to the home beyond at the early age of twenty-six years ; John, who was born in Wisconsin and died there when one and a half years old; Albert, who died in this county at the same age; Maria, •deceased in infancy; and Jonathan, who was born in Wisconsin in 1863, and his death occurred in this county at the age of thirty-four years, leaving one son. Mrs. Davis passed away in death on the 30th of J03IAH GILLILAND SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 163 July, 1890, aged seventy-hvo and a half years and twenty-six days. She was a faithful Christian woman,, a devoted wife and loving mother, and her loss was deeply felt by all who had the pleasure of her acquain- tance. In his political affiliations Mr. Davis is a Republican, and foi about twenty years he has served as a justice of the peace, while for two years he held the position of assessor. Although having reached the age of three score years and ten, he is yet vigorous and active, and is now spending the evening of a useful life at his pleasant farm home. JOSIAH GILLILAND. Josiah Gilliland, a retired farmer of South Auburn, has become well known through his connection with the agricultural interests of Nemaha county. He had led a thrifty and industrious life, has made by his own efforts all that he has in the way of worldly possessions, and wherever he has been called to touch the public life of the community he has performed^ public-spirited part both as a man and as a citizen. Mr. Gilliland was born in Belmont county, Ohio, September 17, 1834. His grandfather was a Virginia farmer, and reared two sons and two daughters. One of the sons was Jesse Gilliland, who was born in old Virginia in 18 12, and died in Morgan county, Ohio, when about seventy-five years old. He was a farmer in fair circumstances, and gave his children such advantages as were afforded in the community. His wife, who survived him several years, was Margaret Douglas, a relative of Stephen A. Douglas, and of Scotch ancestry. Her father was one hundred and eight years old when he died in Belmontj or Guern- sey county, Ohio. The following children of Jesse Gilliland and his wife are now living : James, a blacksmith and farmer in Morgan county, 1 64 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Ohio; Jesse Morgan, a farmer and carpenter in Ohio, with six children; Ellen, who has three children; Josiah; and John, a farmer in Schuyler county, Missouri, and now living with his third wife. The following children are deceased : Elizabeth Batie, who died in Belmont county, Ohio, leaving a family; Ruth Foreman, who died in Guernsey county, Ohio, leaving children; and Sarah Ann Hill, who died in Morgan county, Ohio. Josiah Gilliland moved with his father to Morgan county, Ohio, when he was seventeen years old, and lived there at home until he was twenty-two. He was then in lowu for a short time, and from there went to Ogle county, Illinois, where he was married. He lived in Mis- souri until 1876, at which date he came to Nebraska, where he has been industriously and profitably engaged in farming until recently. He bought his good home in South Auburn in June, 1903, and is most comfortably situated to spend the remainder of his years. While now in his seventieth year, his capacity for work is hardly diminished, and he contemplates engaging in some business. During the Civil war he was a member of the home militia and also ailisted from Atchison county in Company I, Forty-third Missouri, serving for one year. While he was away his wife received an inheritance of four hundred dollars, and this is the only money which he cannot say he has made by his own efforts and honest industry. Mr. Gilliland was married in Ogle county, Illinois, to Miss Dalitha Maxwell, who died in Andrew county, Missouri, in 1866, aged twenty- four years, leaving three children: William A. is a farmer and land agent in Jackson coimty, Kansas, and has two sons and two daughters; Margaret Ellen is the wife of H. G. Rhodes, in Nemaha county, and has four children; and Alida is the wife of Andy Spear, of Jackson county, Kansas, and has four children. Mr. Gilliland was married on SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 165 March 4, 1867, to Miss Carrie Coleman, of Morgan county, Ohio, and a daughter of Elisha and Lola (Scott) Coleman, the latter of whom died in Andrew county in 1901, leaving four children, but the latter is still living on the Missouri homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Gilliland have had ten children: Elisha is a farmer in Richardson county, Nebraska, and has one son and one daughter ; Lola Virdie is thq wife of S. Keister, and has two children living; Harry is a farmer in Nemaha county, and has a wife; Samuel, married, is on the home farm of two hundred and forty acres; one son died in infancy; Ernest, single, is also on the home farm ; Mary and Clara both died of diphtheria, aged respectively thirteen and ten; Louisa is aged fourteen; and Edith is a bright Miss of ten. Mr. Gilliland is now a Populist, having been formerly a Republican. The only office he has consented to hold has been that of school director. He is taking the initiatory degrees of the Masonic lodge at Rochester, Missouri. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, of which he is an elder, and he took an active part in the building of a church on his farm, contributing liberally of time and money. HENRY A. SCOTT. Henry A. Scott, the well known retired merchant a^nd business man of Humboldt, Nebraska, has taken a prominent and influential part in business and public affairs in Richardson county for the past thirty- seven years, and has been a resident of the town of Humboldt for thirty years. His career has been one of wide scope and varied in its useful activities, and he and his estimable wife have probably enjoyed as deep draughts of wholesome and happy living as any other two people in 1 66 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. the county. While pursuing ways of pease and pleasantness themselves, they have by no means been selfish in their aims or neglected the welfare of others, and their public-spirited and kind-hearted interest and efforts have manifested 'themselves in many ways for the beterment of the insti- tutions and material progress of their community and city and county. Mr. Scott is of Puritan lineage on both sides of the house, and comes of a family known and honored in America for many generations. He was born in old Hatfield, Hampshire county, Massachusetts, January I, 1844. His grandfather was Tliaddeus Scott, a farmer of old Hat- field. _He married a Miss Doty, a descendant of Plymouth settlers, and they reared four sons and three daughters. The daughters married and liad small families, and the sons are as follows : Gad Scoti, a farmer, went to Dubuque county, Iowa, in 1856, and died at advanced age, having been married twice but with no children; James died on the home place at old Hatfield when an old man, leaving no children; Alpheus and Lebeus were twins, the former being the father of Mr. Henry Scott. Lebeus was a prominent character in Massachusetts. He was a teacher and school superintendent, was an express messenger many years, was warden of the prison in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and was popular with all parties and classes. He was an orthodox Congregationalist, which has been the religion of all the family. He married but had no children. Alpheus Scott was born in the old home in October, 1824, and died in Richardson county, Nebraska, in 1876. In young manhood he mar- ried Julia Russell, who was born in the same part of Massachusetts in 1828, a daughter of Charles Russell, a farmer. Their first child was Henry A. The second was Charles, who was born in Lorain county, Oihio, and was accidentally killed in a saw-mill in Oregon, leaving a wife, one son and two daughters. The third child is Mary, wife of David SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 167 Weaver, of Boswell, Indiana, and has two sons; Annie, wife of Barton Hued, of Waterloo, Iowa, has a large family; Thaddeus, unmarried, is in Dubuque county, Iowa; Edward died at Epworth, Iowa, in middle life, leaving a wife and four children; Alpheus, unmarried, is in the state of Washington; Lizzie Martin died in Humboldt, Nebraska, in young womanhood, leaving one son ; James is married and lives in Wat- erloo, Iowa; Hattie Bremer lives in Seattle, Washington; Jessie Haskins is in Tekoa, Washington, and has three children. The mother of these children died at Hebron, Nebraska, at the age of fifty-two. Alpheus Scott was not a money-getter, but always lived well, and he and his wife were genial, wholesouled people, with hosts of friends, and were strong Congregationalists. He was a graduate of Berea Col- lege, studied law under Judge Striker at Sandusky, and was admitted to the bar in Iowa. He taught school while preparing for his profession. He left Erie county, Ohio, in 1852, and moved to Clayton county, Iowa, settling on a claim of forty acres, paying the regular price of a dollar and a quarter per acre. This was bare prairie, with the nearest neighbor two miles and a half away, and he began by building a round-log house of two rooms, in which he and his wife lived three years. He then became one of the two founders of the town of Strawberry Point in the same county. He was engaged in law practice there for several years, and was one of the brainy and clear-headed members of the first constitu- tional convention of the state. The law firm was Murdock and Scott for two years. He also served as prosecuting attorney and county judge. He was a ready and rapid speaker, with quick wit and ability at repartee and debate, and could make a speech on any and every occasion. He was popular as an auctioneer, and in pleading before a jury he was tireless and earnest and convincing. He was a successful man, and was helped i68 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. much by his industrious and sympathetic wife, who was at all times devoted to the interests of her family. Henry A, Scott had a limited education in the public schools, and rather took to work and sport in his youth. In April, 1861, he volun- teered in the cause of his country, enlisting in Company C, Third Iowa Infantry. He was at the battle of Shiloh and throughout the western campaigns, and after three years veteranized in the same company and regiment. In Sherman's campaign about Meridian he was taken pris- oner, and endured incarceration in southern prisons at Cahaba, Alabama, Andersonville, Georgia, and Florence, South Carolina, from February 27, 1864, until he signed his parole March 4, 1865. He participated in the grand review on Pennsylvania avenue in Washington in 1865, and again in 1903 as a member of the Nebraska delegation of Grand Army veterans. After the war, in May, 1867, Mr. Scott came to Nebraska and homesteaded a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Franklin township, Richardson county, and farmed the land for several years and still keeps it under tenancy. He moved into Humboldt in 1874, and this has been his home and center of activity ever since. For about twelve years he was a salesman in the hardware and implement house of F. W. Samuelson, and he then opened up a business in the same line under the firm name of Scott and Skalak, which partnership continued most suc- cessfully for fifteen years, after which Mr. Scott withdrew from active participation in business affairs and has since been taking things rather easily. For the last few years he has been traveling considerably, and he and his wife have enjoyed many of the fruits of their years of thrift and good management. He was not enjoying good health when he left business, but his subsequent free activity has almost completely rejuven- ated him. He and his wife have been to the Pacific coast twice, having traveled the entire length of the coast down to old Mexico, and they. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 169 also spent one winter in Florida. They reside in one of the pleasant homes of Humboldt, having erected it some five years ago, and he also owns a fine brick business block besides other residence property. September 22, 1868, Mr. Scott was married in his present precinct to Miss Margaret Smith, who was born in Licking county, Ohio, in October, 1849, ^ daughter of Henry and Sophronia (Payne) Smith. Her father was a blacksmith in Ohio, where he died in old age, and his widow died at Blue Springs, Nebraska, in December, 1903, in the eighty-first year of her age. Mrs. Scott is one of seven living children, two brothers and four sisters. Mr. and Mrs. Scott's only son and child is Aretas, one of the leading dentists of St. Joseph, Missouri. He mar- ried Mary Lionberger. He was a graduate of the Humboldt high school at the age of seventeen, then took a course at the State University at Lincoln, and graduated from the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois. The head of the latter school, D. M. Musselman, gave him a certificate graded at 97, one of the very highest marks, for he never gave higher than 98. Dr. Scott is a young man of much talent in various lines. He graduated v\-ith high standing from the Kansas City Dental College, and has since built up a fine practice in St. Joseph. He was secretary of the Dental Association in St. Joseph. He is a Master Mason, a Modern Woodman, and is a stanch Republican. Mr. Scott has been a Republican for many years. He takes an active part in the proceedings of the Grand Army of the Republic, and affiliates with Humboldt Lodge No. 40, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has served as constable and is widely and favorably known is the county and state. He has taken an interested part in the campaigns for the past few years. Mrs. Scott is a member of the Presbyterian church. 170 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. CLARENCE E. ORD. Clarence E. Ord, one of the respected farmers of Douglas precinct, Nemaha county, Nebraska, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, born May 19, 1858. The Ords are of English origin. Joseph E. Ord, the father of Clarence E., was born in Durhamshire, England, July 15, 1830, and his father, Robert Ord, was born in Yorkshire, in 1795, son of George Ord, a freeholder, farmer and preacher and the author of a poem entitled "Spiritual Portrait." Robert Ord married Jane Elizabeth Laidler. With their three children, they emigrated to this country in 1832, embarking at Liverpool and landing in New York city. May 8, after an ocean voyage of eight weeks. Of their children, we record that Christopher entered the army during the Civil war, with the rank of corporal, and was killed in the battle of Resaca, in the prime of life. He left a widow, two sons and a daughter. The second child of Robert Ord was a daughter who became the wife of Perriander Fish. Both died some years ago in Brooklyn, Ohio, leaving three daughters and a son. Joseph E. Ord, the youngest of the family, was six years old at the time of their emigration to America. His education was obtained in the common .schools of New York, Ohio and Wisconsin, and he married, April 8, 1857, in Berea, Ohio, Miss Marie Reeder, a native of Chautauqua county, New York, born December 8, 1825, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Reeder, a Methodist minister, who was born in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1789, married March 9, 1821, and died August 10, 1838. Her mother was before marriage Miss Orra Colt. Li the Reeder family were eleven children, nine of whom reached adult age. Mr. and Mrs. Reeder died in Berea, Ohio, he at the age of forty-eight years, and she at fifty-two. Joseph E. and Maria Ord were married April 8, 1857, and had five children, Clarence E. being the oldest. The others in order of SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 171 birth are: Joseph Franklin, at this writing in Alaska; Emma, who died June 9, 1894, at the age of thirty-two years, was a graduate of the Evan- ston (IlHnois) University, and for some time a teacher of elocution in the Weslyn University of Lincoln, Nebraska; Annie, wife of Charles Partridge, of Toronto, Canada, has two daughters; Esther Myrtle, wife of Professor Duncanson, a teacher in the State Normal School at Peru, Nebraska. Joseph E. Ord has prospered in his efforts to accumulate a competency and at the same time educate and provide for his family. Though he has met with losses, he now has a fine landed estate, including over five hundred acres of land in Nebraska and other lands in Kansas. And his children are all well to do. His aged father died at his home in Nebraska January 28, 1875. Clarence E. Ord was reared a farmer boy and received a common and normal school education, graduating at the Nebraska State Normal School in 1882, after which he engaged in teaching and taught five terms of school in Nemaha county. One of the first schools in Auburn was taught by him. March 31, 1891, Clarence E. Ord married Miss Clara Richards, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of J. S. and Louisa (Daigh) Rich- ards. Mr. and Mrs. Richards were natives respectively of Virginia and Illinois, were married in Springfield, Illinois, and subsequently settled in Wisconsin. Mrs. Ord was educated in Springfield, and in Peru, ivebraska, and previous to her marriage was a teacher in Nemaha county. Their happy union has been blessed in the birth of two children, namely : Gladys Ord Ord, born February 26, 1892, and Esther Lucile, July 11, 1894. On their wedding day Mr. and Mrs. Ord settled in their present home, he having bought one hundred and sixty acres of land and erected a residence, to which he took his bride as soon as they were married, he 172 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. being then thirty-three and she twenty-seven years of age; and here they have since lived and prospered. Mr. Ord has a nice orchard and pleasant . surroundings at his country home. He does general farming, raising a variety of crops, and has some high-grade stock. Poli-tically Mr. Ord is a Republican. He has been a member of the boa'"iL of county commissioners since January, 1901. He and his wife and children are members of the Methodist church. EDWARD J. TUCKER. Edward J. Tucker, the prominent business man of Howe, Nemaha county, Nebraska, has lived in southeastern Nebraska for over forty years, practically all his life, and, as an inhabitant of the state for the greater part of its sovereign existence as well, has performed a credit- able part in its business life and prosperity. He began life with only good schooling advantages as capital, but has made such excellent use of his opportunities that he has found no reason to chide fate or cast any imputations upon fickle fortune for his position in the world. He is a shrewd, practical business man, devoted to home and family and the things of the higher life, interested in the civic and material progress of his county and town, and while working for his individual welfare at the same time not infringing on the rights of others and willing to put his hand to any public-spirited enterprise. Mr. Tucker's grandfather, James H. Tucker, was born in Kentucky in 1812, and died in 1863, while his wife survived until 1883, and they reared all their four sons and three daughters. Christopher Tucker, the father of Edward J. Tucker, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, February 9, 1835, was taken to southern Illinois about 1845, thence SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. i73 to northern Iowa in 1849, and from there came to Nemaha county, Ne- braska, in i860. He was married in Mason City, Iowa, in 1856, to Miss Martha Parker, who was born in Virginia, November 27, 1836, a daugh- ter of ElHs Parker, who was a farmer and in the public Hfe of Hardin county, Iowa, for about forty years, being county judge for a number of years. His two sons and two daughters were : Frank Parker, a farmer in the state of Washington ; Martha, wife of Christopher Tucker ; Hiram Parker, a mason of Boonesboro, Iowa; and Mary, wife of Benjamin Robb, of Eldora, Iowa. Christopher and Martha Tucker were farmers in Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, for a few years, and then drove to Ne- braska, crossing the Missouri on a flatboat, and began their career on a wild prairie farm on a treeless stretch, which no effort of the imagination could picture as otherwise than gloomy. They prospered in the state, however, and were highly esteemed citizens of their community. He died in Page county, Iowa, in 1901, but his widow is still living. They had four children : Lucretia, the wife of W. E. Irwin, died November 4, 1902, in Shenandoah, Iowa, leaving her husband and one son; Edward J. Tucker; Ellis Tucker is cashier of the Bank of Shenandoah, and is a widower with no children; May is the wife of H. I. Foskett, a banker of Shanandoah, and has three children. Edward J. Tucker was born in Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, January 10, 1859, and arrived in Nemaha county, November i, i860, with his parents. He was reared to farm life, and remained at home until he was twenty-two, attending the district schools and the State Normal for two years. He then as a member of the firm of Chatfield and Tucker, engaged in merchandising, general goods, in Howe for eighteen months, and since then, for twenty years, has been manager of the Howe Lumber Company, whose members are himself and H. R. Howe. For the same period of time he has been engaged in grain-buying, shipping from three 174 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. hundred to six hundred cars each year from Howe, which has made this the banner grain-shipping station on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1883 Mr. Tucker also began conducting the farm implement business of Robert Teare, but since the first year has carried it on for himself, and now has the largest stock of such goods in the county. He has been successful in all these enterprises, and his extensive connections place him in the front rank of the business men of the covmty. He ow'ns one half of a brick business block, and also his own cosy home in the village. December 29, 1885, Mr. Tucker was married to Miss Kate Scott, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of Tom and Mary (Hughes) Scott. Tom Scott was a native of Kentucky, and was a printer by trade, for the last twenty years of his life being engaged in the government printing office at Washington. He died in the prime of his life in 1875, in Indiana, and his wife, who was a native of Indiana, died in the follow- ing year. They lost two sons in childhood, and their daughter Anna died in young womanhood. Mrs. Tucker was educated in science and music in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker's only child, Clarence Christopher, was born May 7, 1892, and is an apt student, learning to spell and read by spelling out the names of the five daily and weekly papers which his father takes. Mr. Tucker takes much pleasure in his well selected library, which comprises the best works in history, biography and poetry. Mr. Tucker is a Republican in politics, but has no time to devote to party afifairs other than keeping well informed on the issues of national and local importance. He affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in M'liich he has passed all the chairs, and with the Knight; of Pythias. His father, who served for eighteen months in the Civil war, where he contracted the chronic disease which ended in his death, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. i75 was a Rupublican in politics and a prominent member of" the Grand Army of the Republic, and also a Master Mason. FRED PARKER. Fred Parker is one of the most prominent farmers and stockmen of Washington precinct, Nemaha county, his farm being located on sections 4, 5 and 13, and with his postoffice at Johnson. He arrived in Brownville, Nebraska, in May, 1866, and for nearly forty years has given visible evidence of what enterprise, capable management and thrifty industry can do in making agriculture and stock-raising a paying venture in the great commonwealth of Nebraska That he has suc- ceeded anyone can witness who will visit his fine farmstead, with all its improvements both useful and ornamental, which he himself has placed there. The Parker farm was built up from a nucleus of a quarter section of raw prairie, which Mr. Parker purchased for eighteen hundred dollars cash. He now has two- large barns, forty by fifty-eight feet and fifty- six by thirty-two feet in dimensions, one of which has a stone basement ; there is a corn crib thirty by forty feet, with a stone foundation; a wagon house twenty by sixteen; a shop fourteen by sixteen; and a shed twelve by eighty. There are three residences on the farm. The first one, twenty- four by twenty- four feet, was built in 1870, and continued to be the family home until the present large and modern dwelling was erected, being two stories, thirty-two by thirty feet, and with an addition twenty-four by fourteen feet with commodious basement. This is one of the most substantial residences of the county. The first home is now 176 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. occupied by a friend, and there is also another house occupied by Mr. Parker's son. Mr. Parker also planted all the six acres of groves, and has three orchards of about twelve acres, one being a young fruit orchard. The ample stretch of lavi^n about the house is ornamented with shade trees, evergreens, Scotch firs and larches, in all about fourteen varities of trees and shrubs. A tall windmill is a feature of the place, and supplies water for all the uses of the place. There is a quarry of fine building stone on the place, and it has furnished the foundation and material for many houses in the neighborhood. Mr. Parker makes a specialty of thoroughbred, pedigreed shorthorn stock, and most of the cattle are reg- istered. He has paid from one hundred and forty to two hundred dol- lars for many of his animals, and has sold some of the best in the county. He kept about one hundred head before the drop in prices, and now has about forty, which have the best of shelter and care in the winter and stand up to their knees in pasture during the summer. He also markets about a hundred hogs each year. Mr. Parker came to Nebraska from Somersetshire, England, where he was born August 19, 1841. His father, Samuel Parker, was also born there, in 18 19, was a bricklayer, and died here at the age of fifty- two years, leaving a widow and three children and little property, but a much better inheritance in the shape of a good name and a happy memory. His wife was Maria Payne, who died in Brownville, Nebraska, when about fifty-three years old. They lost three children in youth, Anna Maria having died when eighteen years old, and the three now living are: Fred; Walter Samuel, near Auburn; and Elizabeth Dominey, in Nemaha county. Fred Parker had only meager school advantages, and at the age of fourteen years began learning the tinner's and plumber's trades, at which he served for seven years at small pay. After coming to Brown- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. iJJ ville, Nebraska, he was for twelve or fourteen years the leading salesman and manager of the large hardware, grocery and implement house of Stephenson and Cross, after which he began the farming operations which he has since carried on so successfully. He was married in Brownville, August i, 1870, to Miss Elizabeth Gange, who was also born in Somersetshire, England, on April 10, 1845, a daughter of William and Martha (Stagg) Gange, the former of whom was a carpenter. Her parents reared four children, as follows : Mrs. Mary Denmon, a widow, of Dorsetshire, England; Mrs. Parker; Mrs. Amelia Forsey, who died leaving three children ; and Albert, unmarried, who has been a blacksmith in the English navy. William Gauge's first wife was a Miss Guppy, and he had sixteen children. He was a strong and vigorous man, and died in 1871, when nearly ninety-four years old. Mrs. Parker's mother died in England in 1862. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Parker : A daughter that died in infancy ; Albert Gange, born in Brownville, May 4, 1874, is a tenant farmer near his father and has a wife and one son, Fred; George Denmon lives on his father's farm, and has a wife and a son and a daughter; Carletta Eliza, aged seventeen, is' at home and in school pursuing piano music. Mr. Parker is independent in political and religious beliefs. He has served as justice of the peace four years, and was on the town council of Brown- ville for five years, and has been on the school board for twenty-five years. Mrs. Parker is an Episcopalian. Mr. Parker is a Mason of thirty-seven years' standing, and has taken the Royal Arch degrees. He and his wife are royal entertainers in their beautiful home, and are charming people in every relation in which they meet their friends and associates. 178 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. BERNARD OTTENS. Bernard Ottens, or Barney Ottens, as he is familiarly known over a great part of southeastern Nebraska and elsewhere, is now a retired resident of South Auburn, Nemaha county, but for forty years or more was one of the most active farmers and public-spirited citizens of the county. He came to Nebraska in pioneer days, lived in pioneer fashion for some years, and from the primitive conditions which he found evolved a home and farmstead. He began without a cent of capital, and by industry, frugality and honorable perseverance has reached a place of prosperity and esteem among his neighbors and fellow citizens. Mr. Ottens was born in Germany, October 24, 1830, and after spending the first twenty years of his life therq he emigrated to America, in 1851. He was two months on the way from Bremen to New York, thence he came to Chicago, from there to South Port, now Racine, Wisconsin, and from that point walked one hundred and fifty miles to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where he had acquaintances. He was out of money, and found farm work at ten dollars a month. He remained' there from December, 185 1, to 1857, and in this time was married and began to get ahead a little in the world. He then came to Nebraska and pre- empted a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Washington precinct, Nemaha county, which had plenty of timber on it, but was absolutely untouched from an agricultural standpoint. He first put up a log house of plain poles, two rooms, but some time later erected a stone house, thirty-two by twenty-eight, one story and a half, getting the stone from his own quarry. He has been a diligent worker and an able business man, and has accumulated considerable property since he first came within the borders of this state. In 1898 he bought four lots in South Auburn on Maxwell street, where he has built his home, and he has two BERNARD OTTENS SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 179 tenant houses close to the South Auburn mill. He has his own hay scales and barn, and is also owner of another farm in Douglas precinct. In the summer of 1862 he teamed to Julesburg, Colorado, taking his own farm products for disposal to the ranchmen. He drove oxen to his wagon. He sold butter at fifty cents a pound, eggs at fifty cents a dozen, potatoes from; seventy-five cents to a dollar a bushel and bacon forty to fifty cents a pound. He also killed buffalo and sold the meat. He has killed all kinds of big game on the plains, and he relates that during the sixties tlie buffalo were so numerous that he has driven his wagon across sloughs over their carcasses. He also bears witness to the wanton and needless slaughter of these animals by the so-called sporting fraternity, and that it is small wonder that the noble animal is now nearly extinct. Mr. Ottens was married in 1854, at Willow Spring, Wisconsin, to Miss Mary McCkrvel, who was born in Monahan county, Ireland, in 1835, a daughter of Pat and Alice (McCabe) McCarvel. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ottens : Patrick, born in Wis- consin, died at the age of two years; Harmon died aged eight; Lizzie died at the age of two years ; Frank died when six years old ; Harmon, the second of the name, died at the age of eight; Elizabeth, is the wife of John Jurgensmeier, and has seven children living; Frank, the second of the name, died at the age of six ; Alice died in Kansas, the wife of Henry Grewing, leaving five children; Catherine is the wife of John Bradley, of Oklahoma, and has six children; Miss Jane is at home ; Harmon died at the age of three ; and Tillie is the wife of David Okane, a farmer at Pender, Nebraska, and has two children. Mr. and Mrs. Ottens are Catholics, and he is a Democrat in politics, and' for four years, from 1866 to 1870, was justice of the peace and served as con- stable previous to that time. Mr. and Mrs. Ottens were the founders of i8o SOUTHEASTERN. NEBRASKA. the St. Joseph's parachial school of Auburn; he donated one hundred and sixty acres of land for the school. JOSEPH OGLE. Joseph Ogle, agriculturist and stock farmer of Grant precinct, with postoffice at Dawson, is a Richardson county settler of 1873, having come here from Hancock county, Illinois. He was a young man then, and time has since added to his years, but he is still young in vigor and energy and capacity for enjoyment of the best things of life. He and his wife have been happy toilers along life's way, have applied all their endeavors and intelligence to the work which was cut out for them, and they therefore richly deserve the magnificent success that has crowned their diligence and wise management. Their home is to-day one of the fine ones of Richardson county, the lands cultivated to the highest degree of profit and permanent returns, all the operations of the farm being carried on with machine-like system, and the home and household from every standpoint being one of the most attractive, hospital and comfortable that an intimate friend or a far-faring trav- eler would ever care to find for his solace and pleasure. The owner and successful operator of this model farmstead was born in Fulton county, Illinois, March 31, 1849. His grandfather was a cooper in the same county, and died there during the cholera year. His father was John Ogle, who was born in Ohio about 1823, and died near Humboldt, Nebraska, in 1880. He was married in Illinois to Jemima Servia Burgess, who was born in Pennsylvania. After a long marital union and having become the mother of ten children she passed away, being buried on a birthday of her son Joseph, and her husband SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASICA. i8i was again married. They were members of the United Brethren church. They reared all their ten children but one, a daughter, Azubah Hayes, died in Montana leaving two sons and two daughters. The living chil- dren are: Mrs. Hattie Davenport, a widow, lives in Augusta, Illinois, without children; Mrs. Mary Brown, a widow, living at South Sioux City, Iowa, has five living children of the seven born to her; Joseph is the third oldest of those living; John M. lives in Missouri and has a family; William Otto, of Washington county, Colorado, has two sons and two daughters ; James Oscar, of Franklin township, Richardson county, has two sons and two daughters; Noah is a farmer of Augusta, Illinois, and has four living children. Mr. Joseph Ogle had a district schooling until he was eighteen years old. At the age of twenty-two he left the home and county of his birth, and, with a team of good horses, a wagon, plough and cultivator, drove overland to Nebraska, which was the land of promise of his youthful ambition. -He camped out on this journey and leaving Illinois on Feb- ruary 26th arrived in Brownville, March 9, 1873. He had fifty dollars in cash, and for the first season he farmed on land of his brother-in-law. He then returned to Illinois for the girl who for thirty years has been the companion of his joys and labors and whom he counts as the coequal partner with himself in the success that has been vouchsafed to them in all their undertakings. After his marriage he returned to Nebraska to build up his fortune. He bought a quarter section of land that had never been touched by the plow, and this still forms a part of his farm, although he now has three hundred and twenty acres in his home place and a quarter section of bottom land in Nemaha county. He began the work of improvement in the spring of 1877, having built a snug little frame house which served as his abode for a number of years. A few years ago he moved this house back a few feet and began the erection of i82 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. his present beautiful country residence, which is among the finest in the countryside. It stands back from the dusty highway, is embowered in trees, and has all the surroundings that harmonize with a successful man's dwelling. The house is two stories high, with a large attic and a base- ment, the furnace being in the latter and the large steel tank from which all the rooms are supplied with water being in the attic. There is a large pillared porch before both stories in front, and the rear of the house is all screened in. There are seven large and airy bedrooms, and the parlor, living-room, dining-room and kitchen are richly furnished and decorated according to the best ideas of modern taste and arrange- ment. Mr. Ogle had this residence built by day work, under his con- stant supervision, and it cost four thousand five hundred dollars, for every dollar of which he got value received. They moved into this commodious dwelling in November, 1903. He also has a cyclone cave made of a solid stone arch. His large barn was built in 1884, and there are also numer- ous other buildings and equipments around the place. Stock-raising and general farming are the profitable departments of Mr. Ogle's enter- prise, and he makes his undertakings pay unusually well even for the state of Nebraska with all its fertile resources. Mr. Ogle is a Republican in politics, but the only office he has held has been as a member of the school board. He and his wife at one time were members of the Grange. Mrs. Ogle's maiden name was Lourette E. Swisegood. She was born in Hancock county, Illinois, a daughter of Daniel H- and Anna C. (Haynes) Swisegood, who were both natives of North Carolina, but were reared in Illinois, of which state their parents were pioneers. Both her parents are still living, in advanced years but still in good health, on their old homestead in Hancock county, Illinois. Mrs. Ogle is one of ten children, as follows : Sarah S., who died at the age of eighteen months; John Swisegood, who came to Nebraska in 1877 and died on SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 183 his farm near Dawson, having been a locomotive engineer while in Illi- nois, and three sons and two daughters survived hirn ; Mrs. Ogle is next of the family; Cornelia White, in Augusta, Illinois, has one daughter; the fifth child died at the age of three years ; Eliza Blanche died when twenty-six years old; Nora Spence lives in Missouri and has four sons and three daughters; George is a farmer in Illinois and has some six children; Thomas died in Illinois aged twenty-five and unmarried; and one son died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Ogle have lost three children and have four living: John, who is farming one of his father's places, has a wife and one son and one daughter; Anna Blanche is the wife of Walter Cross, a tenant farmer, and has one son and two daughters; Susie died March 21, 1903, aged twenty-two; Marcellus died in infancy, January 10, 1883; Lena E. is her mother's right-hand supporter and helper at home and is a charming young lady ; Ray, aged eighteen, is at home and still a stu- dent; Bertha Pearl died October 28, 1892, aged three years. SAMUEL B. DOOLEY. Samuel B. Dooley, one of the popular and enterprising residents of Beatrice, Nebraska, is a veteran of the Civil war and a member of the G. A. R. Post No. 35 of Beatrice. He enlisted in Company D, Four- teenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, May, 1861, for three years, and his regiment was one of the ten regiments organized for the state of Illinois under what was known as the Ten Regiment Bill, but when the govern- or's call came for men these ten regiments were placed at the disposition of the United States government. Colonel J. M. Palmer commanded the regiment in which Mr. Dooley enlisted, and the company was com- i84 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASIOA. manded by Captain T. J. Bryant. This regiment participated with General Fremont and General Hunter and later was transferred' to the command of General Grant when he was at Shiloh ; they also participated in the siege of Vicksburg, and then were with the seventeenth army corps under General Sherman in his famous march to the sea. Mr. Dooley was taken prisoner on October 4th, and for six months was confined at Andersonville; when he was first confined he weighed one hundred and sixty pounds but when released was a mere skeleton of ninety pounds. No words can do justice to the gallant service done by the veterans of one of the most terrific struggles the world has ever known. Remnants of their arduous fighting and long marches still remain, and make their sacrifice all the greater. Samuel B. Dooley was born in Boone county, Indiana, November 6, 1S36, and he is a son of Robert Dooley, a native of Kentucky, and a grandson of Samuel Dooley, also born in Kentucky, who served in the war of 1812. Robert married Julia A. Shelburne and eleven children were reared from their union, three of whom were soldiers in the Civil war : John K. resides in Nuckolls county, Nebraska, a veteran of the Civil war; James R. served in an Illinois regiment and died in Andersonville prison. The father died at the age of fifty-two years and the mother died when she was forty-six years of age. Samuel B. Dooley resided in Indiana until he was eighteen years of age, during which time he learned the carpenter trade and later the brickmaker's trade, but he then engaged in a mercantile line and removed to Illinois. After several changes he settled in Kansas in 1857 and from there returned to Illinois. In 1882 he located in Beatrice, Nebraska, where he has since resided, and is now engaged in the mercantile busi- ness. He was married May 25, 1865, at Coldwater, Michigan, to Elizabeth Wilkins, whom he had met in Kansas. She was born in Indi- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKiA. 185 ana and was a daughter of Dr. Wilkins, a physician and minister of the Christian church. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Dooley were: Effie, who married a Mr. Almon Stevenson, of Beatrice, Nebraska, and they have one child, Bush; Minnie Alta, who died at the age of eleven years; and two boys who died in infancy. In politics Mr. Dooley is a staunch Republican and served in Illinois as justice of the peace and mayor of Chapin, Illinois. He has always taken an active part in the G. A. R. post, in which he is very popular, and he serves faithfully as elder in the Christian church, of which his wife is also a member. He was elected commander of Rawlins Post, No. 35, G. A. R., in Janu- ary, 1904. JOHN H. COATNEY. John H. Coatney, a leading farmer and stock and fruit grower in Peru precinct, Nemaha county, with postoffice at Peru, is now in the main retired from the more strenuous and arduous toils connected with the raising of the fruits of the soil. He has certainly deserved much in the way of material prosperity and latter-day comforts and advantages, for he has been one of the thrifty, industrious and business-like farmers of southeastern Nebraska for forty years, which time, when well em- ployed, is sufficient in a productive state like that of Nebraska to pro- vide any man against the advancing foot of time or the dangers of an idle and profitless old age. Mr. Coatney knows what pioneer conditions and hardships are. He made his arrival in Otoe county, Nebraska, in the fall of 1864, before Nebraska was admitted to statehood and when the country was very new and barren of much of the beauty and material improvement which now meet the eye of the traveler on every hand. He came from Cass i86 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASK)A. county, Illinois, having driven through with two covered wagons or prairie schooners, and bringing his family and goods and chattels, pre- pared to make a place for himself in a new country. For the first two years he was a tenant farmer, but then bought an eighty acre farm, with scant improvements in the shape of a house little more than a shell and with five acres broken for cultivation. The purchase price was fourteen hundred dollars, and he had five hundred dollars that he had made and saved. This place was in Nemaha county, and it has been his home ever since. About twenty years ago he tore down the old shanty and built in its place a commodious and comfortable farm house. He has also built a fine barn, thirty by twenty-six feet, with a forty-foot addition and a ten-foot driveway. He keeps from twenty-five to thirty head of cattle and ten to sixteen horses, and each year raises about one hundred Poland China hogs. The orchard of one hundred and fifty trees which he planted soon after coming to the place has died out, and about five years ago was replaced with one hundred apple trees and one hun- dred cherry trees, which are now bearing fruit. Mr. Coatney is known everywhere for his hard-working qualities and for the success that he has won by his own efiforts in this county. May 28, i860, Mr. Coatney was married in St. Louis, Missouri, to a Virginia maiden of seventeen summers. Miss Margaret Holtzman, who was born in Page county, Virginia, October 26, 1843. Her parents, William and Ruth (Battman) Holtzman, were born, respectively, in Maryland and Virginia, and were married at the county seat of Page county. The former was a farmer, and died in Virginia in 1854, when about sixty-five years old. His widow died in 1864 in Cass county, Illi- nois, whither she had moved in 1857, and of their ten children five mar- ried and had families. Mr .and Mrs. Coatney reared ten of their twelve children, as fol- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 187 lows : David Henry, called "Dick," is an enterprising farmer on an adjoin- ing farm, and has one daughter. Myrtle Zoe ; Martha Lee is the wife of Willard Redfern and has eight children; John William, a farmer in Oklahoma, has two sons and two daughters ; George B., also of Oklahoma, has one son and two daughters; Jennie, the wife of Cyrus Milan, of Auburn, has six children ; Linnie Irene, the wife of Fred Nelson, has four children; Addie is the wife of D. Mc'Kenney, a barber of Leavenworth, Kansas, and has two sons; Edward is a farmer near by and is married; Bessie Pearl is the wife of Lewis Chavey, of Auburn, and has one son; Charles Cleveland is at home and engaged in the conduct of the home- stead. Mr. Coatney is a gold Democrat. He has served his fellow citi- zens with capability and conscientious zeal for eighteen years as road overseer and for over twenty years as a member of the school board. He has always supported the churches, but is not a member, and has gained the esteem and respect of his associates and many friends by his sterling honesty and fidelity to every duty incumbent upon his manhood. MONROE T. CONNER. Monroe T. Conner, a prominent grain dealer and farmer of Soutl- Auburn, Douglas precinct, Nemaha county, has been identified with this part of southeastern Nebraska for over twenty-five years, and has justly gained distinction among the business men of his county. He practically began his career in this state, and, being possessed of a little property when he came here, he has used his capital to the very best advantage. He has proved an industrious and indefatigable worker in every line in which he has engaged, has displayed shrewd business ability and push and i88 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASE^A. enterprise, and with these qualifications he has won a foremost place among the citizens of his county. Mr. Conner belongs to an old-established family of the Mississippi valley. His father, David Conner, was born in Decatur county, Indiana, in 1824, and died in Missouri in 1867. He was a prosperous farmer, and came to the latter state in 1841 in boyhood, before the memorable flood of 1844 devastated the valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi. He was reared and lived in Buchanan county, Missouri, and was there mar- ried to Margaret Brown, who was born in Indiana in 1828, a daughter to the first marriage of William Brown, who was a pioneer settler of Ken- tucky, whence he went to Indiana, and from there to Missouri. Mr. Brown was a man of wealth for his time, was a merchant, and built a mill on Sugar creek, and both the Brown and Conner families were prominent and well known in northeastern Missouri. Seven children were born to David Conner and his wife; Monroe T. ; George W. ; who is in the agri- cultural implement business in Maryland and has one son and two daugh- ters ; Penelope, wife of Cleveland Black, residing near the old home in Missouri, and they have three sons ; Mary A., wife of A. D. Sutton, lives at the old farm in Missouri, and has two sons and two daughters; Emily, the wife of William Jones,' died in the prime of life, having been the mother of one son and one daughter ;Henry Clay died at the age of two years ; and one died in infancy. The mother of these children died in 1901 at the age of seventy-three years. Monroe T. Conner was born in Buchanan county, Missouri, October 15, 1849. He was reared on a farm, and learned its duties. He received a common school education up to the age of eighteen, at which time his father died, and he remained with his mother until he was twenty-seven. He came to Nemaha county from Missouri on March 18, 1877, and for two years engaged in farming and stock grazing on rented land. He had SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 189 about a thousand dollars to start with, and in 1880 he purchased a quarter section of land for twenty-five hundred dollars^ and from this as a nucleus has developed a large business by general farming and stock-raising, the latter branch being the industry to which he has devoted his principal efforts and with the most success. He now owns three hundred and twenty-six acres of choice land, in one farm, with two residences, four barns and other outbuildings, and his well kept fences are mostly of wire. His fine forty-acre apple orchard was just beginning to bear in 1900 when it was almost ruined by a storm, with a loss of four thousand dollars to Mr. Conner. He embarked in the grain-buying business at Howe, and in i88r started a grain and stock business in South Auburn, having the credit of shipping the first carload of hogs from that place over the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad. He continued, the stock business in Auburn and South Auburn for about twelve years, for ten years the firm being Conner and Bousfield. Mr. Conner sold out to this partner in January, 1899, and was engaged at home on his farm until April, 1903, when the firm of Conner and L. L. Coryell was formed. They have an elevator of twelve thousand bushels' capacity, and they ship from one hundred and fifty to two hundred carloads of grain each year. June II, 1873, Mr. Conner was married to Miss Nina Elliott, who was born in Missouri, O'ctober 14, 1855, one day earlier in the month than her husband. She is a daughter of Dawson and Elizabeth (Argo- bright) Elliott, who were from Kentucky and came from that state to Missouri in 1844, where the latter died in 1897, at the age of sixty, but the former is still living on the old homestead, hale and hearty at the age of seventy-two. Mrs. Conner is one of eight children, of whom she is the eldest, and the others were : one that died in infancy ; Nellie, Edward, Dawson, Bessie, Lulu, and John. All were married and had families igo SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. but two. Mrs. Conner was educated by her well-to-do parents at the college in Piatt City, Nebraska, and she is a lady of much refinement and culture. Mr. and Mrs. Conner have six children living, and lost the third in order of birth when it was an infant. Lemuel Conner, born May 14, 1874, is running his father's farm; Eva is the wife of Francis Thomas, of Howe, and has one son; Gertrude is a teacher of vocal and instru- mental music; Earl is married and living on the home farm; Mable is at home; and Raymond is twelve years old. Mr. Conner adheres to Democratic principles. He held the office of county commissioner for two terms, and was chairman of the board most of the time. During this time the county court house was built, and it is one of the public structures of which the county feels proud, both because of its architectural outlines and convenience and because it was built economically and without burdening the taxpayers with heavy debt. The last bond will be redeemed in 1904, and then the county will not have a cent of indebtedness. Mr. Conner as chairman helped draw the interior plans, and in many other ways assisted in the erection of the building at the lowest possible cost consistent with good workmanship. The court house will compare in every way with any to be found in counties of the same size in the west, and it is so substantially con- structed that it will last for generations. Mr. and Mrs. Conner are identified with the Christian church, and enjoy the highest esteem of all with whom they are associated. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 191 HENRY B. ERISMAN. Henry B. Erisman, a prominent farmer in Douglas precinct, Glen Rock postoffice, is one of the thrifty and industrious men to whom Nemaha county and southeastern Nebraska owe their most substantial development and progress. Thirty years ago Nebraska was one of the most uninviting places for a sluggard or anyone not possessed of great energy and diligence and even courage for combatting the primitive con- ditions to be found at that time. But the proper kind of men came, settled and worked, and the result is that beautiful country which seems to the traveler almost paradisiacal. Mr. Erisman, while now the possessor of one of the fine farms of the county and in prosperous circumstances, began with nothing, and at one time was heavily in debt for his place. He deserves great credit for his successful career, and is highly esteemed both as a man and citizen. Mr. Erisman was born in Miami county, Ohio, March 7, 1847. His grandfather was a native of Germany and a farmer of Pennsyl- vania, where he died about 1848, leaying a large family, of whom there are now living four sons; Joseph, in Illinois; Christopher, in Ohio; Benjamin, in Ohio; and Emanuel, in Ohio. Jacob Erisman, the father of Henry Erisman, was born in Pennsyl- vania in 1826 and died in Nemaha county in 1895. He was one of the first to come from Ohio to Nebraska, in 1865. He had a meat business at Brownville for a number of years. He began life without money, and at one time possessed ten thousand dollars. He and his wife were members of the Methodist church. He married Miss Fanny Whitmer, who was born in Pennsylvania, and is still living, in Washington pre- cinct, Nemaha county, active and bright at the age of sixty-three. Six -of their nine children are still living: Henry is the oldest; Lillie is the 192 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. wife of William Flack, in Washington precinct, and has seven children; Lincoln, a bachelor, lives on the old homestead of eighty acres, with his mother ; Carrie is the wife of Mr. John Hastie, in Oklahoma, and has three sons and one daughter; Leroy, in Nemaha county, has two sons and one daughter; Lizzie is the wife of Charles Swift, in Garfield, Whit- man county, Washington, and has three children. Henry B. E'risman had only a limited education, and has known hard work from early boyhood. He left home at the age of twenty-one, and worked out until he was married. He bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty-nine and a half acres in 1894, and he has made all the improvements. He now has two hundred acres. He built his com- fortable two-story residence in 1899, and has all the conveniences which make the farm an idea-1 home. He grows about one hundred acres of corn, with an average yield of thirty-three bushels to the acre, and fifty acres of wheat; keeps twenty-five high-grade shorthorns, eight or ten horses and fifty hogs. At the beginning he was in debt on this place $2940, but he is a hustler ,and has made his property and more besides. His residence is surrounded by shade trees, and stand well back from the road, its embowered appearance suggesting cosiness and inviting com- fort, which, in fact, are always found in this home. February 24, 1884, Mr. Erisman was married to Miss Samantha Swift, who was born in Nemaha county in 1862, a daughter of Benja- min Swift and his first wife, both from Missouri. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Erisman: Carrie, aged eighteen, is in the Auburn high school, class of 1905 ; William, aged sixteen, is in the dis- trict school; Fannie is thirteen; Benjamin nine; Bryan seven; Grace four; ■and one son died in infancy. Mr. Erisman now votes the Populist ticket, having come over from the Republican ranks. He has never sought of^ce, but has held minor offices. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 193 FRANK A. CARMONY. Frank A. Carmony, who has given three terms of satisfactory ser- vice as county superintendent of schools of Jefferson county, has spent the greater part of his life in southeastern Nebraska, and is a well known and popular resident. He has given to educational matters the best efforts of his life, and has evinced special fitness for the duties which he is now performing. The office of superintendent is by no means a sinecure, and he has devoted all his energy and executive ability to the management of the complicated system under his charge. Mr. Carmony was born in Ringgold county, Iowa, Seotember 9, 1873, a son of the well known grain dealer of Endicott, this county, J. W. Carmony and his wife Mary J. (Batten) Carmony, whose biog- raphies find place on other pages of this work. Mr. Carmony is one of four children, three sons and one daughter. He was reared in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, and from youth up has known farm work. He received his earlier education in Kansas and Nebraska, and later at- tended the Western Normal College at Shenandoah, Iowa, where he was graduated with the class of 1896. He was principal of the Reynolds, Nebraska, schools for some time, and his long experience in educa- tional work gives him a thorough equipment for the office to which he has been elected by the voters of the county. He has carried the county at each election by a good majority, and his administration meets with the approval of the best classes of citizens. Mr. Carmony is a Populist in politics, and has been active in party affairs and a delegate to the state conventions. In 1897 he was married to Miss Sadie H. Boggs. Mr. and Mrs. Carmony have one son, Arthur, who is five years old. They are members of the Presbyterian church, and are highly esteemed in the social circles of the county. 194 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. WILLIAM H. LOHR. William H. Lohr, the popular and efficient postmaster at Howe, Nemaha county, and also the leading hardware merchant of the town, has been a resident of the county for twenty years, and is one of the long established and best known citizens. He has excellent qualifications both as a citizen and bvisiness man, and during his four years' incumbency of the office of postmaster has given one of the best administrations in the history of the office. Mr. Lohr was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, April 5, 1858. His grandfather, Andrew Lohr, was a native of Pennsylvania and a life- long farmer there. He married a Miss Smith, of Franklin county, and she died at the age of seventy-six, Avhile he survived and was about eighty-five years old at the time of his death. They reared all their ten children, ?ix sons and four daughters, and all married but one and had a numerous progeny. Some of the sons served in the Civil war. Jacob Lohr, the father of William H. Lohr, was born at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1828, and is now living, at the age of seventy-five, in Rock county, Minnesota, with his son George. He married Elizabeth Foutz, of the same locality in Pennsyh-ania, and her brothers were sol- diers in the Civil war. She died in the summer of 1880 at the age of fifty-two, leaving four of her six children. George, the eldest, born in 1855, is '" Rock county, Minnesota; John died in youth; Jacob died when about three years old ; William H. is the next in order of birth ; Mrs. Mary Jane Hopkins died at the age of twenty-eight, leaving three chil- dren ; Ellen is the wife of Jacob Harrison, in Rock county, Minnesota. William H. Lohr was reared on the farm in Pennsylvania and enjoyed a fair amount of schooling there. He left home at the age of eighteen, coming to Iowa, where he worked as a farm hand and also SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 195 attended Tilford Academj'. He began teaching school at the age of twenty-one, and was engaged in this pursuit altogether for fourteen years, both in Iowa and in Nebraska. He came to Nemaha county in 1883. For the past ten years he has been engaged in the hardware business in Howe, enjoying a good trade in the town and county. Pros- perity has come to him through his years of effort for self^advancement, and he deserves all he has gained, for he began life without capital and each step of progress has been the result of his own endeavors. He is a Republican in politics, and has held the postmastership for four years. He owns his home and his store building, and he is always willing to work for the town of his choice and do all in his power for its upbuilding. Mr. Lohr was married in Iowa in 1881 to Miss Amanda J. Mathews, who was born in Ashland county, Ohio, in 1846, a daughter of John and Mrs. (Wolf) Mathews, natives of Ohio, now deceased as a result of a typhoid epidemic, which also took away two or three of their children. Two of their sons, Theodore and George, are farmers in Nemaha county, and have families. John Mathews was a blacksmith by trade. Mr. and Mrs. Lohr lost their first child, a daughter, in infancy ; Ethel is at home ; Ralph is a boy of fifteen and in school; Inez is thirteen years old, and Lola is eleven. Mr. Lohr affiliates with the Woodmen of the World, has served as banker of the order and is now clerk, and Mrs. Lohr is a member of the Methodist church. WILLIAM ARTHUR CLARK. William Arthur Clark, president of the Nebraska State Normal School at Peru, has a useful and creditable record as an educator, begin- ning with the teaching of his first school when he was fifteen years old. Many years of experience in schools of all grades from the old-fashioned 196 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. "deestnct" temple of learning to the foremost institutions of higher learn- ing in this country, have broadened his intellectual horizon and fortified his powers for the responsible position which he now holds and for the career that still awaits him — now in the prime of his life and with his years of greatest usefulness before him. Education's progress and ad- vancement are the causes dearest to his heart and the goal of his ambition, and he has found a broad and ample field in his place as head of one of the most important educational training centers in the state of Nebraska, a commonwealth noted for its high intellectual standards and its wide diffusion of literary culture among the people. In the short time that Dr. Clark has been connected with the Nebraska State Normal he has not only maintained tlie high standard set by his predecessors but has notice- ably increased its educational efficiency in all departments. Dr. Clark was reared in Ohio. At the age of eleven, soon after his father's death, he entered the high school at West Union, Adams county, and graduated from there at the age of fourteen. In his fifteenth year he secured a country school and taught six months for forty dollars a month. Following this early pedagogical experience, he entered the Nor- mal University of Ohio, from which he was graduated at the age of nineteen years. He taught a country school and also a village school, then became principal of his home high school, and for several years \\^s principal or superintendent of town schools. In 1880 he was appointed superintendent of the school of the Ohio Sailors' Orphans' Home at Xenia, and filled that position for two years. He was then called to his alma mater, the Normal University, as teacher of mathematics, and dur- ing the ten years that he filled that chair over fourteen thousands pupils, from all parts of the Union, received instruction from him and. many of these have in turn become teachers and filled other worthy places in the Avorld's activity. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 197 In 1893 Dr. Clark resigned his"" position in the Normal University and entered Harvard University as a graduate student in mathematics, but left before the end of the year in order to become dean of the faculty of the Western Normal College at Lincoln Nebraska, where he spent one year as teacher of psychology and pedagogy, and a most busy year it was, for he delivered addresses in eighty-ene of the ninety counties of the state in addition to other duties. From Lincoln he came to Peru and accepted the position of instructor in psychology and pedagogy in the State Normal, holding this from 1895 to 1898. In the latter year he returned to Harvard and took work in pedagogy, psychology and philosophy. In i8yg Harvard University awarded him the degree of A. AI. In the same year he was appointed to the fellowship in pedagogy in the Uni\-ersity of Chicag'o, and in connection with his duties in that position taught educational pS3'chology. He received the degree of Ph. D. from the University of Chicago in 1900, the subject of his Doctor s thesis being "Suggestion in Education." Dr. Clark was elected to the presidency of the Peru State Normal in 1900. He is an active member of the National Educational Associa- tion, is a member of the Nebraska Academy of Science, of the American Association for the Teaching of Speech to Deaf-mutes, and of the American Social Science Association. Dr. Clark is the author of several small outline text-books on . arithmetic, geography and physiology; also magazine articles on educa- tional topics. He is at present writing a work on "Suggestion in Education"' which will be an expansion of his Doctor's thesis. 198 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. WILLIAM TYNON. William Tynon is one of the best known and most prosperous agricnlturists and stockmen of Nemaha comity, and for thirty-five years he has been at the forefront in that business. Possessed by inheritance an.d nature with an energetic and enterprising disposition and adapted by early training and inclination for the various departments of the stock industry, he has made it his life work and devoted his best years, and efforts to building up an industry with which his name will always be connected in this section of Southeastern Nebraska. Mr. Tynon is the owner of an almost princely estate of ten hundred and forty acres situated two miles west and north of Peru, and this broad demesne is not only the scene of profitable and thorough agricul- tural enterprise but is also a place of beauty, and in the summer no more grateful and pleasing view could meet the eyes than that of the waving grain fields, the meadows and pastures with the many herds, and the picturesque homestead centered in the midst of giant cottonwoods and groves of fruit and shade trees — the whole place alluring and inviting whether from the standpoint of the artistic-minded or seeker after rustic ease or that of the appreciative and business-like husbandman. Mr. Tynon bought all this land at an early day, and when prices were from ten to seventeen dollars an acre, but his acreage is now worth an average of fifty dollars per acre, and he was recently offered fifty-five' thousand dollars for the estate. He feeds yearly about three hundred cattle, shipping about two bunches of his own annuallj'-; he also feeds many hogs, and in one year lost six thousand dollars from the ravages of cholera. His corn fields will aggregate about five hundred acres, averag- ing fifty bushels to the acre, and at present he feeds out about twenty thousand bushels of corn each year, although he does not go into the atock-feeding business as heavily as he was wont a few years ago. For SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 199 the past ten years he has had tenant farmers on the place, and has four tenant houses. The fine large mansion which is the abode of so much open-hearted hospitality was erected in 1893. He has planted the one hundred apple trees and some of the shade trees, but the seven giant cot- tonwoods which are the chief arboreal adornment to the farmstead and one of the landmarks of all the country around, have been here for over forty years. He has about four miles of osage hedge about his place and the other fences are of wire, and all the barns and other up-to- date improvements he has placed on the farm since coming here. Mr. Tynon was born in county Kilkenny, Ireland, March 20, 1842. His father, Patrick Tynon, was born on the same farm, and was a large dealer in horses and cattle and a tenant farmer on an extensive scale, often exhibiting stock at the weekly fairs throughout the United Kingdom, and also shipping much stock to Scotland and other places. He brought his family, to America in 1848, and after the long voyage from Liverpool to New York settled in Syracuse, New York, being a man of means for that time. In 1851 he went to Joliet, Illinois, and bought a half section of land, and lived there until his death. He left a good estate, and was everywhere known as a man of integrity, honesty, thrift and well directed industry. His first wife and the mother of Mr. Tynon was Catherine Brennan, also of county Kilkenny, and she died in Ireland in 1844, leaving two sons. The son Andrew is now a stock rancher in Indian Territory, whither he removed after a number of years' residence in Nemaha county, Nebraska. Patrick Tynon was again married, but his sfecond wife preceded him in death by twenty-four years. They had a number of children, but only two are now living : Catherine Cavanah, a widow in Joliet; and John Tynon, a retired coal dealer of Joliet, and has one son. William Tynon attended the district schools, and remained at home 200 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. until his majority. In the spring of 1861 he went to Peoria, IlHnois, and was a general helper and salesman in a drug store for over two years. Christmas, 1863, he returned to Joliet and remained Avith his father for some time, the later being afflicted with the asthma. Hrs brother had gone to Nemaha City, Nebraska, and for several years was successfully engaged in freighting across the plains, having two outfits and four yoke of oxen for each. Andrew Tynon, the cousin of William and Andrew, was also engaged in freighting with the latter, and was afterward engaged in the merchandising business at Peru, and is now a resident of Stella, Richardson county, Nebraska. AVilliam left Joliet in 1869 and went to visit this cousin in Peru, and this led to his perma- nent settlement in Nemaha county. He soon began to buy and ship cattle to Chicago, and this has been his leading enterprise ever since. During the early days he paid one hundred and thirty dollars per car, but this tariff has since been more than halved. He has shipped from six tq eight cars at a time, and at an interval of every ten days during the busy season. He used to take his cattle across the Big Muddy on a flat boat, which was a slow and uncertain operation, and made Phelps or Watson, in Missouri across from Brownville, his shipping points. Mr. T3'non was married in Chicago, July 30, 1871, to Mis.s Bridget Coonin, who was born near Joliet, Illinois, a daughter of Ed Coonin, of Canada. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tynon, as follows : Catherine, who graduated from the Peru Normal, where all the other children have likewise been educated, and is now principal of the graded - school in Nebraska City ; Elizabeth, who is helping her mother at home ; Mary Agnes; Josephine; Margaret; William A., who is on the farm and purposes to follow farming as his occupation, although all his sisters have educated themseh-es for teachers; Louise, a teacher in this county; and Rosa, who will graduate from the normal school in the class of SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 201 1904. Mr. Tynon is a Democrat in politics, and has served as school director for over twenty years. CHARLES CREUZ. Charles Creiiz, one of the intelligent and progressive farmers in Bedford precinct, South Auburn postoffice, Nemaha county, has resided in this county for ovej twenty years, and in this time has brought out one of the prettiest farms in the locality from the virgn sod of the prairie which had hardly been touched by the civilizing power of man wdien he first located upon it. Mr. Creuz has already passed the seventieth milestone on his life's journey, but is still working with almost undi- minished vigor, and many results will yet be apparent before the sun of his career sets. He began life without any capital, and from careful savings has gone forward step by step to independence and a prosperous position among his fellow citizens. Besides working out hi-, indix idual careers he has become the father of sons and daughters who are now filling honorable places in the world, and in matters of citizenship, also, he has not been lacking in the public spirit and readiness which are the qualities demanded by national loyalty and civic advancement. Mr. Creuz was born in ^\'uertemberg, Germany, September 17, 1830, and was a son of John and Fredericka (Crummel)' Creuz, who were parents of the following children : Charles ; Christina, born in 1833, ^s ^'""S wife of Christ Rau, a farmer in Logan county, Illionis, and has eleven children; John, born in 1837, is a farmer in Douglas county, Illinois, and has two children; Barbary, born in 1840, is the wife of John Auer, a wealthy retired farmer, and has three sons living ;■ Cai'oline, 202 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. born in 1844, is the wife of John Mason, in eastern Illinois, and has one son and one daughter. The parents of these children were farmers, and came to the United States in 1854, making the trip in forty-six days. The father died in Coles county, Illinois, in 1855, at the age of fifty-two, and his wife, who was born in 1806, lived to the age of ninety-one years, one month and five days. Both of them rest in the Methodist churchyard in Edgar cotmty, Illinois. Charles Creuz had about eight years' schooling in Germany, and at the age of twenty, on November 28, 1850, sailed from Bremen for the United States. After encountering five severe storms, which caused all to lose hope of ever reaching land again, and during which Mr. Creuz displayed as much fortitude of mind and body as did the best of the sailors, the ship landed at Baltimore in January. He came out to visit his uncle in Ohio, having barely enough money to get there. He arrived in Delaware county, Ohio, in January, and for the following three years worked out by the month. When he was married in 1855 he had about four hundred dollars, all saved from his earnings, and he began life as a tenant farmer. He and his brother John owned one hundred and eighty acres in common for a time, but in 1880 he sold and came to Nemaha county, Nebraska. He bought one hundred and seventy-six acres for two thousand dollars, and then went back to Illinois and brought his family to his new land in February, 1882. This was all prairie land in the state of nature's dress, and in the twenty years since then it has become as fine a farm as one could wish to see. His first house was of two rooms, to which he has since added until he has a com- fortable abode of six rooms. He built a good barn in 1891. Mr. Creuz was fifty-three years old when he was planting his orchard, and a neigh- bor woman remarked in passing, "The old fool is out planting trees, and he will never live to eat the fruit." But the orchard of one hundred SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 203 and twenty-five trees has borne fruit many times since that day, as many other improvements to the place have served their days of usefuhiess and Been replaced with others. But he is not yet weary of well-doing, for he believes that the good he does here will H-ve after him, and every good deed will bear its fruit, if not for him, for those that come after, and thus the world will be better for his effort. July 22, 1855, Mr- Creuz was married to Miss Cynthia Summers, who was born March 22, 1830, in Cincinnati, Ohio, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Wite) Summers. The former had a cooper shop in Cincinnati, and in 183 1 he fell a victim to the cholera scourge, as did also his wife and all the relatives. Cynthia, who was the only child, was adopted by a Mr. McFaren, and from an early age she knew the life of toil, and had meager schooling. She met Mr. Creuz about a year before they were married. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Creuz, as follows : Jonathan Jackson is a tenant farmer in Oklahoma, and has lost his second wife and has six children, the son Luther living here with his grandparents; Clara is the wife of George Gillen, of Oklahoma, and has four children; Herman is a well-to-do farmer in Oklahoma, owning one hundred and sixty acres, and has nine children; Charles is a farmer in Clay county, Nebraska, and has eight children; and Franklin owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Oklahoma, and has three children. Mr. and Mrs. Creuz have twenty- nine grandchildren living, and have lost five. Mr. Creuz has a good picture of his mother which was taken when she was about ninety years old, one year before her death. Mr. Creuz and his wife are I-utherans, and he is a Republican in politics. They are still active, although Mrs. Creuz has the rheumatism much of the time, and it is to be hoped that they may live many more years to adorn the county and community in which they have done such useful service in the past. 204 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. HON. THOMAS JEFFERSON MAJORS. Hon. Thomas Jefferson Majors, ex-lieutenant governor of the state of Nebraska and one oijhe most prominent figures in the agricul- tural, financial, public and. political life of Nemaha county, is a pioneer and old-time settler of this part of Southeastern Nebraska, where he first took up his residence in June, 1859. From the very first he took a foremost part in the county's development. He has had an extreme- ly prosperous career from a material point' of view, but his place in the community and state is not due to his financial success, for he has given some of his best efforts to public enterprises. He is honored as a veteran of the Civil war, in which he rose from the rank of lieutenant to colonel, and had a creditalDle record of five years' service to his coun- try. He has been again and again sent to the state halls of legislature, as u'ell as to the second executive off.ce of the commonwealth. Educa- tional progress also owes much to Mr. Majors, and wherever he has touched the life of the community he has left his impress for good and advancement. i\[r. Majors was born at Libertyville, Jefferson count)', Iowa, June 25, 1 841. His Scotch-Irish ancestors from the north of Ireland settled in this country many generations a.go, and the family has always been a race of stalwarts in physique and mentality, and as a rule there have been large families of children. Mr. Majors' great-grandfather was a Kentuckian, but the son of a South Carolinan. Elijah Majors, the grandfather of Mr. INIajors, was a nati\-e of Simpson county, Kentucky, born during the earliest days of that commonwealth. He owned a large plantation, worked by slaves, but his sons did not favor the "pecu- liar institution," although during the Civil war some were ranged on the side of the north and others with the south. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 205 Sterling P. Majors, the father of Mr. Majors, was born in Simp- son county, Kentucky, in Api-jl, 1819, and died in Nebraska, July 13, 1886, his remains resting in the cemetery at Peru. He had the follow- ing brothers and sisters : Alexander Majors, a stone and brick mason and contractor in Kentucky, Il-Hnois and Iowa, and he died in the last named state when past middle life, leaving three sons and one daugh- ter; Katie, the wife of Henry Hart, died in Illinois at an advanced age, leaving four sons and four daughters ;^ Mary, the wife of Amos Hart, a farmer in Sangamon county, Illinois, left three sons and one daughter. Sterling P. Majors was married in Lee county, Iowa, to Miss Ann Brown, who was born in Simpson county, Kentucky, March 18, 1820, a daughter of William and Mary (Ingraham) Brown. There were eleven children of this union, of whom five grew up, as follows : Sarah, the widow of W. G. Glasgow, in Peru, has six living children, three sons and three daughters, and twenty-three grandchildi^en, having lost one;' Thomas J. is the next oldest; Wilso^ E. Majors lives in Peru; Lizzie is the wife of C. G. Dorsey, of Kansas City, Missouri, and has two liv- ing children : John F. was a merchant in Bradshaw, Nebraska, where he died in January, 1897, leaving a wife and seven children, with a small estate. ^ The following is the obituary of Sterling P: Majors : "Hon. S. P. Majors, born in Kentucky,- April 27, 1819; reared on a farm and had a common schooling during winters until sixteen; learned the brick and stonemason trade and worked at it for several years; studied law and was admitted, but was a merchant many years and well-to-do, although he met losses; his later years were spent in agriculture; moved to Iowa from Illinois, where he and his wife had gone in childhood, and lived in Iowa from 1837 to 1861, when he came to Nebraska; was a Meth- odist, and an active and efficient official most of his life." 2o6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Thomas Jefferson Majors was reared in Libertyville, Iowa, en- joyed a liberal schooling, and as his father was a prominent merchant of that town he early became familiar with mercantile affairs. On June 15, 1 86 1, when he lacked a few days of being twenty years old, he en- listed in the First Nebraska Infantry as first lieutenant of his com- pany. He participated in the engagement at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Memphis, Helena, Cape Girardeau and numerous minor battles. While in Arkansas the regiment re-enlisted, and was then sent to the western frontier to hold the Indians in check. Mr. Majors spent the last two years of his service on the plains. He was mustered out at Omaha, July i, 1866, and during this five years of army life had spent one month in the hospital at Pilot Knob, Missouri, ill with pneumonia. After this gallant career as a soldier he returned to Peru, Nebraska, where he had settled in 1859 and engaged in the mercantile business, and now resumed his activity in that line. In the fall of 1866 he was elected to the territorial council, and in the next year was elected to the first state senate, being re-elected. The first important act he did while in the senate was to introduce and carry through the bill providing for the State Normal School to be located in Peru, thus conferring inesti- mable benefit upon his adopted town. For a time he was assessor of internal revenue for district of Nebraska. He served for three successive terms as the representative of his county in the state legisla- ture and in 1887 was elected to the state senate and in 1889 again re- turned to the house. In 1891 he was elected lieutenant governor of the state, and re-elected in 1893. In 1894 he was the Republican nomi- nee for governor, but by the margin of three thousand votes was de- feated by Silas Holcomb. He is still active in politics, and has always SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 207 wielded much influence in party councils in his own county and in the state. In- August 1870, Mr. Majors was married to Miss Isabelle Bush- ong, who was boi'n in Bureau county, Illinois, a daughter of John and Lucinda (Munson) Bushong, who were natives, respectively, of Tennes- see and New York, and are now deceased. Her father, who was a prominent farmer, in 1893 received some votes for the United States senate. Mrs. Majors is a lady of much intelligence and culture, and 'is a skilled musician. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Majors, but five died when young. Frank Majors is a graduate of the Peru normal and the Law Department of the State University at Lincoln, and is now an attorney in North Yakima, Washington ; James, a farmer on one of his father's farms, is married and has two daughters ; Thomas is married and is the station agent of the Burlington Railroad at Rockford, Nebraska ; Charles is at home and unmarried ; and Gladys, aged fourteen, is attending the normal school. Mr. Majors is a Mason of thirty-six years' standing and has at- tained the thirty-third degree, and all his sons are members of that fraternity. He is also prominent in the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a past department commander. Since retiring from his mercan- tile business in, 1878, Mr. Majors has given his attention to his real estate interests. He owns eighteen hundred acres of farm lands, be- sides residence property in Peru. He was one of the organizers and is a director of the only bank in Peru. His home farm consists of eight hundred acres, and he located upon it in 1870. He has recently erected not only the finest residence in Peru but in the entire county, and it is a place of architectural beauty, comfort and homelike elegance. The building is strictly "home-made." The brick which forms its walls was burned on his own land, and the timbers for the frame work grew 2o8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. on his place. Its dimensions are forty-eight and forty-eight feet, with basement, two full stories above, alid the top floor being practically a story. It contains a Grand Army hall and rooms for the Womefl's Re- lief Corps. It is finished in c[uarter-oak, is heated throughout with the latest hot water apparatus, and has all the comforts and conveniences of the urhan home. It is situated under the bluffs, facing the east, and is surrounded with a spacious lawn and abundance of shade trees. Here it is the privilege of Mr. Majors to enjoy what his career of in- dividual effort and public-spirited endeavor have brought him, and his own genial good nature and the open-hearted hospitality of the family make this a home which a guest, once welcomed, loths to leave and longs to revisit. HARVEY J. CALLEN. Harvey J. Callen, one of the prominent grain dealers of South- eastern Nebraska, has been in business in South Auburn, Nemaha coun- ty, for a number of years, and is one of the well known citizens of that place. Besides being concerned in many of the business interests of the town, he has taken a due part in social, political and religious ac- tivities, and is in all things a public-spirited citizen who may be de- pended upon for influence and aid in promoting the progress and de- velopment of his town and community. Mr. Callen's grandfather was Edward Callen, of Tennessee, who married Miss Martha Cate, also of that state. He was of Scotch-Irish ancestry and she of German, and they' had five children, one of the sons dying while in the service of the Union during the Civil war. Grandfather Callen was a large and rugged man, and lived to be about seventy years old. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 209 Pryor L. Callen, the father of Harvey J. Callen, was born in east- ern Tennessee in September, 1827, and in 1853 came from that state to Appanoose county, Iowa, where in 1855 he was married to Miss Lementine America Hays, who was born near Nashville, Tennessee, in 1833. Pryor L. Callen was a pioneer farmer of this part of Iowa, taking up eighty acres of land, and is now the owner of two hundred acres, al- though he lives in Des Moines. He and his wife were parents of the following children : Harvey J. ; Preston Alex is a contractor and builder of Des Moines, and is married; Edward is in -business with Harvey in Auburn, and is married; John A. Logan Callen is a con- tractor and builder of Des Moines and has two sons and two daughters ; Ella, wife of J. B. Kenyon, of Centerville, Iowa, has one son ; Frank Hays Callen, a grain dealer of Marquette, Nebraska, has six children; Myrtle died at the age of three; George P is a contractor and builder of Des Moines, and is single; Mrs. Lora Spurgeon, whose husband is a farmer near Centerville, Iowa, has two children. Harvey J. Callen was born in Appanoose county, Iowa, March 19, 1856. Being the oldest of the family he had to work from an early age, although he obtained good schooling in the public schools. He left the home farm and Iowa in 1879 and came to Hamilton county, Ne- braska, where for two years he was engaged in the farm implement business at Aurora. He later came to South Auburn, and the . firm of H. J. Callen and Compan)' has two elevators in this city and is doing an extensive business in handling grain. W. H. Furguson, of Hastings, Nebraska, is the company part of the firm, and is one of the large speculators and grain men of the state, having about eighty elevators in various towns over a large area. Mr. Callen is also a stockholder in the new fine brick hotel, called Avenue Hotel, in Auburn, 2IO SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. and besides his own comfortable home on Maxwell street owns consid- erable other city property. On Christmas day of i88p Mr: Callen married Miss Ellen Hiatt, who was one of his schoolmates in Iowa, and is a daughter of pren A. Hiatt by his first wife, both of whom were natives of North Carolina. Her father is now living with his third wife, and has four children by his first wife and five living by his third wife. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Callen ; Irene Glen, who died at the age of nine years ; Ernest Ray, who died at the age of eighteen ; and Fay, a girl of thirteen. Air. Callen affiliates with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been trustee for nine years. He votes the Republican ticket, but has never aspired to office. He is a good citizen, and he and his family are held in the highest esteem wherever known. AUGUST ECKHARDT. August Eckhardt, who resides on section 33, Clay township. Pawnee county, Nebraska, is one of the old settlers of this locality and an ex-sojdier of the Civil war. He was born in Germany, December 5, 1840. His father was a sergeant in the German army for twenty-five years. He married Elizabeth Wasmann, and their children were as follows: Lillie, who died in the United States; Anna, of Illinois; and August. August Eckhardt was educated in Germany until he was thirteen years of age, when he came to the United States, and after a voyage of eighteen days landed upon American soil. He at once proceeded to AUGUST ECKHARDT SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 211 Cook county, Illinois, and thence went to Tazewell county, Illinois. In 1872 he removed to Pawnee county, Nebraska. On September 5, 1861, he enlisted at Ottawa, LaSalle county, Illinois, in Company H, of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry, Colonel Hoyd Dickey, of Ottawa, and Captain Wimple, of Pulaski, commanding. The regiment was sent to Belmont, Kentucky, and later to Forts Henry and Donelson, still later to Shiloh, and finally Mr. Eckhardt was placed on the body guard of General Grant, and participated in the wonderful campaigns of the famous general. At Corinth he had a horse shot under him. The animal fell upon Mr. Eckhardt, injuring him so seriously that he has never fully recovered, and will always suffer from the effects of the terrible wound. On account of it, after a long siege in the hospital, he was honorably dis- charged and returned to his Illinois home. On February 12, 1867, Mr. Eckhardt was married at Delavan, Tazewell county, Illinois, to Rachel F. Wertz, a daughter of John and Catherine (Hank) Wertz, natives of St. Thomas, Pennsylvania, who removed to Illinois in 1864, where both died. Mr. and Mrs. Eckhardt are very well and favorably known and have many friends not only in Clay township, but throughout the county. WILLIAM HOLROYD. William Holroyd, living retired from active life in his pleasant country home in Glen Rock precinct, Nemaha county, Nebraska, is one of tlje pioneer citizens of this locality, and is enjoying now the rest and comfort to which he is entitled after long years of careful manage- ment and honest toil. Mr. Holroyd is an Englishman by birth. He is a native of York- 212 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. shire, and was born October ii, 1829, son of John Holroyd. The latter also a native of Yorkshire, England, was born about 1807, and died there about 1863, leaving his widow and eight of their nine children. He was a manufacturer of steel, in which business he brought up his sons, and he also gave them good schooling advantages. William Holroj'd first came to America in 1853, with wife and one child, in a sail vessel, landing in New York after a voyage of twentjr- eight days. At Pittsburg he was employed in a steel mill for over a year, when he returned to England taking his wife with him. Later he again went to work in the Pittsburg steel mill, and remained there another year. In the spring of 1855 he came to Nebraska, landing at Brownville on May nth; and here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of government land, at $1.25 per acres, and established his home in a log cabin, sixteen by twentj'-two feet in dimensions, hav- ing two rooms, one upstairs and one down. But few improvements had been made in this part of the country at that time, and the Indians were still here — not hostile, however. Game of various kinds was plenty, and Mr. Holroyd recalls the fact that in the early days of their settlement here he supplied the larder Avith vension. Their western journey was made by boat and on the way he stopped in Iowa. AAHien he came here he brought a yoke of oxen of his brother-in-law Thomas Mosley. Here he has been interested in farming all these 3'ears, with the exception of four years during the Civil war, when he returned to Pittsburg and made good wages in the mill. He now owns two hundred acres of well improved land; with its long stretches of neatly trimmed hedge and its well kept buildings, including the two residences (one occupied by himself and one by his son), barns and other build- ings. And his land is stocked with high-grade horses, cattle and hogs. Mr. Holroyd is the father of ten children, one born in England, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 213 one in Pittsburg and the others in Nebraska. Those now Hving are : Edwin, a farmer in Oklahoma territory, has a wife and four chiklren ; Eveline, wife of Frank Comstock, a farmer living southeast of Auburn, has one son and four daughters; and Wilfred, a farmer. The mother of his children, vi'hose maiden name was Eliza Mosley, and who was a native of Yorkshire, England, died May 22, 1879, at the age of fifty-one years. March 3, i88t, Mr. Holroyd married Mrs. Mary L. \A''ilson. nee Biddle, widow of David \^'i]son, who died in Wisconsin, leaving her and an adopted son. Mrs. Holroyd was born in Washington county. New York, December 25, 1829, daughter of John and Joanah (Van Patten) Biddle, the former a native of New York and the latter of New Jersey. In the Biddle family were eleven children, four of whom reached adult age: Mrs. Holroyd and her brother Henrj'-, who resides in North Park, Colorado, are the only survivcws. Mr. Holroj'd has usually been a supporter of the Republican party. Recently, however, he has voted the independent ticket. ALBERT C. LEEPER. Albert C. Leeper, one of the prosperous farmers and highly re- spected citizens of Douglas township, Nemaha county, Nebraska, set- tled here in 1872, and has been identified with this locality for more than three decades. A brief review of his life is as follows : Albert C. Leeper was born in Cass county, Illinois, April 9, 1851, and belongs to a family several generations of which have been agricul- turists. The family have records dating back as far as 1700, showing Mathew Leeper, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, to have been the owner of a large tract of land. Leeper township in 214 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Bureau county, Illinois, was named in honor of this family. Albert C. Leeper's grandfather, Robert Leeper, was born either in Virginia or Kentucky. In the latter state he lived for a number of years. He married a Miss Somers, and they were the parents of seven children, viz. : Enmatyre, William Dudley, Samuel, Elizabeth, John, Martha and Mary. The mother of these children died in Kentucky. The father subsequently went to Illinois, where he married a second wife and had two children — Robert and Nancy. He died in Illinois, in 1844, at the age of sixty years. William Dudley Leeper was born in. Kentucky, February 17, 1817, and died in Cass county, Illinois, March 25, 1866. He married in Cass county, Illinois, January i, 1848, Mary Ann Run3'an, a native of Gallatin county, Kentuck)'^, born in 1832, daughter of Wilson Runyan. After their marriage tliey settled on sixty acres of land, a part of his father's estate, where their family was reared. Of their six children, three are now living: George W., of Cass county, Illinois; Albert C, whose name introduces this article; and Arthur A., a lawyer and an ex-state senator of Illinois. The mother of this family died in 1857, and the father afterward wedded Miss Maria Hermeyer, who bore him a daughter and son, Mary E. and Henry S. The second wife died February 6, 1898, at the age of sixty-five years. Albert C. Leeper received a fair common school education. In 1872, on reaching his majority, he left home and came to Nemaha coun- ty, Nebraska, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of rich prairie land, at ten dollars per acre. From its primitive condition he has developed his land to its present high state of cultivation and improve- ment. Here we now find three-fourths of a mile of hedge fence, shade trees and fruit trees (one hundrd and fifty of which are apple), and a comfortable residence, barns, granaries, etc. In connection with his SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 215 general farming Mr. Leeper has always given more or less attention to stock-raising. It is worthy of note that he fed and sold the first car- load of cattle shipped from Auburn. Mr. Leeper has a wife and six children. Mrs. Leeper was before her marriage Miss Cyntha Ethleen Wood. She is a native of Crawford county, Lidiana, and a daughter of Eli and Sallie A. (Stewart) Wood, natives of Indiana and now residents of Custer county, Oklahoma. The Wood family comprised four children, Mrs. Leeper being 'the eldest. Of the others we record that Eunice, now Mrs. Hollar, resides in Okla- homa ; Wallace S. also is in Oklahoma ; and Jeanette died at the age of five years. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Leeper are: Vida E., a teacher, now living with her grandparents in Oklahoma; Annie E., Nellie, Dudley W., Bessie and Dale R. Politically, Mr. Leeper is a Populist and a Br3ranite, and fraternal- ly he is identified with the F. and A. M. and A. O. U. AV. He has always taken an active interest in local affairs, and has served twelve years as school director in his district. Mrs. Leeper is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. ALBERT KOEPPEL. Albert Koeppel, who has been numbered among the thrifty, ener- getic and prosperous agriculturists of Southeastern Nebraska since the loth of September, 1867, has his present beautiful farm in Peru precinct, about a mile west of the town. When he came to this state he had to begin operations with little money and consequently crude means of living and of preparing the soil for the raising of crops. The shell of a house which he erected for his first domicile he still remembers as a 2i6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. scene of happiness but of bareness and lack of comfort, but that has long since g\ytn place to an abode of neat and pleasing exterior, of comfort and good cheer within, and, withal, a home worth striving for and a fit re- ward for a life of toil and early privation in a frontier country. Air. Koeppel, who thus took up his residence in the new state of Nebraska nearly thirty-seven years ago, was born near Halle, Saxony, Germany, August 26, 1844. His father, August Koeppel, born De- cember 10, 1814, was an overseer of a coal mine, and was in good cir- cumstances and gave his children good advantages. He died in 1885, at the age of seventy-one years. He married Augusta Knappe, of ^^^ettin, in 1838, and they had twelve children, three sons and nine daugliters, seven of whom grew up, namely ; Louisa is the wife of Will- iam Damme, of Halle; Albert is the second oldest; August is a well-to- do farmer seven miles southwest of Fairbury, Nebraska, and has three daughters ; Louis is a baker in Nebraska City, and has five children living; Mary is married and has three children living; Emily lives in Germany and has six children ; Augusta, who was the oldest of the family, came to America in 1867 with her brother Albert, and she died in Nebraska without leaving any children. The mother of these children preceded her husband in death by one year, passing away in 1884, ^t the age of sixty-eight years. Albert Koeppel was reared in his native place, and from the age of fourteen until he was nineteen worked in the mines. At the latter age he entered the German army, and ga^'e three years and four months' service to his emperor, being in five battles during the course of Austro- Hungarian and Prussian war, never failing to report for duty at a single roll call. In the spring of 1867 his brother August came to America, and in the fall he and his sister followed. He had some money on his arrival here, and he first took up his residence in Sidney, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 217 Iowa, where he remained for a year with his uncle, Wilham Knappe, who had come to this country in 1848, having spent sixty-nine days on the water. In 1869 Mr. Koeppel left Sidney and came to Otoe county, Nebraska, where he bought eighty acres of raw praire land for two hundred dollars. He at once began the task of improving this purchase, and built for his shelter a frame house sixteen by twenty-four feet, of one story, and in this he made his home until 1876. He pur- chased his present farm of eighty-five acres in 1891, paying twenty-one hundred and twenty-five dollars for it, with its good improvements, con- sisting of a brick residence and an orchard. In 1894 he erected his good barn, and he has also planted a new apple and peach orchard in the spring of 1904. He does a general farming business, growing from twelve to eighteen hundred bushels of corn and raising a number of hogs. On January 23, 1873, ^ memorable day to all Nebraskans and doubly so to Mr. Koeppel, on which day the mercury fell to the unpre- cedented mark of thirty-six degrees below zero, he was married to Mrs. Kathrina Provost, who was born in Switzerland in 1843, ^ daugh- ter of John Griuet, a carpenter. In 1850 her parents brought her to America, being twenty-two days on the passage to New Orleans, whence they went to St. Louis. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Koep- pel : Oliver, born in Otoe county, died at nine months ; Mary is the wife of Frank Ivers, of Peru, and has two sons; Emma is the wife of Charles Patterson, of Oregon, and has two sons and a daughter; Theresa died in Otoe county, aged twenty-two months; Edward is a farmer and has a wife and one son ; and Bertha 'is the wife of Arthur Simpson, a farmer in London precinct, and has one son. Mr. Koeppel is an independent voter, and is indifferent as to political preferment. He is now serving his district as school director. 2i8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. WILLIAM WATSON. This venerable citizen and retired farmer of Auburn, Nebraska, is of Scotch birth and parentage. Mr. Watson first saw the light of day in the county of Edinburg, Scotland, January 12, 1824. His father, William Watson, a coal miner by occupation, was born in the same ■ place, about 1791; and his mother, whose maiden name M-as Jane Shau- non, was also a native of Edinburg county. In their family were nine children, all of whom married, except two daughters. The fourth in order of birth was William. William Watson was reared and married in his native land, and was occupied in the coal mines of Scotland until 1851, when he emi- grated to America, accompanied by his wife and four children. He had just money enough with which to purchase their passage to this coun- try, the voyage was made in a sail vessel and they were six weeks and two days from Liverpool to New Orleans. Eight days later they landed in St. Louis. The first night on their trip up the Mississippi the boat sprang a leak, the passengers were put ashore at midnight, where they remained until the trouble was overcome and the journey could be con- tinued. Arrived in St. Louis, Mr. Watson soon found employment, mining coal near that city, and worked there six years, receiving two to five dollars per day. In 1857 he, with one hundred others, came to Nemaha county, Nebraska, expecting to homestead land. Their plans were changed, however, and Mr. Watson bought eighty acres, four miles southwest of Auburn. He entered one hundred and sixty acres, and by paying one hundred and sixty dollars to a land speculator and relinquishing eighty acres he was deeded eighty acres. He paid forty percent interest. His first work here was to build a little cabin of logs, hewing them on the inside, and into this humble home he moved his family. Some years later he' built a substantial stone house, thirty-four SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ' 219 by twenty-four feet in dimensions, two stories. He quarried the rock and dressed it and burned his own hme for building purposes, doing all the work himself, alone, fi'om the foundation to the roof. And the house is standing to-day as solid as ever. Mr. Watson added to his farm until he had two hundred acres, which he sold in 1901. He has done no farming, however, since 1898, when he retired, after forty years spent as a successful agriculturist. In 1898, he bought and moved into his present residence, which had just been built. ;Mr. Watson married, in 1845, Miss Margaret McNeil, a native of Lanarkshire, Scotland, born April 9, 1825, daughter of Daniel and Mary (McCoUins) McNeil. Her father, who was a coal miner, was accident- ally killed in the mines, in the prime of life; and her mother kept the little family, two sons and two daughters, together and reared them by her own efforts. She died in Scotland at an advanced age. The chil- dren all grew up and married and have children of their own, and all are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have ten children, namely : Will- iam, who is married and has one son and one daughter, owns and occu- pies a part of the old homestead; Mary, who resides with her parents, is the widow of Ephraim Milton Long, and has five children, all married and settled in life; Daniel, an Oklahoma farmer, has a wife and eleven children ; James, also of Oklahoma, is a farmer and stone-layer, doing fine mosaic work, and is married and has ten children; Margaret, wife of Joseph Snurr, of Dawson county, Nebraska, has two sons and one daughter; Jane, wife of Robert Bryant, a furniture manufacturer of Omaha, Nebraska, has one son and two daughters ; Robert, a blacksmith of Howe, Nebraska, has a wife, son and daughter; Agnes, wife of George Harmon, of Auburn, has one son and three daughters ; Euphemy wife of William Myers, a farmer of Bedford township, Nemaha county, has a son and a daughter; and David, engaged in farming in Nemaha 220 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. county, has wife, one son and two daughters, the family at this writing numbering twent3^-six grandsons and twenty-one granddaughters, and the great-grandchildren number twenty-one. Politically Mr. Watson was for years a Reptiblican, but recently he has affiliated with the Populist party. He and his good wife are' devoted members of the Church of God ; both were reared in the Presby- terian church. Mr. Watson inherited to a marked degree the strong constitution peculiar to his nationality. Some time ago while occupied in painting his building, he fell from a ladder apd sustained severe in- juries, from which he has never recovered, and he now goes about on crutches. Notwithstanding this, he is still remarkably active, both men- tally and physically, for one of his years, since he has entered the oc- togenarian ranks. CHARLES B. HURST. Charles B. Hurst, a prosperous agriculturist residing in Peru, Ne- braska, is an old settler of this vicinity, having taken up his residence across the river in Missouri over forty-five years ago, and his large farm still being situated there. He has arrived at a creditable degree of prosperity through his own efforts, and is a strictly self-made man. He began life by working for wages and gradually got ahead in the world, until by his constant diligence and economy he had a working capital and has since made ample provision for his own declining years and done much for his family. Mr. Hurst has all the substantial qual- ities of citizenship which form the strength of a great nation, and his capable performance of the duties connected with his individual career, with his responsibilities as head of a family, and as a member of so- ciety and a unit of the community and state, furnishes good grounds SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 221 for the esteem in which he is everywhere held by his friends and as- sociates. Mr. Hurst was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, September 13, 1842. His grandfather, Levi Hurst, was of Scotch stock and probably a native of Scotland. He was a fanner by occupation, and came to America in an early day, moving from the place of his first settlement, in Maryland, to Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1798, where he died in 1856, at the age of ninety-two years, and his wife died several years later, at the age of ninety-three. They had begun life very humbly, grandmoth- er Hurst having been married in her bare feet, but they were strong and industrious and in time gained a fair share of this world's goods, as well as the esteem of all within the circle of their influence. Thei^e large family of sons and daughters settled in different states of the west, in Indiana, Iowa and Missouri. Levi Hurst was a fine fiddler, and furnished many hours of pleasure to the family, and especially to Mr. Hurst's father, who was a natural dancer. But when about thirty years of age he was converted and joined the Methodist church. After this his religious feelings led him to believe that the fiddle was an unholy thing and a temptation to the spirit, so notwithstanding the almost tear- ful remonstrances of his son, he kindled a fire on the hearth and placed the beloved instrument, for which he paid a large sum of money, in the flames, for conscience's sake. James Hurst, the father of Charles B. Hurst, was born on the Isle of Man, December 7, 1791. His first wife was Betsey Williams, who died leaving the following four children : William E., who was born in Ohio and died in Holt county, Missouri, in 1888, at an advanced age, leaving four sons and one daughter; Betsey Ann, wife of Palmer Low, in Columbus, Ohio, and tlie mother of one son and one daughter ; Caro- line, the widow of Hiram Crenshaw, but by her first husband, Madison 222 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Shackleford, a Methodist minister, she had six children ; and Henry H., who died in Grand Junction, Tennessee, and was twice married, having had one son and two daughters by his first wife. In 1822, when thirty- one years of age, James Hurst married Elizabeth Sly, aged sixteen, who was born in Wtst Virginia, June 30, 1806. Her father, Henry Sly, was a German farmer, who never talked good English, who was mar- ried in Ohio, and who lost his wife at the age of fifty, she having been d midwife and having worn herself out by attendance on the sick. James Hurst and wife had fourteen children. One son died in infancy, and Moses and Jesse died in boyhood, the former having been killed by a falling tree at the age of five. The other sons and daughters grew up, as follows : James died at the age of twenty-two, soon after his marriage ; Thomas M., born in Ohio about 1825, was a brick and stone mason and died in Otoe county, Nebraska, in 1898, ha\'ing had twelve chil- dren; Harriet, the widow of Joseph Biaisha, lives in Washington state, and has seven children; Sarah is the wife of Benjamin E. Drummins, of Worth county, Missouri, and has seven living children, having lost three; Elliott S. is a stock rancher of Idaho and has six children; Ezra M. is a fruit farmer of Hollywood, California, and had twelve children, seven of whom are living: Mary J. is the wife of George Johnston, of Vernon county, Missouri, and has four sons ; Charles B. is next of the children; Joseph P. is a farmer of Chetopa, Kansas, and has his sec- ond wife, having eight children by his two wives : Cynthia D. is the widow of William Pugh and lives in Nebraska City; Matilda died in 1853- The family left Ohio in 1852 and came to St. Joseph, Missouri, where they lived two years. The father owned four hundred acres of land and was a leading stockman, but met reverses and sold out at seven dollars an acre. He then came to Atchison county, Missouri, and SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 223 although in his sixty-second year, worked at his trade of brick and stone mason, and took contracts, building the first three brick houses in Atchison county. He died in that county at the age of eighty-eight -years less nine days, and his widow died there in February, 1891, at the age of eighty-five. Charles B. Hurst was ten years old when the family came to Mis- souri, and the schooling which it was his privilege to receive was very limited in quantity and deficient in quality, but he learned to read and cipher, and has always been a good speller. He remained at home un- til he reached his majority, and was then witji a threshing outfit for a time, and in the fall of 1S63 engaged in herding and feeding cattle in Doniphan county, Kansas, at the wage of a dollar a day. He worked for the firm of Fisher, Warner and Piatt for two hundred and forty- two days, in rain and shine, Sundays too, and never missed a day. He then fed hogs for three months at a dollar and a half a day, after which he worked on the home farm for a year. In i86g, a few years after he began married life, he bouglit a hundred and fourteen acres in Missouri, across the river from Brownville, at about five dollars an acre, and later purchased two hundred acres at twenty-four dollars an acre. This is the land on which he has worked out his career as a farmer, and it is now worth seventy-five dollars an acre. There are two sets of buildings on his land, and the entire property is valuable and brings in large an- nual returns. His home place in Peru consists of a nice and comfort- able residence and two acres of land, most of which is in orchard. April S, 1866, Mr. Hurst was married in' Atchison county to Miss Caroline A. Rich, who was born in Bureau county, Illinois, February 7, 1846. Her parents, Washington and Seline (Provance) Rich, were farmers, and mo\'ed from Pennsylvania to Illinois, where the former died, and his widow and her ten children then came to Atchison county. 224 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Missouri. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hurst: Lindley S. is a teacher and farmer, living at home in Peru; Findley D. is a farmer in Nodaway county, Missouri, and has five chil- dren ; Mary S. is in the Peru normal and perparing herself for a teach- er ; Sophia S. is the wife of Glenville N. Coon, manager of a lumber yard in Osceola, Nebraska; Benjamin B. is a teacher in Harvard, Ne- braska, being a graduate of the business department of the Tarkio (Mis- souri) College; Calista A. is a member of the class of 1906 in the Peru normal. The beloved mother of this family died on the farm in Atchison count}^, Alissouri, in 1891, at the age of forty-four. She was a woman of noble character and attributes, and Avas not onl)' a revered personage in her family circle but was a favorite among her many as- sociates and friends. She and her husband were members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and he is a trustee of the church in Peru. SPIADRACH M. CHAFFIN. Shadrach M. Chaffin, farmer and veterinarian of Humboldt, Rich- ardson county, is an old and well known settler of Southeastern Ne- braska. He first became acquainted with this county in 1858, and has resided here continuously since the 12th of August, 1861, on which date he arrived from Holt county, Missouri. Nebraska was not yet a state and was indeed a wild country compared to its present highly civil- ized condition, and its many changes and steps of development are photographed on the mind and engrafted in the experience of Mr. Chaf- fin, wdio has himself been intimately identified with the life and times in which he has lived for over forty years. r\Ir. Chaffin was born in Scioto county, Ohio, August 12, 1833, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 225 so that he is now past the Psahnist's Hrait of three score and ten years, yet is able to do a day's work and perform his part of the obhgations of Hfe with much of the zeal of youth. He was reared on his father's Ohio farm, and remained with his parents till after he was grown. His schooling was meager and acquired in the primitive log schoolhouse such as was marked out for the temple of learning in the early part of the last century. From the age of sixteen he was constantly engaged in farm labor, and has had an increasing ratio of success in all the years that have followed. In 1855 he left Ohio and moved to Holt county, Missouri, and five years later arrived in Nebraska. For thirty years he was engaged in farming near Salem, and in 1891 he took up his abode on his present nice homestead, a part of which lies within the corporate limits of the town of Humboldt. Besides working with profit his small farm he follows the vocation of stock doctor, and is well known for liis connection with both pursuits. Mr. Chaffin is a Republican in politics, but has nourished no spe- cific ambition to leave the rank and file of the party and attain office. He has served on the city council of Humboldt for three terms, and is known as a public-spirited and enterprising citizen. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, and he is a firm advocate of the temperance cause. September 25, 1864, Mr. Chaffin was married to Miss Lucinda O. Pierce, who was born in Vermont, November 19, 1847, a daughter of Daniel W. and Lucy Edwin Pierce, both natives of Vermont. Her father was a cabinet-maker, who moved to Waterloo, Wisconsin, in 1857, and died in 1899, in the same week with the death of his oldest son, Daniel W. The family had come to Nebraska in 1858 and twenty years later had gone to the state of Washington, where Mrs. Chaffin's mother died in 1891. Mrs. Chaffin remained at home until her marriage. 226 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. which was celebrated in Brown county, Kansas. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Chaffin, as follows: George is an office man in the employ of the Great Northern Railroad, and has a wife, one son and thiee daughters; Francis died at the age of one year; Ettie, the de- ceased wife of Charles C. Pool, died at the age of thirty-three, leaving six children; Mrs. Lucinda Belle Corn, a widow with three children, resides with her parents ; Edgar E. died at the age of four years ; Mrs. Lucy Boss, in Humboldt, has one daughter; Miss Mary is at home :\nd in the employ of the telephone company, and also sings and plays well; the eighth child, a daughter, died in infancy. PHILIP JENKINS. Philip Jenkins, one of the well known and much esteemed citizens of Pawnee City, Nebraska, was born December 6, 1821, in Onondaga county, New York, and is a son of Christopher and Minnie (Howard) Jenkins, both of whom were born in New York. The father descended from three brothers of the name who came to America from England, prior to the Revolutionary war. The father died in 1847 ^t Lacon, Illinois, aged fifty-two years, the mother dying in 1840, in Morgan county, Illinois. By trade Christopher Jenkins was a carpenter. He lived an honest,, upright life and died respected by all who knew him. Our subject's parents had a family of nine children, four of whom still survive. Philip Jenkins was reared to manhood in his fathers home, in 1839 coming with his parents to Morgan county, Illinois, and later to Wood- ford county. He was one of the loyal citizens who responded to the call of President Lincoln for troops, and enlisted for service on August PHILIP JENKINS / ^ftf^^-- MRS. PHILIP JENKINS SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 227 13, 1862, in Company C, Seventy-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel D. P. Grier. His term of service covered eighteen months, and during that period he participated in the Yazoo expedition, was at the siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, New Orleans and in the move- ments of the army on the Texas coast. On one occasion, when the flag bearer was struck down, Mr. Jenkins gallantly seized the banner and carried it in the face of the enemy. For his bravery on the field of battle he was promoted from second to first lieutenant, and doubtless would have received further recognition had not domestic trouble caused him to resign and return to his home. During his absence two of his little children were taken sick and died, both being buried in the same grave. The prostration of their mother caused such serious illness that her devoted husband felt that his place of duty was at her side. Mr. Jenkins was married in Woodford county, Illinois, February i, 1846, to Miss Malinda Sweet, who was born in Morgan county, Illinois. She is a daughter of Phelig and Abigail (Bardeen) Sweet, natives of New York, who settled in Illinois, where both died. The three children bom to Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are: E. M., of Byron, Thayer county, Nebraska; Lola M., wife of Niel Duncan, of Pawnee city; and Myrtle, wife of J. H. Phelps, of Wilsonville, Nebraska. The two children who died in Illinois were : Abraham Lincoln, aged three years, and Philip J., a babe. Mr. Jenkins came to Nebraska in 1878 and located in Brownville for eighteen months, then went to Alexandria and remained until 1883. For the following two years he was at Tobias, and in 1885 located in Ohiowa, Fillmore county. From 1878 to 1893 he successfully followed the lumber business. In 1894 Mr. Jenkins came to Pawnee city. He is a Republican in politics and is the oldest member of the John Ingham Post No. 95, Grand Army of the Republic, of Pawnee city. For forty- 228 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. eight years he has been a Mason. He belongs to the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins celebrated their golden wedding in Pawnee city in 1896. ALFRED PAGE. Alfred Page, of section 28, Grant precinct, near Dawson, Richard- son county, is identified with the best traditions and highest develop- ment of agricultural enterprise and public-spirited citizenship in this rich and beautiful section of Southeastern Nebraska. For forty-five years he has given faithful attention to his life pursuits on the govern- ment land that he took up when he came here, and his management and toil have been so effectively directed that now for several years he has lived in retirement on his beautiful homestead, free to spend some time before and all his life after his sixty-eighth birthday in wholesome ease befitting strenuous endeavor during the fulness of manly vigor. Mr. Page has been prominent and influential in the affairs of his community as well as successful in material circumstances, and has been honored with offices of trust and responsibility and has given a due share of his time and attention to matters concerning politics, religion and insti- tutions of county and state. This well known Nebraska citizen was born in Monroe county, Kentucky, on Christmas day, 1835. His father, Samuel Page, was a native of Tennessee, and was accidentally killed in the woods when his son Alfred was five years old. There were two other sons. B. W. Page came to Richardson county in 1859, and died in Nemaha precinct in 1879, following his wife in death and leaving seven living children. He was born in 1832, was a stock farmer, and served in the state legis- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 229 lature. The other son, Elijah, is a miner iu Washington and Montana, and is a bachelor. Alfred Page was reared by kind god-parents, but had only meager opportunities for gaining an education. At the age of twenty he left home' and went to Missouri, where he followed farming mainly, in Sullivan and Holt counties, and in November, 1859, arrived in Ne- braska. He took up a hundred and sixty acres of government land, the same tract that comprises his present farm, but how vastly changed and improved since he first occupied it only he and his oldest neighbors can picture. In addition, at present, he also owns a timber lot of twenty acres, and he has sold two other farms in this state. His first house here was erected of logs that he hewed out of the timber with his own hand. But in spite of this being a very primitive and rude house, he had one equipment which was in advance of his neighbors' houses and for which he had to endure much good-natured chafKng from his neigh- bors. This "style" which was the object of so much attention and wit consisted in glass windows for his house, and they were the first in the neighborhood. The pleasant frame house which is now the family home was built in 1867, and a fine red barn was completed in 1897. There are also a cow house and hog house and all other improvements needed by the up-to-date farmer. Mr. Page also planted the hedge around the entire quarter section. At an early day he carried from the bottoms, on his shoulder, a bundle of one hundred and twenf-v-one Cot- tonwood and soft maple sprouts, and during the years since they were planted they grew into large trees, from which were sawed much of the lumber which went into the above mentioned bam. There is also a fine orchard of various fruits, and the embowered home is a scene of beauty and coolness and shade during the most of the year. Mr. Page has made a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs, 230 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. and keeps a considerable number of both varieties of stock. He now has a tenant on his farm, to whom he has turned over the entire operation and the management of the land. Mr. Page in politics is a Democrat, and has fraternal affiliations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a veteran school di- rector, having served twenty-five years on the board. He was assessor four years, and county commissioner nine years or three terras, he later served one year as county supervisor, being the first Democrat elected in the county to membership on the board. Mr. Page married, September 26, 1856, Miss Elizabeth Buchanan, who was born in Kentucky in 1832 and was reared in Missouri. Her father, Fielden Buchanan, was a farmer of Kentucky and Missouri, and married Miss Eliza Edwards, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. One of these sons, O. A. Buchanan, is a farmer near Mr. Page, and came here in 1865, from the Civil war, in which he served over four years as a soldfer from Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Page had nine children, eight of whom are living: Mollie, the wife of Frank Porter; Minnie Staley, who lives in Greenwood county, Kansas, and has four living children; Fielden Porter Page, who is a liveryman in Dawson and has two living children; Eliza Roberts, in the state of Washington, Lincoln county, who has six daughters and four sons; Sarah Peatling, of Kansas, who has two sons and one daughter; Julia Lee, of Nemaha precinct, who has one son living; Grizell Lawson, of Kansas City, who has one daughter ; Eva Whitney, who lives in Liberty precinct and has three sons and one daughter; and Emma, who died at the age of nineteen, in the flower and beauty of young womanhood. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 231 WESLEY G. HUMMEL. Wesley G. Hummel, of Grant precinct, Richardson county, with postofiice at Dawson, is one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of this portion of Southeastern Nebraska. He settled here in March of 1877, from Kane county, Illinois, and a few years later commenced op- erations on the bare prairie which has since been transformed into his beautiful farm, one of the best in this courity. Industry aimed at a definite end has been throughout one of his principal characteristics, and thereby he has attained prosperous condition in life and dignity and wholesome esteem among his fellow men. When a boy in years but a man in patriotism and devotion to duty, he gave loyal service to the Union cause during the war of the rebellion, and ever since, wherever he has lived, he has been noted for his public spirit and genuine interest in the welfare of his community, doing what he could to advance the general good. Mr. Hummel was born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1847. H'S father, Christian Hummel, was born in Germany, June 11, 1810, and died in Kane county, Illinois, in 1896. He was married in Philadelphia, March 17, 1840, to Miss Barbara Duper, who was a native of Germany. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are now living: Elizabeth is the wife of Samuel Rickert, of Dupage county, Illinois, and has two daughters and one son ; Amelia is the wife of Daniel Piper, of Ogle county, Illinois, and has nine children; Wes- ley G. is the third ; C. L., in Richardson county, has six children ; F. A., in Franklin precinct of this county, is a farmer; Sarah A., of Edison Park, Illinois, is the wife of Mr. Mesner, who had two children by her deceased sister Catherine, and she had one, child by her previous mar- riage; Mary died in- middle life in Kane county, Illinois; and Henry L. lives in Holdrege, Nebraska. 232 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Mr. W. G. Hummel attended school in Illinois up to the time he was sixteen years old, and then enlisted from Ogle county in Company E of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry. He served two years and three months, until the close of the war. After the rebellion he lived and farmed in Kane county, Illinois, for several years, and in 1877 came to Nebraska. In 1881 he bought a quarter section of land, which was in the state of nature, and in the subsequent twenty-three years had devoted his best efforts to its profitable culivation and improvement. He planted all the fruit and ornamental trees on the place. He built his first house in 1880, and the present large two-story residence -was erected quite recently, and the commodious barn in 1899. Each year he raises about seventy-five fine Poland China hogs, and from thirty to sixty head of Polled Angus cattle, which he has bred up during the past ten years. He keeps about ten horses and tills from sixty to eighty acres of corn, with an average yield of fifty bushels to the acre, and also some twenty acres of wheat. Mr. Hummel is a man of intelligence, and takes an interest in the world about him as well as his immediate daily affairs and needs. He finds much delight in collecting things of antiquarian interest, and has a copy, of the first paper printed in America, having bought it at the Philadelphia Centennial, and also a cane made from the wood of the old ship Consitution. Mr. Hummel is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He served two years as county supervisor and for fourteen years as school director of district No. 92. He and his wife are members of the United Evan- gelical church. Mr. Hummel was married in Grant precinct November 3, 1880, to Miss Helen E. Burr. They have a bright and happy family of nine children, some of whom have already taken up life's responsible duties SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 233 and others have the jo)'s of childhood still before them, as follows: Boyle, aged twenty-two, is at home, farming; Frank Everett, aged twen- ty-one, is at home; Ethel Kate is a teacher and at present a student in the Peru Normal; Nellie F., is at home and in school; Wilber Harri- son ; Wesley E'arl ; Nannie Pearl ; Harry Christian ; and Helen Martha, the baby of the family. MICHAEL MELIZA. Michael Meliza, of section 9, Liberty precinct, near Verdon, Rich- ardson county, is an agriculturist and stock-raiser of pronounced promi- nence in this county, thoroughly successful in his operations and busi- ness transactions, thrifty and most enterprising in the management of his place, and withal a representative and public-spirited citizen who acts and accomplishes results in his various dealings for the benefit not alone of himself but also of the community in which he lives and of which he is a most worthy part. He came to Rchardson county and his present place twenty-two years ago, on March 4, 1882, so that, while not a pioneer, he is an old and honored resident of this portion of southeastern Nebraska. Mr. Meliza was born in Henry county, Indiana, April 9, 1850. His grandfather was John Henry Meliza, a farmer and carpenter in Virginia, where he died, leaving six children, two sons and four daugh- ters, who all had families. Jacob Meliza, the father of Michael, was born in ^''irginia, April 12, 1809, and died in Adell, Iowa, in 1889, pre- ceded two years by his wife. He was a very successful farmer, and his landed estate was valued at twelve thousand dollars. He had also engaged in merchandising, losing some six thousand dollars by security, which was the principal misfortune that he met in his career. 1234 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. He married Margaret Shively, who was born in Germany one year later than her husband, and came to this country at the age of fourteen, be- ing three months on the voyage. She was the only daughter, and her two brothers are: Mike Shively, who owns nineteen hundred acres of land in California and a similar amount in South Dakota; and John Shively, an able farmer of Missouri. Jacob and Margaret Meliza had eight children : Lydia is the wife of Thomas Fike, in Iowa, and has three children; Perry is a farmer and fruit-grower in Ashland, Oregon, and has two sons and one daughter ; Michael is the third of the family ; Sophia, wife of James Trimble, died in Richardson county in 1900, aged forty-eight years, leaving two sons; Martha is the wife of W. F. Hulbert, of Auburn, and has tw'o daughters; Francis Marion lives in Iow,a and has one daughter; Melissa is the wife of J. B. Shuey, of Adell, Iowa, and has one son and three daughters; Rosa died at tht age of sixteen, in Adell. Mr. Michael Meliza was reared principally in Davis county, Iowa, and his school advantages in youth were rather limited. He worked on the home farm, and when he started out for himself at the age of twenty-three he had five hundred dollars that he had saved from his wages. He was married .in 1874, and then began as a tenant farmer in Davis county. Seven years later, when he came to Richardson coun- ty, Nebraska, he had thirty-five hundred dollars that had accrued from his industrious labors. He bought the quarter section of his present homestead, paying sixteen hundred fifty for it. It was naked prairie at that time, and all the present fine improvements have been placed here at his own cost and under his management. He has one of the finest barns in the county, built in 1892 at a cost of two thousand dollars. It has a stone basement, is painted yellow, with a cupola on top, and alto- gether is one of the most commodious and best equipped structures of SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 235 its kind anywhere in the country around. He completed his modern, two-story house in 1899. It is amply large, is well built, and its invit- ing quarters plus the genial hospitality that pervades it all and the comfort and good cheer, for which the noble and energetic Mrs. Meliza is responsible, make this home one out of a hundred. There are two fine orchards, of apples and other fruit, which Mr. Meliza planted. He owns another quarter section, adjoining this place, and a half section in South Dakota. He keeps a large herd of shorthorn cattle, and tf number of horses and mules for working his farm. He sold forty head of cattle in the fall of 1903, and some of his fine cow's have brought as much as eighty-five dollars. He has some two hundred blooded Poland China hogs, arid in one season he sold three thousand dollars' worth from the breeding of twenty sows. There is a fine hedge around the home quar- ter section, and half way round the adjoining tract, and all his land is divided into forty acre fields, fenced hog-tight. Without doubt this is one of the best cultivated, best managed and best equipped farms in Richardson county, and Mr. Meliza's pains have been well rewarded in the profitable enterprise he has built up since coming here over twenty years ago. Mr. Meliza is a Republican in politics, but the only offices he has held are road overseer and school director. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Christian church, in which he is a deacon. December 28, 1874, Mr. Meliza married Miss Arminta J. Cham- berlain, who was born in Davis county, Iowa, and whose family history will be found in the accompanying biography of Abraham Zook. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Meliza. Lem Elmer, born in Iowa September 16, 1875, died at Hunter Springs, in 1900. He was a grad- uate of Lincoln University, and at the time of his death was employed by a wholesale dry-goods firm at a salary of eighty dollars a month. 236 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. He is buried in Verdon. His parents and sister were in California when he died, and his taking off in the height of young manhood has re- mained a lasting bereavement to them all. Katie Meliza, a young lady of fourteen years, is in the ninth grade of the Verdon schools, and is also taking musical instruction, having much talent in that direction. Mrs. Meliza is a full copartner with her husband, and the way in which she keeps vip her end of the domestic establishment is most creditable to her many virtues of heart and mind. ABRAHAM ZOOK. Abraham Zook, a retired farmer of Verdon, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, June 24, 1832, shortly after the death of his father, Abraham Zook, who left his widow and three children already born, as follows: Daniel, who was born in 1824 and died near Birmingham, Iowa, in 1902 ; Esther, who was the wife of John Hoover and died in Indiana, leaving two sons and one daughter ; and Joseph, who is a retired farmer of Appanoose county, Iowa, and has three sons and one daughter. The mother of these children died in Iowa at the age of sixty-two. She kept her little family of children together and reared them to be honest and industrious. She had been left with a hundred and sixty acres of land, so that they all had a home until they could do for themselves. The father was buried in Indiana and the December 18, 1901, Dr. Sloan was married at Firth, Nebraska, to Miss Olive McElvain, a native of Nebraska and a lady of much in- telligence and a true helpmate to her husband. She was reared and educated in this state. Dr. Sloan is a Republican; he is a member of the State Medical Society; and affiliates with the Indepaident Order of Odd Fellows, and is medical examiner for the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Woodmen of the World. JOHN P. KING. John P. King, who has recently retired from active participation in a long and successful career as stock farmer, is one of the oldest resi- dents of Richardson county, Nebraska, having taken up his abode here as an actual settler in the fall of i860. He bought eighty acres of the Indians, for three dollars per acre, at the site where Barada now stands, and on this land he made the beginnings of his subsequent prosperity. He has always been known as an indefatigable worker as well as capable SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 303 business manager, and the large, estate which he now owns is entirely the result of his own labors and intelligent efforts. He was born at the head of Hemlock Lake, in Livingston county. New York, October 12, 1833, and in 1856 went west to Clayton county, Iowa, and from there four years later made his final long removal to Richardson county, Nebraska. For a number of years he was sur- rounded by the primitive conditions of real pioneer life, and his suc- cess was not gained without many privations in early life. He gave up active farming in 1901, when he had nearly reached the age of three score years and ten, and moved into a comfortable and pretty house in the town of Shubert, where he now enjoys comfortable ease, al- though he is vigorous and energetic as of yore and gives his attention to business and matters affecting the public welfare. He owns four farms in the county, aggregating six hundred and forty acres, and also has twenty acres of land just outside the city of Lincoln. He has fed and shipped large numbers of stock of his own raising, .and has been successful in all departments of his farming. He has always been a stanch Republican in politics, but has never aspired to office, although he was elected to the office of mayor of Shubert in 1903, and has done well by his fellow citizens in the attention he has given to the affairs of that village. He affiliates with Hope Lodge No. 29, F. and A. M., and was master of the lodge for ten years. Mr. King comes of a good and long-established family in this country. His great-grandfather, Simeon King, married Mary Carver, a daughter of Jonathan Carver, who held a commission from the king to treat with the Indians about the Mississippi river, and had a deed to a tract of land near that river, which in size was to be a day's journey in each direction, but this deed was annulled after the Revolution. Simeon King, Jr., the grandfather, was a farmer in Vermont and New 304 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. York, and most of his children were born in the latter state. His children were as follows : 'Ruth, a Mrs. Russell, of Waukesha, Wiscon- sin ; Minerva, the wife of a farmer in New York by the name of Graves ; Mrs. Olive Carpenter, who died in Springwater, New York; Martin, who at the age of fourteen years went to the war of 1812, and died in Livingston county. New York, leaving two sons and one daughter; Sid- ney, who was an Ohio farmer; Mrs. Mindwell Hooker; Mason Avery; and Eliza, who died in girlhood. Mason Avery King, Mr. King's father, was born in 1795, and died in 1872. He married, in 1825, Phebe Doud, of Connecticut, who v/as then eighteen years old, and who died in Richardson county, Ne- braska, in. Humboldt, twelve years later than her husband, at the age of seventy-seven years. They were the parents of fourteen children : Jane is the present wife of George Swick, of Abilena, Kansas, and her first husband was Samuel Young. Ann married, first, Mr. J. M. Austin and, second, a Mr. Bradford, and she died in Shiawassee count)^, Michigan, leaving one son. Levi King was in the Union army, and died at Jackson, Tennessee, filling an unknown grave. John P. King is the fourth of the family. Ellen is the wife of M. D. Ford, in Jewell county, Kansas, and has four daughters and one son. Mary E. was a nurse in the Benton barracks during the Civil war, and was twice married, leaving, at her death, two sons, Fred and Ernest Fisher. Charles C. King served throughout the Civil war, having been honor- ably discharged three times, and came out a non-commissioned officer; he lives in Jewell county, Kansas, and has one daughter and five sons. Hiram D. King was a member of the Missouri state militia during the Civila war, and died in Peru, Nebraska, leaving a wife and two sons. Daniel Webster King, of Pawnee county, Nebraska, has two sons and one daughter. L. R. King lives in Superior, Nebraska, and is a SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. S^S widower with two sons and three daughters; he entered the Union army at the age of seventeen and served in the cavalry for five years, the last year being spent on the western frontier. Rose, the wife of Frank Berry, died in Oregon when about forty-nine years old, leaving no children. Frank M. King is a merchant of Holton, Kansas, and has one son and two daughters. Vinton died at the age of five years. Sarah, the widow of George Lockridge, who was a Congregational minister, resides in Long Beach, California, and has two sons and two daughters. Mr. John P. King was married at Garnavillo, Iowa, May 19, 1858, to Miss Mary Cornelia Slocum, who was born in Linesville, Crawford county, Pennslyvania, September 4, 1840, and comes of a well known and prominent family. Her parents were Samuel E. and Mary V. (Line) Slocum, the former of whom was born in Vergennes, A^ermont, January i, 1815, and now resides in Falls City, Nebraska, in his ninetieth year, having come to this state from Minnesota thirty- seven years ago, and having followed the occupation of farming dur- ing his active career; the latter was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, October 9, 181 7, and died at the age of thirty-six years, leaving five of her six children : Mrs. King, the eldest ; Phebe Storm, in Lincoln, Nebraska; James L., who is one of the wealthy men of Falls City, Nebraska, arid president of the Richardson County Bank; George L., who is a stock farmer in Richardson county; and Rachel E. Hutchins, of Falls City. Mr. and Mrs. King have seven children living of the eleven born to them. Corydon Elliott, bom June 29, 1859, was the first child, May, the fifth child, is the wife of C. O. Tompkins, a prosperous stock farmer in this county, and has three daughters. Helen is the wife of Lee Bolejack, a farmer at Shubert. Myrtle is the wife of R. A. Downs, 3o6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. a banker in Emerson, Nebraska, and has one daughter. Donna is the wife of Professor Carr, of Shubert, and has one son; her husband is principal of the high school. John Royal King was graduated from the Western Normal College of Nebraska at the age of sixteen, and for the past two years has been a musician with the United States navy, being .now stationed on the battleship Topeka, in the vicinity of Pana- ma ; he is a natural nuisician and has been with the Shubert band. J. V\'orth King is farming at home. Mr. and Mrs. King have five grand- children: The three children ,of Mrs. C. O. Tompkins, Glad3^s, Irene and Helen ; Helen, the daughter of Mrs. Downs : alid John Roland, the boy of Mrs. Carr. GEORGE CROW, George Crow, said to be the oldest living resident of Nemaha county, has enjoyed a life of many years and of much honor. Being now in his eighty-third year, he has a retrospect which takes in the most important period of this country's history." The state of Nebraska was not admitted into the Union until he was forty-six years old and in the prime of his manhood. When he first came to this .part of the country the land was still in undisputed possession of the Indians, and his first departure from the trans-Missouri region was caused by the hostility of the redmen. He has made his name honored in the county because of his participation in the best movements for development and progress and because of his worthy individual career. Mr. Crow's father, George Crow, came to America from Germany in 1798, when he was about fifteen years old, his parents settling in New Jersey. He was a brick-maker, and in the winter followed the o w o M o o o M o Q W o O SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. . 307 fulling trade in the woolen mills, and began life without money, prog- ressing to comfortable circumstances before his death. He married Susan Johnson in New Jersey, who was born in 1792, a daughter of Joseph Johnson, who was an active man at the age of eighty-seven and died at ninety years. George Crow and wife had nine children, five daughters and four sons, and the ,onIy ones now living are George and his sister Rachel, who is the widow Remley, living in Laharpe, Kansas, and the mother of two children. The daughter Elizabeth was born in 1808 and died in 1896 in Iowa, having been the mother of two daugh- ters and one son. The mother of these children died in Indiana at the age of forty of milk sickness, and her husband died there in the fall of 1848. Nearly all the family seems to have been remarkable for the length of their years, and they were worthy and useful citizens in every community in which they lived. George Crow was born in Burlington county. New Jersey, May II, 1 82 1, and when a boy of twelve or thirteen was brought to Ran- dolph county, Indiana. In 1844 he joined a company who were going to Andrew county, Missouri, he .tlriving the wagon of a widow woman for his passage. One of the reasons for this move was that the young lady whom he afterward married and who is now his honered companion of old age, came at the same time with her parents, and young Crow at the ardent age of twenty-four could not believe otherwise than that it was his duty to go also. In the same year, however, he left Missouri and went to Nebraska. The Presbyterian mission among the Pawnee Indians just at this time wanted a farmer, and Mr. Crow went there for that purpose, spending one year there before his marriage, after which he went back and conducted the mission farm until August, when the Indians became hostile and drove the settlers down the Missouri. This makes Mr. Crow's residence in the state antedate that of any other 3o8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. living white man, and he is also the oldest actual settler of this part of the state. In the spring of 1850 Mr. Crow was one of the great expedition of argonauts from Andrew county, Missouri, who went across the plains with oxen and horses to Califoi-nia, being from May to September on the journey. He was fairly successful during nearly three years that he spent there, although he would have done just as well at home, and he returned to Andrew county on December 30, 1852; most of his miining experiences having been in the placers. In October, 1856, he moved from Buchanan county, Missouri, to Nemaha county, Nebraska, and has been a permanent resident ever since. He and his good ^^'ife have made all they have through the hard work of their hands and shrewd management and business ability. He has engaged in farming and stock-raising since coming here, and fifteen acres of broken land was the only impro\'ement on the two hundred and forty which he made so profitable during the remainder of his life. He is now living retired on his eighty-seven acre farm in London precinct, Brownville post- office. Mr. Crow married, February 14, 1846, Miss Mary \N^are, who was born in Burlington county. New Jersey, December 4, 1823, two and a half years later than her husband, and they first knew each other when she was seventeen years old. Her parents, Joseph and Lydia (Clutch) Ware, were of New Jersey, whence they were pioneers to Clermont county, Ohio, about 1828. Seven years later they went to Indiana, and thence in 1843 or 1844 to Andrew county, Missouri. Mrs. Crow was the third of twelve children. Her father was' born June 14, 1797, and died in 1879, and her mother was born May 25, 1800, and died September 27, 1887. Mrs. Crow has four brothers and two SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA: 309 sisters living, and she is the eldest. Her brother James Story Ware died of disease in the army during the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Crow have been the parents of the following- children : Lydia Ellen, wife of Amos Mclninch, of St. Joseph, Missouri; Charles Elliott, who died when five years old ; George Ranney, who died at the age of two months; Anna, wife of John Felton, in Auburn; William Allen, of Oklahoma, who has had one son by each of two wives ; Susan O., wife of John W Ritchey, a merchant of Brownville, and has two sons; Ida M., wife of David Kite, a farmer near Howe, and has one son and two daughters; Mary Emma died in infancy; Walter P. is in Colorado, and has two daughter's and one son; Charlotte L. died at the age of seven months. Mr. and Mrs. Crow are among the octogenarians who have had the honor of celebrating their golden wedding. He is a Master Mason, for over fifty years a Mason. He was formerly a Democrat. He was sent as a representative to the territorial legislature for about five terms, and he introduced the measure for removing the capitol to Lin- » coin. While serving in this body he practically gave his time and serv- ice to the territory, for the remuneration was so small that it would not hire a man to take his place on his stock farm. He served as jus- tice of the peace for a time, and the only couple who came before him seeking matrimonial bonds he tied free of charge. MRS. ANN MAXWELL. Mrs. Ann Maxwell is well known to the residents of Nemaha county, and is the widow of John Maxwell, who was born in Lanark- shire, Scotland, June 22,-1823. On the ist of January, 1847, iri the 310 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. land of his birth, he was united in marriage to Miss Ann Wardrop, a daughter of Daniel and Agnes (Donald) Wardrop, both of whom died in the prime of life, leaving three of their five children, namely : Daniel, who died when about fourteen years old; Ann; and Margaret, who resides in Glasgow and is the wife of a railroad engineer. Mrs. Maxwell was but six years of age when her mother died, and two years later her father was called away by death, leaving these two children with but a small estate left by their grandfather Waldrop. By her marriage Mrs. Maxwell has become the mother of eleven children, as follows: John, who was born in Scotland, January 27, 1848, and is now engaged in farming in Sheridan county, Kansas; Daniel, who resides on one of his mother's farms; William, a farmer near the old home place; Agnes, the wife of Frank Hacker, a farmer of this township; Nettie, who died at the age of sixteen years; Walter, a mail carrier in Nemaha city; Alexander, engaged in the livery business in Oklahoma; Margaret, who died when but two years old; Charles, who died at the age of eleven years; Frank, deceased at the age of three months; and Edward, whose history will be found below. In 1852 Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell bade adieu to the home and friends of their childhood, and came by sailing vessel to America, spending seven weeks and four days on the voyage from Glasgow to New York. After residing one year at Buffalo, New York, where Mr. Maxwell followed his trade of shoemaking, they removed to Whiteside county, Illinois, there securing forty acres of land, on which he farmed during the summer months, while in the winter he worked at his trade. Fifteen years were spent in the Prairie state, and in 1867 this worthy couple made their way to Nebraska with their eight children, two of whom Avere babes, and here for a time they farmed on rented land. For thirty- three years they had charge of the county almshouse, and in this official SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 311 position they proved themselves honest and trustworthy. In his fra- ternal relations Mr. Maxwell was a member of the order of Odd Fellows, and was an unswerving Republican in political matters. There are one hundred and sixty acres in the home place, another farm has one hundred and seventy acres, — in all three htnidred and thirty acres ; one hundred and sixty acres are in Kansas. He came here without anything and was a self-made man. Edward J. Maxwell, a son of these worthy Scotch parents, was born in this county on the 2d of August, 1872. He was reared as a farmer lad and in his youth attended the district schools and the com- mercial college at Shenandoah, Iowa, graduating in that institution in 1891. Since his father's death he has been his mother's constant support, and is now engaged in farming on one hundred and sixty acres of land belonging to the estate. On Christinas day of 1897 he was united in marriage to Lizzie Leibhart, who was boni in Pemisylvania in 1876, a daughter of W. W. and Mary Leibhart, both of whom are living in Nemaha, to which place they removed from Illinois in 1883. They became the parents of six daughters and two sons, but one son is now deceased, and the two married sisters of Mrs. Maxwell are Clara, the wife of W. E. Patterson, of Gretna, Nebraska ; and Rose, the wife of Frank Titus. One little daughter, Maxine, has been born to brighten and bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Maxwell, her birth occurring on the 26th of August, 1903. Mr. Maxwell is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a stanch supporter of Republi- can principles. During the heated campaign of 1903 he was the suc- cessful candidate for the office of assessor, which he is now filling with honor and credit. Mrs. Maxwell is a member of the Baptist church. 312 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. MRS. MARY E. CLARK. Mrs. Mary E. Clark, residing on the farm of her late husband in London precinct, Nemaha City postoffice, is one of the oldest living settlers of Nemaha county and southeastern Nebraska. Few, indeed, are they who can boast of a half century of residence in this state, dating from a time even before the organization of this section of the country as a territory. Mrs. Clark spent nearly all the days of her long and happy married life in this state, during which time she wit- nessed its organization tinder "squatter sovereignty," the troublous da^'s preceding and during the Civil war, and the magnificent in- dustrial and agricultural development which has taken place since. She is a true pioneer, a woman of noble attributes and Christian charac- ter, and deeply esteemed and revered within her own circle of relatives and in the commimity which her long and blameless life has adorned. Mrs. Clark was born in Jackson county, Missouri, August 4, 1832, a daughter of Smallwood V. and Sail}'- (Profit) Noland, who were both of Kentucky and were married in Chariton county, Mis- souri. They owned slaves before the war, and were respected farmers of Jackson county. Mr. Noland was a Democrat, and served in the state legislature. He died in Holt county, Missouri, leaving his widow with all their children. She was born in 1804, and had married at the age of sixteen. They were parents of ten children : William Rhodes Noland was killed by the Indians in Oregon, a single man ; Cordelia McEwan, who married young, and died at the age of twenty-three, leaving four children; Pleasant C, who lived in Oregon, died in 1904, and had a wife and two children; Mrs. Clark is fourth in order of birth; Ledston died in the Mexican war; Benton Boggs died out west, un- married; John M. died in Oregon, unmarried; Adelia Stephens died, leaving four children; Gabriel Fitzhugh is in Oregon, and is single; SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 313 Martin \''an Buren went to Mexico with considerable money, and has not been heard of for thirty years. All the sons who went to Oregon made money. Mrs. Clark is well reared by her grandparents, and at the age of nineteen, in 185 1, married John C. Clark, who was born in Kentucky, in 1826, and was by trade a brickmason, having built the present residence of Mrs. Clark forty-nine years ago. They came to Brownville, Nebraska, in 1854, and later traded their good home in that town for a squatter's right to their present place. Mr. Clark was an honest and industrious man throughout his life, and his career of successful effort was not closed until his seventy-sixth year, on May 29, 1901, after he and his wife had lived together for fifty years. He was a member and a deacon in the Christian church in Brownville, he and his wife having been charter members when it was organized in the early fifties. He and his brother Henry took care of their widowed mother till her death, which occurred on an adjoining farm, when she had reached the great age of ninety-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Clark were parents of nine children, all of whom were born on the home farm but one. Sally is now Mrs. B. F. Jones ; William Smallwood died at the age of eighteen; Dora E. died when three months old; Florence is the wife of Elder M. M. Good, a Chris- tian minister at St. Joseph, Missouri ; Kate is the wife of Sam Barnes, in Smith county, Kansas, and has nine children; O. L. is a non-com- missioned officer in Company F, Seventh United States Infantry, in the Philippines; Edith M. is a teacher and is the wife of D. C. Shell, a school principal, and they have one daughter; D. H. Clark runs the home farm of one hundred and fifty acres, and is taking care of his mother; Thomas A. is a telegraph operator on the Union Pacific Rail- road in Nebraska, and is married. 314 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. JOHN B. LEWIS. On the roster of Nemaha county's officials appears the name of John B. Lewis in connection with the office of mayor, which is an in- dication of his popularity and prominence, and he is also serving as the station and ticket agent for the Burlington Railroad at Brown- ville. He was born in Atchison county, Missouri, February 22, 1869, and his education was received in the schools of Brownville, Nebraska. On the 30th of April, 1891, at Vesta, this state, he began his railroad career as a station agent, and there he also learned the art of telegraphy. At Vesta, on the 14th of September, 1892, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Hardenberg, who was born in Peoria count3% Illinois, August 29, 1874, a daughter of H. D. and Anna (Coe) Hardenberg, the former a native of New York. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hardenberg located in Vesta, Nebraska, where they engaged in mercantile business and in 1900 located in Osceola, Iowa, where they now reside. They became the parents of four children, three daughters and a son, namely : Mrs. Lewis ; Edna, who is em- ployed as a saleswoman; Alora, a stenographer in D'exter, Iowa; and Newton, the proprietor of a barber shop in Osceola. Three children have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lewi-s, — Nevada, Vesta and Viola, aged, respectively, ten, eight and four 3'ears. The family reside in a pleasant, two-story brick residence in Brownville, which has been their home since the spring of 1902, but they have resided in this city since December, 1893, at which time Mr. Lewis was transferred from Vesta. In his fraternal relations Mr. Lewis is a Master Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias. His political support is given to the Republican party, and as its representative he is now serving his second term as the mayor of Brown\-ille, while for eight years he was SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 315 a member of the city council and for two terms president of ttie school board. Mr. Lewis is a well informed man, and enjoys the high regard of railroad officials, patrons and the citizens of Nemaha county. ROBERT V. MUIR. Robert V. Muir is one of the oldest living settlers, both in point of his own age and in length of residence, of which southeastern Nebraska can boast. Jf he survives a very few years longer so as to be an octo- genarian, he will at the same time have completed a half century- cycle of sojourn in this state. He has been identified with the growth and progress of this section of the state almost from the days when Ne- braska territory was organized under the famous "scjuatter sovereignty" of Senator Douglas, and he is honored and respected by all for the worthy part he has taken in affairs of citizenship and private life. He and his estimable wife, the long-time companion of his world journey, also claim distinctive recognition in this work because of their lo'ig and famous family relationships and ancestral pedigrees,, which are cursorily mentioned in the followed paragraphs, but are of such interest to the genealogist that material for a volume might be compiled concerning the personal and family history. Mr. Muir was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, October 22, 1826. His father, William Muir, was born in the same place, about 1769, and died in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, in 1853. He was one of three sons of a Scottish fai'mer, and one of these sons, Robert, was a prominent jeweler in Edinburg. The family possessed a coat of arms, handed down from an antique generation. The device, an engraving of a Moor's head and the inscription Duris Non Frangor, is to be seen 3i6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. on the heavy, hand-beaten silver spoons in the possession of Robert V. ]\Iuir, although the engraving is dim with the passage of years and constant use. Mr. Muir.came to the United States with his parents in 1835, settling with them in Greene county, New York, whence fifteen years later he went to Carbondale, Pennylvania. In 1856 he was elected treasurer of the Nebraska Settlement Company, and in that capacity came to- Table Rock, Nebraska, where, in company with Luther Hoad- ley, he built a sawmill. In 1857 the company built a sawmill at North Star, Missouri, opposite Brownville, Nebraska, and on the dissolution of the firm in the following year this mill became the property of Mr. Muir. He managed this mill and at the same time did an extensive real estate business. From 1867 until 1874 he engaged in mercantile business in North Star, and from the latter date until his practical re- tirement in 1 88 1 he devoted his time and attention to the flour busi- ness in High Creek Mills, Missouri, which he had already begun in 1863. He built his large and substantial residence in Brownville in 1870, and this is still accounted one of the best homes in the town. Its interior furnishings are of butternut, birdseye maple and black walnut, all of which were cut in his mill, and it is a home of taste and refined appearance as well as comfort. Mr. Muir began this success- ful career humbly enough. He was educated in the Wyoming Semi- nary in Pennsylvania, and taught his way through school, and in this way got his start. He also got his wife in this same school, for Esther Davidson was his fellow student, and for several years before they were married he taught in a district adjoining her home. Mr. Muir is a member of the Presbyterian church, an interested worker for re- ligious principles and the cause of prohibition. In politics he was originally a AVhig, later a Republican, and now a Prohibitionist. In SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 317 1898 he was candidate for governor of Nebraska on the prohibition ticket and in' 1903 was a candidate for regent of the State University. Mr. and Mrs. Muir have three children: Downie Davidson, born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1853, is aigaged in min- ing enterprises in New York city, and by his marriage to Armista Wilson, of Mineral Point, has one son, Downie Davidson; Frank Davidson Muir, born in Carbondale, August 2, 1856, has been a bank inspector, and lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he married Miss Mary Barber; and Robert Davidson Muir, born in North Star, Mis- souri, September 19, 1866, is cashier of the national bank in Port Jervis, New York, and by his wife, Lillie Estella Hathaway, of Lincoln, Nebraska, has two daughters. Mrs. Robert V. Muir is of one of the oldest Scottish families, going back to the time when clan fought clan in terrible struggle. It is said that the descendants of the great Robert Bruce and the David- sons intermarried. The Davison (or Davidson or Davisson, as variously spelled) coat of arms bore this motto: Viget et Cinere Virtus, — Virtue lives even in death. This was selected after the battle of the Inches or North Inch of Perth, fought by thirty picked men of the Davisons against a like number of the McPhersons with broadswords only, with King Robert III as umpire, A. D., 1396, in which battle nearly all on both sides were killed, one man of the Davisons surviv- ing, and he was saved by swimming the river Tay and remaining under water. Since those dark medieval days many a Davison has been prominent, on both sides of the Atlantic, and one branch of the family has been established in this country almost since the beginnings of American civilization. Esther Davidson was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1827, a daughter of Robert and Helen (Kelly) Davidson, the former a 3i8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. native of Kelso, Scotland, and the latter of Saratoga, New York. Robert Davidson was a machinist and builder of cotton mills, and built spinning jennys in South Carolina. He came to America in 1812, and on the voyage was robbed by the crew of an American privateer of all his good clothes and tools and all his money except what was sewed in his clothes. He married in Saratoga, New York, and they reared three of their five children : Jane, the wife of John Stuart, of Scotland, died in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, the mother of four children, three surviving her; Mrs. Muir is the second; and Peter Davidson, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is a retired farmer, and has six children living and has lost two. In 1902 Mr. and Mrs. Muir spent several months in New York and Pennsylvania. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at the Cafe Martin in New York city, and the public press had this to say of them : "Back in Scranton after fifty years' absence, the prominent Nebraskan and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. R. V. Muir, returned to the home of their youth. They were guests of Peter Davidson and family, of Green Ridge, Scranton, Pennsylvania. They have spent three months ^'isiting friends and relatives in Warren, Pennsylvania, Port Jervis, New York, New York city, and Prattsville, New York, and will soon return to their western home. They celebrated their golden anniversary with a sumptuous dinner at Cafe Martin September 22, 1902. Seated at the tables were the bride and gi-oom of fifty years ago, D. D. Muir and his wife, Amasta Wilson and their son, F. D. Muir and his wife, Mary Barber, of New York city, R. D. Muir and his wife, Lillie Hathaway, and Anna, Mary and Esther Davidson. Tliey were married by the Rev. Reuben Nelson, the principal of Wyoming Semi- nary at Kingston, Pennsylvania, who met the bridal party at the AVyoming Hotel in Scranton. The party were Esther Davidson and SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 319 Robert V. Muir, the bride and groom, Peter Davidson, best man, and j\Iary Shannon, bridesmaid; also Jane Davidson and John Stuart, of Carbondale, and Rev. and Mrs. Reuben Nelson. Death in all these 3'ears- has not invaded the family circle, but Peter Davidson is the only surviving wedding guest. Mr. Muir was conversant with Scranton when it was Slocum's Hollow. He assisted in building the enigne houses on the Washington gravity railroad, and was in the employ of the Hudson and Delaware Canal Company until he moved to Brownville, Nebraska." The following obituary notice gives additional facts relating to the subject matter of this history : "Died at Table Rock, Nebraska, August 22, 1873, relict of the late William Muir, and daughter of Daniel Brown, of Lanark, Scotland, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. She was born in Lanark, Scotland, a descendant of the Browns, a name known to church history. She was acquainted with her grand- father, who was born in 1694. She distinct!}' remembered the close of the French revolution, the rise and fall of the first and second Na- poleon dynasties, the second war with Great Britain, and other events down to the late Civil war in the United States. At an early age she united with the Scotch Presbyterian church. She was not demonstra- tive, but witnessed her faith by her works, at the bedside of the sick and dying and in comforting the sorrowing: she had her own troubles and sorrows, and knew how to sympathize. At the age of fifteen she was bereft of her parents within a few days of each other. She lost three of her lovely children within six weeks, aged two, fotir and six years; later was sorely bereft by the death of her youngest daughter at the age of nineteen ; and five years later she was a widow. She was the last of her generation, and the dust of her kindred is in Scotland, Italy, West Lidies, New York, and Pennsylvania. A sojourner of nearly 320 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. four score and ten years, she died in a strange land, but comforted by the presence of her eldest daughter. She sleeps that last long and dreamless sleep in Walnut Grove cemetery in Brownville." BENJAMIN FRANKLIN JONES. Benjamin Frankliii Jones, one of the well known farmers of London precinct, Nemaha county, having a nice farm on section 23, with postoffice at Brownville, has lived in this county for nearly forty years, since he was a boy of nineteen. He has enjoyed a successful career in his chosen pursuit, and as a good citizen and the father of a family who are among the popular and useful younger members of society, his record is one that can be scanned with closest scrutiny. Mr. Jones was born in New Hanover county. North Carolina, June 10, 1846, on the same plantation on which his father, David Jones, was born, October 3, 1807. The latter was married in North Carolina in 1833 to Miss Margaret Ann K'eith, who was born in the same county in North Carolina, March 12, 18 18. They brought their movables and two female slaves to Missouri in 1849, ^"^ settled in Buchanan county, nine miles south of St. Joseph, they being witnessed to some of the first building operations in that city. He had eighty acres of land, which he cleared of the heavy timber and farmed from 1849 ^"""til 1865. In March, of the latter year, he sold out and came to Nemaha county, NelDraska, and bought one hundred and sixty acres which adjoins the farm of Mr. B. F. Jones on the south. They were parents of fourteen children. Annie died in infancy; William J. is a farmer in Oklahoma, and has three sons and three daughters and has lost two daughters; Susan L. is the widow of B. F. Rice, in Oklahoma SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 321 ' City, and has four daughters and two sons living; Mai-y P. is the wife of Henry W. Highsmith in Oklahoma City, and has one son; David died when seven years old ; Annie is the wife of John J. Whittington in St. Joseph, Missouri, and has two sons and one daughter; xA.manda H. is the wife of W. T. Moore, in Seattle, Washington, and has four sons and two daughters living; B. F. is the next child; T. L. is an extensive merchant and live-stock dealer in Hendley, Nebraska, and has five daughters; Charles M. was, at last accounts, at Joplin, Mis- souri, and has a wife, two sons and one daughter; Eveline, in Seneca, Kansas, is the widow of B. F. Coons, and has two sons; John Leoni- das Keith is unmarried and with his brother T. L. ; Milton F. died at the age of thirty-two in St. Joseph, Missouri, leaving a wife and one son; and Addie is the wife of Thomas A. Bath, at Auburn, and ha"s three sons and three daughters. The mother of these children died here on the old home, July 22, 1874, aged fifty-six, and the father died July 18, 1879, aged seventy-two. They wei'e both Baptists, and he was a Democrat, and was justice of the peace in Missouri from 1849 to i860. They had both received small inheritances, and they in turn helped their children get a start in life. Benjamin F. Jones was reared oh a fai'm, and had his schooling in the district school, although most of his learning was acquired at home. The little brick school house, known as Happy Hollow, and standing only a few rods from his present place, has been the scene of his, his wife's, his children's and his grandchildren's schooldays, and it is a place of affectionate memory and happy reminiscence. Mr. Jones has consistently followed farming throughout his career, and his home place consists of ninety well cultivated and well improved acres, and he also owns one hundred and sixty acres in Sheridan county, Kansas. 322 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. He raises corn and wheat crops principally, and is also connected to some extent with' cattle-raising and threshing machines. Mr. Jones was married November 5, 1872, to Miss Sarah E. Clark, who was born in Holt county, Missouri, in 1854, a daughter of John C. and Mary E. (Noland) Clark. The latter is the oldest living set- tler in Nemaha county, and in the history of her life will be found fur- ther details of interest to the present sketch. The nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones are all living : David is a farmer, within sight of his father's place, and has two sons and one daughter; Florence gradu- ated from. the State Normal, taught several years, and is now a sales- lady with Thompson and Perry; Miss Myrtle, who was also educated in the State Normal at Peru, has been a teacher for four years in Au- burn; Mary, educated in Peru, is a teacher three miles west of Peru; Addie is a student in Auburn, as is also her sister Dora; B. F. Jones, Jr., is a boy of eleven and attending the Happy Hollow school; Mar- shall Clark is aged nine, and the youngest, Victor, is seven years old. Mr. and Mrs. Jones may well be proud of this bright and intelligent family, and rejoice in the fact that the circle is still unbroken by the hand of death. Mr. Jones is a Master Mason, and a Democrat, and he and his wife are members of 'the Baptist church. CHARLES MERRITT WELTON. Charles Merritt Welton, who is the owner of a fine, productive farm just east of the town of Johnson, Nemaha county, is a resident of twenty-five years' standing in this part of the state, having come here in 1878 from Marshall county, Illinois, where he was born Decem- ber 26, 1855. > O K w n > w o 2 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 323 His grandfather, Noah Welton, was a Connecticut farmer, born at Waterbury, and one of the streets of that city is named Welton in honor of the family, some of whose members were participants in the war of 1812 and the Mexican war. Noah Welton was twice married, and reared a large family of sons and daughters. He lived to the advanced age of ninety-one years. Bela Adolphus Welton, the father of Mr. Welton, was born in Connecticut, December 27, 1823, and died in Nemaha, Nebraska, in 1882. at the age of fifty-nine. He married Miss Abigail Merritt, who was born in Cattaraugus county. New York, in 1832. Her father, Joseph Merritt, was a farmer, and in 1844 removed from Cattaraugus county to Bureau county, Illinois, where he had only money enough to pay for forty acres of land, but at the time of his death he owned fifteen hundred acres in that rich agricultural section of the state. Adolphus Welton was married to Miss Merritt in Bureau county, Jan- uary 4, 1855, and they had four children: Charles M. ; Albert J., who died at the age of two years; Ellen, who died at the age of eight years; and Frank, who died when nine years old. The mother of these chil- dren died in 1878, and their father was then married to Felicia Ann Holmes, nee Frisby, of Connecticut, who is still living near Bracken, Nemaha county, bright and cheerful at the age of seventy-eight. She has been a resident of this county since 1856, and was married here. Mr. Welton had a fair education in the common schools of Henry, Illinois, near which place his father owned a auarter section of land for which he paid eight hundred and fifty dollars. In the fall of 1869 his parents moved from Marshall county, Illinois, to Berrien county, Michigan, and bought a peach farm near St. Joseph, but three years later they sold and went to Bureau county, Illinois, and settled on a farm which grandfather Merritt gave them. Three years later they sold 324 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. this place also and moved to Henry, Illinois, where Mr. Welton's mother died. In March, 1878, Mr. Welton came to Johnson, Nebraska, and bought the quarter section of land a mile and a quarter north of the town which his father a few years previously had purchased from the government. On this land he built a one-story frame building, and he has since moved this structure to his present home and now uses it as an implement building. Besides the original quarter section he owns one hundred and twenty acres at his present homestead, and on the latter he has placed nearly all the improvements except an old frame house and a few cottonwood and fruit trees. He does general farming, growing about eighty acres of corn and from sixty to eighty of wheat, and keeps his place in fine shape and makes it yearly more profitable and valuable. His nice residence was erected in 1900 and he moved "into it on the loth of December of that year. It is a full two-story dwelling, of eight rooms, with basement, and is well bulk and furnished throughout. Mr. Welton was married October 25, 1882, to Miss Amanda Jane Barnes, who was born at West Point, Lee county, Iowa, November 17, 1853, a daughter of John and Ehzabeth Harger Barnes, whose further personal history is detailed in the biography of Casner Barnes, to .be found on another page of this work. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Welton : A daughter that died in infancy ; Albert Casner, who died when nearly two years old; Alice May, who was born April 6, 1891, and is a bright little girl in school; and John Barnes, who was born January 24, 1894, and is in the intermediate department of the public school and is especially bright at penmanship, writing as neatly and gracefully as a girl and with seemingly natural talent. Mr. Wel- ton is a stanch Republican, and has served as school treasurer for two ' SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 325 years. He and his wife are Methodists and he is a trustee and treasurer of the church. JONAS DRUERY. The deserved reward of a well spent hfe is an honored, retirement from business in which to enjoy the fruits of former toil. To-day, after a useful and beneficent career, Mr. Druery, is quietly living at his pleasant home in Brownville, surrounded by the comforts that earnest labor has brought to him. Since 1857 this city has been his home, and here he is well known as a skilled mechanic. He was born in Lin- colnshire, England, on the 22d of July, 1827, and is of the fourth generation to bear the name of Jonas. His paternal grandfather, Jonas Druery, was a freeholder in the county of Lincoln, and belonged to the yeomanry. Jonas Druery, the father of our subject, was also a native of Lincolnshire, England, and was there married to Ellen Harris, they becoming the parents of five childrai. The eldest, Robert, died young. Jane became the wife of Edward^ Slight, and died in Indiana when seventy-eight years of age, leaving a son and daughter. Jonas is the third child in order of birth, and the subject of this review. John came from England to this country two years after the arrival of his brother Jonas, in 1856, and located near Dayton, Ohio. In 1866 he located on his farm in Nemaha county, Nebraska, where his death occurred. Eveline is the widow of Abe Stoker and resides in Ohio. She is the mother of one son and seven daughters. The father of this family was called to the home beyond in his seventy-seventh year, and the mother's death occurred here in 1896, at the age of eighty-seven years, she being ten years her husband's senior. Her religious views 326 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. connected her with the Methodist church, while her husband affihated with the Baptist denomination. Jonas Druery was obhged to discontinue his studies in the district school when eleven years of age, and thereafter worked on the home- stead farm until his thirteenth year, while for the following five years he was employed at the carpenter's trade, during all of which time he received only his board in compensation for his services. On the loth of May,- 185 1, he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Woolsey, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, on the 23d of November, 1825, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Sawyer) Woolsey, also natives of that shire, and for many years the father was a merchant in Gainsborough. These parents reared seven children, the eldest being John, who was a saddler by occupation, and his death occurred in England, leaving three sons and a daughter. Tbomas, who was a Methodist Episcopal minis- ter, died in Toronto, Canada, where he was an early missionary among the Indians. He was a scholarly man and an orator, and in his later life was superanuated by his church. At his death he left two daughters, one of whom became the wife of a Methodist minister. Elizabeth became the wife of Walter Hart and died in middle life, leaving one son, Walter Hart. Mary became the wife of Daniel Dowell and died in Gainsborough, England, when fifty years of age, leaving four child- ren. Mrs. Druery is the fifth child in order of birth. Sarah Ann, who also died in England, was the. wife of Charles Hetchell, a watch-maker and jeweler, and at her death, which occurred at the age of thirty-five years, she left three daughters and a son, all of whom were musicians. The youngest child, William, is. a watch-maker and a wealthy jeweler in Lincoln, England, and has one son. The father of these children, Thomas Woolsey, was called from this earth at the age of fifty-two years. His father, Thomas Woolsey, Sr., was for many years a sea SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 327 captain, and his wife was a lady of talent and of superior education. Mrs. Woolsey, the mother of Mrs. Druery, passed away about 1849, in her fiftieth year. On account of her father's failing health Mrs. Druery was taken from boarding school when only fifteen years of age, at which time the estate was sold, but later repurchased and again sold at a large price. In 1855 Mr. Druery, accompanied by his wife and their oldest son, William Henry, sailed from Liverpool to the United States, spend- ing six weeks on the ocean voyage and landing in New York soon after the Fourth of July. Two other sons have been born to them, namely : John Woolsey, of Evans, Colorado, and Jonas H., a farmer of Nemaha county, and the father of one little daughter. They have also lost sev- eral children. Mr. Druery has long been numbered among the leading citizens of Brownville, where he owns four residences and five vacant lots^ and also has one hundred and sixty acres at Glen Rock. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the masonic order, in which he has reached the blue lodge degree, and in his political affiliations is a Democrat. After a pilgrimage of nearly eighty years, in which they were obliged to surmount many obstacles which beset their path, Mr. and Mrs. Drueiy are now living in quiet retirement at their pleasant home in Brown- ville, where they have many friends and acquaintances. 328 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. VALENTINE P. PEABODY. Valentine P. Peabodj', a leading farmer and fruit grower of Aspin- wall precinct, Nemaha postoffice, has been a resident of Nemaha county since 1869. He came here shortly after an arduous term of service in the Civil war, and began on the bare prairie with the intention of making himself a living and a home, in which he has succeeded in an unusual degree. The very beauty of the place where he now makes his home is one of the rewards of his years of honest toil and endeavor. He has been prosperous in these business ventures, and also as a man and citizen. He has served his fellow citizens in various capacities, and he has given his influence for good and progress in every public matter which he has undertaken. Mr. Peabody was born in Allegany county, New York, March 15, 1842, and comes of an old eastern family. His grandfather, William Peabody, was a blacksmith and farmer in northern Connecticut and western New York, coming as a pioneer to the latter place in 1809. His wife was Polly Holmes, also of Connecticut, and they reared all of their eleven children, seven daughters and four sons, all of whom were married and all but one daughter had children. They all moved from A\'estern New York to Michigan during the late forties and early fifties, and most of them' were farmers in Mahoning county near Albion and Coldwater. All of them are now deceased. Thomas Peabody, the father of Valentine P. Peabody, was born in Stonington, Connecticut, September 7, 1797, and died in Woodford county, Illinois, in 1884. January 25, 1825, he married Fidelia Shat- tuck, who was born in Potter county, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1809, a daughter of -William Shattuck, a lumberman and farmer in Pennsyl- vania, and who reared seven children. They were married at Couders- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 329 port, and then settled on O'swego creek, twelve miles from that village, where Mr. Peabody was a farmer and lumberm'an until 1844; he then sold and moved to Athens county, Ohio, where he bought and sold land after taking the timber off; in November, 1858, he moved to Wood- ford county, Illinois, where he lived retired among his children, who had preceded him there, until his death. He and his wife reared all their eleven children : Daniel died in Potter county, Pennsylvania, in 1869, aged forty-three, leaving four children living; Janette is the wife of R. S. Burnham, in Woodford county, Illinois, and has a large family ; William Nelson is a wealthy farmer and large landowner, and has a large family; Mary, who died at the age of sixty-four in Illinois', was the wife of John Wallace, who came from Scotland at the age of ten, and they had a large family ; Amelia, wife of James Richards, who' died in Kentucky, his native state, was an invalid for twenty years and bed- ridden for twelve, and she died in Woodford county, Illinois, February 21, 1892, leaving two children; Laura, widow of John H. Black, at Unadilla, Nebraska, has two children living; the seventh child was Val- entine P. ; Thomas P., who enlisted in the Union army in 1862^ died of pneumonia at Arkansas Post in 1863, January 10; Eliza, wife of Lewis Fisher, now retired in San Diego, California, has a large family; Lephia, wife of C. W. Harford, a carpenter of Randall, K'ansas, has a number of daughters living; Alice and her husband, William West, are both deceased, one daughter surviving them. The mother of these children died in Washburn, Illinois, January 21, 1861, at the age of fifty-one years. Valentine P. Peabody had a very meager education, and at the age of fifteen went with his brother-in-law, R. S. Burnham, to Woodford county, Illinois, where he worked on the latter's farm for one year. He then hired out at wages from ten to sixteen dollars a month, which 33° SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. work he continued until the war came on. In April, 1861, he re- sponded to Lincoln's first call for troops, and was enrolled in Company G, Seventeenth Illinois Infantry. He was wounded in the shoulder at .Shiloh, in June, 1862, and was discharged according to Halleck's order. After remaining at home for two months, he re-enlisted, August 12, 1862, for three years' service, in Company H, Seventy-seventh Illinois Infantry, becoming second sergeant. He was in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, was slightly wounded several times, but never off duty, now having three crooked fingers on his right hand, as result of being struck by a shell. He returned to Springfield, Illinois, in July, 1S65, and he spent the following two years in Chicago undergoing treatment for granulated eyelids, until his sight was restored. He then spent about two years in Tazewell county, Illinois, where he was married, and in the spring of 1869 came to Nemaha county, Nebraska. He had spent all his cash capital on his eyes, and the first few years were years of economy, if not privation, until he got a substantial start. He has made fruit-growing his principal aiterprise. He has a farm of one hundred and eight acres, and altogether has some six hundred fruit trees of all varieties. He also has about ten acres of timber. In February, 1869, Mr. Peabody was married to Miss Mary E. Dressier, who was born in Tazewell county, Illinois, a daughter of Joseph and Eleanor (Wooley) Dressier, the former of Pennsylvania and the latter of New Jersey, and they had beai farmers in Pennsyl- vania, Ohio and Illinois ; the former died in the war, of pneumonia, in 1863, at the age of forty-three, and the latter's death occurred in Mr. Peabody's home in Nebraska. There were six children in the Dress- ier family : Sarah, the wife of George Stock, died in Tazewell county, leaving three children ; Mrs. Peabody i5 the second ; Henry, a farmer of Nemaha county, came here in 1870, and has eight children ; John is a SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 33 1 Nemaha county farmer and has four children; Lorine, in Aspinwall precinct, is the widow of Pulaski Harford, and has eight children; Minerva is the wife of A. B. Davidson, of this county, and has four children. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peabody. Laura, deceased wife of C. E. Harris, a railroad engineer in Colorado, died at the age of twenty-seven, leaving two sons, Charles and Earl, who have since been with their grandparents; Elmina and her husband, C. PI. Kindig, are both successful teachers at Wakefield, Nebraska, she having begun at the age of fifteen, and they have taken post-graduate courses and are enthusiastic in their profession; Lester is a farmer north of Nemaha and also a railroad trainman, and has three children; Elsie, wife of W. F. Higgins, a stockman of Stella, Nebraska, has two chil- dren ; Clarence, unmarried, is a flagman on the fast trains" between Table Rock and St. Joseph, on the Burlington and Missouri River road; Adah is the wife of Eli Knapp, a farmer near Stella; Mabel is the wife of Harry Russell, in Nemaha precinct, and has one child ; Miss Alice, aged sixteen, is a student in Nemaha; and Grace, aged fourteen, is in the same school, and is also taking instrumental music, being very apt in this line. Mr. Peabody is a stanch Republican; his father was a Democrat in early life. He served in the lower house of the state legislature in 1880-1, and has been an active political worker in the campaigns. He has also held minor offices, school director for fifteen years, road super- visor, etc. He was census enumerator in 1880. He was a charter member of Corbett Post, G. A. R., of Nemaha, which has since been abandoned. Mrs. Peabody is a member of the Christian church. 332 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. MORGAN H. VANDEVENTER. Morgan H. VanDeventer, stock-buyer and shipper at Stella, Nebraska, ranks as one of the solid and substantial business men and agriculturists of southeastern Nebraska, and is one of the real pioneers of this part of the country, having taken up his residence in this vicinity. May I, 1859, or forty-five years ago, at a time when development and progress had hardly begun. He has figured prominently in the history of this section ever since, both as a landowner and stockman and also as a public-spirited citizen, and as such he has represented the sovereign people in the halls of legislation and in other responsible offices. Mr. VanDeventer was born near Delphi, Indiana, September 9, 1836, and notwithstanding his near approach to the threescore and ten mark is as vigorous in mind and body as ever. The ancestors of the family were from Holland, and his grandfather, Isaac VanDeventer, was a native of New York and followed the occupation of a farmer. He married Elizabeth Culbertson, also of New York, and she was left a widow in the prime of her life with little or no property, and she died in Indiana at the age of fifty. She was the mother of two sons and three daughters, and the son James was a farmer at Delphi, Indiana, where ne died in the prime of life, leaving two children. The other son, Christopher VanDeventer, the father of Morgan H. VanDeventer, ^^■as the eldest of the family, and was born in the Genesee valley of New York, September 29, 1803, and died in Jewell county, Kansas, aged eighty-eight years, seven months and four days. He married Elizabeth Baum, Avho was born in Ohio, June 3, 181 1, being a member of a pioneer family. The following items concerning the Baum family history have been preserved : — Jacob Baum, the father of Elizabeth Baum, was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1780, and was married there in 1801, MORGAN H. VANDEVENTER MRS. L. R. VANDEVENTER SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 333 February 20th, to Asenath Rothrock, who became the mother of twelve children. October 8, 1805, he moved to Ross county, Ohio, and after the division of that county he was in Pickaway county, where he resided for twenty years. March 7, 1825, he removed with four other families to the wilds of Indiana. Embarking on the Ohio river in a flatboat, which they afterward sold and bought a keelboat, they ascended the Wabash to Deer creek, and thence up that a half a mile, and on April 30th went ashore and pitched their tents and proceeded to put in crops. In October Mr. Baum moved into a new house which he had erected on land he had the previous year bought at a land sale, and from that time until the spring of 1827 his house was crowded with hunters and travelers. Dr. Daniel VanDeventer came there with a small stock of goods and opened a store in a little log house built by Mr. Baum. The former was elected I'ecorder, and the little store was occupied for the purposes of recorder's office, court I'oom, etc. Christopher and Elizabeth VanDeventer were married February 10, 1 83 1, and had twelve children, all of whom grew up but one son. Isaac VanDeventer, born January 11, 1832, was a farmer in Indiana, Nebraska and Kansas, having come to Nebraska in 1861, and was a soldier in the Civil war; he died in Kansas at about sixty years of age, leaving three sons and one daughter. Mary Ann, born July 17, 183^, died April 2, 1857. Morgan H. is the third in order of birth. George, born September 25, 1838, died in Richardson county, Nebraska, Sep- tember II, 1874, leaving a wife aiid three daughters; during the rebel- lion he recruited a company for the Union army. Jonas, born Septem- ber 24, 1840, enlisted in Pennock's regiment, and was killed near Inde- pendence, Missouri, March 22, 1863. Ira B. and Eliza Jane, twins, were bora October 9, 1843, ^'""i the latter died April 4, 1884, while Ira is an extensive farmer in Jewell covmty, Kansas. Margaret, born August 334 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. lo, 1846, by her first husband, Chauncey Thayer, had one son, and by a Mr. Mower had four children, and she is now a widow Hving in Jewell county, Kansas. Matilda, born October 10, 1848, is the widow of E. J. Prouty, of Washington state, and has three children. Reuben, born March 4, 1851, is a farmer in Jewell county, Kansas, and has one son and two daughters. Christopher, born November 12, 1854, died August 27, 1855. John, born June 25, 1858, is a resident of Colorado, where he is serving -his county as assessor; he is a widoAver without children. Morgan H. VanDeventer had rather limite,d educational advan- tages, and such as he had were obtained in a primitive log school- house, with the rough puncheon floor, slab seats and the other usual pioneer equipment of the teinple of learning of those da^^s. He was at home until he was twenty-two years old, and on May 5, 1858, left Indi- ana with an ox team and a drove of stock cattle, and went to Hudson, Wisconsin, where he was employed on a farm for thirty days, and thence went to Ottawa, Minnesota, where he remained two months, and during the following winter was in Mahaska county, Iowa. In the spring of 1859 he started for Nebraska, driving an ox team, and on the 1st of May filed on a quarter section of land in Richardson county. After proving up he rode back to Indiana on an Indian pony for which he had traded his gold watch, and in the spring of i860 he and his parents drove overland with two wagons drawn by three yoke of oxen and a team of horses, bringing also six cows. His parents, who came with considerable means, settled on his claim, and his father also filed on an adjoining claim. In 1865 Mr. VanDeventer went across the plains with a party of sixteen driving ox teams, engaged in freighting hardware from Nebraska City to Denver, and also taking loads of corn to Julesburg in the same season. He and his brother had two outfits, each wagon drawn by four yoke of oxen. For the past thirty years SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 33S Mr. VaiiDeventer has been dealing in hogs, and has shipped from seventy-five to one hundred cars a season. He began business in Salem, the firm of VanDeventer and Morgan continuing for seven years, and he was then in business alone in Dawson and in Stella, for the past three )-ears the firm of VanDeventer and Wagner having been in busi- ness in the latter place. He has shipped more hogs from this section of the state than has any other man. For eight years he and a partner \A-ere in the general merchandise business together. Mr. VanDeventer has been residing in town since 1888, and for the past twelve years his fine farm in this county has been conducted by his son. They raise a large number of hogs, cattle and other stock, and have a model farm- stead, with large house, barns and other improvements. January 12, 1862, Mr. VanDeventer married Miss Sarah Jane Brown, and they became the parents of four sons : Albert is a stockman in Colorado, and has a wife and three sons and a daughter; Burl, a farmer in Jewell county, Kansas, is a widower with two daughters and one son; Walter is on his father's farm, as mentioned above, and has a wife but no living children; and Charles, born July 20, 1869, died aged seven months, seven days. The mother of these children died December II, 1900, and on December 12, 1901, Mr. VanDeventer married Miss L. R. Linn, a veteran school teacher and one of the following family: E. H. Linn, a harness-maker of Lincoln, Nebraska; Mrs. VanDeventer; Mrs. J. A. Williams, of Lilly, Illinois, a former teacher; R. G. Linn, of Pawnee City, Nebraska; A. A. Linn, of Ottawa, Kansas; and Mrs. William M. Rogers, of Monmouth, Illinois. Mrs. VanDeventer's fam- ily came to Nebraska in the fall of 1871, leaving Tremont, Illinois, on October 20,' and drove through with two large wagons. Mr. VanDeventer has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for the past thirty years, and has passed all the chairs of 336 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. his lodge. While on his farm he was a member of the school board for eighteen consecutive years. He is a stanch Republican, and was elected county commissioner in iS68 and served three years. In 1S90 he was sent to represent his county in the lower house of the legislature for one term. LEVI THACKER. Levi Thacker, the well known miller and dealer in grain and flour, m Jefferson precinct, Falls City, is one of the old citizens of this com- munity, having settled here in December, i86g. He has followed the milling business most of his active life, and has made a great success of it. His enterprise has grown^ from small proportions in the days of its first establishment to one of the important industries of the county, and he has built it up by his industry and thrift and steady per- severance, always relying upon exact and honorable business methods, so that prosperity has not smiled on him undeservedly. Mr. Thacker was born in Clermont county, Ohio, February 23, 1843. His grandfather, Townsend Thacker, came to America from Germany in company ■v^■ith his father and two brothers, and after locat- ing for a time in Virginia came on to Clermont county and settled in the heavy timber. His wife was Sarah Owens, by whom he had some eight children, but Mr. Levi Thacker has recollection of only three of the sons : Isaac, who was a physician of Defiance, Ohio ; William, who was a farmer in good circumstances; and John O. Townsend Thacker died in 1850, and his wife in 1870, when past the ninetieth milestone of her life's journey. John O. Thacker, the father of Levi, was born in Ohio in 1804, and died in that state in 1845. He married Rebecca Randolph Mount, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 337 a native of New Jersey, and they had four" children : Henry, who died of the measles in boyhood; Allen, who has a wife only, went to Cali- fornia twenty years ago and is a successful miller of that state; George is a miller of Phillips county, Kansas, and has four sons and one daughter; and Levi is the youngest of the family. The mother of these children was married a second time, her husband being John W. Jones, and she survived him some twelve years, her death occurring at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1866. Mr. Levi Thacker was reared in Ohio, and as a young man saw some service in the Civil war as a teamster. He began learning the milling business under his eldest brother, and has made this his voca- tion in life. He came to White Cloud, Kansas, in 1864, and for five years was engaged in running a flouf mill which he sold out, and in 1869 arrived in Richardson county, Nebraska. He had inherited twenty- five hundred dollars from his father, and on coming to Nebraska he and his brother purchased a sawmill and coracracker, together with ninety- three acres of land, for five thousand dollars. In 1875 they erected the first grist mill nearer than Salem, with a two-burr mill twenty by fifty feet. The firm was first A. and L. Thacker, and Adam Davis after- ward joined them, buying A. Thacker' s interest, and they continued to carry on operations for twelve years. Mr. Thacker has himself been in control of the business for some years. In 1898 he enlarged the plant, putting in an engine, and his equipment is now complete for pro- ducing fifty barrels of high-grade flour every day. Most of the output is sold to Rulo and Falls City, and he does a large custom business. ,Mr. Thacker was married at Craig, Missouri, April 17, 1873, to Miss Elizabeth Catherine Jones, a native of Missouri and a daughter of Isaac H. Jones. Mrs. Thacker is the eldest of the five living children, the others being: Jane, in Colorado; William, in southern Kansas; 338 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. John, north of Falls City; Mrs. Emma Arnold, in Richardson county. Airs. Thacker's mother died near here, and Mr. Jones was again mar- ried and had one daughter. He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Thacker, in 1901, at the age of seventy-nine. Mr. and Mrs. Thacker have seven children : Otho, who is a miller, assisting his father ; Edgar A., a street car conductor in Los Angeles; Gertrude, at home; Mary, in the Falls City high school ; Leona Schneider, near Pawnee city ; Clyde, also employed in the mill; and Mary, at home. Mr. Thacker is a Democrat, but without aspirations for office. His wife is a member of the Methodist chuixh, South. Mr. Thacker has made all the improve- ments on his pi'operty, including a modern residence situated on beauti- ful grounds just above the mill, and his business and real estate interests are all very desirable and valuable. DAVID WILKIE. David Wilkie, who resides on section 22, Lafayette township, Ne- maha county, with his postoffice at Talmage, is one of the old pioneer settlers of this part of Nebraska, and is likewise one of the oldest men of the county, being now past the eightieth milestone of an unusually active and useful career. He began life in the crude and primitive early decades of the last century, and what advantages there were in in an educational way in that time he was hardly privileged to enjoy, for since his young body had thirteen years' growth he has known what hard labor is. He is therefore a man who has made his own way in the world, and the success which is his present lot has been gained by the sweat of the brow and intelligently directed industry. After spending his early years in his native state, he came to the Mississippi valley and > I— t o I— I I— I w a > < d I— I r W SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 339 was in Illinois before the Civil war, during which conflict he gave three years of his loyal service to the cause of the Union arms, as a member of an Illinois regiment, and he now draws a pension from the govern- ment to which he gave a patriot's highest devotion. Right after the war he came, in true emigrant fashion, in his wagons and with house- hold effects and stock and family, to the new country across the Big Muddy, where he made his start, in humble circumstances, on govern- ment land. In the years that have since elapsed the results of his dili- gence have yearly become more manifest, as anyone could bear witness who should visit the fine estate of four hundred acres where he has developed his home and made the seat of his residence for nearly fort}' years. Mr. Wiltie was born in the little town of Queensbury, Warren county. New York, August 8, 1823. His grandparents, David and Eliza- beth (Irish) Wilkie, were farmers of Rensselaer county, New York, and their remains now rest in Warrai county of that state. They reared two sons and one daughter, Mary, who became the wife of Isaac Filo and reared thirteen of her fifteen children. Jacob Wilkie, Mr. Wilkie's father, was born in Warren county, New York, before 1800, and was a successful farmer, owning a place of two hundred acres and also fifteen hundred acres of timber land in the same county. He was married about 1820 to Mary Weston, of the same county, and they had four sons, as follows : John Weston Wilkie, born about 1821, and died at Glen Falls, New York, about 1897, was all through the Civil war as a private soldier, was twice married, and followed the business of manufacturing the old-fashioned cradles for reaping grain; David Wilkie is the second son; James is a farmer at Brock, Nemaha county; and Martin died in Warren county New York, in middle life, leaving a small family. 340 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. David Wilkie grew up in Warren county and remained at home until his, marriage. Two weeks after he was thirteen years old he began driving teams to lumber wagons, although his childish strength would not permit of his loading the lumber. He was married in 1847, ^'^'^ afterward came to Illinois. After his return from the Civil war, in 1865, he left Dekalb county, Illinois, and drove overland to Nebraska City, where he arrived in October, having been three weeks enroute. He had one hundred and fifty dollars capital, and in the next June he paid out the last dollar of this for a plow with which to break the new sod of his government purchase. He now owns without incumbrance four hundred acres of choice land, and he has placed al! the improve- ments upon it, including the shade trees and orchards which embower and beautify the place. He has a fine new barn fifty by fifty feet, and his comfortable farm house was erected in 1897. He has engaged in general farming, and hogs has been the principal stock raised, of which he has kept from one hundred and fifty to two hundred head, to which he has fed the most of his corn, of which he grows about eighty acres each year, besides what is put in by his tenant. He has a tenant house on the place. On July 31, 1847, ^r. Wilkie was married to Miss Lovina Hala- da}"-, who was born March i, 1830, one of the six children reared in the family of Harvey Haladay. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie have their one son, Harvey Jacob, born in Warren county. New York, May 26, 1848. He was married in Illinois to Miss Julia Thompson, of that state, and of this union there are seven living children, one having died in infancy, as follows; Emma, Mary, Carrie, David and Douglas, twins, Adelbert and Floyd. These granddaughters of Mr. Wilkie are married, and he is the proud great-grandfather of seven boys and girls. Mr. Wilkie is a Master Mason, and in politics a Republican, as are also his son SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 341 and grandsons. He has served as road overseer. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church. JAMES I. SHAW. James I. Shaw, a prominent farmer and business man of Adams, Gage county, Nebraska, is one of the county's very oldest residents. He came here in 1857, during the days of squatter sovereignt)', so that there is scarcely a phase of political or industrial history of the state with which he has not been contemporaneous and personally familiar. He has always been known as a capable and enterprising citizen, able to advance his own prosperity and at the same time public-spirited and foremost in lending aid to endeavors for the general welfare of the com- munity and county. He has an honorable record as a soldier of the Civil war, and since that time has several times figured in the public life of his home locality. He is esteemed by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and is genial and open-hearted and popular through- out Gage county. Mr. Shaw was born in Dutchess county. New York, November 30, 1838. His great-grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and his family was in the Wyoming massacre, in which two of his sons were victims of the Indians' tomahawks. Benjamin Shaw, another of the sons of this Revolutionary patriot, escaped massacre, and his son Stephen was the father of Mr. Shaw. Stephen Shaw married Hannah Hicks, a daughter of John Hicks. The family moved from Dutchess county. New York, to Kenosha county, Wisconsin, and in 1857 again embarked their goods and set out for Nebraska. Two months after starting they arrived in Gage county, and took up a claim two miles from Adams. 342 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. There were the following sons and daughters in the family besides Mr. Shaw : William, who was a soldier, and met his death by accident ; Egbert, deceased, was a soldier in the same company with his brother James; John is a resident of Adams, Nebraska; Steven lives in Adams; Margaret Gale is deceased; Emily is married and living in Gage county; Almira Lyons resides in Adams; Hannah Noxom; and Rebecca Sil- vernail, living in Adams. The father of this family, who was a farmer by occupation and in politics a Democrat, died at the age of sixty-two jrears, and his wife died at the age of eighty-five. James I. Shaw was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools, finishing his school days before coming to Nebraska. On July 3, 1861, he enlisted at Omaha in Company H, First Nebraska Infantry, under Captain Kenedy and Colonel Thayer, the latter afterward becom- ing a general and also governor of Nebraska. The regiment was sent south in time to participate in the campaign ending with the capture of Fort Donelson, in the battles of Shiloh and Cape Girardeau, and then was sent against the forces of Price and Marmaduke through Missouri and Arkansas. In Jul)^ 1864, Mr. Shaw received a furlough and went to Omaha. He had veteranized in the fall of 1863 and in the fall of 1864 was then sent to the frontier to guard government trains and set- tlers against the Indians, being stationed at Fort Kearney and Julesburg. He received his final discharge at Omaha in 1866, being first sergeant of his company. He thus has a record of unusual length of service, and fully deserves all the honor which is shown the old veteran of the greatest war of history. After the war Mr. Shaw set himelf to farm- ing and business pursuits in Gage county, and that he has prospered is indicated by his present circumstances. He owns one of the fine farms of the county, consisting of four hundred and eighty acres, and has one of the best brick store buildings in Adams, besides five good houses. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 343 Mr. Shaw was postmaster of Adams during the Harrison adminis- tration, and has been active in the work of the RepubHcan party. He is a loyal member of the Sergeant Cox Post, G. A. R., and is popular with all his old comrades. He was married in Omaha in 1867 to Mrs. Virginia Stewart, who was born on the ocean while her Scotch parents were on their way to America. They have one son, Egbert, who is now twent)^-eight years of age, a resident of Adams. GEORGE B. LEWIS. This honored veteran of the Civil war and the well known fruit farmer and grain dealer of Brownville, is numbered among the early pioneers of Nemaha county, for here he has made his home since the 1st of June, 1857. He came here from Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, his native place, his birth there occurring on the 4th of August, 1844. He is of Welsh ancestry, for in that country his father, George B. Lewis, was born in 1789, but when a young man came to this country and was here married to Mary Jones, a lady of Welsh descent. He was a coal miner, and they early went to Pennsyh'ania, where he was engaged in mining anthracite coal and for many years also served as overseer of the mines of Colonel Lee. From that place they came by rail and water to Nemaha county, Nebraska, in 1856, where the elder Mr. Lewis purchased a half section of land two miles southeast of Auburn, paying four hundred dollars for the pre-emption right of Joseph Council. He made many improvements on this place, and at his death left a valuable homestead to his seven surviving children. He passed away in 1859, and one year previously he had buried his wife. They were worthy members of the Baptist church, in which he served as a 344 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. deacon in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania. He was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Their seven children were as fol- lows : David, who died during his service in the Civil war, when twenty years of age, leaving a wife; Elizabeth, the widow of H. O. Minnick and a resident of Nemaha City; George B. ; Washington J., who went to California in an early day and is now deceased; Isaac, a carpenter in Colorado; Daniel D., who died in Brownville in the prime of life, leaving one son ; and Charles, who died in his boyhood. George B. Lewis enjoyed but limited educational privileges in his youth, being permitted to attend school only until his twelfth year, and previous to that time he also worked in the mines. At the first call for volunteers to assist in the suppression of the rebellion he enlisted in a six months' Missouri infantrj^, later entering the Fifth Missouri Cavaliy, in which he served for two years, on the expiration of which period he was mustered out. He then became a member of the First Nebraska Cavalry, with which he served from 1864 until 1866 on the frontier of Nebraska, and on the 30th of June, 1866, received an hon- orable discharge at Omaha as a first sergeant. Returning thence to Atchison county, Missouri, he was there married on the 6th of Decem- ber following to Mrs. Mary Stout, the widow of W. C. Stout and a daughter of H. S. and Charlotte (Harmon) Hill, natives respectively of Kentucky and Tennessee. Their marriage was celebrated in Bond county, Illinois, she being then fifteen years old and he twenty, and in that state they became well known farming people. In 1850 they left the Prairie state for Missouri, but one year later returned to their old home farm in Atchison county, where they remained for about a year. Mr. and Mrs. Hill reared three sons and three daughters, as follows : Mrs. Tewis ; William, who died in Missouri when twenty-one years of age; George, who was a printer, died at St. Joe, Missouri, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 345 leaving a wife and one daughter; Nancy Jane, who became the wife of Lewis Keel, died in middle life, leaving two children; Drucilla, the wife of Dr. Jones, of \¥atson, Missouri, and they have one son; and Benjamin F. is a printer in St. Joe, and has two daughters. Mrs. Hill was called from this earth at the age of sixty-eight years, in 1894, and Mr. Hill was an octogenarian at the time of his death, which also occurred in 1894. They were members of the Christian church, and for a number of 3'ears he served as a county judge. By her first marriage Mrs. Lewis became the mother of the following children: Henry Clay Stout, who died at the age of twenty-two years, leaving one son ; Clara Bell, who died at the age of six years; Elmer Ellsworth Stout, a resi- dent of St. Louis, Missouri ; Carrie Bell, who died at the age of ten months. The following children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis: Nevada Idona, who was born in Missouri, October 18, 1867, became the wife of Thomas Fisher, and died at Liberty, Nebraska, in 1894. For several years she was a teacher in Auburn. John B. was born in Missouri in 1869, and is now serving as a station agent at Brownville. He is married and has three daughters. Libbie is the wife of R. Setzer, of Nebraska City, and they have one son, Morris. She also has one son by a former marriage, Lewis Heaton, a bright little lad of twelve years, who makes his home with his grandparents. Malcolm was drowned at Brownville when sixteen years of age. Mr. Lewis is numbered among the leading business men of Brownville, where he is a well 'known fruit farmer and grain dealer, and on his thirty city lots he is raising many varieties of fruit. His home is a sightly one and was erected by Mr. Wheeler, who was our subject's guardian in his youth. Botli Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are worthy members of the Christian church. 346 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. DR. J. W. McKIBBIN. Dr. J. W. McKibbin, a prominent physician and surgeon of Adams, has been engaged in practice here for over twenty-one years. He is a thoroughly up-to-date practitioner, is broad-minded and possessed of abundant theoretical knowledge, and has all the personal attributes which make the popular and sympathetic physician, able to enter a house- hold not only as the messenger of healing but of good cheer and kind- ness. He has been very successful since locating in Adams, and is entirely worthy of the esteem which is everywhere accorded him. Dr. McKibbin was born near Milford^ Kosciusko county, Indiana, January 8, 1852, a member of a well known family of that count3^ His father, Samuel McKibbin, was born in Pennsylvania of Scotch ancestry, and came to Indiana in 1837, being one of the early settlers. He was married in Ohio, and by his first wife had two children, and he was afterwards married to Malinda Wood, in Indiana; she was a native of Kentucky and of an old Kentucky family. Dr. McKibbin's father died in Indiana at the age of seventy-nine years, and his mother at the age of twenty-seven. The former was a stanch Jacksonian Democrat, and was honored and respected throughout the community. He was also a leading member of the Methodist church, and was a class-leader. Dr. McKibbin was reared in Kosciusko county, and given a good education. He is a graduate of the Medical Department of North- western University, in the class of 1878. For two years he engaged in practice in his home place, and then came to Gage county, Nebraska, where he has been in continuous residence and practice for over twenty j^ears. In addition to his practice he is owner of the Adams Stock Farm, on which he raises some of the best shorthorn cattle in south- eastern Nebraska, and this enterprise is not only a source of profit as an investment, but creates a diversion from professional duties. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 347 Dr. McKibbin is independent in political matters. He affiliates with the Masonic fraternity and the Improved Order of Red Men, and is a member of the county and state medical societies. He is vice presi- dent of the State Bank of Adams, which is one of the best and safest of Gage county banks. DUDLEY VAN VALKENBURG. Dudley Van Valkenburg, grain buyer of Rulo, Richardson county, first came to this town on March 7, 1866, and has been in many ways identified with the best interests of the community since that early time. He has had a varied and wide experience in life and affairs, and is a man of ability and personal worth in all the undertakings of a busy career. He has witnessed and taken an active part in the material and general development of the southeastern part of the state, and has never been found wanting in capable performance of the duties and obligations of good citizenship and as a social factor. Mr. Van Valkenburg, who is of a good old Dutch family of the old York state, was born in Kinderhook, New York, December 21, 1839. His grandfather was Harry Van Valkenburg, who lived and died at Kinderhook, attaining the age of seventy. Of his two daughters and four sons, all had families, and two sons and two daughters remained ' in Columbia county. New York, and two went to Syracuse of the same state. Samuel Dudley Van Valkenburg, the father of Dudley, was born in Columbia county, New York, in 1816, and died in Green county, Wisconsin, at the age of about fifty-six. He married, in 1838, Mar- garet Shufelt, who was born in 181 7, and who is still living with her 348 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. daughter in Wisconsin, bright and active, notwithstanding her many years. They were the parents of three sons and one daughter : Dudley ; Mrs. Elsie Darlington, of Buffalo county, Wisconsin; Adelbert, in Washington state; and Norman, of the same state. Mr. Dudley Van Valkenburg had a first-class common school train- ing, and in the course of his career has taught school for twelve years. On June i, 1862, he volunteered at Kingston, Wisconsin, in Company C, Third Wisconsin Cavalry, and served till the close of the war, for three years and sixteen days, being mustered out at Leavenworth, Kan- sas, on June 16, 1865. He was a corporal and on detached duty for nineteen months, and was lucky enough to escape all wounds and impris- onment during his many campaigns. Altogether he has been in the service of the government for fifteen years, being employed in North Dakota in erecting mills for the Indians, for four years was a mail carrier in Nebraska and Missouri, and for several years acted as super- intendent of Indian schools in Kansas. He has been in the grain-buying trade since he located permanently at Rulo, in 1892, and has an extensive and profitable business. He owns his home and seven lots in the town, and also owns a farm of two hundred and forty acres near White Cloud, Kansas, having bought it in 1890. Mr. Van Valkenburg is a Democrat in politics. He has served as justice of the peace, was deputy sheriff for eight years, was constable ■ two years, and for six years deputy United States marshal. 'He is a Master Mason and past master of Orient Lodge No. 13, Free and Accepted Masons, at Rulo. His wife is a member of the Eastern Star and of the Degree of Honor, and belongs to the Episcopal church. Mr. Van Valkenburg was married in Yankton, North Dakota, November 5, 1869, to Miss Sylvania Roubidoux, who was born October 21, 1843, iri St. Joseph, Missouri, a city founded by her paternal grand- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 349 father, Joseph Roubidoux, and one of the streets bears his name. Her parents were Farren and EHzabeth (Cedar) Roubidoux, who lost one child in infancy and reared this one daughter. Her mother was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in May, 1S23, and married for her second hus- band Major Stephen Story, by whom she had six children. She died in Rulo, December i, 1900. She and her first husband entered a claim on the site of the present city of St. Joseph, and she also figured as one of the earliest settlers of Richardson county, Nebraska. Her first husband, Mr. Rovibidoux, died in St. Joseph in 1845, ^"^ Major Story died in Rulo, January 27, 1882, at the age of seventy-two. The latter served in the Mexican war, and at his death was the oldest white settler of Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Van Valkenburg have two children: Vesta, at home, who is an accomplished pianist and a forceful character and energetic worker both in her home and in various social matters; ' Frank, the son, has for the past three years been employed in the office of the superintendent of the Burlington Railroad at Chicago. CHARLES HARDEN. Amongst the most pleasant rural, homes of Gage county is that of Charles Harden, of Blue Springs township, it being complete in all its appointments, and a gracious hospitality adds a charm to its material comforts. Mr. Harden is a veteran of the Civil war and bears an honorable record for brave service in the cause of freedom and union, and in the paths of peace he has also won an enviable reputation through the sterling qualities which go to the making of a good citizen. Mr. Harden was born in Peoria county, Illinois, in 1847, ^"d is a son of Richard Harden, a native of Brighton, England, who was 350 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. seven years old on the emigration of his parents to America, the family locating in Ohio. In 1833 ^^ went to Peoria, Illinois, and became identified with the early development of that locality, assisting in the erection of many of the first log cabins in Peoria county. He married Miss Mary Gillon, of Washington county, Iowa, who died at the age of thirty years, loved and respected by all who knew her. She left four children: Mai-y Jane, now deceased; Charles; John; and Mary E. The father was again married, and by the second union had two chil- dren : Alice and Richard A. He died in Peoria county at the age of sixty-five years. By occupation he was a farmer and in politics was a Democrat. The early life of Charles Harden was passed in a rather une\'entful manner upon the home farm in Peoria county, Illinois, and his education was obtained in the public schools of that locality. He was only sixteen years of age when he entered the army, enlisting at Peoria, in May, 1864, as a private in Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Illi- nois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. His command was following up Generals Price and Forrest most of the time and were on duty in Kentucky, Missouri and Arkan- sas. When hostilities ceased Mr. Harden received an honorable dis- charge and returned home to resume the more quiet pursuits of farm life. In 1866 Mr. Harden went to Iowa, and after spending some time in Wapello county, he settled near Shenandoah in Page county. He was married in that city in 1877 to Miss Mary Beer, who has been to him a faithful companion and helpmeet. She was born in Fulton county, Illinois, and w;as reared and educated in that state and loAva. Her parents were William and Adeline Beer, the former of whom is now deceased, but the latter is still living. To Mr. and Mrs. Harden were born the following children: Delia; Ola, wife of O. D. Strong, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 35 1 and lives in Little Rock, Arkansas; Nettie, who is now successfully engaged in teaching school in Gage county, Nebraska; Floy; Hattie; Madge, deceased ; Lynn ; and Dale, who died at the age of twenty-eight months. Leaving Iowa in ]88i, Mr. Harden and his family removed to Marshall county, Kansas, and located near Oketo, where he became the owner of a good farm of eighty acres^ He sold that place in 1893 and came to Gage county, Nebraska, purchasing what is now known as the Riverside farm in Blue Springs township, which consists of one hundred and thirty acres. This he placed tmder a high state of cultivation and improved in a creditable manner, erecting an elegant ten-room house. He has two large orchards. Mr. Hardeii votes with the Democratic party and keeps up his acquaintance with his old army comrades by his membership in Scott Post No. 37, G. A. R. W. M. FULTON. The gentleman whose name introduces this sketch is one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Liberty township, Gage county, Nebraska, where he has made his home for the past twenty years. He was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, about fifty-four years ago, and is descended from a good old family of the central part of that state. His father, John R. Fulton, was a native of Pennsylvania and a son of Jacob Fulton, who was also born there and was of Scotch- Irish extraction. The latter was a soldier of the war of 1812, while the former aided in the preservation of the L'^nion during the Civil war. In early manhood John R. Fulton married Elizabeth Beals, who was also born in the Keystone state, of Welsh ancestry. Many years ago 352 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. he removed to Trego county, Kansas, where he is now living at the ripe old age of eighty-five years. By trade he is a carpenter. Through- out life he has been a faithful members of the Methodist church, in which he has served as class-leader and exhorter, and he has lead an earnest, consistent Christian life. His political support is given the Republican party. His wife, who was a most estimable lady, died in Wymore, Ne- braska, in 1884. To them were born nine children, five sons and four daughters, namely: Wesley M. ; D. B. ; Cannarissa; Fannie; Ben and Mary, twins ; Steven Ed ; Arthur, deceased ; and Emma, deceased. Mr. Wesley M. Fulton passed his boyhood and youth in Center and Indiana counties, Pennsylvania, where he was reared to habits of indus- ti-y, his education being acquired in the public schools. He has greatly broadened his knowledge in later years by reading and experience in the business world. On the 23d of September, 1873, he led to the mar- raige altar Miss Lucinda Enterline, who was also born in Pennsylvania, and was reared and educated in Jefferson county, that state. On the paternal side she is of German descent, though lier parents, Daniel and ' Lucinda (Shives) Enterline, were natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in Dauphin county. Both died in that state. They held member- ship in the Evangelical church, and Mr. Enterline voted with the Re- publican partjr. In the family were twelve children, of whom eleven reached maturity. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton have had ten children : Chandas, deceased; Lillie N. ; Charles P.; W. D., editor of the Liberty Journal; John L., deceased; F. F., who is engaged in the granite and marble busi- ness in Wjmiore, Nebraska ; Bessie L. ; Wilda B. ; George E. ; and Ralph E. In 1883 Mr. Fulton came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Liberty township, which he has converted into a very valuable property, being now worth sixty-five dol- u I— I Q < O H W pq u I— I Pi P o H W PQ SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 353 lars per acre. There is a good bearing orchard and grove upon the place and the buildings are good and substantial. In addition to gen- eral farming Mr. Fulton carries on stock-raising and is also engaged in the real estate and insurance business, representing the Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska. He is an upright, reliable business man, and soon gains the confidence of all with whom he is brought in contact. At state and national elections Mr. Fulton supports the Democratic ticket, but at local elections where no issue is involved he votes for the men who he believes best qualified for office regardless of party lines. He has been a delegate to county and congressional conventions of hjs party, and has taken c^uite an active and influential part in local politics. For thirteen years he has been a member of the school board and served two terms as assessor of Liberty township and is now serving as jus- tice of the peace. Pleasant and genial in manner, he makes many friends and is held in high regard by all Avho know him. BENTON ALDRICH. Benton Aldrich, the well known farmer and horticulturist in Wash- ington precinct, near Auburn, Nemaha county, receiving his mail by rural delivery route No. 2, has lived in the same locality for nearly forty years, coming to Nebraska in the last year of the Civil war. As he is one of the oldest citizens, so he is one of the most successful and one of the most highly esteemed. He is one of the substantial, thorough- going men who devote their best efforts to the performance of the work for which they have displayed the most aptitude, and this with Mr. Aldrich has been the free outdoor life of the farm and among the trees. He is an authority on tree culture, and is one of the leading 354 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. apple-growers of Nemaha county.. His long- life of over seventy years has been filled with useful effort^ and he and his wife still retain their full capacity for enjoyment of the comforts and pleasant things that surround them, and are contented and happy in every phase of their lives. (Mr. Aldrich comes of one of the oldest American families, and its members through many generations have filled positions of honor and triist and usefulness in various parts of this broad land. Authentic Iiistory states that George Aldrich, a native of England, landed in America, November 6, 1631, and first settled in Dorchester, Massa- chusetts, later in Braintree, and came to the territory which was incor- porated as the town of Mendon, before July, 1663, and he was the sixth of the pioneers of this town. All his children were born in Braintree. This progenitor of the Aldrich family in America died on March i, 1682. Passing over several generations in direct descent, the great-great- grandfather of our Nemaha county citizen was Benjamin Aldrich, who was born in Massachusetts. He was the second on the list of the eight grantees of the town of Westmoreland, New Hampshire, where he settled in 1741. He was driven off by the Indians before his grant was proved up, but it was renewed, and the farm thus settled remained in the possession of members of the family down to 1885. He died in Westmoreland, May 15, 1763, in the sixty-ninth year of his life. Caleb Aldrich, the great-grandfather, was born in Walpole, Mass- achusetts, March 4, 1730, and he was a farmer and died in AVestmore- land, New Hampshire, December 6, 1799, having married in 1757. Grandfather Aldrich was born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire, May 29, 1764, was a life-long farmer in that state, and died in 1842, a short time before the death of his wife in the same year. He married Sarah Brown, who was a daughter of Mr. Brown, of Salem, Massachusetts. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 355 They had six children: William A., a farmer^ and died single at the age of twenty-eight; Alfred, mentioned below; Sarah, wife of Daniel Winchester, died at the age of seventy and was the mother of six children ; Fanny had a large number of children .by Samuel Mason and she died aged about sixty years; Polly died at the age of eighty, with- out children; and Sophia died without children at the age of fifty. Alfred Aldrich, father of Benton Aldrich, was born on the old homestead in New Hampshire, March 14, 1795, and died there on March 10, 1873. He was married in 1825 to Miss Mary Farrar, who was born in Hillsboro, New Hampshire, September 11, 1805, and died in Brattleboro, Vermont, October 26, 1887, and was a daughter of Isaac Farrar and his wife. Alfred Aldrich and his wife had the fol- lowing children : Alfred, born January 5, 1827, was blind from birth and died from cancer at the age of three; one died in infancy; Benton is the third; Hanson, born October 21, 1833, ^^^ accidentally killed September 25, 1847; Mrs. Mary Elsie Chickering, a widow residing at Brattleboro, Vermont, was born February 3, 1836, and has two sons and one daughter and has grandchildren by each of them; Miss Har- riet Elizabeth died in 1865 ; and Lina is the wife of F. D. Fisk, of Brattleboro, and has three daughters. Benton Aldrich was born on the old farm in Cheshire county, New Hampshire, May 3, 183 1. He spent one year in the academy at Sax- tons River, Vermont, and at the age of twenty left home and came west to Hudson, St. Croix county, Wisconsin, where he began the career which has eventuated so prosperously by working for various farmers. During the four and a half years that he was thus engaged he met and married his wife. He had become owner of some land in the county, and immediately after his marriage he sold at a profit and moved to Winona county, Minnesota. He settled on one hundred and 356 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. sixty acres of wild land there, and when it came into market bought the squatter's right to it. He kept a postoffice in his log cabin, and named this office and the hamlet which grew up about it Wiscoy, which name it still retains. He improved his land, and in 1862 sold it and went to Dunn county, Wisconsin, where he farmed for two years. In the spring of 1865 he sold out and moved to Nemaha county, Nebraska, where has been the scene of his operations ever since. He bought forty acres for fifty dollars, and this tract is now a part of the four hundred and fifty acres which comprise the family estate, of which his son owns one hundred, a daughter fifty-one, Mrs. Aldrich one hundred, and of the remainder his younger son now owns a part. He resides in a house that is a composite of grotto and dugout, and is curious in ap- pearance, but has afforded his family the comforts of a home for many years. He and his wife are very contented in this modest dwelling, but they contemplate building in the near future a more commodious home, and on one of the prettiest sites to be found anywhere. This ideal spot is surrounded with groves of ornamental and fruit trees, retired from the dusty road and reached through an embowered driveway be- tween a colonade of maples which have all been planted by Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich. Mr. Aldrich is considered an authority on horticulture. He has an orchard of four thousand apple trees, and has planted over six thousand, his oldest son having two thousand. He also has a large variety of shade trees and shrubs, and he brought in a large number of red cedars in 1866, many thousands of which have since been sold. One season he sold sixteen carloads of apples, but the curculio pest has nearly ruined his orchard. The young lady whom Mr. Aldrich married while working in Wisconsin was Miss Martha Jane Harshman, who was born in Wash- ington, Pennsylvania, March i, 1836, and was a daughter of John and SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 357 Hannah (Smalley) Harshman, the former a native of Washington, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Greene county, that state. They were married in 1826, the bride being seventeen and the groom twenty, and they were the parents of fourteen children, of whom an infant son was accidentally poisoned, but all the rest grew to manhood and woman- hood, and twelve were married. The son William Henry was a soldier in the Civil war, and died at Madison, Wisconsin, while still in his minority. The other children are as follows : Catherine, wife of Wheeler Barnum, died in 18S8, leaving one daughter and four sons; Mrs. Eliza- beth West, a widow, living in Los Angeles, California, had twelve chil- dren and ten are living; Daniel Harshman was in the army and is now in a soldiers' home, and was the father of twelve children; Limerick, in Pierce, Wisconsin, has four children; Mrs. Margaret Dixon, a widow; Mrs. Aldrich is the next of the children; Mary, wife of John Eubanks, in Chippewa county, Wisconsin, has two children; John, in Pierce county, Wisconsin, has three children; Hannah, wife of John Able, in Waseka, Minnesota, has seven childreri; Samuel McFarlane Harshman, in Montana, has four children; Romaine Amanda Morrison (her second husband Yansey), has seven children; and Mrs. Laura Matilda Wilcox, deceased, had six children. Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich lost two children in infancy, and their others are as follows :• Karl, living on a farm adjoining his father's, has one daughter, Elizabeth; Martha, widow of Campbell Stoddard, has one daughter and one son; Mary, wife of D. Gallup, died at the age of thirty-nine, leaving an infant which is deceased ; Lina is the wife of Alfred Butterfield, a carpenter, and they live on a farm, near by, and have one daughter and two sons; Alfred, lived in one of the houses on his father's farm, married Miss Cremona Jackson Rawley, from North Carolina, and they have two sons. 358 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Mr. Aldi-ich was a strong abolitionist, and since then a Republican. He served as postmaster for fourteen years, two years in Minnesota and twelve years at Clifton, but has otherwise been free from the cares of public office. He is too enthusiastic and devoted to his agricultural and horticultural duties to be concerned with other matters, and now in his old age his greatest joy is in the beauties and comforts of the home place which he has made by his past efforts. He was one of the organ- izers of the farmers' institute in southeastern Nebraska. At his home for many years was kept the Clifton Library of over seven hundred volumes, comprising the collections of about sixty families. . JAMES W. HOSFORD. James W. Hosford, senior partner of the well known mercantile firm of Hosford and Gagnon of Rulo, has made this town the base and center of his business operations for nearly forty-four years, and has the longest established, continuous business houses in Rulo. He began this career by itinerant merchandising on the plains before the advent of railroads, and in this branch of pioneering has perhaps seen as many varied experiences as any other man. He is a man of great ability and remarkable self-achievement, and has been going it alone ever since he was a small boy. He has gained a most creditable success, and his place in Rulo is one of honor and universal esteem'. He was born in Marion county, Ohio, January 24, 1835, being a descendant of an old American family. His great-grandfather, William Hosford, was a Scotch highlander, who died at or near Bangor, Maine, an old man and well to do for his day and generation. Grandfather William Hosford was born at Bangor, Maine, in 1767, served in the SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 359 war of 1812, and died in Marion county, Ohio. He wedded a Maine woman, and they had five children : Horace ; Asa, who served in his state legislature, and died in Gallon, Ohio, at the age of eighty-three; Eri, who was driver of an old-fashioned stage with four horses, and who died at the age of seventy-five, having reared a family and amassed a fortune; Harry, deceased, who was a pioneer of Council Blufifs, Iowa; William was a farmer in Marion county, Oliio, where he died when past middle life, leaving two sons and one daughter. Horace Hosford, the father of James W., was born in Ontario county, New York, in 1796, and died at Greencastle, Indiana, in 1861. He farmed in Marion county, Ohio, from 1833 to 1838, and he and his brother Asa also built and ran a flouring and saw mill. In 1838 he sold out and went to Shelby, Ohio, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising. He was married in 1833 to Charlotte Wilson, who was born in eastern Virginia in 1812, and at the age of eleven she was brought to Muskingum county, Ohio, by her parents, Charles and Anna Wilson. There were five children born to Horace and Charlotte Hos- ford : James W. ; Eliza, wife of Harvey McConnell, died at Liberty, Nebraska, in 1889, leaving all her eleven children; Amanda, wife of B. S. Chittenden, lives at Winfield, Kansas, and has one .son and one daugh- ter; Candace, wife of Edward Fairbanks, died at the age of twenty- eight, in Greencastle, Indiana, leaving no children; and Qara died in infancy. Mr. James W. Hosford was reared on the farm and also learned the mill business. His schooling was in the very primitive log schools, with their rough seats and desks and other uncomfortable and pioneer furnishings. He left school at the age of sixteen, and when eighteen he began teaching, for two terms near Shelby, Ohio, one term in Miss- ouri, and one in Kansas. He came to Kansas City, Missouri, or rather 36o SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. at the site of the present city, in September, 1858, and spent the follow- ing winter in teaching there. He was at St. Joseph when the Hannibal and St. Joe Railroad was formally opened, in the spring of 1S59, which was made the occasion of a great celebration. On May i-, i860, he left Leavenworth, Kansas, and drove six yoke of oxen from that city to Central City, Colorado. He was seven weeks on the trip out, and there were some twenty-five wagons, thirty men and three hundred oxen in the train. He was engaged in freighting merchandise, and got good pay and had a goocTtime. He spent the summer of i860 in gold mining and freighting in the mountains, and on December i, i860, came to Rulo. He and JMr. Gagnon formed a partnership, and fifteen days later thej' left for Fort Laramie, Wyoming, with a large covered wagon loaded with pork from the old packing house at White Cloud, Kansas. They paid four and a half cents a pound for the pork and sold it for fifty, and during their four weeks' trip made considerable money. On their return they were delayed at Grand Island, Nebraska, on account of the deep snow, and while they were there Fort Sumter was fired upon. On their arrival in Rulo they bought and equipped three wagons and thirt3'-six yoke of oxen, and with loads of merchandise and provisions started out for Fort Laramie. When five hundred miles out from the Missouri they began trading, and continued their operations one hundred and fifty miles beyond Laramie, coming back by way of the present city of Cheyenne and Boulder, Colorado, where they completed their suc- cessful enterprise, and thence reached Rulo in the fall of 1861. In the following spring they freighted for the government fi'om this place to Fort Laramie, and in the summer of 1863 hauled merchandise with eight wagons from Nebraska City to Denver. In 1864 they hauled machinery for quartz mills from Atchison, Kansas, to Central City, Colorado, and on one of the trips passed over the road just after the Indian hostilities SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 361 of August of that year had broken "out, narrowly escaping the devasta- tion that the redskins wrought for many miles of territory. In the fall of 1865 they loaded twelve wagons with corn, and with one hundred and fifty head of cattle started for the Black Hills and Fort Halleck, being paid by the government nearly eight dollars a bushel for their freight, and realizing several thousand dollars from their trip. By the fall of 1866 the Union Pacific was completed as far as Kearney, Ne- braska, and the days of the prosperous freighter were over, so they sold their cattle and have since engaged in merchandising at the perma- nent location of Rulo. In the fall of 1866 they erected the first store, which, together with their fine grain elevator and mill, was burned down in the summer of 18S3, at a loss of forty thousand dollars, and it was a long time before they secured their insurance of thirteen thousand five hundred dollars. In 1887 they erected their present brick block, which is the largest and best establishment of the kind in Rulo, and through- out the years their trade has increased and prospered and augmented their reliability and high standing in the community. Mr. Hosford owns altogether fifteen hundred acres of Richardson county land, in ten farms, and also has three tenant houses in addition to his own large and com- fortable dwelling, which was one of the early houses of the town. Mr. Hosford is a prominent Republican, and has been mayor of Rulo three times. He is a veteran member of the school board. In 1868 he was a charter member of the Nemaha Valley, Lincoln City and Loop Fork Railroad Company. It was he who found and buried the body of Sam Gilmore, of Platte county, Missori, who was killed by the Indians in April, 1864, and he has been connected in countless other ways with pioneer life and days of the Missori valley. He was married in Rulo, to Miss Permelia Mildred Easley, who was born in Franklin county, Missouri, October 30, 1850, a daughter of 362 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Edward A. and Susan Easley, detailed mention of which worthy people will be found in the sketch of their son, Drury T. Easley. Mr. and Mrs. Hosford have had five children : Lottie H., wife of Edward Nich- ols, of Des Moines, Iowa; Miss Mary Mildred, who is a competent and successful stenographer at Los Angeles, California; Horace G., a civil engineer and engaged in surveying on the Des Moines and Missouri Railroad; James V., a student in the class of 1904 in the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois ; and Newton K., a boy of fifteen, at home. F. E. KIMBALL. A well known figure on the streets of Beatrice, Nebraska, and a man occupying a prominent place in the business circles of the city, is F. E. Kimball, proprietor of a laundry and livery, and a stock breeder. Mr. Kimball was born in the territory of Wisconsin, in November, 1841. Tbe name Kimball is of Scotch origin, but the family to which the subject of this sketch belongs has long been resident of America, the early home having been New England and several generations of the family having been born in New Hampshire. Peter K'imball, the great-grandfather of F. E., was a native of New Hampshire and was a veteran of the Revolutionary war, in which he rendered valiant serv- ice for the cause of independence. Joseph Kimball, Mr. Kimball's grand- father, was a New Hampshire farmer who was called "Captain." He was twice married and was the father of twelve children, all by his first wife. One of Joseph Kimball's sons was Jesse W. Kimball, born in Sullivan county, New Hampshire, in 1803. Turning to the maternal ancestry of Mr. Kimball, we find that his mother was before her marriage Miss Emily Cotton. She was a daugh- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 363 ter of Nathaniel Cotton, a descendant of John Cotton, who came to this country in the Mayflower. The Cottons were members of the Congre- gational church and in the farriily were several ministers of that denomi- nation. Jesse W. Kimball and his family left their New England home in 1840 and went to Wisconsin, settling in Walworth township, Walworth county, where they were pioneers and became leading citizens. Later they moved to Galesburg, Illinois, where he died at the age of seventy- four years. His wife's death occurred in Lorain, Ohio, in 1883, at the age of eighty-two years. Both are buried at Galesburg. They were the parents of four children, all of whom, with one exception, grew to adult age, viz. : Rev. Charles Cotton Kimball, D.D., LL.D., wl^o spent many years in eastern Congregational pastorate, and who is now living retired in New Jersey, at the age of seventy years; Mrs. Francis Ann Knight, widow of George H. Knight, who died in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1893; and F. E. Kimball, whose name introduces this article. F. E. Kimball was just emerging from his teens when the trou- blous days of Civil war came on. He was amiong the first to leave home and chase the "Jay Hawkers." He was mustered into the service as a private in a Kansas cavalry, in September, 1861, at Leavenworth, and shared the fortunes of his command until the following year, when he was honorably discharged. Mr. Kimball spent twenty of the best years of his life as a locomotive engineer on the Burlington Railroad, running between Galesburg and Chicago, with headquarters at the former place. He came from Galesburg to Nebraska, locating first in Hastings. In 1891 he moved to Beatrice, where he has since resided. He has a pleasant home in Ella street, at No. 813, and he also owns his livery and laundry buildings. In his livery barn he keeps from forty to forty-five head of horses, some of them speedy and blooded and as 364 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. fine stock as will be found anywhere in the country. Three and a half miles east of Beatrice Mr. Kimball has fifty acres of land, where he is making a specialty of raising fine hogs. Mr. Kimball was married October 24, 1864, to Miss Emma L. Kimball, of Quincy, Illinois, daughter of Rev. Milton K'imball, a Pres- byterian minister of Illinois. They have an only child, Frank J. Kim- ball, who is married and living in Omaha, Nebraska, where he is pro- prietor of the Kimball Laundry. He first engaged in the laundry busi- ness in Beatrice, when a mere youth, and established the business at this place that his father now has charge of. Mrs. Kimball is a member of the Presbj'terian church, the faith in ^^•hich she was reared. Politically Mr. Kimball is a Republican, always taking- -a commendable interest in public affairs, but never seeking official honors. SAMUEL A. KINNEY. Samuel A. Kinney, proprietor of "Wolf Valley Stock Farm" in Gage count)'', Nebraska, is one of the prominent farmers of the county. Mr. Kinney was born in Richardson county, Nebraska, January 2, 1861, and is descended from English ancestry. His father, David Kinney, first saw the light of day on the shores of Lake Champlain, in northern Vermont, he being a son of Hammond Kinney, whose father was an Englishman who came to this country before the Revolutionary war and in that war fought for the independence of the American colonies. Ham- mond Kinney died at the age of eighty-five years. His wife, nee Lucretia Edson, was a native of Vermont. Their son David grew up in the Green Mountain state and there learned the carpenter's trade. When a young man he came west, first to Wisconsin, then to Illinois, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 365 next to Leavenworth, Kansas, and finally to Richardson county, Ne- braska. Here he met and married Miss Malinda Stumbo, a native of eastern Ohio, and a member of a German family, her father being John Stumbo, one of the first settlers of Richardson county. Mr. David Kinney built the first mill in this county, for his father-in-law. He died here in 189 1, at the age of fifty-six years. He was politically a Repub- lican and his religious creed was that of the Evangelical church, in which he was a deacon. His widow is still living, now a resident of Blue Springs, Nebraska. They had a family of six children, namely : Samuel A., Frank Edson, Dora, Henry B., William and Viva. Samuel A. Kinney was reared on a farm and received a liberal schooling at White Cloud and Manhattan, Kansas, and was a successful teacher for nine years in Kansas and Nebraska. Since leaving the schoolroom he has given his whole attention to farming and stock- raising. He owns Wolf Valley Farm, which comprises eight hundred acres and, he has a good residence and one of the finest barns in Gage county. This barn is seventy-four by forty-four feet in dimensions, has a large basement built of rock, with all modern improvements and is especially fitted for dairy business, having room for twenty-five cows. Mr. Kinney was married December 25, 1883, to Julia Smead, who was previous to her marriage a popular and successful teacher. Her father, E. O. Smead, came to Nebraska from New York, and is now a resident of Kearney, this state. He is a veteran of the Civil war. Her mother, whose maiden name was Mary Hitchock, was born in Ohio. In the Smead famSly were five children, of whom Mrs. Kinney is the oldest, the others being Anna, Arthur, Eugene, and Alvin. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney have had seven children, viz. : Loyette, Earl D., Edith O., Guy, Floyd, Ruth and Glenn. The last named died at the age of 366 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. five years. Like his father before him, Mr. Kinney is a Republican voter. ROSS W. NELSON. Occupying a representative position among the leading and success- ful business men of Pawnee county, Nebraska, is Ross W. Nelson, the grain and coal dealer of Bookwalter. Mr. Nelson was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, September 24, 1866. Hugh Nelson, his father, a native of Ohio, was bom near Savan- nah, July 2, 1830, and died in Van Buren county, Iowa, June 12, 1900. William Nelson, the grandfather, was also an Ohio man and was en- gaged in farming there for many years. He traded a forty-acre farm in that state for three hundred acres of raw prairie land in Van Buren county, Iowa, in 1845, and this land is still held by members of the family. He lost two sons and three daughters in childhood, and reared three sons : John, William and Hugh. Mr. Nelson's mother is still living and is now seventy-two years of age. She was before her marriage Miss Hannah Coulter, and was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1832, daughter of Wil- liam Coulter, a farmer who came west in 1845. In 1864 she was united in marriage to Hugh Nelson, and their children are Ross W. and his two brothers, William E. and Clyde H., who are engaged in farming in Iowa. Ross W. Nelson was reared to farm life and had the advantage of a common school education only. He remained a member of the home circle until his twenty-second year, after which he engaged in farming with an uncle in western Iowa. He came to Pawnee county, Nebraska, fourteen years ago, in 1889, and was a wage worker on farms here SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 3^7 for two years. Then he married and settled down, and with the passing years he has met with success and has accumulated a competency. Four years ago he botight the coal and grain business of F. B. Felton, which he has since conducted successfully, handling all kinds of grain and doing and extensive business in coal. His elevator holds ten thousand bushels and he handles on an average one hundred and fifty carloads per year. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land near Bookwalter and has a pleasant home in town. December 30, 1891, Mr. Nelson married Miss May E. Laird, daugh- ter of T. A. and Emma Laird, who came to Nebraska from Henry county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have five children, as follows : Willa, born June 17, 1893; Clyde A., November 24, 1894; Mary I., February 28, 1897; Ruby, March 17, 1899; and Tlielma Louise, March 9, 1903- Politically Mr. Nelson is a Democrat, and while he has never been active in politics he has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs, especially those in his own locality, and he has served efficiently as a member of the school board of Bookwalter. He is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, in which he has served officially, in the former holding next to the highest office at this writing. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, of which he is a worthy member. DR'URY T. EASLEY. Drury T. Easley, of Rulo, is a retired merchant, and was one of the earliest settlers of this portion of Nebraska, having come to Rulo in 1858. He has been continuously in trade for the past forty-five 368 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. years or until his recent retirement from active duties in order to enjoy a well earned rest. He was one of the few men who went to California in the Eldorado days and returned with money to reward his efforts and exposure to the dangers and hardships of the gold coast. He arrived in New York city with over twelve thousand dollars to the good. He had gone across the plains and returned to the States by way of the isthmus. He was the second merchant to establish a business in Rulo, when Nebraska was yet a territory, and his long career enabled him to gain a good competency besides doing well by his family, and when he retired two years ago it was with the well wishes of all his friends and many associates. He has also performed his share of public and church and social obligations, and as a Democratic voter and a member of the Methodist church he has been a valued part of the community life. Mr. Easley was born in Halifax county, Virginia, March 2, 183 1. His grandfather, Drury Easley, was an officer in the Revolution, and was several times wounded in the war. His wife was a Miss Faulkner, and he was a Scotchman and she of English lineage. They followed farming in Halifax county, Virginia, where both lived to good old age. Edward A. Easley, the father of Drury T., was born in Halifax county, Virignia, April 4, 1807. He married Susan D. Crowley, who was born May 16, 181 1, and died October 30, 1854. They were the parents of the following children : Elizabeth F., the widow Poindexter, of Forest City, Missouri, was born in Halifax county, Virginia, in 1829; Drury T. is next; William K;, born in May, 1833; Susan Jane, born October 11, 1835; Martha Ann, born August 25, 1838; Mary, born in 1842, died in 1844; Virginia C, born in 1846; Edwin A., born Octo- ber 31, 1848; and MilHe, bom October 30, 1850. Mr. Drury T. Easley married, August 12, i860. Miss Mary Ann Thomas, who was born in Pennsylvania, June 4, 1838, the daughter of SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 369 a Baptist minister. The following children were born of this union: Fred Drury, born September 8, 1861, met a sad death on the railroad, on April 20, 1895.; Susan Adaline, born November 3, 1862, is now Mrs. Miles, wife of the well known banker and capitalist, J. H. Miles, of Falls City, and has six children; Mary Mildred, born August 12, 1864, is the wife of J. A. Hinkle, the successor of Mr. Easley in the mercantile business in Rulo; he is a college graduate and a genial gen- tleman and successful business man; they have three children: Edith Hinkle, aged thirteen; John Talbot, aged ten-; and Mary Mildred, aged eight. Ida Bell, born November 21, 1867, a talented young lady, died February 8, 1885, just after her graduation. Carrie Alice, born July 14, 1871, died July 31, 1884. Bertha D., born April 2, 1874, is living in Los Angeles, California, and has one daughter. Grace Edna, born August 23, 1877, "^i^d September 6, 1877. Mrs. Mary Ann Easley, the mother of this family, died in Falls City, September 29, 1902. LEWIS HARVLIN MORRIS. Lewis Harvlin Morris, now living retired in Auburn, Nemaha county, is one of the old-time residents of southeastern Nebraska, and has been successful in everything he has undertaken. He was a farmer in this county for many years, but has been retired since 1900, and now gives his attention mainly to caring for the property which he has gained by many years of diligent labor and careful business man- agement. . While not a young man in years, he is one of those peren- nially youthful spirits whom age never touches but lightly, and who are able to bear with joy life's burdens to the end. Mr. Morris can just remember his grandfather Morris, who was 370 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. sheriff, and who married a Miss Lincohi, a relative of Abraham Lin- coln. His father, HarvHn Morris, was born in Massachusetts, and was a shoemaker by trade, following farming later in life. He was married to Miss Clarissa Bullard in Utica, New York, a daughter of Jonathan Bullard, a farmer and carpenter. These parents lived in Depeyster. St. Lawrence county. New York, for some years, and then moved to Gouverneur, where the father rented and also owned a small place. They had the following children : Lovell died at the age of one year ; Adaline Amanda, the wife of Cephas Smith, died in St. Lawrence county at the age of seventy, without children ; Volney died at the age of sev- enty, August 13, 1894, leaving a son. Bower J.; Jonathan B., a widower with one son, lives in North Wilmington, Massachusetts, and is in' business in Boston; M. Duane died in Gouverneur about 1890, leaving a wife and one daughter; Franklin Willard is a retired miller in Gouv- erneur, and has two daughters; Frances, who is a twin of the preceding, died at the age of twenty-one in New York; Orville O. is a miller in Peoria, Illinois, and has a wife and three children. Lewis Harvlin Morris, who completes the above family, was born at Depeyster, St. Lawrence county, New York, April 28, 1837, and was reared there and at Gouverneur in the same county. He served an apprenticeship at shoemaking and harness-making, and followed this business at Gouverneur for some time. He lived there eight years after his marriage, and he came to Nemaha county, Nebraska, in 1868, settling on the eighty acres which his brother Frank had located two years before^ and some time later he bought this land. He lived on this farnt and, prospered until the spring of 1900, when he sold it for fifty dollars an acre, and moved into his nice home in Auburn. He has also sold two other places in this county and a half section in Chase county. He owns two tenant houses in Auburn and some village lots. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 371 July 3, i860, Mr. Morris was married in South Edwards, New York, to . Miss Calista Sheldon, who was born in Otsego, Michigan, March 19, 1841, a daughter of Henry and Betsey (Bottsford) Sheldon, the former born in St. Lawrence county, New York, in 18 14, and the latter in 1817, and they were married in 1838. Mrs. Morris's mother died in the prime of life, leaving three children : Charles, in Ventura, Califprnia, has two sons and two daughters; Mrs. Morris; and George B., who died in Pennsylvania at the age of forty-four, having been born in 1846, and leaving three children. Mr. Sheldon was afterward mar- ried to Martha Aldoes, by whom he had five children : Julia is the wife of Judge Neary, in Gouverneur; Theodore is a superannuated express agent in the hospital at Toledo, Ohio, the ward of the United States Express Company, and he has a wife; Arthur is a widower with one son, in Carthage, New York; Emma is a professional nurse in New York city; and James is cashier of a bank in Gouverneur, and has a wife and one child living. Mr. Sheldon died in Gouverneur at the age of fifty-five years. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morris. Dora Ada- line, born in Gouverneur in 1861, died there at the age of seven; Walter L. is in the state of Washington, and has a wife and three children, one of the sons, aged sixteen, being here with his grandfather ; William F. died when thirteen months old, in New York; Merrit Duane is single and in California; Ida is the wife of George B. Skeen, of Medford, Oklahoma, and has three daughters and one son; Fred Henry lives in Nebraska Citjr, and has a wife and three children; Franke is the wife of William Coons, at Custer City, Oklahoma, and has one daughter; Katie is the wife of William Hacker, a farmer in Nemaha precinct, and has two daughters; the ninth child, a daughter, died in infancy in Nebraska. Mr. Morris is a Republican in politics, and has 372 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. served as a school director. He has ahvays been a good horseman, both in riding and driving, and knows and loves a fine steed, taking keen delight in this mode of recreation. WILLIAM W. JONES. William \Y Jones, near Rulo, Richardson county, is a pioneer of the pioneers, and he and his wife are the most distinguished old couple in this part of Nebraska. It is remarkable that their lives have run side by side for sevent3'-three years, under the lowering skies as well as the sunshine of life, from that memorable day when they set forth on life's journey together until for a number of years they have been descending the afterslope and are nearing the end of the world's course. It is the hope of all their many friends that they may be living two years hence to celebrate that most uncommon of festivals, the Diamond wed- ding, which would be a most happy culmination to a career of usefulness and happy and true love. In such lives as those of "Uncle Billy Jones" and his wife is found a reminder of the real youth of American institu- tions and history. When they came into the world the republic had hardly been firmly established, and there were heard the mutterings of the second conflict with Great Britain, by which independence was finally asserted and proved. They had passed the third of a century mark when the Mexican war came on, and had reached the full mean of life when the Civil war marked the last great conflict on American soil. And after viewing the varied events of -the wonderful nineteenth century in almost their entirety, they are ushered into the still more glorious twentieth, which is as far removed in material development and means of civilization from the earlier decades of their existence as SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 373 light from darkness. It is further worthy of comment that the last years of their lives are being spent in a country that, when they were children, had never been seen by, any white men except the very fore- most pathfinders, hunters and explorers. There is no better known char- acter in Richardson county than "Uncle Billy Jones," who is himself a typical frontiersman, and for many years kept well on the outer edge of the advancing wave of civilization, until it reached the beautiful country of southeastern Nebraska, where he has been content to remain until the final summons to join the "Choir Invisible." William W. Jones was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, Septem- ber 6, 1812, and his wife, Rebecca Morris, was born in Pennsylvania, January 28, 18 10. H-e was taken to Jackson county, Ohio, at the age of three years, and they were married on August 18, 1831, after which they began farming in Jackson county, and continued there until he was twenty-two years old. He then came west to Fulton county, Illinois, being one of the pioneers of that place. He took a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, and after improving and cultivating it for six years .moved still further west to Johnson county, Iowa. He and some twenty other settlers made large claims where Iowa City is now located, but were vinable to hold all their land. Mr. Jones improved a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres and lived there until 1854, when he took up his abode in Cass county, Iowa. On March 10, 1855, he arrived in Dakota county, Nebraska, from Council Bluffs; two years later he spent a summer in Leavenworth 'county, Kansas; during the following winter was at Dallas, Texas; returned to and lived in Leavenworth county for two years, and in the spring of 1861 came to Falls City, Nebraska, where he rented a farm of Bob Whitecloud, two miles west of town. He bought a half section near here, paying at the rate of two dollars and a half an acre and making the payments in horses. On 374 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. May lo, 1863, he and his family, together with five other prairie schooners, started across the plains for Portland, Oregon. On arriving in that now populous city there were fifty-five wagons and many settlers located. In October, 1865, he and his wife and three little sons started back to Nebraska, with ten horses, and were one hundred and twelve days en route to Omaha, where they spent the winter, and then returned to the half section. Here they continued their toils during the remainder of their active careers, and they still live in a cottage on one hundred and sixty acres of the land which they settled nearly forty-five years ago. The farm is owned by their son, whose residence is close to theirs. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had nine children, as follows : Phebe Ellen Swartz, who died in Atchison, Kansas, and left three children; Charles A., who died on the home place, March 6, 1892, leaving one son and two daughters ; William H. Harrison, who when last heard of was in Texas, and vmmarried ; Cass ; Lydia Margaret McCartney, who died in Oklahoma, leaving three children; Rachael Gardner, who died in Leav- enworth, leaving one child; Louisa Renneck, who died in Leavenworth, leaving one child; Lewis, who owns the home farm as mentioned above and has three children; and Stephen B., who is a farmer in Oklahoma and has two sons and three daughters. Mr. Jones is a stanch Republican, but his voting years extend back a number of campaigns before the formation of the Republican party. He has held no office except in connection with school affairs. He belongs to no society or creed, and is a free man in every sense of the word. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 375 APPOLLAS H. MILLAR. The industrial interests of the prosperous town -of Auburn, Ne- braska, have a strong factor in the subject of this sketch, Appollas H. Millar, a carpenter, contractor and builder. Mr. Millar has done a large amount of building here and elsewhere and during the busy season employs a dozen or more men. The Tom Bath mansion, one of the recently constructed houses in Auburn, shows something of the char-- acter of his work. Mr. Millar was bom at Ray Center, near Detroit, Michigan, Octo- ber 15, 1866, and may be said to belong to a family of contractors and builders, two of his brothers and his father, Lesley L. Millar, having followed this occupation. Lesley L. Millar was born in Ohio, in 1832, and in boyhood went to Michigan, where he was reared and where he has spent the greater part of his life. Pie is now living retired at Washington, Michigan. During the Civil war he was a band master in the Fourth Michigan Cavalry. He enlisted in 1861 and served all through the war, as a musician, it being his band that'pla3red the music when Jefferson Davis was captured. Lesley L. Millar has been twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Adalaine HazeltOn, died in the prime of life, leaving three sons, namely : Theron W. Millar, who is now married and a resident of Detroit, where he is engaged in contracting and building; Allison R. Millar, also a con- tractor and builder, is married, has one son and three daughters, and lives in Bay City, Michigan; and Ralph C. Millar, who died at the age of thirty years, leaving a widow. For his second wife the father ■married Vandalie Risk, who bore him four sons and two daughters, as follows : Appollas, whose name graces this sketch ; Elizabeth A., who died at the age of twenty-one years; Lewis L., who died at the age of twenty-five years; Minnie M., a resident of Detroit, Michigan; Arthur, 376 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. in the employ of the Grand Union Tea Company, in Detroit; and Thomas C, also of Detroit, is an employe of the Grand Union Tea Company. In the spring of the year following his twelfth birthday, Appollas H. Millar began work at the carpenter's trade, under his father's instruc- tions, and worked for him until he was nineteen. Then he went to Bay City and entered the employ of his brothers, with whom he remained five years. Mr. Millar went to Chicago in 1890 and followed his trade there until 1898. In 1900 he located in Auburn, Nebraska, where he bought a place and has since remained. Mr. Millar was married, in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1900, to Mrs. Fannie Cook, widow of Henry Cook, deceased, and daughter of David and Rhoda (Wood) H'amlin, natives of Oswego county. New York. Mr. Millar is identified with the Modern Woodmen and, politically, is a "Bryanite." Mrs. Millar is a member of the Presbyterian church. ELISHA HUFFMAN. Elisha Huffman is the oldest citizen of Rulo, Richardson county, and, indeed, of southeastern Nebraska. His age is more easily compre- hended when it is stated that he was born before the outbreak of the second war with Great Britain, and that he has been able to vote at all presidential elections from John Q. Adams down to the present; that he was a grown man and enlisted for the Black Hawk war, that he was a man past the prime of life when the Civil war opened; and that he began life about the time of the first steamboat, was a boy wheii railroads were first successfully operated, had lived a third of a century when the telegraph was invented, and has really been an old man in point of years throughout the wonderful electrical age of the present. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 377 Such a life, especially when filled from earliest years to the present with useful and busy activity, is venerable and worthy of the highest honor, and in such estimation is Mr. Huffman held by all the citizens of Rulo. He was bom twenty-five miles west of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on January 7, 181 1, being the first of nine children. His first years were begun in humble circumstances, and at the age of six, before he had acquired any school training, he was bound out to a widow, with whom he remained seven years, until she broke up housekeeping. At a place four miles south of Pittsburg he learned the wagon-maker's trade, and when he had leisure hours his chum taught him the rudiments of reading and writing. About 1832 he volunteered to fight Black Hawk, but his services were not needed. He went to Ohio, where he was married in 1835, and in 1845 h^ l^^t Knox county of that state and settled at Savannah, Andrew county, Missouri. In 1856 he went to Brown county, Kansas, where he had a claim, which he later sold. In 1863 he came to Rulo, Nebraska, and made his home on the same plot of ground where he still lives. He had spent the winter of 1855- 56 in Salem, Nebraska. He owns five acres at his present home, and has a comfortable though not pretentious place in which to pass his remaining years. He has never sought riches, but has done his duty and fulfilled all his obligations to his fellow men, so that the end of his life is peace and contentment. He owns five lots in town. He grows grapes on a hvmdred vines, has a nice orchard which had been set out before he settled on the place, and his little home is surrounded with fruit trees. In his palmy days he used to make high wages, but he did not care to lay his money by, and has always been liberal and generous in all his relations. He has in his possession a bureau that he made in 1838, over sixty-five years old. He has been a champion shot with a gun, and has bested many an opponent. He is a devout member of the 378 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Holiness church, which seems to him to open the true path to Heaven, and he has abided by its doctrines and been zealous in its good work for many years of his life. Mr. Huffman was a Whig during- the first years of his political activity, and since the organization of the party has been a stanch Republican. For twenty-seven years he was a constable in Ohio and Kansas, and for twelve years was constable and marshall in Rulo. He was married in Ohio, April 20, 1835, to Miss Rebecca Hender- son, who died in 1849, ^t the age of thirty-six years. There were seven children of this marriage : Jacob, who died in infancy ; Samuel was in the Civil war; a daughter that died in infancy; Anna, who died in infancy ; Louisa, who died in Kansas leaving three children ; Mary, wife of Langdon Jackson, at her father's home in Rulo, has three child- ren, by her first marriage, Sherman Alexander and Hattie, the mother of three children by her deceased husband Cyrus Wetzel, and by her second marriage, Florence Jackson; Hepsibeth Huffman, the seventh child, died at the age of five years. JOHN HOSSACK. John Hossack, now serving in his third term as sheriff of Richard- son county, has held this county his home and center of activity for forty-five years, since he was a boy of seven years. He knew this section of the state in the pioneer days, and he and the country grew up and developed together. He has followed farming most of his life, and during his incumbency in his present office he has given unusual satisfaction to the citizens, as is evidenced by his two re-elections. He is a popular and genial man, and is well worthy of the esteem and honor accorded him by his friends and constituents. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 379 Mr. Hossack was born in Williams county, Ohio, November 3, 1852, and several moves took place before he finally arrived in this state. At the age of three he was taken to Illinois, and in 1857 to Black Hawk county, Iowa, and on June 3, 1859, arrived with the rest of the family on the "half-breed" tract in Richardson county. His grandfather was a Scotch farmer, and lived and died in his native land, and very little is known of the family history. Mr. Hossack's father was Alexander Hossack, who was born near Inverness, Scotland, in 1804, and died in Jefferson precinct, Richardson county, Ofctober 3, 1864. He was married in Scotland to Miss Janette McNeechen, who was born about 1815, and died in 1855. They had seven children, and reared but four of them. One of the deceased children was Elizabeth, wife of L. F. Hitchcock, of Richardson county, and she left two' chil- dren. The living children are Margery, the widow Grant, of Preston, Nebraska, and has a family of nine children; Anna, the wife of John Freel, of Jackson county, Kansas, and his six children; and John. The parents came from Scotland shortly after their marriage, being six weeks on the sailing vessel,, and they began life without ntoney and gained their livelihood by their industry and persevering toil. Sheriff Hossack passed his youth in pioneer communities, so that his education was meager and acquired in the primitive old schoolhouse and methods. He has in his possession a card written by his teacher and given him as a reward of merit when he was eleven years old. He still cherishes highly both the memento and the memory of the giver. The card is inscribed as follows: "Aug. 21, 1862. From Mrs. E. C. Mosse, presented to John Hossack for good attention to his books in school. You must be a good boy and learn your books. Forget me not." As his father died when he was twelve years old he soon began doing for himself, and has made his own way in the world ever since. 38o SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. His first work was driving five yoke of oxen to a breaking plow, at the wage of four dollars a montli. He also worked at home. His father had bought a tract of eighty acres, but the family was compelled to pay a second price for it owing to a defective title. He continued farming until 1898, and in that year went to Alaska in search of gold. He was taken sick after arriving in the gold fields, was in a canvas tent surrounded by the snow for two weeks, and was then put on a hand- sled and hauled to a vessel, on which he was shipped to Seattle, Wash- ington, finally reaching home without a cent. In the following year he was elected to the office of sheriff of Richardson county, and is now in his third term and filth year of a most successful official service. Mr. Hossack was married December 28, 1874, to Miss Mary Sin- clair, who was born in Connectictit in 1853, August 10, a daughter of James and Jane (Ladd) Sinclair, of Scotch lineage. Her parents moved to Illinois at an early day, and in 1868 came to Richardson county where her father pursued his blacksmith's trade, which he had learned in Scotland. Mrs. Hossack is one of eight children, five sons and three daughters, all of whom are married and most of- whom have children. Mr. and Mrs. Hossack have had nine children : William, born on the farm in 1876, is a bridge-building boss in Iowa, and un- married; James, born in 1878, works with a bridge gang in Kiansas; Janette, who died at the age of twenty-one, was a graduate of the Verdon high school, had been a most successful teacher for two years, and her death was all the sadder because of the fact that she was to have been wedded within a few days; Elizabeth is a bright young school teacher in this county; Isabelle, a graduate of the Verdon schools, is a compositor on the Falls City Tribune; Pearl May is the wife of Wil- liam Sloan, of Verdon, and has one baby boy; Quinby John is a young man of eighteen, and graduates from the Falls City high school in SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 381 1904; and George P. and Nellie, the two youngest, are both in school. Mr. Hossack is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and in politics is a stanch Republican. JAMES N. PORTERFIELD. James N. Porterfield, deceased, was one of the respected citizens of Liberty township. Gage county, Nebraska, where he died March 26, 1895, at the age of sixty-four years. Mr. Porterfield was borii in Belmont county, Ohio, son of James and Mary (Cavender) Porterfield, and one of a family of sixteen children, of whom twelve reached adult age — eight sons and four daughters. The eight sons all volunteered for service in the army during the Civil war, made good records in the Union cause, and all returned home. On one occasion the youngest son narrowly escaped death, a bullet passing through his mouth, taking out his front teeth, and afterward being ixmoved from his neck. The father of this large family died in Ohio, in 1855, at the age of seventy-two years. The mother survived him some four years and her death occurred in Penn- sylvania. James N. Porterfield was reared in Ohio and in early life learned the trade of blacksmith. In September, 1853, ^^ the age of twenty-one years, he was married in Belmont county, Ohio, to Miss Catharine A. Tracey, and the following year they moved west to Richland, Keokuk county, Iowa, where he was employed as blacksmith in a carriage factory. When the Indian reserve was opened up for settlement, about 1885, he came to the place where his widow now resides and located on eighty acres of land, which cost him seven dollars per acre. 382 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Here he developed a farm, passed the rest of his hfe and died, his death occurring in' 1895, as stated at the beginning of this sketch. Mrs. Catharine A. (Tracey) Porterfield was born December 23, 1833, and is a native of Ohio. Levi Tracey, her father, was born in Maryland. He was a shoemaker by trade, was employed in Baltimore for some years, and was regarded as a fine workman. In early life he went to Ohio and there met and married Maria Holt, daughter of one of the wealthy pioneers of that state, who had large land holdings. To each of his children Mr. Holt gave a farm and what was termed in those days a "fitting out." He may be said to have been geperous to a fault, for while he was at one time a very wealthy man, he gave away and lost much of his property and at the time of his death he was in only moderate circumstances. Levi and Maria Tracey became the parents of fifteen children, of whom seven sons and three daughters grew to maturity and are still living, namely : Jacob, David, John, Levi, Isaac, Everett and Ayers, and Nancy, widow of Samuel Mosler, Mrs. Porterfield, and Sarah, wife of Hiram Gentell. Sons and daughters to the number of eleven were given to Mr. and Mrs. Porterfield. Four died in infancy, and Isaac died at the age of twenty years. Alice is the wife of Martin Heffelinger of Brighton, Iowa; Laura died at the age of fourteen years; Hattie died at the age of thirteen; Nettie is the wife of Edward Burgett, and the youngest daughter is Sadie Doyle. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 383 HON. JOSEPH. M. CRAVENS. Hon. Joseph M. Cravens, of Armour, Nebraska, member of the state legislature and otherwise prominent in business and public rela- tions, Avas born in Highland county, Ohio, March 19, 1855, and is the son of Isaac and Mary J. (Stockwell) Cravens, the former a native .of Pennsylvania and a farmer and local preacher in the Methodist church, and the latter a native of Virginia. Mr. Cravens has three brothers living. Dlavid B., who lives in Scotland county, Missouri, was a private in Company I, Twenty-first Missouri Volunteer Infantry, enlisting June 18, 1861, at Memphis, Missouri, and mustered out December 5, 1864, at Nashville, Tennessee ; he participated in the battles at Shiloh, Corinth, luka, Pleasant Hill, Nashville, Fort Blakely, and many others. William T. is of 'K!nox county, Illinois, and Wesley F. is also of Knox county. In the fall of the year in which Mr. Cravens was born his parents moved to Scotland county, Missouri, where they remained till 1861, and then removed to Henry county, Illinois, and from there to Knox county, in the same state, in 1864. Joseph lived at home and attended the common schools until 1872. I-n December of that year his mothef died, and the home was broken up. He, being the youngest child and the only one at home, went to work for a neighbor during the summer, and during the following three winters did chores for his board and went to school. In August, 1875, in company with a neighbor boy, he bought a small grocery in Gilson, Knox county, Illinois, and under the firm name of Lawrence and Cravens conducted it for three years. In 1878 he sold out and, with Henry Linn, bought a drug stock, which they conducted under the name of Craven^ and Linn until 1879, when Mr. Cravens sold to his partner. In 1882 Mr. Cravens, with his wife and baby, came by wagon 384 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. to the west; the first stop was near the state Hne south of Falls City, Nebraska, where he lived for two years, then' moved to a new farm near Barnes, Washington county, Kansas, in the spring of 1885. Farm- ing was his occupation for the next five years, but from 1890 to 1893 he clerked in a store in Barnes. In April, 1893, he took up his per- manent location in Armour, Nebraska, and started a general merchandise store. In 1895 he bought the farm on which the present town of Armour is located, and platted the townsite, so that he is in large measure founder and promoter of Armour's prosperity. In the spring of 1897 he was appointed postmaster, which office he retained until he was elected to the state legislature in 1902, when he resigned. Mr. Cravens is a self-made man. When his home waa broken up at the age of seventeen he was given a one-dollar bill as capital for his start in life, and by econom}'', industry and careful attention to business, he has gained a comfortable place in life, with a good home and business, and with the respect and regard of associates and friends. Mr. Cravens cast his first presidential ballot for Hayes in 1876, and has been a consistent Republican since that time. He held the office of town clerk in Haw Creek township, Knox county, in 1879, and tax collector in 1880. He has never sought office, and has only done his duty as a private citizen and Republican partisan, his recent election to the legislative body coming more in recognition of his worth and sub- stantiality than as a political worker. October 26, 1891, he became a charter member of Guardian Camp, M. W. A., at Barnes, and served as banker until he removed to Nebraska in 1893. March 2, 1896, he joined the Ancient Order of United Work- men at Armour, and was financier six years. In March, 1875, he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, at Orange Chapel, Knox county, Illinois, and in the different parts of the country in which he SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 385 has made his home has served the church as steward', trustee, recording steward, and for ten 3'ears as superintendent of the Sunday school. Mr. Cravens was married near Gilson, Knox county, IlHnois, December 5, 1878, to Miss Hattie L. Smith, who was born and reared in Knox county, lUinois, and spent one year in Abingdon College, that county. Her father, H. W. Smith, served in Company F, Fifty-seventh Illinois Infantry, Fourth Division, Fifteenth Corps, under Logan. The children born of this marriage were as follows : Raymond R., born in Gilson, Illinois, August 13, 1880, and is still at home with his parents, being postmaster of Armour; Ora Edith, born in Richardson county, Nebraska, September 7, 1884, died of membraneous croup in Washing- ton county, Kansas, December 15, 1887; Edna Pearl, born August 15, 1887, in Washington county, Kansas, is still at home. JACOB W. MOORE. Jacob W. Moore^ one of the prominent and successful early settlers of Pawnee county and pioneers of Clay township, an ex-soldier of the Civil war, came to Nebraska in 1865. He was born in Summit town- ship, Erie county, Pennsylvania, November 9, 1839, of ancestry noted for integrity and industry. His father was John Moore, a soldier of the war of 181 2, was also born in Erie county, and was a son of John Moore, who was born in Argyleshire, Scotland. The m'other of our subject was Catherine Steinbrook, who was born in Berlin, Germany, and was a daughter of Dr. Jacob Steinbrook, who came to Pennsylvania when she was a child. A family of seventeen children were born to John and Catherine Moore, namely : Isaac, Adam, Andrew, Mary Ann, 386 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Augustus, Sarah J., Samuel, Jacob W., David C, James K., John W., Elizabeth, and the others died in childhood. Of the above family, Samuel resides in this county and was a mem- ber of the Sixteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry during the Civil war ; James K'. is now deceased, and he was a member of the Second Ohio; and John W., who lives at Waterloo, Nebraska, was a member of the Eighty- third Pennsylvania Regiment. The father died at the age of fifty-four years, but the mother lived to be sixty-five. Both were consistent mem- bers of the Methodist church. Jacob W. Moore was educated in the common schools and then went to work in the pineries of Wisconsin. He voted for President Lincoln, in i860. The outbreak of the war found him ready to enlist for service in defense of his country, and on August 2, 1861, he became a member of Company C, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteen Infantry, and served for three years and three months, in this time participating in thirty battles. He was with Colonel J. W. McClaine in the Peninsular campaign, with Fitz John Porter at the battles of Gainesville and Har- rison Landing, with the Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg and Gettysburg and was stationed at Little Round Top on guard duty. He also took part in the battles of the Wilderness under General Grant and was also under General Meade at Petersburg. On August 29, 1862, at the second battle of Bull Run, he was struck by a piece of shell which cut his haversack and caused a flesh wound in the leg. He returned home safely, however, after an honorable and faithful service. In 1864 he was married in Erie county to Emma J. Walbridge, who was born in Springfield township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, being a daughter of John and Jane (Malory) Walbridge, the former of whom served in the war of 181 2. Her father died at the age of forty- five years and her mother at the age of fifty-four. They had these SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 387 children: Mrs. Moore: Charles P., a soldier in the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, of Marshall county, Kansas; Florence H., of Pawnee county; Henry Carl, also a soldier pf the above regiment, who lost a leg at Chickahominy ; Andrew, of Erie county ; Delos, of Pennsylvania ; Mrs. Ida Church ; and Mrs. Eliza Mor- gan, who died in Kansas. After coming to Nebraska, Mr. Jacob Moore became first a foreman on a stock ranch. Seven months later he went to St. Joseph, Missouri, to meet his wife, a distance of eighty miles, with a team and wagon. With her assistance Mr. Moore soon began to prosper, and now has a fine farm of one hundred and forty-six acres, including meadows, orchards, and pastures. His home is comfortable and his large barns give shelter to stock and abundant harvests. A family of six children has been born, namely: Mrs. Clara Scott, of Nemaha county, Kansas; Mrs. Vinnie Judkins, of Broken Bow, Nebraska; Mrs. Angie Tracy, of this county; Katcy a successful and popular teacher at Table Rock, Nebraska; Mrs. Lucia Hildebrand, of Dubois, Nebraska; Mary A., at home. Three sons and one daughter died in infancy. Mr. Moore has taken a prominent part in public affairs in his locality, was deputy-sheriff^ for a time, and for two years was tax collector. He belongs to the Masonic order, blue lodge. No. 23, of Pawnee, Nebraska. The family is one of the intelligent, hospitable households of this locality, and its members enjoy the esteem of the community. 388 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. JEFFERSON D. BROWN. Jefferson D. Brown, a retired merchant and now stockman of Burch- ard, Nebraska, was born in Miami county, Indiana, May 13, 1842. He is a son of Samuel L. and Harriet (Idson) Brown, the former of whom was born in Virginia and became a successful farmer in Ohio, to which state he emigrated at the age of twenty years. Later he went to Indiana and still later located at Centerville, Iowa, where he died aged sixty-four years. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Samuel Brown, a native of Graceland county, Virginia. The mother of Mr. Brown was born in Ohio and died in Miami county, Indiana, when Mr. Brown was but three years of age. She was the mother of six children, but our subject is the only survivor. Jefferson D. Brown was reared and educated in Indiana and Iowa. At the first call for men when the rebellion broke out, he enlisted, on July 15, 1861, in Company B, Forty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry under Colonel Daniel Miles and Captain Joe Miles. The regiment was ordered to the front at once, and at the battle of Corinth in October, 1862, he was wounded and taken to the hospital at St. Louis. In May, 1863, he was honorably discharged and returned home. On July 25th of the same year he re-enlisted in the Eighth Iowa Cavalry under Captain M. M. Waldon, and served until the close of the war. In July, 1864, he was wounded and captured with his regiment and taken to Anderson- ville, where he was kept a prisoner for nine months, when he succeeded in making his escape. He enlisted as a private and when he was mustered out he was a commissioned first lieutenant. After his second discharge he returned to his father's farm and soon after opened a livery estab- lishment in Centerville, Iowa. November 20, 1865, he married Salina F. Dye, who was born in Monroe county, Ohio. She bore him five children, as follows : Frank SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 389 E., a merchant of Lewiston, Nebraska, is married and has two children; Salina M. married George H. Sheik, a merchant of Lewiston, Nebraska, Annetta B. married J. F. H'alderman, cashier of the bank of Burchard ; Joseph J., a stockman at Virginia, Nebraska; Charles E., a merchant of Tate, Nebraska. After his marriage, Mr. Brown continued in the livery business a few months and then sold out and retired to a farm near Manhattan, Kansas. In 1873 he was elected sheriff of the county and moved to Manhattan, the county seat, was re-elected in 1875, and for four years he efficiently filled that responsible office. He sold his Kansas property in 1880 and moved to Tecumseh, Nebraska, and opened a hardware store, which he continued until 1884, and then disposed of it, and in May that same year went to Blaine county, Nebraska, where he helped to locate the county seat at Brewster. While there he operated a general store and stock ranch, but after nine years sold his interests and located at Burchard, Nebraska, where he opened the largest general store. This he conducted until August, 1903, when he sold out. He also deals largely in stock. He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln in i860, and has supported the Republican party since that date. Like the major- ity of the old soldiers he is a member of'the G. A. R. post and is con- nected with W. A. Butler Post No. 172 of Burchard. ■ He has been a member of the Masonic order for thirty-seven years, being the oldest Mason in the vicinity, and he is also a member of the Independent Order ot Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias orders. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodi.st church, where he is as active as in politics and business affairs. Upright and honorable in all his dealings he is one of the most highly respected citizens of Burchard. 390 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. GEORGE H. FALLSTEAD. George H\ Fallstead, until recently of the firm of Powell and Fall- stead, leading real estate men of Falls City, is a native son of Richard- son county and has passed all his life within its boundaries, making his best successes within call of the place of his nativity. Farming and business transactions have occupied his attention since he left school, and his career has been one of steadily increasing success and pros- perity from the first. Mr. Fallstead was born on a farm not far from Falls City, Decem- ber 12, 1867. His paternal ancestry is altogether German. His grand- father, John Fallstead, was a German farmer and freeholder, born about 1766, and died in his fatherland when about eighty- four years old. He reared three sons and three daughters. The son John is the father of Mr. G. H. Fallstead, and was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, August 28, 1827. Fie was reared in his native land and well educated in the German schools. He entered the German army and took part in several battles, and after coming to this country also had some military experience in fighting with the Indians. He left Bremen in 1853, and after fifty-two days of sailing arrived in New York, having spent forty dollars for his passage, and being worth only twelve dollars in money as he stood on the streets of the foreign and unfamiliar city and country where he was to carve out his destiny and fortune. He first w"ent to Monroe, Michigan, and thence to Toledo, Ohio, where he worked in a brick yard, and later came .to near Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he worked as a farm hand and also in a mill. He came to Nebraska in the pioneer times of the sixties, bringing about five hundred dollars which he had managed by his industry to accumulate, and soon pur- chased the eighty acres which forms part of his present farmstead. He was married in February, 1867, to Miss Elizabeth Pollard, who was SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 39i born in Tennessee in 1847, ^ daughter of George W. Pollard, a Ten- nessee farmer. She lost her mother in infancy and was reared by strangers. Mr. and Mrs. John Fallstead began their domestic life in a most primitive fashion in Nebraska. He had built on his eighty acres a frame house sixteen by eighteen feet, and this was the home until fortune smiled more genially on his diligent efforts. He improved his land and added forty acres thereto and there reared his family and has since made a good property, having been able to equip well all his children for life's duties and still retain a comfortable home for his and his good wife's age. Their three children are : George H. ; John W., who lives on the home farm and has one daughter; and Mabel, who is also on the home place. Mr. George H. Fallstead was reared to farm life, and engaged in that pursuit until about nine years ago, when he moved to Falls City, where he owns a nice home in Chase street. He was in the real estate business for about three years, and he and his partner made a reputation as hustling business men, carrying on a very large business in city and farm property. He sold his real estate interest to his partner in June, 1904, and is now engaged in fire and life insurance exclusively. Mr. Fallstead lived at home until his marriage, on Christmas day, 1889. His wife's maiden name is Annie M. Birdsley. She was born in Iowa, and was two weeks old when brought across the Missouri into Nebraska, in April, 1870. Her parents are Simon Quincy and Ellen (Teeter) Birdsley, who were married in Illinois about 1862, and the former of whom is now about seventy-five years old and the latter some eighteen years younger. Mr. and Mrs. Birdsley lost two children, and the following are living: Charles D., in Falls City, has three chil- dren; Hiram, in Washington county, Kansas, has two sons and three 392 . SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. daughters; Viola Chapman lives in Falls City; Fanny, the wife of W. N. Corder. m Kansas, has two children; Mrs. Fallstead is next of the lamily; Lucy Billips, at Verdon, Nebraska, has one son; Jacob Birds- ley is a farmer of this county. These seven living children are all worthy men and women. The two deceased are John, who died at the age of twenty-two, and Asa, who died at the age of sixteen. * Mr. and Mrs. Fallstead have had five children : Naomi, a bright girl of thirteen, in the seventh grade and also taking piano instruction; a son that died in infancy; Coral Clyde, aged six, has entered school; Dale Deloss, aged three; and Floyd Francis. Mr. Fallstead is a Dem- ocrat; but without political aspirations or longings. He is a prominent Knight of Pythias, and in his lodge is master of finance and keeper of records and seals. ROBERT McELHOSE. Robert McElhose, who has been one of the esteemed residents of Pawnee county since 1894, has a life record of unustial interest and activity. He has always been noted for his substantial qualities' of citi- zenship, and in more than one instance has been of service to his com- munity and during the great Civil war was a faithful and loyal follower of the flag of the Union in many marches and campaigns of the south. He is a distinctly self-made man, as the following details of his career will verify, and by his honesty and integrity has won an enviable posi- tion in every community where he has made his home. Mr. McElhose was born in county Antrim, Ireland, June i, 1844, the youngest of a family of twelve children born to William and Mar- garet (Smith) McElhose. When he was three years old the family, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 393 with the exception of one sister, emigrated to America and landed in Philadelphia, where they remained for one year, and where the sister rejoined them. They removed from Philadelphia to a farm in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and there four years later the father of the family died, at the age of sixty years, having spent his life in farming. His wife survived him and died in Plainfield, .Illinois, in 1865, at the age of seventy-five years. They were members of the Presbyterian church. Their children were named as follows : Hannah, who became the wife of James Scott; Robert; Benjamin; Margaret, who became the wife of Matthew Smith; Matilda; Sarah, who was the wife of John Gilles- pie; Eliza, who married John McCann; William, who was a soldier in the Civil war; Hugh; Richard; James; and Robert. Robert McElhose was fifteen years old when he removed with his mother from Pennsylvania to Plainfield, Illinois, having spent the preceding years in work on the farm and in attendance at the common schools. He was then apprenticed to the blacksmith trade, but before he had served his time the war broke out.' At the age of seventeen he enlisted in Company D, One Hundredth Illinois Volunteers, and served for three years, receiving his honorable discharge at Albany, New York, in July, 1865. He participated in some of the campaigns of the west- ern armies, his most important battles being those of Perryville, Stone River, and Lavergne, besides numerous skirmishes. Sickness kept him from active duty for some time, but he was always ready and willing to serve in any capacity for which he had the strength. For eleven months he was never off duty for a single day. He was advanced from a private to corporal and then to sergeant, which latter grade he reached before he was nineteen years old. When the war was over he went home and completed his period of apprenticeship of three years. He worked as a journeyman for two 394 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. years, and then moved to Kane county, Illinois, where he opened a shop of his own, having a good patronage for about five years. He then went to Cambridgej Illinois, and went into the carriage business with Sylvester Rockwell, under the firm name of McElhose and Rockwell. Two years later this partnership was dissolved, and Mr. McElhose moved to Rock Island county, Illinois, and thence in the spring of 1877 came to Page county, Iowa, where he made his home until his removal to Pawnee county, Nebraska, in 1894. He had a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Page .county, five acres of which was a magnifi- cent orchard, and he was a very successful farmer and fruit grower. Since coming to Nebraska he has continued the prosperity of former years, and is held in high esteem in business and agricultural circles. .Mr. McElhose has been a stanch adherent of the Republican party since he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, being at that time under age and a soldier in the ranks of his country. He is popular Grand Army man and affiliates with the post at Pawnee. November i, 1867, Mr. McElhose was married to Miss Lottie Wicks, who was born in Michigan in 1847, ^ daughter of Ira and Mary (Hand) Wicks, natives of Massachusetts. She died in 1870, leaving two children, Ira, who lives in Los Angeles, California, and Roy, deceased. Septem- ber 7, 1876, Mr. McElhose married Miss Alice Monfort, who was born in Galesburg, Illinois, August 3, 185 1, and was one of three children. Her father died when she was a baby, and her mother in 1885. Mr. and Mrs. McElhose have three children. Bertha M., Maggie S. and Roy. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 395 SAMUEL E. SLOCUM. Samuel E. Slocum is one of the earliest settlers of southeastern Nebraska, and has resided in Richardson county for nearly forty years. He is one of the patriarchs, but the vigor and vivacity of the past years have by no means deserted him, and he may well be said to be eighty- nine years young. He has a good account to give of every year of his long career, and his age of usefulness is crowned in happy retirement, with serene contemplation of the years agone and with beatific visions of the bourne to which his spirit journeys. Despite his long and event- ful life, his memory travels with sure and active step along all the ways he has come, from the time of boyhood pleasures in the old Green Moun- tain state, through the restless activity of young manhood, and thence through the sober realities of the past fifty years. He truly deserves the honor and veneration which all who know freely accord him. Mr. Slocum was born in Addison county, Vermont, January i, 1815, or, as his father used to tell him, on the first day of the year, the first of the month, the first of the week, and at sunrise. His earliest ancestors were from England, whence three Slocum brothers came years ago and settled in Rhode Island. His grandfather, Samuel Slocum, was a farmer of Addison county, Vermont, where he died at the age of eighty years. He. held a commission as lieutenant in the army of the Revolution, and his son Samuel fought in the war of 181 2, and the latter's son, Samuel E., was a babe in the cradle when Jackson fought the battle of New Orleans. 'Samuel Slocum, the father of Samuel E. Slocum, was born near Providence, Rhode Island, and died in 1865, in Richardson county, Nebraska, when aged eighty-foiir years. He fol- lowed the sea from the age of thirteen to twenty-six, rising from cabin boy to the position of captain of a vessel. He married Mary Sherman, of Rhode Island, and they had the foUoAving children: Henry Sher- -396 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. man died in Minnesota in middle life, leaving one son and two daugh- ters; Samuel E. is the next; Elizabeth died in Meadville, Pennsyl- vania, in middle life, leaving a family; George, a resident of Chautau- qua county. New York, was the first justice of the peace 'of the county and held the office for twenty-eight years; Fitzgerald, proprietor of a hotel at Lake City, Minnesota, has two sons and seven daughters ; Ruth; Mrs. William Stringham, living at Lake City, Minnesota; Amanda, of Lake City, has four sons and one daughter; Manley, a carpenter and contractor of California, has two daughters and one son; Lucy is deceased. Mr. Samuel E. Slocum was reared on a Vermont farm, with his educational equipment acquired in the district schools and his further training for life gained on his father's small farm. On May i of the year he was nineteen years old he went to Brighton, New York, and was employed on a 'farm there from May 9 till the following October. His father then came through, being on his way to a more western place of settlement, and he joined the rest of the family and located with them in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, where he helped clear a farm from the woods. Crawford county was his home for nineteen years, and in that time he grew to manhood and gained a foothold in the world of affairs. In 1855 he sold his seventy acre farm in Pennsylvania and migrated west as far as Clayton county, Iowa, where he bought an improved half section on which he lived for eight years. He then sold and went up into Minnesota, where he bought a quarter section of wild land for a thousand dollars; and after three years of labor spent on it he sold the place for three thousand dollars. He had raised over thirteen hun- dred bushels of wheat, seven hundred of oats, besides large amounts of corn and potatoes. In September, 1865, he arrived in Richardson SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 397 county, Nebraska. On Saturday night he stopped at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John P. King, and on the following Wednesday was making hay on his own land. He was a prosperous agriculturist for many years, but is now retired from active duties, making his home alternately with his sons James and George, both in this county. Mr. Slocum has been married three times, and all the marriages took place while he was living in Pennsylvania. His first union, in 1837, was with Mary V. Line, a lady of most estimable virtues, who died sixteen years later, leaving two sons and three daughtei's, of whom Mrs. J. P. King is the eldest. His second marriage was to Martha M. Maxwell, who died at the birth of her first child. He was married in 1854 to Miss Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of John Smith, and they had a most happy and useful marital life of forty-six years. Mrs. Slocum died on the farm in Nebraska, May 2, 1900, when almost eighty years old. She and her husband were Methodists of many years' standing, and she was a most pious and worthy woman. Mr. Slocum was formerly a Whig, but a Republican since the party was organized. W. W. WRIGHT. W." W. Wright, county treasurer of Gage county, Nebraska, and a prominent resident of Beatrice, has been in this locality since 1880 and has held his present office since 1901. Mr. Wright was born near Mon- roeville, Huron county, Ohio, April 8, 1857, and is a son of James Wright, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, and came to the United States when a young man, settling in Ohio.' The maiden name of his wife was Eliza Wakefield, born and reared in England, and married in this country. They first resided in Huron county, but later 398 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. located in Wood county, Ohio, where the father was a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser. In politics he was a Republican, and his religious convictions made him an Episcopalian, while his wife was a Methodist. The following family were born to them : Charles H. ; William W. ; Mary, deceased; Emma; James; Lydia; Riley, deceased; Etta<; Frank; Dudley; three died in infancy. Mr. W. W. Wright was reared in Ohio and then went to Nebraska. During his boyhood he was taught the principles of integrity and hon- esty. He developed his muscle on the farm and received his education in the public schools. After attaining his majority he was a successful teacher for some time in Nebraska, coming here in 1880 and locating at Blue Springs, Gage county. Later he moved to Wymore, where he invested largely in real estate, bought and sold land with marked suc- cess and followed that business until he was elected to his present office of county treasurer. In May, 1902, he married Tillie Kuhn, a native of Flat Rock, Ohio. She is a daughter of Alfred and Susanna Kuhn, and the former is now deceased. Mr. Wright has always been an ardent Republican, active in the work of the party, and served in various offices of responsi- bility. He has also represented his party as a delegate to various con- ventions. Fraternally he is a Mason and is a member of the blue lodge and chapter. He served as high priest of the local lodge for fourteen years. He is now grand scribe of the Grand Chapter of Nebraska. He is a man of personal magnetism, jovial in manner and one who makes and retains many friends. He moved to Beatrice in 1901, where he still resides. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKL4. 399 CAPTAIN ISAAC N. HICKMAN. Captain Isaac N. Hickman, of Beatrice, Gage county, Nebraska, is one of the honored veterans and members of the G. A. R. post of this city. His war record began in August, 1862, when he enHsted at St. Louis, Missouri, in Company A, Thirtieth Missouri Volunteer Infantry although he had been active as a recruiting officer prior to this and was therefore elected second lieutenant. The regimait was placed under the command of General Sherman, First Brigade, First Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, and he was promoted for gallant service to Captain of the Sixth United States heavy artillery under Colonel B. G. Farrar, and had charge at Natchez of the fortifications. At the close of the war, after an honorable record too lengthy to insert in full in this brief space, Captain Hickman remained at Natchez until 1866, and then removed to St. Louis, where he served on the police force of that citj for some time. The birth of Captain Hickman took place in Jefferson county, Mis- souri, in 1 84 1, the same year that King Edward was born. His ancestors were the Hickmans of Kentucky, early settlers of Kentucky, a number of whom participated in the war of 18 12. He is a son of William Hickman, of Kentucky, and Mary Jane (Wilson) Hickman who was born in Jeffferson county, Missouri, of an old southern family. Both are now deceased, the father dying on a fariii at the age of forty-two. In politics he was a Whig, and in religion a Baptist as was also his wife, who died at the age of seventy. Captain Hickman was reared in Jefferson county, and while se- curing what education he could he learned both the cooper and mason's trade and became very successful as a brickmason, following the latter trade for some years. His next business venture was the conducting of a store at Highridge, Jefferson county, Missouri, and he was engaged 400 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. in that line when he entered the war. As before stated, he served on the St. Louis police force, but in 1871 he removed to Nebraska, settling in October of that year at Beatrice, where he was married to Mrs. Phoebe (Roads) Nesley, widow of David Nesley, who had served in an Ohio regiment, but died in Illinois leaving a widow and two chil- dren, namely: Emma died at the age of twelve; Minnie died at the age of eight. Mrs. Hickman was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Elias and Nancy Roads, who came to Nebraska and died in Beatrice. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hickman : Walter A., a business man of Beatrice ; Charles M. ; and Wil- liam who died at the age of fifteen months. Captain Hickman resides at 901 Market street. In politics he is a Republican and is a prominent member of Rawlins Post No. 35. Fra- ternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has passed all the chairs. Both he and his wife have many friends in Beatrice. Since locating in Beatrice he has followed general con- tracting and building. HENRY C. LAPP. Henry C. Lapp, engineer of the water works and the electric light and power plant at Falls City, is an old resident of this city, having made it his home for twenty-eight years, since 1876. He saw a good deal of life and the world before he settled down to permanency in southeastern Nebraska, and his career throughout has been useful and varied enought to give it spice and interest. He is one of the fore- most citizens of Richardson county, with his place of esteem assured by years of diligent and honorable effort. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 401 Mr. Lapp was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, September 11, 1855. The family originated in Lapland, with its first authentic rec- ord extending back to 1665, and various migrations were made, from Norway to Sweden, thence to Germany, from there to Vir- ginia, to Canada, and to Illinois. Mr. Lapp's great-grandfather was a Virginia planter, who on account of religoius scruples freed his slaves. Martin Lapp, the grandfather, was born in Virginia, and was a menAer of the religious sect of Mennonites. He was an early settler of Illinois, and his son Martin, who was born in Canada, about seven miles from Niagara Falls, was also an Illinois settler, and became the father of Henry C. Lapp. Grandfather Martin Lapp married Katie Her- shey, who was born in Pennsylvania in February 1796, and of their three sons, iVbraham and Christopher still live, the latter being engaged in gold mining in Montana, and being the father of eleven children. Mar- tin Lapp, the father of Mr. H. C. Lapp, was married twice. His first wife was Miss Freeror, of Stephenson county, Illinois, and her family were Gennans, who emigrated first to Philadelphia and thence to Illinois. His second wife was Miss Lizzie Gholing. Henry C. Lapp lost his mother in 1857, 3.nd he has no recollection of the noble and good woman of whom he was the only son. He was reared in Illinois by his grandparents Lapp. He has made his own way since 1866, and left with his grandfather, who was his guardian, some twenty-seven hundred dollars, of which he received none. He was in St. Louis when they were building the big bridge across the Missis- sippi, and worked and made his home in Springfield, Missouri, until 1871. From there he went to Waterloo, Iowa, and thence to northern Illinois. He was a fireman on a locomotive until 1876, and made his arrival in Fall City in June of that year, being on his way to San Francisco. He was with a surveying outfit in western Nebraska for a 402 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. time, but has since been in this city, and has been the efficient engineer of the water works for some years. He had only a dollar and a quarter to his name when he was married, but his thrift and industry have gained him a goodly share of the world's goods. Ten years ago he built his cosy home of nine rooms, and he owns sixteen city lots. Mr. Lapp was married in Falls City, June 17, 1879, to Miss Eleanora C. Fikes, who was born near Rock Island, Illinois, April 9, i860. She has one brother, Charles, of Santa Cruz, California. Her father, John Fikes, was a farmer in New York, Illinois, Iowa and Ne- braska, coming to this state in 1864, and in 1886 went to California, where he died at the age of sixty-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Lapp have three children : Mattie is the wife of Dr. Foster, a veterinarian in Falls City; Miss Addie resides at home; and Sidney was born May 14, 1889. Mr. Lapp is a Chapter Mason, an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. In politics he is an independent voter. His family are members of the Episcopal church. LEWIS ACHENBACH. Among the veterans of the Civil war who are honored by their fellow townsmen in the city of Beatrice, Gage county, Nebraska, none stand higher than the gentleman whose name heads this notice. His enlistment took place in December, 1863, at Waukegan, Lake county, Illinois, in Company I, Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, one of the best cavalry regiments of the state. Col. Beverage (who won glory and honor in Virginia) and Captain Nathan Vose commanding. The regi- ment was ordered to Alton, Illinois, to guard prisoners. Later it was engaged in the Missouri campaign. In 1865 Mr. Achenbach suf- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 403 fered from sunstroke. He never fully recovered and it has bothered him more or less ever since. On account of this stroke he was in the hospital for some time, and wrhen sufficiently recovered was honorably discharged and returned home to Illinois. Lewis Achenbach was born in Germany on September 11, 1838, and he was a son of John J. and Mary (Badenbender) Achenbach. In 1852 the family came to the United States from Bremen on a sail- ing vessel, which consumed nine weeks in a stormy voyage. They landed in New York and proceeded at once to Waukegan, Lake county, Illinois. Both parents died in that state. Nine children were born to these parents, of whom the following served in the Civil war. Leonard was in an Illinois reeiment and is now deceased; Edgar was also in an Illinois regiment, and Lewis. Lewis Achenbach was but fourteen years of age when he left Germany, where he had studied in his native language, and after coming to America he pursued his education still further and learned the cooper's trade. About the time he was enabled to earn good wages at his calling, he enlisted, and when he returned to his old home he found himself troubled by ill health. In order to improve it he removed to Flody county, Iowa, where he worked upon a farm until 1869, and then located in Brownville, Nebraska. This climate not seeming to suit him he made another change, settling in Vesta, Johnson county, Nebraska; again removed and remained at Turkey creek, Pawnee county, until 1883, when he came to Beatrice, and has since made his home in this city. In 1868 he was married in Floyd county, Iowa, to Lienan Estella Conlee, who was born at Alton, Illinois, but was reared and educated at Galena, Illinois. She is a daughter of John H. Conlee, a prominent citizen of Galena, Illinois, and an old friend and neighbor of General 404 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Grant. Mr. Conlee was at one time sherifif of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and was United States marshal. He enjoyed the privilege of being present at the celebrated debate at Freeport, Illinois, between Lincoln and Douglas in 1858. As he was a warm personal friend of President Lincoln his smypathies of course were with that great man, although he also admired the ability of Stephen A. Douglas. By call- ing he was a merchant, and was very successful in all his ventures. He was born in Kentucky and married Mary Crowder, a native of Kentucky, whose father was a Revolutionary soldiei'. Mr. Conlee died at the age of eighty-two years. He was member of the Masonic fra- tei^nity. His wife died at the age of seventy-seven yeai^s. Twelve children, six sons and six daughters, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Con- lee. Of them, Alexander served in Company K, Ninety-sixth Illi- nois A'^olunteer Infantry; Thomas A. served in Company /K, Ninety- sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry; and William served in the One Hundred and Forty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Mrs. Achenbach was one of the early pioneers of Floyd county and is a lady of pleasing manner and disposition. She has borne her husband the following children : Leone E. Fairchilds, of Orleans, Ne- braska ; June A. ; Jessie L. Reid, of Chicago ; Lewis Elbert ; Alexander, ;ieceased. Mr. Achenbach is a member of Rawlins Post No. 35, and fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodman and Woodman of the World. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 405 JOSEPH LESCHER. Joseph Lescher, one of the well known and highly respected vete- rans of the Civil war residing at Beatrice, Nebi'aska, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania. He is a son of Dr. Jacob Lescher, who was one of the substantial men of Lancaster county, and who married Maria Bricker, also born in Pennsylvania. They had the following children: Samuel, who was a surgeon of a colored brigade; Elvira; Mary Rebecca; Maria; John J., a physician; George; William, who was blind; Elizabeth, who lives in Beatrice; and Joseph. Joseph Lescher was reared in Pennsylvania, whence he went to Dayton, Ohio, and then he removed to Mt. Carmel, Illinois, and in 1884 located in Beatrice, Nebraska. The war record of Mr. Lescher is one of which he well may be proud. He enlisted in Illinois, in August, 1862, Company B, Eighty- seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Crebbs and Captain W. T. Prunty commanding. For three years he was a gallant soldier. He participated at Sabine Crossroads under General Banks, and tcx>k part in many battles and skirmishes during his terni of service. Mr. Lescher was married to Libby A. Ogborn, who was born at Liverpool, Madison county, Ohio, a daughter of Joseph Ogborn. Her father died in Perry county, Illinois. During his life he was a man of upright character and sterling principles and was deeply mourned after his demise. He married Sarah Foulke, a lady of character and great in- telligence. Mrs. Sarah Ogborn was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, and her father was a native ' of Pennsylvania while her mother came of a Virginia family. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ogbbrn, namely: Lafayette, of Kingston, Indiana, and postal clerk for thirty-five vears, was a gallant soldier in Company G, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry; John also served in the Union army; Mrs. Lescher. 4o6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Mrs. Ogborn resides with her daughter in Beatrice, where John also makes his home. She was born in 1823. By occupation Mr. Lescher is a carpenter and builder, and has been very successful in his business transactions, firmly establishing himself in the confidence of the community. Mrs. Lescher is a mem- ber of the State Relief Corps, of which she is state deputy, and she is ex-vice president of the local W. R. C. Both she and her husband are well and favorably known throughout the entire county, and are repre- sentatives of the best interests of Nebraska. HENRY S. MEYERS. Henry S. Meyers, who resides just outside of Falls City, is one of the prominent and successful farmers of Richardson county, with a record for efficiency, honesty, integrity, and prosperous results in all his dealings with his fellow citizens and in his individual work. He was born in Carroll county, IllinoiSj June 4, 1864, and comes of a family that has long been resident ^ in the United States, and whose individual members have been worthy and upright men and women in what ever sphere their abilities or inclinations have led them to act. His great-grandfather was Jacob Meyers, a German, who crossed the Atlantic and became a successful farmer in Somerset county, Penn- sylvania, where has been the principal seat of the family ever since. Jacob Meyers had eighteen children in all, and five of the sons became ministers of the German Baptist church, which has been the religious faith of the family to the present time. He died in old age, survived by his widow, and length of years was vouchsafed to all their de- scendants. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. . 407 Martin Meyers, the grandfather of Mr. H. S. Meyers, was born in Somerset county, April 11, 1812. He was married in 1833 to Sarah Witts, who was born in November, 1820, a daughter of George Witts. She was married at the age of thirteen and was a mother at fifteen, and all of her fifteen children grew up, their names being as follows: Mary, born in 1835 and died in 1903; William, living in Morrill, Kansas ; Elizabeth, of the same place, and the mother of seven living children; Adaline Smith, of Morrill, the mother of eight chil- dren; Elias S., mentioned below; Lydia, of Washington, Kansas, and mother of four children; Martin, a farmer near Morrill; Rebecca, of Hiawatha, Kansais; Harriet Springer; Sarah Springer, of Morrill; George and Michael, twins, the former deceased; David, postmaster at Morrill; Anna Beard, deceased; Susan Slifer, of Oneida, Kansas. The father of this family died in 1895, his being the first death, and two of the children died in the same year, and his wife died in 1898. These worthy grandparents began life without money, and in addition to rear- ing and providing well for their children, left an estate valued at twenty-two thousand dollars. Martin Meyers was a self-educated man, of large and generous mind. He taught fourteen tei'ms of school after his marriage, and was also a preacher in the German Baptist church for many years, and had also been a surveyor. Elias S. Meyers, the father of Henry S. Meyers, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, May 24, 1845, settled in Carroll coun- ty, Illinois, in 1862, and was an early settler of Richardson county, Nebraska, in the year 1870, being now retired from farming life and residing in Falls City. He was married in Carroll county to Miss Susan Sipe, who was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, January 6, 1844. The Sipes were prominent people of that county and state, and nearly all lived long as well as useful lives. Mr. and Mrs. E. S. 4o8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Meyers began live as tenant farmers in Carroll county, and made a successful record while living there. On coming to Nebraska they bought one hundred and twelve acres of prairie land at twelve dollars an acre, and worked hard for the improvement and cultivation of the place. The grasshopper plague was the most serious setback to their prosperity, but they have in the main been successful, and are now re- tired from active labor. Henry S. Meyers is the only child of his parents. He has a fine lot of land, and in 1901 erected a fine two and a half story residence, sixty by thirty-four feet, where he has a most happy and comfortable home. He has a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Richardson county, Ohio township, and his wife has one hundred and sixty acre? as a gift from her father. There are eighty acres in the home place, and his farming operations are conducted with gratifying success. Mr. Meyers married, March 16, 1886, Miss Laura Maddox, a daughter, of William Maddox. She was educated in the district school one half mile north of her present home, and has lived in this county all her life. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Meyers : Perry, born in 1886; William Raymond, born November 19, 1888; Anna, born May 26, 1891 ; and Wilma, born May 6, 1893, and who was taken to the Chicago World's Fair when five months old. The oldest son is a graduate of the Falls City Business College. Mr. and Mrs. Meyers have traveled over the country to a considerable extent, and the entire family made one trip to the Pacific coast. Mr. Meyers affiliates with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is independent in politics. He held at the same time the offices of township clerk and township asses- sor of Ohio township, being in those offices for several terms. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 409 JAMES W. PACE. James W. Pace, one of the prominent residents of Beatrice, Nebras- ka, was born in Hart county, Kentucky, January 7, 1836, a son of Tliomas Pace, also a native of Kentucky and a gallant soldier in the Mexican war, in General Taylor's command. The mother of Thomas Pace died at the age of one hundred and three years. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Amanda Anderson, and she was born in Barren county, Kentucky. Her father was William Anderson, a soldier in the war of 1812, serving under General Jackson, and partic- ipated in the battle of New Orleans. Thomas Pace and wife had the following children, viz. : James W. ; John L. ; Abner H. ; George W. ; Captain C. C, of Lincoln, Nebraska, who were all gallant soldiers during the Civil war; Arabella; Mollie, deceased; and Ida. The father died at the age of seventy-nine years, while the mother died at Lincoln, Nebraska, at the age of eighty-six years. They were both con- sistent members of the Methodist church. James W. Pace was reared in Kentucky. He married Louisa Gardner. She was born in Larue county, Kentucky, a daughter of Hath and Anna Gardner, the former of whom was born in Virginia. The mother was born in Larue county, and died at the age of sixty years, while the father died at the age of forty-five years, and both were consistent members of the Baptist church. In 1859 Mr. and Mrs. Pace removed to Doniphan county, Kansas, then to St. Joseph, Mis- souri, and finally to Gage county, Nebraska. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Pace, namely: John, who was born in Kansas, June 7, i860, and died in 1863; William L., of Beatrice; Ida Coon, of the same place; Nellie Elliott, also of Beatrice. Mr. Pace owns his home, and he and his excellent wife make welcome all their friends. He is a prominent member of the G. A. R. Post, which he joined thirty years 4IO SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ago. In religious faith he is a Baptist. Kind-hearted, genial and sen- sible, he makes and retains many friends. In August, 1862, while living in the state of Kansas, Mr. Pace responded to the call of the President and enlisted under Colonel Thomas Bowan and Captain Schilling, and participated in a number of import- ant engagements in the Red River campaign. After a gallant service during which he made an honorable record for himself, Mr. Pace was formally discharged and returned to his home in August, 1865. After General Grant died he cared for "Linden Tree," the horse which was presented to General Grant by the Sultan of Turkey. O. M. ENLOW. O. M. Enlow, attorney-at-law of Beatrice, Nebraska, is one of the old settlers of the county, having resided here since 1870. He was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1844, and is a son of John N. and Margaret (Jamison) Enlow, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania. The family removed to Illinois in 1854, where the father died in December, 1878, aged fifty-two years, while his widow resided at Sprinfield, Illinois, and died there January 4, 1904, aged eight-one . The children born to this worthy couple were : O, M. ; Albert, of Springfield; John, deceased; Helen, deceased; Josephine, deceased. Mr. O. M. Enlow was given a good education, and he taught school for two or three years after locating in Nebraska. Soon after his location in Gage county his influence began to be felt in political circles and he was made county judge in 1885, and he has also been SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 4" district clerk, and always takes a very prominent part in the workings of the Republican party. In October, 1873, he married Julia Hyer, born in Tennessee, a daughter of the Rev. William Hyer, an eloquent divine of the Metho- dist church. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Enlow, namely: Bessie W., who is married and resides in Kansas City, Mis- souri, and Gertrude Helene, one of the popular teachers of Beatrice. In his fraternal relations Mr. Enlow is a Mason. He is one of the highly respected citizens of Gage county, where he has made his home for thirty-three years, and borne his part in its wonderful develop- ment. ELIAS A. MAUST. Elias A. Maust, a prominent dealer in grain, live-stock and coal in Falls City, is one of the oldest business men of the city, having started the first grain elevator here in 1870. He has been successful in his operations from the first, and has delegated many of the cares of business to his sons and worthy successors. His position in the cit^ is of assured importance, for he has taken a leading part not only in business but in all affairs concerned with the public welfare and mate- rial advancement. He is a man of sound worth and excellent personal character, one who gives more than he receives in his relations with the world and his fellows, and he has won and deserves the esteem of many. Mr. Maust was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, March 23, 1839. Pennsylvania and in particular Somerset county has been the home of the Mausts for several generations, and the name is one of the most familiar as it is one of the most honored in that section of 412 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. the state. The family history is most interesting and instructive, and leads to one of the Mennonite communities of worthy and pious people who are among the chief charms and adornments of western and cen- tral Pennsylvania. The family originated in Switzerland, and Mr. Maust's great-grand- father, whose name was Jacob, came from that country. He wrote his name Mast, which afterwards in some way was changed to Maust and and as such has been spelled to the present time. He located near Reading, in Berks county. He had four sons and two daughters : John married a Miss Stailey, and lived on the old farm near Reading ; Jacob, the grandfather of Mr. Maust, married Barbary Fike, and in 1774 emigrated to the old homestead in Somerset county; Christian married Rebecca Fike, and also located in Somerset county, living about four miles west of Salisbury; Joseph married Miss Berkey and lived about two miles west of Salisbury; Fannie married John Hochstetler, and lived in Somerset county between Salisbury and Mechanicsville, on the Yoder farm; Annie married a Mr. Kaufman. Grandfather Jacob was married three times. The two children by his first wife died very young. Barbary Fike bore him ten children: Magdaline, Barbaiw, Fannie, Mariah; Jacob, who settled near Union- town, Fayette county, Pennsylvania; Sarah, Elizabeth, Catharine, Annie; and Abraham, who was the father of Mr. E. A. Maust. Of these daughters, one married a Mr. Thomias, who lived in West Vir- ginia; one was the wife of Solomon Bear, who lived near Somerset in Somerset county; and one married Jacob Fike, who lived near the old home place of her father's. Grandfather Maust's third wife was a widow, Annie (Ktirtz) Fulton, and they had two children : Sarah, who died in her second year; and Gertrude, who married Jacob Zorn. Abraham Maust, the father of Mr. Elias Maust, was one of SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 413 nature's true noblemen. He was born on the old home farm about two miles northeast of Salisbury, Somerset county, in 1793, and his life was not brought to an end until he had completed ninety-one years eleven months and five days on earth. And his life was as good and great as it was long. His bright and patient disposition enabled him to bear cheerfully the last sixteen years of his life, spent in total blindness and physical suffering. He was a faithful member of the Mennonite church for nearly seventy years. In politics he was a Democrat, but during the war was a pronounced Union man. He was married twice, and his second wife, Sarah Lichty, passed to the other world twenty years before him. He was like the Biblical patriarch after whom he was named, and in his age could be proud of a large and worthy pro- geny, among whom he was revered and venerated as the source and founder. At the time of his death his grandchildren numbered one hundred and twelve, and his great-grandchildren eight-nine, a total of two hundred and one to bless and help elevate the world. In 181 7 Abraham Maust was married to Magdaline Longen- necker, one of the five sons and four daughters of Peter Longennecker, namely: David, John, Peter, Levi and Joseph; Magdaline; Susan, who married a Meyer; Elizabeth, who married a Strohm; and Catharine, who married a Hulsor and lived in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Maust had nine sons and five daughters, as follows : Elizabeth, who married John Peck, of Addison, Somerset county, both now deceased;- Annie, who married Michael Glotfilty, who located near Fairfield, Jef- ferson county, Iowa, and are both deceased; Peter married Elizabeth Saylor and lived on the home farm, and both are now deceased; Bar- bary married Jacob Schrock, and lives near Waterloo, Iowa; Joseph, now deceased, married Maggie Kimmel, and lived in Garret county, Maryland, about one mile south of Salisbury, Pennsylvania ; Jacob mar- 414 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ried, first, Miss Newman, and, second, Miss Kimmel, and lives near Somerset; John is married and lives near Preston, Fillmore county, Minnesota; Jonas, deceased, married Miss Berkey, and lived near his brother John; Abraham married Miss Nevraian, and lives in Garret county, Maryland, two miles south of Salisbury; Samuel m(arr:ecl Miss Miller, a daughter of Jonas Miller, and lives in Waterloo, Iowa; Wil- liam married Eliza Wagner, daughter of Henry Wagner, and lives near Fruit Hurst, Alabama; Elias lives in Falls City Nebraska; Sarah mar- ried George Peck, son of Elias Peck, and lives near Falls City, Nebras- ka; Magdalene married Jacob W. Miller, son of William Miller, and lives in Waterloo, Iowa. The mother of these children was born in 1795 and died in 1854, and she is buried on the old home farm, where also her husband and his parents are interred. With such lineage and family connections a worthy and consistent career should be expected in the case of Elias A. Maust, and such in truth it has been. He was reared in his native state and county, and obtained his education in the common schools. After his marriage in 1865 he engaged in farming in Pennsylvania for two years, and then migrated westward to Waterloo, Iowa, where he remained two years, and. in the fall of 1870 arrived in Falls City, Nebraska. He was in failing health at the time, and accordingly located on a farm of one hundred acres near town. In the healthy atmosphere of farming he had entirely recovered in one year, and he then moved into Falls City, and built the first grain elevator in the town as well as in this section of the state, that being before the advent of the railroad. He has operated this ever since, and still carries it on in connection with his two sons. He soon added coal and the stock business to his enterprises, and he has been the leader in these lines and expanded his operations over a broad field. He owns two farms, each a quarter section, in this SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 415 coun!y, besides land in South Dakota and Colorado. Hb built his fine brick residence in 1891, and also his son's house in the same yard, and also owns six tenant houses. He has made this property by his own dili- gence and business judgment and management, and most of his opera- tions have been carried on in southeastern Nebraska, where he is hon- ored as a foremost citizen. Mr. Maust, has also a military record made in his young manhood. November i, 1863, he enlisted in Company D, One hundred and Seventy- first Pennsylvania Infantry, for nine months' service, and came out of the ranks as a non-commissioned officer. The company saw some hard marching and service in North Carolina, but were in no engagement with the enemy. About the time of the expiration of their services, while they were at Fortress Monroe, the Confederate cavalry made a raid into Pennsylvania, and they all volunteered to serve as long as an armed rebel was north of the Potomac. They were finally mustered out at Harrisburg at the end of ten months' service. The brigade in which he was a soldier was one of the finest of the many sent out by Pennsylviania during the rebellion. Its commanding general in his farewell speech praised their soldierly character and records, and also the excellent moral and Christian principles of the men, who were in marked contrast with most soldiers and spent their Sundays in quiet and religious observance. Mr. Maust married, November 27, 1865, Miss Savilla Miller, who was born.iij Somerset county, July 27, 1849, ^ daughter of Moses W. and Catharine (Libingood) Miller. There are three children of this marriage: Irving C, born in Pennsylvania, May 15, 1868, is married and- living in the same yard with his parents, and is in business with his father; Norman H., born in Falls City, January 14, 1874, died on the following October 12; Albert, born in Falls City; July 27, 1876, is a 4i6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. graduate of the State University and resides at home. The family home is a beautiful and comfortable place, with evidences of the refine- ment and high-mindedness of its inmates everywhere, and Mr. and Mrs. Maust could ask no more pleasant place in which to spend the remaining years of their useful and noble lives. Mr. Maust was reared a Democrat, and has always adhered to that political faith. He and his wife are members of the Progressive Brethren church, and he has been a trustee for many years. Mr. Maust has a most valuable and highly prized legacy which he took instead of money from his father, in the shape of a large German Bible, dated in 1551 and printed in Zurick, Switzerland, and in the old German text. Its presentation inscription is dated 1697, and there are several births recorded from 1731 to 1736. This heirloom is without price and is valued for its associations, but would also be worth a large sum if placed on the market and would form a valuable exhibit in any collection of antiquities. HON. A. B. McNICKLE. Hon. A. B. McNickle, postmaster of Cortland, Nebraska, is one of the most popular men of Gage county, Nebraska, and an old settler of this locality as well as a veteran of the Civil war. He was appointed postmaster April 8, 1900, but he had also served as postmaster of Silver, Gage county, under appointment by President Harrison. His war record is an interesting one. He enlisted in August, 1862, in Com- pany K, One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Colonel T. J. Henderson, -who afterwards became so prominent in the history of Illinois, commanding. The regiment engaged in many important battles and skirmishes, .and in all of them our subject proved himself a SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 4^7 most gallant soiaier. On August 6, 1864, he was shot in the right leg and was in the hospital for ten months. In spite of this, however, he participated in many of the thirty-two battles in which his regiment engaged, and has a record which should be given more extended space in this volume. He was born in Eastbrook, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, Jan- uary 16, 1842, and is a son of John McNickle, a native of Pennsylvania, who married Rachel Scroggs, a daughter of General John A. Scroggs, who was a soldier in the war of 1812. Mr. Gustavus A. Scroggs, his son, was very prominent in the Civil war. Mr. McNickle remained in Pennsylvania until 1859, when he came to Illinois, and after the war settled in Linn county, Missouri. Still later he moved to Atchison, Kansas, where he was fuel agent for the Missouri & Pacific Railroad for four years, but in 1875 he settled in Highland township. Gage county, Nebraska, where he resided until 1884. His next place of residence was Cortland, where he has since remained. Since coming to Nebraska he has held the office of justice of the peace for twenty-two consecutive years and is just now entering upon another term. He has followed real estate and insurance business since 1884. In politics he is a stanch Republican and has always taken an active part in party affairs. On October i, 1866, he was married in Illinois to Rhoda E. Bal- derson, who was born in Morgan county, Ohio. She has borne him the following children: Mrs. Mary E. Trekell, of Enid, Oklahoma; Mrs. Nettie A. Berryman, of Ashland, Kansas; Mrs, Edith R. Lucke, of Butte, Nebraska ; George, who is assistant cashier of the Stock Growers' National Bank of Ashland, Kansas; Harry died at the age of twenty years. All these children have become well and favorably known throughout Gage county. Both as a public official and private citizen 4i8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Mr. McNickle has proved himself possessed of the virtues required to gain both confidence and friendship, and the people of Cortland are to be congratulated upon their postmaster. He was a member of the state legislature during the term of 1890 and 1891. He is novi^ serv- ing on the Soldiers' Relief Commission of Gage county, an office he has filled since 1897. Mr. McNickle and his family are all members of the Congregational church, in which he is an active worker, and he is now chorister and superintendent of the Sunday school, in which capacity he has served for the past twenty years. WILLIAM E. DORRINGTON. William E. Dorrington, a prominent and well known business man of Falls City, Nebraska, has lived in this section of the state most of his life, for the forty-five years since he was at the age of eleven, so that he ranks among the oldest settlers, and few have been more completely identified with the progress and development of one part of the com- monwealth than he. He has been one of the foremost business men of Falls City for thirty years, and his activity has extended to many lines of usefulness and to individual and public profit. He belongs to a well known and influential family, and his own career has been in the highest degree successful and meritorious. Mr. Dorrington was born in Oneida county. New York, Septem- ber 22, 1847. His grandfather, John Dorrington, was a life-long car- penter in England, and his children wei'e as follows : Mary Ball, who died in Chicago, leaving children, Thomas and Anna, and lost one daughter, Lucy ; David, the father of William E. ; Elizabeth Weston, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 419 who died in Falls City, Nebraska, leaving one daughter, Mrs. Veh- meyer ; Frederick, who died in England, leaving two daughters ; Car- rie Nash, who died in Illinois, leaving a son John and having lost a daughter. David Dorrington, the father of Mr. Dorrington, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1812, and came to America in 1840, locating for a time in Quebec, Canada. He thence wait to New York state, where he was a conti^actor and builder at various points, being a suc- cessful business man and manager. He came west to Geary, Doni- phan county, Kansas, in the summer of 1857, in the following Septem- ber went to Nebraska, where he invested in real estate, and in the following year came from the east and made his permanent location in Richardson county, where he died in 1885. He was a government con- tractor of stage and mail routes, with headquarters at Falls City, and was a prominent man in many ways. He was a Republican in politics, and served as justice of the peace, on the school board and in other offices. He affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his good wife were members of the Baptist church. He was mar- ried, two years before leaving England, to Miss Anna B. Wood, who was born in Essex, and died in Falls City, in 1877. She was of a most devout and religious nature, of great intellectuality, and her in- fluence in her home and on her children Avas deep and potent for lasting •good. Mr. and Mrs. David Dorrington were the parents of the following sons and daughters : Frederick, known as Captain Dorrington, born in England and died at Alliance, Nebraska, was a prominent and widelj'- known Republican, was in his third term as receiver in the land office at the time of his death, was a captain in the state militia, and left two sons and one daughter; George E., who spends his time in Arizona and 420 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. California for the benefit of his health, has lost his wife and five chil- dren; John W. is proprietor of the Arizona Sentinel at Yuma, is a mining speculator, and is unmarried; Anna is the wife of Isham Reavis, of Falls City, and has three sons and one daughter; William E. is the youngest son; Kittie L. is the wife of Edwin S. Towle, of Falls City, a banker. Mr. W. E. Dorrington gained his early education in Nebraska, attending the Peru normal, and from there went to the University of Chicago. In 1871 he began his business career in Falls City as station agent of the Burlington Railroad. In 1873 he embarked in the furni- ture business in the firm of Dorrington and Stowe, and two years later as Dorrington and Wilson, which firm continued until Mr. Wilson sold his interest to David Dorrington Reavis; the business went as Dorring- ton and Reavis from 1887 to 1895, and in the latter year Mr. Dorring- ton sold out to W. W. Abbey, and has since devoted his time and ener- gies to the telephone and banking business. He has throughout been a successful business man, and his reliability and excellent management place him among the leading men of affairs in Falls City. September 3, 1872, Mr. Dorrington was married to Mrs. E. A. Stowe, and the following children were born of their union: David, who died in infancy; Maud is the wife of W. H. Wigtan, and has one son, Dorrington Alonzo Wigtan; May is the Avife of John Martin, who was a court reporter for four years and is now connected with the Falls City Journal; Miss Anna is at home; John W. is in the class of 1906 in the University of Nebraska; the daughter Lillian graduated fi-om the Falls City schools, was in the State University two years, and has been a most successful teacher since she was sixteen, hav- ing been solicited to accept the principalship of the Central school in Falls City. Mrs. Dorrington's useful and beautiful life was closed by SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 421 death, September 12, 1900. Mr. Dorringtoii resides in his nice home at the outskirts of the town. He is a Kjiight Templar Mason and an Odd Fellow of the encampment degrees. He is a Republican in politics, and served as mayor two terms, and was in the city council eight years and on the school board for three terms. JAMES CUSSINS. James Cussins, one of the venerated ex-soldiers ,of the Civil war ancf a resident of Gage county, Nebraska, comes of one of the old families of America, a representative of which, Benjamin Cus- sins, father of James, served in the war of 1812, and was a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania. He grew to manhood in his native county, in which he married Jane Brown and then moved to Ohio, Athens county. Still later he and his family located in Iowa, and from thence to East St. Louis, Missouri, where he died at the age of seventy- five years. In politics he was a Whig, and a devout member of the Christian church. His children were as follows: Elizabeth; Oliver; Sarah ; Jamison ; Margaret ; Samuel, a soldier of the Cival war ; Jackson, in an Iowa regiment; James, in an Iowa regiment. James Cussins was reared and educated in Lee county, Iowa, and learned fanning upon the family farm. In 1864 he enlisted in Company D, Second Iowa A^olunteer Infantry, Colonel Howard and Captain T. C. Tunis commanding, and he served until the close of the war, partici- pating in the famous march to the sea, the battles of that campaign, up through the Carolinas, was at Richmond, Virginia, and participated in the grand review at Washington, District of Columbia, after which he was honorably discharged and returned home. Soon after the war he 422 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. went to Nebraska with his brother Jackson, and engaged in farming. In poHtics Mr. James Cussins is a stanch Repubhcan and always supports the principles of his party. He takes an interest in the G. A. R. matters, and is' justly regarded as one of the representative veterans of the Civil war. WILLIAM GOLDNER. William Goldner, mianufacturer of wagons and buggies and in the general blacksmithing business in Falls City, has been connected with this line of industry from youth, and has followed it with great success since taking up his residence here in 1886. He has been a shrewd and prosperous business man, has gained the favor and esteem of a wide circle of friends and associates, and is throughout the county known for his sterling integrity and high personal worth. His life from an early age has been a busy one, and, with the aid of his thrify and helpful wife, he has accumulated a fair amount of material blessings and at the same time has enjoyed many comforts as he went along. Mr. Goldner was born in Vietz, Germany, May T2, 1854, a son of John Frederick Goldner, who was born in Schlosse, Germany, in 1795 and died there in 1867, leaving his wife and the three children now living, as follows : Charles; who is a wagon-maker in the old home in Germany, and has one son and two daughters; Paulina, who is married and lives in Germany; and William. 'Mr. William Goldner had a good training in the German schools throughout the required period of attendance^ and about the time he was fourteen began learning his trade according to the thorough fashion pre- vailing in such matters in Germany. He served as a "Lehrling"' for SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 423 three years, paying seventy-five dollars for the privilegfe and bearing his own living expenses besides. He gave two years to the government in the artillery shops on the Rhine. He was married in the old country and in 1880 came to America. He worked with a railroad in Chicago for four mouths, and worked at his trade in various places until coming to Falls City in 1886. In 1890 he bought an old shop here and then built a large frame building, in which he continued his operations for six years, after which he had his shop in a rented building at his present location. He was burned out, and about a year ago completed his large two-story brick block, fifty-five by seventjr-five feet, on a lot one hun- dred and twenty by one hundred and twenty-five, making one of tlie handsomest business properties in the city. He occupies the upper floor for his residence. He runs two forges and keeps an extra man in addi- tion to his two sons who are connected with the business. His trade is large and constantly increasing, and the reliable and perfect work turned out of his shop makes his patronage steady and of the highest class. Mr. Goldner was married in Germany, February 9, 1876, to Miss Jackobine Breitbach, who was the eldest of five children, and her mother died in Dakota, while her father is still living and an active man at the age of seventy-six. She had a common schooling in the old country. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Goldner, two of them in Germany; Jackobine Wetstine, a cigar manufacturer in Mis- souri; William G., working with his father, and is mar- ried; George is single and also with his father in the shops; Miss Alber- tina lives at home, and is an able pianist; Emma, also of musical tastes, is aged sixteen and in school ; Edward is in school ; Frederick, aged twelve; Clara, aged ten. Mr. Goldner affiliates with the Modern Wood- men, the Woodmen of the World, the Royal Highlanders and the An- 424 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. cient Order of United Workmen, and the Bankers Fraternal Life. He votes the Republican ticket, and the family are Methodists in their religiotis views. JACKSON CUSSINS. Jackson Cussins, a veteran of the Civil war, residing- in Gage county, Nebraska, is a representative of a staunch American family. Benjamin Cussins, his father, served in the war of 1812, and he was a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania. He was reared in Franklin county, where he married Jane Brown, and located in Athens county, Ohio, whence later on he moved tO' Iowa and then to East St. Louis, Missouri, where he died aged seventy-five years. In politics he was a Whig and a devout member of the Christian church. His children were as follows : Elizabeth, Oliver, Sarah, Jamison, Margaret, Sam- uel, Jackson and James, the last three of whom served in Iowa regi- ments and Oliver served in an Ohio regiment. Jackson Cussins was but a boy when brought to Lee county, Iowa, by his parents, and he grew to manhood in Iowa upon the liomestead. In 1864, with his brother James, he enlisted in Company D, Second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with Colonel Howard and Captain T. C. Tunis commanding. This regiment saw much active service and participated in the famous march to the sea and the battles of that campaign, up through the Carolinas, Avas at Richmond, Virginia, and participated in the grand review at Washington, District of Columbia, after which he was honorably discharged and returned home. Soon after the war he went to Nebraska with his brother James and engaged in farming. Politically he is a Republican, but has never had time to take an SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 425 active part in local affairs. Nothing pleases either of the brothers .more than to meet old army friends and live over once more the exciting events of those stirring days. SANFORD D. COLE. Sanford D. Cole, the efficient postmaster of Wymore, Nebraska, has held this office since March i, 1900, and prior to that he acted for two years as assistant postmaster of Beatrice. His birth occurred in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, in March, i860, and he is a grandson of Alvin Cole, an early settler and pioneer of Sheboygan county, who located in that county and cleared a home in the wilderness. Among his sons was Frederick Cole, father of our subject, who was a prominent lumber dealer of Sheboygan county, and married Mary Bonnett, born in England of a good English family. She was nine years old when brought to Wisconsin by her parents, but later was taken to New York and there educated; she was a very superior woman for her day, but aied at the early age of thirty-nine years, leaving three children : San- ford D.; Stella, who married Ed Patrie, of Washington county, Kan- sas ; and Fred, now deceased. The father died at the age of fifty- four. He was a stanch Republican and a man who was highly respected. Sanford D. Cole was reared in Sheboygan county on the old farm and received his education in the schools of his neighborhood. In 1869 he removed to Kansas and was on a farm until 1884. He then en- gaged in a mercantile business in Washington, Kansas, until 1887, when he removed to Ness county of that same state and carried on a like establishment, but in 1890 took advantage of an opening in Wymore, Nebraska, and established himself there. In 1898 he was appointed as- 426 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. sistant postmaster of Beatrice under J. C. Burch, and is now in charge of the postoffice at Wymore, where he has made himself exceedingly popular. In February, 1885, in Washington county, Kansas, he married Lula J. Potts. She is a native of Ohio and is a daughter of Duncan and Orpha (Jarman) Potts, now of Lincoln, Nebraska. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Cole are as follows : Vera, Lynn, Neva and Elsie. Since he cast his first vote, Mr. Cole has been a stanch Republican, and his services to his party, have been appreciated and to some extent re- warded. He is one of the most genial and courteous men in the entire city, and very popular with all classes. ENOS H. REED. Enos H. Reed, one of the well known citizens of Beatrice, Nebras- ka, and a veteran of the Civil war, has resided in this state since 1885. His war record began August 14, 1862, when he enlisted at Camden, Illinois, in Company A, Ninety-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Putnam and Captain William Ashbough commanding. The regiment engaged in the battles of Jackson, Mississippi, and Champion Hills; also engaged in the siege of Vicksburg and in the battles of Missionary Ridge, Altoona Pass, and finally marched to the sea with Sherman; as ^well as engaged in many other prominent battles of the war; during the entire time Mr. Reed proving himself a gallant soldier and one in whom all confidence could be placed. After the war was over he re- turned to Illinois to engage in more peaceful pursuits. Enos H. Reed was born in Mercer county, Illinois, being a son of SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 427 Wilburn C. Reed, a son of Jacob Reed, who was a soldier in the war with Mexico under General Taylor, so that the martial spirit Mr. Reed pos- sessed was inherited. Wilburn C. Reed was for several years major of state militia in Indiana, and his father, Jacob Reed, was commissioned a captain during his service in the Mexican war. Wilburn C. Reed was born in South Carolina and was a descendant of Scotch parantage, as his father was born in Scotland. The great- grandmother of our subject was a native of Germany. The father married Mary Keffer, and he died at the age of sixty-six, while his widow died at the age of seventy-seven 3'ears. Eleven children were born to these parents, three of whom served in the Civil war: George K. having been in the Twenty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and now lives in In- dianola, Iowa; Samuel P., who sei'ved in the Seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry and lives in Indian Territory; Enos M. served in the Ninety- third Illinois Volunteer Infanti'y. Mr. Reed was reared in Mercer county, Illinois, but was married in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1868 to Josephine Stausell, who was born in Wayne county, Michigan, a daughter of James J. Stausell, who served in the Twenty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the Civil war, but now resides in New Virginia, Iowa. Three children were bom to Mr. and Mrs. Reed, namely : Orin E., one of the reliable farmers of Beatrice, Gage county; Elvina, who resides near Beatrice in Gage county; and Clyde L., of Holmesville, Gage county. Three other children died in childhood, namely : Bert, Ehner and Everett. In politics Mr. Reed is a Republican, and he is a prominent member of Rawlins Post No. 35, G. A. R., in Beatrice. The family reside in a suburb of Beatrice, and Mr. Reed is held in highest esteem by all who know him, for he is a man possessed of the qualities calculated to inspire admiration and friendship. 428 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. H. A. GIVEN, M. D. H. A. Given, physician and surgeon of Wymore, Nebraska, is one of the representative medical men of Gage county. He located here in 1882, and is a graduate of Rush Medical College of Chicago, class of 1871. Dr. Given was born February 12, 1847, i^ Woodstock, McHenry county, Illinois, and is a son of Childs F. Given, an early settler of McHenry county, who built the first log cabin in the present city of Woodstock. Childs F. Given was instrumental in the development of that part of the state and built his own home on government land, for which he paid one dollar and a quarter an acre. He came originally from Virginia and was the son of Henry Given, also of Virginia. In his native state Childs F. Given married Mary Rider, also of Virginia and a member of one of the first families of Virginia. Different members of her family played importants parts in the development of the coun- try, and two of her great-uncles served in the war of the Revolution. The sixteenth governor of Virginia, Governor Dinwiddle, was also related to the father of our subject, who on his side of the family was very prominently connected with the leading men of his state. Childs F. Given died at the age of forty-two in Illinois, and his widow died in March, 1902, at the age of seventy-eight years, firm in the faith of the Methodist church. Two children were born to this most worthy couple, H. A. and Mary Dyer, who lives at Abingdon, Illinois. Dr. Given received his literary education in the common schools of Abingdon and Hedding seminary of that place, and then began the study of medicine with Dr. Reece, a successful physician of that same city. Afterwards Dr. Given attended Rush Medical College, from which he graduated with honors and the degree of M. D. He practiced in Iowa until 1882, when he located at Wymore, Nebraska, and has built SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 429 up a large and successful practice among the best people of this locality. In 1874 Dr. Given was married in Woodstock, Illinois, to Eva Russell, who was reared and educated in that city, being a daughter of George Russell, of New York. Dr. and Mrs. Given have two children : Fred A., a machinist of Wymore, and Pearl Given, who is now attending a conservatory of music to perfect herself in that profession. Politically Mr. Given is a Democrat and a great admirer of W. J. Bryan. Fratern- ally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Nebraska, in which order he takes an important part. In manner he is frank and courtly and is justly regarded as one of the city's leading professional men. The Doctor has no superior in general practice in Gage county, and he keeps thoroughly abreast of all advances in science. Being well read as well as a close student, he has made many friends socially as well as among his many patients. MRS. CATHERINE .DOWNS. Mrs. Catherine Downs, a well known and highly esteemed lady of Falls City, is the widow of Benjamin S. Downs, who died in this city, February 11, 1876, his death removing from the ranks of Falls City business men one of the strongest figures, and a man whose useful and well spent life was in itself a noble reward. Mrs. Downs has also in many ways proved tlie true nobility and strength of her character, and for a number of years since her husband's death has maintained a -high- class boarding house, and is still active and happy, with length of years resting lightly on her and without decreasing her zest for work and accomplishment. Benjamin S. Downs was born in Knox county, Ohio, in 1818. 430 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. His father, George Downs, was a carpenter, in both Ohio and Virginia, and, by his wife, Rebecca Thrift, of Virginia, had thirteen children, the three sons, George, William and Benjamin, having all departed this life. Mr. Downs followed the trade of miller throughout his life. Mrs. Downs's maiden name was Catherine Goben, a daughter of Hughey and Sarah (Richardson) Goben, of Virginia. Her father was born in 1765, and when a boy was in the Revolutionary war, in which his thigh was broken, and he was lame throughout the rest of his life. At the age of fifteen he was taken prisoner by the Indians, and was held among them for three years. Later in life he served under Jackson in the Seminole Indian war. He and his wife had fourteen children, of whom Mrs. Downs was the youngest and the only survivor, and three of her brothers and six of her sisters grew up and were married. She lost her mother when she was four years old, and was accordingly reared by her eldest sister, Mary Goff. Her mother died in Richland county, Ohio, in 1832, when about fifty years old. Mrs. Downs was reared in Ohio, and was privileged to gain only a meager schooling in her youth. Mr. and Mrs. Downs were married December 10, 1842, and located at first in Knox county, Ohio, in Putnam county, Indiana, for five years, and thence to Mills county, Iowa, where he was engaged in milling for nineteen years. He came to Nebraska and was a successful miller in Falls City from then until his death. He and his wife were the parents of seven children. George is a carpenter of Glenwood, Iowa, and has five living children; Alvira is the wife of Curtis White, the postmaster of Glenwood, Iowa, and has two sons and one daughter; William T., of Falls City, has one son and two daughters; Mary Elizabeth Pickett, in Falls City, has five sons living, and has lost one; John H. is a car- penter in the state of Washington, and has one son ; Sarah C. McCoy, a S0UTHE4STERN NEBRASKA. 431 widow in Falls City, wit'h three sons, lives with her mother in Falls City; and Emma, in Falls City, has four daughters. Mr. Downs was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and in politics was a Democrat. Mrs. Downs is a member of the Christian church. She was left with a good home, and in 1883 she built the large home in which she has maintained her boarding house for the past twenty years. She is blessed with twenty-seven bright grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, and her life's closing years are crowned with happiness and peace, secure in the affections of all around her. P. L. GILLESPIE, M. D. P. L. Gillespie, M. D., physician and surgeon of Wymore, Ne- braska, is one of the successful representatives of the medical profes- sion in that locality, and is a graduate of the John A. Creighton Medical College of Omaha, Nebraska, class of 1901. He was born at Potts- ville, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1875, and is a son of Hugh F. Gil- lespie, also born in Pennsylvania, the son of Peter L. Gillespie. Hugh F. Gillespie married Ellen Salmon, a daughter of Dr. James Salmon. The father of our subject was a skilled railroad engin- eer, who came to Wymore, Nebraska, in 1887. He now resides in Lin- coln, Nebraska. Seven children were born to these parents, four sons and three daughters, and of them Dr. Gillespie is the eldest. His early education was received in the schools of Wj^more, and later he graduated from Creighton University in 1897 with degree of A. B. Two years later he received the degree of A. M. from the same institution. After his graduation from medical college, Dr. Gillespie was an interne in 432 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. tfie St. Joseph hospital at Omaha, and after his experiences there, he settled at Wymore, and has already built up a very flattering practice. The suite of rooms occupied by Dr. Gillespie are now located in the Jones Building, and his library is one of the best in this section of the state. Being a young man with great enthusiasm for his profes- sion. Dr. Gillespie is a close student and keeps thoroughly abreast of the great discoveries of science and the healing art. In manner he is genial and courteous, and his many friends predict a successful future. Dr. Gillespie married, November 4, 1903, Stella R. Mercer, daughter of Lewis Mercer, and a native of Salem, Illinois. He is a member of the Gage County Medical Society, and was elected president of the same for 1904. JAMES A. McGwire. James A. McGuire, cashier of the First National Bank of Wymore, Nebraska, was born in' Scandia, Kansas, in 1879, 3-i'^d is a son of Daniel C. M'cGuire, the first mayor Wymore. The father was born in Scot- land, where he was educated and lived until he was twenty-one years of age, and then came to the United States, after which he married Jane Doctor, who had been born in Dundee, Scotland. The father was, a mechanic and finally located in Republic county, Kansas, where he was engaged in the erection of a number of public buildings in that locality. In 1881 he went to Wymore, Gage county, Nebraska, and in addition to being the first mayor of Wymore he held a number of minor offices and always did everything in his power to advance the interests of the community. During a useful life he was a firm adherent of the Democratic party, and was a loyal friend, kind neighbor and patri- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 433 otic citizen. He died at Goodland, Kansas, at the age of forty years and left his widow with five children, as follows : Catherine, who is a suc- cessful teacher of Wymore; James A.; Daniel D., assistant, cashier in the same bank with his brother; Barbara, and Thomas. After the death of her husband the mother removed to Wymore and brought up her children in a manner that reflects great credit upon her. fames A. McGuire was educated principally in Wymore and when still a boy became a clerk. So faithful was he in the discharge of his duties that his brightness and pleasing manner attracted the attention of those who desired the services of such an individual, and he was chosen cashier of the First National Bank, which is a very responsible position for a young man who has not passed the quarter century mile- stone. Mr. McGuire was elected city clerk, first in 1901 on the citi- zen's ticket, and has been twice re-elected. The entire McGuire family are firm adherents of the Episcopal church, in which they take an active part. Mr. McGuire himself is a bachelor and is one of the lead- ers socially in Wymore, where he has a host of friends. LEWIS P. WIRTH. Lewis P. Wirth, senior member of the firm of Wirth and Winter- bottom, general hardware, plumbing and heating, has been prominently identified with the business interests of Falls City for over a decade, and his connection with Richardson county is life-long, since he was born, reared and has performed his best efforts in this county, resulting m success and a place of esteem among fellow citizens and associates that is truly creditable to his character and ability. His firm is the leading hardware house in the city, and has been in btisiness since 1893. 434 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Wirth and Winterbottom succeeded, Wilson Maddox, who was one of the early merchants of this section of the state. They carry a large and full line of shelf and heavy hardware, and all things in their line used in an agricultural community. The large brick, two story and a half, twenty-five by one hundred feet, store was erected by Mr. Wirth in 1894. Mr. Wirth was born in Arago, Richardson county, December 4, 1864. His father, Joseph O. Wirth, was born in Wurtemberg, Ger- many, June 19, 1822, and at the age of twenty-four came across the ocean and settled in Buffalo, New York. He had some capital and worked at his trade of tinner. He was in Chicago for about eight years, and in the spring of 1857 arrived in Nebraska in company with a colony from Buffalo. He was one of the earliest merchants of this vicinity, and carried on a general hardware business in Arago until 1873, and then continued the buisness in Falls City for six years, after which he retired with a competency. He died November 27, 1901, at the age of seventy-nine. Most of his estate he had made in Nebraska, and he was enabled to give his children good advantages. Mr. L. P. Wirth received a common schooling at home, and re- mained with his parents until he was of age. He had learned the tinner's trade of his father, and he worked at it for six years in Stella. He then returned to Falls City, and in May, 1892, set up business for himself, in the following year forming the firm which is now doing such a successful business. Mr. Wirth was married, May 15, 1896, to Miss Maud Maurer, of Canada. They have three children: Louis, born April 2, 1898; Maud, born July 12, 1900; and Ruth, born May 15, 1903. The family home is at the corner of Third and Morton streets, where he erected a nice dwelling in 190 1. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 435 GEORGE LINCOLN KENNEDY. This name is one known throughout Nemaha county, for here Mr. Kennedy has passed his entire life and here his parents lived for many years. He was born in the precinct of London, near Brown- ville, on the 17th of December, 1861, a son of the Rev. Stephen Wilken- son Kennedy, whose life history will be found below. George Lin- coln is one of fourteen children born to his father by two marriages, and the fifth of seven children by the last marriage. He received liberal educational advantages during the period of his boyhood and youth, attending the district schools of the neighborhood and was also a student of the BrownVille schools. On the 28th of March, 1883, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Marsh, a native datighter of Brownville, where her birth occurred on the 9th of September, 1861, and she was a schoolmate of her husband. Her parents were H. H. and Mary Jane (Thompson) Marsh, the former born at Jamestown, New York, in March, 1834, and the latter in Calloway county, Missouri, in February, 1 84 1. At his death the father left his widow with two children, Mrs. Kennedy and Cassius Henry, the latter now a printer in Omaha, Ne- braska. The mother is now the widow of Albert D. Marsh, a brother of her first husband, by whom she had one daughter, Alniira, now the wife of Rutherford Carter, of Nemaha county. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy: Ethel Leone, a young lady of nineteen years and a graduate of the state normal school, class of 1904; lima Isola, a member of the class of 1906 at the same institution; Mary Burtis, who is thirteen years of age and at home; a daughter who died in infancy; and George Cassius, who was born June 30, 1894. In 1882 Mr. Kennedy became the owner of eighty acres of land in London precinct, the purchase price being eleven hundred dollars, and two years later, in 1884, he purchased an additional eighty acres. He 436 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. has made all the many improvements now to be found on this place, including the good one-story residence and an orchard of seven acres. About one hundred acres of his place is planted with corn, yielding an average of forty bushels to the acre, and from fifty to sixty acres with wheat, with an average yield of about twenty-five bushels. In his pastures may be found a mixed herd of shorthorn and Hereford cat- tle. As the years have passed by Mr. Kennedy has been adding to his landed possessions, first purchasing forty acres and later eighty acres of the old Kennedy homestead, where he was taken when but four years of age. His own industry and enterprise have been the means of bring- ing to him the splendid success which he now enjoys, and he is numbered among the extensive agriculturists and stock-dealers of the county. In political matters he is an independent voter, and for two terms held the office of assessor. He was reared in the Methodist faith and is still a member of that denomination, while for a number of years he has been one of its trustees. Progressive and public-spirited in all his ideas, he lends his influence to all measures which he believes useful to the ma- jority, and at all times performs the part of an earnest and patriotic citizen. STEPHEN WILKENSON KENNEDY. Stephen Wilkenson Kennedy, deceased, was for many years a Methodist Episcopal minister and a farmer, but during the last eleven years of his life lived retired at Auburn. He came to his farm in Nemaha county, Nebraska, from Buchanan county, Missouri, forty-six years ago, but his birth occurred near Dayton, Ohio, June 12, 1816, and the family is of Irish descent. His father, Stephen Kennedy, was born SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 437 in Georgia in 1784, and his death occurred in Warren county, Indiana, in 1856. During the war of 1812 he was drafted for service, but hired a substitute. He was six times married, his first wife being Mary McMann, a native of Georgia and a few years his junior. Their mar- riage was celebrated in 1805 or 1806, and their first child was Elizabeth, who became the wife of John Stephenson, and she reared our subject from the age of sixteen months, after his mother's death. The second child, John Kennedy, was born in. 1808, and died at about the age of ninety years, in Highland, Kansas, where he was visiting his daughter. He was the father of two sons and a daughter. Andrew Kennedy, born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1812, died at Indianapolis, Indi- ana, of small-pox. For six years he was a member of Congress, and at the time of his death was the candidate for the office of governor, and would no doubt have been elected. He also was the father of two sons and a daughter. Stephen Wilkenson was the fourth child in order of birth. The mother of this family died in Ohio in 1818. By his second wife Mr. Kennedy had four children, by his third wife six and by his fourth, one. His sixth wife survived him several years. Stephen Wilkenson Kennedy spent the early years of his life on the homestead farm, during which time he received a fair education in the neighboring schools. At the age of fourteen years he left home and went to Lafayette, Indiana, where he was bound out for four years to learn the blacksmith's trade, but at the expiration of two years' time, on account of failing health, he abandoned the occupation. In Tippe- canoe county, Indiana, on the 23rd of March, 1837, Mr. Kennedy was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Frogge, a native of that state, and they became the parents of four children, namely : Eliza Jane, the wife of B. F. Mclninch, a farmer of Nemaha county, and they have eight children, four sons and four daughters; Mariam Alice, now the widow 438 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. M. L. Gates, who resides in the house adjoining that of her father, and she has five children; Charles H., a hotel proprietor in Broken Bow, Custer county, Nebraska, and the father of two sons and two daughters ; and the fourth and youngest child, a daughter, died at the age of four years. The mother of these children died in Missouri, April 9, 1852, while the family were enroute from Indiana to that state, passing away at the age of thirty-three years. On the 6th of May, 1853, near Savan- nah, Missouri, Mr. Kennedy married Miss Eliza Ware, who was born in New Jersey, December 16, 1828, a daughter of Joseph A. and Lydia (Clutch) Ware, also natives of that commonwealth, where they were farming people. From that state they removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and seven years later to Wayne county, Indiana, where they also remained for seven years, going thence to Andrew county, Missouri. During the Civil war they returned to Indiana, in 1862, to the home of Mrs. Rachel Gray. In 1879, he came to Mrs. Kennedy's, and later went to his daughter's, Mrs. George Crow's, where he died in Decem- ber, 1879. The mother survived him five years, dying at the home of her youngest son, I. C. Ware, in Greenleaf, Kansas, when eighty-five years of age. Her birth occurred in 1800. Seven children blessed the union of Mr. and "Mrs. Kennedy, namely : William Walter, who died when less than a year old; Sarah Ellen and George Sullivan, who died at the ages of two and four years, respectively, their deaths occurring from eating matches; Margaret Ann, the wife of David Edwards, of Oklahoma, and'they have three living children ; George L., whose sketch appears above; Lydia Belle, the wife of Seymour Calvert, also of Okla- homa, and they have five children ; and Lizzie Etta, the wife of Samuel Gilliland, of Oklahoma, and they have eight children. This worthy old couple became the grandparents of thirty grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 439 Mr. Kennedy was for many years a local minister in the Methodist Episcopal church. He became a member of that denomination when eighteen years of age, was afterward made a class-leader, became an exhorter at the age of twenty-five years, and nearly fifty years ago entered the ministry in Nebraska. In political matters he was a Prohi- bitionist from the ranks of the Republican party, and for fourteen years served as a justice of the peace in Nemaha county, for seven years was a county commissioner and for many years served as a member of the school board. He was also a life-long farmer, and at the time of his death owned two farms, consisting of forty and eighty acres, and at one time was the owner of four hundred and eighty acres in three farms. He also owned two houses in Auburn in addition to his own comfortable cottage, which was erected in 1895. For eleven years Mr. Kennedy made his home in Auburn, living retired from the active cares of life, and there his death occurred in September, 1903. His widow still makes her home in that city, although she spends much of her time witli her children here and in Oklahoma. EDWARD M. McCOMAS. Edward M. McComas, who is now living a retired life on his farm one and a half miles west of Brownville, was born in Greene county, Ohio, on the ist of December, 1826. The family is of Scotch origin, and is descended from four brothers who came from that country to America, one locating on the Maryland side of the Potomac, of which one our subject is a direct descendant, and three on the Virginia side. The maternal grandfather of Mr. McComas, Edward Mitchell, died in Covington, Kentucky, when seventy-five years of age, and his wife 440 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. passed away at the age of eighty-six years. They were the parents of twelve children, the youngest of whom, Mrs. Mahala McFetridge, died in Madison, Indiana, in 1903, at the age of ninety-two years, and their oldest daughter died in Covington, Kentuck}'', in 1901, aged ninet}'-- eight years. She bore the name of Arabella and became the wife of Richard Langdon, the proprietor and editor of a paper and a life-long and able journalist, our subject serving as his printer's devil. Daniel McComas, the father of Edward M., was born in Maryland in 1799, and died in Cincinnati, Ohio, of smallpox, at the age of thirty- three years. About 1823 he was united in marriage to Mary Ann Mitchell, a native of Pennsylvania, and at her husband's death she was left with five children. Our subject's eldest sister, Elizabeth, became the wife of ex-Governor Furnas, and died in Brownville in 1898, at the age of seventy-one years. One brother, Mortimer, was burned to death when eight years of age, when the house was destroyed by fire. The mother passed away in death in this city when eighty-two years of age. Edward M. McComas was privileged to attend the public schools only at intervals until his fifteenth year, at which time he entered the Western Military Institute at Georgetown, Kentucky, of which Bushrom R'. Johnson was the principal and James G. Blaine the professor of mathe- matics and our subject's teacher, while General Buckner was his room- mate. After attending that institution for eighteen months Mr. Mc- Comas went to Miami county, Ohio, and entered a printing office, where he helped set up Polk's message. For a year and a half he was also engaged in the jewelry and drug trade. In 1854, after his marriage, he removed to Kickapoo, Kansas, being accompanied by his wife and their one child, the family taking up their abode in the first house, a Cottonwood box structure, erected there, and in which one child was SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 44 1 born to them. At that time there were only three houses in Leaven- worth, and Mr. McComas there purchased six lots for sixty dollars, selling the same eight months later for eleven hundred dollars. While residing in Kickapoo he was engaged in the drug trade and as a physi- cian. At one time he was pressed into the service, as surgeon, of the Kickapoo Rangers, in their night march on Lawrence. They arrived at the break of day, and a blue jay, hopping upon a limb, called out "too slick," when the brave warriors broke ranks and never stopped until they were safe within Kickapoo. On the 7th of April, 1856, Mr. McComas came from that place to Nemaha count);-, Nebraska, and in the following May brought his family here. They had witnessed the stirring tirries in Kansas prior to that time, and his drug store was once burned by the pro-slavery followers. When Mr. McComas came to this state he had but two hundred and fifty dollars in money, and he first took a claim of one hundred and sixty acres one and a half miles northwest of Brownville, beginning work on the same on the 3d of May, 1856, and succeeded in placing forty acres under the plow, while during the months of July and August he also split rails and fenced his land. A herd of cattle and a flood, howe\'er, completely devastated his property, and becoming discouraged with farm life here he abandoned his property and went to Nemaha city, where he erected two houses and for three years was engaged in the purchase and sale of city property. Ke next went five miles southwest of Nemaha and pre-em;pted one hundred and sixty acres of land and also purchased the quarter section adjoining, his nearest neighbor at that time being a half-breed Lidian five miles distant. Seven years later Mr. McComas sold his half section for twelve hundred and fifty dollars and removed to Brownville, where for the third time he embarked in the drug business, thus continuing with success for twenty-three years, on the expiration of which period 442 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. he sold his store, and in 1888 went to California, there spending eighteen months. During his residence in the Golden state, he was engaged in the drug business in Modesto, and leaving his son Harry in charge returned to Brownville and resumed the same line of trade here. Two years later he again sold, and came to his present farm of one hundred and thirty-iive acres, which he had purchased in 1868 for fifty dollars an acre. The old log cabin which stood upon the land at the time of purchase gave place to a two-story brick structure in 1871. Mr. Mc- Comas has made a specialty of fruit-raising, peaches being his leading crop, and for this fruit he received a premium in Boston and Richmond. In 1876 he sent a sample of his Talpahawkin apples to the United States fruit show at Boston, Massachusetts, and a facsimile of three of them are now to be found in the Smithsonian Institute at Washing- ton. At one time he owned ninety acres of orchard land, but sold forty acres for four thousand dollars to ex-Governor Furnas's son. In Troy, Ohio, on the 6th of July, 1852, Mr. McComas was united in marriage to Miss Almira Wagner, who was born in Covington, Miami county, that state, July 18, 1835, a daughter of M. S. and Anna (Fouts) Wagner. Twelve children were bom of this union, as fol- lows : Mortimer M., who is engaged in the sheep business near his father's farm; Robert, who was born in Kansas and died in California at the age of forty-two years; Anna, the wife of Oscar Cecil, of Cali- fornia, and they have three sons ; Edward, who has been engaged in the drug business at Broken Bow, Nebraska, since 1884; Mary, employed in the telephone office at Auburn; Almira, wife of W. H. Rice, of Modesto, California; Harry, a druggist of Stockton, California; Nell, the wife of J. S. Squires, of Broken Bow, Nebraska; Nine, a farmer of that place; Louis, who died at the age of two years; Helen G., em- ployed as a saleslady in Modesto, California; and Louise, the wife of SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 443 J. D. Curtis, on the old farm near Stella. In his fraternal relations Mr. McComas is a member of the order of Odd Fellows, and in politi- cal matters is a gold-standard Democrat. On its ticket he was a can- didate for the office of probate judge, overcoming a Republican major- ity of three hundred and fifty and was elected by eleven votes, while at the succeeding election, two years later, he was placed in office by eight hundred votes. Mrs. McComas is a worthy m^ember of the Bap- tist church. MORTIMER M. McCOMAS. Mortimer M. McComas, one of the leading stock farmers of Nemaha county, was born in Ohio, but when two years of age was brought to this state by his father, Edward McComas, the pioneer physician and druggist of Brownville, and whose history appears above. On the 29th of March, 1882, Mr. McComas was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Howard, who was born in Woodford county, Illinois, on the 6th of December, 1859, a daughter of Sylvester and Rachel (Patton) Howard, the former of whom was born in Greene county, near Jackson- ville, Illinois, in March, 1833, and the latter a native of Kentucky. They were farming people, and reared two of their four children, the bro- ther of Mrs. McComas being Albert, an agriculturist of Oklahoma and the father of five living children. The mother died at the early age of twenty-five years, when Mrs. McComas was only four years old, and she was reared in the home of her grandparents at Chenoa, Livingston county, Illinois. She was married at the age of twenty-one years, on the golden wedding anniversary of her ' grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. McComas being the same age as her grandparents were at the time of 444 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. their marriage. This young couple met for the first time at Brownville, where she was visiting, their marriage being celebrated two years afterward, and they first located on his farm of forty acres, now the property of Sherifif Lawrence. Selling that farm, Mr. McComas went to Cherryvale, Kansas, where for three years he was engaged in the grocery business, and for a time thereafter was engaged in the same occupation in Bluff City, that state. Returning thence to Nemaha county, in February, 1894, he purchased his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres from Charles Butler, one of the early settlers of this locality, where he homesteaded a quarter section of school land and made many improvements thereon, including the large, two-storj', brick residence which now adorns the place. On this fertile and well improved farm Mr. McComas is now extensively engaged in the stock business. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. McComas are as follows : How- ard, who was born in 1883, and is now assisting his father and attending school; Hila, perfecting herself in piano music; Clarence, a freshman in the state normal at Peru; Helen, who died in infancy; Earl, who died at the age of nineteen months ; Leonard, a bright little lad of ten years ; Nina, eight years of age; and Edward, a beautiful boy of four years. Mr. McComas gives his political support to the Democracy, and both he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. WILLIAM HENRY BARKER. William Henry Barker, who has the monopoly of the blacksmith and wagon-making business in Nemaha, where he has been successfully established for two years, has been engaged in this honorable occupa- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 445' tion for over fifteen years, and wherever he has been located he has gained a reputation for thorotigh workmanship and efficiency and skill. He is also a good business man, a worthy and public-spirited citizen of his adopted town, and a man of integrity and honor in every relation of life. Mr. Barker claims the honor of being a native son of the state of Nebraska, having been born in Richardson county, March 20, 1864. His grandfather, William Barker, was a Missouri farmer during the early history of that state, and in 1861 moved to Richardson county, Nebraska. He was well-to-do at the time, and bought lands of the Indians. He died in Richardson county when about seventy-nine years old, leaving a small estate. He reared ten children, five sons and five daughters, and all had families of from five to eight children. Elias Barker, the father of William H. Barker, was born in Mis- souri in September, 1827, and is now living in his seventy-seventh year. He has been a stonemason by trade, and still owns his farm in Richard- son county, where he lives with his daughter. He married Sarah J. Hintsley, of Missouri, and she died in Richardson county, in 1882, at the age of forty-nine years. They were the parents of five children : James Thomas, who is a farmer in Washington state and has five chil- dren; Mary Susan, who is the wife of Harvey Hall, of Richardson county, and has six children; Calvin Preston, a farmer in Nemaha county, and the father of three children ; William H. ; and Charles Franklin, who is a farmer at Blackbird, Nebraska, and is a widower with two children. William Henry Barker had a meager schooling up to the age of fifteen j'ears, and has been dependent on his own resources ever since. He learned the blacksmith trade and engaged in the work in Richard- son county in 1887, and he had followed it in Stella and Shubert before 446 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. taking up his location in Nemaha in 1901, where he has since gained a very satisfactory and substantial patronage. When he came here he bought out the shop of Charles Lindsey, and now has the only estab- lishment of the kind in the town. He also owns his own home, and is popular among the citizens. He is a Republican voter, and his wife is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Barker was married at the age of twenty years, on December 10, 1884, to Miss Sarah N. Hamilton, who was born in Missouri in 1865, a daughter of David and Martha (Hinton) Hamilton, who were residents of Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Barker have lost three children and have three living, as follows : Martha Ethel, who died at the age of two years ; Everett and Gordon, twin sons, who died at the respective ages of five and eight months; Cleon Murle, who is twelve years old; Elva Stuart, aged eight years; and Edith, six years old. H. J. WETMORE, D. D. S. H. J. Wetmore, a leading dentist of Wymore, Gage county, Nebraska, located in this state in i88g. He graduated from the Western Dental College of Kansas City, Missouri, in 1899. He first studied dentisti-y in Kansas, where he received a permit to practice in the state, having successfully passed the dental examination given by the state board of dentistry. Dr. W^etmore is very progressive in his profession and under- stands thoroughly high-class work of all kinds. He makes a specialty of crown and bridge work. Dr. Wetmore was born in Oneida, Kansas, in 1876, and is a son of George A. Wetmore, one of the early settlers of that state, who was born ill New York and later located in Illinois, whence he emigrated SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 447 to Kansas. The maiden name of the mother was Corneha Wikoff, and four children were born to the parents. Dr. Wetmore was reared in Nemaha county, where he received an excellent literary education in the common and high schools. He began the study of dentistry at the age of seventeen, after which he devoted all of his time to his profession. He was married in Novem- ber, 1899, to Maude Ford, a lady of culture, the accomplished daugh- ter of J. H. H. Ford, of Seneca. Dr. Wetmore occupies beautifully appointed offices, and his instruments and appliances are of the best. He keeps thoroughly abreast of all improvements and discoveries and is rightly regarded as a leader of his profession. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic lodge of Wymore and is very popular in that organization. Both he and Mrs. Wetmore are important factors in the city and have a large number of friends. L. R. FRITZ, D. D. S. L. R. Fritz, D. D. S., of Wymore, Gage county, Nebraska, is one of the successful dentists of that city, and is a graduate of the Kansas City Dental College, class of 1902, when he received honors with his degree of D. D. S. Dr. Fritz is a native of DeKalb county, Illinois, where he \vas born May 23, 1880, a son of Dr. Benjamin Fritz, a popular and well known dentist of Blue Springs, Nebraska, where he has been located for the past twenty-three years. Dr. Benjamin Fritz is one of the pioneers in his profession in this portion of Nebraska. Dr. L. R. Fritz was only one year of age when his father removed to Blue Springs, and he received his early education in the district schools of that locality. 448 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. He was one in a family of four children born to his parents, but the others are deceased. From childhood. Dr. Fritz showed an aptitude for his profession, and although young in years, and in practice, he has already built up an enviable list of patients, and his finely appointed offices afford every convenience for his work. The prospect before this enterprising and gifted young dentist is, a very promising one, and he holds the good will of all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. ELWARD K. LEGATE. Elward K'. Legate, ex-commander of Coleman Post, No. 115, G. A. R., of Wymore, Nebraska, is one of the well known residents of that section of country and a prominent veteran of the Civil war. His enlistment took place at Alta, Illinois, December 18, 1864, in Company B, Qne Hundred and Forty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and he served until the close of the war, under Colonel Hall and Captain Mel- vin. Soon after his enlistment the regiment was sent to Rock Island, and later was taken into the western army. The birth of Elward K. Legate occurred in Reynolds county, Missouri, September 12, 1846, and he is a son of Henry Legate. Tlie Legate family has long been noted for its patriotic spirit, for beginning with the grandfather, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, Samuel Legate served in the war of 1812, a brother of his in the Mex- ican war, and the sons of all the branches were in the Civil war. Henry Legate removed to Illinois whtn a young man and was married in Jack- son county that state to Mary Skidmore. The death of Henry occurred in 1868. He was a consistent Methodist in his religious faith and SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 449 a very strong Republican in politics. His widow survives and makes her home in Arkansas, aged seventy-eight years. Eleven children were bom to this worthy couple, namely : E. R. ; James ; Samuel ; Nancy ; Elijah; George; Mary; Emily; J. Benjamin; and two who died in infancy. The early life of Mr. Legate was spent upon his father's farm, then followed by his war experience and after he returned to Illinois he decided to make a home for himself in new territory, so he removed to Missouri, and finally, in 1884, selected Gage county, Nebraska, as his abiding place. For some time after his settlement in the last named place, he was confined in the hospital as a result of the exposure and hardship of his army life, but he recovered and began his new life. In 1868, while living in Illinois, he was married to Nancy Lewellen, born in Coles county, Illinois. She is a daughter of Edward Lewellen, who was a soldier during the Civil war, and died in Marshall county, Kansar, at the age of eighty years. His widow lives in Texas, aged seventy- eight 5'ears. There were four children born in the family to which Mrs. Legate belongs, namely: Edmund, Nancy, Joseph and Lawrence. Mr. and Mrs. Legate have six children, viz. : Lewis, a railroad man; Charles, of Seattle; Ronna Starks, of Seattle; Henry; Edward and Lenney. Both Mr. and Mrs. Legate are members of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, and in religious belief they are Methodists. Mr. Legate has been prominent in G. A. R. work for many years, and is ex-commander of the post at Wymore. 450 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. WILLIAM W. SANDERS. William W. Sanders, postmaster and editor of the Nebraska Adver- tiser, at Nemaha City, is a native son of Nemaha county, and since reaching maturity has been one of the useful members of society in pro- moting the best interests of material, intellectual and moral affairs. He has enjoyed a long career as newspaper man, beginning with his service as devil, so that he understands the business from the ground up, and is especially familiar with conditions affecting journalistic growth in this part of the state. Besides the work to which he has devoted the best years of his life, he has been public-spirited, and has held many offices of various kinds where he could be of service. Mr. Sanders was born in Nemaha county, Nebraska, September 20, 1857. His grandfather, Benjamin Sanders, was a physician of Indiana, where he settled in the early days, and he died in Shelby county of that state when past eighty years old. He had eight children, and the three daughters married, and the four sons that grew to maturity had families of from eight to nine children. Two of the sons died in Shelby county, Indiana, in the seventies, and two of them came to Ne- braska. D. C. Sanders came in 1855, and taught the first school in Nemaha City, was in the legislature many terms, and at his death was county commissioner. He lost most of his children. Thomas N. Sanders, the other son who came to Nebraska, was born in Shelby county, Indiana, February 16, 1832, and died at Brown- ville, this county, December 28, 1885. He came to Nebraska in 1856, driving from Illinoi's, and bringing his wife and their first child. He took a pre-emption of one hundred and sixty acres, and began life in very primitive style, in a dug-out which still remains in London pre- cinct. He lived there three years, and the honored editor of the Adver- tiser first opened his eyes within that humble dwelling. He followed SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 45^ farming for many years, but later in life devoted his attention to horti- culture. He and R. W. Furnas in 1857 established the first nursery in this county. Thomas N. Sanders and wife reared seven of their eight children. George N., the oldest, is a farmer in London precinct and has five children ; William W., second in line of birth ; Albert Arthur died unmarried at the age of twenty; Edward E. is at Spickard, Mis- souri, an editor and publisher, and has five children; John G. is an editor and printer at Aberdeen, South Dakota, and has one son; Clytie, the only daughter, died when five years old; Carl E., unmarried and liv- ing with his mother, has a fruit farm of forty acres in London precinct and is also a teacher there. William \N. Sanders had limited schooling in the district and at Brownville, and at fourteen became printer's devil on the Brown- ville Democrat, now the Granger. He was a compositor there for four years, then foreman for four years, and in the fall of 1880 canie to Nemaha city and bought the Nemaha Times, which had been established the preceding spring by his brother Ben F. He ran this for four years, and then went to Auburn and bought the Advertiser, selling out the Times in the spring of 1885 to G. W. Fairbrother and Son. He re- tained the Advertiser in Auburn for three years, but in the fall of 1887 moved it to Nemaha city, where he has continued as its enterprising head ever since. Mr. Sanders is a Republican in politics, and was appointed to the office of postmaster in June, 1903. He has served as village trustee, member of the school board, was census enumerator in 1900; he is a Master Mason, being secretary of Hope Lodge No. 29, in Nemaha city, is secretary of the lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Royal Achates, and is a member of Modern ^Voodmen and East- ern Star. He has been located in his own home for eleven years, and he 452 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. also owns the printing office and a fruit farm in London precinct. He has been secretary of the Old Settlers' Society for ten years, and not- withstanding the fact that he is still a young man he feels perfectly at home among the old-timers, many of whom did not reach the state until after he had become one of its first native sons. Mr. Sanders was married December 5, 1881, to Miss Alice Berger, a daughter of J. B. and Rebecca Rossell Berger, the former of New Jersey and the latter of Pennsylvania, and they came to Nebraska in 1857 before they were married. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders have two children. William T., born November 29, 1882, in this city, graduated from the Nemaha high school and is now a printer in the office with his father; Nellie R. has been keeping house at home since her mother's death, on August 8, 1901. Mrs. Sanders was forty-two years old, and her twenty years of married life had been most happy and useful. She was devoted to the welfare of her family, an untiring worker, and was popular with all. She and her husband were members of the Methodist church before their marriage, and she was interested in the work of the church and Sunday-school, having a large class of forty-two young men and women, which has grown from a class of five. The church was organized in 1882, and Mr. and Mrs. Sanders were among the leading spirits in the enterprise, and may be said to have been its founders. He has held all the official positions of the layman, having been lay delegate to the conference three times and superintendent of the Sunday-school for several years. X H en H l-H V3 <: SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 453 WILLIAM WARREN SMITH. William Warren Smith, one of the oldest and best known farmers of Nemaha countv.jjesiding in Peru precinct on a rural delivery route from Peru, is an old and prominent pioneer of this part of the state. He made his arrival in Brownvil-le, April 7, 1857, ten years before Nebraska became a state and only three years after the organization of the territory, so that the political history and the entire record of progress and agricultural and industrial development are known to him from his own personal participation therein. During the subsequent period of forty-five or more years he has been active in his own behalf in reaping the fruits of the soil and making a home for self and family, ■ and he has won a deserved reputation among all his friends and associ- ates as a man of industry, integrity, fair and square dealing in all business transactions, and high personal worth. Mr. Smith was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1826, and it was from that state and county that he made the begin- ning of his journey to Nebraska. His grandfather Smith, a descendant of a sturdy Pilgrim who came over in the Mayflower, was of English ancestry, while his wife was Scotch, and they reared six children, Ben- jamin, Erastus, Thomas, Hannah, Delia Ann and George, all of whom had families, and all died in Pennsylvania except George, who went to old Mexico, where he died when seventy years old. Thomas was killed during the Civil war by a car running over him. He was in the govern- ment service. Benjamin Smith, the father of William W. Smith, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1798, and died in that county in 1873. He was a carpenter, but lived on and tended a farm. He was married aboiit 1820 to Lydia Gardner, who was about three years his junior, and her father, Richard Gardner, was of New England ancestry, was a 454 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. farmer during his active life, and at the age of thirteen was one of the children confined within the Forty Fort during the Wyoming valley massacre. Lydia Smith died in 1831 in the prime of her life, having been the mother of five children, namely : Deodat Smith, a molder by trade, was in the foundry business in Pennsylvania and later farmed, and died in 1880, leaving four children by his first wife. Lizzie died at the age of seven years, before her mother's death. William; W. Smith is the third of the family, and the only one of them all now living. Jane, the wife of James Caswell, died in 1876, leaving seven children. Richard Byron Smith, born in Luzerne county, was a machin- ist, and came to Missouri in 1857, but being too loyal to the Union to live in that state, he moved to Peru, Nebraska, in 1862, setting up a blacksmith shop, and lived there until 1901, when he moved to Auburn and died the same year, leaving five children, one son and four daugh- ters, having lost three. The father of this family was again married, but had no children by his second wife. Mr. Smith was reared to the life of a farmer, and grew accustomed to hard toil from an early year. His schooling was received in a log schoolhouse, with all its rough furnishings of a pioneer past. He re- mained at home until 1842, and then was in the pineries of Wisconsin for one winter and for a like period in Henry, Marshall county, Illinois, and was also engaged in lumber-rafting from Wisconsin to St. Louis. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1850, was married and re- mained in that state until he made his final and permanent removal to Nebraska at the time above mentioned. Hte still owns eighty acres of the first pre-emption which he made on arriving here, and he 'also owned another eighty on the Nemaha river, but in 1865 gave that to the Peru College, in which three of his children have since been students. He has been a prominent and influential man in his community and for SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 455 fifteen years has served on the school board of his district, and has been often chosen as road overseer. He voted the Republican ticket from almost the inception of that party until a few years ago when he went over to the Populists. He has been a member of the Methodist church since 1863, and his wife was an officer in that church. April I, 1850, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Caroline Whitman, who was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1829, a daughter of George Whitman. Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, as follows: Flora A., born in Pennsylvania in 185 1, is the wife of A. Denning, mentioned below, of Plainfield, Wisconsin, and has six chil- dren living of the seven born to them ; Margaret, born in Pennsylvania, d'ed there at the age of six months; Mary, born in Pennsylvania, died in Nebraska at the age of two years; H. B., born on the present home farm July 24, 1857, is a farmer of Crystal Springs, Ohio, and has a wife and three children; Keturah A. is the wife of Jerome Price, of Legrande, Oregon, and has two sons and one daughter; Elmer Elsworth died at the age of three years; William died at the age of eighteen months ; Gertrude, born in Peru, May 24, 1868, died March 4, 1871 ; Maud, the wife of John McNown, of Legrande, Oregon, has three chil- dren; Charles, a painter and paper-hanger of Peru, has one son and one daughter; and Bessie is the wife of Lewis Pierce, on the home farm, and has two sons. The beloved mother of this family died at her home in this county in 1893, and since that time Mr. Smith's daughters have kept house for him'. Alvin Denning, who married Flora A. Smith, was boni in Harrison county, Ohio, January 19, 1847, was reared in humble circumstances, and in 1870 came to Brownville, Nebraska. He spent eighteen months of the years 1884-85 in Kansas, and since 1899 has been a resident of Wisconsin. He was a soldier of the Civil war, entering Company G, 456 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, at Cleveland, and served from 1863 to Novem- ber, 1865, being still but a boy in his teens at the time of his discharge. He was confined for some time in the hospital at Camp Denison, Ohio, with liver trouble and deafness, and now draws a pension of twelve dol- lars a month for the permanent disabilities received during his loyal service to the government. GUS GRAFF. Gus Graff, mayor of Wymore, Nebraska, is one of the best known and most popular men of the city and of Gage county and has lived in this state for over forty years. He is a member of the Graff Implement Company, dealers in agricultural implements and carriages, which does a business of fifty thousand dollars per year. They carry a large line of goods in their several departments, including the Deering harvesters and all kinds of tools connected with farming. The business was estab- lished twenty years ago, and the firm has gained the confidence of all who have business relations with them. The Hon. Mr. Graff was born Noverber 27, 1858, at Lyons, Iowa. He is a son of Joseph Graff, who died in December, 1897, an early settler and pioneer of Nebraska. Joseph Graff was the first German settler in Gage county, and came from Lyons, Iowa, in company with his father-in- law, Philip Myers. They came here with only one ox team, a cow and a few household effects. From this small beginning Joseph became the owner of nine hundred and sixty acres of land and a very wealthy man. His wife was named Tressa Myers, and she died at the age of fifty-eight years. Both were consistent members of the Catholic church. Their children were as follows: Henry; Philip,who lives on the old home- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 457 stead; Gus; Carrie, deceased; Lewis, a lumber merchant of Beatrice; George, who died in 1891, leaving a widow and one son; John, deceased; Otto, who died at the age of seven years ; and Fred, of Beatrice. Henry Graff, brother of Gus, married, in 1885, Susie Myers, and she bore him four children: Clarence and Hazel, now living, and two deceased. Gus Graff married Anna Myers, and has three children, namely : Adolph, LeRoy and Gussie. Mrs. Gus Graff was born in Mil- waukee, and is a daughter of Valentine Myers, who died in 1891. The political opinions of Mr. Gus Graff make him a Republican, and he has been very active in the workings of his party. At various times he' has served as delegate to city, county and state conventions, and he is now serving his third term as mayor of Wymore. Under his administration the city has had a clean, honest, business-like government. Henry Graff at one time occupied the same position of prominence at Blue Springs, Nebraska. Fraternally Mr. Gus Graff is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, the Woodmen, Ancient Order of United \A^orkmen, blue lodge and chapter of the Masonic order, and he is very popular in all of these organizations. In manner he is cordial and genial, and makes and retains friends. He has prospered and understands how to make a well earned success, useful, not only to himself but also to others, and his associates appreciating this fact, have honored him for his remarkable ability. 458 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. JAMES K. COIN. For over a third of a century this gentleman has made his home in Gage county, Nebraska, and he has aided materally in the growth and development of Island Grove township, which is his place of resi- dence. He was born in Claiborne county, Temiessee, on the loth of April, 1845, ^nd belongs to an old southern family of English and Scotch extraction that was founded in Tennessee at an early day in its history. His grandfather, Levi Goin, was a native of Virginia, but the greater part of his life was passed in Tennessee, where Sterling Goin, our subject's father, was born in 1818. There the latter grew to man- hood and married Miss Mary Keck, also a native of Tennessee, by whom he had sixteen children, fifteen of the number reaching mature years, namely: John, James K., Philip, Levi, Jasper, William, Howard, Proc- tor, Anna, Rachel, Rebecca, Sarah, Charity, Catherine and Mary. After the death of the mother the father married again, and by his second union had two children, one of whom is now deceased. He has been a third time married, and has three children by that union. Throughout his active -life he has followed farming and is still living m Tennessee at the age of eighty-five years. He is a faithful member of the Baptist church and is a supporter of the Republican party. He was a strong Union man during the Civil war and suffei-^d much at the hands of the rebels, who took his grain and stock. James K. Goin was reared in much the usual manner of farmer boys of his day, and early became familiar with all the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist. His education was acquired in the com- mon schools of his native state. When the country became involved in Civil war he resolved to strike a blow in defense of the Union cause and on the first of May, 1863, at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, he enlisted in the First Tennessee Light Artillery, under the command of Captain SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 459 Beebe and Colonel Crawford. He took part in the battle of Russellville, Kentucky; Loudon, Tennessee; and Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, being stationed at the latter place for some time. When hostilities had ceased, he was honorably discharged at Nashville on the 20th of July, 1865. At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Coin led to the marriage altar Miss Elizabeth Ann McVey, who was also born, reared and educated in Claiborne county, Tennessee, and their union has been blessed by eleven children, those still li^'ing being Josephine, Lewis, Philip, Margaret A., Eli, Delia,- Nellie, Lulu and Ethel. Levi and Maud are both deceased. In 1869 Mr. Coin brought his family to Nebraska and settled on a farm west of Liberty in Gage county. In 1882 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of rich bottom land, which he has converted into a fine farm, having erected thereon a good comfortable residence at a cost- of fourteen hundred dollars and a barn at a cost of eight hundred. He has an orchard and grove upon his place, and a stream of running water adds to its beauty. Like his father Mr. Goin is unswerving in his allegiance to the Republican party and its principles, and he is an active church worker, serving as deacon of the Goodhope Baptist church, to which he belongs. His support is never withheld from any enterprise which he believes calculated to promote the moral, educational or social welfare of the community in which he lives, and he is recognized as a valued and useful citizen. GREENVILLE G. SHANNON. Prominent among the honored pioneers and representative citizens of Gage county, Nebraska, is numbered Greenville G. Shannon, whose home is in Island Grove township. He came here in territorial days and since 1857 has been identified with the interests of the state. 46o SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Ml-. Shannon was born in Giles county, Virginia, on the 9th of June, 1828, and. comes of a good old family of that state. His paternal grandfather was Samuel B. Shannon, who was a native of Burkes Garden of the Old Dominion,, and was of Irish extraction. Our sub- ject's father, Thomas R. Shannon, was also born in Giles county and in early manhood married Sally Allen, a native of the same state. In 1833 they removed to Hendricks county, Indiana, settling thirty miles west of Indianapolis, and in i860 came to Pawnee county, Nebraska, where the father, who was a farmer by occupation, died at the age of sixty-six years, and the mother departed this life at the age of seventy- five. They held membership in the Methodist church and had the re- spect and confidence of all who knew them. In politics the father was first a Whig and later a Republican. He liad five sons : Greenville G. ; William, who was a member of the Home Guards of Nebraska during the Civil war; Thom)as, who was a member of the Second Nebraska Cavalry and is now a well known hotel man of Pawnee city ; and Milton, who also served in the Second Nebraska Cavalry and is now living in Ottawa county, Kansas. Mr. Shannon was only about five years old when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Indiana, where he was reared to habits of industry, his educational privileges being limited. In 1857 he came to the territory of Nebraska and first located in Pawnee county, where he was living at the time of the rebellion. With two of his brothers he en- listed in the Second Nebraska Cavalry, under Colonel Furnas, and this regiment made for itself a gallant record in fighting the hostile Indians in the northwest. They were rough riders and undobutedly had to en- dure more hardships on the plains than those fighting in the south. For a time they were stationed at Omaha and later at North Platte and Sioux City, Iowa. They participated in the engagement at Big White Stone SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 461 Hills, Dakota, where eight hundred Indians were either killed or taken prisoners in battle. Many of these red men had been engaged in 'the massacre of the white settlers at New Ulm. Milton Shannon, a brother of Greenville, was wounded in this battle and lay for some time on the battlefield Avith a buffalo robe over him. The Indians killed all the wounded that fell into their hands and would have killed and scalped him had he been found. Our subject contracted typhoid fever and a chronic disease, which confined him in a hospital for some time, and he also lost his eyesigh, so that he is now blind. He thus made a great sacrifice for his country and the debt of gratitude which it owes to him can never be repaid. At the close of the war he received an honorable discharge at Nemaha, Nebraska, and returned to his home in Pawnee county. There he continued to reside until 1879, when he removed to Gage county, and here he has since made his home. At the age of twenty-five years Mr. Shannon was united in mar- riage to Miss Anna Huff, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Eldred Huft', who was a prominent man of his commimity and served as county surveyor in Indiana for twenty years. Mrs. Shannon died in Sidney, Indiana, leaving two children, Sally and Julia. Mr. Shannon was again married in 1868, his second union being with Mrs. Esther (Sharp) Lyons, who was born in Claiborne county, Tennessee, of which state her parents were life-long residents. She had three brothers who were soldiers of the Civil war, these being Kirk, Greenville and Elihu Sharp. Her parents were George and Agnes Sharp. Mrs. Shannon was first married to Washington Lyons, who was also among the defenders of the Union during the dark days of the rebellion and was held a prisoner at Belle Isle for nine months. He died at the early age of twenty-seven years, leaving three children: Canada; Wylie W. and Scott Lyons. By his second marriage Mr. Shannon has three children : Thomas, a resident 462 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. of Island Grove township; Mary, wife of James Call, a resident of Gage county, by whom she has two children, Elsie Esther and Delia Agnes; Hazle, a resident of Liberty, Nebraska. Mr. Shannon never wavers in his allegiance to the Republican party, for whose principles he fought during the. Civil war. He joined the party on its organization and has supported all of its presidential candidates from General Fremont down to William McKinley. Fraternally he is connected with the Grand Army of the Republic, and in years of peace, no less than those of war, he has bravely performed his duty to his country and is justly entitled to a place on the nation's roll of honor. HARRISON REED. Harrison Reed, better known throughout Nemaha county, Nebras- ka, as "Uncle Dick Reed," is one of the most interesting personalities and old-timers of the southeastern part of the state. He is passing the days of an unusually long and useful life in easy retirement on a farm in Glen Rock precinct, on rural route No. i from Auburn. On June i, 1857, ^^- Rc^d made a picturesque arrival in the town of Peru, although it was at that time an event of common occurrence. Driving two yoke of oxen to a prairie schooner, in which were his household goods and his family, and with some five cows, he made his advent to this place as the goal of a journey which had consumed from the 5th of April, and was unusually slow and toilsome on account of the stormy and backward spring. His initial starting point for the westward pilgrimage was Sulli- van county, Indiana, which he had left in the spring of 1856. On his arrival in Benton county, Iowa, he remained until the following spring, and then resumed his journey until reaching the territory of Nebraska. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 463 During the forty-seven years that have since elapsed he has proved him- self an individual of usefulness and influence in his community, and his assistance has more than once been rendered in the development and upbilding of this part of the country, through the period of its territorial grow^th and settlement and from the time of its birth into the sisterhood of states until it is now ranked as one of the full-grown and most pros- perous commonwealths of the Union. He began his career in this state in limited circumstances, having on his arrival some four hundred dollars which he and his noble wife had managed by strict economy to save, and with this as a basis he gained a gratifying degree of prosperity before reaching the days of retirement from active labor. Uncle Dick Reed was born September 17, 1822, so that he is now an octogenarian and one of the oldest citizens of the county. When twenty-six years old, on February 6, 1848, he married the widow Gil- bert, nee Sarah Jane Huntsman, who was born in Kentucky, July 16, 1820. She died August 15, 1889, having been the mother of eight children, as follows : Sylvia, born in Indiana in 1849, ^^^^ at the age of five; Sylvester, born in Indiana in October, 1850, resides in Auburn and has one son and two daughters ; Sarah Jane died in Indiana at the age of two years; Nancy; born in Indiana, is now Mrs. Gillilan, of Custer City, Oklahoma, and has eight children living; one daughter died in in- fancy; the next children were twins, a son and a daughter, and the former died in infancy and the latter when two years old. William Reed, the eighth and youngest child of Harrison Reed, is now farming the home place of one hundred and sixty acres, and is a very prosperous and enterprising agriculturist and well known and popu- lar throughout the community. November 16, 1893, he married Miss Ida Head, who was born in Jasper county, Iowa, May 8, 1867, a daughter of Biggar John and Eliza (Dixon) Head, the former born in 464 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Highland county, Ohio, in 181 3, and the latter a native of Ross county, Ohio. Her parents were married in 1844, and in 1855 came to Jasper county, Iowa, settling twenty-two miles east of Des Moines and one mile east of Prairie City, which was named by Biggar John Head. The latter paid five dollars an acre for a half section there, and this in 1871 he sold for forty-seven dollars and fifty cents an acre. He then moved to Nodaway county, Missouri, where he died in 1888, leaving all his eight children, of whom five are still living. His wife also died in Mis- souri, in 1878. Mrs. William Reed came to Nemaha county from Mis- souri in the spring of 1889, in company with a brother and a sister, the former being William Head, of Auburn, and the latter Irene Bozer, now at the Reed homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Reed have one daughter, Sylvia, a bright girl of eight years, who is a natural student and doing nicely in school. Mr. Reed owns an eighty acre tract about a mile from the home place, and is constantly making progress in his farming opera- tions and other business matters. He is a Democrat in politics, but usually votes for the man rather than the party. JACKSON MAXWELL. Jackson Maxwell is not only one of the leading citizens of Island Grove township, Gage county, Nebraska, but he is also an honored veter- an of the Civil war, having devoted the opening years of his manhood to the defense of the country. He is a native of Indiana, born in Mor- gan county, that state, on the 27th of July, 1842, and is a son of William and Lettie (Manley) Maxwell, who were natives of Pennsylvaniia and Indiana, respectively. On the paternal side he is of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His grandfather, James Maxwell, was a soldier of the English SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 465 army. The maternal grandfather was John R. Manley, a pioneer of Indiana. From that state the parents of our subject started westward with the view of locating in Iowa, but the father died near Bloomington, Illinois, when en route. His widow and children proceeded on their way, and the mother is still living near Braddyville, Page county, Iowa, at the ripe old age of eight-one years. She is an earnest member of the Metho- dist church, to which her husband also belonged, and in politics he was a Democrat. He made farming his principal occupation throughout life. The children of the family are Jackson, J. D., John M., George W., William R. and J. T. Jackson Maxwell grew to manhood on a farm near Albia in Monroe county, Iowa, and, being the oldest of the family, he was of great assis- tance to his mother after the father's death in carrying on the home farm and in caring for the younger children. His school privileges were somewhat limited, but he made the most of his advantages and by read- ing and observation has become a well informed man. Mr. Maxwell was only twenty years of age when he offered his services to the country to aid in crushing out the rebellion, enlisting on the 22d of August, 1862, at President Lincoln's call for three hundred thousand more volunteers. He became a member of Company K, Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and wa^ under the command of Captain George Noble and Colonel C. W. Kitridge, of Ottumwa, Iowa. The regiment was first ordered to K'eokuk and from there to Benton Barricks, Missouri, and was later in Memphis, Tennessee; Helena, Arkansas; Fort Pemberton; and Little Rock. Under the command of General Steele the regiment marched toward the Red river and were in the engagements at Camden and Pine Bluff. At the latter place Mr. Maxwell was taken prisoner by the rebels, being held as such for ten months, nine months of which time he was confined in the prison at 466 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Tyler, Texas, He was then taken down the Red river to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he was exchanged on the 14th of Februray, 1865, and sent to New Orleans and on to the north. Being granted a furlough he returned home and later rejoined his command at St. Charles, Ar- kansas. The war having ended and his services being no longer needed, he was honorably discharged in August, 1865, and returned home with a ^Yar record of which he may be justly proud. During his service he had the bones in one finger of the left hand broken and it has since been useless. From INIonroe county, Iowa, Mr. Maxwell removed to Shelby count}'-, that state, and he was married in Montgomery coimty on the 24th of November, 1867, to Miss Nancy Thornton. She is a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Honaker) Thornton^ natives of Virginia and representatives of an old and honored family of that state. For some time her parents lived in Kentucky and from there removed to Illinois. Later they went to Iowa, and after living for a time near Albia in Mon- roe county, they settled near Red Oak in Montgomery county, where Mr. Thornton died at the age of seventy-four years. His widow came to Gage count}'-, where she died at the age of ninety-two years in 1896. In religious belief she was a Baptist and her husband was a member of the same church. By occupation he was a farmer and politically was a supporter of the Democratic party. Their family consisted of ten children, namely : Isaac, who went to California and died on his way home, being buried at sea ; Elizabeth ; Aaron ; Susan ; Thomas ; Nancy, the wife of Mr. Maxwell; William M. ; Francis; and two children who died young. To Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell were born four children, but William J. died in infancy ; and Emma Jane died at the age of twenty-two years. She was an active member of the Methodist church and an earnest Chris- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 467 tian worker and was loved and respected by all who knew her. Her death was widely and deeply mourned. Those of the family still liv- ing are Benjamin F., who married Rosa Withers and has one child, Violet Marie; and Charles F., who married Myra Lane and has two chil- dren, Harold and Mildred. In 1867 Mr. Maxwell removed to Shelby county, Iowa, and after residing near Harlan for a time he located near Corley, where he made his home until 1883. That year witnessed his arrival in Gage county, Nebraska, and he has since been identified with the agricultural interests of this locality. He is to-day the owner of a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he has erected a good house and barn at a cost of ten thousand dollars. There is also a nice grove and orchard which add greatly to the beauty of the place, making it one of the most attractive country homes of the county. The Republican party has always found in Mr. Maxwell a stanch supporter of its principles, and he is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Both he and his wife belong to the Methodist church, and they are numbered among the most highly respected and es- teemed citizens of their community. WILLIAM RETCHLESS. William Retchless, one of the old settlers and prominent citi- zens of Liberty township, Gage county, Nebraska, is one of the honored veterans of the Civil war. His career as a soldier commenced with his enlistment at Lockport, New York, August 7, 1862, for three years in the Nineteenth New York Light Artillery, under Captain William Stall and Captain E. W. Rogers. His company was taken into the Army 468 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. of the Potomac. He participated in battle of Suffolk, Virginia, defense of Washington, Wilderness, and Spottsvlvania and was there wounded. He served until February 20, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. The birth of Mr. Retchless occurred in Cambridge, England, Octo- ber 4, 1844. He is a son of John and Esther (Smith) Retchless, both natives of England, who came to the United States in 1847, making the voyage in thirty-four days. He was reared in New York state, and was married in Niagara county, March 11, 1867, to Salina Humphrey, who was born in England, a daughter of William and Esther Molton Humphrey, both of England. William Humphrey died at the age of forty-three years in New York, and his wife now resides in Niagara county. New York. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs Retchless, namely : Alta Pope, Alice Hedricks, Alma Dewey, Frank, Charles, of New York, Fred, Edward, Jessie, Grace and Willie. In 1876 Mr. Retchless removed to Pawnee county, Nebraska, and there remained until 1883, when he located in Liberty township. Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased a two hundred-acre farm. He now has one of the finest pieces of property in the community. His house is a comfortable residence, and his barns and outbuildings are in good order, while the farm is well stocked and a good windmill pro- vides w-ater. He conducts a general farming and stock-raising busi- ness and has been very successful. In politics he is a Republican, and strongly advocates the principles of that party. 'He is also' a G. A. R. man, and is connected with the John E. Ingham Post at Pawnee city, Nebraska. Both he and his wife make all visitors welcome to their delightful home, and they have many friends throughout the entire county, where they are so well and favorably known. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 469 HIRAM SCHOONOVER. Hiram Schoonover, a fruit farmer in the precinct of Brownville, has made his home in this locaHty during the past nineteen years. He was born in Pennsylvania on the 24th of December, 1831, but when a small boy was taken from his native place to Mason county, Illinois. His father, Dennis Schoonover, was also a native of the Keystone state, where he followed agricultural pursuits until his removal to Illinois, where in the summer of 1863, at the age of sixty-six years, he acci- dentally shot himself, leaving a family of eight children, three sons and five daughters. The mother of these children, Anna Wise, had died in Mason county, Illinois, about 1857, when fifty-four years of age. Their eight children were as follows : Almira, who was born in 1829, is now the widow Lane and resides in Mason county; Hiram; Martha, the wife of Hugh Fannin, of Illinois; Hettie Sapp, deceased; Jacob, a farmer in Fulton county, Illinois; Wilson, who' was a soldier in the Civil war, and died at the age of twenty-one years ; Sally Ann, a widow residing in Mason county; and Mahala, who died at the age of ten years. Hiram Schoonover received but limited educational advantages during his youth, and remained at home until his marriage, although from the age of twenty-three years he had been erriployed by others, three years of the time remaining on one farm in Cass county, Illinois, where his services were highly appreciated. In the spring of 1862, from Bath, Mason county, Illinois, he enlisted for serv,ices in the Civil war, entering Company F, Fifty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry, for three years. On the 27th of the following June he was wounded at Kenesaw Mountain, Tennessee, the ball passing through his left arm, candying away his right thumb, unjointing his index finger and making a ghastly wound in his right cheek. He was a universal favorite with 470 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. his comrades and the officers, was never refused a pass, and universally received the prize on dress parade. Mr. Schoonover was honorably dis- charged at Springfield, Illinois, and for his services during the war was awarded a pension of eight dollars a month, but this has since been in- creased and during the past ten or twelve years he has been receiving seventeen dollars a month. On the 28th of February, 1865, in Mason county, Illinois, Mr. Schoonover was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Floss, a native of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Joseph Floss, a farmer and gunsmith by occupation. Mrs. Schoonover now has in her posses- sion a rifle which he made. He wedded Mary Jane Ryter, a native of Ireland, while he was born in Pennsylvania. They reared but four of their eight children, having lost two sons and two daughters in infancy, and their living children are : Sarah Ann Williams, who resides in California and has eight children: Mrs. Schoonover; and Emma Wil- liams, who resides in Illinois and is the mother of two children. Mrs. Floss was called to her final rest in 1886, when sixty-seven years of age, but her hubsand survived until 1892, passing away when eighty years of age. In her native land she was an Episcopalian although a member of a Catholic family, and in this country she was connected \Vith the Methodist church. From Pennsylvania this couple moved to Illinois in 1848, and in 1865 came to Nemaha county, Nebraska, settling in Brownville, where they purchased lots and built a cottage home. Mrs. Schoonover was married when eighteen years of age, and has become the mother of nine children, as follows : Mary Ellen, the wife of Frank Millsaps, a resident of Idaho and the mother of two sons; Henry resides on a ranch in South Dakota and has two sons and a daugh- ter; Clara Dooley died in 1903, leaving a little daughter; Ollie Frost re- sides in Chicago, and has been twice married, having one son by her first SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 471 husband, Willard Foster; Anna Foxley resides in Portland, Oregon, and has one little daughter; Effie Marshall makes her home in South Dakota ; Hiram Francis died at the age of four years ; Mary Eva assists her mother at home ; and David is seventeen years of age, and in addi- tion to assisting his father with the work of the home farm is also em- ployed by others. In 1 88 1, over twenty-two years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Schoonover pur- chased two acres of land in Brownville precinct, erected their pleasant home and also planted their fine orchard, consisting of about three hun- dred apple and peach trees, besides much small fruit. Many years ago Mr. Schoonover became converted to the Christian religion in the Metho- dist Episcopal church, but ere his probation had expired he joined the Baptist denomination, and was immersed before going to war. In his political affiliations he is a Prohibitionist from the ranks of the Republi- can party. He is a member of G. A. R., Ben Thompson Post, of Brownville. JONATHAN CARPENTER. J- Jonathan Carpenter, of Liberty, Gage county, Nebraska, is one of the old settlers of this locality, having come here in 1879, and he is one of the veterans of the Cival war. tlis enlistment took place in Washington county, Maryland, August 27, 1861, in Company B, First Maryland Cavalry, under Colonel Cole and Captain Firey, and he was honorably discharged September 17, 1864. Mr. Carpenter was born in Washington county, Maryland, July 31, 1841, the same year of the birth of King Edward of England. He is a son of Jeremiah Carpenter, and a grandson of Henry Carpenter, a 472 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. German by birth. The family was originally, known by the name of Zimmerman, which translated means Carpenter. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Susan Cross, and she was also bom in Washington county, Maryland, and was a daughter of Colonel Cross, an officer in the Revolutionary war. Our subject's parents moved to Ne- braska and settled at Ellis, where the mother died at the age of eighty years, and the father still lives there aged eighty-six. They had the following children : Henry, Jonathan, Jerry, Theodore, Levi, Josiah, Martin, Amanda, Alice. Both parents were members of the Church of God. Jonathan Carpenter resided in Maryland until he came west in 1879. His marriage occurred in Pennsylvania in 1866 to Maria L. Baughman, who comes of a good German family. She is a daughter of Jacob Baugh- man. In 1879 Mr. Carpenter settled in Gage county, where he has since made his home and become one of the prosperous men of the com- munity. His children were two in number : Henry of Seneca, Kansas, who married Jennie Stevens and has four children, viz. — Floyd,. Dewey, Roy and Herbert; Amanda E., who died young. In politics Mr. Car- penter is a Republican and has held several township offices with credit to himself. In G. A. R. matters he is very prominent and enjoys the reunions where he meets old comrades. Frank, genial in manner, upright in living, he is highly esteemed, and his word is literally taken to be as good as his bond. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. " 473 ABRAM F. MANLEY. Abram F. Manley, justice of the peace, of Liberty, Gage county, Nebraska, is one of the honored residents of the city and a veteran of the Civil war. His career as a soldier commenced with his enlistment in Company G, Eighty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in Ripley county, Indiana, Captain George Morris and Colonel Ben Spooner commanding. After a long and faithful service he participated in the Richmond campaign and in the review at Washington and received his honorable discharge in June, 1865, after which he returned home to Indiana. Abram F. Manley was born in Ripley county, Indiana.^ October 14, 1839. He is a son of Martin Manley, who was bom in Vermont, and a grandson of James Manley, who with two brothers served in the Revo- lutionary war. Tlie mother of our subject was Huldah Holford, who came of an old New York family of Scotch ancestry. Both parents are now deceased, the father passing away in Illinois when sixty-five years of age, while the mother died in the same state, aged seventy-five years. The children born to this worthy couple were as follows : Mar- tin, Emory, Abram, Mary E., Martha and two who died young. The father was a farmer by occupation and a worthy man. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist church. Mr. Manley was reared in Ripley county on the old farm, and at- tended the little log cabin school. In 1861 he was married to Naomi Clark. She is a daughter of Thomas Clark, of England, a most estima- ble man. In 1866 Mr. Manley removed to Pawnee county and settled on Mission creek, where he made his home until 1900, when he located in Liberty. The following children have been born to himself and wife: Elmer E., Charles, Thomas E., Arthur C, Floyd, Lillian and Francis E. Mr. Manley is a stanch Republican and takes an interest 474 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. in local affairs. For many years he has been a justice of the peace, and administers justice with rare ability and fairness. He is a member of the G. A. R., W. F. Barry Post of Liberty, and is very popular in that organization. JESSE CROOK. Jesse Crook, is one of the stalwarts of southeastern Nebraska. Of the nearly eighty years which he has passed over since he came into the world in White county of the old commonwealth of Tennessee, one bright day dated September 12, 1826, fifty of these cycles of time, come August 28, 1904, will have been spent, to the lasting welfare and benefit of the community, in Richardson county, Nebraska. Few, if any men, can claim so long an active career in this county, and none have enjoyed a more prosperous and worthy period of years. When, on the date mentioned, he located on his one hundred and sixty acres of land one mile north of Falls City, he made the first farming settlement on the prairie of Richardson county. He had made the journey from his na- tive state with three yoke of oxen, arriving in Andrew county, Missouri, in the fall of 1853, and proceeding the final stage of his migration in the following year. He had two prairie schooners, and during the six weeks and two days of his trip camped out all the time, making a ver- itable picnic of the affair, and living high on various kinds of wild game. He had sold his land in Tennessee and came to this country with some capital. While in Andrew county, he worked one of his brother's farms, and on arriving at his place in Nebraska he built a rough log house, with a stick and mud chimney, puncheon floor and shook roof, being sixteen by eighteen feet in dimesions, and with a small SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. A7S lean-to for a bedroom. During his first year's residence he split enough rails to fence in forty acres, which land he broke and raised twenty-five bushels of corn from each acre. Such was the advent and the first settlement of his venerable old settler. Since those early days he has been the owner of twenty thousand acres of Nebraska soil, taken altogether. He purchased ten thousand acres of the Sauk reservation, having bought it from the government in sealed bids of from $1.25 to $1.40 per acre. lie has disposed of all his farm lands, and his realty property now consists of a block of lots and a business block in Falls City. His life throughout has been marked by industry, thrift, keen and sagacious management and most honorable and upright methods of dealing with his fellow men. His solid ability achieved success regardless of the fact that he was without advantages in his youth, and only six weeks were taken from his years as a farmer boy in Tennessee in attendance at the rudest kind of log schoolhouse, with a dirt floor, beside which the country school of to-day would seem a palace. Mr. Crook's father was John Crook, and for many generations in the history of the family the name John has headed a family. His great- grandfather John was a Virginian, and died suddenly of heart disease at the age of fifty-five. Grandfather Crook was a Tennessee planter, owning many slaves, and his life was not terminated until he had reached the great age of ninety-seven years. John Crook, the father of Jesse, was born in Virginia in 1779, was reared in North Carolina, and came to Tennessee with his parents in 1807. He was married in 1803 to Miss Mary Lee, a relative of the famous military family of Lees, and she was born in Roan county. North Carolina, in 1784, and was also married in that county. She survived her husband about three years, and both passed away and are interred in White county, Tennessee. 476 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. She was seventy-eigHt years old at the time of her death, and her hus- band was eighty. They were the parents of a large family, and all of the name seem to have been gifted with long lives, for the circle of their children was not broken for many years. The record of the children is as follows: Nancy died in Tennessee in 1852, leaving ten children-, John died in White county, Tennessee, at eighty, the father of nine children ; Isaac, who was an early northwest Missouri settler and who came to Nebi-aska in 1856, died at Mineral Springs, Missouri, at the age of seventy-two, and had a family of nine children, one son being a prominent county official; Allen came to Jackson comity, Missouri, in 1832, was a resident near Savannah, Missouri, until the Civil war, then moved west to Denver, where he died at the age of eighty-two, leaving two children; Charles, who had a wife and one child, died in Tennessee at the age of sixty-five; William, who was the first of tht family to die, passed away in Jackson county, Missouri, in 1835, at the age of twenty-one; Ruth Gillam, a widow, resides in Tennessee and is well on toward her eightieth year; Mary McBroom died in Tennessee at the age of sixty, having been the mother of ten children; Jesse is the next in order of birth; Rebecca Stanton died in Tennessee when about sixty years old, having had seven children; Elizabeth Harper, now a Mrs. Clark, resides near Bonham, Texas, and has five children. Mr. Jesse Crook was married, February 28, 1847, to Miss Eliza Whittaker, who was born in Orange county. North Carolina, May 3, 1830, a daughter of Isaac and Sally (Clinton) Whittaker, who were born in North Carolina in 1800 and 1802, respectively. Her father was a farmer, and he and his wife moved to Tennessee in 1832. Mrs. Crook was the third of their children, and the others are : Mrs. Melinda Holmes, a widow in Texas, still active at the age of seventy-nine and with six living children; Mrs. Nancy Ramsey died leaving three children; Wil- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 477 liam Preston Whittaker, who came to Nebraska in 1855 and in the fol- lowing year went to Colorado, still farms in the latter state, and has som'e eight children; Hickman, born in Tennessee in 1834, came to Nebraska in 1886, and died here in 1894, leaving nine children; James, Bm^t and Thomas Whittaker. Mr. and Mrs. Crook have had three children. John, who was born in Tennessee in 1848, died in Nebraska at the age of twenty-one. Sally, born in Tennessee, March 2, 1849, married August Schoenheit, who died leaving two children ; she is now the wife of Judge James Wilhite, of Falls City. W. H. Crook, born in Tennessee, May 9, 185 1, is a leading hardware merchant of Falls City. During the fifty years of Mr. Cook's residence in this county he has spent most of it in Falls City. He moved into town from his farm in 1858, returning to the country three years later, but since 1864 has made his home in the city, although he has moved from one resi- dence to another about six times, and has built and sold sold many houses. He built the first hotel, the Crook House, in the county in 1858; conducted it for a time, then sold, and afterward built another hotel, which he ran for three years. He carried on the Crook boarding house for fifteen years. He has been at his present nice residence for the past five years, and expects to meet the final summons at this home. He is a Democrat in politics, but throughout his long and successful career has never sought or accepted office. He and his wife have been of the Methodist faith for forty years, although both come of Baptist households. They are still hale and hearty and fine examples of Ne. braska citizenship. 478 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. REV.DANIEL L. McBRIDE. Rev. Daniel L. McBride, pastor of the Baptist church of Liberty, Gage county, Nebraska, and one of the leading men of the community, was born December 31, 1849, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He is a son of a farmer, David McBride, who came of Scotch ancestry. His mother is Hannah Taylor, who was born in England, but was reared and educated in New Jersey. "■ Rev. McBride was reared in his native county. His mother died when he was ten years of age and he soon after shipped as a cabin boy on a vessel of the coast. After serving as a cabin boy he became a sailor and shipped before the mast for some time. When fifteen years of age he entered the service of the United States as a soldier, in Febru- ary, 1865, with Company G, Two Hundred and Thirteenth Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry, and served until November, 1865. After his honorable discharge, he entered Wyoming Institute of Delaware tO' better fit himself for life's battles as his experiences clearly showed him that if he would succeed, more knowledge was necessary. Finish- ing a course in this institution he taught school in Delaware and also two terms in Illinois. During the time he taught he was studying for the ministry, finally being ordained in 1874. At the age of twenty-three years he was married to Mary Bellamy, a native of Illinois and a daughter of David Bellamy. Our subject filled the pulpit at several places in Illinois for thirteen years. In Feb- ruary, 1890, he moved to McCook, Nebraska, and engaged in ranching in connection with his ministerial work there for ten years. During his stay there he was elected to the state legislature of Nebraska for the session of 1894 and 1895, and filled the office with credit. In Jan- uary, 1 90 1, he was called to the Baptist church of Liberty, and he ac- cepted. Rev. McBride is an earnest and a very successful church worker. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 479 The family of children born to Mr. and Mrs. McBride, are as fol- lows: Mrs. Hannah Hayden, of Frontier county, Nebraska; Emma; Fred, of this county; Lewis; Susie; Howard; Ruth; and Margaret; Bessie, who died at the age of twenty years; Irene, who passed away when twenty-two years of age; and Frank, who died at the age of seventeen years. In politics our subject is independent in his views, and always supports the men and measures he believes of the most merit. ALANSON M. BORST. Alanson M. Borst, who has lived in easy retirement in Peru for the past twelve years, has a most successful record as a farmer and business man. He has lived in Nebraska since 1861, and from a small farm, with primitive surroundings and equipments, steadily progressed along all lines of his endeavor until he ranks as one of the prosperous men of Nemaha county. He has passed the seventieth milestone of life, and has reason to be proud of what he has accomplished since beginning his active career. Mr. Borst was born in Schoharie county. New York, April 11, 183 1, descended from a Hollander who came to the United States before the Revolution. His father, John Borst, was born in Schoharie county, New York, in 1792, and died in Oswego county, New York, in 1876, and he and his wife, who preceded him in death by three months, rest in the cemetery at Hannibal Center, New York. On February 28, 182 1, he was married to" Miss Elizabeth Billington, who was born on the Mohawk Flats, New York, in 1788, a daughter of James Billing- ton, a hotel-keeper. They were the parents of the following children : Sally Jane, born September 17, 1822, died at the age of nine years; 48o SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Myron, born January y, 1824, lives retired in Houston, Texas, and has one son and one daughter; Theron, born July 30, 1825, is a farmer in Kilbourn, Wisconsin, and has two daughters and one son ; Christiana, born September 3, 1827, is the widow of Squire Fisk, in Rochester, New York, and has four sons and two daughters; Henry and James, twins, were born April 9, 1829, and Henry is a widower, living in Nance county, Nebraska, and James is a millwright in Los Angeles county, California, and has one daughter; Alanson M. Borst is next of the children ; and Luther is farming the old homestead in New York. Alanson M. Borst was reared on a farm, and up to the age of sev- enteen had a common school education. He then entered the Falley Seminary, and later went to the Ypsilanti, Michigan, School, and was also a student in Kalamazoo College. At the age of twenty he taught his first school in Oswego county. New York, and during the wiiiter season was engaged in teaching for eleven 3'ears. He taught six terms in Michigan, and fourteen terms in Nebraska. He came to Nebraska in 1861 from southeastern Kansas. After his marriage, in 1865, he began on a farm of eighty acres, and he now has three hundred and forty-three acres in Nemaha county, Nebraska, which with its excellent improvements is worth sixty dollars an acre. He also owns a quarter section in Nance county, Nebraska. In 1891 he built his present sub- stantial, two-story and basement, brick residence, and after it was com- pleted left the farm and has since made Peru his home. He also erected a frame house near by, which he rents. He owns the brick block on the corner of Fifth and California streets, and also a half interest in the opera house building. April 23, 1865, Mr. Borst married Miss Frances Snyder, who was born in Wood county, Ohio, March 22, 1846, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Sprankle) Snyder. Her father was a farmer, and in SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 481 1852 came to Missouri and in 1857 to Nemaha county, Nebraska. He pre-empted a quarter section and bought one hundred and sixty acres southeast of Peru. He died in 1880 and his wife in 1888. They were prosperous, and left their children a good property. They had eight children, as follows : Sprankle Snyder, who is a fruit-grower in Cali- fornia ; Louisa, the wife of Mr. Cooke, died at the age of thirty, leaving two sons ; Mrs. Caroline McReynolds died aged about forty-five, leaving seven sons and one daughter; Rebecca Worrell died leaving two sons and two daughters; Henry lives in South Dakota and has two sons and two daughters; Mrs. Borst is the sixth of the children; Rosetta married August Quante, and is the mother of a large family of boys and girls ; and Frank lives on a part of the old home place on Honey creek. ; Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Borst: Jennie graduated from the Peru normial school in 1888 and is now a teacher in Seattle, Washington; John Henry died at the age of thirteen months; Annie Bell graduated in the 1904 class of the Nebraska State Normal, is a teacher and is principal of one of the ward schools in South Omaha, Nebraska; Delia M. graduated in 1898 and is a teacher at South Omaha; Lillian, a student in the normal, has especial talent with the brush and pencil, and many of her creditable productions adorn the walls of the home. Mr. Borst is a Master Mason, and has always been a stanch Republican. He is a veteran school teacher. Mrs. Borst is a member of the Methodist church. 482 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. , JOHN ALBERT LAWRENCE.. John Albert Lawrence, who is one of the foremost farmers of Lon- don precinct, Nemaha county, Nebraska, was bom in Jones county, Iowa, June i, 1857, the fifth of the nine children and the fourth of the seven sons of Samuel and Rose (Moyer) Lawrence, whose family history will be found in the sketch of Sherifif A. L. Lawrence in this work. Mr. Lawrence was reared on the home farm in Nemaha county, where his father had settled in 1863, and he had a fair district schooling and two years in the Brownville high school. He remained at home until he was married in his twenty-second year to Miss Mattie Collins, one of his schoolmates, in 1879. She lived only a year and a half longer, and died leaving two children. Allie is the wife of J. C. Penney, in London precinct, and has two sons ; an infant daughter died at the age of six months. On Christmas day of 1882, Mr. Lawrence married Miss Virginia Lindsay, a daughter of William and Phebe Ann Frances (Bryant) Lind- say. William Lindsay was born in county Londonderry, Ireland, August I, 1812. His wife was born in Kentucky September 25, 1826, a daughter of Daniel Columbus and and Elizabeth Darget (Kershaw) Bryant, who were Kentucky planters and Qwners of slaves. The former died in Kentucky, and the; latter in Nemaha county, sleeping in the Brownville cemetery. William Lindsay and his wife came from Sangamon county, Illinois, to Brownville in 1863,. and they farmed one season on the William Mclninch farm. In 1864 they moved to the one hundred and sixty acres which comprises the homestead which Mr. Lawrence now owns, and which they bought at eleven dollars an acre and which is now worth eighty dollars an acre. There were but slight improvements here then, and Mr. Lindsay built their first house of two rooms. Th^y had sold their farm in Illinois, and came here SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 483 with some means. They were married in 1849 ™ Kentucky, where their first two children were born, and the remainder in Illinois, as follows : Lucy M., the wife of C. W. Butler, died in Oklahoma in December, 1 90 1, leaving five of her seven children; Margaret E. is the wife of Marion Willard, a Kansas farmer, and has four children living; Nancy Jane is the wife of W. W. Lawrence, in Nemaha county, and has two children; Robert A. is a merchant at Bessie, Oklahoma, and has one daughter; Letitia F. is the wife of A. W. Sultzbaugh in Lonclon pre- cinct, and has two sons; Mrs. Lawrence is the sixth in order of birth; Jesse T. Lindsay is a farmer in Jackson county, Kansas; Phebe A., the wife of W. Edwin Penney, died in Arkansas leaving five children living. The mother of these children died at what is now Mr. Law- rence's homestead, on December 24, 1889, at the age of sixty-three years and four months, and the father died December 28, 1895. The latter was a stonemason, which trade he followed both in Illinois and Nebraska. Among other things which he constructed, was the foundation of the first Cumberland Presbyterian church in this section, which his wife called Mt. Pleasant church, and he was one of the first elders and served as such till his death. He had been a soldier in the English army, and came to the United States in 1837, at the age of twenty-five, but a few years later returned and brought over his parents and all his brothers and sisters except one sister, who married in Ireland. He planted the old orchard here and the towering . soft maples and cotton- woods, which shade the driveway from the road to the house. Mr. Lawrence has planted the young orchard of thirty acres of apple and peach trees. Mr. Lawrence was brought from Iowa to Nemaha county at the age of four years, and was reared here. He lived on the old Lawrence homestead until April, 1886, when he went to Valley county, Nebraska, 484 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. and bought one hundred and sixty acres, on which he farmed for nine years. He then sold and bought another tract, on which he farmed for three years, and then, in March, i8g8, came to the Lindsay home- stead. He carries on general farming, growing from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and sixty acres of corn, with an average annual yield of fifty bushels to the acre. His principal live-stock is hogs, of which he raises from one hundred and fifty to two hundred, although the cholera has often made fearful ravages among them. He keeps thirty head of graded cattle, and feeds about two carloads each year. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have two children, Iva Myrtle, born De- cember 30, 1894, and Hazel Murl, born May 12, 1898. Mr. Lawrence is a Master Mason, and affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a Repub- lican, like the rest of his family. He and his wife were reared Pres- byterians, and she has been a teacher in the Sunday-scfhool. Mrs. Lawrence's family was well represented in the great wars of the repub- lic, her oldest uncle, Robert Lindsay, having died in the Mexican war, the youngest uncle, Issah Bryant, was killed at the battle of Resaca, and Jesse T. Bryant was killed at Parkers Cross Roads, Tennessee. These were her mother's brothers. EDWARD W. SNYDER. Edward W. Snyder, owner of what is considered the best farm in Nemaha county, in Douglas precinct, three miles east of Auburn, has lived here since the fall of 1867, and during the subsequent thirty-five years or more has taken rank as one of the leading agriculturists and and citizens of this section. Although of German birth and parentage. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 485 he has made a record of uncompromising loyalty in his adopted land, and his worth as a man and citizen is recognized wherever his individ-. uality has touched the common life of the county. Mr. Snyder was born in Hessen, Germany, February 17, 1840, a son of John Snyder, who was bom in the same village, Spetzwingle, in 1794, and died in Illinois, in December, 1883, and who was the only son of his father, vvho died in 1813, but his widow survived until her ninetieth year. John Snyder was a government gamekeeper in the old country, owning his own farm. His first wife was a Miss Hose, by whom he had three children, and after her death he was married to Eva Hammell, the mother of Edward W. Snyder. The children of these two marriages were as follows: Henry, a retired farmer eighty-seven years old in Bureau county, Illinois, and has twelve children; John, aged eighty-five, is also a retired farmer in the same county, and has one daughter living; Catherine, the wife of Andrew Schlitt, died in Illinois about seventy years old, and had thirteen children. Julia, the first child of the second marriage, was the wife of Jacob Schofifer, and died in Nebraska at the age of seventy-two, the mother of nine children;' Wil- liam, who crossed the plains in 1850, was ^sheriff and treasurer of Butte county, California, and died there in 1893 at the age of seventy- five, having had five children ; Charles, who was a miner in the mountains of California, whither he went in 1851, died about i860, unmarried; Martha, in California, is the widow of Jacob Miller, and has n^ne children; John died in California in 1893, leaving four sons and one daughter; Ed\vard W. is the next in order; Henry, a well-to-do retired farmer of South Auburn, has his third wife and one son atid one- daugh- ter living. The children were all born in Germany, and came to Amer- ica in 1847 with their father, landing in New York after a sixty-days' passage and coming thence to Bureau county, Illinois. Their father had 486 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. about eight hundred dollars, with which he purchased forty acres, and later eighty acres, on which he spent the remainder of his life. His wife died about 1894, and they were both Lutherans. Edward W. Snyder was reared on the home farm, and his limited educational advantages were received in Germany and this county. In 1858 he left home, and, following the example of some of his brothers, went to California via the Isthmus of Panama. He mined in the placers in Eldorado county for some time, and was in the meat business in Vol- cano, spending five years altogether on the Pacific slope, and did well. He returned to Illinois, and had a forty-eight acre farm for a few years. He sold this in 1867, and in the fall came to the present place in •Nebraska and bought one hundred and sixty acres, with fair improve- ments, for twenty-five hundred dollars cash down. He later bought fif- teen acres for three hundred dollars, and then thirty for six hundred, so that he now owns two hundred and five acres of land that cannot be surpassed within the confines of this county. He could get one hundred dollars an acre for his land at present, which is a high price for im- proved land even in these days of prosperity. He has a fine orchard of four acres, some of which he planted as early as 1871, and the 'last in 1877. In one year he sold seven hundred and fifty dollars' worth ot fruit, besides what he kept for his own use. He grows from seventy- five to eighty acres of corn, averaging fifty bushels to the acre, and sometimes as high as eighty bushels, and sows from twenty-five to forty acres to wheat. Hte keeps ten or twelve horses, from fifteen to forty high-grade shorthorns, with a few blooded shorthorn cows. For a time he made a business raising hogs, but the constant ravages of the cholera made this unprofitable. He has built his own nice residence, barns and others buildings, and has a model farm, both in appearance and in general productivity, a credit to its owner and to the county. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 487 June 12, 1864, Mr. Snyder was married to. Miss Julia Wagner, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, July 14, 1844, a daughter of Andrew and Juliana (Hill) Wagner, the former an overseer of the highways in Germany. The Wagner family came to this country in 1848, being six weeks en voyage, and settled in Bureau county, Illinois, on one hundred and fifteen acres. They brought their daughter Julia, and had lost two children in Germany, and those born in this country were : John, who died in infancy ; Mary, died in childhood ; Elizabeth and Adam, twins, the former of whom died when one year old, and the later is a farmer in Richardson county, Nebraska, with four chil- dren living; and a daughter that died in infancy. Andrew Wagner was born in 181 1 and died in Illinois in 1869, and his widow died in this Nebraska home, whither she had come after the death of her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have had nine children : George, bom in Bureau county, Illinois, May 8, 1865, is a farmer of Oklahoma, where he has one hundred and sixty acres, besides land in Nebraska, and is unmarried; Dora is the wife of William McKinney, a farmer on Honey creek, and has two children; Miss Emma is at home; Charles is a farmer in Nemaha county, and is married ; Andrew is a barber and farmer of Oklahoma; Miss Elizabeth is at home; Bertha is a teacher in the home district; William is on the home farm; and John Cleve- land is a youth of eighteen at home. All the children had good school advantages, and the six younger ones in the high school. Bertha, John, William and Elizabeth at the normal, and Charles and Andrew at the Atchison (Missouri) College, a Lutheran school. Mr. Snyder is a Democrat in politics. A few years ago his friends nominated him for the office of county commissioner, and although he ran ahead of 488 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. his ticket he was defeated by the rival candidate, John H. Shook. He was roadmaster for two years. ISAAC HUYCK. Isaac Huyck, until recently one of the prominent residents of Sher- man township, Gage county, Nebraska, located in this neighborhood in 1884 since which time' he has made it his home. He is a veteran of the Civil war and enlisted in May, 1861, in the First Illinois Volun- teer Infantry for three months' service, but was not called into the field. His second enlistment took place August 25, 1861, when he en- tered the First Battalion, Thirteenth United States Infantry in Com- pany A, Captain Charles Ewing and Colonel William Tecumseh Sher- man (later General Sherman) commanding. Mr. Huyck served for four years and three months and participated in the following battles: Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Rolling Fork, Black Bayou, Haines Bluff, Champion Hills, Vicksburg, Jackson, Colliersville, Missionary Ridge. Afterwards he enlisted, February 13, 1865, in Company K, Second Regiment, Hancock's Veteran Corps, serving one year in the Army of the Potomac. He was in no important battle during the rest of the war. He was in Winchester when our grand Lincoln was killed —a wild night when tough old veterans wept like children. He had revenge later, when on guard at arsenal where the conspirators were hanged, he holding a guard on right of main entrance. He has reason to be very proud of his record in the Civil war, and much more might be given were there space. On February 13, 1866, after a long and faithful service, he was honorably discharged and returned home. Isaac Huyck was born in Jefferson county, New York, March 20, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 489 1841, the same year that King Edward of England came into the world. He is a son of John W. Huyck, also born in New York, and his father came of Holland Dutch stock, the family settling in New York and being then known as Von Huyck. Later the Von was dropped and members of it became identified with American history. The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Miriam Herrick, and her father served in the war of 181 2. In 1845 t^'c parents of our subject came across the lakes to Water- town, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, when the land was all unsettled. Upon the lot he took up, the father, who was a carpenter, built a com- fortable house and also found employment in erecting houses for others. Later he built mills and factories and bravely bore his part as one of the pioneers of the country. He lived in the first house built in the now prosperous city of Watertown. His death occurred when he was forty-one years of age. Fraternally he was a Mason, while in relig- ious views he was a Universalist. The mother lived to be seventy years of age, and she was noted for her kindness of heart and chari- ties. The following children were born to this worthy couple: An- drew ; Achsah F. ; Himina ; Isaac ; John, who served in the Forty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Isaac Huyck owns and operates a fine home farm of two hundred and eighty acres in Sherman township, and also owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Island Grove township. On the home farm he has a good orchard of ten acres, and both farms are well stocked with cattle, horses and swine. His house is a very comfortable one, while his bams and other buildings are in excellent condition. In March, 1904, the family moved into Pawnee city, where they have a fine residence property. At Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Mr, Huyck was married to Mary Helen 490 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Jewett, who is a native of New York, and a daughter of B. Hull Jewett and Emma J. (Cornes) Jewett. The parents died at the age of fifty-three years in Wisconsin. In politics Mr. Jewett was a Dem- ocrat. He and his wife had these children, viz. : George H., Henry C, Charles W., Edward H. atid Mrs. Huyck. The children born to our subject and wife are as follows : Emma, wife of H. R. Jones, of Paw- nee county; John H., of this township; Harry D. ; and Gilmer A'. Irt politics Mr. Huyck is a Republican and has held various offices in the township with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constitu- ents. For thirty-eight years he has been a Mason, and is an honored member of the G. A. R. post, and is now commander of the local post. Both he and his wife are highly esteemed by all who know them and they are justly numbered among the leading people of their com- munity. W. L. HEILMAN, M. D. W. L. Heilman, M. D., physician and surgon of Sterling, Nebras- ka, and proprietor of Heilman drug store, has been a resident of John- son county for twenty-two years, having located here in 1881. Dr. Heilman has been a druggist for seventeen years, and received his degree of M.D. in 1897. He was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1854, and is a son of J. and Mary A. (Reitz) Heilman, both natives of Pennsylvania and members of sub- stantial families originating in Germany. By trade the father was a carpenter and general mechanic and became quite prominent in his calling. He removed to Nebraska and located at Waverly, where he died at the age of sixty-five years. In religious belief the father was a Lutheran, and an estimable man. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 491 Dr. Heilman received a good literary education and after finish- ing his school days taught for five years in Pennsylvania, at the expira- tion of which time he entered into a drug business and began the study of medicine at Tecumseh. The Doctor is well known throughout Johnson county as a physician and druggist, and is a very close stu- dent of both branches of the healing art. He is popular with all classes both as a physician and business man. On May 25, 1881, he was married at Tecumseh to Belle C. Davis, a native of Illinois. She comes of an old established family of that state. She was born at Jerryville, Illinois, and is the daughter of F. C. Davis, who served gallantly in the Civil war. Dr. Heilman is a Democrat in politics, but has never aspired to public office. Fratern- ally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and is very popular in that body. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife is a member of the Episcopal church. T. E. MASSEY, M. D. T. E. Massey, M. D., physician and surgeon of Crab Orchard, Nebraska, is one of the successful members of his profession in this county as well as a prominent citizen of the city. In addition to con- ducting a large general practice Dr. Massey owns and operates a drug store and carries a full line of druggist sundries. Dr. Massey was born in Caroline county, Virginia, in i860, and is a son of John P. and Elizabeth (Holloway) Massey, the former of whom was a manufacturer of Bowling Green, Virginia, and who died when our subject was still a child. The mother was born in Virginia, a daughter of Robert G. Holloway, an ative of Virgiina who served 492 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. in the war of 1812. Both the father and mother of Dr. Massey come from old established Virginia families. Dr. Massey is a graduate of the Missouri University of Medi- cine, at Columbia, Missouri, in the class of 1882, from which institu- tion he received his degree of M. D. Later he graduated from the Kansas City Medical College in the class of 1896. For several years he practiced in Gage county, and in 1898 came to Crab Orchard, Ne- braska, since which time he has built up a large and flourishing prac- tice and become very popular with all classes of people. Dr. Massey was married in 1900 to Miss Lucy Laro, a native of Beattie, Kansas, and a daughter of John Laro. Politically Dr. Mas- sey is a stanch Democrat and a strong believer in the doctrines of Jefferson and Jackson. He is a member of the Johnson County and State Medical Societies, and is a warm advocate of all measures tending towards the education of the masses, good government and better con- ditions of morality. D. J. REID, M. D. D. J. Reid, M. D., physician and surgeon of Crab Orchard, Ne- braska, is one of the promising young physicians of Johnson county, and has been a resident of this state since 1883. His birth occurred in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, December 6, 1870, and he is a son of J. O. and Sarah (Gibbs) Reid, both natives of Canada, who removed to Iowa, and in 1883 to Nebraska, when Dr. Reid was a boy of thirteen. The family located in the western part of Nebraska, and there our subject was educated in the public schools and added to his store of information by studying at home. Having always had an inclination towards med- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 493 icine he devoted his spare time to the study of that science and was graduated in medicine from the Omaha Medical College with the de- gree of M. D. in 1902. Although he is yet a young man both in years and in his profession, he has attained a distinction which is remarka- ble, and is building up an excellent practice among the best people of Crab Orchard. Dr. Reid was married at Arapahoe, Nebraska, in 1894, to Sarah Harvey. She was born at Red Oak, Iowa, where she was reared and educated. Two children, Hazel and Muriel, have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Reid. He is a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is deservedly popular. Dr. Reid is a young man of fine presence, is courteous in manner and makes friends wherever he goes. SIMON TWEDELL. Simon Twedell, a prominent citizen of Vesta township, Johnson county, Nebraska, has resided here for over twenty years, and has made a record of unusual excellence . as a farmer and public-spirited member of the body politic. He has impressed his friends and asso- ciates as thorough and business-like in all he undertakes, and con- sicentious and honorable in every relation between man and man. HSs diligence and enterprise have won him a substantial reward since, his advent into Johnson county, and he is in the comfortable enjoyment of plenty gairied by past efforts. He is likewise esteemed as a veteran of the Civil war, in which he gave a loyal citizen's best service. Mr. Twedell was born in Schenectady county, New York, October 22, 1842, a son of William and Hannah (Hoffman) Twedell. The 494 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. former was born of Scotch parents and in Scotland not far from Ed- burgh, and came to the United States in young manhood. He died when his son Simon was two years old, and his wife died at the age of twenty-three. They had five children, and the three sons, Jacob, Thomas and Simon were soldiers. Jacob was killed at Malvern Hill; Thomas was killed at Cedar Creek under Sherman. Mr. Twedell was reared in New York, and was nineteen years old when he offered his services to the country. October 8, 1861, he en- listed in Company H, Thirty-fifth Indiana Infantry, vmder Captain Crow and Colonel John C. Walker. He saw sixteen months' service. He was sent south and took part in the battle of Shiloh, and was then transferred to the Army of the Potomac under Burnside, and was in the terrible conflicts of Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and about Petersburg, and was at Winchester when Sher- idan made his famous ride. He was wounded in the knee, but missed very few days from the ranks. After his time as a volunteer soldier had expired he joined the regular United States army, and after the war was sent to San Francisco, California, where he served in vari- ous campaigns against the Indians for two years. He was under Cap- tain Robinson and Colonel French in the Second United States Artil- lery. He was discharged with a fine record as a soldier, for he had seen five years of arduous campaigning during the most critical period of the nation's history. He early learned the trade of broom-maker, and after his return from the war he was in Butler county, Ohio, for some time, following his trade and engaged in farming. In 1883 he came to Johnson county, Nebraska, and located on a farrfi southwest of Tecumseh. He improved a farm of one hundred acres, and was very successful. He came to Vesta in 190T, and has a fine home at this place with plenty of fruit and a garden. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 495 Mr. Twedell was married in Butler county, Ohio, to Miss Eliza- beth lutzi, who was born and reared in that county, and has been a most devoted wife and mother. They had two children ; Mrs. Helen Griffin, of Tecumseh, who has four sons; and William, who died at the age of eighteen, after giving promise of splendid manhood and ripe devel- opment of powers; he was loved by all, and his loss is still deeply felt by his parents. Mr. Twedell is independent in political allegiance,; although Republican in principle. He affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, and is a member of the United Brethren church. WILLIAM L. CLARK. William L. Clark is one of the oldest settlers of this part of Nebraska, having lived in Pawnee and Johnson counties since 1867, which was the year of the admission of the territory to the Union. The surrounding country was then almost entirely uncultivated, the landscape presented only a view of prairie grass, timbered only along the streams, and some of the old denizens of the country in the shape of Indians and wild animals were still to be found. Railroads had not yet penetrated the territory, and Mr. Clark had to face truly pioneer conditions for the first few years. His energy and perseverance, how- ever, prevailed over the inertia of the past, and since the date of his coming he has been steadily advancing on the up-grade of prosperity. He is honored for what he has accomplished in a material way, and also for the worthy part he has played as a citizen, especially when he offered his services to the Uiiiion cause and followed the flag until the wounds of the conflict disabled him for active duty and compelled him to return to the peaceful farm and fireside. 496 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Mr. Clark was born in Fulton county, Illinois, November i8, 1838, of a family of early settlers in that state. His father, Michael Clark, was born of Irish parents from Dublin, and was married after coming to Fulton county, Illinois, to Rachel Smith, who was born in Virginia of an old family of that commonwealth. They had four children, a daughter, Mattie Jones, and the three sons were soldiers in the Civil war — ^Alanson, of the Thirty-second Illinois Infantry for four years, and he died in Fulton county; John, in the Eighty-sixth Illinois for three years, now lives in Sterling, Nebraska, and William L. William L. Clark lost his mother when he was three years old, and was reared by a Mrs. Jones. He spent his youth on a farm and was educated in the public schools, and for some time before the war lived in Peoria county, Illinois. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Com- pany I, Eighty-sixth Illinois Infantry, under Captain Phelenstock and Colonel Irons. The regiment rendezvoused at Peoria, Illinois, was then ordered to Louisville, in time to take part in the battle at Perry- ville. Here Mr. Clark was wounded in the right arm and in the right side, and soon after, while his regiment was scaling a stone wall, was struck in the head. He was senseless for a time, but was later removed to the field hospital, and after a partial recovery rejoined his regiment at Nashville. But he was incapable for active duty, and was discharged, as it was thought he could not live. He returned home and regained his strength under careful nursing at home. In 1867 he moved out to Nebraska and lived in Pawnee county until 1875, in which year he located in Johnson county, and has been a resident here for over a quarter of a century. He owns a nice farm of sixty-five acres just one mile from Vesta, and on it has a good home, all necessary improvements and some timber land, and has met with well deserved prosperity. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 497 November 3, 1859, Mr. Clark was married in Peoria, Illinois, to Miss Sarah Fuller, who has been a devoted wife and mother for over forty years. She was born and reared in Illinois, and was a daughter of Joseph and Elsie (Cowgill) Fuller, who both died in Illinois. Two of Mrs. Clark's brothers, Amos and John, were soldiers in the Civil war, members, respectively, of the Forty-seventh and Thirty-second Illinois regiments. Tlie following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clark : Daniel, born in Illinois^ lives five miles south of Tecumseh, and is engaged in the blacksmith, well and pump business, in com- pany with his brother Allen, of Vesta; he married Louisa Noyes, and they have had six children, Charles B., Enda, Bernice, Verna, and Ella and Daniel, deceased. John V., the second child of the family, lives near Vesta. Mrs. Mary Ross resides in Perry, Oklahoma. Judson, a widower, lives in Berlin, Nebraska, his three children, Cleo, Fay and Veda, live with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Clark, by whom they are loved as their own children. Mr. Clark is a Republican in poli- tics, and is a popular member of the Grand Army Post at Tecumseh. He is a Woodman of the World, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. BENJAMIN F. SHOWALTER. Benjamin F. Showalter, one of the prominent farmers of Maple Grove township, Johnson county, Nebraska, with postoffice at Vesta, ha: had a prosperous career both in this county and in the other places of his residence, and is everywhere known as a man of ability, industry, and honorable principles. He is esteemed as one of the remaining veterans of the Civil war, during which he served for three years and 498 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. was in the most brilliant and strenuous campaign of the entire con- flict. Mr. Showalter was born near Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, October 26, 1844, son of Daniel and Catherine (McCarran) Showal- ter, the former of German descent and a native of Pennsylvania and the latter born in Ohio. When Mr. Shov^alter was a baby the family moved to the then territory of Iowa, being pioneers of Washington connty, but later in life the parents came to Nebraska, where Daniel Showalter died at the age of seventy- two years and his wife at the age of seventy-five. They were members of the Baptist church, and highly respected people in whatever community they resided. There were six children in their family. Benjamin F. Showalter was reared on a pioneer farm in Iowa, and taught to work, gaining his schooling during the winter months in a log schoolhouse. He was eighteen years old when he enlisted from Washington county, in August, 1862, in Company A, Twenty-fifth Iowa Infantry, under Captain D. J. Palmer and Colonel George A. Stone. After being recruited and equipped in the camp at Mount Pleasant, the regiment was ordered south, where it took part in the battles of Helena, Arkansas, Chickasaw^ Bayou, Arkansas Post, all through the siege of Vicksburg, at Jackson, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, thence with Sherman in the Atlanta campaign, after the fall of Atlanta in the march to the sea, up through the Carol inas after Joe Johnston, and after his surrender on to Washington, where the grand pageant of the soldiers' review was held. Mr. Showalter was honorably discharged June 9, 1865, and after the muster out at Davenport, Iowa, went home to the peaceful duties of the farm. He lived in Iowa for some time, and in 1869 came to Nebraska. In 1901 he bought the fine one hundred and seventy acre farm known as the SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 499 Thomas Acker place, in Maple Grove township and a mile and a half from Vesta. This farm has all the modern improvements, a good house and ample barns, and he is doing well with his general farming and stock-raising operations. Mr. Showalter was married in 1867 to Miss Caroline A. Carter, who was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, a daughter of Hugh and Etama (Wyckoif) Carter, who both died in Washington county, Iowa. Hugh Carter engaged in the tin and hardware business; he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife died at the age of thirty-eight years, and she was a member of the Methodist church. There were six children, two sons and four daughters, in their family. Mr. and Mrs. Showalter have had six children : Anna C. is married and living in Ulysses, Nebraska; Daniel L. is in Lincoln, Ne- braska; Katie B. is at home; and Ella, Winnie and an infant are de- ceased. Mr. Showalter is now a Populist, having come over from the ranks af the Republican party. He is a well known Grand Army man, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. AVILLIAM BRANDOW. William Brandow is one of the most successful and progressive stock farmers of Richardson county, and his farm at Humboldt is a model of its kind. He keeps only the highest grades of cattle and hogs, and makes a specialty of breeding fine animals. He is aided in this en- terprise by his thrifty and business-like wife, and together they have built up a most profitable business. Their up-to-date methods and management have brought deserved rewards, and they rank among the foremost citizens of the county. 500 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Mr. Brandow has lived in Humboldt precinct since May i, 1869, and accordingly ranks among the old settlers. He was born in Upper Canada in 1850, and was brought to Chicago in the same year. His father, Moses Brandow, was born in Canada, March 12, 1820, and died in Humboldt precinct in 1 891. Grandfather Brandow was one of four brothers who came to America and settled in the Catskill moun- tains of New York and in Canada. He went to KeKalb county, Illi- nois, in 1850, but did not like the country and returned to Canada, but was not heard of afterward. Moses Brandow was one of eight chil- dren, five sons and three daughters. He was a carpenter by trade, and for a time owned and operated a farm in Illinois. He came to Ne- braska with five hundred dollars in cash, and paid eight hundred dol- lars for a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, with a log house and a few improvements, and passed the remainder of his life on this place, most of which makes up the present farmstead of his son William, who bought out the other heirs. Moses Brandow married Phebe Woods, who was born in Canada in 182 1^ and died in this county in 1892. TRey were married in 1838, and had seven children: A daughter died in infancy ; John is a mechanic in Illinois, and has one daughter ; Eliza- beth, the widow Groesbach, lives in Arizona and has several children by two marriages; Thomas was a soldier during the last year of the Civil war, and died in Iowa in 1868; William is the fifth of the chil- dren ; Angeline Elliott, in Colorado, has four living children ; Emma Ray, in California, has two children, Mr. William Brandow was educated in Illinois, and after coming to Nebraska remained with his parents and helped cultivate the home place, and after his parents' death he bought and came into possession of one hundred and twenty acres of this farm, and this forms his pres- ent place. In 1894 he formed the life partnership which has contrib- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Soi uted so much to his success. He married, in that year, Miss Nellie Matten, who was born in Richardson county, October 8, 1870, a daugh- ter of David and Elizabeth (Draper) Matten, the former of Germany, the latter of Indiana. Her father came to this country fifty years ago, and was a soldier of the Civil war. He was a well-to^do farmer, and died at sixty, leaving three sons and two daughters. His wife died six months later. Mrs. Brandow is a graduate of the Humboldt schools and is a very intelligent and capable woman. She keeps the records and accounts of the stock farm, and can give the pedigree of every head of stock on the place. Mr. Brandow began the stock business in 1898, 'and has since sold as high as twenty-five hundred dollars' worth annually. He keeps a herd of Duroc Jersey hogs, all registered, and shorthorn cattle, and there are no better animals to be found in the state. He paid five hundred dollars for three Duroc Jersey sows, one of which he lost, and by his careful management and constant improv- ing of breeds has built up a fine trade and keeps a beautiful and valu- able herd of cattle and hogs. In his list he has a four-year-old Poll Durham bull weighing twenty-three hundred pounds, and as fine a specimen as can be found in the county. The one hundred and twenty acres of the farm is under the highest state of cultivation, and well improved, there being two orchards, good buildings and barns com- modious and ample for the accommodation of all the stock and grain. Mr. and Mrs. Brandow have no children. They are members of the Knights and Ladies of Security, and are Methodists. He is a Republican, but never aspires to office. He began life without money, and his industry and thrift had accumulated a fair amount before his father's death. 502 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. THOMAS W. HUMPHREYS. Thomas W. Humphreys, who has been engaged in the building and contracting business in the town of Johnson,' Nebraska, for the past thirteen years, has left the impress of his useful activity in three- fourths of the buildings of this town and many throughout the county, especially within a radius of eighteen miles of Johnson. He is noted for his resourceful energy and as a man of push and business acumen, and in his dealings has gained the confidence of every patron of his skill. As an employer he is generous and helpftil, and in every rela- tion of life, whether as a citizen, workman or in the confines of his own home, has proved himself a man of broad-gauge principles and upright- ness and strict integrity. ' Mr. Humphreys was born in Madison county, Iowa, September 9, 1866, and represents the third generation in the paternal line to reside in this country. His grandfather, William Humphreys, was a native of Ireland and a farmer, and settled in Virginia in the early part of the last century, and died at the age of sixtyrfive years. He married a Miss Underwood, who died about 1834, and they reared thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters. Reuben Humphreys, the father of Thomas W. Humphreys, was born near Wilmington, Virginia, in August, 1833, and in his venerable old age is now resid- ing with his son in Johnson, and is still hale and hearty after a long and useful life. He married Miss Hannah Johnson, who was the mother of four sons and three daughters, two of whom are deceased. Mr. Humphreys remained on the farm and engaged m the various pursuits incident thereto until he was nineteen years old. He had to labor during much of the time that other boys spent in school, and consequently had but meager equipment in book learning. He began learning his SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 503 trade at the age of nineteen, and began contracting and building in Oberlin, Kansas, before he took up his residence in Johnson. Since coming to the latter place he has gained a large patronage, and em- ployes from four to thirty workmen in the various seasons of the year. He erected his own large residence on five acres situated just outside the corporation limits though well within the town proper, and on these ample and beautiful grounds has his large shop and sheds for his tools and machinery. February 17, 1896, Mr. Humphreys was married to Miss Florence Moren, who was born in Kkiox county, Illinois, a daughter of Joseph and Marg-aret (Miller) Moren, who were both natives of Preble county, Ohio, and came to Knox county, Illinois, before their marriage, and in 1882 removed to Nemaha county, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Humphreys have three children: Marie, born November 18, 1896; Lula, born September 5, 1898; and Edna, born October 15, 1900. Mr. Humphreys is a member of the encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a stanch Republican in principle, and has been elected to office, but has never qualified. Mrs. Humphreys is an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a most hospitable and charitable lady, unwilling to be outdone by her generous husband in good deeds, and they are both deserving of the high esteem in which they are held by all their friends and acquaintances. 504 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. JOHN WIRICK. John Wirick, who for over fifteen years has been engaged in dealing in grain and stock at Johnson, Nemaha county Nebraska, is one of the long established citizens of this county, where he made his arrival in the pioneer times of 1869, when land was cheap, improv- ments and cultivation meager, and the country was almost a wilderness, but only awaited the hand of the enterprising and industrious settler to become an agricultural Eden and a scene of beauty and joy forever. Mr. Wirick is numbered among the successful men who have in large measure taken advantage of the opportunities offered by this new coun- try, and he has progressed from small beginnings to a prominent place in the business and agricultural interests of this favored section of southeastern Nebraska. He is the more deserving of honor because what he has accomplished and what he has in the way of material prosperity are entirely the results of his own labor since as a boy hardly entered into his teens he took up the struggle for existence on his own account, and for many years made a brave and hard fight alone, but ending in a happy outcome with a gratifying share of worldly possessions and the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens and associates. Mr. Wirick was bom in Champaign county, Ohio, May 10, 1846, a son of George Wirick, of Pennsylvania, in which state he was married, about 1840, to Miss Mary Gilbert, also a native of that state, and who died early in life leaving three children : Samuel L., who is a farmer in Shelby county, Ohio, and has two sons and one daughter; John; and Mary Martha, the wife of David Doremire, of Shelby county, Ohio. The father of these children was married again and had two sons -and three daughters. He died in 1872, past middle life, leaving but little property. He had made a trip to California in 1853, by the overland route, but was sick an,d met with hard luck while there. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 505 From the time he was seven years old John Wirick spent but one summer and two winters in his father's home. At eleven years of age he received a wage of three dollars a month for working on a farm in Shelby county, and he was a farm hand in that county for some years, his highest wages being eighteen dollars a month. At the age of thir- teen he went to live with a farmer till his majority. May 2, 1864, he enlisted for the hundred days' service in Company G, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but he served about Richmond and Petersburg for one hundred and twenty days, and in January, 1865, re-enlisted, being enrolled in Company H, One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Infantry. He was never wounded and did not spend a day in the hospital. He was mustered out at Louisville, Kfentucky, and discharged at Columbus, Ohio, and reached hom« in August or September, 1865. In March, 1869, he landed in Brownville, Nebraska, and for three years rented a farm. He then bought eighty acres in Nemaha county at seven dollars an acre, and since that time has been constantly progressing and becoming more prosperous. He now owns three farms of eighty acres each in Phinney county, Kansas, one of one hundred and sixty acres near Huron, South Dakota, besides his farm of eighty-five acres in this county. He moved into Johnson in 1891. He began the stock-shipping business in 1888, under the firm name of Douglass and Wirick for four years, but since that time has been alone. For the past seven years he has shipped only hogs. He has sent as many as one hundred and thirty cars to market each year, and before the cholera began its ravages often shipped seven or eight cars a week. March 8, 1866, Mr. Wirick was married in Shelby county, Ohio, to Miss Sarah Ellen Young, who was born in that county January 21, 1846, a daughter of Samuel and Jane (Johnson) Young. Mr. and Mrs. Wirick have four children: Samuel L., who is the proprietor of the 5o6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. flour and grain business in connection with his father; May, who is the wife of Nerval Clark, of Johnson, and has two children; Earl, who is in the stock and grain business with his father; and Fred, who is a boy of fifteen and at home and in, school. Mr. Wirick affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a member of the encamp- ment. In politics he is a Republican, and was an unsuccessful candidate on that ticket for sheriff of the county. His wife is a member of the Methodist church. ■ LOUIS J. NUTZMAN. Louis J. Nutzman, a cigar manufacturer and dealer of Fairbury, Jeflferson county, Nebraska, has been prominently identified with the growth and prosperity of this favored section of the state for the past fifteen years. He has lived in the state since boyhood, even before the territory was admitted to statehood, so that he has grown up with the country and is personally acquainted with the most important events in its progress. Me has the reputation of an astute and sapient business man, and his energy and enterprise have also extended to matters af- fecting the public welfare and necessary to the upbuilding of the city. Mr. Nutzman was born in the city of Bufifalo, New York, Septem- ber 5, 1857, second in order of birth of the eight children of Henry and Minnie (Schmidt) Nutzman, both of whom were natives of Ger- many and emigrated to America and settled in Bufifalo in 1854. In 1865 the family came to Nebraska, where Henry Nutzman died in 1898. Mr. Nutzman began the battle of life on his own account at the age of fourteen years. In 1871 he became an apprentice to the cigar-making SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 507 business, and after learning the trade engaged in business for himself. He took up his permanent location in Fairbury in 1888, and at the pres- ent time has two retail stores. One is located on the west side of the square, and to this he gives his personal supervision, while his main factory and other store is at 310 E street, this being in charge of his son. He employs three men in the manufacturing department, and has a good and growing trade, reaching into the surrounding counties. Mr. Nutzman was married in Richardson county, Nebraska, in 1 88 1, to Miss Kate Bickel, who is also a native of Buffalo, New York, and of German extraction. They have six children : Adam, Florence, Louis, Edwin, Charles L. and Frederick. In politics Mr. Nutzman is a stanch Republican and takes an active part in local politics. He is serving his second term as city clerk, and is also justice of the peace, having been elected in 1898. He is prominent in the various fraternal orders, affiliates with Fairbury Lodge No. 19, Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all the chairs, has represented the grand lodge and is now master of finances in the subordinate; is allied with the Knights and Ladies of Security, No. 49, the Maccabees, Tent No. 51, Piute Tribe No. 54 of the Red Men, Royal Highlanders No. 149, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, No. 149, all of this city. JOHN AUMILLER. John Aumiller, who is now one of the prominent agriculturists and stock-raisers at Johnson, Nebraska, has been a resident of Nebraska for over twenty years, the exact date of his arrival being August i, 1880. The early part of his life was devoted to the profession of the ministry, which he followed for a number of years, and was stationed at 5o8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. several places in this state. He has throughout his life been a progres- sive, enterprising, high-minded man, useful in every community where he has made his home, and after devoting a proper share of his energies to acquiring his own prosperity has given his public-spirited efforts to the upbuilding and betterment of his fellow men and their material con- ditions. He is well known and popular in Nemaha county, and is es- teemed for his individual worth and excellence a.nd his sterling qualities of true manhood. Mr. Aumiller was born in Crawford county, Ohio, December i6, 1847, ^"*i is of excellent colonial ancestry on both sides of the house. His grandfather, John Aumiller, was a native of Pennsylvania and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He died when past middle life, in Penn- sylvania. His wife was a Miss Roe, also of Pennsylvania, and she lived to be an octogenarian and died in Indiana, and Mr. Aumiller re- members this grandmother. They reared three sons : George, who died in Elkhart county, Indiana, leaving three sons and three daughters; John., who died in Pennsylvania in young manhood ; and Daniel. Daniel Aumiller was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, in Octo- ber, 1809, and received a good common school education in that state. He was a brickmason and a contractor and builder, which pursuits he followed for thirty-three years, being a very successful business man. He spent three years in learning the trade of brickmason, being paid but thirty-three and a third dollars a year and furnishing his own clothes. After completing his apprenticeship he walked all the way to Tiffin, Ohio, and invested his savings in eighty acres of government land. At the time of his death, when seventy-three years old, he left several farms in Ohio and in the west, owning altogether seven tracts, which aggre- gated over eleven hundred acres. He was a Univeralist in religion, while his wife was of the Lutheran . faith. He was married about 1835 ■ SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 509 to Miss Sarah Bover, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1816 and died at the age of eighty-three years. She was a noble and energetic woman, and much of the care of the home and family devolved on her during the absence of her husband at his work as contractor, and she shared in the success which came to their efforts. They were the parents of eleven children, as lollows : George Daniel, born in 1836, died in Craw- ford county, Ohio, when nearly thirty years old, leaving one son and one daughter; Emanuel lives in Crawford county and has two sons; Melissa, the wife of Frederick Wiseman, died in Ohio at the age of fifty-seven, leaving three children; Sarah A. is the wife of John Geai'- hart, in Sheridan county, Missouri, and has three living children; Miss Julia is a dressmaker at Bucyrus, Ohio; John is the next member of the family; Almira, the wife of D. K. Spahr, died in Ohio aged about thirty, leaving two children; Amelia is the wife of John W. Pittman, and they have been residents of Montgomery county, Kansas, for over thirty j^ears; Mary, the wife of Oscar Robinson, died in Kansas in 1882 ; Emma is the wife of John Nichols, of Crawford county, Ohio ; and Charles is also a farmer of Crawford county, and is married. In 1872 Mr. John Aumiller became a member of the United Breth- ren church, after which he took a three years' course in biblical theology. He was ordained an elder and in 1876 was appointed to the charge of the church at Attica, Ohio. In the following year he was at the Chi- cago Junction church, and in 1880 was sent to Crete, Nebraska, and was also located at Beatrice, Blue Springs and Lincoln, his ministerial labors continuing for seven years. He located on a farm in Nemaha county in 1882, and lived there until 1889, in which year he moved to University Place, a suburb of Lincoln, where he resided two years while his daugh- ter was receiving her education. He returned to Johnson in 1891, and in the following year built his fine two-story residence, which is one of 510 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. the architectural adorflments of the town. He owns a farm of three hundred acres in the county, and also has a section of land in Decatur county, Kansas. He has been in the stock business on an extensive scale, and still handles and feeds many cattle and hogs. His home is truly a place of beauty and domestic comfort. The large lawn which surroundg the dwelling is made especially attractive by some thirty-five red cedar bushes, which are kept neatly trimmed into cone-shaped mounds some five feet high, besides a variety of ornamental trees. In 1902, while at Nebraska city, he cut some limbs of a weeping willow tree at J. Sterling Morton's Home (by name "Arbor Lodge"), which he brought home and planted on his lawn, and which are now living and doing well. September 5, 1871, Mr. Aumiller was married to Miss Susan She- mer, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, August 27, 1850, a daughter of John and Mary Magdeline (Wickard) Shemer, the former of whom was brought from his native Switzerland to America when eight years old, and the latter was a native of Stark county. Of these parents, the mother died in Crawford county, Ohio, at the age of seventy-three, but the father is still living, active in body and mind, at the age of eighty- four. They were farmers, and reared ten children. Mrs. Aumiller was educated in the public schools, and remained at home until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Aumiller have one child, Emma Grace, who is the wife of L. P. Welch, of Nebraska City, and is the mother of six children, as follows: Hazel Ruth Welch, a bright little girl of twelve; John Guy, aged ten; Gladys Fern, aged eight; Herschel V., six; Jennie Lucile, four; and Willa, three years old. These children are the joy and pride of both parents and grandparents. Mr. Aumiller affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics, though reared in the faith of the Democracy, is a Republican, but has declined all official preferment. SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 511 JOHN F. HOLTGREWE. John Holtgrewe, who has been a leading merchant at Johnson, Nemaha county, for the past fifteen years, dealing in dry-goods, cloth- ing, groceries and all the staple articles demanded by the trade, is one of the enterprising individuals who are responsible for much of tlie growth and prosperity of towns like Johnson. He is essentally a busi- ness man, both by training and instinct, and, beginning with no capital except his earnings, he has been progressing toward prosperity ever since he left the home farm and took up mercantile life. Mr. Holtgrewe was born in Franklin county, Missouri, May 20, 1857, of German parentage and inheriting many of the best characteris- tics of that race. His father, John H. Holtgrewe, was born in Hanover, Germany,, in October, 1819, and married Miss Anna Catherine Pohlman, who was born in Westphalia, Germany, September 29, 1825, and who came to America with her parents. John H. Holtgrewe died in Decem- ber, 1897, and his wife in Atigust, 1890, leaving a good estate which they had made through their own diligent efforts. They began their domestic life in this conutry in the heavy timber of Missouri, on govern- ment land for which they paid the regular price of a dollar and a quar- ter an acre, and some land they purchased for as little as a bit an acre. There were two hundred and forty acres in the home farm, and they also owiied other farms. These worthy people were Lutherans in faith and afterward of the Evangelical church. He had enjoyed very little schooling in Germany, and when he wrote his first letter home after coming to America it was a whole day's labor. He at once resolved to learn to read and write English, which he did. There were nine chil- dren born to these parents, as follows: Mary, born in 185 1, is the wife 'of Frank Meyer, a carpenter in Missouri; Henry, bom in 1853, is a large farmer in Otoe county, Nebraska; Herman, born in 1855, is a resi- 512 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. dent of Johnson ; John F. is the "fourth in order of birth in the family ; Wilhelmina died when two years old; Annie, born in 1862, is the wife of Henry Birkman, a farmer in Nemaha county; Caroline, born in 1864, is the wife of Henry Damme, a merchant of Talmage, Nebraska; Fred, born December 29, 1868, is manager of a lumber yard in Johnson, and is unmarried; and William, born in 1871, is also manager of a lumber yard at Talmage. John F. Holtgrewe attended the common schools of Missouri until he was seventeen, and was also in school one year after he had reached his majority. iHe remained at home until he was twenty-six years old, and in 1884 began clerking in a store in Talmage, Nebraska. His first business on his own account was in western Nebraska, but on account of a severe drought he was compelled to leave within five months. He came to Johnson in the fall of 1889, and has made this town the center of his business activity ever since. He had a capital of twenty-five hundred dollars, all of which 'had been saved from his earnings. His lowest salary as a clerk was twenty dollars a month and board, and his highest four hundred dollars a year, but from this he had made his start and gained that vantage ground in the business world from which he has never had to retreat. He has conducted a steadily growing business, carrying at present a stock worth thirty thousand dollars, and employ- ing from two to four salesmen. He owns one of the large stores of the town, twenty-five by eighty feet in dimensions, and also rents another building of the same size. He purchased his pleasant home in 1891, and he also owns two tenant houses in the town and a section of land in Chase county, Nebraska. Mr. Holtgrewe was married January 7, 1892, to Miss Emilie Blinde, who was born February 16, 1873. Her father, August Blinde, was from Germany, and became a farmer in Lafayette county, Missouri, where he SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 5^3 was married to Bertha Walkenhorst, also of Germany. They have since removed from their farm and have built in Johnson a brick hotel, which they are now conducting. Mr. and Mrs. Holtgrewe have four children : Bertha, born December 13, 1893; August, born October 28, 1896; Clara, born March 24, 1900; and Ida, born January 4, 1903. REV. CONRAD DEUBLER. 'Rev. Conrad Deubler, the beloved pastor of the Zion Lutheran church at Johnson, Nebraska, is practically the foundei- and builder of this congregation, with which he has been connected as its official head since its inception over twenty years ago. The church edifice was dedi- cated October 4, 1883, and Rev. Deubler, fresh from his theological studies, at that time entered upon the task of developing, in the strength and love of the Lord, a society which should be influential for good throughout this community. The heads of nine families composed the official church register in that day of small beginnings, and their names are as follows : George Ihrig, Jacob Schaffer, John Kaiser, John Schmidt, Charles Wagner, T. Klugherz, H. H. Berg, Fred Woerlen and Joseph Sadtler. The congregation has since had a steady growth, and there are sixty families represented in the church at the present time. Mr. Deubler has devoted himself without stint to this rioble work, and has not only gained the love and esteem of his parishioners, but is respected throughout the community for his ability, his kindness and benevolence and his public-spirited citizenship. He is the owner of an eighty-acre farm about three miles from the church, but his time is nOvW almost en- tirely taken up by his ministei-ial duties. He is the teacher of the parochial school, the confirmation session lasting from the first of Janu- 514 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ary to Easter, and the parochial term from Easter to July i and from September to November. i Rev. Deubler was born in the grand duchy of Hessen, Germany, February 19, 1863. His grandfather was a watchman in the govern- ment forests. His father, Johannes Deubler, is still living in Ger- many at the age of sixty-nine, having followed the occupation of farm- er and barber. He married Catherine Riedel, who died in Germany in January, 1896, at the age of fifty-one years. Her father Avas a brick and stone mason. Johannes Deubler and wife reared four of their five children, as follows: Rev. Deubler; Mrs. Eliza Koch, who is a widow in Germany and has one child; George, who is a farmer in Nemaha countjr, Nebraska, and has three sons and one daughter, and Johannes, unmarried, who is a farmer in Germany. Rev. Deubler passed the first seventeen years of his life in Germany, and was educated in the private schools. August 18, 1880, he arrived in Mendota, Illinois, where he spent three years in the Lutheran The- ological Seminary, being graduated June 15, 1883, and at once entered the ministry. November 26, 1885, Thanksgiving day, he married Miss Emilie Stutheit, who was born in Clayton county, Iowa, November 10, 1^66. Her grandfather came over from Germany and was a farmer in Bremer county, Iowa, whence he came to Nebraska in 1866. He died at the age of eighty-one, 'and his wife at the age of seventy-four, and they had a family of nine children. Mrs. Deubler's father, B. F. Stutheit, was born in Hanover, Germany, and was brought to this country when an infant. He married Catherine Hempler, who was born in Oldenburg, Germany, October 4, 1839, and' came to America in 1839, being twelve weeks on the ocean voyage. She died in Johnson county, Nebraska, at the age of forty-nine, leaving all her eleven children, and her husband was again married, having a son by his sec- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 5I5 ond union, and all the twelve children are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Deubler lost a daughter in infancy, and now have eight children : Rosa, a girl of sixteen, who was educated in both German and English; Eleanor, aged fifteen, also through school and having taken the Ger- man and English courses here; Charlotte, aged twelve years; Emilie, aged ten ; Freddie, aged seven ; Emma, three years old ; and Conrad and Ottilie, twins, who were born May 23, 1903. BENJAMIN H. BAILEY. Benjamin H. Bailey, Avho has been the postmaster of the town of Brock for the past six years, has been a resident of this community since 1870, so that he is one of the old settlers and almost a pioneer of this part of the state. He has been engaged in business for a num- ber of years, and is numbered among the foremost citizens of the town and surrounding country, where he is well known and popular. He is one of the men who seem to distribute their time and attention to the various affairs of life in proper proportion and thus become well rounded and symmetrical characters, and business, civil, social and do- mestic duties have all made requisition on his interest and been given a due place in his career, with the result that he is a man of broad experience and a largeness of mind fit to undertake any or all responsi- bilities which have fallen to his lot in an unusually active and useful life. Mr. Bailey was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1843. His father, William Bailey, was born in the same county, March 20, 1807, and was killed by the cars in Brock, Nebraska, in 1889, when almost eighty-two j-ears of age. He was left an orphan at the age oi6 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. cf seven years, and his life was largely one of self-athievement. He was a farmer in Pennsylvania, and in Cedar county, Iowa, for three years, and in 1873 came to Nebraska, where he spent the rest of his life, having accumulated a fair amount of property for his use in old age. In 183 1 he married Mary Holstein, who was born in Penn- sylvania in 1812, and was a daughter of Benjamin Hblstein, a German. She died in Auburn, Nebraska, in 1881. She and her husband were both of Quaker descent, and joined the Methodist church. They were the parents of six children; Sarah, the wife of John Eastwood, in Colorado; Mary, who married Isaac Bailey and later William Mahony, and resides in Tipton, Iowa, having two children; Martha, who died in Pennsylvania at the age of twenty-one; Benjamin H.; Catherine, who is the wife of James Smith, in Kansas, and has iour children; and Eli- sha, a railroad engineer, who was killed in a railroad wreck in Phila- delphia, leaving two sons. Benjamin H. Bailey had a common school education and was also in an academy, which he left to go to the war. He enlisted in August, 1862, and served ten months, after which he came home, but soon vol- unteered for a second time, and before the war was over had offered his services to the government three times. He was finally discharged in 1865, and for the following two years and a half attended what is now Freeland College, near Philadelphia. He farmed in Pennsylvania until he came to Nebraska in 1870, and also followed that occupation for some yeai's in this state. He was in the lumber business in Brock for fourteen years, part of the time with Gould and Company, the for- mer a relative of Jay Gould. He was appointed postmaster six years ago, in 1897, and has given his time and attention to that position since. October 4, 1866, Mr. Bailey married Miss Sarah Smith, of Hope- well, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of James and Sarah (McClurg) SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 517 Smith, the former of Irish and the latter of Scotch ancestry. Her parents lived in Oxford, Pennsylvania, where her father was a cabinet- maker and an undertaker, and Mrs. Bailey is the third of six children, the others being as follows : Nancy, who is the widow of Lafayette Bradley, living near the old home in Pennsylvania, and has five chil- dren; Ann died at the age of ten years; Samuel, who lives in Oxford, Pennsylvania, and has ten children; Mary, who is the wife of John McFadden, in Pennsylvania, and has four children; and James, of Irv- ing, Kansas, who married Mr. Bailey's sister, and has four children. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have had three children : Mary Louisa, who is the wife of Edwin C. Huston, and has three living children; James Walter, who is a grain merchant in Brock, and married Nellie Cathcart, by whom he has one son ; and Harry, who died at the age of five years. Mr. Bailey is a Royal Arch Mason, and is past master of Lodge No. 162 in Brock. He has passed all the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in Roberts Post No. 104, of the Grand Army of the Republic, is a past commander, cjuartermaster, and has held other of the important offices. He is also a member of the Eastern Star. He is a stanch Republican, and he and his wife are Methodists, he being a steward and trustee of the church and superintendent of the Sunday-school. He resides in the pleasant home which he erected twenty years ago, and the family are held in high esteem in the town and vicinity. ' 5i8 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. WILLIAM HENRY HAWLEY. William Henry Hawley, a prominent retired agriculturist of La- fayette precinct, Brock postoffice, on mail route No. i, Nemaha county, now lives on a farm of one hundred and sixty choice acres, the remainder of a section of land which he owned up to a few years ago. He is one of the old settlers of this county, and has had a prosperous career here of over forty years. He and his wife are well acquainted with pioneer conditions and hardships, and for that reason can appreciate the bless- ings and comforts of the twentieth' century far more than one who has been surrounded by them all his life. Everything bears a different face from what it did when he first came to this portion of southeastern Nebraska, and the real develpoment of the state has taken place since that time. Besides taking such an active part in the material progress, he has been prominent as a citizen, and his seventy-five years of life have been well spent in performing his duty as he saw it, rewarding him now with the esteem and regard of all with whom his career has been related. Mr. Hawley was born at Stansted, county Kent, twenty-one miles south from London, England, on February 22, 1830. His father, Thomas Hawley, was born in the same old brick mansion, October 17, 1803, and died at the present home of Mr. Hawley in Nebraska, in his eighty-eighth year. He and his father, John Hawley, were of the yeo- manry of England, voters and owners of large estates. He had only one brother, who died at the age of forty without heirs, and there are now no blood relations in England. Thomas Hawley was married in England in 1824 to Miss Rebecca Venner, who was born in the same county in England as her husband, in 1805. They had six children, three sons and three daughters. Thomas B., born in 1826, was an Eng- SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 519 ' lish marine, a modest and upright man, and in 1861 enlisted from Rock county, Wisconsin, in the artillery. Van Cleve's Division, was captured at Rosecran's defeat, and was starved to death while a prisoner of war in Andersonville. Jane, the wife of George Vick, of Rochester, New York, died at the age of sixty-six, leaving four of her five children by her first husband, George Waghorn, and three of her children are now living in California. William Henry was the next in order of birth. Ann died in England at the age of fourteen. Eliza, the wife of Joseph Vick, of Rochester, New York, died there in O'ctober, 1902. Richard A. is interested in mining in California, and has two sons and three daughters. The mother of these children died in 1877, when neaiiy seventy-two years old. She and her husband and family had come to America in 1849, landing in New York on May 6, after a sailing vo)'age of twenty-six days, in which two sc[ualls had carried away the main mast and the mizzen mast. They made their first permanent home in Monroe county, New York, near Rochester, where they lived about five years, lived in Rock county, AVisconsin, for ten years, and came to Nebraska in 1867. William Henry Hawley received most of his schooling in America, and his first purchase of land was in Wisconsin, consisting of forty acres, and he improved this and sold it at a good figure. He first came to Nebraska on April, i, 1858, and filed a pre-etnption, but did not prove up on it as he returned three months later to Rock county, Wis- consin. In October, 1861, he came on with his wife and two daughters, and homesteaded the one hundred and sixty acres on which he now has his home. He was the nineteenth applicant in the first district. He built a frame house, paying fifteen cents a pound for shingle nails and ten cents for common sizes, and four dollars for the eight by ten panes of glass which made up the one window in the house. He began his 520 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. career here at the bottom, but has prospered, and has bought and traded a good deal of land in the county. As one illustration of pioneer condi- tions, in 1863 he took fifteen bushels of corn to Brownville and received but ten cents a bushel for it, while he had to pay fifty-five cents a yard for calico and sixty cents for unbleached muslin. When he came here there was one puny box-elder on the place, and its bent trunk gave it the appearance of going into decline. ' He has planted a variety of trees around his house, which is now completely embowered, and also around his fields, and some of his outbuildings are built of the lumber which these trees furnished. From one tree he cut and planted over one hun- dred Cottonwood sprouts, and there are many large trees which were planted as tender shoots by him forty years ago. He and his son are enterprising farmers, and have carried on operations on a large scale, raising as high as eleven thousand bushels of corn annually, and in /903 his son sowed two hundred and twenty acres of wheat. February 21, 1856, Mr. Hawley was married to Miss Eliza A. Walton, who was born in England in 1837. Her father, Thomas Walton, was an English farmer, and her mother was Sarah Dolden, whose brothers were prominent merchants in England. They came from England and settled in Oneida county, New York, near Water- v'llle, thence moved to Madison county, and from there, in 1847, to Wisconsin, where Mr. and Mrs. Hawley met each other. Seven chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hawley. Emma died in Nebraska when fourteen years old. Ella is the wife of Thomas Smith, and has two daughters. Richard T., who was graduated from the Peru nor- mal, is an able and prosperous farmer on two hundred and eighty acres across the road from his father, and he has a wife and two sons and two daughters. Belle is the wife of Jake "Huffman, a fruit farmer at Auburn, and has three daughters and a son. Cora is the wife of George SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 521 Sapp, a farmer on part of this farm, and has three children. Grace Victoria died here aged one year. Daisy Blanche was educated in the Lincoln Normal School, where she was graduated in the vocal depart- ment of music, and she has been a piano teacher for the past fourteen years, and has also been organist at the Brock Baptist church. She sings soprano and alto and plays her own accompaniment and her broth- er is also a musician and plays and sings. This musical talent is in- herited from both sides of the house, and the whole family have musical inclinations. Mr. Hawley has been a member of and an organizer of four secret orders in this vicinity. He has usually been Republican in principle, but of late has been Prohibitionist. He has served as register of votes, served a short time as justice of the peace and for twenty-three years as school director and treasurer. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church, and he has been a deacon for thirty-three years. HARVEY A. BROWN. Harvey A. Brown, a highly respected citizen of the town of Brock, Lafayette township, Nemaha county, and who has for some years conducted the leading nursery of this part of the county, is a citi- zen of long and honorable standing in southeastern Nebraska, where he has lived since 1869. He has been very active in the industrial and civic life of the county, much of his efficient work being in visible e\'idence in many of the houses of Brock and vicinity, which he as a carpenter and contractor erected. He is a man of undoubted worth and substantiality, and his record in all the affairs of business and private, relations has been above reproach and highly creditable to his sterling manhood. 522 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. ;Mr. Brown belongs to one of the old families of the country, mem- bers of which were good citizens of the east long before the colonies won their freedom and became an independent nation. His great- grandfather, Sylvanus Brown, was a native of Vermont, and during the Revolution was one of the doughty and valiant minute-men famous in this country's history. He married Keziah Cushman, and they moved to New York state in an early day and settled in the wilds of Oneida county, where he lived to an advanced age. Harvey Brown, their son and the grandfather of Mr. Brown, was born in Oneida county, and by his wife Ruth Vaughn had six children : Ancil H., Eunice, Keziah, Sarah and Jennett, and one that died young. Ahcil H. Brown, the oldest of Harvey Brown's children, was born in Oneida county. New York, September 21, 1818, and was reared on a farm and received an academic education. He studied for the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and was admitted to the conference, but was assigned to a charge in which the work and the exposure were so severe that his health broke down and he was forced to retire. He then engaged in farming, and also did service as a local preacher, which, in fact, he continued until his old age. He moved to Wisconsin in 1852 and lived there until he came to Nebraska in 1869. He was located on a farm in Lafayette township, Nemaha county, until a few years ago, when he and his good wife retired into the city of Brock, where they have a nice home, are enjoying good health in their old age, and have celebrated their sixty-third wedding anniver- . sary. In June, 1840, he was married, in New York, to Miss Eliza Gilbert, who was boi'n in Oneida county, April 27, 182 1, a daughter of Joel and Mary (Sturdivant )Gilbei-t. They became the parents of six children: Ellen E., the wife of Henry Sherman; Sarah E., the wife of J. M. Campbell, a merchant of Brock; Harvey A.; Riley A.; SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 523 Maneroia, the wife of J. P. Johnson, of Johnson, Nemaha county; and Adella A.,, at home. Harvey A. Brown was born in Oneida county. New York, Feb- ruary 9, 1849, being third in his father's family. He hved with his parents until he was twenty-one, and enjoyed a common school edu- cation. He was taken to Wisconsin when he was five years old, and was living there at the time of the Civil war. On his sixteenth birth- day he enlisted in Company H, Forty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer In- fantry, and served till the clise of the war, seeing duty in Missouri and the southwest and being in some skirmishes with the bushwhackers. He was discharged at Madison and returned home, where he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for many years. ^He came to Nebraska with the rest of the family in 1869, and as a contractor and builder constructed most of the houses in Brock and many throughout the county, the large schoolhouse in Johnson being among the number. In 1882 he moved into the town of Brock and engaged in contracting and building until 1896, when he engaged in the nursery business, which he has carried on very successfull3^ He has a nice residence in the southwest part of town, situated on the ten acres where he raises his fine fruit and keeps his large stock of trees and shrubs of all des- criptions needed for sale in the country round. November 15, 1871, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Hester A. Hogue, who was born in Greene county, Ohio, August 9, 185 1. Her parents were George and Mary Rillin Hogue, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and they came to Nebraska in 1866, locating in Nemaha county, where he died at the age of seventy and she at the age of thirty-two. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have had six children: Myr- tle A. is the wife of George Corryell, and they have one son, R. Earl Corrvell ; Wilford married Elsey Young and has one son, Ancil H. ; 524 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Luzetta B. is the wife of Sidney Young; Ruth L. Marie is at home; Wallace A. died at the age of seven months ; and Winnif red A. died at the age of nine years. Mr. Brown is a stanch Republican, and has served his township as constable. Fraternally he affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of, America. FREDERICK J. HAHN. Frederick J. Hahn is one of the prominent agriculturists of Lafay- ette precinct, Nemaha county, and is one of a family which owns in the aggregate over two thousand acres of Nemaha county land, a large part of which estate was built up by the fine business management and industry of the father. Mr. Hahn is progressive and up-to-date in all his methods and is an exponent of high-class Nebraska fanning. Also as a citizen and friend and neighbor he is held in high esteen through- out his community, and is a man of the strictest integrity and sterling manhood. His farmstead is one of the beautiful spots which man and nature together have brought to the highest point of productiveness and profit. ^He has a fine large farm house, of two stories and seven rooms, and the handsome barn, painted in red and white, is twenty- four by thirty-two feet, and all the other equipments and improvements are such as mark the model farm. He each year grows about sixty acres of corn, producing from thirty-five to fifty bushels to the acre, and about sixty acres of wheat. He keeps some good cattle and horses, and from twenty-five to one hundred Poland China hogs. Mr. Hahn was born in Peoria county, Illinois, January 21, 1861. His father, Henry Hahn, was born in Germany, December 4, 1832, SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 525 and died in Nanaha county, Nebraska, October 30, 1899. In his young manhood he came to America, being forty-two days on the ocean voy- age. He had enjoyed good educational advantages, and was reared to farm life. He had only enough money to pay his way to this coun- try, and after arriving here worked out by the month and the year for some time, but was soon started on his prosperous career. After his marriage he was in the coal-mining regions of Pennsylvania for a time, and then came to Illinois, where he was a tenant farmer until 1871. In that year he started for Nebraska, driving three horses to a prairie schooner, and made his arrival in Johnson in the fall of that year. He possessed only a few hundred dollars at the time^ and he bought one hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie land at five dollars an acre. This was the nucleus around which his efforts and untiring diligence built up a handsome property. At the time of his death he owned live hundred and twenty acres in four farms, and with what his sons own the family estate now comprises twenty-two hundred and sixty acres. Henry Hahn, after he had got a start in the new world, married the girl with whom he had attended school, and who was one day his junior in age. He and Catherine Lehn came to America on the same ship, and they spent many \-ears of happy married life together, and she is still living, active in mind and body, and greatly beloved by the children whom she has reared to noble manhood and womanhood. Of their large family of children, eleven are living at the present time, as follows : Christine is the wife of Jacob Lehm, a farmer in Johnson county, Nebraska, and has fourteen children; Catherine is the wife of August Elciste, of Phillipsburg, Kansas, and has four children; Frederick J. is the next of the family; J. H. Hahn lives in Kansas and has six children; Jacob, who resides in this neighborhood, has eight 526 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. children; George, also in this vicinity, has seven children; Mary is the wife of Chris Ritter, of Oklahoma territory, and has ten children ; Barbara is the wife of Phillip Schoene, of Norton, Nebraska, and has five children ; Charles J. lives in this neighborhood and has six childi'en ; Emma is the wife of Charles Smith, a farmer of Johnson county, and has four living children and two deceased; Lizzie is the wife of Henry Coleman and has two children. Frederick J. Hahn remained at home until his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-two years old, February 27, 1883. His wife was Miss Catherine Mannschreck, who was born in Germany, February 26, 1865, a daughter of Christian Mannschreck. They have lost an infant daughter, and their eight living children are Mary, Minnie, George, Clara, Rosa and Robert, twins, aged nine years, Elsie, aged seven, and Arnold, aged two. Mr. Hahn and his wife are mem- bers of the Evangelical church, and in politics he is a Democrat. MRS. CATHERINE HAHN. Mrs. Catherine Hahn, the widow of Henry Hahn, who died at his home in Lafayette precinct, Nemaha county, October 31, 1899, aged sixty-six years, is one of the noble pioneer women of southeastern Nebraska and the beloved mother of sons and daughters who have gained honorable places in the world and displayed true manhood and womanhood in all the relations of life. Mrs. Hahn's maiden name was Catherine Lehn, and she was born in the village of Edenkoben, Bavaria, Gennany, December 15, 1832, in the same place and just one day later than her husband, and they grew up together. Her parents were Michael and Lizzie (Ochner) Lehn, and they owned a vineyard SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 527 and made wine. They reared one son and five of their six daughters. Fred Lehn followed his sister Catherine to Aimerica, in 1865, and one of her sisters had come in 1864. Miss Lehn and Henry Hahn came to America in 1854, before their marriage, and they were married near Reading, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1854. Her husband worked in the coal mines there for a time, and they afterward came to Illinois, where they both worked for a farmer in Bureau county for two years, after which they rented a farm, and lived in that state altogether for thirteen years. They came to Nebraska in the fall of 1871 and settled on one hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie which he had bought in 1868 at five dollars an acre. He was very successful, and built the home in which his widow still resides, and four others. They had twelve children, eleven of whom are still living, and their names as well as further facts in regard to this interesting family are given in the biog- raphy of the son Frederick J. Hahn. FRANCIS BARION REED, M. D. Dr. Francis Barion Reed, one of the oldest practicing physicians in southeastern Nebraska, has had his home in this state since 1859, and has been an esteemed and useful citizen of Peru since 1876. He has been a man of much ability in business and professional life, and few men at the age of seventy-five can look back on a career of greater devotion to duty, family and his own highest interests. He has been almost continually engaged in the practice of medicine for over forty- five years, and in this most exacting profession has gained high rank and a place of esteem as the loved family doctor of many a household. Dr. Reed was born in Meigs county, Ohio, December 26, 1828. 528 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. His grandfather was a farmer and of English descent, and was among the earliest settlers of Meigs county, having taken up his residence there in 1798. The old farm on which he located in that year is still the home of his grandchildren, having been in possession of the three gen- erations for one hundred and five years. Major Reed, the father of Dr. Reed, was born in Genesee county. New York, and was eighteen years old when he went to Meigs county, Ohio, with his father. He was a blacksmith and farmer, being a strong man both physically and mentally, although his early education was much neglected. He served in the office of justice of the peace for over forty consecutive years, and was everywhere known as a conscientious and high-minded official. He was laiarried in Ohio to Miss Sylvania Barstow, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and her family came from Rhode Island. They became the • parents of ten children, two of whom died in infancy, and but three are now living ; the eight who grew up are as follows : Sylvester S. was an Ohio farmer and died at the age of sixty-five, leaving five children; Manley W. was a farmer in Ohio and died in his sixtieth year, leaving seven children; Amanda Alice Chambers died in New York, leaving four children; Maria A. Hoyt, a widow of seventy-nine years, is the only living daughter and resides on the old farm in Meigs county; C. R. Reed, M. D., was an able phj'sician and surgeon, serving in the field and hospital in the Civil war, and died in Middleport, Ohio, _ in 1900, at the age of seventy-three; Franklin, a twin brother of Fran- cis B., is a farmer on the old home place in Meigs county; Francis B. and his twin brother were the eighth in order of birth; and Cornelia S., the deceased wife of Cyrus Rose, left five children. The mother of these children died at the age of forty-six, and the father was again married, also surviving his second wife. Dr. Reed was reared to the life of the Ohio farmer, and received SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 529 his education in the common schools," and the Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity. He studied medicine in Middleport, Ohio, and graduated in medicine at the medical department of the Iowa State University. He began his practice in Madison county, Iowa, in 1857, ^^'^^ from there came to Rock Bluff, Cass county, Nebraska, in 1859, where he was engaged in practice until his removal to Peru in 1876. In 1862 he entered the Union army as a private in Company I, First Nebraska Infantry, but was taken sick and served most of his period of enlistment in the hospital, suffering from lung trouble. Dr. Reed was married in Warren county, Iowa, in October, 1854, to Miss Mary Ross, of Brown county, Ohio. Three children were born to them : Franklin Barstow died at the age of two years ; Major Francis was a student in the state normal and is now general manager and stiperintendent of the firm of Van Horn, Miller and Company, large contractors in mining and railroad construction work, at Laramie, Wyoming, and his wife is serving as postmistress; and Eleanor C, the wife of J. D. Graves, in the lumber business in Peru, is herself a reg- ular practicing physician, being a graduate of the Woman's Hospital Medical College in Chicago, and having taken a post-graduate course in Baltimore, and she has been in constant practice with the exception of one year. This daughter has a large practice, and she and her father have a large library of professional and general works. Mrs. Reed has been an invalid for the past five years, suffering with paralysis. Dr. Reed and his wife and daughter each own a quarter section of land in Nemaha county, and he has country and city property in Colorado. He has always been Republican in politics, and is prominent in the Grand Army circles, having been post commander several times. He and his family are Methodists, and are held in the highest esteem in Peru and the surrounding country. 530 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. CARLTON K. CHUBBUCK, M. D. Carlton K. Chubbuck, M. D., the pioneer physician of Tecumseh, Nebraska, who has been a resident of this city since 1871 and has built up a large and lucrative practice here, is a son of James and Par- melia (K'eeney) Chubbuck. James was a native of Tolland county, Connecticut, but later he removed to Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and there died in December, 1873, aged seventy-two years. During his residence in Pennsylvania he became a very prominent man and held the offices of register of deeds, associate justice and supervisor. 'His religious home was in the Methodist Episcopal church, in, which he was class-leader, as well as a Sunday-school teacher for thirty-five jj-ears. His wife was born in Black Walnut, Pennsylvania, March i, 1807. Dr. Chubbuck was the 5roungest of a family of fovir children, and he was born at Orwell, Pennsylvania, October 31, 1837. He received an excellent literary education at the seminary at that place. He began his medical studies at Binghamton, New York, and was graduated from the Susquehanna Medical College of that city in 1857. Follow- ing his graduation he was in a dry-goods store in New Orleans for two years, and then for some years practiced successfully his profes- sion throughout Illinois, residing at L}mdon, and Dixon, that state. While living in the latter city he was married at Frances E. Lawton, a member of one of the leading families of that place, who came from Ohio in i860. Both the parents of Mrs. Chubbuck are now deceased. In 1 87 1, as before stated. Dr. Chubbuck located in Tecumseh, whre he has firmly established himself in the confidence of the people. For thirteen years he has been treasurer of the school board and for many years one of its representative members. Fraternally he is a prominent Odd Fellow, representing his lodge at the grand lodge SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 531 of Nebraska; is past great sachem of Nebraska, and has been the rep- resentative of the grand lodge of Nebraska at various grand lodges at Washington, D. C, and other cities, and he has held all the offices of honor in his home lodge. He is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. For many years he has served as trustee of the Methodist church, of which he is now a deacon. His children are as follows, namely : Jennie, wife of Rev. Johnson, a well known Methodist divine of Nebraska, and they have twO' daugh- ters, Mary and Nellie; Bessie, second daughter of Dr. Chubbuck, who died in 1894 aged twenty years, a most sweet and accomplished girl whose noble Christian life is an example to others. REV. PORTER C. JOHNSON. Rev. Porter C. Johnson, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church of Holmesville, Nebraska, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on the 14th of July, 1836, and comes of a family who were in humble circum- stances but industrious and honest. His father, Thaddeus H. Johnson, was a native of Greenfield, Massachusetts, his ancestors being of Scotch origin and early settlers of the old Bay state. A great-uncle of our subject fought for American independence in the Revolutionary war. Thaddeus H. Johnson spent his early life upon a farm in his native state and from there removed to Brooklyn, New York, where he con- ducted a . cafe or eating house. Politically he was identified with the Whig party. Although liberal in religious faith, he never wavered in his allegiance to what he believed to be right and was strictly honor- ably in all his dealings with his fellowmen. He died at the age of fifty-six years, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Ann 532 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Rhone, and was of German descent, departed this hfe at the age of thirty-two. To them were born three children, namely: Porter C, Edward R., and Mary L., now deceased. The second son, who is now living at North Platte, Nebraska, served with distinction in the United States army for some years and was engaged in Indian warfare. Porter C. Johnson was principally reared in the city of his birth, though much of his early life was spent upon a farm, where he devel- oped his muscle in the work of the fields. He is practically a self- educated as well as a self-made man, and although he attended school to some extent he acquired most of his knowledge by reading and study at home. For several years he successfully engaged in teaching school and in 1867 entered the Methodist Episcopal ministry, being connected with the New Jersey conference for eight years. His first pastorate was at Heading, that state. At the end of eight years he came to Nebraska and joined the conference here. He has had several charges, including the churches at Tecumseh, Omaha, and Grand Island and served as presiding elder for five years, from 1883 to 1888. He is now giving much of his attention towards the raising of an endowment fund for the benefit of the superannuated ministers of Ne- braska conference. When the country became involved in Civil war Mr. Johnson offered his services to the government as a defender of the Union cause, enlisting at Easton, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in July, 1861, as a member of Company B, Third Pennsylvania Reserve Vol- unteer Infantry, under the command of Captain Curtis and Colonel H. G. Sicks, of Philadelphia. Mr. Johnson was in the service for fourteen months and seven days and took part in several battles and skirmishes. He received a skull fracture and ^\'as confined to the hospital for two and a half months. . ! SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 533 In 1863 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Frances Vorhees, who died in New Jersey, and at Tecumseh, Nebraska, he was again married, his second union being with Miss Jennie Chubbuck, a daughter of Dr. C. K. Chubbuck, a pioneer physician of Tecumseh, Johnson county, whose sketch appears on another page of this volume. ' Rev. Johnson has two children: Mary C, now the wife of Fred Nor- ris, of Table Rock, Nebraska; and Nellie, wife of L. Reid, of Ohiowa, this state. In his social relations Mr. Johnson is a Knight Templar Mason and is a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to which fraternity his father also belonged. Our subject has served as grand master of the grand lodge of Nebraska. He is connected with the Grand Army of the Republic. Being a man of pleasing address and good delivery, he has been called upon to dedicate fifteen churches in this state, and .he is an untiring worker in the Master's vineyard, his time and energies being at the service of the church whenever needed in any capacity. He is progressive and public-spirited and has been an important factor in the upbuilding of this state both morally and socially. MOSES LANGLEY. -Moses Langley, a leading farmer of Vesta township, Johnson county, is an old settler of the state, having located in Nebraska in 1866, when it was still a territory. He has been in Johnson county for over a quarter of a century, so that he has witnessed its greatest growth and development into one of the principal divisions of the commonwealth. He has enjoyed a prosperous career, has gained a 534 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. comfortable share of this world's goods, and as a citizen has won the esteem and respect of his friends and associates. He responded to his country's call only a few weeks after the fall of Fort Sumter, and gave most loyal service during the terrible conflict that followed, a veteran's record being one of his highest marks of honor. Mr. Langley was born in Scott county, Illinois, April 9, 1839. His grandfather, Joseph Langley, was born of Irish parents. His father, John W. Langley, was one of the early settlers of Illinois, com- ing before it was admitted to the Union. He was a carpenter by trade, and was a Republican and a member of the Methodist church. He died in Dallas, Texas, at the age of sixty-seven years. He mar- ried Elizabeth Nelson, M'ho was born in Ohio, a daughter of Jacob Nelson, of English ancestry. At her death she left nine children, six sons and three daughters, three of the sons being soldiers in the Civil war, namely : George, of Company K, Fourteenth Illinois, died in Andersonville prison; James was in the Twenty-first Illinois, General Grant's regiment ; and Moses was. in the Fourteenth Illinois. Moses Langley was reared on a farm in Scott county, Illinois, and gained some literary education in the schools but more practical ti-aining in the duties at home. In 1861 he went to Missouri, and while in -St. Louis saw the rebel flag floating in some of the streets. He then hastened back to Illinois, and on May 5, 1861, enlisted in Company K, Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, his captain being W. Cam. The colonel was John M. Palmer, who was later a general and for. years United States senator from Illinois and one of the state's most prominent public men. The regiment went into camp at Jacksonville and later at Quincy, and their first battle was Shiloh. They were then at the siege of Corinth. After the siege of Corinth he went to Memphis. He marched all over that part of the country. At this time SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 535 the regiment belonged to the Fourth Division, Thirteenth Army Corps, commanded by S. A. Hulbert. They were at the siege of Vicks- burg, at Jackson, and were then assigned to Sherman's army. Mr. Langley was soon afterward taken prisoner by the enemy, and was transferred from one prison to another and languished in the pen at Andersonville for one year. He was a large man of two hundred pounds when he went in, but weighed only ninety-seven on his final release. He was then sent north to Annapolis, from there to Benton barricks in St. Louis, and received his honorable discharge at Spring- field, Illinois, April 26, 1865. He then returned home, but in the fol- lowing year came west to Nebraska and settled in Otoe county, where he lived for ten years, and since 1876 he has been engaged in farming Johnson county land. Mr. Langley was married in Johnson county, in 1870, to Miss Lucy Dorsey, who was born and reared in Indiana, a daughter of Benjamin F. and Esther (Ramsey) Dorsey. Tlie former was a native of Kentucky, and died in Johnson county, Nebi^aska, in 1900, at the age of eighty-one years. He was a carpenter and builder, and in politics a Republican. His wife, a native of Ohio, is now living in this county at the age of eighty. They had six children, and two sons and three daughters are living, and one daughter is deceased. AV. C. Dorsey, the prominent attorney of Beatrice, is Mrs. Langley's nephew. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Langley: Mary Trueman, of Iowa; John, at home; Edith Lewis, of Portland, Oregon; Frank, a railroad man of Iowa; Ernest, in Johnson county ; George, at home ; Cora, in school ; and one that died in infancy. Mr. Langley has always voted the Republican ticket. He is a well known Grand Army man, and popular in .that organization as well as with all his associates. 536 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. S. P. DAVIDSON. S. P. Davidson, attorney-at-law at Tecumseh, Nebraska, is one of the leading representatives of his profession in Johnson county, and he has been a resident of this city since 1872. His birth occurred in Macon county, lUinois, October 8, 1847, ^'•""^ ^e is a son of John Davidson, a native of South CaroHna who settled in Macon county, Illinois, in 1821, being one of the early settlers of that part of the state. John was a son of Andrew Dividson, who was a brave soldier in' the war of 1812. John Davidson married Mary Campbell, who comes of one of the best families of Kentucky. His death occurred when he was seventy 3'ears of age, while his wife died at the age of forty; both were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in which they took an active part. Five sons and five daughters were born to this worthy couple. During the Civil war one of the sons, James C. Davidson, was a gallant soldier in the Union army, serving in the One Hundred and Sixteenth regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was mortally wounded at Vicksburg and died. S. P. Davidson w-zs reared in his native state and received his literary education in the public schools of his locality and at the Lincoln University. His law studies were pursued under Judge W. E. Nelson, of Decatur, Illinois, and he was admitted to the bar of 111- nois, May 4, 1870. Two years later he came to Tecumseh, Nebraska, where he has since built up a large and lucrative practice. Mr. David- son has always taken an active part in the deliberations of the Republi- can party, and has been honored with positions of responsibility and trust, and served as chairman of the state Republican convention upon several occasions. Fraternally he is one of the most prominent Masons in the state of Nebraska and is a Past Grand Master, a Past Grand High SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 537 Priest, Past M. I. Grand Master of Royal Select Masters, and Past Grand Commander. In Lincoln, Illinois, Mr. Davidson married Mattie E. Houser, a daughter of John Housei-, and by this marriage Mr. and Mrs. David- son had three children, namely : Jessie, Nelson and Roscoe B. Mrs. Davidson died in 1886, and in 1889 Mr. Davidson man-ied Sidna J. HoLiser, his sister-in-law, by whom he has four children, namely: Robert H., Lytha M., Melissa L., and Sidna Ruth. In religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Davidson are consistent members of the Presbyterian church and are very highly esteemed by a wide cir- cle of friends. GEORGE J. RUBELMAN. George J. Rubelman, M. D., physician and surgeon of Tecumseh, Nebraska, and one of the popular members of his profession in that locality, was born in Linden, Tennessee, May 17, 1854, and he is a son of Jacob Rubelman. Tlie latter was born in Germany of a good, substantial family noted for its integrity and uprightness of purpose and action, and he married Regina Rentz, also a native of Gennany. The father died February 26, 1898, aged seventy years, and the mother died in 1895. The father was in the wholesale harness and saddlery business, and being a good business man succeeded very well, and in 1898 he came to Nebraska, on a visit to the Doctor, where his death oc- ctu'red. A good many years of his life were spent in Iowa. Dr. Rubelman was reared and educated in Iowa, and graduated from Rush Medical College of Chicago in the class of 1880. He then located in West Branch, Iowa, from there to Saline county, Nebraska, then to Santa Ana, California, then back to Saline county, 538 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. I \ Nebraska, and then to Tecumseh, Nebraska, where he located in 1899, and where he has built up a large and lucrative practice. In 1884 Dr. Rubelman married Miss Kate Smith, of Des Moines, Iowa, daughter of A. E. Smith, who served in the Mexican war, and died in March, 1863, in Iowa. Her mother also passed away in that state, in 1894. Four children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Rubel- man, viz. : Julia, Harrison, George and Lanore. In politics Dr. Rubel- man is a Republicaii and takes an active part in local matters. Fra- ternally he is a Knight Templar Mason, being connected with lodge and chapter of Tecumseh, and with Commandry No. 36 of Santa Ana, California. Dr. Rubelman is a man of fine physique, standing six feet two inches high, and weighing two hundred and forty pounds. He is genial and courteous in manner and has made many friends among the people of Tecumseh, although he has only resided in the city for five years. TRUMAN E. FAIRALL, M. D. Truman E. Fairall, M. D., a physician and surgeon of Tecumseh, Nebraska, has been identified with this prospering city since 1879, and is one whose skill and professional ability have gained him prom- inence in the profession. He was born December 13, 185 1, at Accidait, Maryland, of a family noted for its connection with public affairs and social standing in that state. He is a son of Richard Fairall, who served as a soldier during the Civil war, a member of the celebrated Black Horse cavalry of Maryland. He was wounded in the service, and died at the age of fifty-five years, a man who was respected by all who knew him. His widow survived to the age of seventy-three years, dying in 1885, mourned by a large family of children and a SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 539 wide circle of friends. The children are: Dr. Truman E., Martha, Mary, Harriet, Rachel, Richard and William, all of whom, except our subject, are residents of Maryland. Dr. Fairall was reared in Maryland and there received a good education, and was a successful teacher in Maryland for some years. He then engaged in the study of medicine with Dr. Carr, of Cumber- land, Maryland, also Dr. Bartlett and Dr. Welfley, all brothers-in-law. He then entered the University of Maryland, at Baltimore, where he was graduated in the class of 1873, bearing off the honors. Dr. Fairall first located at Western Port, Maryland, then located for practice at Thurman, Fremont county, Iowa, where he remained until 1879, when he became a pioneer physician at Tecumseh. His faith in the growth and development of this region has been justified, and he has done his part in the development of this community. In 1873 Dr. Fairall was united in marriage with Mary S. Jenkins, and three children were born to this union, namely : Minnie Mary, wife of Harry West, of Maryland; Richard R. and Charles. On No- vember 28, 1900, Dr. Fairall was married (second) to Miss Hattie V. Draucher, who was born in Lothersburg, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of A. M. and Mary (Breon) Draucher. In politics Dr. Fairall is a Democrat. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow of thirty years' standing. C. D. BARNES, M. D. C. D. Barnes, M. D., of Tecumseh, Nebraska, is one of the best known and most successful physicians and surgeons of Johnson county. He was born at Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on August 12, 1866, and is a 540 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. son of Hon. J. W. and Martha (Gage) Barnes, both residents of Te- cumseh. Hon. J. W. Barnes is a prominent citizen of southeastern Ne- braska and a pioneer settler. He was born in Kentucky and came to Nebraska in 1853, since which time he has been identified with the leading intei^ests of this part of the state. He has been United States collector of internal revenue, has twice been state senator and has ably filled many positions of trust and responsibility. In Masonic cir- cles he has long been conspicuous and in every relation of life has proved himself a man of sterling character and natural ability. He is a stalwart Republican and has been a leader of his party in this sec- tion. Seven children were born to him and wife, three sons and four daughters, namely: Mrs. D. A. Campbell, a resident of Lincoln, Ne- braska; Dr. C. D. ; Mrs. C. M. Carpenter, of York, Nebraska; Maggie, wife of C. L. Jones, with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Omaha; E. M., a well known physician of Plainview, Nebraska; Mrs. Charles Boyle, of Pawnee city, Nebraska ; and Wesley W. Dr. C. D. Barnes was reared in Cass county, Nebraska, and was educated at Plattsmouth, graduating at the high school there at the age of fourteen years. He then entered the Wesleyan University of Ne- braska and graduated at- the age of twenty, and from there went to Rush Medical College, Chicago, and, graduated at the age of twenty- three. Dr. Barnes had enjoyed a large experience prior to locating at Tecumseh in 1898, having practiced at the Cook County Hospital, at Chicago, and the Jefferson Insane Asylum, being a member of the board of physicians and surgeons for that institution. He then located in DuPage county, Illinois, and successfully engaged in practice there until 1898, when he returned to his native state and became a resident of Tecumseh. His practice is large and satisfactory and is constantly SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 54i growing as citizens realize the true value of an experienced practi- tioner. At Mayweed, Illinois, in 1890, Dr. Barnes was married to Miss Frances O'Neill, who is a daughter of P. G. and Sarah (Hill) O'Neill, of Chicago, Illinois. The children born of this marriage are five in number, namely: John 'Wesley, Janet, Chester D.,Jr., Ruth and Willis. The religious connection of the family is with the Episcopal church, Mrs. Barnes being actively identified with charitable and guild work. In politics the Doctor is a ardent Democrat. Personally he is afifable and genial, while professionally he honors his class in this section of the state. E. M. CRAMB. E. M. Cramb, osteopath of Tecumseh, Nebraska, and one of the leading men of that city, is a graduate of the Still School of Osteopathy of Kirkville, Missouri, in the class of 1901, at which time he received high honors. He located in Tecumseh after his graduation and has been very successful in his work and is well worthy of the confidence reposed in him. Dr. Cramb was bom at Polo, Ogle county. Illinois, and is a son of the Rev. J. O. Cramb, a native of Maine. The Rev. Cramb came from his native state to Illinois, locating at Galena, being a member of the Rock River conference, and was very prominent among the Methodist ministers of that locality. He married Lvdia A. Kelsev, and she bore him eight sons and two daughters. The education of Dr. Cramb was acquired first in Illinois, he graduating from high school in 1894, and then he attended the Uni- 542 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. versity of Nebraska, at Lincoln, from which he was graduated in 1899, with the degree of A. B., following which he took up the study of osteopathy. His fraternal affiliations are with the Hnights of Pythias, and he is very active in that body. Possessed of a fine physique, pleas- ing manner, and being thoroughly versed in all the topics of the day; as well as matters pertaining to his profession. Dr. Cramb makes friends wherever he goes, and has a very bright future before him. HON. JOSEPH B. Mcdowell. Hon. Joseph B. McDowell, one of the most honored and respected of Nebraska pioneers and influential residents, has been in the state since 1869, almost the entire period of its statehood, and his career of enterprise and public-spirited endeavor has redounded not only to his own credit and advantage but to the lasting welfare of the commonwealth and especially of the city of Fairbury, where he has made his home since the year 1880. While in years almost an octogenarian, Mr. McDowell retains much of the vigor and insight of a hardy youth, and in his age is honored and esteemed as a Nestor of wisdom and wise counsel among the younger men of affairs. He has alwaj's been a leader in his com- munity, has prospered in business, has been prominent in political mat- ters, and in citizenship and at home has fittingly performed the duties and upheld the responsibilities which are the lot of all true-hearted men. Mr. McDowell was born near Portsmouth, Ohio, September i, 1825. His grandfather, James McDowell, was a Revolutionary soldier and also a participant in the war of 1812, so that his honored descendants are entitled to membership in those patriotic orders and SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. 543 societies which exist to commemorate the patriots of the war of inde- pendence. Mr. McDowell was the youngest of t'he nine children of William and Sarah (Deaver) McDowell. The former was a native of Ken- tucky, and died in 1834 wliile a resident of Illinois. The latter was a native of Virginia, of a family that settled and was prominent in that commonwealth before Revolutionary days. She survived her hus- band a number of years and died in 1858. Mr. McDowell was reared to farm life, and from Ohio moved with the family to Indiana and thence to Illinois. In 1869 he removed from Illinois and located in Beatrice.. Nebraska, where he resided about six years. He was then appointed registrar of the land office and for the following six years held that position and made his home in Lin- coln. He located permanently in Fairbury in 1880, and has since been prominently identified with many of its important enterprises. Since. 1874 he has been connected with the Fairbury Roller Mills, which were erected in 1872 and now forms one of the oldest landmarks of the city. The mills now have a daily capacity of one hundred barrels of flour, are running night and day, with six men engaged in their operation, and the product is in constant demand both locally and abroad. Mr. McDowell has about four hundred acres of land in connection with the mill property, and this is utilized as pasture and feeding ground for live stock, ^in which he is one of the prominent dealers of this part of the state. Mr. McDowell has alwa5rs been a stanch and steadfast Republican, and has been of great assistance to his party in the last thirty years. He was elected to the state legislature in 1872, and served two terms. August 3, 1850, Mr. McDowell was married to Miss Katherine Campbell, of Ohio, and by this marriage there were three children: 544 SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA. Nelson; Frances N., now Mrs. Edward L. Hart; and Josephine, the wife of J. R. Crump. On July 6, 1865, Mr. McDowell married Harriet Packer, also of Ohio, and they had three children, Frederick F., Wood- ford P. and Jay B. February 7, 1875, Mr. McDowell was united in marriage with Miss Gertrude McKenzie, and they have two children, Cora G., at home; and Clyde C, who is completing a course in electri- cal engineering at the State University. Mrs. McDowell, who stands high in the social circles of Fairbury and is a lady ^ of broad culture and intelligence, is a native of New Brunswick, and a daughter of Joseph and Kathrine (Young) McKen- zie, who came to Illinois in 1849 '^iid to Harvard, Clay county, Ne- braska, in 1882, where the former died May 7, 1903. For some ten years Mrs. McDowell was engaged in teaching school at Lamoille, Bureau county, Illinois, and was highly esteemed as an educator in that one of Illinois' most progressive counties in matters of education. She is a consistent member of the Methodist church. She has been espec- ially prominent as an upholder of women's rights in this state, inter- ested in woman suffrage and in all social questions and work. She was a member of the school board for four years, is a member of the state board of charities and was president of the state suffrage association; was a member of the board of lady managers at the Omaha exposition and was a delegate to the National Council of \¥omen at Washington, D. C, in 1889. She has filled the presidential chair of the Women's Club of Fairbury, and has ably represented her sisters in many of their important councils. She is a lady of modest but enterprising char- acteristics, is a lover of home and a maker of one that is ideal, and has been helpful in many things that make for the betterment of her city and community.