Custer County, Nebraska - Founders and Builders, 1919 (part 12 of 32)

Denominationally, the Forans are connected with the Catholic church, to which they pay devotion commendable to themselves and profitable to the church. Mr. Foran helped to build the church in which he is a faithful constituent and contributor. Politically, the Democratic party lays claim to his support, and provided that the personnel of the ticket is reputable and competent, it generally gets his vote. He has small ambition for office ; the township insisted upon electing him constable in the last election, but the office did not appeal to his aspirations and he failed to qualify.

The Forans are preparing to take life easy: they rent out most of the land, from which they receive profitable returns. Their neighbors and friends concede their right to comfortable retirement and give them the rating of good and respected neighbors.

ALFRED AMOS. - The pioneer families of Custer county who played their parts in the vital drama that has turned this section of Nebraska into a paradise for the homeseeker, developing the wilderness into busy, thriving communities of the country, have reason to hold themselves responsible for much of present-day progressiveness. While many of those who experienced the actual hardships of the early days have passed away, there still remain many who, through sheer force of will and energy, brought out of primeval conditions what have become twentieth-century actualities. Among these is found .\lfred .\mos, who was a homesteader of the year 1883, and who is now living in comfortable retirement at his home in Sargent.

a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The parents were married in Ohio, where the father was engaged in farming for a number of years. Subsequently he spent six years on a farm in Fayette county, Iowa, and in 1883, he came to Custer county, where he took up as a homestead the southeast quarter of section 21, range 18, his son Alfred securing the northwest quarter of the same section. The father continued to be engaged in farming until his retirement, when he disposed of his farm to his son Alfred and moved to Wescott, where his death occurred about 1906. Mrs. Amos survived him until May 2, 1914. They were the parents of the following children: Alfred is the immediate subject of this sketch; Kirk, who married Belle Meyers, is a retired farmer of Sargent ; Zachariah, who married Ara Love, is a retired farmer of Sargent ; Angeline, who is deceased, was the wife of John Slates, retired, of Wyoming ; the next daughter married Gene Westervelt, an editor of Scottsbluft'; Emma is the wife of Alexander Mc- Cune, a farmer of Westerville ; Nora is the wife of Eli Armstrong, a retired farmer of Broken Bow ; and William, who married Eva Campbell, is living retired, at Sargent.

Alfred Amos attended the public schools of Ohio, where he worked on the home farm with his father, as he did also in Iowa, and when the family came to Custer county, in 1883, he homesteaded the northwest quarter of section 21, township 18, range 18. He farmed that property about twenty years, but when his father retired, he took over the elder man's property and sold his own farm to his brother William. For eleven years thereafter he continued operations as a farmer and stock-raiser, and through making the most of his opportunities, working industriously^ managing his affairs carefully, and applying all his knowledge to his daily labor, he succeeded in accumulating the competence which i>enTiitted him to retire to his home at Sargent, where he is surrounded by the comforts and conveniences that serve to compensate him for the numerous hardships which he experienced during his earlier years, while he was endeavoring to get a start. He is still the owner of his property, which has fine buildings and modern improvements, and he also has investments in other paying propositions, into which he has been led by his keen business judgment and foresight. Mr. Amos is a Democrat in politics and while not an officeseeker is interested in his community's aflfairs. He is accounted both a man of public spirit and of integrity, - one who has the welfare of his locality at heart and who respects the rights of his fellow men. With his family, he holds membership in the Christian church. Mr. Amos was united in marriage March 1, 1883, to Miss Carrie Carnall, who was born in Iowa, a daughter of James and Caroline (Nichplson) Carnall, natives of England, the former born in Lincolnshire and the latter in Essex. To this union there have been born eight children : \\'ayne L., who is on the old homestead, married Esther Wooters ; James L., who is a Custer county farmer, first married Ida L. Bnmer, and he later married Alma Giser, who died March 30, 1911; Anna S. is the wife of Milton Copsey, a fanner near Westerville; Glenn A. is a farmer in Dry valley ; Bert, who married Hazel Thompson, is in the remount department of the United States Army, and is stationed at Camp Funston. Kansas, at the time of this writing : Catherine keeps house for her brother Glenn A. ; Caroline, twin sister of Catherine, resides with her parents, as does also Edith M. All of the children were given good educational advantages, and Mr. and Mrs. Amos have proved themselves good friends to the schools, each having served in the capacity of director of the school board, the latter for about ten years.

SAMPSON GIVEN was an early settlei of Custer county and to-day he is probably the youngest-looking sixty-one-year-old man one would meet in many a day's travel.

A native of West \'irginia, where he was born March 17, 1857, j\lr. Given is a son of- Robert E. Given, a record of whom appears on other pages of this volume. Our subject was a young man of twenty-one years when the family home was established in Fillmore county, Nebraska. In 1883 he came to Custer county and took a homestead of 160 acres, in section 28, township 18, range 21, becoming one of the early, settlers of the neighborhood. His first home was a sod house and the pioneer experiences and hardships incident to the opening up of a new country he met with the courage and determination characteristic of the men who ventured into this new country. As the years passed, he met with success in his efforts, bringing his fields to a high state of cultivation - yielding bountiful harvests in return for the labor he bestowed upon them. The old "soddy." gave way to a modern frame structure, and to the original tract was added another quarter-section of land, to the operation of which he devoted himself for many years. He then sold his farm, and after a residence of one year in Merna. he purchased his present farm of 320 acres - the south half of section 15, township 18, range 23. This is a well improved property and he is devoting his time to general farming and stock-raising.

Mr. Given was united in marriage to IMiss Ottie I. Reed, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of S. H. Reed, an early settler of Custer county. The home of Mr. and i\Irs. Given has been made happy by the birth of six children : Edith married A. R. Horton and resides at Langtry, South Dakota ; Mayplet is the wife of Roy Cramer, of Custer county ; Esther Beatrice married Ed. Fox and they reside in Custer county ; Robert Thurston is, at the time of this writing, in the national army and doing police duty on the Mexican border; Georgia, Mansel W., and Jay S. are still at home.

Mr. Given has been an eye-witness of the vast changes that have taken place in Custer county and in the work of development has contributed his full share. Having resided within its borders for thirty-five years, he has a wide circle of acquaintances and is held in the highest of esteem by all who know him.

FRANK S. ACKERMAN is one of the early settlers of Custer county and has bee a identified with its agricultural interests for more than thirty years.

Mr. Ackerman was born in Stark county, Ohio, August 29, 1862. His parents, Andrew and Mar\' Ann (Lauver) Ackerman, were natives of Ohio, the fomier having been born in Stark county and the latter in Harrison county ; they were farming people and both passed the closing years of their lives in Stark county, Ohio. Concerning the name Ackerman, Frank S. remembers a story told about his grandfather, Christopher Ackerman. When the grandfather was a boy in school his teacher asked him his name and he answered Ackerman, giving the A the broad sound. The teacher told him if that was the way to pronounce the name it should be si)elled with a "u", and the grandfather always spelled it that way.

The subject of this biography was reared in his native county and was a young man of twenty-four years when he came to Custer county. He walked from Kearney to Broken Bow and after paying for a night's lodging and a breakfast at the old Marble Top (Hull) hotel, his capital was twenty-five cents. During a conversation in the hotel he heard the names of Mr. Deal and Mr. Weimer mentioned, the former a minister, the latter a farmer, both of whom he had known in Ohio. Upon making inquiry and learning where Dan

Weimer lived, he made his way there, and for two years he worked for Mr. Weimer on the farm. He then took a pre-emption of 160 acres in section 2, township 18, range 23, proving up on same and conducting farming operations there for several years. His first" home was a sod house and the hardships and trials of Custer county's early settlers are quite familiar to him. He is now operating 400 acres of the Philip Johnson farm, having sold his own land.

Mr. Ackennan was united in marriage to Miss Anna Johnson, who was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, a daughter of the late Philip Johnson, whose record is given elsewhere in this history.

Air. and Mrs. Ackerman have three children : Harry married .\ddie Dutton and they have three children - Francis, Marquiss, and Orcheretta ; May is the wife of Fred Hussey, and they have two children - - Lloyd, and Opal ; and Mary is the wife of Russell Rhodes, their daus'hter being named Inez Laurine. All of the children reside in Custer countv.

GEORGE_ JACQUOT was born on the farm which is now his home, and the date of his nativity was October 30, 1884. He is a son of Nicholas Jacquot, one of the early homesteaders of Custer county, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this histor\'.

George Jacquot was reared on the fann and attended the public schools. As soon as he was old enough, he assisted in the operation of the farm; and for several years before his father's death he had the management of the place, his father being interested in other business enterprises, which required his attention. George Jacquot to-day operates 400 acres of the estate, and the improvements are extensive and among the best in the county, the equipment being well adapted for general farming as well as stock-raising. Mr. Jacquot is energetic and progressive, and meeting with good success.

Mr. Jacquot married Miss Mary Mohatt, a native of Harrison county, Iowa, and they have four children - Harold, Cecil, Geraldine. and Hubert. Mr. and Mrs. Jacquot are members of the Catholic church and have a host of friends who value them for their genuine worth.

JOHN F. BAKER. - The agricultural interests of Custer county have a worthy representative in the person of John Finley Baker, who owns and operates a valuable tract of land.

John F. Baker was born in Appanoose county Iowa. December 19, 1870. His father James Richard Baker, was bom in Davis county, Iowa, and as a young man he engaged in railroad work and coal-mining. -He resided in Iowa until 1885, when he came to Custer county and homesteaded in township 18, range 25. After proving up on this place, he removed to township 18, range 23, where he purchased land. On this tract he "made splendid improvements, and here he resided until his death, at the age of fifty-nine years. In Iowa he was united in marriage to Miss Frances Elizabeth Powell, a native of Kentucky, and she passed away on the old farm in Custer county, at the age of sixtytwo years. James R. Baker was widely known in Custer and adjoining counties as a livestock auctioneer.

John F. Baker was one of a family of five children. His early boyhood days were spent in his native county, in Iowa, and he accompanied his parents to Custer county when a lad of fifteen years. On reaching manhood he engaged in farming, and he is to-day the owner of 400 acres. Here he carries on general agriculture and stock-raising. His is a well improved farm and the present condition is the result of the indefatigable labor of its owner.

Mr. Baker was united in marriage to Miss Callie Bell Winston, who was born in Missouri, a daughter of William and Fannie ( Maupin) Winston, who are now residents of Custer county.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Baker has been made happy by the birth of three children : Lillian Florence, Etta May, and John Richard. The parents are members of the United Brethren church and in politics Mr. Baker is a Democrat. The family are held in unqualified esteem by all who know them.

XATHAX T. GADD, who has been a leading members of the legal fraternity of Broken Bow for nearly thirty years, has not confined his activities to the practice of his profession, but is popular in fraternal circles and has been ])rominent in public life. He is a native of Blakesburg. Iowa, and was born December 7, 1856. being a son of Dr. Joseph and Susanna (Rush) Gadd.

Joseph Gadd, the paternal grandfather of Nathan T. Gadd, was born in New Jersey, whence at an early date he moved to Ohio, settled on a new farm and continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which was caused by the fall of a tree. On the Ohio fami Dr. Joseph Gadd was born in 1822. and in his native community he met and married Susanna Rush, also born in the Buckeye state, a daughter of Ezekiel Rush, who was a pioneer to Ohio from Pennsylvania. Dr. Joseph Gadd attended the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati and completed his professional preparation at Rush IMedical College, Chicago. Sometime during the '40s he migrated to Iowa, where he practiced for a number of years at Blakesburg. became a leading member of the medical fraternity in his state, and assisted in the organization of Keokuk Medical College, with which he was coimectcd for some years. As a religious man, he belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, and his fraternal connections were with the Masons and Odd Fellows, while his political inclinations made him a Republican. In his later years he moved to Davenport, Iowa, near which city his death occurred, in 1887. Mrs. Gadd, born in 1824, survived until 1899. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom four are living: Anna, the wife of A. J. Rastenbach. a shoe merchant of Davenport : Nathan T. ; J. P., principal of the Dipsomaniac Hospital at Knoxville. Iowa; and Kate, the wife of James Myers, a mine owner of Buffalo, Iowa.

Nathan T. Gadd attended the public Schools of Iowa, and prosecuted his law studies in the offices and .'under the preceptorship of Francis Murphy, Judge Benson, and W. A. Foster, all of Davenport, in which city he was admitted to the bar in 1879. He at once began practice there, but in the following year he came to Nebraska and first established himself in practice at Beatrice, where he remained until 1889 - the year of his removal to Broken Bow. Since the year mentioned Mr. Gadd has continued in the general practice o,' law, in which he has attained a full measure of success, being accounted one of the leaders of his profession in Custer county. Plis practice has been interrupted on several occasions wlien he has been called to fill public office, he having been city attorney of Broken Bow for six years, and having been elected prosecuting attorney in 1908 - an office in which he served two years. Various enterprises for the civic and general welfare have attracted his attention and had the benefit of his valued talents : at the present time he is president of the Public Service Club (1918). Mr. Gadd was married in August. 1880. to I\Iiss Sarah Miller, who was born in Madison county, Iowa, daughter of Joseph and Mary Miller, the former a successful famier and blacksmith. Three children have been born to this union : Ray is a farmer near Dedham,

Wisconsin ; Charles is with the One Hundred and Ninth Engineers, a volunteer in the United States service, and is stationed at Camp Cody, New Mexico, at the time of this writing; and Eva is the wife of D. C. Wilson, chief electrical engineer of the Union Pacific Railway, at Omaha. Nebraska. Mr. Gadd and the members of his family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is chancellor commander of General Custer Lodge, No. 23, at Broken Bow. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party.

FRANK CRAMER. - Fanning, combined with stock-raising, is a profitable industry in Custer county, if good business ability is shown in its management, and this has been conclusively shown by Frank Cramer, who has been exceptionally successful for the time he has been in this line of enterprise and who has extensive farm and stock interests in this section. Frank Cramer was born at New Helena, Custer county, Nebraska, in 1888, a son of Levier and Louisa (Hartman) Cramer.

During the first thirteen years of his life, Frank Cramer lived at the parental home, and afterward he made himself useful to the farmers in the neighborhood until his school days were over and he was eighteen years of age. Then, with his brother Henr)^ he began farming on three-quarters of a section of land belonging to J. D. Ream, situated five and onehalf miles northwest of Broken Bow. The brothers soon added stock to their other interests and during the three years they continued in partnership they had wonderful success; later they bought a half-section of land together. Both Mr. Cramer and his brother seem to have remarkable foresight as to prospects and land values, and they soon sold their half-section at a substantial advance over the price they paid. Frank Cramer then bought the A. J. Routh farm, of 320 acres, situated northeast of Broken Bow, and four 3-ears afterward he sold it at a good profit. He then bought 440 acres adjoining the JD. Ream property on the north, paving the sum of $20,000, in 1917, just before the sharp advance in real estate in Custer county. Mr. Cramer takes much pride in this beautiful property and has continued to improve it. the while he has added modern conveniences to the residence imtil it ranks with the most desirable in the county.

Mr. Cramer was married December 25, 1908, to Miss Mable C. Routh. who is a daughter of Douglas I. and Jennie (McDonald) Routh, tthe latter of whom died when Mrs. Cramer was very young. Mr. and Mrs. Cramer have two children : Alarjorie G. and Cloyd. Mr. and Mrs. Cramer are members of the United Brethren church. Mr. Cramer is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and in politics he is a Republican.

BENJAMIN F. SOMMER, who is one of the enterprising farmers of the younger generation in Custer county, is show-ing excellent judgment and discretion in the management of his land and the handling of live stock. Mr. Sommer was born near Merna. this county, Februar}^ 16, 1892. His parents are Andrew and Melissa (Keedy) Sommer. who live on the place they homesteaded near Merna. The father is a native of France and the mother was born in Illinois. They have five children : Perr}', Almore, Mrs. Eva Cole, Benjamin F., and Elizabeth. Andrew Sommer came to Custer county early in its settlement. He invested wisely and he retained is land-holdings when some of his neighbors grew discouraged, with the result that now he owns numerous valuable farms.

Benjamin F. Sommer remained with his parents until he reached manhood, assisting his father in the meanwhile and attending school. He has been well trained in agricultural industry and at present is very successfully conducting one of his father's farms near Merna. yir. Sommer was married March 13, 1915. at Broken Bow. to Miss Nora Sharp, who is a daughter of Benjamin and Louisa (Zachary) Sharp.

ERNEST N. EMBREE is a native son of Custer county, where he was boni January- 21, 1892. in the township where he now makes his home. He is a son of Frederick C. Embree, whose record as a homesteader and successful farmer appears elsewhere in this volume.

Ernest N. Embree was reared on the home farm and after duly attending the district schools he completed his education in the Menia high school. His first business venture was the purchase of a quarter-section of land on West Table, but after holding this less than one year he sold the property at a profit of S4.80d. He then purchased ' a tract of eighty acres, which, with land he rents from his father, is devoted to general farming. Though a young man. he has demonstrated his business ability and there is no doubt but that the future holds bright prospects for him.

Mr. Embree married Miss Fern Cantrell, who was born in Hamilton county, Nebraska, a daughter of Jesse Cantrell, now a resident of Custer county. Mr. and Mrs. Embree have one child, Bernard Charles. They are members of the United Brethren church and in politics Mr. Embree reserves the right to vote independently, casting his ballot for men and measures, regardless of party ties.

The" opportunities for a young man were never better in Custer county than at the present time, and while we are giving credit to the early settlers who blazed the trail and endured the pioneer hardships, and whose persistent labors made possible our present-day conditions, we must not be unmindful of the part being played by the younger generation, who have the courage and foresight to attempt greater things than the older settlers of Custer county ever dreamed of. Among the young men of the county who have proven themselves possessed of a large amount of good judgment and business acumen, none is more deserving than Ernest N. Embree.

JERRY HICKEY, Jr. - Write the name of Jerry Hickey in prominent characters on the roll of successful young farmers who are making a reputation for Custer county. Jerry has made good, and he is entitled to all the emoluments incidental to the success he has achieved.

Jern,- Hickey, Jr., is a native born Custerite and is now thirty-one years of age; here he has spent his entire life ; here he received his education in the common schools ; and here he learned the rudiments of practical farming and stock-raising. He is a son of Jerry and Lena (Michel) Hickey, very estimable people, who still reside in this county. There were seven children in the father's family, and all were taught the principles of thrift and industry. The father, Jerrv Hickey, S'r., belongs to the Catholic church.

In 1908 was recorded the marriage of Jerry Hickey, Jr., to Mary Ellen Powers, a daughter of William Powers, of whom a life sketcli is given on another page. In the comfortable home of Mr. and Mrs. Hickev are three bright and promising children. Cecil, aged nine years, and Leona, aged seven, are both pursuing the course of the country school ; while William, aged two years, is the sole dictator and manager of the home.

Mr. Hickey owns 280 good acres of land, upon which are maintained good improvements that have been provided by Jerry himself, and on which a fine grade of live stock is kept the year round. Mr. Hickey depends largely upon stock, and believes that there are few places where stock farming is more profitable than in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hickey have been on this farm for ten years and if they maintain the same rate of progress for the next ten years they will have secured a.n ample competency, upon the basis of which they can retire from hard work. Socially, they are prominent in the community. They are communicants of the Catholic church and Mr. Hickey is affiliated politically with the Democratic contingent. They are rated as splendid people and obliging neighbors.

JAMES V. MILLIGAN. - The subject of this record is one of the progressive citizens of Custer county and since the early days he has been an influential factor in the aiifairs of his adopted county.

lames V. Milligan was bom at Port Huron, Michigan, January 13, 1862. His father, Will iam Milligan was born in Ireland and was left an orphan when quite young. When sixteen or seventeen years of age William Milligan ran away and sailed for America. He located in Canada, and there later he married Elizabeth Burton, a native of Canada. Upon coming over into the United States they located in Alichigan. In Macomb county, that state, William Milligan opened up a new farm, and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their days, he passing away at the age of seventy-six years, in 1893, and his wife having been called to eternal rest in the year 1890.

James Milligan was one of eight children and was reared on a farm in his native state. He remained under the parental roof imtil he had attained the age of seventeen years, when he found employment at farm labor, working by the month. At the age of nineteen he came to Nebraska, and he and a partner purchased 160 acres of land in Lancaster county. In the fall of 1883 he came to Custer county and took a homestead in section 30, township 18, range 22, his first home being a dugout. He witnessed and shared in the hardships and privations of those pioneer days, proved up on his homestead, purchased a tree claim and devoted himself to developing and improving the new farm. Some years ago he sought a change of location and moved to Kansas, where he remained five years, but it is sixteen years since he returned to the old place.

Mr. Milligan has followed progressive methods in his agricultural pursuits, has brought his land to a high state of cultivation, and the place is improved with one of the finest sets of buildings to be found in this part of the county.

In 1886, in Custer county, was solemnized the marriage of James .Milligan to Miss Margaret McDermott. who was born in Canada, a daughter of the late Bernard McDermott, who was one of the pioneers of Custer county and a record of whom appears eleswhere in this history of Custer county. Mr. and Mrs. ^lilligan became the parents of three children - Blanche and Joseph, who are still under the parental roof, and Lyle, who died in infancy. The family are members of the Catholic church and are people who have the unqualified respect and esteem of all who know them.

JOHN H. McDERMOTT. - The Irish- Americans always succeed. Whether on the public rostrum, where they seem possessed of golden speech ; behind the counter, where business acumen counts for capital : or on the farm or ranch, where energy and thrift are in demand, the Irish-American always succeeds. Mr. McDermott is an Irish-American ; his father and mother, estimable people, were natives respectively of Ireland, and Canada, but he himself first saw the light of day in Calhoun county. Iowa, where he was bom on the 22d of August, 1873. In the family of his father, Thomas McDermott. were four children, of whom John H. is the eldest : Frank is a street-car conductor in Omaha ; Catherine is deceased : and Benjamin J. is a locomotive engineer, living in Omaha. ' The father. Thomas ]McDermott, came to Custer county in 1888. Here he homesteaded a quarter-section and made timber entry on another 160 acres.

His wife, Mary A. McDermott. was born in Canada, as before stated, and their marriage was solemnized in 1872. in Pocahontas county, Iowa. From that time thev have maintained a creditable home, for which hard work has provided all comforts and necessities. The cutivated land on their Custer county farm consists of 115 acres, while the rest is iii pasture land and is really a ven- profitable portion of the ranch. John McDermott put on all the improvements and owns a full contingent of farm machinery. The live stock is of a good grade and constitutes a very profitable department of the ranch operation!

Locally Mr. McDermott is rated as one of the leading factors in his community, and is counted an obliging neighbor and dependable citizen. For twelve years he has been treasurer of his school district and in all the war activities in Custer county after our nation became involved in the great world conflict he was one of the active promoters ; he has been a contributor to all war appeals and in every possible way has displayed a loyal and patriotic spirit. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party. He is a staunch supporter and respected member of the Catholic church. Meet Mr. McDermott, talk to him in his home, note the home premises, take counsel of his neighbors - and the truth of the declaration at the beginning of these paragraphs, "Irish-Americans always make good," becomes apparent.

DAVID McGUGIN. - In noting the representative men of Custer county who qualify as earliest settlers, there are few who came here with more determined purpose to secure a permanent home in a section which seemingly otl'ered rich opportunities. Undoubtedly a number of the early settlers came to the county in search of adventure, and later many, passed on to other fields, but after a man has served for three years in battling for his country he scarcely looks for the excitements and adventures of life, even if he subsequently meets with many. In this way respectful attention is called to David McGugin, who now lives in comfortable retirement at Sargent, Nebraska, a pioneer of 1879.

David McGugin was bom August 31, 1839, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, one of a family of twelve children born to James and Matilda (Campbell) McGugin. Both parents were bom in Washington county. The father was a farmer and died on his farm in Pennsylvania, in 1865. He was a man of sterling worth, and both he and wife were members of the Presbyterian church, in whicli he was a trustee for many years. Five ff their children are living, namely : David, whose name introduces this sketch ; Lee. who is the wife of John Clark, a farmer near Cambridge, Ohio; William Milton and Margaret C, both of whom live at Burgettstown, Pennsylvania ; and Angelina, who is living at Hickory, Pennsylvania, and is the wife of John Carlisle.

In boyhood David McGugin had districtschool advantages, mainly in the winter seasons, and during the summers he assisted on the home fann. He thus continued until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment. The long period of peace secured for the country by the soldiers of 1861-5 was not won without danger, struggle, and suffering, and during his service of three years and one month, Mr. McGugin bravely bore his part, besides which he carried a wound from one of the big battlefields. He was honorably discharged, returned to his home and, after full recovery, resumed his old vocation. It was in 1879 that he came to Ne- braska, and in September of that year he acquired his homestead in Custer county. It was a lonely section in which it was located, there being but one house north of the river and Comstock at that time, so his neare-^t neighbor was far away, but he had not expected the comforts of civilization, and immediately set about developing his land, in Lillian towpship, accepting the inevitable hardships that pertain to pioneering, with the fortitude of a sensible, hopeful, practical man. As years passed, his condition constantly improved, and the time came when his was numbered with the valuable farms of the county and his farming and stock-raising were prosperous industries. Mr. McGugin continued on his farm until 1912, when he retired from active labor and moved to a comfortable home m Sargent.

Mr. McGugin was married November 27, 1884, to Miss Jennie A. Robinson, a daughter of Henry and Jane (Barnard) Robinson, residents of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. McGugin have no children, but they have a very wide circle of attached friends. They are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. McGugin being one of the first movers in the matter of establishing church and school in his neighborhood. He served a number of terms as school director of school district No. 13, Lillian township, and also as township treasurer. He is a Republican in politics but in local matters has always acted with some independence when affairs affecting the welfare of the whole community came under the consideration of the leading citizens. Mr. McGugin is known all over the county.

JOHN C. MILLS, farmer, stock-raiser and public official, is a representative of one of the earliest pioneer families in Clear Creek valley, Custer county, and has lived here since he was ten years old. Mr. Mills was born in Crawford county, Wisconsin, December 24, 1869. His parents were Fabius D. and Louisa (Copsey) Mills, his father being a native of Mercer county, Ohio, and his mother of Dane county, Wisconsin.

Fabius D. Mills was an educated, able man, and while living in Crawford county, Wisconsin, he was engaged in the practice of law, besides which he also served as county superintendent of schools. After locating in Custer county he continued his law practice to some extent and also wrote insurance, while carrying on farming as his main business. He was foresighted also in business. He came to Custer county in 1878 and bought his first farm for five dollars an acre, this property having been subsequently sold by him for $100 an acre. In 1879 he brought his family to the farm near Westerville, and he also took a tree claim about this time. While the Mills family found pioneer life a little easier, perhaps, than did many others, this was because of the resourcefulness of Mr. and Mrs. Mills and their ability to adapt themselves to existing conditions. However, they also had a share of deprivation and hardship. Like all the first settlers, their earliest home was a sod house, which under certain conditions was a comfortable dwelling, but sometimes was not reliable as a shelter. Mr. Mills tells of one occasion when the evening meal was about to be eaten and all the family had assembled, when the sod roof gave way and fell on the table, but fortunately injured no one. It was difficult to provide a healthful variety of food at first, the only meat procurable being that bought from hunters who killed elk and deer, and an occasional catch of fish from Clear creek. Determined to get a few pwtatoes planted, so that they would have an opportunity to mature, Mrs. Mills cut the heavy sod with a carving knife, for the first potato hills. To her energy and industry the family was indebted also for a plastered wall in their first house, although she had patiently to lay on the plaster with no better tool than a case knife, no emergency seeming to be too great for her to meet. Her many children all recognized how much was due her in the upbuilding of the home and the subsequent preservation of home ideals.

To Fabius D. Mills and his wife the following children were born : John C. is the immediate subject of this review ; Douglas, who married Ollie Gardner, is a farmer near Lee Park; Ella is the wife of John Robbins, who is a stock-raiser in Sheridan county, Nebraska ; Blanche and Arthur both died in infancy ; Aris was drowned in Clear creek, when he was twelve years old ; Bessie is the wife of Dennis Leman, a stockman in Douglas county, Wyoming; Edna is the wife of Andrew Allen, a farmer near Westerville ; Milton died in infancy; Mabel is the wife of Dr. Mc.>\rthur, a physician at Broken Bow, Nebraska ; Charles, who married Ollie Runner, is a farmer near Westerville, Nebraska ; Roscoe, who married Tina Baker, is a farmer near Westerville; Alice is the wife of M. E. Goddard, a fanner north of Westerville ; Frank is in the American army in France at the time of this writing; Bayard, who likewise is a soldier in the national army, is in France ; Sylvia is a school-teacher in Custer county; and Edward R. resides with his brother Charles. The parents of the above family were members of the Methodist Episcopa] church. In politics Mr. Mills was a Democrat. He and H. N. Hopkins were the men who located the trail from Westerville to Broken Bow, which was known as the Hog Back Trail. Mr. and Mrs. Fabius D. Mills are both deceased.

In his lx)yhood John C. Mills attended school near the home farm and later he took a course in the Nebraska Weslyan college at Lincoln. Farming and stock-raising have mainly engaged his attention all of his life, thus far, but he has not permitted his personal affairs to make him unmindful of public duties, and occasionally he has accepted local offices. At the present he is sening usefully as a member of the Westerville town board. He gives his political support to the Democratic party.

Mr. Mills was married April 2, 1905, to Lulu Slingsby, a daughter of William and Mary (Smith) Slingsby, and thev have five children : Walter, born Tanuarv 16, 1906 ; Ellis, born April 12, 1907"; Mabel, born May 11, 1909; Grace, bom September 1, 1914, and Lloyd, born November 28, 1917. A twin brother of Ellis died at birth. The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church at Westerville in which Mr. Mills has been class leader for twenty years.

JAMES W. LUNDY, who has been prominently known in business circles of Sargent for a number of vears as a realty man, furniture dealer, and undertaker, and who prior to his advent in the city had carried on large oi>erations as a ranchman in Custer county, is now engaged in an enterprise which, when completed, will be of iminense commercial value to Sargent and the entire surrounding community as a public utility. This is a hvdro-electrical plant at Doris, which will provide light and power in great quantity, and Mr. Luiidy is deserving of the appreciation of the whole comiriunity for his progressiveness in working out a plan for something that cannot fail to be an asset of incalculable benefit.

James W. Lundv. or "Bill," as he is familiarly known to his numerous friends, was born at .Atalissa, Iowa, October 30, 1872, a son of Ira J. and Maria G. (.\dv") Lundv, natives of the same place. The father, a farmer in Iowa, brought the family to Custer countv in 1882, on September 12th of which year he took up a homestead in Cumminc-s Park, section 9. township 20, range 19. There he continued to be engaged in farming and stockraisine until his death. He also operated a threshing outfit for many years, and, being a man of industry, business capacity and good judgment, he succeeded in the making of a comfortable home. He was a Republican in politics. There were four children in the family: James W. is the subject of this sketch; Benjamin W., who married Grace Barnes, is the operator of a dray line at Sargent ; Ada M. is a resident of Davenport, Iowa ; and Vinton A., a member of the United States Army, is stationed at Camp Pike, Arkansas, at the time of this writing.

James W. Lundy received his early education in the public schools of Custer county and grew up on the home farm, but his first ambition was to become an educator, and in order to prove himself capable, he passed the second teacher's examination. His career as a teacher lasted only six months, however, during which time he had .a school in district No. 189, and he then returned to farming, with which basic industry he continued to be actively identified until about 1906. That he still has large ranching interests is shown in the fact that he is the owner of 1,600 acres of splendid Custer county land. When he left the fami Mr. Lundy located at Sargent, where he entered the furniture and undertaking business, and later he became interested in the real-estate business, with H. A. Sherman as partner. They have built up a large business and have figured prominently in many large deals.

It has been only recently that Mr. Lundy has been engaged in the building of his hydroelectrical plant at Doris, which will furnish Sargent and the entire vicinity with light and power. The power now to be completed as the first unit will develop 225 horse-power, using a Leiifel turbine wheel, and a ICiO-kilowatt generator. The old power plant was purchased by Mr. Lundy from R. G. Carr, in 1912, Mr. Carr having been a pioneer in the flour-milling business here but using a seventyhorse-power drive and out-of-date wheels. The flume of the new plant has a twelve-foot head, one and one-half feet of concrete for a flooring, sixteen feet Wakefield piling, a steel re-enforced side way fourteen feet high, three feet at the base and twelve inches at the top. The pit of the turbine is seventeen by twentythree feet, and ten feet deep, with two-foot side walls and back wall, while the floor of the pit rests on 35-25-foot piling of cedar. In this unit of the fx)wer house there have been used 36,000 feet of yellow-pine dimension lumber two inches thick; 110 25- foot cedar piling; 13,000 pounds of steel re-enforcement; 1,650 sacks of cement and 350 vards of gravel. The side gates contain 28.000 feet of Wakefield piling of yellow pine; fifty-six 25- foot cedar piling; 550 sacks of cement; 150 yards of gravel ; and 4,000 pounds of steel reenforcement. Mr. Lundy has a patent to take care of sand that fills up the head and in ordinary cases causes a great deal of trouble and expense. He also has forty-two 30-foot piling, with a 14-inch top, which is to prevent ice from clogging up the head-gates, and guaranteeing a full flow of water all winter. Heretofore, ice protectors have never been used anywhere in the state. There are 24,000 feet of lumber used in the headgates, and the headgates, and side-gates are large enough to furnish water for two more units of 200-horsepower each when demand requires it, which will be the goal the owner is working toward. The power unit consists of 56-inch Letter special turbine, Samson rope drive. Woodward oil governor, 100-kilowatt A. C. generator and switch-board. In addition, this plant has a hydraulic ram which will furnish water at an elevation of 125 feet for fountain, irrigation and stock use. The power house will be covered with steel lath and cement. The mill race is one and nine-tenths miles long, the mill dam fourteen feet high, and the river is the most even of any place in the world, because of its sand land on each side of head waters and the fact that it is fed by springs, the volume of flow being 600-second feet per minute. Mr. Lundy has been fortunate in employing men of marked capacity in this great enterprise and much credit rests with Harry Gardner, foreman, and John WykofT, assistant foreman. Of this fine plant further mention is made in the general historical section of this volume, where also appear illustration of the plant.

Mr. Lundy was married October 31, 1894, to Miss Laura E. Anderson, daughter of Frank and Rebecca Anderson, homesteaders of Loup county in the year 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Lundy have four children: Sadie A., Alpha D. and Lela M., all of whom reside at home with their parents ; and Albro L., who in 1918 enlisted in the United States Army and who is, at the time of this writing with the Forty-eighth Regiment, Battery t)., C. A. C, in France.

Mr. Lundy is a man who does large things in a large way. He is a leading factor in every important, public-spirited movement promulgated and his high standing in business circles makes his influence a valued and valuable oire.

WESLEY N. BAKER. - Among the prominent and progressive farmers and stockraisers of Custer county, there are found a number who make a specialty of certain departments of agricultural work, believing that in this way they reap the greatest amount of success from their labors, in tliat they are able to centralize their energies and attention upon one definite thing. In this class is found Wesley N. Baker, of the vicinity of Ansley, who, while he follows general farming to some extent, has for a number of years past made a specialty of raising sheep. He is accounted one of the energetic and progressive men of his community and belongs to a family which is well known in Custer county, and a review of which will be found elsewhere in this work, in the sketch of Frank Baker.

Wesley N. Baker was born February 15, 1881, and has the distinction of being a native son of Custer county, his birth having occurred on the family homestead near Westerville, on Clear creek. The public schools of that community furnished him with his early educational training, and during the summer months he assisted his father and brothers in the fields, while being trained in all the arts and methods of agriculture as practiced in this locality. His choice of an occupation when he reached years of maturity rested upon farming, and this he has followed in a methodical, careful and practical way, adopting modern methods only when they have proved worthy. His long experience in the business of raising sheep has made him more or less of an authority upon the subject, and he is frequently called upon by his associates for counsel and advice. Politically a Democrat, politics and public affairs have had a small share in his career, but his actions have always shown him to be a public-spirited citizen, ready to support good measures. He and the members of his family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Baker was married February 21, 1907, at Westerville, Nebraska, to Miss Amy Copsey, daughter of A. H. and Anna (Wallin) Copsey, and to this union there have come two children: Irene, born January 1, 1908; and William J., born January 20, 1909. The pleasant home of the Baker family is located in section 21, township 35, where are to be found modern buildings and other improvements of an up-to-date character.

CHARLES A. WORRELL, a retired farmer of the Arnold section, has made good in more ways than one. He has run the gamut of pioneer experiences and has accumulated a competency by farming and stock-, raising in the good old county where his home has been for many years.

of John and Alan,' (Butler) Worrell, the former a native of Baitimore, Alarj'land, and the latter a native of the Buckeye state. John and Mary Worrell became the parents of six children, all of whom are living - Abarilla Woncman, Matilda E. Hunt, Charles A., Ida A. Hunt, Eva Clark, and W'illiam H. The parents were of the old-time and substantial families, and the father w-as a farmer. The entire family were connected with the Baptist church. The father moved to Davis county, Iowa, when his son Charles was eisjht years old, and there the boy had his first introduction to fanning as it was conducted in that part of the central west. His first money was made by husking corn, and in this manner he earned enough to buy a suit of clothes. In addition to this clothing enterprise he worked long enough to buy 100 pounds of flour, and as wheat flour was very scarce in those days, this hundred weight of white flour was utilized for making the biscuit which made the larger portion of the Sunday dinner, while some of it was used for white bread for the children's school luncheons.

Charles A. Worrell worked at home until he was twenty-one years of age. January 22, 1882, recorded his marriage to Miss Mar>' J. Bybee, who was bom in Iowa, a daughter of John H. and Frances J. (Clark) Bybee. Her father and mother were Kentuckians. Her family, like her husband's, were Baptists and the family circle numbered six children - Drury S.. William H., John J., Sarah E. Atwood. Mar}' J. Worrell, Izey C. Stoak.

Mr. and Mrs. Worrall have maintained an excellent home, for which even*' provision possible has been made. They have three sons in their family circle : John H. lives on a farm of his own, near Stapleton. He married Effie Marrs and they have one son and three daugh - ters. They belong to the Baptist church. William H. married Frances Goodyear and owns his father's old farm which was hometeaded on the Tallin Table. They have no children. C. Alva likewise farms his own land. He married Elva Goodyear, and they have one daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. \\'orrell came to Custer county in the fall of 1885, and, in the spring of the next year they located a homestead on the Tallin Table, eleven miles south of Arnold. At that time Mr. Worrell's worldly possessions, after he had paid for a relinquishment, consisted of a team of horses, one cow and $7.50 in cash. This was the capital upon which he began his farming career. Many hardships had to be endured. There was no fuel obtainable except corn stalks, and to obtain these he often had to wade through the snow and cut the stalks with the com knife. At one time a sleet, which lasted several days, covered the stalks with ice and made them very fnjor fuel. Water was another difficult proposition of the early days. For five years Mr. W'orrell hauled all the water for house and stock use. The distance water had to be hauled ranged from one and one-half to eleven miles, but all this has been overcome and the Worrells are now well fixed, and prepared to take life more easily than in former years. After giving each of his sons a good 160 acres of land, Mr. \\'orrell still has 490 acres in the home tract. He and his wife have now retired from the farm and are living on a tenacre tract in Arnold. They have a nice home and are substantial, respected citizens of the community. They belong to the Baptist church. During all the years of his residence in Custer county, Mr. Worrell has been active and foremost in community affairs, and he has serv'ed on the school board and as road overseer for a number of years. The family are to be rated among the best people of the county.

U. GRANT BROWN. - Down in the region south of Ansley is the home place on which this splendid citizen lived his life, appVied his ability and energies, established his home, and finally responded to the call which removed him from the earthly sphere of action to that "undiscovered countrs' from whose bourne no traveler returns."

Mr. I'rown was born May 31, 1871, in Indiana. His parents were Dr. John G. and Martha ( Tucker i Brown. The father was a native of Indiana, where he was born August 10, 1840, and he was one of a family of eleven children, in all of whom were the predominating traits of thrift and integrity, inherited from their worthy parents. In the fall of 1872, when L'. Grant Brown was but one year old. his parents moved to Danville. Illinois, and from that place they came, in 1883, to Polk county. Nebraska, where they grazed their cattle for two years. They then continued their journey to the promised land of Custer. In 1885 they settled here, securing a home in Loup township where they resided until the father's death, eight years later. Dr. r.rown was one of the able and honored physicians of Custer county, and his services are well remembered by his contemporaries of the pioneer days. He was influential in community affairs and served two terms as county coroner.

a success of his farm developments and farming activities. Like his father, he was a useful citizen, active in all local affairs, and supporting every enterprise that tended to upbuild the community.

On Cliristmas day in 1895 ^Ir. Brown was united in marriage to Anna Fortik. a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Cline) Fortik. (See sketch of Anton Fortik.) To this union were born four children: Guy Floyd, the firstborn, is at home and operating the home farm ; and Mary Ruth, Charles William, and Dorothy May are all at home. The earthly career of ^Ir. Brown ended on the 19th day of March, 1918, on the home place, and thus ended the career of a widely known and useful citizen.

The family are keeping the estate intact and are conducting the farming operations much as the father directed. Mr. Brown, the man who endured the hardships, who experienced the privations of pioneer life, who was domiciled in a sod house and called it home, has left behind him a splendid monument in the well improved place which he named Cat Creek Ranch, and upon which he himself made the fine imjjrovements. He rendered the community a good service and it might be said none could have done better for his family than did he.

He was a member of the Christian church. was independent in politics, and he served a number of years in the office of road overseer. He leaves a memory and example which are a valuable heritage to his children, who are coming on to walk in the paths he had marked for them.

The office was then removed to the village of Dale and Daniel Lohr became postmaster. The Catholic church still stands on the site of that village. James Daley lived in Custer county for thirty- four years to a day, his death occurring May 10, 1916. His widow survived until Januarj' 5, 1917. They were highly esteemed people in every relation of life and were faithful members of the Presbyterian church. James Daley gave his political support to the Prohibition party.

E. Budd Daley grew up on his father's farm and attended the public schools. He has always been interested in fanning and stockraising and his operations in these industries are extensive. He owns 760 acres of fine land, included in which is the old family homestead of 320 acres, and he cherishes the hope that his sons will develop like tastes and, after they have been thoroughly educated, make this old valley homestead their preferred home. In addition to his agricultural activities, Mr. Daley has prominence in the banking field and is vice-president of the Farmers' Bank of Merna.

Mr. Daley was married April 14, 1897, in Ortello \'alley, this county, to Miss Eliza A. Jones, a daughter of John D. and Amelia (Edwards) Jones, and a granddaughter of Thomas J. Edwards. Mr. and Mrs. Daley have three children : Gladys E., who is a graduate of the Merna high school ; James R., who is attending school ; and Elden R. Mr. and I\Irs. Daley are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is a Democrat, and fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modem Woodmen of America.

ELISHA BUDD DALEY, farmer and financier, is one of the best known and most esteemed citizens of Custer county and has spent almost his entire life in Nebraska. He was born in the village of Digby, Nova Scotia, March 16, 1874. His parents were James and Marian E. (Budd) Daley, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in Nova Scotia. The grandfathers. James Daley and James Budd, were natives of Ireland and Nova Scotia, respectively. E. Budd Daley had one brother. Ernest, who died December 6, 1886. The father's vocation was fanning and it was in the hope of extending his agricultural activities profitably that he brought his familv to the United States and, in the spring of 1880, secured a homestead beautifully located in Dale valley, Custer county. Nebraska. This he developed into a valuable property. He was one of the earliest settlers in that section and he served as postmaster of Dale \'alley in 1884-5

ZACHARIAH THOSTESEN, a member of the retired colony of Broken Bow, is one of the sturdy sons of Denmark who came to this community when it was still new and here lived through the period of development. As a farmer and stock-raiser he maintained through many years a high standard of productive industry, and now, as a retired citizen, he is accounted one of his community's helpful and constructive representatives in civic movements.

Mr. Thostesen was born in Denmark, May 31, 1848. a son of Ove and Barbara (Jesperdaten) Thostesen and a grandson of Thost and Bodil Thostesen, there being nine other children in the family. He is one of five surviving children, the other four being- Claus. Christen. Mrs. Bodil Jessen and IMiss .\nna M. Zachariah Thostesen. the tenth of his parents' children in order of birth, was educated in the public schools and remained on the home farm until he was eighteen years of age, his first money being earned by mowing grass for a neighboring fanner. In 1866 he gathered together what small resources he could accumulate, and set out alone for the United States, eventually arriving at his destination, the town of Dwight, Illinois. He had no knowledge of the English language or of the customs of the country, but he was strong, eager and willing, had no trouble in finding employment, and industriously applied himself to whatever work opportunity placed in his hands, the while he gradually learned the language of his adopted land and began to make progress. By 1870 he was ready to establish a home of his own, and on April 7th of that year he married Miss Anna Miller Nielsen, daughter of Peter and Marie (Jepsen) Nielsen, and a sister of Peter Nielsen. To their union there were born six children: Ove N., who is a railroad man of Bridgeport, Nebraska, married Catherine Reeder, a daughter of Henry Reeder, and following is given a brief record concerning their children : Marenus B., who is a retired miner of Seattle, Washington, married Edith Johnson, and they have one son and one daughter; Barbara is the wife of John A. Meryes, a farmer twelve miles southwest of Merna, Custer county, and they have one son and six daughters; Marie, is the wife of Peter A. Hartvigson, of Ephrata, Washington, and they have one son and one daughter ; Florence married Frederick Cram, of Bridgeport, Nebraska, who died in 1914. leaving a son, AV'ayne ; and John, who is an engineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, living at Bridgeport, Nebraska, married Esther Swanberg, and has one daughter. The members of this family belong to the Lutheran church, and at elections Mr. Thostesen's support is given to the candidates of the Republican party.

Following his marriage, Mr. Thostesen continued to follow farming in Illinois, with a measure of success, until 1883, when he came to Custer county, and on September 28th of that year he located on Cliff Table, twentyfour miles west of Broken Bow, this being a pre-emption claim. After proving up, he toolc a homestead, on which he resided from 1884 until 1900, in which latter year he retired from active pursuits and moved to Broken Bow, where he now has what is considered one of the most beautiful homes of the county seat. He is still the owner of his old pre-emption claim on Cliff Table, a tract of 160 acres of valuable and highly cultivated land which is being operated by a renter.

JOHN TALLIN. - The blood originated in Sweden, but its exhibition of thrift was transferred to America, and in the regions south of Arnold, on the famous Tallin Table, it has been demonstrated that Scandinavian thrift makes good in the middle west of the great American republic.

Mr. Tallin's native land was Sweden, in which country he was born October 15, 1852. His parents Peter, and Carrie (Erickson) Tallin, were of long Scandinavian lineage, and they came to the United States in 1868, when their son John was sixteen years of age. Their first residence was in Burlington, Iowa, where one year later the father died, leaving the mother with four children, of whom John was the eldest, the others being Alec, Peter, and Louis. After the death of his father, much responsibility fell upon the shoulders of John Tallin. The family must be supported, and accordingly he applied himself. His first money was' made by trapping or snaring wild turkeys. In the paths of the wooded section he placed the snares, arranging brush on either side, so that the fowls had to confine their meandering to the path which lead them over the traps or into the snares. This was very profitable. He worked the farm in the summer time and put in the winter cutting cord wood. In 1870 the lure of the west got the better of him, and he and the rest of the family came to Nebraska, settling in Burt county, on rented land. By this time his younger brother was able to assist in the farming operations, and things went fairly well. All the family necessities were obtained and the foundations of thrift and energy were deep laid in the character of young John. Four years later, in Omaha, he took unto himself a wife, by his marriage with Ida S. Nelson, a daughter of Peter and Caroline Nelson, both of whom were of Swedish extraction. With the establishment of their own home, Mr. and Mrs. Tallin began the earnest and well directed efforts that resulted in the accumulations of the present time. Their home was blessed with two children - Carrie is the wife of Robert Blackburn, a farmer living near Armode, Washington, and they have three children ; Mabel is the wife of Axel Nordland, a farmer living in Alberta, Canada, and they have two children.

Mr. and Mrs. Tallin became residents of Custer county in the spring of 1884, when they became the first settlers on the table which now bears their name, twelve miles south of Arnold, and here Mr. Tallin has been a pioneer resident since that day. The shadows sometimes fell upon the home. In April,

1885, Mrs. Tallin was called to the life eternal, leaving her husband with two small children. His mother came to his aid and for a time made her home with him. caring for the little girls. August 3, 1892, Mr. Tallin married Miss Minnie Nelson, a daughter of Larson and Carrie (Johnson) Nelson, and since that time this good lady has presided over the destiny of affairs and made for him a splendid home. He farms a half-section of land and conducts a general stock-raising industry in connection with his agricultural pursuits. From these oj)erations he has been enabled tj equip the farm with splendid improvements and contribute to all the calls of the war-time days through which all have so lately passed. He and his wife are favorably known and highly rated in the community. Their religious affiliations are with the Swedish mission of their locality. America, with her opportunities and boundless resources, is indebted to northern Europe for many such stalwart citizens as ^Ir. Tallin.

LYMAN PIERCE. - Down in the Arnold region, where farming and stock-raising constitute the chief industry, lives the subject of this sketch, Lyman Pierce, who operates a splendid fann and holds precedence as a successful agriculturist and stock-raiser.

Mr. Pierce was born March 12, 1865, in Crawford county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Samuel and Lucinda ( Smith ) Pierce, the father a native of Massachusetts and the mother of Illinois. In the father's family were three children, the other two being Ada (deceased) and Helen Wells. The mother died .\pril 5, 1887, and the father later contracted a second marriage, when he wedded Adaline Lathrop. Of this union were born six sons and one daughter.

The youthful years of Lyman Pierce were spent on the home farm in Wisconsin where he assisted in the arduous task of cutting timber from the farm and thus clearing up the land so that it could be cultivated. It was here that he received his education in the country schools, and to this preliminary discipline he has constantly been adding, by extensive and well directed reading. He made his first appearance in Custer county in 1882. He remained two years, and then went to LaSalle county. Illinois. In 1887 he returned to Custer county, and here he located ten miles southeast of Arnold, where he has lived ever since. His wedded life dates from November 30, 1893. when at (?iOthenburg, Nebraska, he led to the marriaee altar Miss Ada Hansberry, a gracious and pojiular young lady of

Pawnee county. Mrs. Pierce is a daughter of Albert and Marj- (Hainning) Hansberrj-. In her father's family were six children - Mary Pierce, William, (Jlo Tabor, Charles, Lemuel, and Ray.

Immediately following their marriage .Mr. and Mrs. Pierce established a home which in many ways has been ideal. Into the family circle the years have brought two sons, L. Loyd, who is now fanning for himself. He married Edna Gion, and they have one daughter, Signa Doris, who, in addition to her higl> school education, has had a two years' course in the Grand Island Business College. The younger son. A. Hugh, an eligible young bachelor, lives at home and farms on his father's place. Mr. Pierce has 960 acres of good land to show for his work in Custer county. This is sj)lendidly improved and well stocked. He has a fine home and his farm is well equipped for profitable operations. All that he has accumulated represents the result of toil and splendid judgment.

Recalling the early days, Mr. Pierce states that his first money was made by catching catfish in the Kickapoo river and selling the same for ten cents apiece. At the time they were caught, the fish weighed from six to ten pounds each. What they weigh now depends upon the dimensions of the fish in the stor\- ^Ir. Pierce has to match. Mr. Pierce has long been regarded as one of the prominent, substantial farmers of his community. He has made a decided success of his chosen occupation and in a social way enjoys the confidence of a large circle of friends and neighbors. His political affiliations are with the Republican j)arty, and he is a man well informed in current events, and thinks for himself.

ALVm M. SCHUDER. - One of the prosperous and busy men of Sargent, Nebraska, is Alvin M. Schuder, carpenter and builder, who has resided here for thirty years and has watched and helped in the development of this bustling town from a grain field to its present ])roportions and varied interests. He was born September 28, 1856, in Marshall county, Indiana, and is one of four children born to his parents. Simon B. and Margaret B. (Alms) Schuder.

Simon B. Schuder was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, and in early manhood moved to Indiana, where he was engaged in fanning when the Civil war broke out. In response to President Lincoln's first call, he enlisted in Companv V.. Seventy-fourth Indiana Volunteers, and during his first tenn of service he was with the armies of Grant and Rosecrans.

He re-enlisted, and continued a brave and courageous soldier in the ranks until just before the end of the war, being wounded and incapacitated in one of the last battles, and he was honorably discharged. Despite the hardships of military life, the exposure and the wounding, he recovered his nomial health, and to-day. when eighty-five years old, is an example of vigorous old age. After the war he resumed work at the carpenter trade, which he had previously followed in connection with farming, but later he removed to a farm in Indiana and lived there until he retired. He now resides in Columbia City. Indiana. For his first wife he married Margaret B. Alms, who was born in Pennsylvania, and who died in 1865. They had the following children : Alvin M., whose name initiates this sketch ; William H., who is deceased : and Minnie M. and Susannah E.. both of whom live at Joliet, Illinois. During early manhood the father of Mr. Schuder was a Democrat, but the issues of the Civil war changed his opinions and he became a staunch Republican. He is a member of the Church of God, and the mother of Mr. Schuder belonged to the ^lethodist Episcopal church.

Alvin M. Schuder had fair school advantages in his youth and had both fami and mechanical training in his native state. In September, 1884 he came to Custer county, driving over the country from Greenwood, Nebraska, to Broken Bow. He pre-empted a half-section of land north of West Union, and also secured a timber claim. Through all the hardships of pioneer times, he preserved his holdings, and several years ago he disposed of his half-section to great advantage. When he recalls Sargent's beginnings, he remembers the waving grain that once covered its site. The land was owned by E. P. Savadge and J. W. Thomas, the latter of whom is a banker in Omaha. In the early days Mr. Schuder was engaged in freighting quite extensively, and before the railroad reached this section he carried freight, with more or less danger, to almost all the surrounding towns. His reminiscences of those days are full of interest, and prove how rapid and substantial may be the growth of a community when practical and enterprising men take sufficient interest. In Custer county Mr. Schuder has done a large amount of carpentering and building that stand to his credit, and he still keeps active in his chosen vocation. In politics he is a Democrat. He is not married.

the thrift and prosperity of the foreign-born. Written above is the name of a prosperous and substantial farmer in whose veins flows the blood of frugal German parents and who himself was born in the German empire, so that his discovery of America, as well as his residence here, was an act of his own volition.

Mr. Tietjens was born July 18, 1848, and is a son of Henry and Anna A. (Hoelweig) Tietjens, representatives of long lines of sterling German ancestry. Henry Tietjens is the eldest in a family of four children, the others being Rebecca, Andrew, and Jacob. In addition, Mr. Tietjens had two step-brothers and two step-sisters. His father was a farmer and hotel keeper in Germany.

The first eighteen years of the life of Henry Tietjens were spent in Germany, where he received a creditable education and earned his first money as messenger boy, running errands for the guests in his father's hotel. When he was eighteen years of age, the call of America brought him to this country, and from the seaboard he made his way direct to Holt county, Missouri, where he worked for two years on a farm. Then he came to Nebraska and settled in Madison county. In this county, on December 10. 1876, he married Miss Catherine Peck, who was born in Iowa, a daughter of George and Anna ( Ruck ) Peck, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. In the Peck family were four children : John, Scott, Earl, and Catherine. The members of this family belong to the Lutheran church.

The family history of Mr. and Mrs. Tietjens, as connected with their own home circle, give the following record of their children : George, who is a plumber living at Bow, Washington, married Lizzie String, and thev have three sons and one daughter. Anna is the wife of Moses Irvin, who runs a restaurant at Arnold, and they have one child. Nanna. who married Roy Nansel. and has since been divorced, has one child, a little daughter named Vera. Jacob is a bachelor and lives at home with his parents. Lenore is the wife of Charles Woodward, who is in the navy, and located at Norfolk, Virginia, at the time of this writing. Mr. Woodward was formerly on a submarine carrier and went around the world with the Roosevelt fleet. Scott is at Camp Funston, in Company H, Twentieth Infantr}'.

Mr. and Mrs. Tietjens located in Custer county in 1889. Their first home was in Merna, where they conducted a hotel about two years. Then they located eight miles southeast of Arnold. Mr. Tietjens now owns 1.680 acres of good land and is rated as one of the prosperous ranchmen of the county. He has made good and is well and favorably known among the people of the community. Always ready to assist any worthy enterprise, he has contributed to the betterment of the community in which he lives. Politically he affiliates with the Republican party, believing that it represents the principles of a common democracy in which the burden of government rests upon the intelligent voter.

DORCAS HOGUE LEO. - Here follows the story of a woman who has had a remarkable career; who has experienced the hardships and privations of pioneer days ; who, as the mother of a large family of children, has done well her part in the years that have passed : and who has contributed largely to the present-day development of the county's resources. Hers has been an active and useful life.

Mrs. Leo was born August 4, 1860, in Pike county, Missouri. She was the last born of the children of Andrew and Jane (Wilkison) Hogue, both of whom were native Kentuckians. Aside from herself, the children of these parents were: Hardin, and Susan, both of whom are deceased ; Shannon A. ; and Alice Kruser. In his younger days, Andrew Hogue, the father, lived in Clarksville, Missouri, where he had a small grocen*' store. When Mrs. Leo was nine years old her parents moved to Lincoln county, Missouri, where her father engaged in farming and where her mother died, leaving Mrs. Leo motherless at the age of twelve years. Later her father married Mrs. Jennie Nally Blackmore. To this union three children were born : Myrtle King, Zella M. (deceased), and Andrew J. Mrs. Leo received a common-school education and after experiencing the common lot of young wommanhood in the rural districts of those days, she was united in marriage, in her twenty-first year, at Ellensburg, Missouri, to Henry W. Leo. Mr. Leo was bom in Germany, coming of sturdy Gemian ancestry. He was a member of a large family, in which there were fourteen children. He came to America when twenty-one years of age and located in a small town in Indiana, where he opened a blacksmith shop and worked at the trade for several years. With his wife he came to Custer county in 1885 and located southeast of Arnold, on the South Loup river, where he and his young wife had their first induction into pioneer experiences. Selling his relinquishment, they moved to Dale, a little town in Ortello valley and there Mr. Leo built a sod l)lacksmith shop and again worked at his trade. Later when the principal business interests of Dale moved to the new town of Merna, Mr. Leo re-established his shop in the new town and here the family home has been maintained for twenty-five years.

Mr. and Mrs. Leo became the parents of eleven children, nine of whom are still living. Rollie F. is the eldest. Stella A. is the widow of Charles Grissom, who was an employe of the Standard Oil Company, at Wood River, Illinois, at the time of his demise, which occurred December 16, 1916. He is survived by his wife and two children - Leo, twelve years of age, and Lillian, nine years old. Russell A. married Leona Cash, who lived only a few months thereafter. He is a farmer near Gap.-, South Dakota. Joseph A. was a sergeant in Company M, Fifth Regiment Nebraska National Guard, and died at Grand Island, this state, July 2, 1917. Mar>- F. is deceased. Wilhelmina is the wife of Lawrence Welton, su{>erintendent of the Standard Oil Company's refinery at Casper, Wyoming Helen is single. Theresa is the wife of Walter Shoemaker, and they reside at Lincoln, Nebraska. They have one daughter, Deetta, eight years old. Henry A. is single and works on a farm near Arnold. Bernard A. also is single and an Arnold farmer. George ]M. is a student in the Arnold high school. Mrs. Stella Grissom and Miss Helen Leo, daughters of Mrs. Leo, are operating an up-to-date eating establishment in the town of Arnold and their mother, who is an adept in that line, has charge of the culinary department. Mrs. Leo comes from a family who were connected with the Baptist church. Her husband was a Catholic and accordingly her children incline to the faith of that church.

WILLIS M. STEBBINS not only owns a large body of valuable and well improved land in Custer cotmty but is also a leading business man at Gothenburg, Dawson county, and has been prominently identified with public affairs in the latter county. He was born near Wattsburg, Pennsylvania, on the 20th of January, 1863, and is a son of John C. and Polly J. (Swatland) Stebbins, the former a native of Yates county. New York, and the latter of Chautauqua county, that state, the jiarents having returned from Pennsylvania to Chautauqua county. New York, when the subject of this review was but six months old. On the maternal side Willis M. Stebbins is a grandson of Silas and Abigail (Rose) Swatland. natives respectively of Connecticut and \'emiont. Mr. Stebbins has three brothers - Monroe D., Laveme G., and Virgil A.

Willis M. Stebbins completed his education in Sheniian Academy, at Sherman, New York, and practically his start in life may be dated from 1884, when he came to Nebraska and took a homestead claim near Famam. Dawson county. He proved up on this claim, and in 1889 he moved to Gothenburg, where he engaged in business, which has since been expanded to include dealing in hardware, agricultural implements and real estate. For many years he has owned section 9, township 64, range 25, Custer county, and he is very proud of this land, because of its fine location, remarkable fertility, and superior improvements.

Mr. Stebbins was married January 1, 1891. in Hastings, Nebraska, to Miss Avis W. Wilcox, who was born at Albany, New York, a daughter of Schuyler C. and Olivia H. (Cheeney) Wilcox. Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins became the parents of five children : Verna A. is the wife of Professor Arthur Greenslit, superintendent of schools of Baxter, Iowa, and they have one daughter, Kathr\'n ; Guy L. died September L< 1914; Willis Earl sened eight months at Liana Grande, Texas, on the Mexican border, as a member of Company L, of Gothenburg, and after his company was called into the service of the United States, July IS, 1917, he was made mess sergeant : as a soldier in the national army preparing for foreign service, Willis L. Stebbins, on February 8, 1918, entered the aviation school at Austin, Texas, and in August, 1918, he was commissioned second lieutenant pilot : Alice I. and Virge W. remain at the parental home and are attending school.

When Mr. Stebbins came to Dawson county he not only showed an interest in forwarding his own enterprises, but immediately identiled himself also with public affairs, as becomes a progressive citizen, this attitude soon winning to him the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, which he has never lost. He has been prominent in civic matters at Gothenburg and has contributed time and money to make this a business center and a desirable residence location. In 1911 he was elected to represent Dawson county in the state legislature, his public services meeting with such approval on the part of his constituency that he was returned in 1913 and again in 1915. He has always been identified with the Republican party. Mr. Stebbins is well known in Masonic circles in the state, has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. With his family he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and at all times he has been liberal in his charities.

MERLE M. RUNYAN, deputy clerk of the district court of Custer county, has the distinction of having been the first white child born at J\Iason City, this county, which accounts for his middle name being Mason. He is one of the energetic and progressive young men of his locality, is a lawyer by profession and for several years has been prominent in public affairs. During the time that he has thus been before the people he has conducted himself in a way that has won him uniform esteem and confidence.

Mr. Runyan was born at Mason City, Nebraska, May 23, 1886, and is a son of George and Medora H. (Amsberry) Runyan. George Runyan located at Mason City in 1878, being the first postmaster of that village, and for some years he was prominent in its mercantile affairs and in the agricultural life of the community. He became successful as a farmer and accumulated a substantial property. He is now living retired from active affairs, his home being situated at Broken Bow. He is a stanch Democrat in politics, and he and his wife are consistent members of the Baptist church. They are the parents of seven children: Ira G., Mrs. Ada Watson, William A., Glenn E., Mrs. Blanche Rumery, Merle Mason, and James W.

The early education of Merle M. Runyan was secured in the public schools of Mason City, and when he was not employed at his studies he assisted his father, while at times he worked out among the neighbors, besides earning odd sums by selling roasting ears of corn to the people of the surrounding villages. He completed his course at the Mason City high school in 1906, following which he went to the Grand Island Baptist College, where he completed the curriculum of five years. Returning to his home, he was engaged for a time in the real-estate business, and while thus occupied he became interested in the law - first in order that it might assist him in his business ventures and later that it might serve as his profession. For nearly four years he studied in the ofifice of N. Dwight Ford, a well known Mason City attorney, and after duly passing the examination he was admitted to the Nebraska bar in 1915. He had already settled down to practice, however, when, in 1915, he was appointed deputy county clerk of Custer county and moved to Broken Bow to assume his duties of office. So capably were these discharged that he made a distinctly favorable impression upon the minds of the people, and in 1918 he was appointed deputv clerk of the district court of Custer county, a position which he still retains. Mr. Runyan has been conscientious in handling the re- sponsibilities of his jxisition and all matters coming before him have been treated in a thorough, al)le and expenditious manner. He is one of the influential nieml>ers of the Democratic party in Custer county, but is popular with those of other political belief, and has many warm friends in both large parties.

On November 26, 1913, at Broken Bow, Mr. Runyan was united in marriage to Miss Grace Duke, a daughter of Charles W. Duke, and to this union there have been born two sons - Byron D.. and Howard G.

JOHN CAMERON, who for thirty years has been a resident of Custer county, resides on his farm near Callaway and is well known throughout the county, having taught s:hool for eight years, in different neighborhood.s, and having done his part in furthering the various developing agencies that have changed a sparsely settled wilderness into a wealthy, prosperous, and intelligent community. John Cameron was born at Wellsville, Ohio, December 25, 1869. On the paternal side he is of Scotch ancestry, his father, David Cameron, having been a native of Scotland. After coming to the United States and locating in Ohio, David Cameron married Elizabeth Figgins, a native of that state, and of their eight children the survivors are the following: Simon D., David F., John, and William. The parents were members of the Presbyterian church.

John Cameron was reared in Ohio, was well educated in the public schools and was variouslv employed until he was nineteen years old, when he came to Nebraska, to which state manv young men in the east were turning their eyes at that time, for here land was to be easily secured and great rewards were offered for thrift and industry. When Mr. Cameron came to Custer county he bought 160 acres of land adjoining the Brighton ranch on the north, and set about it development. But he lacked the ex]:)erience that Would ])r()l)ably have made his venture profitable, and after three years of effort he sold his land. His next purchase was more carefully made and consisted of 160 acres about six miles .southeast of Callaway. When he bought this land, in 1891, there was not a tree to be seen on the |)lace, and Mr. Cameron has done a wonderful amount of improving, his comfortable liachelor home being now surrounded by orchards and shade trees.

While Mr. Cameron has devoted much time and attention to his agricultural indu.stry and land improvement, he has served the county in the capacity of school teacher, bis labors in this direction covering eight years. Mr. Cameron has accumulated a comfortable competency through steady industry, for he has never, as have some of his acquaintances, l>een led into land or other speculation. In this connection he relajtes an experience of his youth that opened his eyes to the uncertainty of the "sure thing." As a boy he was obliged carefully to regulate his expenses in consonance with his income, and there never was any great surplus. In the hope of overcoming this condition, at one time he was persuaded to invest his sole capital of five dollars in oil stock. From that time on he has never been tempted to pay any attention to the alluring promise of oil, land, or mining stocks. As a thinking and educated man, ^Ir. Cameron occupies an established place in public affairs, but he has accepted no political office. He votes the Republican ticket, is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member of the Presbvterian church.

HARRY JACOBSEN, who is a substantial farmer of Custer county, owns 380 acres of some of the finest land in this part of the state, the same being located four miles east and south of Merna. He is a native of Nebraska, and is a scion of a sterling pioneer family that was here established in the territorial days - about one year prior to the admission of Nebraska to the Union. Mr. Jacobsen was born in Saline county. May 3, 186.S, and is a son of John and Sarah (Cooj)er) Jacobsen, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in Maryland. John and Sarah (Cooper) Jacobsen gained territorial pioneer distinction in Nebraska by immigrating to this now opulent state in the spring of 1866. They made the overland journey from Rutland, LaSalle county. Illinois, with team and covered wagon, and they took a homestead near the W^est Blue river in the north part of Saline county. There they bravely faced the problems and trials of pioneer life and there they proved valued members of the community, the while they bent their energies to the reclamation and development of the frontier farm. It is worthy of record that John Jacob,sen assisted in the organization of the first school district in Saline county, the same having been designated as district No. 1. The name of John Jacobsen merits enduring ])lace on the roster of the honored pioneers of Nebraska. He and his wife became the parents of seven children, concerning whom brief record is here offered : Lawrence E., who is a farmer near Genesee. Louisiana, has four sons ; Harry, of this review, was the next in order of birth ; Frank A., who is unmarried, is a school teacher near Hammond, Louisiana, and is a member of the Episcopal church; Ross, who is overseer of a large farm near Rutland, La Salle county, Illinois, married Susan, a daughter of George H. Fougerson, and they have on daughter ; Lydia, who died in 1900, was the -wife of George Willis, and they had three daughters ; Paul, who lives in Louisiana, is married, and he and his wife, Maggie, have four sons and one daughter ; and Frederick A., who is a carpenter and famier, is married and has one son. The father of the above family died in 1879, and the mother subsequently married John Imhoft. Two daughters of this second marriage are living - Lillie D., and Bertha. Miss Lillie D. Imhoflf became a skilled stenographer and in that capacity worked for eight years in the government agricultural department at Washington, D. C. She then became the wife of Paul Anderson, who is connected with the govennnent printing office, and they have one son. Bertha Imhotif also is married and is the mother of four daughters, and they all live at Osyka, Mississippi.

Harry Jacobsen was eleven years old when his father died and he was largely thrown on his own resources - industrious habits and natural thrift enabling him to overcome many disadvantages. He began early to help on the farm and believes the first money he earned and received was fifteen cents a day paid him by a neighbor for plowing corn, with a double-shovel plow and one horse. Mr. Jacobsen has made farming his life work, lie came to Custer county in 1906 and bought 320 acres on East Table, near Merna, and this he has developed into a fine property. His residence, on the edge of the table, is beautifully situated and it can be seen from a distance of many miles in several directions.

Mr. Jacobsen was married April 30, 1890, in Saline county, Nebraska, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Fougerson, a daughter of George H. and Mary K. (Landon) Fougerson, and a granddaughter of Munson Landon. Mrs. Jacobsen's father was bom near Buffalo, New York, December 8, 1836, and her mother January 18, 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobsen have nine children : Edna G. is the wife of Wendell Cosner; John II., at the time of this writing, is serving his country as a soldier in France ; George .\., who is operating on a large ranch near Rushville, Nebraska, nr.rried Grace Mauck, a daughter of Daniel Mauck. and they have one child ; Ross E. is the home fanner ; Charles V. also lives at home and assists on the farm ; Hazel E. was a member of the graduating class of 1918 in the Merna high school ; and Elmer E., Mildred, and Elsie B. are all doing well in their classes at school. The eldest daughter, Mrs. Cosner, a very talented lady, has been secretary of the Nebraska State Grange for five years. She was thoroughly educated along business lines and after completing a course in the Grand Island Commercial College went into the stenographic field and for some years was identified, as a stenographer, with such important business concerns as the Old Trusty Incubator Company, at Clay Center, the Broken Bow Abstract Company, and the Farmers Mercantile Company at Anselmo, Nebfaska. She resides eight miles northeast of Merna, where Mr. Cosner is engaged in farming.

HERMAN BURROW, who is well known over Custer county, has carried on general farming here for many years and owns -440 acres of fine land, with a beautiful home situated three-quarters of a mile southeast of Merna. Mr. Burrow was bom in Germany, August 1, 1854, and is a son of Christian and Anna ( Hebbe) Burrow. His father was born in Germany, February 12, 1809, and died September 3, l907. His mother was bom in Germany, February 20. 1812. and died April 9, 1874. They had six children, namely: William C, Christian, Gustave, Julius, Herman, and Mrs. Christena Kniger. They were members of the Lutheran church. The father was a farmer all his life.

Herman Burrow remained with his parents in Germany until he was seventeen years old, when he came to the United States, where he has lived here ever since, and for thirty-six years he has been a resident of Custer county. He first found work on a farm near Sauk City, Wisconsin, and continued there for two years. He then went to Illinois, where for four years he worked on farms, with good wages. From Illinois he went to Osceola, Iowa, and in the fall of 1882, he came to Custer county and located two and one-half miles northwest of Merna. Through his industry in his earlier years, he is now able to live at ease, his sons taking care of the hard work, although Mr. Burrow continues general supervisor.